Mechanisms linking individual and organizational culture change through action research: Creating change agents for organizational and food safety culture development

Abstract

This article proposes a more individualized approach to organizational and food safety culture development through the creation of culture change agents. The study used action research with individual therapeutic training of sensory and emotional skills as the action intervention to reveal underlying mechanisms of the culture and create long-term culture change. The study was conducted with a group of voluntary employees over a 3-year period at a department under Food Safety and Veterinary Issues in Danish Agriculture and Food Council. Data was collected using individual in-depth qualitative interviews with a novel questionnaire technique that facilitated participants to bring otherwise unconscious underlying assumptions to awareness. The study found that working intensely and therapeutically on an individual and group level, had a significant impact on the surrounding culture and social capital. Five underlying mechanisms were revealed linking individual culture change to changes in the social capital and culture of the department. Going through the five underlying mechanisms may enable individuals to get to the root causes of issues, facilitate more sharing and collaboration to learn from near-misses and failures, and take action despite facing uncomfortable situations, all important abilities to develop FSC. Based on the underlying mechanisms a 'Change Agent Model' was developed. The model illustrates the important underlying mechanisms that any individual or group can work through to become culture change agents and drivers for organizational culture and FSC development. This is the first of two articles.

Keywords: Action research; Change agents; Food safety culture; Individual inquiry practice; Organizational culture; Senses and emotions; Social capital; Therapeutic training; Training human competencies; Underlying mechanisms.

Model 1

Levels of Culture: To the left: Illustration of Schein's different levels of culture with the iceberg illustrating what part of culture is observable and not observable. To the right: Illustration of Schein's different levels of culture as they relate to different cultural platforms and behaviors that an individual engages with. The model illustrates that when an individual changes their cultural essence (underlying assumptions), it can be expected to influence all cultures that the individual take part in.

Model 2

MER Fundamental Framework: According to MyElite Relationship-therapy (MER) humans fundamentally have three human competencies: sensing through the body (blue triangle); feeling various emotions as a reaction to sensations (red spiral); and thinking/rationale comprehension based on sensing and emotions (green square).

Model 3

MER Levels of Culture: Illustration of Schein's levels of culture and MER fundamental framework together, illustrating that working with senses and emotions (as opposed to just the rationale) may enable individuals to gain access to and transform underlying assumptions.

Model 4

Action Intervention: To the left: Illustration of going from frozen to unfrozen to refrozen when transforming culture. To the right: Illustration of MER Inquiry Practice which uses a specific context, focusing on one's senses, and deep breaths as the action intervention to reveal underlying assumptions. Through therapeutic training, participants were taught to perceive and distinguish senses and emotions (unfrozen stage) and create meaning based on them (refrozen stage). Refrozen structures may be continuously addressed by repeating the MER Inquiry Practice.

Model 5

Change Agent Model: The model illustrates the continuous loop that individuals must be willing to engage in to create Safe Harbor in themselves and with others, and thereby transform their cultural essence and the cultures and FSCs around them. All underlying mechanisms are described next to the model.