What is the role that norms and culture play in a change program? ...

[segrsyd]

What is the role that norms and culture play in a change program?
 
  What will be an ideal response?

Question 2

Discuss the characteristics of high performance systems.
 
  What will be an ideal response?

[smrerig]

Answer to Question 1

The greater the impact on culture and norms of a change program, the greater the amount of resistance that will probably emerge. In some situations, however, the culture may influence the acceptance of change. This would be the case where the culture is one that values change, new cutting-edge methods of operating, and risk-taking.
Norms are the organized and shared ideas of what members of an organization should do and feel. The members themselves define what the norms are, as well as enforce individual behavior to conform to the norms. Because norms generally have strong support from the group, they cannot easily be changed. Organizations will have subcultures formed around smaller work- or social-groups. It is difficult to change the ways of behaving in one part of the organization without influencing and being influenced by the other parts.

Answer to Question 2

Characteristics include:
Clear on broad purposes and objectives for fulfilling these purposes
Commitment to these purposes, motivation high
Teamwork is focused on the task
Leadership is strong and clear
Fertile sources of inventions and new methods within the scope of their task
Clear boundaries that separate them from their environments
Often seen as a problem by other subsystems; avoid external control and produce to their own standards
Systems that have jelled and cohesive units.

[segrsyd]

Excellent

[nyrave]

Thanks for the timely response, appreciate it