Course Name: Organization Culture
Pike Place Fish Market
According to the fourteen-minute video world famous Pike Place Fish Market in Seattle was almost ready to go out of business and close shop. But a consultant Jim Bergquist with the nudge from his wife convinced the struggling fish shop to give him three months to turn the business around and after the initial three months were up and there was no change. The owner John Yokoyama could just fire him. It turned out that Jim Bergquist helped Mr. Yokoyama understand different concepts such as building organizational commitment, trust, and coaching as the way to build a successful business.
Some of the changes that the consultant stressed seemed to work such as the overall building organizational commitment. Support is a key in any work environment the more there are, the better relationships that employees, managers, supervisors and owners have. It is easier to go to a workplace environment with support from other individuals there. Another way Jim Bergquist helped Pike Place is getting everyone in the business to share the same values and empower the employees to merge their values and the business values together. Additional influences that Jim Bergquist helped the struggling fish market with information from a model of emotions, attitudes and behaviors as a guide to turn Pike Place into a thriving business. This is why a consultant such as Mr. Bergquist can be extremely helpful in reshaping a business is because it’s hard for an owner to know all the additional factors to run a successful business.
This model of emotions gathers from the perceived environment a combination of beliefs, feelings and behavioral intentions. In the video, Mr. Bergquist stressed that you want to create positivity and attitudes in return this will help a business become successful. Mr. Bergquist was able to get the owner and employees together to reshape the way that everyone thinks about themselves and the goals of the business. This necessary reshaping of emotions, attitudes and behaviors effectively changes the organization environment and gets everyone working toward a common goal. This empowerment makes it a better place to work and reduces employee turnover.
The consultant talked about trust with everyone because it fosters a positive working environment where everyone is helping each other. When you trust others, you let your guard down and have fun with fellow employees. This emotion can be contagious, and that is always good for business. I watched several videos of the Flying Fish Market and every video the employees were having fun, and the customers were having a good time also, and that is always good for business. In the video, the owner talked about a position that was open he didn’t call it a job. The difference was that he wanted someone to fit into the positive environment that he helped create at the famous Pike Place Fish Market.
Employee involvement was another key to the success of the famous fish market. Because the owner turned from tyrant to an owner who cared about his employees, this empowered the employees to work at a job with a better fulfilling environment. If you look at other videos of Pikes Place, you will see a lot of positive customer and employee interaction that creates happier employees and spreads the good feeling to the customers. In turn, the business goes from closing to the world famous.
Goal setting is as a significant activity at Pike Place. The goals setting process in the video was targeted at all employee's and owner development goals. The example was given that employees received training to do several jobs this empowerment process helped the employees feel more valuable because they became multi-skilled. And the crew shown in the video was coaching each other in a supportive manner. The example of an employee helping another could have been for the camera, but you cannot hide long-term success that the Pike Place Fish Market has established over the years. Stated in the video by Mr. Bergquist that 15 heads that are going in the same direction are better than one. This dynamic process gives each employee permission to coach each other. If you can make a difference to give some suggestion for coaching to make the process better by empowering each other. In the video, it was stated that sometimes coaching is uncomfortable, but it can be a learned trait. Goal setting is an essential function in any business from Coca-Cola to Wal-Mart the company needs always to be working on short term and long term goals. The end of the video had the best response from the owner, and he stated that this crew was the best he ever had in thirty-eight years. Or he stated he was a better boss now after thirty-eight years.
Nearly all of the changes that the consultant Mr. Bergquist initiated such as setting goals seemed to work such as the overall building organizational commitment. Support is a key in any work environment the more there are, the better relationships that employees, managers, supervisors and owners have. Even this week in our forums several students talked about company takeovers and the changes that were involved in the processes. Some were good for the employees, and some were not so god. I think it comes down to support for the management. In this case, the owner Mr. Yokoyama went outside his comfort zone to find a different way to communicate and approach his business. Mr. Yokoyama discovered that it was easier to work with support from other individuals and employees as well.
Another way Jim Bergquist helped Pike Place is getting everyone in the business to share the same values and empower the employees to merge their values and the business values together. This way everyone is working toward a common goal and creates a better place to work and reduces employee turnover. “With the right individuals, job characteristics, and organizational environment, empowerment can have a noticeable effect on motivation and performance” (Glinow, Mary Ann Von, Steven L. McShane). The mix of communication, trust, motivation, empowerment and coaching is exactly what was needed with Pike Place Fish Market.
“At the World Famous Pike Place Fish Market, we know that it's possible for each of us as human beings to impact the way other people experience life. Through our work, we're out to improve the quality of life for everyone. We are working on the possibility of world peace and prosperity for all people. This is our commitment -that's who we are - it's what we do” (Flying Fish Presentations). This is an excellent example of an owner who had taken a chance with a consultant to change the emotions, attitudes, and behaviors to create a positive environment that he helped resurrect the famous Pike Place Fish Market and to set an example for other business to emulate.

Works Cited
"Flying Fish Presentations." · Fresh, Sustainable Seafood Shipped Straight to Your Door! Pike Place Fish Market, 2016. Web. 25 Mar. 2016.
Glinow, Mary Ann Von, Steven L. McShane "Chapter 5 pg 107." Organizational Behavior Essentials. 2nd ed. N.p.: McGraw-Hill, 2009. Print.