Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Chapter Five Case: Merged , Incompatable IT Cultures (p. 93)
A short but to the point case that illustrates the power of culture in organizations. What do you think? Will this work? Can these folks work together? What does the culture reveal? What does it mean for the managers? What does it mean for the workers? So many questions; and these only scratch the surface.
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11 comments:
I have sympathy for the IT department. It seems that the computeam is getting the "short end of the stick" while teleteam is receiving praise for their "innovated ideas" of the centralized service. The only way that this change will work is if each team gives and takes, but they also need to assimulate better. If you are going to completely change the ways of one department, you should slowly make adaptions so it isn't such a shock to all of the employees.
I feel that during the meetings, you can see the differences between each culture and how it could cause more difficulties as they merge. The teleteam seems really focused, but also developed a certain relationship that has meetings that flow better. The computeam is more relaxed and "free-spirited" towards meetings and doesn't seem to discuss too much unless they disagree with the change. Tom describes his team as having a hard time adapting to this centralized-focus department because they focused previously on premeire customer service, and believed in relaxed policies for workers (freedoms).
The workers and the managers for each department is going to be in shock at how the other department functions together. Innovation and motivation will have to be strongly expressed through the managers inorder to get the workers wanting to work with the other departments. There will have to be a compromise for both departments to make this work.
I can definitely sympathize with Tom's frustration. It would be difficult as a manager to try and analyze and solve a problem without exactly knowing what has caused the problem. As cliche as it sounds, I think the only thing that will solve the problem is compromise. Each department has to be willing to negotiate and resolve the conflict based on the amount of resources available to the entire company.
I think the problem of the cultures is that both divisions are just so used to doing their own things and not necessarily having to work it out with anyone else. Both audiences need to be more sensitive to the other group and realize that they are trying to achieve similar tasks but going about them in a different way.
I think with the help and negotiating of their manager they will get by just fine. It might take a little longer than if they were completing the tasks in their own departments.
Posted by Amanda F:
I agree with Abby that the Computeam is getting the short end of the stick. With the merger and the changes within the department it seems that Computeam is being limited more and more while the telecom department is receiving more freedom. The differences between the two cultures will make it difficult for them to merge together, but it seems that Tom is a very effective manager who cares about his employees and wants their advice on how to make things go smoothly. Having a manager who puts an emphasis on team work will help the Computeam people work with the telecom people because teamwork is apart of their culture.
There is a contrast in the two cultures that can't be ignored. This is going to be a problem for the managers in the beginning. The Computeam people are very relaxed, personal and more on the un-structured side; while the telecom people focus on structure and a more standardized way of dealing with problems but still have their own way of working together. I think that these contrasts will make it difficult at first for the two groups to work together, but if they can learn to compromise and combine the strengths from each of their groups I think that they will work well together.
Unlike Abby I don't forsee the IT department getting the 'short end of the stick'. I do agree though that this is an ever growing concern with many companies in the United States today. Since technology is coming out faster then we can speak it is rediculous not to expect changes to happen and departments to merge. I do how ever think that these two departments can work together as one culture. It will take some work though. Like many organizations, sports teams and companies, it's hard to work together with someone or something that has for so long been your competition. That's like if I were to say that I thought the Cubs and Brewers should join forces because they would be for efficient and probably win more games. Although it might be more efficent, how can I play for or cheer for a team that I have loathed for as long as I can remember. It just takes some time for things like that to happen, to break down barriers and stereotypes in the culture and accept one another. I do think that teleteam might be more innovative to upper management becuase the things that they do can be seen by the entire company, Computeam does a lot of internal work and keeps things running. They are just expected to answer all of the techie questions, their expected to always be there, so why would they get praise for what they do. I also think that they departmental changes should be done slowly and effectively train all employees over a course of time. A slow transistion might be more effective then jumping right into the pit of change.
All in all the company is trying to make things more efficiently by combining two departments that do similiar jobs. The company is looking to save money and make a bigger profit, they feel that in order to do this, then "down sizing?" is the way to go. I think that these departments can learn to work together with team building activities and getting know each other, otherwise this will be a complete disastor if the company throws everyone in head first.
A situation where two organizations try to work together to reach a common goal can be very difficult. People like to stick to their traditional way of doing things. Since there is such a large contrast between how the two different groups, it will be hard to come to any sound conclusions. I feel that the computeam people are just going to get lost in the dust because the teleteam group is so much more organized and quick with making decisions. The traits of computeam may get lost in the dust. Tom will have to do an exceptional job of motivating the groups to work together or else I don't think a lot will be accomplished.
I think this happens a lot in real life too. I have seen people brag about how things are run where they work and how they do things better than others. I am probably even guilty of it myself. I work for Walt Disney World and I can firmly say that I think that organization runs itself better than any other. Although, others may disagree with me. It really has a lot to do with frame of reference and past experiences.
Both groups need to recognize the differences, overcome them, and realize that the customer is the most important thing, not their differences.
I'm not sure if the two cultures can merge successfully and create their own culture because the two cultures are so opposite. If they are successful I feel that the culture will be more reflective of the Teleteam's current working style. They are very directed, organized and business professional. They are so quick in their decision making, while Computeam is more relaxed, that I feel Computeam's concerns or ideas will be overlooked. Especially since they are working with limited resources; it seems like quicker and more efficient problem solving is better. It will be a difficult and a slow process merging the teams, but if all members are willing to listen to one another and compromise than they can be successful. Some sort of balance needs to be reached between the two cultures. Tom definitely has his work cut-out for him, but he seems willing and ready for the challenge.
This is an interesting merge that highlights problems found in a lot of merges. Organizations merge everyday. I do think they will survive. The two departments merged into one. There is going to be change. The faster people realize that the easier the change will be; especially with contrasting cultures such as in the case. While people hold on to their old culture, things will be rough for them and the organization. I think management has to stop worrying about satisfying both cultures as best they can, and create a new culture that will fit them best in their situation. This will be hard for Tom to create at the start, but much easier for him in the future. Effort will have to be made by everyone.
I feel that it would be extremely difficult to be a member of one of the teams that is merging. Each has a very different culture and way of doing things which could cause conflict. I think with time, the groups could eventually work together. However, it would take many, many meetings dealing with teamwork and team building in order to truly really understand all about the different cultures. This means that the managers will have to learn each team member and how they interact within the environment. As stated in the case, the meetings were run very differently from each other for each team. Learning each style will be beneficial to help the managers manage the merged team effectively. Also, in order for the teams to work together, there will be need to be a compromise. Each team should lay out their strengths and what they normally handle and then go from there. All in all, it will be a long difficult process, but in the end, with a little work, things should run a little more smoothly.
I'm not sure whether I think the new system would work out right away. To be honest, I favored the Tier 4 system. I understand that customers would try to jump immediately to Tier 4 or contact individuals they knew and trusted, but there must have been a reason for those actions. I feel the problem must have been that the Tier 2 representatives were not knowledgeable enough to respond to even the more simplistic questions. I would have focused on making sure each Tier 2 and 3 representative had the experience and knowledge necessary to help out the majority of customers. If this had been done, customers would not have relied on Tier 4. I think that customers were probably not being adequately helped by Tier 2 and were switched to higher tiers. When the customer cannot be helped by the lower-level tier, they lose faith in their abilities and prefer to avoid a series of calls in the future (and thus call the Tier 4 representative they trust). I know I experienced the same type of thing when I had to call tech-support for my phone service. After a series of calls to unhelpful lower-level representatives, I ended up asking for someone higher up.
The culture in this scenario reveals that a merging of Computeam and Teleteam is a necessary but difficult task. Their individual cultures are such polar opposites that it makes merging the two a very slow and tedious process. Unfortunately, it is only by consistently trying new ideas that these two will be able to successfully merge. I think that with time, they would have most of the problems worked out. For the managers, this means a lot of stress. They would have to keep coming up with new plans and refining existing ones. Furthermore, the success of each new plan would be on their heads. For the workers, this would mean constant changes in their work-day systems. They would always be having to adjust to new processes and regulations. I think that with time comes understanding, and that is all they needed.
To me, it only seems resonable that the two groups would attempt to reach a compromise. I think that in the adult-working world, everyone thinks that they are too smart for thier own good. So, the older we get, the harder it will become to convince someone in a disagreement that you are completely right, and that they are completely worng. I think that the two cultures, having a civilized meeting where they decide to come together to meet a common goal is the only mature, professional thing to do. The sooner people decide to go outside of themselves and become less stubborn to let change happen, the sooner they will see the positive impact the merge is capable of having on the organization. It will also make Tom's job a lot easier.
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