Changing Organizational Culture

Mats Alvesson is Professor of Business Administration at Lund University, Sweden.Stefan Sveningsson is Professor of Business Administration at Lund University, Sweden.

'Alvesson and Sveningsson [...] offer an update of their 2007 work, including reviews of more recent literature and new insights into how processes of effective culture change have evolved during and since the global recession of the last decade. While organizational leaders pay attention to their internal cultures, many believe that some goals may only be achievable with significant changes in culture, and changing a culture is arguably one of the more difficult types of organizational change. Most attempts at organizational change encounter resistance, thus increasing the importance to leaders of understanding both culture and the change process. The authors provide their well-explained theoretical framework and a detailed empirical case study to enrich understanding of the live change process. With the increased competitive turbulence present in today’s economy, this second edition will be valuable for both new readers and readers of the first edition. Summing up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through professionals.' - L. J. Cumbo, Emory and Henry College, in CHOICE‘This is an excellent book which should be read by anyone interested in change, whether they are students, researchers or practitioners. Its focus on culture change in one organization provides a unique and incisive insight into organizational behaviour and change.’ - Professor Bernard Burnes, Chair of Organisational Change, University of Stirling, UK‘The book offers unique and empirically rich insights into the daily practices of changing organization culture. It helps to develop a micro perspective on cultural change which can be essential in many change processes.’ - Professor Alfons van Marrewijk, VU University Amsterdam, the Netherlands‘This wonderful book succeeds in applying current academic insights to the notoriously difficult question of how people in organizations can change their culture. It is practical but not dumbed-down and, for that reason, it is an essential resource for thoughtful managers.’ - John Weeks, Professor of Organizational Behaviour, IMD, Switzerland‘Alvesson & Sveningsson’s book digs into the ambiguities of an actual process of cultural change with depth and rigour. An insightful and engaging resource that escapes oversimplified approaches to a critical issue in organizational life.’ - Giancarlo Lauto, Assistant Professor of Organisation Studies, University of Udine, Italy‘This second edition highlights how research and thinking about organizational culture has evolved over the past decade. A major value is that for the reader, whether student or seasoned practitioner, the book facilitates reflexivity and active engagement with the authors’ perspectives and ideas.’ - Shirley Pulis Xerxen, Academic at the Edward de Bono Institute for the Design & Development of Thinking, University of Malta

• Part I: Perspectives on Organizational and Cultural Change 1. Introduction 2. Organizational Change 3. Organizational Culture and Change Part II: Change Work in Practice – A Close-Up Study 4. The Case – and How We Studied It 5. A Cultural Change Project I: Background, Objectives and Design 6. A Cultural Change Project II: Implementation, Reception and Outcomes Part III: Crucial Issues in Cultural Change Work 7. ‘It Is Not So Damn Easy’ – Lack of Consistency and Expressiveness in Cultural Change Work 8. Disconnected Work: Cultural Change Efforts Decoupled 9. Hyperculture Part IV: Getting into the Substance of Organizational Change Work 10. Working with Culture vs Culture Working on Change Workers 11. Working with Change 12. Lessons for Cultural Change Actors and Others