...fit at a company that I was passionate about helping succeed. Nine months ago, that company—a privately held, $42-million, firm—was sold to a much larger competitor, $1.2-billion, 4,200-employee, global competitor. As I started thinking about the cultures of my company and how my personality fit it, I realized that I could not focus on just one company, but rather needed to assess the culture of three organizations: my former company, the buying company, and the old company as part of the new company. While companies are not people, I could see clear “personality” differences between the old company and the new one as well as changes in the old company as it began to be absorbed into the larger new company. So to gauge each, I formulated a theory: how would each organization score on the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator test (see MBTI handout)? I decided to test the theory and marked the MBTI answers I perceived best reflected the culture of each entity . For example, Question No. 62 asks, “Can the new people you meet tell what you are interested in?” The old company could explain our value proposition to potential clients rather easily, in fact every employee, from the CEO down to the receptionist, had to go through training to learn the “elevator speech,” the ability to explain quickly how we help clients succeed. The new company, similarly, has been very adept at explaining its business to its core audience. Moreover, individual analysts and sales people in each company are also...
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...to mind when thinking of the company culture at Google. Many people would agree working at this company is like walking into a dream every morning. Some more of the amenities offered at various Google office locations are a pub-style lounge in Dublin, Ireland, a pool table in the conference room of Tokyo, Japan, a rock climbing wall adorns the “tech talk” area in Boulder, Colorado. (Google, 2012) Google’s company culture is technically an adaptability culture. According to Draft (2010) adaptability culture is defined as “culture characterized by strategic leaders encouraging values that support the organization’s ability to interpret and translate signals from the environment into new behavior responses”. Google is a company whose values promote individual initiative, experimentation, risk taking, and entrepreneurship. (Draft, 2010) Value’s play an important role in developing any companies culture. For example, the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) prides itself on recruiting well educated black engineers to improve the black community just like Google prides itself on hiring well educated people who are geniuses in their particular field to improve technological advancement. NSBE and Google appear to be aligned but their cultures are slightly different. NSBE is not quite adaptability but is at the next level on the corporate culture scale, achievement culture. According to Draft (2010) achievement culture is defined as “culture characterized...
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...The organizational culture in Decathlon Company I. Definition On the textbook “a primer on organizational behavior” James, Anthony and Marcus definite organizational culture is a reflection of an organization’s “personality,” and, similar to an individual’s personality, provides us with insights into attitudes and behaviors. Ravasi and Schultz (2006) state that organizational culture is a set of shared mental assumptions that guide interpretation and action in organizations by defining appropriate behavior for various situations. Organizational culture composited various factors from history, product, market, technology, strategy, type of employees, management style, and national cultures and so on. It is a collective values, beliefs and principles for organizational members. On the other hand, corporate culture represents corporate created those cultures by management to achieve specific strategic ends. Needle (2004) II. Dnison Organizational Culture Model Dnison Organizational Culture Model is one kind of the tool to measure organizational culture. It provides a comprehensive and easy way to interpret organizational culture. Every trait has three more specific indices for a total of 12 indices. III. Dnison Organizational Culture Model in Decathlon Company Before I come to United Sated, I have been work at Decathlon Company. It is a largest sporting product supermarket in Europe. Decathlon’s main competitor is Academy in the world. In this part, I will...
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...5 steps to a strong company culture http://www.microsoftbusinesshub.com/News_and_Updates/5_steps_to_a_strong_company_culture Great leaders inspire. They pull in talented and high-performing staffers. But behind each leader you'll find something equally powerful: a company culture that motivates people to work hard and stay with the business. As long as you have a business, you have a company culture. Instead of leaving it to grow on its own, you can nurture it and make it into something that will breed loyalty and motivation. Creating a strong culture — one of fun, sharing, collaboration, and connection — can be done in five simple steps, according to Carol Skube, a Minneapolis-based human resources consultant. Step 1: Understand A strong culture is founded on more than just paid lunches or personalized parking spaces. Great leaders understand what is important to their employees. As a business leader, developing a strong company culture starts when you take steps to find out what motivates the people who work for you. The process of understanding starts with communication. Talk to your employees to find out what you both expect from the job, Skube says. This will help you clarify your expectations of your staff and, in turn, help you learn what motivates them. It will also send a message to your staff that collaboration and communication are important to your company. As you talk to your employees, you also will learn what's important to them. This understanding will...
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...ADP's easy-to-use solutions for employers provide superior value to companies of all types and sizes. ADP is also a leading provider of integrated computing solutions to auto, truck, motorcycle, marine and recreational vehicle dealers throughout the world. ADP became a public company in 1961, with an initial stock price of $3. In the next year, Brokerage Services division was developed to serve the high volume transaction needs of major stock brokerages on Wall Street. The company proceeded to offer Dealer Services to automotive dealers to handle inventory and accounting transactions. In 1974, ADP extended into the international market with an office in The Netherlands, and later in the decade added Claims Services.1 Today, ADP employs more than 42,000 associates globally providing business solutions for more than 570,000 companies of all sizes – small, mid-market and enterprise. The key to the company’s growth and stability is solid strategy. By focusing on top-notch customer service, financial reliability, and a low-margin, high-volume model, ADP has been able to stay true to its core goal: customer retention. Year after year, clients return to ADP for the handling of the routine, but distracting, tasks of payroll, benefits administration, and human resources, as well as backroom operations for brokerages, auto dealers, and insurance companies. Year after year, ADP happily records the revenue. The company encounters very few surprises, as they write off expenses as soon...
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...Organizational culture is defined as a system of shared norms, beliefs, values, and assumptions which binds people together, creating shared meanings. Culture reflects the personality of the organization and similar to an individual’s personality it enables people to predict the attitudes and behaviors of organizational members. Culture is one of the defining aspects of an organization and it set it apart from other similar types of organizations. The values and behaviors of an organization contribute to the unique social and psychological environment of an organization. It includes an organization's expectations, experiences, philosophy, and values that hold it together, and is expressed in its self-image, inner workings, interactions with the outside world, and future expectations. It affects the organization's productivity and performance, and provides guidelines on customercare and service, product quality and safety, attendance and punctuality, and concern for the environment. There are ten dimensions that exist when assessing an organization that provide a composite picture of the culture. When an organization is clearly defined it gives its employees and customers shared perceptions that they can relate to and identify with and grow to be a part of it. Many companies today are looking to incorporate project management into them and with that come a strongly defined organizational culture and structure. There are many companies that intrigue many...
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...Outline and critically evaluate the corporate culture and values that the Starbucks Corporation has developed as an international company. Corporate culture is the shared values, traditions, customs, philosophy, and policies of a corporation. This influences the professional atmosphere that grows from this and affects employee behaviour and performance, it determines how employees think, act and feel. Every organisation has a different concept about the kind of culture that it should have, Howard Shultz CEO of Starbucks worked to instil key values and guiding principles into the Starbucks culture. The fundamental value was “to build a company with a soul,” to achieve this Shultz came up with a philosophy for Starbucks to “never stop pursuing the perfect cup of coffee.” This meant Starbucks had to control the quality of its products across all stores with Shultz strongly opposed to franchising in order to achieve this. Using high quality beans with no chemicals or additives was also central to the core values; this is even true in today’s Starbucks coffee. Following on from Shultz’s keystone value and it is the staff who are central to the soul of the company. The employee’s were selected for their character, personality and skills “to deliver consistent pleasing customer service.” Employee’s adopted Shultz’s core values to provide not just a perfect coffee but to provide an experience to Starbucks customers which led to the success of Starbucks and making...
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...Leading by Leveraging Culture Managing culture will not guarantee organizational success. Neither will neglecting culture result in assured failure. Culture is only one of the leadership tools that helps success, but managing it will help an organization with its strategic objectives in the long term. Why is Organizational Culture Powerful? Focusing People Intensely on Strategy Execution CEO’s fail when they are unable to fully execute on strategy. The key is in not only having a well-formulated strategy, but in also executing well on the strategy. Southwest Airlines has had a simple and transparent strategy of offering a high volume of short, low-cost flights. The strategy is well-known among employees and also aligned with their culture. Culture is a system of shared values that identify what is important, and norms that identify appropriate attitudes and behaviors. It increases organizational performance by energizing employees with meaning in setting and reaching for goals. Also performance is increased by shaping and coordinating behavior. Culture as a leadership tool should be strategically relevant. Formal Versus Social Control: The Power of Shared Norms Culture is based on norms, which are socially shared standards of appropriate behavior. Norms guide the perception and interaction of members and how they approach decisions and solve problems. They also help to ensure conformity through positive and negative reactions. Research shows that group norms influence...
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...The East India Company and Perceptions of Indian Culture Throughout the 16th century, the Indian Ocean was filled with lucrative trade. Incredible amounts of capital and resources were exchanged all throughout the Indian Ocean from the Middle East to the shores of Japan. At the heart of all this trade stood the Indian subcontinent, whose merchants and monarchs accumulated vast amounts of wealth by taking advantage of their geographic position relative to the international market. Although the larger dynasties of Europe had learned of the vast material wealth of Asia through the travels of Marco Polo and other European explorers as early as the 14th century, it wasn’t until the 1600s that the first legitimate European trading companies set up shop in the east to bring Asiatic commodities to the European continent at a large scale. The first of said companies, the British East India Company, created under Elizabeth I of England, would bring not only great wealth, but also eventual colonization to the people of the India. The British East India Company arrived in the Indian subcontinent with purely economic goals. The merchants in the company adapted to Indian culture extremely well, quickly making friends with the monarchs of different Indian states, adopting and practicing Indian religions, marrying Indian women, and learning the vernacular languages of the continent so that they could seamlessly blend into the already thriving market. As English influence in the Indian economy...
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...Describe the organizational culture of your company and work group using Figure 3.7 The purpose of the organizational culture is to “identify which cultural characteristics create an environment conducive to completing most complex projects.” (Larson & Gray, 2011) I work for a large university system in which the organizational culture is somewhat more demanding than most, due to the need for more specialized skill sets and diverse workforce. It is the mission of my company to strengthen organizational performance through the adoption of a more team/community driven environment. Its goal is to help leadership strategically plan and achieve its goals, resulting in a more sustainable organizational future. My company has adopted the mind set that “team-work and cross-functional cooperation are the norms [and], where there is a deep commitment to excellence,” success will be the result. (Larson & Gray, 2011) Therefore, my company focuses on the needs of the team, strategic planning, resources, improving workflow and process and the development of team environments. Describe your project team’s culture if possible and your own personal culture My project team culture will be built on investing and building, thereby increasing team satisfaction and confirming overall organizational success. As I compare my company to the example given Figure 3.7, I recognize a few differences. Member identity, team emphasis and people focus are the same, as I feel it is important to...
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...CORPORATE CULTURE SECRETS OF FIVE COMPANIES EMPLOYEES LOVE How innovative companies are creating ways to build company culture while seeing tangible benefits. INTRODUCTION Creating the right culture for your company could be the best investment you ever make – and often, it doesn’t cost a dime. The world’s most innovative companies find hidden value by operating outside of established business culture. Time and time again, competitors are left asking, “How did they do that?” CORPORATE CULTURE SECRETS OF FIVE COMPANIES EMPLOYEES LOVE The answer is simple: Culture. The right culture fosters innovation, finds talent in unexpected places, and empowers employees at all levels. There isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution, but the following examples from leaders of innovative company culture will help you adopt a mindset that inspires greatness. /02 CORPORATE CULTURE SECRETS OF FIVE COMPANIES EMPLOYEES LOVE FOSTERING INNOVATION WHILE DEVELOPING EMPLOYEES If you get the culture right, most of the other stuff will just take care of itself. Tony Hsieh, Founder and CEO, Zappos.com /03 FOSTERING INNOVATION WHILE DEVELOPING EMPLOYEES Ideas From Everywhere (IFE) is a program for CareerBuilder employees, launched nearly 8 years ago as part of a company decision to adopt a strategy centered on innovation. In essence, employees are encouraged to submit their ideas for new businesses within the company. Their fellow employees are then asked to vote for the best idea...
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...In the past decade, many corporations are using Corporate Culture as the key selling point in attracting and retaining talented employees. Corporate culture defines a corporation’s personality, its’ values, attitudes, and behaviors that are shared across the whole organization (Chatman &; Cha, 2003). Employees are the backbones of any successful corporations and high productivity is result of satisfied employees. A good match between an employee and employer is important; hence a clearly defined corporate culture is vital during the recruiting process. Corporate culture also plays a crucial role in retaining talented employees by providing an environment that encourages interests, growth, and opportunities. Smooth daily operation of any business relies on a strong corporate culture. A poorly defined work culture is one of the biggest causes of business organization failure because it results in mismatched recruitment, low retention rates, and unsatisfied employees that lead to poor performances and productivity. A well-defined corporate culture consists of six common attributes that define the corporate culture. These six attributes: Vision, Values, People, Place, Narrative/history and Practices (Coleman, 2013) help to create the organization uniqueness. It also let key stakeholders such as customers, shareholders, employees and the public to understand the core of the business. A clear definition of each characteristic is essential to avoid any misinterpretation. Vision...
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...type of culture they provide to current and prospective employees, as well as their customers. This has become a piece of the workplace that new applicants are taking into consideration when looking for a new job or career, current employees use this as a reason to stay, and company leadership uses this as an opportunity to build employee and customer loyalty. While it is the desire of many companies to create the right culture, it is a major challenge for companies and their leaders (John & Sons, 2007). Interstates Company and Goodwill Industries (specifically looking at the Sioux City, IA location) have worked hard to create cultures that support their employees and their customers. While they produce and/or sell completely different products, the choices they have made about their work environments have some similarities. Culture can be challenging to define since it may vary greatly from one business to another. Steven McShane and Mary Ann von Glinow in Organizational Behavior defined culture as: It is the basic pattern of shared assumptions, value and beliefs governing the way employees within an organization think about and act on problems and opportunities…It (culture) defines what is important and unimportant in the company. You might think of it as the organization’s DNA—invisible to the naked eye, yet a powerful template that shapes what happens in the workplace (John & Sons, 2007). This definition hits the nail on the head when it talks about culture being the...
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...of strategies and management skills, Big Spaceship established its uniqueness and superiority within its respective field. Its strategies include rising further than the assignments handed to them, look at the big picture, and a bidding process (Client “Filter”). Its management skills include finding and nurturing talent, creating a suitable culture, and developing an effective leadership team. With these put together, Big Spaceship established a solid foundation for it to become a great, leading company in the digital marketing industry. One major factor for the success was Big Spaceship’s 5 elements of strategy are quite different from other companies in the respective field. Its arenas include creating cutting-edge websites for marketing usages and developing interactive marketing properties, focusing on the big picture (goes for a USD2 million project than ten USD200,000 projects), rising further in the projects than assumed, and set in Brooklyn (DUMBO district). Its vehicles include internal growth - by nurturing talents they find - and not making acquisitions or joint ventures. What differentiates Big Spaceship from other companies is that they have the aforementioned client “filter”, meaning that they don’t take every project handed to them. They also created an environment in which work and play were connected – free breakfast, free snacks, and Big Spaceship Olympics. With these two combined, workers entered a work area where as an entry-level producer of Big...
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...Are Over the past 15 to 20 years more and more CEOs have been scrutinized and the typical CEO's pay is largely driven by market factors. CEOs pay is strongly related to stock performance. Because of more bureaucracy, the CEO's job has become increasingly more difficult over the past decade. In fact some would even argue that they are not paid enough and should be paid more. CEOs are being scrutinized more than ever. Some have taken on a celebrity persona such as Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, and Jack Welch. The fact of the matter is their pay is driven by market forces. You don't really hear of athletes being scrutinized like CEOs. However, since the collapse of companies such as Enron, WorldCom, and Tyco, their exposure has put them in the forefront of our society. CEOs are not unique. Other industries with similar backgrounds have earned just as well in the last decade. This includes top lawyers, athletes and top financial executives. Kaplan contends that it would be difficult to understand how pay increase could be driven by non-market forces when pay to athletes, lawyers and other groups have increased just as much. Their pay is strongly related to stock performance. Kaplan's recent analysis of CEO pays in a given year found that CEOs in the top 20% of actual pay generate stock returns 60% greater. This is greater than other firms in their industries over the past three years. In addition, CEOs from firms in the bottom 20% of actual pay underperformed...
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