Changes in the work environment have brought around a need for businesses to become aware of the 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 DNA of the business; it is an integral part of the company. Culture is often the thing that employees can’t see, yet they know is there.
Culture becomes a part of the total rewards strategy within the company and drives many decisions that impact programs such as compensation, benefits,