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Change approaches & management tools SeCtion tWo
Use
The Cultural Web is used to guide staff and managers to consider current expectations about the organisation and in so doing promotes reflection on the expectations required to support new ways of working.
Stages
1. Analyse the culture as it is now. Consider each element in turn and pose the question associated with it to stimulate discussion;
2. Repeat the process, this time considering the culture that is wanted/needed;
3. Map the two together to identify:
a. Current strengths
b. Misalignments between elements
c. Factors that need to be reinforced
d. Factors which need to be changed
e. Behaviours/beliefs which need to be fostered
4. Prioritise required changes and develop an implementation plan
Strengths and limitations
Widely used in consultancy, the model provides an accessible approach that enables participants to share their understandings of organisational life. Critics raise concerns over the extent to which organisational cultures may be considered to be singular or as amenable to change as implied in the model; while helpful in surfacing the insights of organisational members, such critics question the extent to which cultures may be changed mechanistically to align with expectations without incurring unintended consequences.
In relation to social care change, the Cultural Web can help to bring to the open the underlying beliefs and behaviours of staff, These beliefs and behaviours may help or hinder achieving positive change and the greater engagement of people accessing services and their families. It can also help to illustrate the thinking of different functions and professional groups.
Further reading
1. Johnson G and Scholes K (1999) Exploring Corporate Strategy (5th edition). Prentice Hall.
2. Johnson G, Scholes K and Whittington R (2008) Exploring Corporate Strategy (8th edition), Prentice Hall.
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