Ability to Create & Manage Culture

This refers to the ability to fully understand the relationship between strategy and
culture as the two major elements in business success. Here the practitioner must
understand all the human and organizational elements which impact the
organization's ability to successfully deliver its strategies, and be able to manage
these holistically to ensure results are achieved. These include organization
design, direction setting, resource allocation, staffing, development and operation
of rewards and recognition systems, customer linkages and the development of
leaders capable of managing the strategy/culture "alloy".
The ability to create and manage culture involves skills in the following areas:
Organization Design
The ability to diagnose the situation, evaluate options, create design principles linked to/or
focused on delivering the outcome, and actual re-organization/re-design of organizational
units to achieve results. The design must link strategy and culture.
Communication
Development of the "teachable point of view" for change and all the needed infrastructure
and integrated systems to ensure rapid two way communications.
Values/Standards
The critical behaviors and beliefs needed in a new culture to support the achievement of
results. Values define the culture, standards provide the norms for daily
transactions/interaction. In P&G the principles, values and purpose (PVP) provide the
standard and guidelines for all interactions.
Staffing
The ability to help business leaders identify the people with the appropriate mix of skills and
experience, and to place them in the right positions in the organization to support the
achievement of results.
Development of the Organizations
"Development" in this context speaks to the ability of the professional to understand the
variable of change, the desired direction of the business, and to as a result create a culture
of the type needed to match/fit with the strategies of the business to achieve results. It also
includes being able to sustain and improve this culture, thereby "managing" it.
Performance/Rewards
Understanding what successful performance means in the culture and being able to create
reward mechanisms to support the desired behaviors.
Customer Linkages
When the culture is created and operationalized it must include linkage to all customers,
internal and external, to ensure results. All customers must see their needs being addressed.
The culture must therefore be designed and guided to follow on this and see the linkages
and interdependencies as crucial to each and every role.
Leadership Competencies
It is critical that HR focus of developing leaders in a manner which ensures that they have
skills, experience and the sensitivity to create and manage culture. Outages in this area
mean the "alloy" of strategy and culture are not created, and results suffer.

Core Skills Assessment

Print this page and circle all areas below where you have demonstrated
successful results in using the core skills listed. You may circle items in different
skill levels. The skills listed below are stratified to help determine the actual level
of experience a person has so plans can be developed to gain more
experience/proficiency.
Basic
Understands the concepts of culture and strategy as two critical components for successful
business improvement.
Has worked on projects to assess and define culture and practiced the mechanics of
designing a culture to "fit"/support delivery of business strategies.
Has worked to define the sub-system/sub-processes of the culture which drive change with
some success (rewards, communications, leadership development, linking customers,
performance management, etc.) and can do the gap analysis and make recommendations
for cultural development.
Can define the cultural linkages/levers which support business improvement and define the
steps for making change.
Advanced
Called on to lead the design and change of culture in support of business improvements.
Capable "troubleshooter" to identify the "fixes" needed to realign/mobilize the change
effort if it stalls.
Experienced in line and staff designs to improve alignment and operating results.
Experienced in the complexity of cross-functional/cross-unit/global design issues and has
had success in these designs.
Capable of coaching and developing leadership competence.
Master
The master of cultural design and development sought out by business leaders to assist in
the most complex change efforts.
The master sought out by practitioners to coach/resource them on their efforts.
Mentor of people who are learning the concepts and technology master teacher.
Veteran of many complex change efforts often recognized outside of P&G.