Organizational culture Essay Example for Free

Organizational culture Essay For a company, organizational culture is very important because the culture is like something that the employee can be based for. In addition, the organizational culture is defined as a system of shared meaning and beliefs within an organization that determines, in a large degree, how employees act (Robbins, et al., 2003, p. 70). Founders of new organizations and managers play an important role in creating and maintaining organizational cultures. However, ethical organizational cultures are those in which ethical values and norms are emphasized. As Jones and George (2003, p. 350) argue that ethical organizational cultures can help organizations and their members behave in a socially responsible manner. Some might believe that if they do the ethical corporate culture, they will be able to get much profit. Meanwhile, Arnold and Lampe (1999, pp. 1-19, cited in Robbins, et al., p. 154) claim that the content and strength of an organizations culture also influences ethical behavior. Nevertheless, a strong culture will have a very powerful and positive influence on managers decisions to act ethically and unethically. whereas, in a weak organizational culture, managers are more likely to rely on subculture norms as a behavioral guide. Work groups and departmental standards will strongly influence ethical behaviour in organizations with weak overall cultures. Alongside with organizational culture, there are two more things that have strong correlation with it. The first one is ethics. Ethics is the code of moral principles and values that govern that behavior of a person or group with respect to what is right or wrong (Robbins, et al., 2003, p. 150). The second thing that has strong correlation with culture is social responsibility. It is a managements obligation to make choices and take action that will contribute to the welfare and interest of society as well as to the interest of the organization (Robbins, et al., 2003, p. 138). Nevertheless, managers who have ethical behavior and social responsibility can build a good reputation for their company. As Donaldson and Werhane (1993, pp.249-254) argue that having a good reputation of a company can increase profit. In addition, Robbins (et al., 2003, pp. 161-165) defines social responsibility is an obligation, beyond that required by the law and  economics, for a firm to pursue long-term goals that are good for society. However, social responsibility is the duty of manager to make decision consider with well-being of stakeholders and society. In fact, there are two main views of managements social responsibility, which are classical view and socioeconomic view (Robbins, 2003, p. 407). Additionally, classical view aims to maximize profits, whereas socioeconomic view is that social responsibility goes beyond the increasing profit to improve the welfare of society. It is very important that managers support and develop an ethical culture because employees more likely to act ethically if their leader work having an ethical role model (Jones, George, 2003, pp.101-103). Working ethically is a responsibility to the society. Nevertheless, this is very important as it can avoid harming stakeholders and also enhance the well-being of society as a whole. Stakeholders including employees, customers, suppliers, competitors, governments, media, union, communities, social and political action groups, etc (Robbins, et al., 2003, pp. 92-93). There are still some examples for the reference of socially responsible behavior such as providing training for workers, eliminating discrimination and reducing pollution (Robbins, et al., 2003, p. 407). Providing training for workers can enhance their skills and techniques for work and it can improve the productivity and efficiency. Workers will not be obsolete by the changes of technology so it benefits employees as well as the company (Tsang, 2003, p. 25). Social responsibility and economic growth is related sometimes. At first, the profit may be reduced by the costs of training workers, however, when the trained employees can work efficiently, the productivity will be increased followed by increasing profit at last. Eliminating discrimination is a social responsibility of managers. Some companies would like to employ a specific kind of person but not the others and cause inequality is known as discrimination. For instance, some companies would prefer employ a local student to an international student or they prefer employ man to woman (Pagan, 2000, p. 619). It is harm to firm if they refuse to employ some other races people since they can provide some  new ideas to the company for reference. These new ideas may not be gained from local employers as foreigners have different culture from the local and they can offer some useful information from the other view for the decision making. This is why an organizational culture which has formally adopted a specific position, philosophy, or set of beliefs regarding the fundamental values or principles, is an important thing to be used as the basis for business decision making. Moreover, if managers keep labor Market discrimination, it would lead to society chaotic and harm the society. Therefore, managers should bear the social responsibility to reduce discrimination. Another point that supports an organization to become socially responsible is that when a company being socially responsible, which means that the company has long-term goals. Company should higher the quality of a product to benefit customers to provide a better quality of life (Samli, 1992, p.12). The real example about this is The Body Shop. Although The Body Shop is looking for the profit, they still very concern about the environment. They use goods that not give bad impact on the environment. The product that the body shop sells is more expensive than others because they use the materials that do not give bad impact to the environment. As a result, people still buy their product because people know that they choose the right product. More expensive but in their product, it cant be found anything that can damage their self and more important damage the environment. As we have seen, by being socially responsible, the firm can gain long-run profit and improve the companys public image (Davis, et al., 1988, p. 37). In short, it can be seen that being socially responsible and following ethical corporate culture is much more profitable. But, since not all the companies have ethical corporate culture, there are some policies or practices that can be worked to encourage it. Firstly, the company should provide some training for the new and current employee because with the training activities it will make all the employee know about the culture and can adapt with the organizations culture. Secondly, the company should punish the person who do not obey or perform appropriate with the culture and give respect to the person who perform and do the culture. With that  punishment and respect the employee will think that obey the culture is important. Third, the leaders in the company have to do the culture, so the employee can follow the leader to do the culture. Senior management needs to zealous avoid any decision or action that could reasonably be expected to communicate selfish motive for imposing a n ethics philosophy, system, or measurement on employees (www.centeronline.org/knowledge/article.cfm?ID=2431). In conclusion, social responsibility is an important element for a company to success. Social responsibility brings company reputation followed by higher profit. Those firms having social responsibility can improve peoples quality of life and their health. It can also stable the society from chaotic. Therefore, managers should follow regulations and work ethically with the consideration of societys well-being. Briefly, if one company is concerned about the ethical corporate culture which means that the company and the employee know what is right and wrong and know how to behave in the company. Thus, in one company it is very important to have ethical corporate culture.

Wal-Mart and Class Inequalities Essay -- increasing class inequality

Wal-Mart has become a staple company in many communities. It is a place where individuals can find most of their needs, and many of their wants. The appeal of Wal-Mart can be found in its slogan, â€Å"Always Low Prices.† It is the appeal of low prices during a time of economic recession that entices consumers. What many consumers do not recognize are the means by which Wal-Mart ensures these low prices. The media coverage of Wal-Mart during the recent months has not been favorable towards the company, and with lawsuits pending regarding issues such as low wages, anti-union practices, and sexual discrimination, Wal-Mart provides an avenue for examining media and alternative media depictions of the issues. This analysis will determine the extent to which media sources provide information on Wal-Mart and the allegations, and how this corporation is working to reduce class inequality. The focus will more broadly develop an argument which claims that superclass interes ts are the driving force behind our media, and therefore our exposure to critique of the system is limited. There are three articles that will be referenced during this analysis. The first article is taken from the mainstream media publication USA Today. â€Å"Wal-Mart takes hits on worker treatment: Lawsuits, unions slam megaretailer†(Armour, 2003) argues that Wal-Mart is coming under attack from critics who argue workers are underpaid, women are discriminate against, and illegal tactics are being deployed to kill unionization efforts. Armour (2003) states, â€Å"company officials say they don’t know why the attacks are coming now, and they also say the allegations are unfounded.† The next statement made during the article states that Wal-Mart employees agree with the statement. The author continues reporting on the issues at stake, but focuses mostly on how unions may be less relevant in today’s world. The article makes mention of both sides of the argument, but the rhetoric and terminology used leans towards the portrayal of Wal-Mart as a victim o f biased attacks to further union interests in the market. Perucci and Wysong (1999) would argue that this article is a perfect example of selective reporting, â€Å"unstated but routine news reporting policies and practices that produce a preponderance of flattering news media coverage of superclass-favored issues† (1999:160). It ... ...tive media portrayals of an issue. Ultimately this assignment was beneficial to my perspective on class issues. It exposed me to multitudes of informational sources ranging from mainstream to alternative. It was also interesting to see the ways in which issues are portrayed differently, and as I mentioned other the lack of blaming the system is extremely interesting. The various sources opened my eyes to the reality of media impact and control over our lives and opinions. It is difficult to see beyond the obvious appeal of corporations such as Wal-Mart, but this should be apparent to me after all these years of sociology. I think this assignment really helped me to think outside the box, and really analyze who has control; it isn’t me or you. That’s for sure. Works Cited Armour, Stephanie. 2003. â€Å"Wal-Mart Takes Hits on Worker Treatment.† USA Today. Hellerman, Caleb. 2004. â€Å"The Wal-Martization of Everywhere† & â€Å"Low Road/High Road.† Retrieved March 6, 2004 from: www.inequality.org. Olsson, Karen. 2003. â€Å"Up Against Wal-Mart.† Mother Jones. 28:2. Perrucci, Robert and Earl Wysong. 1999. The New Class Society. Lantham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.

The Toyota’s Culture

Toyota culture : Toyota Motor Corporation is considered as the world's largest automobile manufacturer . And Toyota’s culture is consider as one of the determinants of its success. Therefore Toyota culture is very famous. Specific Toyota’s culture is condensed The Toyota Way. The Toyota Way is a set of principles and behaviors that underlie the Toyota Motor Corporation's managerial approach and production system. It has two parts : 1 – The first part is called â€Å" The Toyota Way 2001†. It consists of 5 principles in two key areas: continuous improvement, and respect for people. The Toyota Way 2001† is illustrated by the following house : The Toyota Way 2001 We can realize that the Toyota Way 2001 house has two pillars are Continous Improvement and Respect for People. All Toyota members, at every level, are expected to use these values in their daily work and interactions. 1. 1 – Respect for People is a broad commitment. It means respect for all people touched by Toyota including employees, customers, investors, suppliers, dealers, the communities in which Toyota operates and society at large.It has two sub-calegories : – Respect : we respect others, make every effort to understand each other, take responsibility and do our best to build mutual trust. – Teamwork : we stimulate personal professional growth, share the opportunities of development and maximize individual and team performance. 1. 2 – Continuous Improvement is defined as â€Å"we are never satisfied with where we are and always improve our business by putting forth our best ideas and efforts†.It has three sub categories to complete the house : – Challenge : we form a long-term vision meeting challenges with courage and creativity to realize our dream. – Kaizen : we improve our business operations continuously, always driving for innovation and evolution. – Genchi Genbutsu : we believe in going to the source t o find the facts to make correct decisions, build consensus and achieve goals at our best speed. 2 –The second part includes 14 principles that are found out by experts, and are divided into 4 section : 2. 1 Section I : Long-Term Philosophy is Principle 1 : Base your management decisions on a long-term philosophy, even at the expense of short-term financial goals. 2. 2 Section II — The Right Process Will Produce the Right Results includes from principle 2 to principle 8. – Principle 2 : Create a continuous process flow to bring problems to the surface. – Principle 3 : Use â€Å"pull† systems to avoid overproduction. – Principle 4 : Level out the workload ( heijunka ). ( Work like the tortoise, not the hare ). – Principle 5 : Build a culture of stopping the production line to fix problems, to get quality right the first time. Principle 6 : Standardized tasks and processes are the foundation for continuous improvement and employee empow erment. – Principle 7 : Use visual control so no problems are hidden. – Principle 8 : Use only reliable, thoroughly tested technology that serves your people and processes.2. 3 Section III — Add Value to the Organization by Developing Your People includes from principle 9 to principle 11 : – Principle 9 : Grow leaders who thoroughly understand the work, live the philosophy, and teach it to others. Principle 10 : Develop exceptional people and teams who follow your company's philosophy. – Principle 11 : Respect your extended network of partners and suppliers by challenging them and helping them improve. 2. 4 Section IV — Continuously Solving Root Problems Drives Organizational Learning includes from principle 12 to principle 14 : – Principle 12 : Go and see for yourself to thoroughly understand the situation ( Genchi Genbutsu ). – Principle 13 : Make decisions slowly by consensus, thoroughly considering all options; implement de cisions rapidly ( nemawashi ). Principle 14 : Become a learning organization through relentless reflection ( hanse i) and continuous improvement ( kaizen ). Beside â€Å" The Toyota Way 2001† and 14 principles that is covered above, the Toyota culture is also dominated by Japaneses working culture. For example, they favor senior ; they work hard and play hard, they venerate the business card†¦. All of them make success of Toyota Motor Corporation. They are values gold principle that we should study.

Summary Of Let The Celebrating Begin - 5907 Words

Let the celebrating begin. This book is about a wonderful girl who briefly shared her life with us and was always ready to take chances. A girl who valued friendships, relationships, and thought both should be fun and lasting. While she was attending school at Lipscomb University she fell in love. Not the love she expected, the man that would win her love, but instead her heart was in missions. She may not have fully realized that yet but her friends observed it. Here are two of the last posts she made to Facebook. Her mind was completely focused on missions. This first post is her looking back on the mission to Australia. She went there twice while she was in school at Lipscomb. The second post is her look forward to her upcoming†¦show more content†¦So we had a series of conversations after I became her adviser for her senior year. I said to her that she had to promise me that she will go into public relations, because you’re a superstar, you’ve got to do t his. Anastasia said, â€Å"Well you know Miss Ellis, I have a good job at Loveless and I make a lot of money and I don’t know if I can get a job right out of college making this kind of money.† I had more talks with her because I had to ensure that she knew just how good she really was. Who was Anastasia and why did she make everybody smile? The Journey Begins We all know that life is a journey. The author C.S. Lewis tells us something about this; â€Å"There are far, far better things ahead than any we leave behind.† and this is how Anastasia must have viewed this journey. Going on the World Race was the next big adventure before she chained herself to work and adulthood after successfully completing college. It was the next big challenge. She briefly flirted with a couple of other ideas, joining the military or becoming a flight attendant. However, her biggest adventure was yet to come. Finding out what plans God had for her life became the priority. 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