Running head: VALUE ALIGNMENT

Value Alignment
(Name)
University of Phoenix

Value Alignment This paper will consider an existing organization, American Express Business Travel, which compares the individual and workplace values. The paper will include an analysis of the evolution of values, how individual values drive actions and behaviors, and the alignment between stated values, plans, and actions. Finally, the paper will integrate the differences as well.
Values
The American Express’ company mission (2007) is “to become the most respected service brand.” In American Express’ Corporate Citizenship (2007, p. 12), it states “a key asset of our Company is the American Express brand and its promise of world-class service and personal recognition. Our reputation in the marketplace affects our business, and we constantly work to further strengthen our brand. This starts with our employees around the world and the service we provide customers across our businesses, and it is reinforced by our policies and commitment to corporate responsibilities.” Let us look at the company’s evolution.
Organizational
American Express’ origins begin back in 1850s as a successful express delivery business delivering packages across the frontier of the United States. The company evolved into a financial products company with the development of money orders and travelers cheques and began an international expansion with the advent of the charge card. The attributes of the brand are trust, integrity, security, quality, and customer service. This evolution as defined by these attributes which played a crucial role in the establishment and reinvention of what is today a globally recognized brand and trusted company. As a team-member of American Express, one is brought in to recognize and to develop the attributes associated with the brand as part of oneself.

Individual As an individual, the expectation was to create trust with the customer and have trust in the company, to make decisions with integrity and to know the company would too. The company was a place to work for a lifetime, security in ones work, meant security at home. Placing quality at the forefront of all one’s endeavors whether working with a teammate, card member, or establishment – take pride in the work and above all provide exceptional customer service. These attributes were taught from the moment of joining the company with team building exercises, community service opportunities, and most important from the examples of the leaders. I remember during a period when the company was about to downsize back in the late 1990s and the Chairman Ken Chenault came out to our location to deliver the news personally. This simple act from our leadership showed the importance of the move by the company but also gained acceptance through the knowledge that this was an important decision with known impact to the workforce and important enough to communicate personally to us. Even though many of those I worked with were laid off, the compensation package was considerable and everyone understood the need and direction of the company; therefore, the majority of the personnel respected the leadership for their concern to the individual and moved forward with the company’s new direction.
Alignment
The alignment of the strategy during the 1990s was the personification of a company and its values being integrated within the workforce. The company went through many changes and has been through many changes and the common thread for the company was to always follow its values.
Stated versus Planned As an employee, there was always a measure of comfort knowing how the company would behave in any circumstance. Learning these values and applying them not only to the work one did but to his or her everyday life helped to create not only a fantastic place to work, but also a wonderful way in which to live. “A strategy is a company’s game plan” (Pearce & Robinson, 2009, p. 3).
Plans versus Action On October 17, 1989, I was living in San Francisco, California, and a 7.1 magnitude earthquake rocked the Bay Area. As the world is about to watch the World Series, American Express employees were putting the company plans into action. As the shaking stopped, we all knew something very wrong just happened. Those of us who were lucky enough to have left work early immediately tended to our families and friends. Those of us trapped in the city began to do what we had been trained to do – to be of service. Immediately, managers went to local banks to secure funds, employees began distributing notices to hotels that American Express Travel Offices were open to assist card members in their transactions and in communications to what was now the outside world. Again, during the 2001 9/11 event in New York City in lower Manhattan across the way from the American Express Towers the company was hit hard, not only do to the proximity of its roots but the economic downturn that followed. As a predominately financial services company, the impact was severe and swift. Yet, the employees immediately began to act in identifying ways to help those at ground-zero and get assistance to those in need.

Conclusion Though American Express in recent years has seemed too fallen away from the underlining values and principles that are inherent in the company, for example, one of my classmates told of a story where one day the customer service group came into work one Friday and where all handed pink-slips. There was neither warning of the impending change nor any communication that this was about to happen for the employees to prepare. The notification came and operations were started in India the same day for redundancy purposes. Now this goes against the grains of the company that I grew up in and enjoyed working for. However, the collapse of the marketplace over the past two years has tested the resolve of many an organization.

References
American Express. (2007). Corporate Citizenship Report: Recognizing responsibility. Retrieved June 05, 2010 from http://home3.americanexpress.com/corp/gb/cresp/pdf/cresp.pdf
Bateman, T. S., & Snell, S. A. (2007). Management: Leading and Collaborating in a Competitive World (7e). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.
Blue Box. (2010). American Express: Values and culture. Retrieved June 05, 2010 from https://www212.americanexpress.com/dsmlive/dsm/int/au/en/AustralianCareers/OurCultureandBenefits.do?vgnextoid=bda9fef7d9b4a110VgnVCM200000d0faad94RCRD
Biblos. (n.d.), King James Bible: James 1-6. Retrieved May 22, 2010 from http://bible.cc/james/1-6.htm
NetMBA. (2007). Internet Center for Management and Business Administration: The strategic planning process. Retrieved May 23, 2010 from http://www.netmba.com/strategy/process/
Pearce, J. A. II. & Robinson, R. B. (2009). Strategic management: Formulation, implementation, and control. (11th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.
Thompson, A. A., Gamble, J. E., & Strickland, A. J. (2006). Strategy: Winning in the marketplace: Core concepts, analytical tools, cases. (2nd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.