Premium Essay

5 Steps to a Strong Company Culture

In:

Submitted By yiyan
Words 973
Pages 4
5 steps to a strong company culture

http://www.microsoftbusinesshub.com/News_and_Updates/5_steps_to_a_strong_company_culture

Great leaders inspire. They pull in talented and high-performing staffers.
But behind each leader you'll find something equally powerful: a company culture that motivates people to work hard and stay with the business.
As long as you have a business, you have a company culture. Instead of leaving it to grow on its own, you can nurture it and make it into something that will breed loyalty and motivation. Creating a strong culture — one of fun, sharing, collaboration, and connection — can be done in five simple steps, according to Carol Skube, a Minneapolis-based human resources consultant.
Step 1: Understand
A strong culture is founded on more than just paid lunches or personalized parking spaces. Great leaders understand what is important to their employees. As a business leader, developing a strong company culture starts when you take steps to find out what motivates the people who work for you.
The process of understanding starts with communication. Talk to your employees to find out what you both expect from the job, Skube says. This will help you clarify your expectations of your staff and, in turn, help you learn what motivates them. It will also send a message to your staff that collaboration and communication are important to your company.
As you talk to your employees, you also will learn what's important to them. This understanding will help you build a culture of fun and sharing that is appropriate for your company, rather than one based on your idea of what people might enjoy.
Step 2: Take action
Once you've taken the time to understand your employees, it's time to take action. This follow-through is important, as it shows that you have taken your employees' interests and concerns to heart.
Try this simple exercise:

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Problem Solution

...revenues and funding, and second increase their student enrollment 5% each year. Their strategic objectives are to ensure they identify any potential problems that can hinder their success as well as recognize any areas of opportunity for their organization. They are currently analyzing ways to increase the student to teacher ratio by implementing a new computer software program to aid in the students learning. The board of directors is interested in benchmarking other companies to increase their knowledge and improve their chance to meet their strategic objectives. Describe the Situation Issue and Opportunity Identification There does not appear to be a framework for project management or operations with the Foundation Schools project team. Confusion and identification with the project is compounded due to the lack of a project manager. The end state vision is not clear and can be very broad and does not lead to a conclusive success of the project. The teachers of Foundation Schools do not feel compelled to change their teaching styles to incorporate the Life Skills software. Stakeholder Perspectives/Ethical Dilemmas Foundation Schools will be able to not only increase revenue for the organization, but help the lives of the students of the schools by utilizing a dedicated team and enhancing the culture in a way that stresses the importance of team work and job dedication. The balance of a strong, dedicated team is what is required to balance the importance to the...

Words: 2700 - Pages: 11

Premium Essay

Tanglewood Case 2

...Develop Talent 2. Hire Yourself or Outsource 3. External or Internal Hiring 4. Core or Flexible Workforce 5. Hire or Retain 6. National or Global 7. Attract or Relocate B. Staffing Quality 1. Exceptional or Acceptable Workforce Quality III. References IV. Conclusion INTRODUCTION This paper I will deliberate on the Human Resource functions of Tanglewood Stores. The discussion of the staffing strategies; required by Tanglewood in order to maintain its business philosophy and niche market while remaining competitive. The paper suggests strategic staffing decisions regarding the nine staffing levels and four factors of staffing quality. Every industry in the marketplace has to have some type of staffing strategy in order to be successful. Tanglewood Retail among the biggest retailers among 12 regions locally and oversees. By reviewing Tanglewood company report that was provided to me. I analyzed the staffing approach below with my recommendations. ACQUIRE OR DEVELOP TALENT Tanglewood should acquire employees that have some knowledge in sales and retail but should also train and develop their customer service skills to coincide with the company’s goals and strategies. The staffing levels and quality add up to an emerging talent and remarkable staff. The most imperative strategy's for your company to emphasis on is the diverse cultures which are related to the different areas you are focusing on; by setting your business apart from the various competitors...

Words: 1116 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Patagonia Case

...everything sustainable in the company, to create a flexible and freedom-working environment. To meet the employee’ satisfaction and do contribution to planet. Yes, they are focus on the sustainable growth between 3%-5% but not the profit. So they are using the revenue in order to maintain that system. 2.Patagonia has a strong culture. Does this culture ensure that Patagonia employees will work hard and act consistently in the corporation’s best interest? If not, what must Patagonia managers do to shore up the company’s control system? Initially, we think this strong culture will ensure that Patagonia employees work hard because they are given the incentives to stimulate them to work hard in order to take leisure. But also when the company wants to make some changes, it is difficult to convenience the employee act consistently in corporation’s best interest because the company culture favored minimum bureaucracy and maximum informality. If the class focus is on planning and budgeting processes or open book management systems, the following assignment questions are appropriate: 1. Evaluate Patagonia’s Workbook Process. Would you recommend to Patagonia’s management that they continue the process? Why or why not? Yes, we will suggest continuing the process. Because they are planning so they are looking for the future, also It’s useful to coordinate with the other departments on cross-functional objectives and the position in the company and also because they are transparent...

Words: 478 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

The Virgin Group, Ltd

...the likely effectiveness of that style in the U.S. today. Sir Branson’s leadership style is the combination of authentic and transformational. He believes in hiring staff that have the skills to perform effectively. The authentic leadership style leads the way to his skill to work with the understanding that people make mistakes and they can be corrected while the work continues. As a transformational leader he demonstrates the capability needed to foresee company development, inspire and empower staff. With these attributes it requires him to have balance as a leader in the day-to-day working environment while creating a productive work environment and focusing on company goals. According to Chapter 1, “Leadership is the process of developing ideas and a vision, living by values that support those ideas and that vision, influencing others to embrace them in their own behaviors and making hard decisions about human and other resources”. (Hellriegel & Slocum, 2011, pg. 290).   Even though the company has taken losses from different endeavors the CEO continues to envision new ways to transform the business to newer heights. Because of his compassion for his workers, the concept to work harder and smarter helps the business to maintain its number of staff in place. One advice he prides himself on is “Executives and managers overseeing any restructuring or merger should find ways to inspire all employees to think like entrepreneurs. A person's own conscience...

Words: 1732 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

Sustainable Business Model

...means it is time for a change. Since 2004 the manufacturing industry has seen some ups and downs, however more specifically to the firm, it has been a continuous down. The time is now to reverse that trend, and it starts with a new culture of sustainability. There is money to be made, and there is money to be saved. Under the circumstances of having little financial flexibility for investment and development, prioritizing the saving is paramount. Cutting down costs across the board, whether they are resources, expenses in travel, as well as energy, will serve to be prudent both short and long term alike. Furthermore, positioning the company as a leader in the market of sustainability, as an organization that is forward thinking, changes everything. Systemic and cultural changes will not only alter perception in the market place, but bottom line long-term concrete profitability. Companies worldwide have made this a focus, investing both time and money in strategies that address the competitive landscape shaped by resource scarcity, regulatory uncertainty and economic volatility. (MIT Sloan, 2012) No longer a buzzword, this is moving to the market norm. It is time to embrace it and begin to reap the reward. This is not only a strong strategic business case, it is imperative to compete. Hurdles The arguments against sustainability exist. One of the main arguments or hurdles is measurement. There are too many metrics that claim to measure sustainability, and...

Words: 1117 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Jet Blue

...advantages, i.e., the quality of services, market strategies, and employees trained and challenges of a company competing on price. Latterly, focus on how the company deals with high competitive market industry, shareholder and financial management. Assignment: #1 - Crafting and Executing Strategy 1. Discuss the trends in the U.S. airline industry and how these trends might impact a company’s strategy. The trends in the U.S. airline industry, most of the U.S. airlines are operate in discount airline carrier by offering the passengers low fares, operated point to point system, used two types of aircraft and served only snacks, also provided quick turnaround times at airports. The most of the U.S. airline concentrated in the domestic route, however most the domestic flight can help the company gain small amount of the profits margin. It is the high competition between the pricing of each airline to attract the customer. Many airlines save the time ranged from 20 to 30 minutes during the flight because no meal served during the flight, so the plane do not have to wait for catering services to replenish the aircraft. Although, to save time for flight attendants to clean up all the trash, that is also help the airline save budget for the operation system. Most of the airline will use the pricing strategy to competition with other company and also reach the goal of the company. Lastly, the airlines industry is very competitive, turbulent and volatile in the world of business for...

Words: 1389 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

What Holds Modern Companies Together

...What Holds Modern Companies Together? * Some ideas for your discussion include how might each of the four cultures identified in the article affect your daily job? Can you disregard culture when interacting with your employees? I determined that my company was “networked” organization. Relationship was strong among our coworkers. They seemed like family. And even they know each other’s family. Our company was informality. Almost half of workers related to other workers. So we can be more flexible in term of how we manage our employees. * What if you disagree with the culture and think it should change? It is difficult to defy their organizational culture. Employees should adapt to their internal culture. * What if you and your supervisor have a “culture clash”, what will you do? Conflict will occur in any organization, but managers should take steps to minimize its effects. Offer seminars to your employees on cultural differences and how to overcome them. Employees who become more accepting and knowledgeable about other cultures will recognize and resolve cultural conflict on their own. I am trying to understand its origins. Maybe it comes from different styles of working. Different cultural norms can lead one employee to think another is being impolite when he's really following the norms of his own culture. According to the article, there are useful steps to increase sociability: * Promote the sharing of ideas, interests, and emotions by recruiting...

Words: 1809 - Pages: 8

Premium Essay

Case Study 1 Chapter 2

...Family Spirit, Do More with Less, Be Passionate and Determined, and Be Humble. If I had to pick two values from that list they would be Build a Positive Team and Family Spirit and also Build Open and Honest Relationships with Communication. I believe that these two values would have the biggest impact in developing an organizations culture. Organizational culture has been described as the shared values, principles, traditions, and ways of doing things that influence the way organizational members act and that distinguish the organization from other organizations. Organizational culture has many characteristics but the book uses 3 particular words to define culture: Perception, Descriptive, and Shared. An organizations culture cannot be physically touched or seen, the organization is concerned with how members perceive the culture and how the describe it and finally individuals with different backgrounds or work at different levels of the organization can describe the culture of the organization in similar terms. When the key values are deeply held and widely shared a strong culture is born. When employees are greatly influenced by their organizations culture they are more committed and creates what is defined to be “good” employee behavior. When an employee feels that the organization has created an environment that is friendly, warm and exciting that encourages diversity in ideas, opinions and points of views they...

Words: 1234 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

The Sox Act: Unethical Practices and Behavior in Business Accounting

...Week 5 Individual Assignment By Felicia Lattimore The SOX Act: Unethical Practices and Behavior in Business Accounting LAW/421 – CONTEMPOARY BUSINESS LAW September 6, 2014 Aretha Somerville Introduction Unethical decisions can ruin a business. Dishonest behaviors by accountants, such as falsifying financial statements, over-billing or misleading regulators, can tarnish a company's reputation, causing loss of customers, employees and/or revenue. In some cases, unethical behavior is also illegal and can result in fines and even jail time for not only accounting executives but management executives as well. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) was enacted in 2002 in the wake of a series of high-profile corporate and accounting scandals. SOX introduced major changes to corporate governance and the regulation of financial reporting that affected both publicly traded companies and their auditors. Ten years after the passage of SOX, there has been a dramatic increase in financial statement restatements. This is due to statement issuers complying with SOX during their initial preparation. This trend has been attributed to improved corporate governance as a result of SOX. Although we have not seen restatements as large as those of Enron and WorldCom in recent years, it is not clear that SOX has caused a reduction in the number of restatements across all publicly traded companies. The number of restatements during 2007 through 2009 declined, but they remained...

Words: 823 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Hello

...Harley-Davidson: Enterprise Software Selection History William Harley and Arthur Davidson founded the Harley-Davidson Motor Company in 1903. By 1920, Harley-Davidson was the largest motorcycle manufacturer in the world. The company survived quality problems and financial issues in the mid 1980’s and remains the largest motorcycle manufacturer in the US. Through the years, the Harley brand had developed into a spirit of youthfulness, independence, and recklessness. However these ideals are accompanied by a strong sense of community. The company structure captures this unique culture by utilizing self-directed work teams in an organizational structure of three interlocking circles – Produce Product (PPG), Create Demand (CDC), and Provide Support (PSC). Consistent with this culture, through the years, Harley-Davidson encouraged site independence. However, when Gerry Berryman joined Harley-Davidson in 1995 as VP Materials Management, he recognized the strategic opportunity that existed in optimizing supplier relationships throughout the company. Therefore, in 1996, Harley-Davidson began the development of a corporate Supply Management Strategy (SMS) intended to move the company from a site-specific, transactional mentality to a long-term focus on supplier relationships. By July 1997, the initial planning meeting was held for an integrated procurement system, the supplier information link (SiL’K). Harley-Davidson followed a very thorough and rigorous process...

Words: 1783 - Pages: 8

Premium Essay

Brand Mamangement

...qwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmrtyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmrtyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmrtyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmrtyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwer...

Words: 3917 - Pages: 16

Premium Essay

Research Proposal

...does know all things.” Surah Al-Nur [24:35] ACKNOWLEDGEMENT First and foremost we would like to thank Almighty Allah, The Glorious, The Supreme, the King of the Kings, whose help and guidance in both worlds is unparallel. We would like to thank to our sir and parents for their help and guidance through out our life. We really want to thank our teacher Sir. Mushtaq Ahmed for his help and to our parents for their moral support to us. Table of Contents INTRODUCTION: 5 RATIONALE AND SIGNIFICANCE: 5 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY: 6 CONTRIBUTION: 7 LITERATURE REVIEW/PAST RESEARCH: 7 PROBLEM STATEMENT: 10 THEORATICAL FRAMEWORK: 10 HYPOTHESIS TO BE INVESTIGATED: 12 RESEARCH DESIGN: 12 Methodology: 13 Instrument: 13 Data analysis: 13 REFERENCE: 14 TOPIC: “ROLE OF CORPORATE CULTURE ON EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE” INTRODUCTION: In the modern business world of today, it is imperative that individuals understand each other as members of the same organization. The study of culture attempts to describe some underlying dynamics...

Words: 4383 - Pages: 18

Premium Essay

Southwest Airlines in 2008 Case Analysis

...Summary Corporate Culture & Southwest Airline Case Analysis CORPORATE CULTURE Corporate culture is an incredibly powerful factor in a company’s long-term success. No matter how good your strategy is, when it comes down to it, people always make the difference. Corporate Culture * Is the meshing of shared values, beliefs, business principles, and traditions that imbues a firm’s operating style, behavioral norms, ingrained attitudes, and work atmosphere. * Is important because it influences the firm’s actions and approaches to conducting business Corporate culture refers to the shared values, ingrained attitudes, core beliefs and company traditions that determine norms of behavior, accepted work practices, and styles of operating. How was a corporate culture developed and nurtured in your organization? A company’s culture is grounded in and shaped by its core values and ethical standards. I am working at PT. Tempo Scan Pacific, Tbk. and known as Tempo Group. Tempo Group has a “Corporate Culture” implemented in the 5 core values : 1. Honesty 2. Equality 3. Usefulness 4. Responsibility 5. Perseverance Here are a few ways my organization can facilitate the creation of a nurturing the culture : * Communications: This allows information and ideas to flow up from entry-level ranks to the top management of the company, but information from upper management is also shared more readily with the entire company. Always communicate...

Words: 3368 - Pages: 14

Premium Essay

Best Snack

...the market shares have decreased and stock prices were spiraling down. The Vice President of Organizational Development, Sabrina McKay is a valuable asset with exceptional expertise that involves several organizational development initiatives.   However, due to the harshness of Best Snack’s situation, the company is forced to evaluate the likes and dislikes of their constituents in order to compete with success. This paper will address Best Snack’s circumstance in a manner of resolving issues and realizing future opportunities, engaging stakeholders throughout the process to ensure success, and implementing a strategic plan involving new innovative ways and creativity as a vital part of the company’s culture. Describe the Situation Issue and Opportunity Identification Elizabeth Fairchild announced in a Memo to all employees – do to the rapid changes in the world; in order for Best Snacks to continue being successful the company will have to keep up with the changes. The company’s success with depend on if the company leads the way in creativity and innovation. (University of Phoenix, 2010, pg 2) The company has an opportunity to reorganize the organization to put the company on track with innovative and creative changes. “The individual level managers need to do all they can to facilitate the learning of new skills, norms and values so that individuals can increase their own personal skills and abilities and help build the organization’s core competences.” (Jones, 2004, pg...

Words: 4354 - Pages: 18

Premium Essay

Luxottica Case

...2 | 4-5 | 4 | Question 3 | 5-7 | 5 | Question 4 | 8-9 | 6 | Conclusion | 9 | 7 | References | 9 | Introduction Luxottica is an Italian firm who designs, manufactures and distributes prescription and luxury eyewear products. It has many in house brands such as Ray Ban, Oakley, Vogue, etc and holds licences for many high fashion brands such as Burberry, Prada, Polo Ralph Lauren, etc. Since 1971 the company has followed visionary internationalisation strategy through numerous acquisitions throughout the world. Through these acquisitions of various retail chain and wholesale distributors, Luxottica has been able to establish itself as a forward vertical integrated global firm. Furthermore the firm’s ability to manage and market its own brands around the globe presents us with a great example of strong brand development. “Today Luxottica’s worldwide strategy is mainly global with a high level wof standardisation and low adaptation. Do you see any room for adaptation strategies in price, promotion, distribution or products”. (Ghauri & Cateora, International Marketing, 2010) A strategy of high standardisation and low adaptation has certain benefits which are cardinal for a firm which is as large as Luxottica, a few of benefits being economies of scale in production and marketing plus a uniform brand image. These benefits provide the firms significant cost reduction in production and marketing, but it can backfire as well because of the different in cultures across...

Words: 2812 - Pages: 12