Smart Behaviour - Organisational Behaviour

What is organisational culture?
Culture is unique to organisations, even if it hasn’t been deliberately created. It is ‘inherited from the ancestors’. It is an unconscious creation based on the values espoused by the top management or the founders of the organisation. Nevertheless, as time passes, bringing about change in culture, to respect preferences becomes inevitable.

Cultural makeover
Owing to the phenomenon of constant change, cultures too need to be adapted to the changing market place conditions. Culture influences the decision-making process, management styles and thereby the success of an organisation. Therefore, making cultures behave is critical.

Organisational culture and organisational change are talked of in similar contexts. Therefore, a minor change might affect the entire culture of the organisation. As in any change process, there are hurdles to cultural change too. Ironically, the major obstacles to successful organisational change are corporate cultures themselves!

Obstacles to change
Employees and top management are often open to the idea of change, however, they are wary about implementing the change. This is because, organisational culture and people’s inclinations run parallel; they seldom merge.

For instance, customers expect high quality standards and service, and manufacturers know what these standards entail. Without providing quality to the customers, they cannot expect good returns on their investment. Unless the manufacturers support service excellence, the latter is impossible to achieve. Therefore, a minor change in the culture of the manufacturers is essential.

Partners in crime
Conventional wisdom proves that cultural changes are intrinsically difficult. Human resistance is not always the greatest obstacle to cultural change in an organisation. Resistance to change is inherently cultural. Employees’ actions are not always their own. Generally, the socialisation processes of the culture they belong to influence them. Therefore, change resistance is collective, contrary to the myth that it originates from the individual.

Deadening factors
Apart from the collective nature of resistance to change certain other factors cause a deadening impact on the organisation. Among those are the hierarchical patterns in the organisational structure, lackadaisical approach to changes in the external environment, essential skill deficiency and to top them all, the order-and-obey, command-and- control management.

Such obstacles can be easily overcome by changing the psychology and in turn the behaviour of employees.

Birth of a new culture
Evolution of culture is a natural phenomenon. Culture teaches employees how to behave and facilitates their interpretation of how to act within the organisation. A strong culture is one that is internally consistent, widely shared, and makes expectations clear.

Culture-building mantras
Culture building therefore involves a three-stage process.

Know what
Know how
Doing it
Knowing what to do and how to do are relatively easy. However, the ‘doing it’ part of building culture requires greater effort from employees.

Change philosophy
A change in philosophy therefore demands a change in the traditional methods of fault correction. To make change happen, employers must emphasise on flattening the hierarchical structure, empowering workers, training and retraining them and motivating them to make success a habit.

All these elements are interdependent and failure to follow even one of them will lead to failure of the entire organisation. Evaluation is important. Certain parameters for evaluation are identifying whether

The hierarchical structures are at the ideal minimum
Continuous training is imparted
Training has helped in implementing change
Levels of hierarchy
To reduce hierarchical levels, James Champy of Business Process Reengineering fame advises three levels in organisations. Managers at the first level are known as ‘enterprise managers’. These managers are responsible for making decisions. The next level consists of ‘people managers’ or ‘process managers’, so called because they help in planning and implementing activities, and support the first level. The third level comprises ‘self-managers’ who execute decisions. However, all the three levels have the backend support of ‘expertise managers’ like accountants and technologists.

GE’s culture was highly bureaucratic. The change representative Jack Welch took initiatives to delayer the hierarchical structures.

From X to Y
Important as it sounds, a major shift of emphasis from looking inwards to looking outwards is required. This entails a shift from Theory X to Theory Y enunciated by Douglas McGregor. The former focuses on constant monitoring of the employees by their superiors, whereas, the latter considers work and achieving results as natural. Therefore, Theory Y makes change management easier.

Constant training is essential as well. At GE, Welch identified training as the key to cultural change. He taught technical and cultural lessons to his employees and always focused on three core values: face reality, focus on quality and respect the human element.

First things first
Theory Y aims to bring about a change in behaviour. Change in behaviour leads to change in culture, contrary to the practices in many organisations. They change culture first and behaviour later consequently their change initiatives fail. To change employee behaviour, leaders must change themselves first. At Chrysler they believe that cultural change though powerful is dependent on the whims of the leaders.

A leader must be an enabling factor. He must play a vital role in his department and concentrate on strategies and action plans. He must intervene in routine actions but delegate the operations to those responsible. He must also examine and revoke team proposals but simultaneously approve the short-term tasks put forward by the team.

Proactive cultural management
Present day organisations are in dire need for interdepartmental, cross-functional team culture to encourage innovation. All these are but precursors to reactive change (compulsive changing). Reactive change is not permanent.

Though Chrysler had a history of innovation, its standards were falling during the early 90s. Bob Lutz, the then president of Chrysler, wanted it to become the automobile giant. They built a programme of cultural change called Customer One and the results were impressive. They had the same workforce but they sorted out different ways of working.

Employees must therefore aim at proactive cultural management, which starts with objectives and encompasses a vision for the future. It also inhibits obstructive behaviour and reinforces constructive behaviour.

Foundational attitudes
Certain foundational attitudes are integral to proactive cultural management. The first and the foremost is the creation of a learning company. In its efforts to bring about cultural change, Chrysler approached leading automobile giant Honda. Chrysler reorganised its teams into Honda-style teams and it learnt from its achievements and mistakes. " We do a `what went right, what went wrong analysis at various points and we transmit this information to the other platforms," said James Sorenson of the Jeep/Truck Team at Chrysler.

Also organisations must abandon rigid procedures that hamper creativity. An emphasis on knowledge sharing is the third foundational attitude. Finally, identifying the need for successful behavioural change in the assessment of employees is highly essential.

Be positive
Leaders’ behaviour must be in congruence with the foundational attitudes. Cultural change is not hard to bring about in organisations. However, illogical emotions such as fear are also dynamic in organisations. Therefore, positive programmes that thwart illogical emotions is important in promoting cultural change.

Zoom ahead
Risk is natural in any change programme. Nevertheless, employees must also realise that failure to change poses greater risks than external risks. Hence, optimistic realism helps employees forge ahead and lay foundations for cultural excellence.

Seven Spiritual Laws of Success

Success is not just hard work, plans and driving ambition. It is only when we are in sync with nature that true happiness springs forth; Laws of nature govern all creation and is the field of infinite possibilities.


Our internal reference point is our own spirit and not the objects of our worldly experience. It is how we take things and what we tell ourselves that matters.

Energy has to be kept in active circulation for any kind of prosperity. Like a river it must keep flowing. This flow is nothing other than the harmonious interaction of elements & forces of nature. The more you give the more you will get back.

Karma is the cause and effect of our actions simultaneously. If we become consciously aware of the choices we make every moment, and are aware that everything that is happening at this moment is a result of choices we have made in the past.

Fish does not try to swim, they just swim. Least effort is expended when your actions are motivated by love and acceptance. If we accept things as they are do not blame others or feel compelled to make other people believe in our point of view, if we carefully choose our action to external impetus, we will observe nature at work and bloom like a flower that just blossoms and does not have to try hard to do so.

The past and the future both reside in our imagination; only mindful awareness of the present moment is real. It is through this moment that all future can be created. If our attention is in the present, then our intent for the future will manifest.

Everyone has a personal calling, a destiny and a gift or talent they can share with others. What would you do if money was no concern and you had all the time in the world? If you will still do what you are doing now, you are in Dharma.

Your Life is Perfect!

A look at what really matters


There are some days when you may wonder why you bother to wake up, much less get out of bed - we've all been there. Life feels so much less than perfect that we find it hard to bear. But, our sense of duty and responsibility kicks in, and we brave another day. But even in the darkest hours, blessings are abound… There is perfection in everyone's life. If you understand what really matters -you'll find it. Now lavish in it!

Perfection is just an idea, a theory. It represents flawlessness and completion… It is simply a perception. One person's concept of what is perfect can be vastly different from what another person perceives to be perfect. Our eyes may see the details, but it is our hearts and minds that ultimately decide what perfection means.

If you ask a happy person why they are always so annoyingly happy, their answer may surprise you. More often than not, the gist of their glee stems not from anything measurable or material, but from a simple appreciation of life, itself. You can spend your energy struggling over all the things that aren't right in your life, or you can infuse your energy by understanding that you may not have everything you want, just the way you want it, but you probably have more than what you need.


Perfection reflection
It is only when we take the time to look over our lives that we can truly see how some things came to be. Through reflection, most of us will find that we have a lot to be thankful for, and begin to understand how perfect our life really is. Try looking in these eight places first:


1. You. You should always be #1 on your list. The mere fact that you have survived this long is a testament to your own personal perfection. Life is fragile and uncertain, so every day that you are here - be grateful!


2. Your health. Okay, you may not be in perfect condition by scientific standards, but if you are getting through the days, you are doing something right - and creating the opportunity for improvement. How perfect is that?


3. Love. Whether or not you have someone special is secondary to the fact that you are a loving person, or a person capable of giving and receiving love. Even during times of heartbreak, being able to feel so deeply is a gift. It may not always be pleasant, but you can't have great pain without knowing great joy. Be happy that you can feel, and be grateful that you can share those feelings… even if it's just with a friend.


4. Family. Family isn't limited to the humans that share our DNA. The closest of friends and most spoiled pets are family, too. Rejoice in the memories made, with all of your family, and look forward to those yet to come!


5. Friends. People often overlook how many friends they really have, and don't always fully appreciate the friends they count. Know that the mere fact that the discounted and underappreciated will still be around because you are who you are, speaks volumes. In some way, shape, or form - these people see perfection within you.


6. Loss. Most people think that a loss of any kind is an injustice, but often times, people and things are removed from our lives in order to teach us how to embrace something more. Cherish the perfection of every moment with that which brings you joy, because everything changes eventually.


7. Life. Marvel at how a world of such chaos can keep evolving. The flow of the changing seasons, the warmth of the sun, the chill of the wind. Humans and nature always seem to be at odds, and yet somehow we continue to evolve and survive. While the coexistence may not be everyone's ideal, it doesn't make it any less perfect.


8. Memories. Memories, both good and bad, should be cherished. Our ability to pull joy, strength, or understanding from an event that happened however long ago, is simply amazing. So be amazed! And realize that every memory, no matter how it makes us feel is perfect. Because all of our memoreis have led us to this place - today - which is (you guessed it!), perfect!


So instead of spending our energy focusing on what we don't have, or where we want to be, or what bad things happened to us up until this point, let's just sit in the perfection of right now. Realize that each one of us is perfect, as is our lives. Perfection isn't synonymous with easy - it is just the ability to understand what is there, see beyond what is not, and be grateful for the opportunity and experience - of right now!