Analysis of Organizational Culture – Use Chapter 16 to analyze the organizational culture of Amazon. Is it ethical? Is it spiritual? How could things be better?This assignment will need to be 1page
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An Ethical Choice A Culture of Compassion In the world of banking, success
and ethical culture don’t necessarily go hand in hand. Leaders who desire ethical
cultures in their organizations must choose to build ethics into the company’s
definition of success in ways that translate into ethical actions for managers and
employees. Contrast two financial success stories, Goldman Sachs and Wells
Fargo. Both megabanks are among the Fortune 100 (the largest U.S. companies
ranked by revenue). They are also two of Fortune’s World’s Most Admired
Companies, a list that ranks the largest companies in revenue by nine criteria
including social responsibility. Yet their organizational cultures appear to be vastly
different. Goldman Sachs seems to struggle to achieve an ethical culture for its
employees and clients, while Wells Fargo seems to emanate a culture of
compassion. Consider some recent headlines:
Language
Many organizations and subunits within them use language to help members
identify with the culture, attest to their acceptance of it, and help preserve it.
Unique terms describe equipment, officers, key individuals, suppliers,
customers, or products that relate to the business. New employees may at first
be overwhelmed by acronyms and jargon, that, once assimilated, act as a
common denominator to unite members of a given culture or subculture.
Creating an Ethical Organizational
Culture
Demonstrate how an ethical culture can be created.
The organizational culture most likely to shape high ethical standards among its members
is high in risk tolerance, low to moderate in aggressiveness, and focused on means as
well as outcomes.66 This type of culture takes a long-term perspective and balances the
rights of multiple stakeholders, including employees, stockholders, and the community.
Managers are supported for taking risks and innovating, discouraged from engaging in
unbridled competition, and guided to heed not just to what goals are achieved but
also how.
If the culture is strong and supports high ethical standards, it should have a very powerful
and positive influence on employee behavior. Marcus Baynes, an analyst/computer
scientist with the U.S. National Security Agency, credits the organization’s commitment
to work–life balance and diversity for its ability to sustain a positive, ethical culture in a
high-stakes, high-stress environment. “The work is demanding and important, but we
have a lot of fun doing it,” he said.67
Examples of organizations that have failed to establish proper codes of ethical conduct
can be found in the media nearly every day. Some actively deceive customers or clients.
Others produce products that harm consumers or the environment, or they harass or
discriminate against certain groups of employees. Others are more subtle and cover up or
fail to report wrongdoing. The negative consequences of a systematic culture of unethical
behavior can be severe and include customer boycotts, fines, lawsuits, and government
regulation of an organization’s practices.
What can managers do to create a more ethical culture? They can adhere to the following
principles:68
• Be a visible role model. Employees will look to the actions of top management as a
benchmark for appropriate behavior. Send a positive message.
• Communicate ethical expectations. Minimize ethical ambiguities by sharing an
organizational code of ethics that states the organization’s primary values and ethical
rules employees must follow.
• Provide ethical training. Set up seminars, workshops, and training programs to
reinforce the organization’s standards of conduct, clarify what practices are
permissible, and address potential ethical dilemmas.
•
Visibly reward ethical acts and punish unethical ones. Appraise managers on how
their decisions measure up against the organization’s code of ethics. Review the
means as well as the ends. Visibly reward those who act ethically and conspicuously
punish those who don’t.
• Provide protective mechanisms. Provide formal mechanisms so employees can
discuss ethical dilemmas and report unethical behavior without fear of reprimand.
These might include ethical counselors, ombudspeople, or ethical officers.
The work of setting a positive ethical climate has to start at the top of the
organization.69 A study of 195 managers demonstrated that when top management
emphasizes strong ethical values, supervisors are more likely to practice ethical
leadership. Positive ethical attitudes transfer down to line employees, who show lower
levels of deviant behavior and higher levels of cooperation and assistance. A study
involving auditors found perceived pressure from organizational leaders to behave
unethically was associated with increased intentions to engage in unethical
practices.70Clearly the wrong type of organizational culture can negatively influence
employee ethical behavior. Finally, employees whose ethical values are similar to those
of their department are more likely to be promoted, so we can think of ethical culture as
Creating a Positive
Organizational Culture
flowing from the bottom up as well.71
A positive organizational culture emphasizes building on employee strengths, rewards more
than it punishes, and emphasizes individual vitality and growth.72 Let’s consider each of these
areas.
positive organizational culture
A culture that emphasizes building on employee strengths, rewards more than punishes,
and emphasizes individual vitality and growth.
Building on Employee Strengths
Although a positive organizational culture does not ignore problems, it does emphasize showing
workers how they can capitalize on their strengths. As management guru Peter Drucker said,
“Most Americans do not know what their strengths are. When you ask them, they look at you
with a blank stare, or they respond in terms of subject knowledge, which is the wrong answer.”
Wouldn’t it be better to be in an organizational culture that helped you discover your strengths
and learn how to make the most of them?
Larry Hammond, CEO of Auglaize Provico, an agribusiness based in Ohio, used this approach
when you’d least expect it: during his firm’s darkest days. In the midst of the firm’s worst
financial struggles, when it had to lay off one-quarter of its workforce, Hammond decided to try
a different approach. Rather than dwell on what was wrong, he took advantage of what was right.
“If you really want to [excel], you have to know yourself—you have to know what you’re good
at, and you have to know what you’re not so good at,” says Hammond. With the help of Gallup
consultant Barry Conchie, Hammond focused on discovering and using employee strengths and
helped the company turn itself around. “You ask Larry [Hammond] what the difference is, and
he’ll say that it’s individuals using their natural talents,” says Conchie.73
Rewarding More Than Punishing
Although most organizations are sufficiently focused on extrinsic rewards such as pay and
promotions, they often forget about the power of smaller (and cheaper) rewards such as
praise. Part of creating a positive organizational culture is “catching employees doing
something right.” Many managers withhold praise because they’re afraid employees will
coast or because they think praise is not valued. Employees generally don’t ask for praise, and
managers usually don’t realize the costs of failing to give it.
Emphasizing Vitality and Growth
No organization will get the best from employees who see themselves as mere cogs in the
machine. A positive culture recognizes the difference between a job and a career. It supports
not only what the employee contributes to organizational effectiveness but also how the
organization can make the employee more effective—personally and professionally. Top
companies recognize the value of helping people grow. Safelite AutoGlass, Workforce
Management’s 2012 Optima award winner for Competitive Advantage, attributes its success
in part to its PeopleFirst Plan talent development initiative. “The only way we can stand out
is if we have the best people,” says Senior Vice President Steve Miggo.75
Limits of Positive Culture
Is a positive culture a cure-all? Though many companies have embraced aspects of a positive
organizational culture, it is a new enough idea for us to be uncertain about how and when it
works best.
Spirituality and Organizational Culture
7
Identify characteristics of a spiritual culture.
What do Southwest Airlines, Hewlett-Packard, Ford, The Men’s Wearhouse, Tyson
Foods, Wetherill Associates, and Tom’s of Maine have in common? They’re among a
growing number of organizations that have embraced workplace spirituality.
What Is Spirituality?
Workplace spirituality is not about organized religious practices. It’s not about God or
theology. Workplace spirituality recognizes that people have an inner life that nourishes
and is nourished by meaningful work in the context of community.78 Organizations that
promote a spiritual culture recognize that people seek to find meaning and purpose in
their work and desire to connect with other human beings as part of a community. Many
of the topics we have discussed—ranging from job design (designing work that is
meaningful to employees) to transformational leadership (leadership practices that
emphasize a higher-order purpose and self-transcendent goals) are well matched to the
concept of organizational spirituality. When a company emphasizes its commitment to
paying Third World suppliers a fair (above-market) price for their coffee to facilitate
community development—as did Starbucks—or encourages employees to share prayers
or inspirational messages through e-mail—as did Interstate Batteries—it is encouraging a
more spiritual culture.79
workplace spirituality
The recognition that people have an inner life that nourishes and is nourished by
meaningful work that takes place in the context of community.
Why Spirituality Now?
As we noted in our discussion of emotions in Chapter 4, the myth of rationality assumed
the well-run organization eliminated feelings. Concern about an employee’s inner life had
no role in the perfectly rational model. But just as we’ve now come to realize that the
study of emotions improves our understanding of organizational behavior, an awareness
of spirituality can help us better understand employee behavior in the twenty-first
century.
Of course, employees have always had an inner life. So why has the search for meaning
and purposefulness in work surfaced now? We summarize the reasons in Exhibit 16-5.
• Spirituality can counterbalance the pressures and stress of a turbulent pace of life.
Contemporary lifestyles—single-parent families, geographic mobility, the
temporary nature of jobs, new technologies that create distance between people—
underscore the lack of community many people feel and increase the need for
involvement and connection.
• Formalized religion hasn’t worked for many people, and they continue to look for
anchors to replace lack of faith and to fill a growing feeling of emptiness.
• Job demands have made the workplace dominant in many people’s lives, yet they
continue to question the meaning of work.
• People want to integrate personal life values with their professional lives.
• An increasing number of people are finding that the pursuit of more material
acquisitions leaves them unfulfilled.
Exhibit 16-5 Reasons for the Growing Interest in Spirituality
Characteristics of a Spiritual Organization
The concept of workplace spirituality draws on our previous discussions of values, ethics,
motivation, and leadership. What differentiates spiritual organizations from their
nonspiritual counterparts? Although research remains preliminary, several cultural
characteristics tend to be evident in spiritual organizations:80
• Benevolence. Spiritual organizations value showing kindness toward others and
promoting the happiness of employees and other organizational stakeholders.
• Strong sense of purpose. Spiritual organizations build their cultures around a
meaningful purpose. Although profits may be important, they’re not the primary
value of the organization.
• Trust and respect. Spiritual organizations are characterized by mutual trust, honesty,
and openness. Employees are treated with esteem and value, consistent with the
dignity of each individual.
• Open-mindedness. Spiritual organizations value flexible thinking and creativity
among employees.
…
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