Reference #488: Organizational Culture and Leadership
Culture serves different functions over an organisation's lifecycle. Leader therefore must consider different issues of culture change at each stage.
In the formative stages of an organisation, culture is most often a positive force and needs to be developed and articulated.
In organisational midlife, the culture becomes diverse due to the many subcultures that have formed. Deciding what parts of culture should be changed and preserved is a difficult yet necessary strategic decision for leaders. Leaders have many options for changing the culture by differentially rewarding subcultures.
In the maturing-and-decline stage of an organisation, the culture often becomes partly dysfunctional. It can often only be changed through more drastic processes such as mergers, acquisitions, bankruptcy, or turnarounds.
Schein. Organizational Culture and Leadership, 2017. (250)