Kim Woods Only (wk 8)
Astroorange
Final-Team2RecommendingaCulturalStrategy4.22.18.pptxRecommending a Cultural Strategy
Building Strong Organizational Cultures
April 22, 2018 Team 2 Maria Cabrera ∙ Jimmy Marx ∙ Denise Moore ∙ Richelle Shepard ∙ Jeffery Ward
Best Practices
Autonomy: having a sense of control in managing one’s projects
“Contemporary behavioral studies show that people want to be accountable—and making sure that they have control over their task, their time, their technique, and their team is the most effective pathway to that destination” (Pink, 2010).
Recognition: being valued and praised for contributions
“...recognition can be a cost-effective tool for increasing average effort, especially when recognition is provided to a relatively large group of best-performing workers” (Bradler, Dur, Neckermann, and Non, 2016).
Engagement in the work: involvement in challenging and meaningful tasks
“Engaged employees feel passionate about their work, happy to work in their organization, and have the enthusiasm to go to their work every day (Ramanujam, 2014).”
Autonomy, recognition, and engagement in the work (Singh, 2016).
Autonomy is achievable when an organization establishes a clear vision and transparently communicates core values and the performance and attitude standards for all employees.
Recognition for accomplishments as well as work ethic through internal and external reward systems can have a significant impact on company moral as well as efficiency and productivity.
Engagement in the work is a key practice that encourages active involvement from all staff members and must utilize consistent and thorough communication and support to be achieved.
Google’s Culture
Vision: “to provide access to the world’s information in one click”
Mission: “to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful”1
Communicating their core values
Relaxed environment to promote creativity where employees can be themselves
Embracing transparency
View change as progress
Casual and democratic atmosphere
Team development and fun activities2
Sees change as progress
Encourages independence and self-motivation
Intelligent diversity
Hiring for smarts, not experience3
Google emphasizes a culture of creativity and diversity, in a relaxed environment where individuals are encouraged to be themselves, work on their own projects, and engage in a fun and meaningful way. They have a democratic atmosphere where team development is key and communication and transparency are paramount. Their core values include: you don’t need to be at your desk, there is always more information out there, you can be serious without a suit, and great just isn’t good enough. Employees at google enjoy healthy snacks, working with their pets close by, massages when needed, and spacious lounge areas all around the office.
1(Thompson, 2017)
2(Blackinston, 2018)
3(Noviantoro, 2014)
Costco’s Culture
Mission:
To continually provide their members with quality goods and services at the lowest possible prices
Never ending quest for efficiency
Tremendous buying power
Compassionate culture
Code of Ethics:
Obey the law
Take care of their members
Provide top-quality products at the best prices
Offer ecological products
Take care of their employees
Pay/reward well
Great benefits
Protect jobs/promote internally
Fun/relaxed work environment
Respect their suppliers
(Bolman & Deal, 2017, p.140-142)
(Costco.com)
1.
Transition headline
Google & Costco Agree
Believe in a compassionate culture where employees matter
Taking care of their members
Outstanding benefits, great pay, excellent opportunities for advancement
Fun working environment
Believe that the community matters, and their practices reflect it
Clearly communicated core values
Google and Costco agree that happy employees make for a better business! Both of these outstanding companies provide excellent pay, benefits, promotion opportunities, and a fun work environment. They invest in their people and their communities, and clearly communicate their company values and vision to create a unified and motivated workforce.
Where Do They Differ?
Culture – global technology based and focused worldwide.
Allows employees to make mistakes to promote experimentation and growth by letting them learn from their mistakes.
Creates a stimulating work environment by offering custom designed offices, and by fostering subcultures.
Hires for smarts and not for experience.
Costco
Culture – Global merchandise and services based and focused on consumers & employees.
Maintains core values and culture by promoting from within and planning for the future.
Stays committed to a focused business strategy by offering discount merchandise, and taking care of customers and employees.
Upholds employees to high standards of ethics by motivating staff to always do the right thing.
The best practices for both Google and Costco are focused on the success of the companies and both of them are very successful. While Google’s strategy is concentrated on developing and stimulating staff’s creativity, hiring smart people, and fostering subcultures, Costco’s approach is determined to put customers and employees first, commit to continue offering excellent merchandise for very good prices, and motivate staff to adhere to the high standards mandated by their code of ethics.
(Ethics Unwrapped, 2018)
(Fenn, 2018)
(Page, 2015)
Increases creativity that allows for greater problem solving
Keeping employees happy1
Doing more than what needs done
Free-thinking environment increases productivity and output
Allowing staff to work on their own projects: staff strive for excellence
Support and benefits increases staff retention
Talented individuals are attracted to Google, the best and the brightest are on board
Google’s Culture & Its Impact
Challenges are tackled with more innovative solutions due to Google’s support of creativity and free-thinking. Keeping employees happy is a priority, the environment and culture attracts, motivates, and maintains the most talented individuals. Core value of great is not good enough pushes staff to never stop pursuing the absolute best, and the support they receive has allowed them to maintain one of the largest and most profitable companies known for their innovation and progress.
1(Blattner & Walter, 2015)
Costco’s Culture & Its Impact
A compassionate culture leads to happier employees
Great benefits, high pay, and outstanding programs make for better retention
Job protections and promotion from within encourages employees to achieve their very best, making Costco a force to be reckoned with
Fun and relaxed work environment promotes individuality and increases problem solving
Costco’s culture, like that of Google, has a way of motivating its employees to function at their best. Each individual is valued, and their time, and opinions, matter. Giving staff a sense of support and purpose drives Costco’s business and ensures better staff retention, and higher levels of moral.
Best Practices Vs. Google
Autonomy: Google’s focus on creativity and allowing staff to work on their own projects gives employees a strong sense of autonomy
Recognition: At Google “Recognition which was delivered in a personal and genuine way was seen as more valuable than an email and a cash bonus. Peer to peer recognition – particularly amongst engineers – was also highly valued”(Cummins, 2013) .
Engagement in the work: “Google creates an environment where employees feel that their work makes the world a better place. 73% of Google employees find their jobs to be meaningful”(Hedden, 2016).
Google exemplifies the three best practices:
Allowing employees to work on side project encourages self-regulation and motivation
Peer to peer recognition is a standard procedure at Google, and regular communication at meetings emphasizes the achievements of others and offers support for all.
Google creates a work place that encourages staff to be uniquely themselves, and even gives back to the community. Staff members are encouraged to provide input (at every level of the company) and no idea is too big or too small.
Autonomy: Costco gives managers autonomy to experiment with their departments or stores to boost sales or shave expenses as they see fit
Recognition: Costco utilizes small gestures of appreciation that have little to do with actual compensation, but end up enhancing the employee experience at Costco by bolstering high wages with high confidence in the organization
Engagement in the work: Employees are challenged to provide outstanding service and to learn constantly. Costco promotes almost entirely from within, those who outshine their peers are utilized in more significant roles.
Best Practices Vs. Costco
Costco creates an environment which supports the three best practices in their own way.
Managers are permitted to operate autonomously of the head office and make independent decisions that they feel will work best. Staff are encouraged to problem solve and use their best judgment based on company practices.
Costco also recognized the hard work of their employees with amazing benefits and a supportive, team building environment.
Promoting from within creates extra incentive for staff to perform, and engage with the rest of the staff. All employees are welcome to problem solve in this compassionate environment.
Insight 1
Costco exemplifies human resources frame leading to excellence: “From a holistic perspective, this approach is aligned with the concept of personnel empowerment and providing opportunities for growth from within” (Bolman and Deal, 2013).
Focus on pay, rewards, benefits,& promoting from within, one of largest retailers worldwide:
Insight 2
Google leadership’s intent to hire/retain the best, leading edge of technology:
Staff of 30 researchers studying employee related decisions/issues
Retention comes from “the mission, the quality of people, and the chance to build the skill set of a better leader or entrepreneur” (Davenport, Harris, and Shapiro, 2010).
Insight 3
Google leadership/employees demonstrate that organizations can overcome the fear of change by viewing it as progress
By changing mindsets they can adapt more fluidly to new company direction
Conclusions & Insights
Insight 1: Costco and Google want the best and brightest, and they work to attract and retain them, “You’ve got to want to get the very best people that you can, and you want to be able to keep them and provide some job security for them. That’s not just altruism, it’s good business” (Frey 2004, p. 3).
Insight 2: Google creates a culture that promotes efficiency and productivity, “Google...and others are beginning to understand exactly how to ensure the highest productivity, engagement, and retention of top talent, and then replicating their successes”(Davenport, Harris, and Shapiro, 2010).
Insight 3: Embracing change and seeing it as progress helps business move forward, “Organizations today face a persistent dilemma. Changes in their environment or leadership pressure them to adapt, yet the more they try to change, the more often their reach exceeds their grasp” (Nickerson and Silverman, 2003).
Costco: Continue to use the structural frame in most cases.
Motivate employees with economic incentives
Empower them with rational sequence to produce correct decisions.
Transmit facts and information.
Keep the organization heading in the right direction.
Google: Continue to benefit from the human resource frame when possible
Create activities to promote participation
Keep open process to produce commitment
Boost the exchange of information, needs, and feelings
Promote growth and self actualization
(Bolman and Deal, 2013, p. 308-309)
Conclusions & Insights: Recommendations
Costco has been very successful in using the structural frame for decision making, goal setting, communication, and motivation processes. Some ways they can increase their performance is by adding economic incentives, empowering their staff with rational sequences, provide more communication, and maintain their consistency.
Google’s success is based on their use of the human resource frame for strategic planning, decision making, communication, and motivation processes. Ways in which they can make improvements is by creating specific activities outside of standard processes, maintaining open processes, increasing the exchange of information relevant to individual projects in the way they do team projects, and encourage self-actualization.
(Bolman and Deal, 2013, p. 208-209).
References
Bradler, C., Dur, R., Neckermann, S., & Non, A. (2016, November). Employee Recognition and Performance: A Field Experiment. Management Science, 62(11), 3085-3099.
Blackinston, Mary. (2018, Jan. 19). What Every Company Can Learn from Google’s Company Culture. Retrieved on: 2018, Apr. 10. From: http://www.successagency.com/growth/2017/01/19/google-company-culture/
Blattner, John, & Walter, Thomas J.. (2015). “Creating and Sustaining a Highly Engaged Company Culture in a Multigenerational Workplace”, Strategic HR Review, Vol. 14 Issue: 4, pp.124-130, https://doi-org.libproxy.chapman.edu/10.1108/SHR-06-2015-0043
Bolman, Lee G., and Terrence E. Deal. Reframing Organizations Artistry, Choice and Leadership. Jossey-Bass, 2013.
Cummins, S. (2013, May 23). How Google Manages Employee Recognition. Retrieved on: 2013, May 23. From: https://nxlperformance.com/google-manages-employee-recognition/
Davenport, T. H., Harris, J., & Shapiro, J. (2010, October). Competing on Talent Analytics. Harvard Business Review, 88(10), 52-58.
Farkas, Meredith Goran. (2013). “Building and Sustaining a Culture of Assessment: Best Practices for Change leadership”, Reference Services Review, Vol. 41, Issue: 1, pp. 13-31. Retrieved from: https://doi-org.libproxy.chapman.edu/10.1108/00907321311300857
Fenn, Shari. Welcome to the Calgary Region Education Center. www.investcalgaryregion.ca/blog/use-costcos-supply-chain-best-practices-to-save-your-business-money. Accessed 18 Apr. 2018.
References (...continued)
Frey, C. 2004. Costco’s love of labor: Employees’ well-being key to its success. Seattle Post-Intelligencer, March 29. Retrieved from www.seattlepi.nwsource.com on May 1, 2006
Hedden, M. (2016, Sep. 22). Employee Recognition Programs at Google - Going Beyond the Perks. Retrieved on 22 Sep. 2016 from: https://nxlperformance.com/employee-recognition-programs-perks-google/
Nickerson, J. A., and Silverman, B. S. (2003). Why Firms Want to Organize Efficiently and What Keeps Them from Doing So: Inappropriate Governance, Performance, and Adaptation in a Deregulated Industry. Administrative Science Quarterly, 48, 433-465.
Noviantoro, Tri. (2014, Sep. 4). Organizational Culture in Google Inc. Retrieved on: 2018, Apr. 11. From: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20140904061228-154884582-organizational-culture-in-google-inc
Page, Vanessa. Costco's Business Model Is Smarter Than You Think. 7 July 2015, www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/070715/costcos-business-model-smarter-you-think.asp. Accessed 18 Apr. 2018.
Pink, D. (2009). Drive: The surprising truth about what motivates us. New York: Riverhead Books
Ramanujam, N. (2014). Fostering productivity, organizational effectiveness via employee engagement. Retrieved on 13 August, 2015 from: http://insights.wired.com/profiles/blogs/fostering-productivityorganizational-effectiveness-via-employee?xg_source=msg_appr_blogpost#axzz3iewHyaaO.
References (...continued)
Singh, R. (2016, April). The Impact of Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivators on Employee Engagement in Information Organizations. Journal of Education for Library and Information Science, 57(2), 197-206.
Thompson, Andrew. (2017, Jan. 28). Google’s Vision Statement and Mission Statement. Retrieved on: 2018, Apr. 10. From: http://panmore.com/google-vision-statement-mission-statement
The Costco Model. ethicsunwrapped.utexas.edu/case-study/the-costco-model. Accessed 18 Apr. 2018.
