Corporate Culture - A general discussion

S

selena15

#1
hi nice folks
i would like to share and get your point of view or your different experience about the corporate culture. one fellow here launch this topic :cool: and it remember me that i m very interested to have bether view thatn maybe i have about this topic.
i saw in some company one very "healty" corporate culture which of course generate one very good benefit but also push the employee to do the best and also seek of the best for themselve. but i saw in another company:confused: another culture which is even spend lot of money in trainings, seminary, coaching but maybe not show enough commitment in order to establish one good corporate culture. i don't want to talk more, even i did :tg: but please, tell me what is the most corporate culture which is common in your area? what is the most resistant point in the employee behave...kind of question
thank you in advanceeeeee:thanx:
 
Elsmar Forum Sponsor
C

chaosweary

#2
Re: corporate culture

In most of the companies I have worked the culture was very good about training and providing for individuals. But when it came to the quality system it always was done for the customer, and always took a back seat to production. A lot of time was spent by my bosses trying to sell the quality system to top management instead of it being promoted from the top down.
 

Wes Bucey

Quite Involved in Discussions
#3
hi nice folks
i would like to share and get your point of view or your different experience about the corporate culture. one fellow here launch this topic :cool: and it remember me that i m very interested to have bether view thatn maybe i have about this topic.
i saw in some company one very "healty" corporate culture which of course generate one very good benefit but also push the employee to do the best and also seek of the best for themselve. but i saw in another company:confused: another culture which is even spend lot of money in trainings, seminary, coaching but maybe not show enough commitment in order to establish one good corporate culture. i don't want to talk more, even i did :tg: but please, tell me what is the most corporate culture which is common in your area? what is the most resistant point in the employee behave...kind of question
thank you in advanceeeeee:thanx:
What an excellent, thought-provoking question! :applause: Thanks for raising the question.

Most organizations "evolve" the culture, based on input from the owners and managers, reinforced or deflated by the reaction of customers.

It is a truism that organizations do not survive long once they begin to ignore feedback from customers. Feedback can be interpreted in a number of ways (Do we see repeat orders? Are we constantly on the prowl for new customers because current customers are going somewhere else? Do we have a flurry of complaints before we get dropped as a supplier? Do our customers feel so good about the quality of our products and service they recommend us to other prospects? Do they feel we are so bad they go out of their way to warn others from doing business with us?)

A friend of mine, Dale Dauten, a business columnist who bills himself as "The Corporate Curmudgeon," came up with the idea for the acronym which describes how outsiders (customers, suppliers, competitors, regulators, etc.) view an organization based on their perception of the corporate culture.

Dale calls it WOMP (Word of Mouth Potential)

Essentially, the WOMP can be good or bad! The sad part of the deal is that "just good enough" is not enough to generate positive WOMP where the customers, suppliers, and even competitors point to the organization as the benchmark for all others to aim for. Whereas, even slightly less than good enough will generate negative WOMP as those same folks say to others:
"Gee! It seems like pulling teeth to get an order from John Doe company without having to nursemaid them through every step. I feel like the "Little Red Hen" who did it all myself."

Even worse is the report of a serious foul up which spreads like wildfire:
"Tsk! Tsk! I gave John Doe a simple order for some widgets and they strung me out with late deliveries, short counts, and even then, we had to do a 100% sort in-house to get some usable pieces until we could get another supplier up to speed. You have my permission to kick my rear if I ever do business with them again."

Conversely, an organization has to do something extraordinary to get positive WOMP, simply because customers EXPECT to get what they ordered: they are DELIGHTED when they get more! They are so delighted they go out of their way to tell others of their good fortune.

When the top bosses make a decision they want a corporate culture which will generate positive WOMP, they have to create an environment where the following minimum features are present:

  • employees are treated like human beings, not "throwaway tools"
  • the physical environment for the employee has to be as pleasant as possible and present zero barriers to an employee trying to work (this includes removing danger, deploying Heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and adequate light as well as providing adequate tools to perform the work competently)
one of the classic tales of a boss not supplying adequate work environment is the Biblical tale of Pharaoh forcing slaves to make bricks, but not supplying them straw to reinforce the clay, requiring slaves to spend otherwise productive time gathering their own straw. In modern times, a similar situation might be where the bosses force the employees to supply their own tools, engendering a situation where unsafe or inaccurate tools might be used to make products.
  • employees are entrusted with knowledge about the entire organization and how their functions interact with the functions of other employees to produce satisfactory end products for the customers (Deming termed this his "System of Profound Knowledge" (SoPK.) Deming's point being such knowledgeable employees would be more likely to look out for the welfare of the organization instead of saying, "That's not my job!"
  • employees are compensated fairly for their work. ("Every workman worthy of hire is worthy of pay.") A worker who is unfairly paid recognizes the disrespect he is shown by the bosses and consciously or unconsciously holds back from giving his best effort at work.
  • bosses respect employees enough and give them enough knowledge about the Big Picture of the organization that the bosses can solicit and respect opinions about process improvements which will benefit the organization.
  • Real root cause investigations go beyond a simplistic "employee error" to determine what part of a planned process needed tweaking to reduce or eliminate opportunities for error (mistake proofing) This means employees are given adequate training and subsequent evaluation to assure they are truly prepared and competent to perform a process.
When those minimum features are in place, an organization is well on its way to creating and maintaining a corporate culture conducive to positive WOMP.
 
C

Craig H.

#4
hi nice folks
i would like to share and get your point of view or your different experience about the corporate culture. one fellow here launch this topic :cool: and it remember me that i m very interested to have bether view thatn maybe i have about this topic.
i saw in some company one very "healty" corporate culture which of course generate one very good benefit but also push the employee to do the best and also seek of the best for themselve. but i saw in another company:confused: another culture which is even spend lot of money in trainings, seminary, coaching but maybe not show enough commitment in order to establish one good corporate culture. i don't want to talk more, even i did :tg: but please, tell me what is the most corporate culture which is common in your area? what is the most resistant point in the employee behave...kind of question
thank you in advanceeeeee:thanx:
Selena, what a great question. Here is a long winded answer, which I hope helps.

I have had many years (> 20) working in the same industry, in the same area.

The first company I worked for in the industry I had a "position" sweeping the floors of the lab, during summers while I was in high school. That developed into working the overnight shift for 24/7 pilot projects, until I finally had my own lab table, and my own equipment and instruments. There were a few breaks for various things, like attending school. I worked with a lot of committed people who played hard (practical jokes were rampant [it's amazing how much fun can be had with a rubber snake] and we laughed a LOT) but we did some amazing work.

For one start up of a new piece of equipment (>$1 mil US), eventually I was one of the "go-to" guys for production managers and such, and I was under 20 years old. We had the trust of the managers, and they were smart, results oriented, but have fun kind of people. This was at $4 an hour, but it was one of my best jobs ever.

I went off to my undergraduate studies for a few years, but before I left I heard one of the managers (from the country in which the controlling intrest was) say that they were going to "buy respectability" by hiring PhDs, masters diplomas, etc. I went off to finish my secondary education.

Three years later, I had a time finding a job, so I am back, working out of my major, but again with my own lab bench, and my own equipment. The guy I am working for is great, but there is so much infighting between the "managers" that it was often hard to get things done. My manager was able to get us on a big project, involving the process I had become VERY familiar with before. We did some fantastic work, the kind that makes those that "know" what they know get clobbered with, hey, here's the data, you don't. Still, the mis-management and infighting had ruined a great company. Lets just say a couple of people I trusted lied to me about my pay. I left skid marks.

To the company I work with now (in the same industry). We are small, but we have found markets for our products that are more profitable than others in our industry, and we provide excellent product and service. I am in a management position, yet I cooked dinner tonight for 15 of our employees, and enjoyed it. They cleaned up without even being asked. It takes us days to do something when it takes others weeks. We laugh every day, we care about each other, and we get a decent paycheck.

My experience is likely not the norm for the USA, although it was 30 or 50 years ago.

Dr. Deming was right about giving people room to do their jobs well, and providing them the training and equipment to do so. With the pride that comes with that, pay, while very important, becomes almost secondary. Almost.

Finally, and this is paramount, politics mean nothing. Corruption is poison.

Honesty. It is important in any culture. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.

As far as culture goes, it depends on how an organization treats their people (duh).

There are going to be those who just want to put in their 8 hours and go home to their family, friends, whatever. More power to them. Subjecting them to training for the sake of training will result in amusing, if not expensive, jests and platitudes. We need to give them what they need to do their jobs when they need it. Nothing they “may” need some time in the future. They don’t have time for it. Why subject them to it?

Thankfully, there is a place for those of us who steer the direction of the company, and that is what we must do. Steer, and provide what is needed for those who power the boat.

Hope this is what you are looking for.
 
R

Randy Stewart

#5
I was fortunate to work for a VP that not only talked the talk, but walked the walk. The company went from QC being Quantity Control to forming an Integration Engineering department, that took Lean Manufacturing, 6-Sigma, Value Stream maps, APQP, etc. to develop our processes.
The company culture was based upon 4 "Core Values" and each one of them had to go into each or our processes. They were:
Integrity, Quality, Customer Service and Respect for the Individual.
It was something to see how those Core Values played out in most everything we did and it was sad to see them fall apart when the floor was unionized. But that's another story.
It's been mentioned before, but honesty / integrity are huge when it comes to culture. If you cut corners on quality, why wouldn't you do it else where. And if the shop sees the managers do it, why shouldn't they?
 

yodon

Staff member
Super Moderator
#6
This is a very interesting discussion.

One of the things that is bothering me lately about corporate culture in general is the focus on earnings for the next quarter. It seems CEOs these days will mortgage the company's future to ensure the next quarter looks good. And shareholders just eat this up.

When I first started out in corporate life ~25 years ago, there was always talk about 1, 5, and 10-year plans. Are there any companies today that try to think 10 years down the line? Is that even possible in this "throw away" society? I don't mean to sound too cynical but I think this management by instant gratification is one of the root causes behind the wildly fluctuating stock market.
 
R

Randy Stewart

#7
I think this management by instant gratification is one of the root causes behind the wildly fluctuating stock market.
Good point,
To me this may be a classic Cause/Effect case. However, you would think that after the "Dot Com" crashes and the Enron debacles that some businesses would rather be stable and show some over-all growth.
When I was in the auto industry some years ago, about the time the downswing hit the SUVs, we had a program manager that kept talking about working to get a bigger piece of that pie (SUV market). A lot of the supply houses had already had programs pulled due to low sales, etc. But he kept pushing and pushing. In 6 months he had pulled in around 8 new jobs, but only 1 was actually taken to launch!
While the amount of total jobs/programs looked good, only 1 really paid.
Short sightedness
 
C

Craig H.

#8
This is a very interesting discussion.

One of the things that is bothering me lately about corporate culture in general is the focus on earnings for the next quarter. It seems CEOs these days will mortgage the company's future to ensure the next quarter looks good. And shareholders just eat this up.

When I first started out in corporate life ~25 years ago, there was always talk about 1, 5, and 10-year plans. Are there any companies today that try to think 10 years down the line? Is that even possible in this "throw away" society? I don't mean to sound too cynical but I think this management by instant gratification is one of the root causes behind the wildly fluctuating stock market.
Who can blame the CEOs? They get their bonuses based on next quarter's numbers. 10 years down the road? That's when they'll be anchored off of Tahiti in their 100' motor yacht.
 
S

selena15

#9
hi cove

thank to make me happy because of your reply :yes:
when i proposed this question, i didn't want to see it from an far angle from the interest of the company,as well as this is the reality of our time.

your exposure of the womp is just great and i liked it a lot wes bucey, you got me wes because from these that you exposed come my confusing : as well as the commitment of all employees in the company is a condition to get this positive Womp and this womp is related to these conditions that you exposed, why the company sometimes ignore it and try to get the result and benefit as fast as possible and aren't aware enough about the consequence of their lack of attention : Iwould give some exmples

- for exemple the Infighting between responsibles and departements is know by the top management and it is just ignored it even sometime it is cost lot of money.

- I saw very important employees and almost irreplaceable resigned from their position but even this, the organisations keep stress the similar employeeor just to don’t give them the reward that he deserve it and of course it was very easy for these employees to find another opportunity eslewhere!

-Come back to the point that Graig raised. Is it common in the employee's mind to say "I’m just going to do my daily working hours" ? or they are enough committed to outstand this idea and give the best thing that they can.
- one Case : employee got some NC about his behave and all responsibles are aware of this, they resolve it and it can occur again which mean that this employee do it not because he thinks it should be like this but it is just in order to make happy the boss and his feeling is : that it is very additional manner and there not really need, !!!!!!!!!!! And if one visitor came from the back office, this is the managers or responsible who would call these employee to ask him to be aware because he will will get control. And later the managers were so happy that the visitor is very amazed about how every thing is perfect!!
- And relating to this, it is common in the view of people that as worker, they got carrier plan and seeking of the value into their commitment to their company that they can get from. and if yes, is it accepted by organisation or no ?

I mean it is great to be involved in the company's goal and participate in this womp that the company can show, but in my opinion, it will be better and kept in the same trend if this employee have a career plan and see that his daily task is going somewhere and give him the opportunity to improve himself and progress into the company. Aren’t you agree?

i can bring a lot of example, but see, i don't inderstand the top managment of several company when they lost many and many of their staff and the critical ones even they are aware that it would be difficult to replace them because the similar graduated person and above all experienced one is rare in the work market and it would cost them lot of money to bring a new guy, just gradueted and give him lot of training and spend lot of time to make this new employee in the same level than his previous fellow !

How any company can stand this kind of result and where is your womp wes bucey there ?
What is the common mind of the workers there ? in additional income that all of us are aware about, what are you seeking of ? do you got a career plan? and i'm not speaking of you great committed persons but about the people around you, in the street, in the country, ....etc

and this bring me to antother point :
the offshoring ! this is the fashion now, offshoring the organisation function to Asia, Africa... so mainly to low cost areas which a benefit to these countries as well as this is opportunity to resole their problem of unemployment

but are the organisation transfer too the same corporate culture to these areas in the same way or they take into the account the local cultural ? i see in several companies that they take this local culture in consideration but what this realy mean ? is the deming's advices is respected and in case of not is that got an impact to this womp ?
i'm not taken the expenditure of the weak people :lol: , i just want to inderstang if it has no negative result if the corporate culture is just focued in the benefit and not taking account of this wes conditions womp ??
sorry for the late, during the week , i'm usualy away of home....:D

but i'm waiting your feedback and nice week end

:nopity:
 

SteelMaiden

Super Moderator
Super Moderator
#10
Well, I finally made it back to reply here. Good topic!

Safety program - we are very, very committed to driving down the injury and illness rates for our entire industry.

Environmental Stewardship - we get involved in many types of community programs, as well as our own onsite environmental efforts.

Product - we strive to provide the highest quality, lowest cost product to our customers.

Cultural - we again are very involved in our communities. We have made it a point to try to be involved in as many ways as possible.

Employee - great pay, affordable insurance for employees and families, scholarships for every child and tuition reimbursement for employees and spouses for their own education. Pension funds, 401K, employee stock purchases, bonuses, but most of all, it is just a way of life. We care, and it shows. Not only do I have 400 brothers and sisters here, wherever I go I have that many more, no matter which plant I am at. We take care of one another, we don't want anyone to be hurt, and if something happens, we are there for one another. It's hard to explain but it's like a big family, and we are a part of a bigger family within our communities.
 
Thread starter Similar threads Forum Replies Date
J How is your corporate culture before a surveillance Audit? ISO 9000, ISO 9001, and ISO 9004 Quality Management Systems Standards 10
S Advantages and disadvantages on IATF corporate scheme IATF 16949 - Automotive Quality Systems Standard 2
L Have been purchased by a corporate company ISO 13485:2016 - Medical Device Quality Management Systems 7
Ajit Basrur Corporate management standards ISO 9000, ISO 9001, and ISO 9004 Quality Management Systems Standards 4
B Advantages of a corporate certification scheme IATF 16949 - Automotive Quality Systems Standard 8
U IT Process is Taken From company and Added to Corporate Structure ISO 9000, ISO 9001, and ISO 9004 Quality Management Systems Standards 4
N IATF 16949 - Mandatory Corporate Documents IATF 16949 - Automotive Quality Systems Standard 10
julsbear Corporate Services as Externally Provided Service IATF 16949 - Automotive Quality Systems Standard 1
J What does "Corporate stewardship" mean? IATF 16949 - Automotive Quality Systems Standard 6
S Corporate Quality Manager keeping me out of the Management Review Meeting Management Review Meetings and related Processes 28
sutie What is Ethics Escalation (“Whistle-Blowing”) Policy - Corporate Responsibility IATF 16949 - Automotive Quality Systems Standard 7
L Corporate Manual - Global Multi-Site ISO9001:2015 Certification ISO 9000, ISO 9001, and ISO 9004 Quality Management Systems Standards 6
J Supplier is dictated to us by corporate Supplier Quality Assurance and other Supplier Issues 5
K Gage Calibration - Corporate Scheme IATF 16949 - Automotive Quality Systems Standard 3
RoxaneB Fighting Corporate Memory Loss Training - Internal, External, Online and Distance Learning 7
C ISO9001: Moving from site certification to corporate certification Quality Manager and Management Related Issues 9
G Setting up a corporate umbrella QMS ISO 9000, ISO 9001, and ISO 9004 Quality Management Systems Standards 4
S Internal Audits of QMS Corporate Basics at the Local Plant Level ISO 9000, ISO 9001, and ISO 9004 Quality Management Systems Standards 2
R Steps to Preserve ISO 9001 Certification during Corporate Acquisition? ISO 9000, ISO 9001, and ISO 9004 Quality Management Systems Standards 3
R Question on Corporate Audit Scheme IATF 16949 - Automotive Quality Systems Standard 1
D How do I make the Corporate QMS work in the manufacturing setting? ISO 9000, ISO 9001, and ISO 9004 Quality Management Systems Standards 9
N Corporate direction - External Auditor Influenced by Corporate Management ISO 9000, ISO 9001, and ISO 9004 Quality Management Systems Standards 13
J How to calculate Surveillance Audit Days in Corporate Audit Scheme IATF 16949 - Automotive Quality Systems Standard 4
C Audit of the Corporate Audit Program 21 CFR Part 820 - US FDA Quality System Regulations (QSR) 2
Q TS 16949 Manufacturing Site uses ISO 9001 Corporate Laboratory IATF 16949 - Automotive Quality Systems Standard 2
Y Can't meet PEAR goals because of Corporate MGMT... Quality Manager and Management Related Issues 10
U Customer Audit Nonconformity on Internal Audit Program done by Corporate QA General Auditing Discussions 19
D Whither Corporate Social Responsibility Imported Legacy Blogs 2
Sidney Vianna Cleaning up the Global Compact: Dealing with Corporate Free Riders Sustainability, Green Initiatives and Ecology 2
Q Management Review Inputs - Production Site under a Corporate Certification Scheme Management Review Meetings and related Processes 9
M Corporate Procedures and their effects on Companies they Own Quality Manager and Management Related Issues 6
B Corporate Goal about ISO 9001 Registrar Audits ISO 9000, ISO 9001, and ISO 9004 Quality Management Systems Standards 8
G Corporate Documents cover local facility - How many departments can I exempt? Document Control Systems, Procedures, Forms and Templates 3
C 9001 Corporate Quality Audit - Yearly Audit on the Individual Business Units General Auditing Discussions 4
V Corporate Quality Management System - Structure, Pros and Cons? Quality Manager and Management Related Issues 3
J What are the Processes under Strategic Corporate Planning ISO 9000, ISO 9001, and ISO 9004 Quality Management Systems Standards 2
P What is the status of, and requirements of Corporate Social Responsibility Other ISO and International Standards and European Regulations 2
C Control and Revision of a Corporate QA Manual ISO 9000, ISO 9001, and ISO 9004 Quality Management Systems Standards 4
M ISO 13485 Multiple Site Registration - Corporate HQ is listed as a subsidiary ISO 13485:2016 - Medical Device Quality Management Systems 4
somashekar Driving CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) Performance down the Supply Chain Supplier Quality Assurance and other Supplier Issues 8
Q Spin Off and Divestment from Corporate - What to expect Quality Manager and Management Related Issues 10
M Mixed Use of Corporate and Site Level Procedures and Forms in the Quality System ISO 13485:2016 - Medical Device Quality Management Systems 1
Stijloor The Road to Corporate Responsibility: An Automotive Conference World News 0
Marc WikiLeaks Julian Assange Wants To Spill Your Corporate Secrets World News 6
T What is difference between a Corporate Quality Manual and TQM? ISO 9000, ISO 9001, and ISO 9004 Quality Management Systems Standards 3
D Tobacco and CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) Imported Legacy Blogs 2
J ISO9001 and Corporate Governance - ISO 37000 being developed to guide standardized Corporate Governance (updated thread March 2019) Other ISO and International Standards and European Regulations 12
K Corporate Volunteer Policy examples wanted Misc. Quality Assurance and Business Systems Related Topics 9
N New Seven Management Tools - Corporate Objective - Achieve 20% sales increase Misc. Quality Assurance and Business Systems Related Topics 3
P Corporate Social Responsibility as an essential element to sustain a business Other ISO and International Standards and European Regulations 19

Similar threads

Top Bottom