Abstract
This paper considers certain aspects of a four-year program of research, and addresses the changing cultural requirements to support the rise of improvisational working practices within the UK financial services sector. Specifically, it reports on some of the outcomes of a study encompassing over 100 hours of interviews, together with a variety of other primary and secondary data. The outcomes of the full study are documented elsewhere, and they identify a number of key factors that contribute to the successful use and control of improvisational working practices. One of these factors is a supportive organizational culture, and this specific area is dealt with in this paper. A particular focus is how the sample of organizations has attempted to identify and create supportive cultural conditions for improvisational work to take place. In order to bring clarity to the outcomes of this study, a matrix of the case study organizations is also offered, which segregates those organizations according to their cultural support for improvisation and apparent improvisation effectiveness. Some comment on the current difficulties in the Financial Services sector has also been included, as it could be argued that improvisation may have contributed to shortcomings in control processes by members of that sector.
Highlights
Over the last ten years or so, evidence has emerged suggesting that more progressive organizations are moving away from a slavish adherence to agreed processes and procedures
This paper considers certain aspects of a four-year program of research, and addresses the changing cultural requirements to support the rise of improvisational working practices within the UK financial services sector
This is in turn feeding in to improvisation as a tool for strategic decision-making within turbulent environments (Velez-Castrillon, Vera & Kachra, 2008). The outcomes of this emerging literature base include an appreciation of the benefits and effectiveness of improvisational working practices, both as a tool and an appreciated skill for managers, and as a lens for the analysis of organizations. This stems from early work by Orlikowski and Hofman (1997), who suggest that organizational transformation is an ongoing improvisation enacted by organizational actors trying to make sense of and act coherently in the world, offering strong links to Weick’s sense-making model
Summary
Over the last ten years or so, evidence has emerged suggesting that more progressive organizations are moving away from a slavish adherence to agreed processes and procedures. Post-bureaucracy is the antithesis of the principles of bureaucratic organization (Hecksher, 1994), involving rationality and the allocation of defined and planned work This mirrors the ethos of improvisation, the creative and intuitional components of improvisation (Moorman & Miner, 1998a) add significantly to its effectiveness as an enabler of change, and as a lens for the analysis of cultural change. The outcomes of this emerging literature base include an appreciation of the benefits and effectiveness of improvisational working practices, both as a tool and an appreciated skill for managers, and as a lens for the analysis of organizations This stems from early work by Orlikowski and Hofman (1997), who suggest that organizational transformation (which is inherent in all modern organizations) is an ongoing improvisation enacted by organizational actors trying to make sense of and act coherently in the world, offering strong links to Weick’s sense-making model. This stems from early work by Orlikowski and Hofman (1997), who suggest that organizational transformation (which is inherent in all modern organizations) is an ongoing improvisation enacted by organizational actors trying to make sense of and act coherently in the world, offering strong links to Weick’s sense-making model. Mendonça, Cunha, Kaivo-oja and Ruff (2004: 213) suggest that “a crucial element for improvisation to occur is the existence of a ‘safe’ environment” which sees that the errors are inevitable, and potential sources of learning, linking strongly with the requirement for a supportive organizational culture
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