...Best Buy - The Importance of Organizational Culture and Change Organizational cultures that can be a liability to an organization include those that create barriers to change, create barriers to diversity or barriers to mergers and acquisitions. (Robbins, S. P. 2011) Organizational cultures are also good for change and revitalization of a company. This paper will provide background information on Best Buy and the ROWE (Results-Only Work Environment) Program. This paper will describe the culture of Best Buy. This paper will also discuss the approach to organizational change that the ROWE program illustrates. This case has sources of stress and this paper will discuss the sources that are apparent in the case. Changes have occurred and this paper will discuss whether the organizational culture has helped with the change. Describe the culture of Best Buy Best Buy’s culture has changed. The old culture embraced long hours. Managers rewarded those employees who were first in the building and the last to leave the building with tokens of appreciation. One employee earned a bonus and a vacation when he stayed up three days in a row to complete a report that was suddenly due. Yet, he was hospitalized due to the stress. The new culture revitalized Best Buy and changed how most employees view work. Employees thanked the organizers for allowing them to have a better home-work life balance. One employee was considering resigning after the birth of her child, but with the new...
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...Assignment #5: “ROWE Program at Best Buy” BUS/520 Nadine Gilles September 3, 2011 Dr. Dominique Sweeting 1. Describe the culture of Best Buy. Jody Thompson helped to pioneer the Results-Only Work Environment (ROWE) at Best Buy Corporation. The creation of this program was fundamental in the introduction of the Culture Rx Concept. Organizational culture is made up of the ideas and values shared by the employees of an organization. In the Best Buy organizational culture, there was a minimal amount of values being shared. The negative environment at Best Buy prevented the employees from bonding. There was not that much time available for employees to interact with each other. A survey was conducted to know the attitude of employees participating in ROWE. It was found that they felt pressured and felt they had to work hard. Employee’s lack of time to manage their work and consult with coworkers hindered the growth in all the divisions of Best Buy. Before ROWE was implemented at Best Buy, employee morale was very low and the turnover rate was very high. Employees were called to last minute meetings by management and were assigned to complete last minute reports with little or no notice. Most employees did not get to spend much time with their families and worked from home as well as in the office. The culture prior to ROWE was work at all times and make sacrifices for your job. With Rowe in place, employees had flexibility to work from home or the office, as long as the job...
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...BUS520 Assign 5 ROWE Program at Best Buy Abstract The work force has become a stressful place to work. Employees have found it hard to balance jobs and personal life. Employees have been looking for businesses that promote a balance of work and personal life. To the same token Employers are realizing that turnovers are costing them money also. Employers are looking for ways to improve morale within their company and reduce turnover. Best Buy has implemented a program that will treat their employees with a perfect balance of work and personal life. Background Best Buy corporate culture was to solve problems no matter how many hours it took to finish the problem or project. The employees were expected to work long hours and a sacrifice their personal life, for the benefit of the company. In 2003 Best Buy adopted a new work environment policy called Results-Only Work Environment ROWE. Describe the culture of Best Buy Best Buy has had two types of cultures. The first culture of Best Buy was working their employees without giving interest to the employees’ personal life. Best Buy would give assignments with deadlines to their employees without regard for the amount of hours that it took for completing the job. Best Buy understood that this was not the best way for the company to survive in keeping their seasoned employees. The second culture of Best Buy was Results-Only Work Environment program, or ROWE. Best Buy decided to change their culture to a more personal life friendly...
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...ROWE Program at Best Buy Describe the culture of Best Buy. Best Buys culture involves all chains of command. Employee's from salary to hourly share responsibilities to satisfy their client needs. The company’s culture has changed to a more flexible program to accommodate employee’s personal life. Culture is defined as “the shared and learned values, beliefs, and attitudes of its members.” (2011, Hellriegel, Slocum) Best Buy also believes in rewarding employees who invest time in their job and make personal sacrifices to get the job completed. Unfortunately Best Buy needs to change their organizational strategy to be more flexible, especially for working women. Discuss the approach to organizational change that the ROWE program illustrates. The Results-Only Work Environment program known as ROWE is “employees can work when and where they like, as long as they get the job done.” (2011, Hellriegel, Slocum) This approach gives the employees the flexibility of work schedule without punching a time clock everyday. This program began at Best Buy’s headquarters in Minneapolis, Minnesota. ROWE was built on 13 principles and rules. This is ranging from no traditional work schedule to no results, no jobs. With the ROWE program Best Buy have worked to keep it chaos free, for its 75 percent of the employees it have been implemented for. The company has strayed away from traditional staff meetings with the program for its employees. Now Best Buy relies on emails, voicemails, cell...
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...towards overcoming personal barriers by refraining from leaving the corporate world and instead, distribute responsibilities at home. Furthermore, she stresses the importance of forming natural and lasting mentor relationships with others. While it is important to be mindful of the perception of one’s peers, it is also important for females to not let fear inhibit them from voicing their opinions, regardless of one’s position in the organization. The perfect illustration of the value of women in the workplace and not letting individual barriers prevent female’s success in the corporate arena is Julie Gilbert, founder of the Women’s Leadership Forum (WOLF). WOLF at Best Buy describes the immense network that connected customers and employees across the world both...
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...Zappos “More than shoes” An Assignment Submitted by Luis Mendoza Jesus Lopez James “Al” Gonzalez University of La Verne Table of Contents 1. Introduction…………………………………………………………………………3 2. Industry Environment…………..………………………………………………..….4 3. Organizational Mission/Vision and Goals………………………………………….6 4. Organizational Strategy……………………………………………………………..6 5. Zappos Structure………………………..………………………………….……….8 6. Control Features………………………………………………………...…………..9 7. Organizational Culture………………………………………………………...…..10 8. SWOT Analysis …………………………………………………………………...11 9. Conclusion and Recommendations………………………………………………..12 References………………………………………………………………………...13 1. Introduction. The term “E-commerce” has roots in the 1970’s with the development of Electronics Funds Transfer (EFT) and the introduction of the Automatic Teller Machines (ATM) in the 1980’s. With the development of the Secure Socket Layer (SSL) standard in Mosaic web browser and the explosion of the Internet in 1990’s the term has been universally accepted as the ability to buy and sell via the Internet (Graham, 2008; p. 776). Zappos.com is an online shoe and apparel shop that was found in 1999 by Nick Swinmurn and developed into the largest online shoe store. Today this online retailer “offers 500 brand names and 90,000 styles and stocks over 2 million pair of shoes” (Lamb; 2011; p. 97). Currently, the headquarters of the company is based in Henderson, Nevada. Its products include shoes, apparels, handbags...
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...maximum level. There are three levels of diversity they are internal dimensions, external dimensions and organizational dimensions. These three levels put together define our personal identity and has a great impact on how each one of us view the world. Our personality is the center of our lives because it defines our characteristics that describe who we are. The internal dimensions are age, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender and physical ability. You also have to deal with the external dimensions geographic location, income, personal habit, recreational habits, religion, educational background, work experience, appearance, parental status, and marital status. And the organizational dimensions are functional level/classification, work content/field, diversity department/unit/ group, seniority, work location, union affiliation, and management status. These are all part of managing diversity in an organization. You have to approach managing diversity in an organization with an open mind and without bias. You cannot manage this as an individualistic culture but as a collectivist culture, it is about what is best for the company not what is best for you as an individual. How do you manage diversity in an organization? According to Franceso and Gold there has to be an organizational level of diversity. The first step to managing diversity is the organizational vision, having a vision statement explaining what...
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...Paper: Project Managers and Ethics, Leadership, and Technology Jessica Tyra Dr. Russ White CIS517 May 17, 2015 The Different Organizational Structures There are three different organizational structures in regards to project management, and each has their specific pros and cons associated with their method. A functional organizational structure is one that is best when the focus is a single product. Functional structures aren’t designed to change quickly, and they are the most common type of design. These contain various specialized units that then report to top management, or the top tier of the structure. The grouping is based on similarities. It’s the top tier’s job to make sure that each individual tier below them is able to communicate and coordinate their efforts as one unit. Clustering the individuals with similar knowledge allows specialists to grow within their fields. (Griffin, 2015, p. 1) The main goal of functional structure is to place the human and informational resources in one place to maximize performance. A great example is the structure associated with a University. They have various faculty members who only teach a specific specialty or subject. These individuals are only supposed to teach their specific subject. (Schwalbe, 2013, p. 49) There are some disadvantages to functional organizational structures, with the biggest issue having to do with communication. Communication can be difficult in the decision-making process...
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...In this paper I will attempt to help Gene One solve their current problems that they are experiencing as a result of poor planning by management with a new IPO strategy. Although I believe that they were looking out for the company’s/employees’ best interest, the lack of a solid game plan has led us to this point where the working relationship between management has failed. While attempting to uncover the optimal solution I will look at the factors that should be considered when evaluating all options. My hopes are to bring to light why one solution is better than the next as it relates to the vision and goals of the company. This will be done by examining evidence from outside sources that have been through similar situations. This solution will be centered on transformational leadership and organizational culture. By identifying the primary causes of the failed strategy’s implementation, I will dissect and attempt to salvage the IPO strategy that Gene One will still need to carry out. In reading this scenario, one thing obvious from the onset; the senior leadership team at Gene One is not all on the same page. Anytime there is a culture change within an organization there will be resistance by some to change. In the case of Gene One they are no more immune than any other company. Evidence of this could be seen from the interactions of Teri and Michelle at the 1st leadership meeting after the board’s approval of the IPO plan. “What’s the matter, Michelle? Not finding enough...
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...THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF KNOWLEDGE, CULTURE AND CHANGE MANAGEMENT Madrid, Spain Diversity Assessment Tools: A Comparison Abstract: Much has been written about how to address diversity in the human resources function (recruitment, retention, professional development etc.) but less has been written about how to develop strategies to leverage diversity in other areas. This study proposes an approach to exploring diversity through the value chain and a tool to help an organization assess its strategy. The Diversity Audit Tool (DAT) was developed from an analysis of current diversity practices in the Information Communications and Technology (ICT) Sector in Canada. This paper will review the dimensions of the tool and compare it to six other diversity lenses. Keywords: Diversity assessment, diversity audit tool, diversity lens, “business” case for diversity. Increasingly corporations in Canada have stressed the importance of embracing diversity and have stressed the benefits of creating inclusive work environments which: Promote the work of all organizational members and ensures that it is acknowledged, respected, and that employees are compensated equitably for it Value diversity both within the organization and outside of it Implement a meritocracy – rather than non-job-related ascribed characteristics – ensuring the need for equality and fairness underpins the organizational culture Emphasize individual accountability at all levels of the organization Constantly...
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...the new inspiration behind it will also be discussed. Part two will focus on Robert passing the reigns to the next manager, and comparative contrasts between the two styles, what implications all the changes will mean for Thor Enterprise and how the new approach will change the shipping division of this international company. Part One When Robert became a part of the Recycled Furnishings’ business he had already proven himself a capable manager at his previous company, and was eager to help his new company succeed. His management style would be described as coming from the human resource theory school of thought. This is evident by his ability to match needs of the company with the skills of the employees at his disposal, which is a primary objective of the human resource theory (Bradley, n.d.). Being a baby boomer, Robert would have certain traits that are typical of ‘Boomer’ workers/manager that are of particular importance. Attaining personal growth in the work place, involvement in the decision making process, a good work ethic, and more of a team, rather than individual, work environment are typical traits (Tanner, n.d.). Robert in particular had a keen sense of how to train his workers to perform in the best single way possible. The theorists that understood this best were Frank and Lillian Gilbreth. Frank and...
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...October 13, 2009 Managing Change in Aerospace: Organizational Behavior in Action An “Integrating Case Study” for Graduate Students Your Case Study Assignment You must scrutinize the case and identify the Organizational Behavior issues that are related to the topics we have covered in this course. There are many! Your best approach is to first use a highlighter for the rapid identification of some of these OB issues on the case provided above, and then to prepare a final list on an attached paper. You will not be graded on the number of OB-related issues you identify. The purpose of this exercise is for you to re-familiarize yourself with what “OB issues” are, and then to think in terms their potential damage to behavior in organizations, if not handled correctly. It is your responsibility to make pertinent cause-and-effect judgments for the three predicaments described above, and to prepare recommendations for their prevention and correction. Your Case Study products are: 1. A formal list of the OB-related issues you have identified. Do not explain each of these issues; just list them. For example, “Trust,” Management vs. Leadership,” and so on. Mutual Trust Management vs. Leadership Management/Leadership Styles Balance – People & Power Organizational Culture We vs. Them Syndrome Team Building Employee Involvement Pride in Ownership Buy In – Resistance to Change Team Building Organizational Identity Personalities Closed...
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...BUSA414 - Understanding Organizations Through People Assignment 3: Personal-Learning Implementation Plan Values, Culture & Work-Life-Balance – Bringing Learnings to Life By Jonathan D Jensen March 22, 2015 This paper explores concepts and understandings of three topics from BUSA514 course material, and an implementation plan detailing initiatives to apply learnings on three topics both personally and organizationally. The three topics addressed in this paper are, Values, Organizational Culture, and Stress/Work-life balance. Each topic including, actions for implementation, will be discussed in turn. Values Values are standards or principles of behavior that an individual or corporation professes to be important and to live by. They set a standard of conduct. Corporate values, as defined by Van Lee, Fabish, & McGaw, (2005), are “a corporations institutional standards of behavior.” (P3.). A clear set of values can act as a moral compass. Society believes that individuals, corporations should adhere to a certain standard of behavior, but how does a corporation’s adherence to its values influence business performance? According to Val Lee et al., “the majority of companies have difficulty connecting values to operational results” (p10). Values can be somewhat intangible, making it difficult to measure a return from them – “Return on Values” (ROV). Despite apparent challenges in measuring ROV, most companies today strongly believe in “The Value of Corporate Values”...
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...like Bain & Co, Home Depot and Best buy. Now let us look at the facts and the answers to the questions asked. Facts Presented in the case: 1. Bain & co.’s CEO Steve Ellis hired people even during the recession. He added consultants in the hot-growth areas such as emerging markets and targeted experienced consultants who were left stranded during the hard financial times. 2. Home Depots chairman and chief executive Frank Blake set realistic goals to boost employee morale in spite of handing pink slips to some of the employees. This resulted in many employees getting high bonuses thus resulting in high employee morale. 3. Companies which took advantage of employees in the downturn were rewarded with many employees leaving the company. 4. Best buy found ways to boost employee morale by getting them involved in the organization. 5. JetBlue has cut back across the board and over the past year –delaying aircraft orders, trimming head count through voluntary unpaid leaves and even shedding the free pillows from its aircraft in order to cut costs. Identifying the Key issues: The key issues that can be observed from the above case are as follows. 1. Corporations all over the world are facing the effects of recession and the major concern for them is cutting of costs. 2. the most ideal way of cutting costs according to traditional managers is by lying off workers from all sectors. 3. In the modern theory of organizational behavior a need for employee motivation...
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...907 - Managing Human Resources Course Notes II Mithat KOC 020120255 mithat.koc@gmail.com Integrating the Organization 1. Culture and the Informal/Voluntary Network 2. Formal Teams 3. Integrators 4. Matrix Design 5. Cells and Networks 2d -Assess Internal Fit : Systems Which systems optimize the employee performance -To keep the employee in the loop... Recruitment Performance appraisal Rewards Additional sys (inform. Mang.) 2d -Assess Internal Fit : Culture Culture : values Climate : Practice Key Themes Dominant culture vs sub cultures Espoused versus real cultures Case Nestle , espresso is a completely different organization . ALTO CHEMICAL EUROPE (ACE): ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE CASE STUDY Stabilizer market situation Shrinking , Drop off in consumption 600.000 tons x 1.000$ prices vary to month 30% over capacity competition KEY STRATEGIC ELEMENT Profitability $40 to $80 (4% to 8%) Price Leadership (set by HQs) Non-price sensitive acc. - wire/cable (2% contribution to cost = 4% of 2% for these customer) - small / medium Raise volume Tin (we have it) Give customer expertise Sales Management Reponse - Ideas (Dramatic change in behaviour) More work , new customer aquisition , convert to tin Accept loss of price authority Service oriented selling Incentives (not based on volume any more) What should Graaf do to pursuade the Sales Management ? Change reward system Explain the why ( face to face meeting) costs of old strategy / behaviours versus benefits of the new strategy Numbers...
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