Employees’ Support for Cultural Change: A Case Study in a Care and Social Welfare Organisation

Abstract

The care and social welfare sector in the Netherlands is changing. The care recipients, and their family and social network, are now primarily responsible for their own care. Only those who depend on professional care are financially supported by the government. Any professional help must be employed as effectively and efficiently as possible. This requires care and social welfare organisations to change their strategies and for these strategies to be successful, these organisations need a cultural change. In this case study, it was examined whether there is adequate support for the necessary cultural change in a care and social welfare organisation located in the south of the Netherlands. The study looked into the differences in the desires of the management and the organisation as a whole as to what the cultural change should entail. It can be concluded from the findings of this study that there is indeed support for the enhancement of the adhocratic culture. The main discrepancy lies in the fact that employees prefer less of a market culture, whereas the required cultural profile actually focuses on more. The employees believe that more market culture will lead to less effective service provision for both clients and buyers.