Free Essay

Culture Changes

In: Business and Management

Submitted By mandeejones2013
Words 551
Pages 3
HRM 87

Companies must evolve throughout the years to stay in business. They must keep up with technology demands, changes in the economy, as well as cultural changes when there is change in leadership. This paper is going to discuss. The changes that Home Depot and Hewlett Packard has gone through when they change the Chief Executive Officers and how it impacted the companies positively and negatively. Hewlett Packard announced in 2011 that they were replacing the then CEO Leo Apotheker with former EBay CEO Meg Whitman. [ (Chan, 2011) ]According to Whitman, “HP is investing in innovation, bringing cost in line with revenue, improving profits, lowering debt, optimizing cash flow, and exceeding financial performance.” [ (Takahashi, 2013) ] Instead changing the way that HP did things when Apotheker was CEO, Whitman seems to tweak the way HP will improve their businesses by investing more in business printers rather than expanding into tablets and smartphones as their competitors have done.
Home Depot replaced CEO Robert Nordelli with Frank Blake in 2007 and is reported by Reuters an improvement in the culture of the business. When Nordelli was CEO Home Depot would focus on metric c sales b y making sure that the stores would all carry the same merchandise rather than allowing the stores to order what they need. In other words, if a store sold double the snow shovels than water hoses but another store sold more water hoses than snow shovels, under Nordelli both stores would carry the same number of both regardless what sold more. Now with Blake the stores are able to order what merchandise they need so if store sells more snow shovels the employees have the ability to order as much as they need [ (Jacobs, 2007) ]. Under Blake’s leadership Home Depot have grown and exceeded goals 10 percent operating profit and 15 percent capital investment. They accomplished this with Blake’s plan stores are focused “60 percent of store hours devoted to customer service and 40 percent completing tasks. [ (Blake, 2013) ]

The approaches that the Hewlett Packard and Home Depot are vastly different while Hewlett Packard seems to slowly turning around by tweaking the previous CEO’s plan but still many are unsure that Whitman can truly change Hewlett Packard into growing. While Home Depot seems to be thriving of the change of the New CEO and making sure that they are meeting the customer’s demands

Bibliography
Blake, F. (2013, march 28). http://www.homedepotar.com/. Retrieved July 15, 2013, from www.homedepot.com: http://www.homedepotar.com/
Chan, E. (2011, September 22). http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/22/meg-whitman-hp-ceo_n_976597.html. Retrieved July 14, 2013, from www.huffingtonpost.com: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/22/meg-whitman-hp-ceo_n_976597.html
Jacobs, K. (2007, March 16). http://www.reuters.com/article/2007/03/16/businesspro-homedepot-culture-dc-idUSN1641327420070316. Retrieved July 14, 2013, from www.reuters.com: http://www.reuters.com/article/2007/03/16/businesspro-homedepot-culture-dc-idUSN1641327420070316
Takahashi, D. (2013, may 22). http://venturebeat.com/2013/05/22/meg-whitman-says-you-can-feel-the-turnaround-taking-place-at-hp-but-not-at-dell/. Retrieved July 14, 2013, from www.venturebeat.com: http://venturebeat.com/2013/05/22/meg-whitman-says-you-can-feel-the-turnaround-taking-place-at-hp-but-not-at-dell/

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Change in Culture

...Homework due in Week 6 QUESTION 1: Outline why the culture of a country influences the costs of doing business in that country. Illustrate your answer with examples. When there are simply different norms between how individuals from different countries interact, the costs of doing business rise as people grapple with unfamiliar ways of doing business. For example, while in the US we may get down to business first and then get to know each other socially later. In many South American countries, it is important develop a good social relationship before trying to discuss business issues. Different class structures and social mobility also raise the costs of doing business, if there are inhibitions against working with people from different class, then the efficiency with which information can flow may be limited and the cost of running a business increased. A country’s religion can also affect the costs of business, as religious values can affect attitudes towards work, entrepreneurship, honesty, fairness, and social responsibility. In Hindu societies where the pursuit of material well-being can be viewed as making spiritual well being less likely, worker productivity may be lower than in nations with other religious beliefs. Finally, a country's education system can have important implications for the costs of business. In countries where workers receive excellent training and are highly literate, the need for specific worker training programs are decreased and the hiring...

Words: 636 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Culture and Change

...MGMT 325-E3WW Culture and Change Stephanie Wilson Franklin University February 11, 2013 Introduction Organizational culture consists of shared values and assumptions. Values which are beliefs that contributes to the preferences of a circumstance and assumptions that are set for a certain way of thinking regarding opportunities (McShane & Von Glinow, 202, p. 256). This paper will discuss the culture of the University Center at Arkansas Northeastern College, how the employees implement change, resist it and some methods recommended to decrease resistance of change at ANC’s institution. Organizational Culture Culture within the University Center is what the important and unimportant things to ANC. What the University Center considers important is the students’ being interacted with every day through our office. Providing each student the opportunity to further his or her education without leaving the Blytheville, Arkansas is what’s valuable to the institution. The University Center also focuses on growth which consist training and career development. The department always wants and needs to excel and grow on different levels as an employee, an individual and as an institution. Some organizations have a culture indirectly through artifacts, which are symbols or signs in one’s culture (McShane & Von Glinow, 2012, p.260). When entering the University Center, every individual who enters the offices will receive a warm greeting and a greeting of a...

Words: 639 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Culture Change

...This chapter referred to Organizational Culture Change as a stool with three legs. Without one aspect, the plan will fail. In reference to the British Airways story, which talked about the merging of two airlines from the same place which visually was a tremendous difference. From their uniforms, their relationships with the customers, to the way they carried themselves. It was obvious that merging them together was going to be a big task. The point of the airlines merging was to be in the competitive market since they were a fairly small airline compared to others. The merge created a new mission for the airlines which was to provide superior service and to focus on a strategy that would increase market share and customer satisfaction. Change began by cutting the staff down and building the relationships between management and frontline as well as frontline with customers. It was the CEO that came to the realization that change must begin with the management. This company then proceeded with a way to change the culture of the company. They used the stool as an analogy. The seat would be considered the desired culture for the company. One leg was the (Managing First People) program which focused on the managers and them building a relationship with the front line workers. It was used as an overall arena of the managers actively participating and giving group reports. The second leg was for performance appraisal for managers. This was used as a grading scale of their performance...

Words: 370 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Strategy to Change Culture

...DIRECTORATE STRATEGY TO CHANGE CULTURE SCHOOL PARTNERSHIPS FOUNDATION LEARNING TIER ADDITIONAL LEARNING SUPPORT Contents Page College Vision, Mission and Values 3 Existing Cultures 4 Overarching College Priorities 4 Bringing about culture change 5 The 5 step journey 6 Roles & Responsibilities 8 Communication & embedding the values 9 Benchmarking 9 Training & Development needs 9 Significant barriers and overcoming them 10 Priorities 11 College Vision, Mission and Values The Strategic Vision For The Merged College Is: “An inspirational organisation that delivers excellence” Mission Statement: “To provide high-quality education and training that is inclusive, and which matches and supports the needs of our diverse learners and the local and regional economy” Corporate Values: ▪ Place learners at the heart of everything we do ▪ Promote a progressive, inspirational and dynamic approach to teaching and learning which responds to learners ▪ Create an environment and ethos which encourages learning and skills development ▪ Promote and provide opportunities for successful participation in education for people from all backgrounds and abilities ▪ Strive for excellence in all aspects of college business ▪ Encourage staff to embrace challenging professional standards and raise...

Words: 2615 - Pages: 11

Free Essay

Organisational Culture and Change

...Culture within an organisational context is a widely explored paradigm. It's nature and mottled definitions have formed the basis of organisational study for many decades. From Handy's cultural forms in the notorious "Gods of Management"3, to the Morganest metaphoric representations of the concept such as, culture as a web, an onion, or an iceberg6. Therefore, the contents of culture encompasses a wide range of organisational phenomena including surface features such as values and forms of expression: preconscious factors such as symbols and norms: and deep structures such as basic assumptions and worldviews (Pettigrew 1979; Frost et al 1985)7. They all imply that culture is an integral part of organisations, that without due consideration, development of strategy will ultimately lead to failure, leading to the assumption that culture should always fit with organisational strategy. Revenaugh2 suggests that most researchers assume that corporate culture is an important consideration for understanding and effectively managing organisations, and thus supports that argument. Bringing me to the purpose of this essay, which is to explore the context of organisational culture in more depth and come to a more discernable conclusion about its relationship with strategic management. As a result of its wide and varying definitions, corporate culture can be hard to define, measure or manage; these definitions reveal culture to be a complex concept that involves many factors as suggested...

Words: 1877 - Pages: 8

Premium Essay

Hcs514- Culture and Change

...Change and Culture Niccolo Machiavelli once said, “There is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things.” It is how well your organization manages change that impacts the success of the business. Change affects all areas of business- formal and informal groups, work culture and climate, and organizational design. The organization is accountable to all stakeholders, most importantly their clients. The organizational culture influences services as perceived by those clients. This paper will consider a case study where the middle manager in a health care organization has merged with a previous competitor. Up until now, employees saw the competition as an enemy that provided a poor quality of care. The new corporation, however, has in place several inpatient and outpatient services that the organization does not. This paper will address the impact of the sale on the culture of the new combined organization. It will also address how the middle manager can ensure that the combined staff will work together to provide quality care without taking on a competitive stance. Lastly, it will describe what the organization will look like in terms of systems and shape. The primary interest in mergers and acquisitions is to create or exploit synergies (Dalton, n.d.) Unfortunately most mergers and acquisitions fail because there is too much focus on finances while...

Words: 1083 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Leadership Change Behaviour and Culture

...Management Essays - Change Management Organisations Change Management Organisations Change Management Strategy Report Organisations are highly specialized systems and people working within the organisations are generally cynical to change in the work environment as they don't want to get into uncharted territory. It is the natural tendency of human being to live in their comfort zone and no one likes to be comfortable being uncomfortable even for a short duration (during the change process). But, for organisations to survive and succeed in the current environment change is no longer optional. Organisations have to learn to love change to stay ahead of competition. * An overview of change management Definition - Change management is about moving from one state to another, specifically, from the problem state to the solved state (Jung, 2001). But, the organisational terminology for change management can be varied and ‘change' may be used under different terms. E.g. when a company talks about re-engineering, restructuring, promoting cultural transformation, or keeping pace with the industry, then it is talking about change. Lewin (1951) conceptualized that change can occur at three levels. We can help you with your essay! Professional Writers Our professional essay writers can help you to make the most of your studies. Look below to find out how we can help. ESSAY WRITING SERVICE ESSAY MARKING SERVICE PLACE AN ORDER  * Change in the individuals who work in the organisation...

Words: 3516 - Pages: 15

Premium Essay

Change and Culture Case Study Ii

...Change and Culture Case Study II Marla Jennings HCS/514 July 15, 2013 Vinnette Batiste, PhD., MBA Change and Culture Case Study II To adjust to greater competition and pressures of obtaining increased organizational efficiency and cost containment, many organizations have begun to examine strategies related to restructuring and downsizing to maintain organizational viability. These processes have included mergers and acquisitions, and redefining occupational roles of workers within the organization. Consequently, successful management of the structural change process can be daunting and overwhelming if not handled in an organized and thoughtful process. Those who are responsible for the process must recognize the barrier that may be hindrances to conception and implementation of the change process These barriers include: (a) lack of concise and coordinated planning/goals, (b) resistance to change within the organizational workforce, (c) failure to consistently evaluate the progress of the proposed change within context of the entire system, and adjust methodology as necessary.   Thus, in order to achieve a balance between achieving organizational goals and addressing the uncertainty that may occur in the workforce, organizational leaders are tasked with the responsibilities of finding creative means to facilitate the mandated objectives while at the same time finding vehicles to maintain adequate levels of employee satisfaction and productivity in order to facilitate...

Words: 1921 - Pages: 8

Premium Essay

Organizational Culture & Change Management

...workplace is "organizational culture." We define organizational culture as the set of shared beliefs, truths, assumptions, and values that operate in organizations. Organizational culture has been described as "How people behave when no one is looking." We spend more than 8 hours at work each day. Most of us spend more time at work than we do with families. Everyone needs an enjoyable, meaningful and engaging work environment. A strong organizational culture will attract many talented people. Organizational culture is the first thing that prospective employees consider when assessing an organization. The talent market is tighter and those looking for a new organization are more selective than ever. Talented people not only needs good salary and benefit, but also a good environment that they can enjoy and succeed in. What’ more, a strong organizational culture will help you to solve a tough problem when facing a crisis. For example, Toyota found some potential safety hazard of their cars, but they didn’t recall these cars because of enormous repair costs. Unfortunately, many people died in an accident due to this potential safety hazard. If Toyota has a strong organizational culture, they will recall these defective cars as soon as possible without regard to the repair costs. And what would they got is “public praise”—the most important thing for a company. There is no doubt that organizational culture is very important. The organizational culture will urge you to think the work...

Words: 1172 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Managing Culture and Change Bhrm 710

...Managing Culture and Change An academic essay: "What is a 'successful corporate culture'? Do successful cultures invariably contain seeds of their own destruction?" Introduction This essay aims to critically analyze and explain the phenomenon of 'successful corporate cultures'. We will first define what corporate cultures are and how they align the values of employees with that of an organization and its goals, vision and mission. We will be then discussing the key elements of successful corporate cultures and what practices businesses can adopt in order to achieve that. This essay will highlight the necessary cultural traits which positively contribute towards achieving organization goals and targets and cultural effectiveness. We will then proceed to examine the different types of cultures and relate them to specific market conditions . Also, how organizational cultures can help corporations gain a competitive advantage by improving financial performance, improving productivity and increasing job satisfaction of its employees. Finally, we will discuss limitations faced by successful corporate cultures and how they can hinder creativity in some cases. The role of changing environmental (social, political and economic) conditions in making good cultures become obsolete will be discussed before reaching a conclusion. Defining corporate culture Culture is a broad and complicated term with a number of possible definitions and meanings. No one term can be used...

Words: 2862 - Pages: 12

Free Essay

Apple Inc. - Organization Culture and Change

...Keller Graduate School of Management HR587 Managing Organization Change Course Project Draft - Prepared By: Preferred Organization: Apple Inc. - Organization Culture and Change Introduction/Organization: In this draft, we would like to discuss about Apple Inc.’s organization culture and major organization change happened in the organization and analysis of a successful organization change. Every organization has a culture of its own. And every organization undergoes organization change depending on the situation, change process is implemented by the organization for the benefits of employees, or change process may be implemented to satisfy customers or for the organization growth. The Apple Inc. story starts in 1976 with the birth of a company called Apple Computer around the creation of a system called the ‘Apple 1’ by Steven Wozniak and Steven Jobs. Apple Inc. went through a variety of dramatic changes to the company’s structure along with its performance and losses remained a continuing consistency. This project, we will discuss about organization change in Apple Inc., i.e. Restructuring of Apple Inc., implementing new technologies and shifting strategy. We believe this organization is a perfect example of undergoing major organizational change and it was a company where it started from nothing to become one of the top companies in computer and technological world. In near future we can only see rapid reaction of Apple Inc.’s growing tremendously...

Words: 1180 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Change and Culture Paper I

...Change and Culture Case Study I Nikiah C. Roberson HCS/514 Monday September 24, 2012 Dr. Kinaro Change and Culture Case Study I Case Study Robbins Hospital has been competing with Smith Hospital for over a decade. Robbins offers both in and outpatient services including day surgery, wound care, and physical and occupational therapy. Robbins is one of the oldest hospitals in Savannah and is currently being updated with state-of-the-art technology. Smith is more modern, with technology such as telemedicine, PET scans, and the use of the electronic medical records program. Robbins has constantly honored itself on the great quality of care provided to its patients. Smith on the other hand, is known for giving the kind of care to patients that is not always of good quality. Over the last decade a merger took place between Robbins Hospital and Smith Hospital, joining Robbins who has a high quality of patient care with Smith who has modern technology. The newly named hospital will be called Robbins/Smith Hospital. The administrator who has been an administrator at Robbins for more than a decade will have the task of creating an organizational culture that will not only meet the needs of staff, but also provide quality patient care. The administrator at Smith Hospital has a duty to direct the group of employees as one in a way that forms a positive and comfortable work environment. The purpose must focus on the mission and goals of the newly merged facility, with...

Words: 1436 - Pages: 6

Free Essay

Best Buy - the Importance of Organizational Culture and Change

...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...

Words: 1099 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Exploring The Factors That Can Be Considered To Support Culture Change

...Explain why it is important to incorporate culture into your development plan and outline factors that can be considered and implemented to support culture change. Culture strongly influences our thoughts, beliefs, attitudes and behaviours. It impacts on the way we relate to others, the way we care for ourselves and our loved ones, the way we dress, eat, speak, write and live our lives. For this reason, a little cultural understanding can go a long way when dealing with people from a background different to ours. Cultures are constantly changing and developing over time. They are strongly influenced by: • local environment, for example: o weather: hot or cold, dry or wet o geography: mountainous, near the sea, in the desert o location: urban...

Words: 681 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Change and Culture Case Study I

...Change and Culture Case Study 1 Sharon Reed HCS/514 October 15, 2012 Steve Kovak Change and Culture Case Study 1 In the world of health care organization mergers are common as the pressures of free market drive organizations into combining resources with each other. Not every merger is a success. The health care organizations in most successful in making a merger are characteristics. The characteristics be examined and used to reveal key insights about organizational structure and ways that the free market system operates. The main reason corporate entities are to merger with companies to increase level of competitiveness in the market. A middle manager in a health organization had experience with merged with a previous competitor. Competition result to delivery of poor quality of care. The new organization has in place outpatient and inpatient service whereas one organization does not. Mergers can occur when two different organizations decide to joint together as one. In a merger is often a clash of cultures as two different organizations interact with each other and attempt to become one. Organizations that take advantage of a merger can resolve conflicts of culture and develop new collective attitudes. Each organization has its own ways of doing things and change will be made. Change in any organization comes with conflict and resentment which, management must resolve. In organization culture brings life experiences from each employee. Culture made of morale, values...

Words: 1413 - Pages: 6