Changing the Corporate Culture – A Roadmap for the Change Agent

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Tribus, Myron

Affiliations: 350 Britto Terrace, Fremont, CA 94539, USA

Abstract: These comments are directed to ‘change agents’, those hardy souls who dare to tell other people that what they have been doing is no longer satisfactory and they must begin to do something else. Being a change agent is, at best, a hazardous occupation. You will not be thanked by those whose positions are reduced by the change (there are always some in that category) and you will not be supported by those who will benefit from the change because until it is accomplished, they will not understand and when it is all over they will not understand what you did. If they like the result they will forget you did it. The best time to make a change in overall culture is at a time of deep distress. That is why technological change comes so rapidly during time of war. There are always a few hardy discontents around who are willing to change when times are good but they are a minority. The majority, as the advertisements used to say, would ‘rather fight than switch’. But change is inevitable and oftentimes an enterprise is faced with the necessity to change and to change drastically. If you are the agent of change be grateful for hard times. As the changes begin to occur you will appreciate why so many change agents before you have come to regard good times as the enemy. If the good times come before your work has been completed, your efforts may be for naught. T'is a sad fact; change agents often welcome the voice of doom! They go around prophesying disaster if you do not do what they say. The fact that they are correct is irrelevant; they are the bearers of bad tidings and as such are not welcomed.

Keywords: Quality, productivity, quality management, process improvement, corporate culture

DOI: 10.3233/HSM-1989-8103

Journal: Human Systems Management, vol. 8, no. 1, pp. 11-22, 1989