October 12, 2000

Written by:  Dorothy Conroy

Connors, Roger & Smith, Tom. (May/June 2000) Benchmarking Cultural Transition, Journal of Business Strategy, Vol. 21, no. 3

Often operating managers view culture and culture change as something soft, and far removed from the day-to-day business.  The operating manager’s main concern is focusing on the bottom line.  There is no time for organizational culture.  However, culture should be an operating manager’s main concern because the culture determines the results people are producing.  According to Connors and Smith, “If the company has the right culture, managers can make their numbers without worrying about them”.

Connors and Smith cite the following examples of results that were achieved through culture change:

• A medical devices firm increased annual sales from $300 million to more than $1billion in five years.

• A medical supply manufacturer achieved record sales each year for three consecutive years, from existing product lines.

• A major retail firm reduced out-of-stock occurrences from 3,500 a night to 20 a night.

• A Fortune 100 company implemented a highly complex SAP enterprise computing     system on time and on budget.

Connors’ and Smith’s research proves that improved results are linked directly to culture change.  Since culture equals people’s beliefs and behaviors in an organization, their beliefs and behaviors, thoughts and actions, determine the results the organization achieves.  The concept is quite simple, change the culture and change the results people produce.

By benchmarking improved results, an organization can see if a culture has changed or if the change was worthwhile.  Using anything other than results to benchmark culture change sends the wrong message to people.  It indicates that culture does not matter, and turns the focus away from the beliefs and actions that people need to change in order to improve results.

Comparing before and after results helps managers to manage the culture to get the desired results.  The connection between culture and results is so strong that change within an organization can be achieved by thoroughly communicating the desired results throughout an organization.

Also, benchmark people’s beliefs and actions before and after a change has been made, as real culture change deals with transforming the way people think and act. Again, it is the change that produces the improved results.  The best beliefs and actions to benchmark are the ones that drive toward results. 

Key questions to ask when benchmarking culture change are:

•  “What must we stop doing if we’re to achieve the desired result?”
•  “What must we start doing?”
• “What should we continue doing?”

By asking these questions, culture change can be directed and monitored.  Once the right behaviors have been identified and people begin performing them, the change is on its way and results will follow.

Benchmarking culture change will provide new and positive experiences for people in cultural transition.  The experiences will then provide the people with the beliefs and actions that will make the new organizational culture.