Discussion 4: Organizational Factors

Welcome. Please be sure to utilize the reading materials (and any outside sources) to support your position(s) and include proper APA citation (in-text and reference list) in your posts.

COURSE MATERIALS:

Please read the following section contained in the textbook: Chapter 7

After reviewing the Course Materials, please respond to the following:

Southwest Airlines has a strong and friendly, fun-loving organizational culture that dates back to the days of its key founder Herb Kelleher. Kelleher became legendary for appearing in a dress and feather boa and joining baggage handlers on Southwest flights. He organized an awards ceremony for employees that many felt rivaled the Academy Awards. He treated his employees like family. Today, Southwest continues that legacy. Pilots willingly and enthusiastically support the “Adopt a Pilot” program. Students in classrooms around the country adopt a Southwest pilot for a four-week educational and mentoring program. The pilots volunteer in the students’ classrooms and send e-mails and postcards to a variety of destinations. Southwest’s culture allows it to attract some of the best talent in the industry. Values, beliefs, customs, rules, and ceremonies that are accepted, shared and circulated throughout an organization represent its culture. All organizations, not just corporations, have some sort of culture, and therefore we use the terms organizational culture and corporate culture interchangeably.

Describe the corporate culture of an organization that you have been associated with. Did the culture contribute to or detract from the effectiveness of the organization? Why? What can an organization do to ensure that a culture is developed that contributes to the success of the company? Why is it so difficult to develop a positive organizational culture?

SAMPLE SOLUTION

Walmart’s Organizational Culture

Walmart’s unrelenting dedication to its customers based on the premise of “saving people money so they can live better” goes back to the early days of the founder Sam Walton. Walmart’s founder created the philosophy of “everyday low prices” and the belief that the company’s employees are responsible for creating the difference for its clients and performance. The company values its employees by keeping an open-door policy where employees can raise their concerns and ideas. The company recognizes its employees as the key to its success and invests greatly in their individual, cultural, and professional growth. The four primary values include customer service, respect, excellence, and integrity.

Did the culture contribute to or detract from the effectiveness of the organization? Walmart’s culture has contributed to the organization’s effectiveness significantly. Currently, Walmart has acquired recognition as a leader in sustainability, an idea generated by its associates. The company’s employees work cohesively to realize corporate strategy and contributing to a special customer experience consistently…