Effects of the Pandemic on Organizational Culture Adaptability

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Effects of the Pandemic on Organizational Culture Adaptability

Introduction

These days, all companies have their unique organizational culture, which supplies a decent level of performance and establishes a healthy and strong working environment. According to Spicer (2020), Organizational cultures are the signs and symbols, shared practices and underlying assumptions of an organization (p. 1737). However, the COVID-19 outbreak and its consequences led to the necessity to adjust to new working conditions and make corporate culture more flexible. Therefore, the problem of organizational culture adaptivity arose, which was actively discussed in recent journal articles.

Literature Choice

There is a variety of studies devoted to the challenges to business arouse from the COVID-19 pandemic. However, while searching for appropriate literature covering the problem of organizational culture adaptivity, some hardships were indicated. The most widespread one regarded a huge choice of articles published by people who are not specialists in this field. They expressed their opinion without profound research, and their guidelines and findings could appear to be superficial. In order to overcome this difficulty, it is advisable to read the works of professors and experienced entrepreneurs in professional journals.

Organizational Culture and COVID-19 by Spicer

In the article Organizational Culture and COVID-193, Spicer covers a range of problems in organizational culture which arose due to the coronavirus pandemic. The author attempted to outline possible directions of research in order to adapt this aspect of working performance to the current circumstances. In general, all of them regard the organizational culture adaptivity in the face of possible changes in the working environment. Spicer (2020) questions the resilience of underlying assumptions and practices fixed in a company. He asks: Do organizational cultures actually change when there is a wide-scale societal jolt, or do they remain stubbornly similar? (Spicer, 2020, p. 1738). Moreover, the researcher prompts a profound comprehension of a problem by highlighting the necessity to define how exactly cultures within businesses change.

The third set of research questions involves the impact of these changes in symbolic work on the fixed practices and rules within companies. Spicer (2020) also contemplates the macro-level effect on organizational culture by asking whether overarching transformation will occur. Lastly, the author offers to estimate the actual influence of changes due to the COVID-19 pandemic on organizational culture (Spicer, 2020). Therefore, the author of the current article attempted to prompt profound research on different aspects of cultural adaptivity within companies in the face of different challenges.

Past Research in Organizations and Management by Bailey & Breslin

The purpose of the study The COVID-19 Pandemic: What Can We Learn from Past Research in Organizations and Management? is to find an effective solution to the current problem in adapting organizational culture. Contrary to the previous article, Bailey & Breslin (2021) consider that the already published works may be informative in this aspect. Consequently, the article contains a review of articles on responding to the challenges of organizational culture and adjusting it to new conditions, which were introduced during the past 20 years.

One of them, which Hadida, Tarvanien, and Rose published, addresses the necessity of being ready to adjust to new conditions. Bailey & Breslin (2021) mark: their examination of the process of improvisation across levels, including the individual, interpersonal and organizational, has particular relevance in the current environment (p. 4). The coronavirus outbreak resulted in crises, requiring businesses to continue their operation in new circumstances. It regarded individual employees who needed to adapt to new conditions of performing their responsibilities. Moreover, it impacted interpersonal relationships, which needed to be conducted online. Therefore, according to this study, it is vital to conduct improvisation on all the mentioned levels to successfully adapt to the new reality.

Sustainable Development of Teaching in Higher Education by Sá & Serpa

In the article The COVID-19 Pandemic as an Opportunity to Foster the Sustainable Development of Teaching in Higher Education, the problems caused by the coronavirus pandemic are observed via an example of high education. Sá & Serpa (2020) highlight the necessity to adapt to the new reality and use all the possibilities in the field of their research. They believe that organizational culture should be transformed, and the most effective approach is competent leadership (Sá & Serpa, 2020). Sá & Serpa (2020) mark: as a transformative process, the COVID-19 pandemic may have created the conditions to ease adherence to new processes that foster sustainable development in higher education (para. 32). Therefore, it is essential not to conceal the hardships faced by business, but to explore the methods of solving them.

The Revealed Problem and How It Is Explored

Thus, the coronavirus pandemic required all the businesses to change their habitual ways of operation, which included their organizational culture as well. Companies were required to use other possibilities for performing their usual duties, as the previous ones could not be used (Sapta et al., 2020; Sá & Serpa, 2020). In general, the adaptivity of shared practices, set beliefs, and principles within companies appeared to be the key factor which helped businesses to overcome all the negative consequences of the COVID-19 outbreak (Spicer, 2020; Sá & Serpa, 2020). This quality benefited the company, prompting leaders to utilize new ways of operation. Therefore, one of the pressing concerns about organizational culture during the coronavirus pandemic is its ability to adjust to new conditions rapidly and effectively.

This problem was researched by scientists and business professionals in the past, even before the coronavirus outbreak. For instance, Bailey, K. & Breslin (2021) mention a study offering to conduct improvisation on individual, interpersonal and organizational levels in order to adhere to adaptivity. However, it is worthy admitting that further research should be done, considering all the specialties of the current crises (Spicer, 2020). Spicer (2020) highlights a range of questions, aimed to profoundly explore the organizational culture adaptivity, covering all aspects. Spicer (2020) reckons that it is essential to define how exactly the changes are conducted and their impact on the fixed practices in a company. This will give an in-depth understanding of the problem and approaches for solving it. Therefore, it will be helpful for businesses to overcome the challenges arouse by the COVID-19 outbreak.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it can be noted that businesses had to overcome a range of negative consequences of the coronavirus pandemic and attempt to continue the operation, following all the safety restrictions. Companies had to elaborate effective strategies in order to adjust to new working conditions rapidly and not decrease the level of productivity. In this context, the ability to alter the organizational culture of businesses competently was vital for successful operation. Thus, it has become a pressing concern actively discussed in related journals.