Who can deny the splendor of Washington, DC with its majestic Hellenic architecture, world class museums, gleaming marble monuments and bigger than life governmental buildings? The reaction to a visitor from the heartland is one of awe and pride manifested from the secondary gain of being a citizen in a remarkable country.
The reaction among those who live in Washington can be quite different. The White House, Capital, and the other halls of government are really not a place for the commoner but rather an exclusive club for the political elite as is any restaurant on a Saturday night that serves food on a table cloth and commands more than three stars. The mall with its museums and monuments is seen as an irresistible magnet for the army of faceless tourists who crowd the streets, take up all of the parking spots and produce an incessant gridlock of automobiles effectively preventing any downtown travel by car. Even resident NFL team, the Washington Redskins, epitomizes official Washington with its overwhelming media coverage, gargantuan stadium and ubiquitous presence of team garb. Love for the Redskins is universal up until you try to buy tickets to a game. Over a ten year period I managed to move from 27,009 to 24,539 on the wait list for season tickets. Repeatedly I was told the Redskins have been sold out for decades. Still everyone seemed to know of a high ranking Government Official, Staffer or Lobbyist who was able to get good seats on short notice.
I relocated to Dallas, Texas the same year that the Cowboys won their last superbowl. Based upon my experience in Washington, I had very low expectations when I contacted the ticket office. To my surprise, the ticket agent told me that he would be happy to meet and discuss possibilities. Exactly 45 minutes later, I parked my car outside Gate 1 of Texas Stadium where my family was met and personally escorted into an office decked out in blue and silver adorned with pictures marking past team glory. Upon arriving, my 4 year old son was whisked away by a member of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders who was working in the office during the off season. Over the next 1 ½ hours, we were provided with guided tour of the stadium, the opportunity to be photographed on the field standing on the Star, and a chance to sit in “our” new seats to check the view. After we completed the paperwork, our son was returned to us dressed in a Cowboy Jersey with a miniature blue starred football in his hands.
Our welcome from the Cowboys paralleled that of the DFW area where we were always graciously welcomed by some of friendly individuals who assisted us in every imaginable way. Seventeen years’ later and 144 football games later, Dallas is my home. I really cannot imagine living anywhere else.
The Redskins and the Cowboys do more than just play professional football. They serve as symbolic representations of the cities they represent.
I am an HR professional in a hand tool manufacturing plant of about 450 employees in the Dallas – Fort Worth area. Our plant is one of several in a division of a Fortune 200 firm. One of my roles is to manage our recruiting and selection processes for new employees. The foundation of sound employee sourcing lies in understanding the technical and organization needs of the firm and find the candidate that best fits those needs. My organization is focused on the idea of continuous improvement. In order to achieve continuous improvement, it is necessary to define metrics, track results, identify gaps, and analyze. Also, the leaders of the firm are type-A drivers of results. Success is defined as both meeting/exceeding metrics and driving waste out of the system. The other day we had a candidate on site for a mid-level, salaried role in our facility. This candidate had a sound background and expertise in the areas relevant to the position. The interviews took place, and I facilitated the consensus report out. You may be unfamiliar with a consensus meeting if you have not participated in a behavioral interview process. During the interviews, the interviewers are assessing a variety of dimensions. Some of these dimensions are cross-pollinated among the different interview teams. The interviewers then get together to compare notes and talk about the candidate. The information is gathered and summarized, and the candidate is rated against each dimension. The team ultimately makes a decision whether or not to recommend the candidate for hire. In this particular instance, the relevant facts were reviewed. Examples given by the candidate for each dimension were scrutinized, the candidate’s experience was discussed, and the needs of the team and the opening were compared to what the candidate had to offer. The discussion then turned to one of personality. In a type-A environment, the prevalent school of thought is that one needs to be a type-A driver in order to be successful. One of the dimensions asked about extroversion vs introversion, and the candidate answered that they view themself as an introvert. As this was brought up in the consensus meeting, a discussion lasting 10 minutes ensued about the role of the introvert in the organization. Concerns were raised on the ability of the candidate to drive change. Another concern was about getting results. A third had to do with introverts needing “quiet time” (to which I replied, “We have earplugs!”) Finally, the head of the facility chimed in and said, “Do you know how many introverts are in the room?” Of the 7 of us in there, 3 raised their hands. I then offered to buy the person who started the conversation a shovel if he wanted to keep digging. The conversation then wrapped up and the meeting adjourned. The moral of this story? Employees and managers each have a strong sense of what the culture is of an organization and what it takes to be successful; however, there can be large variability in what that culture, and it takes vision, dialogue, and discourse to fully define and calibrate members of the organization.
Some would say that the organizational culture of a professional team extends beyond the confines of the team itself to include its fans. This cultural extension is facilitated in many ways. It is not unusual for major American Cities to have dedicated radio stations which discuss sports around the clock (Dallas has three). Cable TV has several sports only channels which include ESPN. Local TV stations provide coverage by means of dedicated time spots in local news programs which augment game day coverage. It is not unusual to have weekly programs dedicated directly to the issues of local teams. Print media coverage is often extensive when the sport is in season.
Fan identification with teams is enhanced by the purchase of team based clothing or other items with team logos or colors. Further identification and commitment results from access to events not available to the general public including private tours of the team locker room, watching a practice on the field, and inclusion to team luncheons.
A couple of years ago, my wife purchased the book “Tales from the Dallas Cowboys-A Collection of the Greatest Stories Ever Told” as a Christmas present. She asked one of its authors, Cliff Harris, to autograph the inside cover informing him that I was a rabid Cowboy fan. Never at a loss for words, Harris told her to tell me to “get a life”. Perhaps more revealing was what he wrote: “The Cowboys without fans like you would be just ordinary”.
Over the years, I have lived in both Washington and Philadelphia. I suspect if I had had the same experience with the professional teams in those cities as I had in Dallas that I would view things differently. But the fact of the matter is that I did not.
As said by Louis V. Gerstner, former CEO IBM “The thing I have learned at IBM is that organizational culture is everything.” We can see that organizational culture drives organization. If you do not manage culture, it manages you, and you may not even be aware of the extent to which this is happening.
To study culture in more details I would like to consider real world examples of retail industry. Let us consider two giants of retail industry i.e. Wal-Mart and Target.
Wal-Mart is the one of the largest retailers in the country. Their culture is customer oriented. It has based on three basic beliefs i.e. respect for the individual, service to their customers, striving for excellence. They emphasize on open communication which is essential to understand customers and employees. They always consider employee’s ideas, suggestions and concerns. Wal-Mart also gives importance to build leadership, teamwork and excellence among employees.
Target is second largest retail chain in the country. They culture in their diversity. They emphasize on fostering an inclusive culture, a culture where every individual is valued. Target believes that the power of individual strength, capabilities and experiences are essential for them to remain an industry leader.
In short, different organizations have different cultures which contribute to success of those organizations. A successful company always has a strong culture and vice versa.
I tend to agree with Parimal and would extend it further.
Organizational culture heavily influences success or failure of any company. The first question comes in mind is “what is organizational culture”. To me, organizational culture is the predefined principles, which governs how employees within a company should behave to achieve common goals or objectives, generally broadly mentioned in company mission statements. It is clear from the definition that organizational culture is different from the individual culture. Individual or employee behavior tend to be influenced by his or her personal values and personal believes. Similarly organizational culture will depend on values and believes it cultivates, from top to the bottom. From my personal and professional experience I have seen that culture always descends from top to bottom. For example if an employee is stuck with a problem and if he or she is staying late in the work place, it would not help the cause if manager asks employee to stay late but himself or herself leaves the office early. On the other hand this would a good opportunity to show “common cause” culture. Manager could stay with employee, manager could ask employee if he or she need any help, etc…
I believe that managers need to precisely understand and act upon the organizational culture. This will help them control and coordinate activities. A shared sense of purpose starts with hiring process and continues with careful attention to how employees are motivated and rewarded for their contribution to the above mentioned common goal. Managers need to continually conveying company values by providing regular positive and constructive negative feedback. Adopting this practice would give employees feeling that they are important to the organization and they are moving in the right direction.
Effect of mergers and acquisitions, specifically international, on organizational behavior and in-turn on success or failure of a company, is an interesting phenomenon. The company I work at was bought by a Europe based company and organizational culture changed drastically. Prior to acquisition the company was more aggressive in handling projects and customers, company was more open to customers, suppliers, and other partners, company was more open to its employees, employees were rewarded differently, and many other aspects of doing business were completely different. It would be good if someone else has similar experience.
In my opinion, the organizational culture of Southwest Airlines is the famous example that culture can lead a huge affect about whole company. Southwest Airlines is well-known for its pared-down, unconventional business model. Its focus on punctual arrivals and departures, and no-frills, yet friendly service, has helped the airline to thrive in a time when many others are failing. Southwest's approach may not be for everyone, but those looking for a great value and dependability find Southwest Airlines to be the perfect choice. Focus on Fun Southwest is known for its flight attendants' and pilots' kooky in-flight announcements and playful attitudes. Even the CEO has a sense of humor; his Halloween costume choices are based on customer responses to his blog, and he has dressed as a rock star, a pirate and a woman with a beehive hairdo. Southwest proves that it is possible to have a good time while saving money. Employee Satisfaction Southwest is dedicated to keeping its employees happy, and it shows in the lack of turnover. After September 11, 2001, most airlines laid off employees due to sagging sales, but Southwest kept all of its personnel. This loyalty, combined with a profit sharing program and a much higher ratio of supervisors to employees than most airlines, explains why employees perform so efficiently and enthusiastically.
I feel the concept of organizational culture has gained wide acceptance as a way to understand human systems. From an "open-sytems" perspective, each aspect of organizational culture can be seen as an important environmental condition affecting the system and its subsystems. The examination of organizational culture is also a valuable analytical tool in its own right.
This way of looking at organizations borrows heavily from anthropology and sociology and uses many of the same terms to define the building blocks of culture. Edgar Schein, one of the most prominent theorists of organizational culture, gave the following very general definition:
The culture of a group can now be defined as: A pattern of shared basic assumptions that the group learned as it solved its problems of external adaptation and internal integration, that has worked well enough to be considered valid and therefore, to be taught to new members as the correct way to perceive, think, and feel in relation to those problems. (Schein 373-374)
In other words, as groups evolve over time, they face two basic challenges: integrating individuals into an effective whole, and adapting effectively to the external environment in order to survive. As groups find solutions to these problems over time, they engage in a kind of collective learning that creates the set of shared assumptions and beliefs we call "culture." G. Johnson[6] described a cultural web, identifying a number of elements that can be used to describe or influence Organizational Culture: The Paradigm: What the organization is about; what it does; its mission; its values. Control Systems: The processes in place to monitor what is going on. Role cultures would have vast rulebooks. There would be more reliance on individualism in a power culture. Organizational Structures: Reporting lines, hierarchies, and the way that work flows through the business. Power Structures: Who makes the decisions, how widely spread is power, and on what is power based? Symbols: These include organizational logos and designs, but also extend to symbols of power such as parking spaces and executive washrooms. Rituals and Routines: Management meetings, board reports and so on may become more habitual than necessary. Stories and Myths: build up about people and events, and convey a message about what is valued within the organization. These elements may overlap. Power structures may depend on control systems, which may exploit the very rituals that generate stories which may not be true.
Years ago I read a book on the subject of entrepreneurship published by the Harvard Business Press. A key detail that stuck in my mind from this book was the school of thought that a culture created at the genesis of a company is the culture that will likely remain with the company. I have found this school of thought to be true in one company I have worked in. I have witnessed company cultures completely change for various reasons at another company. The lesson I have taken away from my experiences is that a leader in an organization must pay put a lot of thought and care into what type of company culture that leader wishes to have in the organization. The leaders of a new organization should put a great amount time and thought into developing a company culture to be proud of because it is simply a good business practice but also because the legacy of that company’s leader is being created.
What may come to the mind of this blog’s readers may be the fun spirit of Southwest’s Herb Kelleher or the frugality of Sam Walton. As consumers and students we can appreciate the effect and lessons of a company’s culture from the outside looking in. From the inside looking out I can tell you that the result of a company’s culture on the employee is extremely impactful. I began my professional career working for a large distribution company in which the company’s culture was created nearly three decades earlier and continues to this day. I regret to write that the company’s culture was horribly negative. The majority of my peers constantly spoke of how unhappy they were and management appeared to enjoy having a sense of power to get away with doing wrong by their employees. As you can imagine this company suffered horrible turnover and missed many great business opportunities as a result of this negative company culture. Members of middle management would complain about the negative culture created in the company many decades prior, yet management failed to change the company’s culture.
I am currently with a different company (in a different industry) and the company enjoys a fantastic company culture. When I first began working with this company over five years ago the company culture was very different and very negative. The leadership at the top had changed, middle management remained, and the company now performs at a greater level. The point I wish to make is that company cultures can change for the better and with the best leadership in place a company can enjoy great profits and a company culture in which employee moral is high.
Yesterday in class, we discussed organizational culture and were required to read an article regarding NASA and it's structure. This post could probably also go under International OB or Politics.
This discussion reminded me of a section of this book I have been reading, _Outliers_, by Malcolm Gladwell. The chapter is titled "The Ethnic Theory of Plane Crashes." He begins his this section by telling the story of a Korean Airlines pilot who crashes his plane into a hillside.
The author delves deeper into the subject by discussing the rate and frequency at which Korean Airlines crashes relative to western airline companies. He asserts that psychologist Geert Hofstede's Dimentions, more specifically, his Power Distance index is the root cause of these crashes.
In Asian cultures, in business, family, or politics, one's place in life is well known. It is evidenced in posture and speech. Gladwell goes on to illustrate that the Korean language has no fewer than six speech patterns and context methods to show one's place in hierarchal standing relative to another.
Anyways, he explains that in Western cultures, we have very low PDI, where in Eastern cultures, power distance is very high. This is shown in the plane cabins in Eastern cultures. The captain is in charge, and the first officer and flight engineer are significantly lower in stature. Due to the lower rank of the officer and engineer, they are unable to override the captain, even when they know he is in error. They may begin to make the most vague of comments if they see something wrong that the captain does not see. They may perhaps upgrade to a mild suggestion if the captain does not get the first hint. In the delay of this exchange, or absolute avoidance of the captain's error, the plane crashes.
In Western cultures, where the PDI is low, individuals lower on the totem can comfortably address their superior, even in the airline industry. If fact, the first officer is taught to override if he feels the captain is in error. This, in most instances, allow for processed to work more effectively and lessen errors.
After Korean Airlines/Air brought in a Western consultant to revamp their cockpit structure, the company became regarded as one of the safest airline companies in the world. It's not to say that Western organizational culture is better than Eastern organizational culture, but a lower PDI in organizational culture seems more effective in such an industry as commercial air.
Until class on Wednesday, I did not realize how important culture was at the workplace. My work has in place "Culture Pillars" which are four areas of culture they want management and hourly to remember every day in the business. They are I. Founder's Spirit II. Fun to the Core III. You've Got It and IV. Everyone is Someone. I was impressed during our discussion in class that I was clearly able to remember these pillars and was even more impressed that our company truly focuses on these aspects of culture. They reward us based on our performances under these pillars, they have named our conference rooms after the pillars, and even at the store level, they focus on a certain culture pillar every day. Talk about instilling the culture! Although at times this really feels like overkill -but after the discussion in class on Wednesday - it became apparent how important having a clear culture is - especially a clear and positive one - like in the article about Whole Foods. I think companies like Whole Foods and my own instill ideas of teamwork and the importance of an individual's work for the company. Although no company is perfect - it is great to feel like yours is working to create a core belief system so that you know exactly what your company stands for and wants to focus on.
A.J. gave an interesting insight into how job candidates are assessed from the perspective of the interviewers. I agree that the organizational culture and/or assessor's personality has a large influence on who has a better chance of obtaining a job.
Who can deny the splendor of Washington, DC with its majestic Hellenic architecture, world class museums, gleaming marble monuments and bigger than life governmental buildings? The reaction to a visitor from the heartland is one of awe and pride manifested from the secondary gain of being a citizen in a remarkable country.
ReplyDeleteThe reaction among those who live in Washington can be quite different. The White House, Capital, and the other halls of government are really not a place for the commoner but rather an exclusive club for the political elite as is any restaurant on a Saturday night that serves food on a table cloth and commands more than three stars. The mall with its museums and monuments is seen as an irresistible magnet for the army of faceless tourists who crowd the streets, take up all of the parking spots and produce an incessant gridlock of automobiles effectively preventing any downtown travel by car. Even resident NFL team, the Washington Redskins, epitomizes official Washington with its overwhelming media coverage, gargantuan stadium and ubiquitous presence of team garb. Love for the Redskins is universal up until you try to buy tickets to a game. Over a ten year period I managed to move from 27,009 to 24,539 on the wait list for season tickets. Repeatedly I was told the Redskins have been sold out for decades. Still everyone seemed to know of a high ranking Government Official, Staffer or Lobbyist who was able to get good seats on short notice.
I relocated to Dallas, Texas the same year that the Cowboys won their last superbowl. Based upon my experience in Washington, I had very low expectations when I contacted the ticket office. To my surprise, the ticket agent told me that he would be happy to meet and discuss possibilities. Exactly 45 minutes later, I parked my car outside Gate 1 of Texas Stadium where my family was met and personally escorted into an office decked out in blue and silver adorned with pictures marking past team glory. Upon arriving, my 4 year old son was whisked away by a member of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders who was working in the office during the off season. Over the next 1 ½ hours, we were provided with guided tour of the stadium, the opportunity to be photographed on the field standing on the Star, and a chance to sit in “our” new seats to check the view. After we completed the paperwork, our son was returned to us dressed in a Cowboy Jersey with a miniature blue starred football in his hands.
Our welcome from the Cowboys paralleled that of the DFW area where we were always graciously welcomed by some of friendly individuals who assisted us in every imaginable way. Seventeen years’ later and 144 football games later, Dallas is my home. I really cannot imagine living anywhere else.
The Redskins and the Cowboys do more than just play professional football. They serve as symbolic representations of the cities they represent.
I am an HR professional in a hand tool manufacturing plant of about 450 employees in the Dallas – Fort Worth area. Our plant is one of several in a division of a Fortune 200 firm. One of my roles is to manage our recruiting and selection processes for new employees. The foundation of sound employee sourcing lies in understanding the technical and organization needs of the firm and find the candidate that best fits those needs.
ReplyDeleteMy organization is focused on the idea of continuous improvement. In order to achieve continuous improvement, it is necessary to define metrics, track results, identify gaps, and analyze. Also, the leaders of the firm are type-A drivers of results. Success is defined as both meeting/exceeding metrics and driving waste out of the system.
The other day we had a candidate on site for a mid-level, salaried role in our facility. This candidate had a sound background and expertise in the areas relevant to the position. The interviews took place, and I facilitated the consensus report out.
You may be unfamiliar with a consensus meeting if you have not participated in a behavioral interview process. During the interviews, the interviewers are assessing a variety of dimensions. Some of these dimensions are cross-pollinated among the different interview teams. The interviewers then get together to compare notes and talk about the candidate. The information is gathered and summarized, and the candidate is rated against each dimension. The team ultimately makes a decision whether or not to recommend the candidate for hire.
In this particular instance, the relevant facts were reviewed. Examples given by the candidate for each dimension were scrutinized, the candidate’s experience was discussed, and the needs of the team and the opening were compared to what the candidate had to offer.
The discussion then turned to one of personality. In a type-A environment, the prevalent school of thought is that one needs to be a type-A driver in order to be successful. One of the dimensions asked about extroversion vs introversion, and the candidate answered that they view themself as an introvert. As this was brought up in the consensus meeting, a discussion lasting 10 minutes ensued about the role of the introvert in the organization. Concerns were raised on the ability of the candidate to drive change. Another concern was about getting results. A third had to do with introverts needing “quiet time” (to which I replied, “We have earplugs!”)
Finally, the head of the facility chimed in and said, “Do you know how many introverts are in the room?” Of the 7 of us in there, 3 raised their hands. I then offered to buy the person who started the conversation a shovel if he wanted to keep digging. The conversation then wrapped up and the meeting adjourned.
The moral of this story? Employees and managers each have a strong sense of what the culture is of an organization and what it takes to be successful; however, there can be large variability in what that culture, and it takes vision, dialogue, and discourse to fully define and calibrate members of the organization.
Do we look and praise those methods which are important to us?
ReplyDeleteIf you had the same experience moving from Washington D.C. - to Philadelphia? How would your reactions/feelings to the organizations culture?
Do the experiences that we face and have directly within organizations persuade our beliefs of their culture?
Does one really know the culture of an organization if they have never experienced working for, or with that organization?
Some would say that the organizational culture of a professional team extends beyond the confines of the team itself to include its fans. This cultural extension is facilitated in many ways. It is not unusual for major American Cities to have dedicated radio stations which discuss sports around the clock (Dallas has three). Cable TV has several sports only channels which include ESPN. Local TV stations provide coverage by means of dedicated time spots in local news programs which augment game day coverage. It is not unusual to have weekly programs dedicated directly to the issues of local teams. Print media coverage is often extensive when the sport is in season.
ReplyDeleteFan identification with teams is enhanced by the purchase of team based clothing or other items with team logos or colors. Further identification and commitment results from access to events not available to the general public including private tours of the team locker room, watching a practice on the field, and inclusion to team luncheons.
A couple of years ago, my wife purchased the book “Tales from the Dallas Cowboys-A Collection of the Greatest Stories Ever Told” as a Christmas present. She asked one of its authors, Cliff Harris, to autograph the inside cover informing him that I was a rabid Cowboy fan. Never at a loss for words, Harris told her to tell me to “get a life”. Perhaps more revealing was what he wrote: “The Cowboys without fans like you would be just ordinary”.
Over the years, I have lived in both Washington and Philadelphia. I suspect if I had had the same experience with the professional teams in those cities as I had in Dallas that I would view things differently. But the fact of the matter is that I did not.
As said by Louis V. Gerstner, former CEO IBM “The thing I have learned at IBM is that organizational culture is everything.” We can see that organizational culture drives organization. If you do not manage culture, it manages you, and you may not even be aware of the extent to which this is happening.
ReplyDeleteTo study culture in more details I would like to consider real world examples of retail industry. Let us consider two giants of retail industry i.e. Wal-Mart and Target.
Wal-Mart is the one of the largest retailers in the country. Their culture is customer oriented. It has based on three basic beliefs i.e. respect for the individual, service to their customers, striving for excellence. They emphasize on open communication which is essential to understand customers and employees. They always consider employee’s ideas, suggestions and concerns. Wal-Mart also gives importance to build leadership, teamwork and excellence among employees.
Target is second largest retail chain in the country. They culture in their diversity. They emphasize on fostering an inclusive culture, a culture where every individual is valued. Target believes that the power of individual strength, capabilities and experiences are essential for them to remain an industry leader.
In short, different organizations have different cultures which contribute to success of those organizations. A successful company always has a strong culture and vice versa.
I tend to agree with Parimal and would extend it further.
ReplyDeleteOrganizational culture heavily influences success or failure of any company. The first question comes in mind is “what is organizational culture”. To me, organizational culture is the predefined principles, which governs how employees within a company should behave to achieve common goals or objectives, generally broadly mentioned in company mission statements. It is clear from the definition that organizational culture is different from the individual culture. Individual or employee behavior tend to be influenced by his or her personal values and personal believes. Similarly organizational culture will depend on values and believes it cultivates, from top to the bottom. From my personal and professional experience I have seen that culture always descends from top to bottom. For example if an employee is stuck with a problem and if he or she is staying late in the work place, it would not help the cause if manager asks employee to stay late but himself or herself leaves the office early. On the other hand this would a good opportunity to show “common cause” culture. Manager could stay with employee, manager could ask employee if he or she need any help, etc…
I believe that managers need to precisely understand and act upon the organizational culture. This will help them control and coordinate activities. A shared sense of purpose starts with hiring process and continues with careful attention to how employees are motivated and rewarded for their contribution to the above mentioned common goal. Managers need to continually conveying company values by providing regular positive and constructive negative feedback. Adopting this practice would give employees feeling that they are important to the organization and they are moving in the right direction.
Effect of mergers and acquisitions, specifically international, on organizational behavior and in-turn on success or failure of a company, is an interesting phenomenon. The company I work at was bought by a Europe based company and organizational culture changed drastically. Prior to acquisition the company was more aggressive in handling projects and customers, company was more open to customers, suppliers, and other partners, company was more open to its employees, employees were rewarded differently, and many other aspects of doing business were completely different. It would be good if someone else has similar experience.
In my opinion, the organizational culture of Southwest Airlines is the famous example that culture can lead a huge affect about whole company. Southwest Airlines is well-known for its pared-down, unconventional business model. Its focus on punctual arrivals and departures, and no-frills, yet friendly service, has helped the airline to thrive in a time when many others are failing. Southwest's approach may not be for everyone, but those looking for a great value and dependability find Southwest Airlines to be the perfect choice.
ReplyDeleteFocus on Fun
Southwest is known for its flight attendants' and pilots' kooky in-flight announcements and playful attitudes. Even the CEO has a sense of humor; his Halloween costume choices are based on customer responses to his blog, and he has dressed as a rock star, a pirate and a woman with a beehive hairdo. Southwest proves that it is possible to have a good time while saving money.
Employee Satisfaction
Southwest is dedicated to keeping its employees happy, and it shows in the lack of turnover. After September 11, 2001, most airlines laid off employees due to sagging sales, but Southwest kept all of its personnel. This loyalty, combined with a profit sharing program and a much higher ratio of supervisors to employees than most airlines, explains why employees perform so efficiently and enthusiastically.
I feel the concept of organizational culture has gained wide acceptance as a way to understand human systems. From an "open-sytems" perspective, each aspect of organizational culture can be seen as an important environmental condition affecting the system and its subsystems. The examination of organizational culture is also a valuable analytical tool in its own right.
ReplyDeleteThis way of looking at organizations borrows heavily from anthropology and sociology and uses many of the same terms to define the building blocks of culture. Edgar Schein, one of the most prominent theorists of organizational culture, gave the following very general definition:
The culture of a group can now be defined as: A pattern of shared basic assumptions that the group learned as it solved its problems of external adaptation and internal integration, that has worked well enough to be considered valid and therefore, to be taught to new members as the correct way to perceive, think, and feel in relation to those problems. (Schein 373-374)
In other words, as groups evolve over time, they face two basic challenges: integrating individuals into an effective whole, and adapting effectively to the external environment in order to survive. As groups find solutions to these problems over time, they engage in a kind of collective learning that creates the set of shared assumptions and beliefs we call "culture."
G. Johnson[6] described a cultural web, identifying a number of elements that can be used to describe or influence Organizational Culture:
The Paradigm: What the organization is about; what it does; its mission; its values.
Control Systems: The processes in place to monitor what is going on. Role cultures would have vast rulebooks. There would be more reliance on individualism in a power culture.
Organizational Structures: Reporting lines, hierarchies, and the way that work flows through the business.
Power Structures: Who makes the decisions, how widely spread is power, and on what is power based?
Symbols: These include organizational logos and designs, but also extend to symbols of power such as parking spaces and executive washrooms.
Rituals and Routines: Management meetings, board reports and so on may become more habitual than necessary.
Stories and Myths: build up about people and events, and convey a message about what is valued within the organization.
These elements may overlap. Power structures may depend on control systems, which may exploit the very rituals that generate stories which may not be true.
Years ago I read a book on the subject of entrepreneurship published by the Harvard Business Press. A key detail that stuck in my mind from this book was the school of thought that a culture created at the genesis of a company is the culture that will likely remain with the company. I have found this school of thought to be true in one company I have worked in. I have witnessed company cultures completely change for various reasons at another company. The lesson I have taken away from my experiences is that a leader in an organization must pay put a lot of thought and care into what type of company culture that leader wishes to have in the organization. The leaders of a new organization should put a great amount time and thought into developing a company culture to be proud of because it is simply a good business practice but also because the legacy of that company’s leader is being created.
ReplyDeleteWhat may come to the mind of this blog’s readers may be the fun spirit of Southwest’s Herb Kelleher or the frugality of Sam Walton. As consumers and students we can appreciate the effect and lessons of a company’s culture from the outside looking in. From the inside looking out I can tell you that the result of a company’s culture on the employee is extremely impactful. I began my professional career working for a large distribution company in which the company’s culture was created nearly three decades earlier and continues to this day. I regret to write that the company’s culture was horribly negative. The majority of my peers constantly spoke of how unhappy they were and management appeared to enjoy having a sense of power to get away with doing wrong by their employees. As you can imagine this company suffered horrible turnover and missed many great business opportunities as a result of this negative company culture. Members of middle management would complain about the negative culture created in the company many decades prior, yet management failed to change the company’s culture.
I am currently with a different company (in a different industry) and the company enjoys a fantastic company culture. When I first began working with this company over five years ago the company culture was very different and very negative. The leadership at the top had changed, middle management remained, and the company now performs at a greater level. The point I wish to make is that company cultures can change for the better and with the best leadership in place a company can enjoy great profits and a company culture in which employee moral is high.
Yesterday in class, we discussed organizational culture and were required to read an article regarding NASA and it's structure. This post could probably also go under International OB or Politics.
ReplyDeleteThis discussion reminded me of a section of this book I have been reading, _Outliers_, by Malcolm Gladwell. The chapter is titled "The Ethnic Theory of Plane Crashes." He begins his this section by telling the story of a Korean Airlines pilot who crashes his plane into a hillside.
The author delves deeper into the subject by discussing the rate and frequency at which Korean Airlines crashes relative to western airline companies. He asserts that psychologist Geert Hofstede's Dimentions, more specifically, his Power Distance index is the root cause of these crashes.
In Asian cultures, in business, family, or politics, one's place in life is well known. It is evidenced in posture and speech. Gladwell goes on to illustrate that the Korean language has no fewer than six speech patterns and context methods to show one's place in hierarchal standing relative to another.
Anyways, he explains that in Western cultures, we have very low PDI, where in Eastern cultures, power distance is very high. This is shown in the plane cabins in Eastern cultures. The captain is in charge, and the first officer and flight engineer are significantly lower in stature. Due to the lower rank of the officer and engineer, they are unable to override the captain, even when they know he is in error. They may begin to make the most vague of comments if they see something wrong that the captain does not see. They may perhaps upgrade to a mild suggestion if the captain does not get the first hint. In the delay of this exchange, or absolute avoidance of the captain's error, the plane crashes.
In Western cultures, where the PDI is low, individuals lower on the totem can comfortably address their superior, even in the airline industry. If fact, the first officer is taught to override if he feels the captain is in error. This, in most instances, allow for processed to work more effectively and lessen errors.
After Korean Airlines/Air brought in a Western consultant to revamp their cockpit structure, the company became regarded as one of the safest airline companies in the world. It's not to say that Western organizational culture is better than Eastern organizational culture, but a lower PDI in organizational culture seems more effective in such an industry as commercial air.
Until class on Wednesday, I did not realize how important culture was at the workplace. My work has in place "Culture Pillars" which are four areas of culture they want management and hourly to remember every day in the business. They are I. Founder's Spirit II. Fun to the Core III. You've Got It and IV. Everyone is Someone. I was impressed during our discussion in class that I was clearly able to remember these pillars and was even more impressed that our company truly focuses on these aspects of culture. They reward us based on our performances under these pillars, they have named our conference rooms after the pillars, and even at the store level, they focus on a certain culture pillar every day. Talk about instilling the culture! Although at times this really feels like overkill -but after the discussion in class on Wednesday - it became apparent how important having a clear culture is - especially a clear and positive one - like in the article about Whole Foods. I think companies like Whole Foods and my own instill ideas of teamwork and the importance of an individual's work for the company. Although no company is perfect - it is great to feel like yours is working to create a core belief system so that you know exactly what your company stands for and wants to focus on.
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ReplyDeleteA.J. gave an interesting insight into how job candidates are assessed from the perspective of the interviewers. I agree that the organizational culture and/or assessor's personality has a large influence on who has a better chance of obtaining a job.
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