Leading Organizations Through Transition: Communication and Cultural Change

Citation

Bryce, J. (2001), "Leading Organizations Through Transition: Communication and Cultural Change", Leadership & Organization Development Journal, Vol. 22 No. 3, pp. 139-142. https://doi.org/10.1108/lodj.2001.22.3.139.3

The aim of this book is to provide a useful guide for managers needing to lead their organization through periods of transition. Specifically, it focuses on the importance of effective communication during such situations to maintain confidence and reduce feelings of insecurity. The book claims that such an approach facilitates smoother adaption to cultural change. It focuses on specific types of transitions such as those created by mergers, globalization and technological innovation.

The first chapter gives an overview of the notion of organizational culture, how it is influenced by factors such as national culture, and organizational structure, the role of culture in strategic management, and the nature of contemporary organizational culture. Case studies and exercises are provided in each chapter to enable the reader to focus on the dynamics of their own organizational culture, thus providing a continually developing framework for understanding organizational culture on an individual level, identifying mechanisms for change, and evaluating their success. Each chapter closes by providing discussion points and a list of further reading on the issues covered by each chapter. Subsequent chapters focus on managing change and evaluating its success, the importance of a vision for organizational culture, and mechanisms to increase employees’ participation in the process of cultural change. Of particular interest is the chapter examining the ethical aspects of cultural change management which are often absent from discussions of managing cultural change.

The book is well written and clearly targeted towards practitioners rather than those interested in a more theoretical examination of the notion of organizational culture and its management thought periods of transition. The recognition of different levels of organizational culture, as opposed to viewing culture as uniform and able to be managed from management level down, marks a beneficial departure from other analyses of cultural change in organizations. Throughout the book the underlying emphasis is on the role of communication at every stage of cultural change management, both in providing a vision for change, building cohesion during change, and in attempting to involve employees in the change process. The quality and structure of the book and its evolving focus on managing cultural change demonstrates its value as a practical guide to managing, what can in the majority of instances, be a challenging and stressful period in organizations.