Embracing Corporate Culture for Innovation Success

1. Corporate Culture: A barrier or Accelerator for Innovation 19th East African Banking School, Arusha TZ Peter Kalangwa, Head of Strategy, Housing Finance Bank - Uganda

2. Agenda

3. The Context "If you do not develop your corporate culture, it will develop itself. Corporate culture doesn't happen by accident--and if it does, you're taking a risk”. “Culture is what motivates and retains talented staff” Betty Thompson

4. Introduction • The relationship of organizational culture and innovation is prominent in many organizations. • Executives have a key role to play in building an overarching framework for innovation in any organization that hopes to succeed at innovation. • Innovation is supported by research, human expertise, technology and sound managerial skills. Culture is the thread that joins all this pre-requisites into a whole that supports innovation.

5. What is Corporate Culture?

6. Corporate Culture:Where does it come from?

7. Characteristics of Corporate Entities Goals Environment Strategies FIT! Structures Technologies Systems People Cultures

9. Characteristics of Organizational Culture

10. STRUCTURE INNOVATION Culture and Innovation STRATEGY CULTURE ENVIRONMENT

11. General Culture Work Unit Cultures Work Unit Cultures

12. Culture and Innovation FOXCONN Management should cultivate an innovative mindset among the staff in all departments. This proposition was adopted by Foxconn in developing the iPhone and iPods’ that have become market leaders. The prevalent culture of departmental integration in Foxconn where there are no departmental achievements but Company achievements. Human beings have capacities for creativity but a stimulant is always necessary to arouse these abilities. An organization’s culture provides this stimulant. Innovation is about change, change will always involve risks, and therefore organizations craving for innovation must establish a risk taking organizational culture

13. Contrasting Organization Cultures Bank A - Mortgage Lender Bank B – SME Lender • Managers must fully document • Management encourages and all decisions. rewards risk-taking and change. • Creative decisions, change, and risks • Employees are encouraged to are not encouraged. “ run with ” ideas, and failures are treated as “ learning experiences. ” • Extensive rules and regulations exist • Employees have few rules and for all employees. regulations to follow. • Productivity is valued over employee • Productivity is balanced with treating morale. its people right. • Employees are encouraged to stay • Team members are encouraged to interact within their own department. with people at all levels and functions. • Individual effort is encouraged. • Many rewards are team based.

14. An “innovation” culture? • And, since corporate culture is largely intangible and made up of attitudes, behaviors and past experiences, it is exceptionally difficult to change. • But the dynamic nature of the business environment requires an organization that fosters innovation and change. • A culture that encourages reasonable risk and uncertainty in the goal of larger, more profitable products and services. • One that is based on experimentation and discovery, because many good ideas or insights exist outside the corporate boundaries.

15. TOP DOWN? BOTTOM UP? Shifting an Established Culture How should we start? • The three “R”s when shifting a culture:  • reward/recognition, • recruiting and • retraining.

16. Culture & Innovations’ Management “. . . the only thing of real importance that leaders do is to create and manage culture, and the unique talent of leaders is their ability to work with culture.” (From Edgar Schein, Organizational Culture and Leadership, 1997)