Corporate Culture and Performance - Assignment Example

BUSINESS CULTURE Businesses are run by meticulous planning and stringent strategy. All of this has to fall in line with the other functions of the business which also require careful planning. Also, the businesses need to have an edge over others in the market to survive[Kel]. For this purpose they need to focus on the culture inculcated within the office environment. The large businesses have different cultures within them and it is difficult to maintain one large culture which defines the entire crux of the organization[Joh92]. Business culture is explained by how an organization copes with the problems from external and internal environment and together come up with solutions. The organization that I worked for makes beverages and is a fast moving consumer goods company[jef87]. Values also control how the different stakeholders of a company interact with each other and how they think and feel about the problems of each other as well as of the entire organization. Culture is variable and can change as per the wishes of its managers or key members. The organization in which I have previously worked is “ACME” its organizational structure is based on the vertical functional approach. Hence proving that people in departments are grouped according to their skills, expertise and resource use. This is the most basic form of organizational structure which works for the company and helps them achieve greater efficiency through economies of scale. “ACME” has a tall structure and comparatively a narrow span of control which means that the overall management has been spread along the same level. It has five major departments. 1. Human capital 2. Production 3. Industrial relations 4. Sales and marketing 5. Finance and accounting Human capital department is basically responsible for hiring capable workers who match the kind of work profile required. It also deals with providing the employees the benefits, perks and privileges so that they remain satisfied with the company and remain loyal to it. it also makes an effort to train employees so that they fit the criteria of the newly developing procedures in the company. The human capital department also puts forward the amount of pay and financial resources to be spent on trainings and so on to the finance department which is then approved by them. The production department is responsible for the overall production of the product. Because ACME is a multinational company, the production facilities are distributed amongst various countries so as to cut the costs. Bottles are usually manufactured in Singapore and delivered across the globe. There are a total of 8 plants in different parts of the country. They are located comparatively close to the major markets like and the central hubs so as to reduce the transportation costs. The industrial relations department is responsible for handling the problems related to the employees. As such problems in the country can have a major impact on the overall production of the company. This includes the problems to deal with labor unions, strikes and wage issues. Basically it deals with the problems related to industry so that the production process runs smoothly and more efficiently. The sales and marketing department deals with making the product available in the market and letting people know about it through advertising. It also deals with promotional deals, price cut offers and analyzing the competition from the competitors in the market and responding accordingly. The department also is responsible for making the product or ads culturally sensitive so as to fit in the environment of the country. For example reducing the price during the festivities season so that its available to more people and hence increasing the sales. The finance and accounting department deals with actual pricing of the product and also on the working out of the cost of production. It is the finance department which sets out finances and allocated the amount of money being used for production, distribution and marketing etc of the product. It also sets the price of the product of various sizes. It also deals with the import related issues of the firm and also dealing with setting a standardized set of rules and finances to be followed across the globe. This department also deals with the payroll of employees, auditing, recording invoices etc. How it works? There are 3 major leadership styles: Authoritative or centralized Democratic Delegative The first style of leadership functions on a centralized route. The power is centralized or concentrated in a few hands. In short, the organizations that follow this type of leadership style are bureaucratic and do not believe in delegating more authority to its employees. The second type of organization is a democratic organization. Limited power lies in the hands of the employees but they are fully responsible for their own domain of work. The third type of leadership style believes in giving a free hand to its employees. They can work in any way they want, the incentives offered to them are quite broad. Flex hours are provided to them. They are their own bosses and the top management remains available to address their issues and concerns. In short this type of organization has less hierarchical levels and is less vertically integrated. The ACME Company is run by the country manager in as the head. The division of labor is high and so is the work specialization hence every manager is responsible for their own particular department and employees working in the department. As the company is multinational company hence the work is also very challenging and interesting. Also the promotions are based on the amount of initiative taken by every employee. The decision making is centralized as even though the employees have a lot of authority, responsibility and control of their work, most of the information transferred to them is by their managers. Also whatever the work they do has to be reported back to the manager. All the employees in departments are required to report to their respective managers who in turn have to give them timely feedback and also required to give the employees guidance needed by them at any stage. The employees are evaluated by every manager for further promotion by the year end evaluations. Apart from the delegating every manager is responsible for motivating his juniors so as to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of the employees. Human Capital department also helps employees realize their potential and motivate them through different methods. They make sure that they give the best in return to their managers. This increases their performance, the quality of their work, and customer satisfaction. There is a high degree of delegation and delegation is done with proper authority and responsibility. Each manager is also made accountable for the actions of his subordinates. Proper instructions and guidance is given at time to time to achieve the objectives by the respective managers. The amount of responsibility upon the managers is less as at max there are about 3-5 employees reporting to a manager who in turn reports to his manger and so on. At the top of the hierarchy is the country general manager. He is responsible for taking major administrative decisions regarding the company's policy and operations. Then comes departmental managers who have subordinates working under them and then further down is the first line workers who are directly involved in the production of goods and services. ACME can be classified as an organization which has open information policy. All the information is consulted at lower levels so that people have a good know how of what is being implemented by the way the policies are communicated downwards. Grapevine is also a very popular concept in ACME which also helps extract useful information for employees. The organization structure is as follows: Elements of Culture A culture is usually known by certain things and is determined through stories of the organization, the histories, the myths and legends. These stories usually include how the operations of the company started and the roads of trouble that the person or the group of people who started it went through. These stories help in giving credibility and unification to the entire organization. Culture is also determined by the heroes of the company as well as the rituals, symbols (artifacts, logos that remind people of the culture, rules and beliefs).symbols also determines the status of the organization. Culture is evident in ACME through almost all of these above mentioned artifacts. Ill start from telling about the layout and design of the office which has been designed keeping in view the information sharing and open door policy so that there are no separate rooms for people in fact the structure is open and it facilitates information sharing and a more efficient delivery of the tasks. The office has famous stories about the three friends who came up with this idea of starting a new venture and how they succeeded in beating all the troubles that came across. These stories are repeated often at events and the morals are also painted on the office walls in bright colors which help in reinforcing and embedding these values in the very fabric of every employee of the company. The people who demonstrated this strength then become known as the heroes of the organization. The core values integrated into the organization are to refresh the world and bring happiness into the world. To keep the company unified there is an annual dinner and small friendly competitions throughout the year which facilitates learning and informal information sharing and exchange of ideas. The lower level staff can talk to the top leadership and everyone’s opinion is valued in the company. References Kel: , (Lee & Yu, 2004), Joh92: , (Kotter, 1992), jef87: , (Kerr & Slocum, 2005), Read More