Panel discussion on the topic "How to (successfully) change company culture?" was held last night at the Faculty of Organizational Studies "Eduka" in Belgrade.
The panel, organized by the Community for Systemic Change, gathered a large number of experts in the field of human resource management, consultants, and other individuals.
The speakers at the panel were: Darko Marković, the first author in Serbia to publish a book on systemic change in organizations, with international experience in 30+ countries; Dragana Mitrić - Aćimović, PhD in psychological sciences, assistant professor at FOS "Eduka", consultant and author of publications on corporate culture, and Marina Salt – senior consultant, former Director of Change Management at British Airways, and a graduate of the London School of Economics.
The panel was moderated by Agneš Asodi. Occasionally, members of the audience took on the role of panelists by sitting in the fifth chair, sharing their experiences, dilemmas, and questions—among them, issues related to the challenges of changing organizational culture in Serbia. Participants who shared were rewarded with books written by the panelists.
Darko Marković emphasized the importance of identifying the reasons behind resistance within parts of the organization to change, as he believes these resistances may indicate important and potentially valuable values that are being protected from disappearing.
Marina Salt compared the development of feedback culture in England, where she worked for years, with that in Serbia, where she currently works, highlighting how challenging it is to introduce regular and constructive feedback into our organizations.
Dragana Mitrić – Aćimović pointed out the specifics of our national culture and its influence on the formation of organizational cultures in our region, explaining why it is difficult to change a well-established power culture in companies in our environment.
The panel discussion concluded after a little more than two hours of constructive and honest exchange. The organizers announced that this would be just one of several gatherings dedicated to systemic changes.
