ComputerHunter.org |
|
|
|||
|
 |
Tales from the Corporate Frontlines: Shifting Culture and Climate in Todays Corporate World
This articles relates to the AlphaMeasure core competency Culture and Climate. AlphaMeasure defines climate as the effect an organization has on the employees, while culture refers more to the acceptable behaviors, attitudes, and habits of the organization as a whole. Knowing and understanding workplace culture and climate leads to a better understanding of what factors are influencing employees. In relation, the level of service your customers receive is almost always influenced by the culture and climate of your organization. This competency can be especially insightful if your organization is experiencing customer service related issues or problems working together internally. A Tale from the Corporate Frontlines: An Employee's Perpective on Culture and Climate. This short story is part of AlphaMeasure's Tales from the Corporate Frontlines. When large, multinational corporations acquire medium-sized, locally-oriented businesses, huge shifts in the culture and climate of the workplace can occur. I experienced such a shift while working for a prosperous company with a rich local history and plenty of prestige in the community. When I started there, years ago, the culture was very friendly and laid back. This may have been due to the fact that although an eastern company, it was owned and directed by a larger west coast entity. The culture and climate was relaxed and friendly. Occupants of executive row could be seen mingling with "regular employees" at company functions, which were many- the bill nearly always footed by the company. They recognized employees and their families by name, and were regularly spotted in offices, hallways, and the cafeteria, catching up with fellow workers, and enjoying themselves. Morale was high, along with productivity and profitability. It reminded me of working for a family business, even though 500+ people worked in the building. Then came the sale. At the first of many employee meetings, the details of the huge corporate transaction, of the kind so common these days, were outlined. This new parent company turned out to have a climate and culture exactly the opposite from what we were used to for years. Change didn't occur overnight, but gradually the shift began. Then it washed over our little company like a tidal wave. Executive row was walled in like a fortress, and its occupants stayed inside. We were barraged by memos, new rules, more rules, dress codes, building regs, vacation regs, holiday changes, work process changes, changes for the sake of making changes (or so it seemed to the employees), layoffs, restructurings- the climate became tense and chaotic. Morale suffered, as well as productivity. Eventually, things worked out. Communication between various levels of management improved, understandings were reached, and the company survived and thrived again. But I always wondered---couldn't someone have done something to make the shift easier and smoother? With sales, mergers, and acquisitions so common these days, there has got to be a better way. It seemed to me that if a little consideration had been given to the radical climate and culture changes involved, the company could have handled the transition more smoothly, to the benefit of everyone involved. This article may be reprinted provided it is published in its entirety, includes the author bio information, and all links remain active. 2004 - AlphaMeasure, Inc. - All Rights Reserved Josh Greenberg is President of AlphaMeasure, Inc. located in Boulder, Colorado. AlphaMeasure provides organizations of all sizes a powerful web based method for measuring employee satisfaction, determining employee engagement, and increasing employee retention. The AlphaMeasure Employee Survey System is fully-customizable and allows you to target the organizational topics and challenges facing your staff today. Designed by HR professionals from the ground up, the AlphaMeasure Employee Satisfaction Survey System provides an affordable, feature rich solution for deploying fully-customized employee satisfaction or employee engagement surveys. For additional employee surveying resources go to AlphaMeasure Employee Survey System.
Google News - Top Stories
|
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
The Social Implications of Computing Directed by Mark Harrison, "Visions of Heaven and Hell" is a three-part cautionary tale come documentary commissioned by Channel Four, that warns of the impending infiltration of technology and pessimistically endeavours to communicate the sentient of an old Buddhist proverb which states "To every man is given the key to the gates of heaven; the same key opens the gates of hell." and within computerisation lies such a key thought a dismal set of apprehensive predilections. The Need to Survive; A Death Knell For Organizations Changing the driving force upon which business decisions are based is crucial in order to not only restore ethics in business but to truly improve the lives of those whom they were meant to benefit: executives, employees and consumers. After all, weren't business activities meant to improve the state of existence of human beings on this planet? Laws and Ethics?. Who?s Kidding Who? Years ago I read an article by a renowned psychologist wherein he wrote his studies found one percent of all human beings would never lie, cheat or steal. One percent would always lie, cheat or steal and given the right set of circumstances, the rest of us would likely lie, cheat and/or steal. Work Ethics ? A Paradigm Shift Work ethics is a hot topic in today's business and educational worlds. Yet, how do we define this hybrid phrase with the word work meaning more than a specific outcome and the word ethics being more than the values that enhance that outcome? Private Carrier Pepsi Embraces Diversity Amongst Employees Many companies claim to be committed to diversity, but private carrier Pepsico has proven their desire for a diverse employee base. With the progression of globalization in the world, Pepsi continues to embrace and value diversity in customers, suppliers and employees. If you are interested in driving in a private fleet that respects a diverse work force, Pepsico is the private carrier company for you. Mind Your Own Damn Business Sexcess You have certainly heard the expression "mind your own damn business" used in a multitude of contexts. The most typical being the don't kiss and tell type statements, often uttered by responsibly private individuals about their love life. The Three Schools of Business Ethics G. Richard Shell, author of Bargaining for Advantage: Negotiation Strategies for Reasonable People, identifies three primary schools of ethics in negotiation. To me, they are equally valuable in examining ethics in the context of business in general. Minding Your Global Manners To say that today's business environment is becoming increasingly more global is to state the obvious. Meetings, phone calls and conferences are held all over the world and attendees can come from any point on the globe. On any given business day you can find yourself dealing face-to-face, over the phone, by e-mail and, on rare occasions, by postal letter with people whose customs and cultures differ your own. You may never have to leave home to interact on an international level. The Collapse of Enron: Managerial Aspects Executive summary The Armaments Industry and Holy (?) Roman Emperors "The time for fixing every essential right on a legal basis is while our rulers are honest and ourselves united. From the conclusion of this war we shall be going down hill. It will not then be necessary to resort every movement to the people for support. They will be forgotten, therefore, and their rights disregarded. They will forget themselves, but in the sole faculty of making money... The shackles, therefore, which shall not be knocked off at the conclusion of this war, will remain on us long, will be made heavier and heavier." - Thomas Jefferson Ethics in Business - Please Have Some Is your business ethical? Is Good Neighborliness Good Business? [Note: This story is not a criticism of Buddhism. It is a story of neighborly love.] Do Organizations Serve Us Or Do We Serve Organizations We have seen an erosion in the confidence that society has in organizational leadership and its integrity recently with the numerous accounting scandals that have become public.Clearly this has led to the demise of several large organizations. In performance terms it is obvious that erosion of leadership integrity is not good for business. The Everyday Business Ethics Crisis Or Im Mad as Hell and Not Going to Take it Anymore Breaking news may feature the Enron debacle, WorldCom activities, or accounting problems but we live our everyday business life making ethical choices that affect our employment and businesses. Consider the ethical choices made in these situations: How To Detect Liars In Your Business & Personal Life We live in a world full of lies and deception. Most of us (or all of us?) lied or were forced to do so, in a small or larger scale, because of some circumstances. Unfortunately, some individuals use to prevaricate or lie deliberately. They use to do it frequently in every aspect of their life. Six Reasons to Give If you run a business, you undoubtedly feel many pressures on your time and money. Why would you want to add "giving to the community" to your "to do" list? Here are six reasons ..... Ethics in Business...A Lost Art While watching Face the Nation one Sunday earlier this year, Bob Schiffer discussed the airline industry, his mother and ethics in business. Like Bob, I think it is a sad commentary today, that we have to police businesses. Whatever happened to going into business to provide a needed service, being loyal to employees, and keeping promises. Enron?s Ultimate Victim: Ethics FROM the 'MORAL HIGH GROUND', where we imagine ourselves, the Enron fiasco should have come as no surprise. Enron is simply a quintessential example of the degradation of principles such as trust, loyalty and ethical standards. Better Business Boundaries To get a new client, we might be inclined to make concessions no matter what the cost: offer a second or extra long sample session; reduce fees; set session times we don't want to work. We might leap at any opportunity before looking at the possible return on investment of time. These situations end up being lessons learned, sometimes painful ones. Business Ethics There is much talk today about ethics in business - as there should be, but there should be more than talk; there should be a high moral code for all executives who are responsible to both their customers and their shareholders.
|
|
|
|
|
