Cultures of

Collaborationhttp://vimeo.com/112739798Watch a video of this

presentation at:

What is a ‘Culture’?

describes the collection of;

Beliefs,

Norms,

Values,that are shared by a group of people: this may be a community, an ethnic group,

a work-team, or an organisation.

Charles Handy: Organisational Culture

“In organisations there are deep-set beliefs about the way work should be organised, the way authority should be exercised, people rewarded, people controlled. What are the degrees of formalisation required? How much planning and how far ahead? What combination of obedience and initiative is looked for in subordinates? Do work hours matter, or dress, or personal eccentricities? What about expense accounts, ….. and incentives?”

[Handy (1985:181) Understanding Organisations]

Charles Handy: Four typologies of Organisational Culture

1. Role Culture:

• Highly specialised.

• With many procedures for communication and for the resolution of disputes.

• This culture is typical of a bureaucracy, and of mechanistic types of organisation.

2. Power Culture:

• Based on a central source of power - a key individual or individuals.

• There are few procedures or regulations.

• Control is exercised personally by the centre and through the selection of key individuals.

• Power cultures may be found in small organisations, or in small units within larger organisation.

3. Task Culture:

• Achievement-orientated.

• Values teamwork in pursuit of project goals.

• Values adaptability in pursuit of project goals.

• Values co-operation in pursuit of project goals.

4. Person Culture:

• Mainly values the people within the organisation.

• Not aimed at producing goods and services for customers.

• This type of culture may be found in social clubs and societies.

Questions:

1. Can you clearly identify ‘your organizational culture as one of Handy’s typologies?

2. Do you think that Handy’s typologies can contribute to explain organizational cultures in:

• Public Sector?

• Voluntary sector?

• The children’s integrated workforce culture?

1. They really represent the feelings of the people in the company, they are not just the thoughts of the top management team

2. They represent the way things are, rather than a collection of pious hopes

3. They are part of the everyday practice of decision making.

To be effective statements of corporate

organisational values must:

“All froth, no beer?”

[Goldsmith & Clutterbuck (1997) Winning Streak II]

Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner (1997) The valuedifferences between different nationalbusiness cultures.

Could these inter-national differences be applied intra-nationally?

Source: Trompenaars & Hampden-Turner (1997) Riding the Waves of Culture.

1. How do our own individual

values and dispositions

influence how we negotiate

organisational conflict?

2. Do certain organisational

cultures favour certain conflict

resolution styles over others?

Thomas-Kilmann (1977) Conflict Management

I have tried to synthesize Handy’s theory with Thomas Kilmann’s

Avoidant Turtle

Value:

Withdrawing

Accommodating puppy

Value:

Smoothing

Competing shark

Value:

Forcing

Collaborating owl

Value:

Problem Solving

Compromising Fox

Value:

Sharing

More at: http://www.examiner.com/article/conflict-styles-you-re-an-animal

Hence:

1. It might be necessary for leaders to be FLEXIBLE and employ each of the five styles, depending on the circumstances….

2. There has been much interest (especially in the field of integrated children’s services)

into collaborative approaches towards

leadership in the context of

multiagency working.

The Policy Requirement• The Children Act 1989

• Every Child Matters

• Extended Schools

• Children’s Centres

• The Children Act 2004

• The Children’s Plan 2007

But the implementation of these policies is fraught with challenges: See Atkinson et al (2007), Multiagency

working and its implications for practice; Cheminais (2009) , The origin, concept and principles of multiagency working.

Karen Stuart (2014) Collaborative agency to support integrated care for children, young people and families: an action research study

• The rhetoric was formidable, with 47 policies, guidance and bills referring to integration in the 1990s

• And 88 in the decade from 2000.

• The message was clear: integration is the glue that bonds the entities together, thus enabling them to achieve common goals and optimal results

Levels of Integrated Working

• Cooperation – working together to

plan and operate a mutual course of action.

• Multi-lateral – joint planning and action by agencies whose provision overlaps.

• Collaboration – mutual activity by relatively independent agencies.

• Consultation – asking for opinions,

information, advice.

• Communication – basic provision of

information about intentions or actions.

[Adapted from Frost, 2005, in Daly, Byers & Taylor (2009), Early Years Management in Practice]

Conclusions• Historically, most neoliberal management theory has not address

collaboration between organisations. Over the last decade this has started to change.

• The value and principles of collaborative working have been recognised by the public sector and voluntary sector for some time including legislative directives.

• The will to collaborate both individually and organisationally is affected by tensions.

• These tensions might be better addressed by some ‘organisational cultures’ better than others…

• Similarly, leaders that adopt certain conflict management techniques might be more successful at ‘boundary spanning’ and leading across organisational boundaries.

• Complexity results as more organisations and diversity are introduced into the system: Is it fair to conclude that the management and leadership within these collaborative systems must be sophisticated and flexible?

References

• Atkinson et al, (2007), Multiagency working and its implications for practice.

• Cheminais, (2009) , The origin, concept and principles of multiagency working.

• Daly, Byers & Taylor (2009), Early Years Management in Practice.• Handy, (1985), Understanding Organisations.• http://www.examiner.com/article/conflict-styles-you-re-an-animal

[accessed: 19 11 2014].• Stuart, (2014), Collaborative agency to support integrated care for

children, young people and families: an action research study.• Trompenaars & Hampden-Turner, (1997), Riding the Waves of

Culture.