The role of organizational climate and culture in the school  (Page 8/17)

Interactions in the Planning Phase

The initial step in the planning phase of the school improvement process involves identifying an organizationalneed and making a conscious decision whether or not to attempt to address that need. Both the climate and the culture of the schoolcan have considerable influence at this stage. For example, if the current climate of the school is one of high disengagement, highhindrance, and low espirit (Halpin&Croft, 1963), it is unlikely that the school will voluntarily opt to engage in asignificant school improvement process; if forced to, it is unlikely that the effort will succeed. Similarly, if the school’s culture is one of cultural malaise (Deal&Kennedy, 1982), it is unlikely that the school improvement process will progressbeyond this initial step. Conversely, healthier climates and more positive cultures with a history of successful large-scaleorganizational change will greatly enhance the probability that the school will opt to move ahead with the school improvementplan.

The next step in the planning phase is to consider the nature of the changes inherent in the improvementprocess. It is essential that the school improvement process, and even the specific improvements and reforms being contemplated,match those climates and cultures (Hopkins, Harris, Singleton,&Watts, 2000; Sathe, 1985), for culture affects organizational behavior and performance, thereby shaping the impact and directionof changes (Kilman, Saxton,&Serpa, 1985a). If the changes contemplated are not in good alignment with the current culture andclimate of the school, e.g., the existing customs, power structures, and paths of least resistance of the organization(Connor&Lake, 1988), planned cultural intervention is necessary (Burke, 2002). In such cases, it is essential tounderstand the existing organizational culture, to know its source and bounds (Lorsch, 1985). This helps to ensure that changes aremade only to the aspects of that culture that are at odds with the change, not the benign aspects.

When change is contemplated, certain key questions need to be asked, including: Which aspects of theorganizational culture are most compatible with the proposed change? Which aspects of that culture are least compatible with thechange? How deeply entrenched are these aspects of the culture? How might the proposed change affect people’s perceptions of the organizational climate? How great a change in climate is likely beperceived as a consequence of implementing this change? Which aspects of the new climate might be perceived as becoming morepositive, or more negative? How strongly might these changes in perceptions affect individuals? Which individuals?

Even these understandings may not be useful in helping to change the culture, but they can help to shape or selectstrategies that have a greater probability of implementation and institutionalization (Schein, 1985a, 1985b). As Sathe (1985) noted,the selection of strategies should be based on questions such as: Can the desired results be obtained without changing the culture,or by utilizing the latent potential of the existing culture? If not, can they be obtained by moving toward more intrinsicallyappealing beliefs rather than characterizing the change as focusing on beliefs more alien to the existing culture? The weaker theorganizational culture or the fewer and less central the assumptions of an organizational culture that need to be modified,the more likely it is that the planned improvement can be effectively achieved (Sathe, 1985), for changes in culture cancreate a sense of loss and even the potential loss of the meaning of one’s work in the organization (Allen, 1985; Deal, 1985).