This is Southwest Airline's Mission. Brown (2011) wrote "Norms are organized and shared ideas regarding what members should do and feel, how this behavior should be regulated, and what sanctions should be applied when behavior does not coincide with social expectations." (p.10). Is the Culture Committee at Southwest effective in establishing cultural norms? In establishing the organization's norms, I say no, the Committee itself does not establish the cultural norms of the organization. But does it help? I feel it does.
Southwest Airlines was established in 1967 (then known as Air Southwest Company until 1971). It's culture can be defined as "the development, improvement, and refinement of the originality, individuality, identity and personality of a given people" Retrieved from http://www.southwest.com/html/about-southwest/careers/culture.html The function of the Culture Committee I feel, promotes the values, feelings, and genuine interest the company has for its employees. Brown (2011) wrote "A corporate culture is a system of shared values and beliefs that interact with an organization's people, structure, and systems to produce behavioral norms ('the way things are done around here'). (p. 63). Watching the video A Day in the Life of the Culture Committee by Southwest Airlines I could not help but be envious of the fact that the company thinks enough of its employees to have such a program. Its impact on the employees can only be beneficial to the company thus creating the type of cultural norm Southwest wants to be known for.
I used to travel extensively for work. I frequently made a lot of East Coast to West Coast trips and vice versa. Putting myself in the shoes of the airline employees/pilots, how wonderful would it be to arrive at a city after a 6 hour flight to find that your company has sent a team to help you perform your duties, prepared meals for you, and even put together a goodie bag of (as the kids call it) swag? I don't know about you but that would really make me feel appreciated. It would give me a good sense of belonging to a company that cares about its employees, and would make me want to continue doing a great job for that employer. This type action breeds positive reinforcement.
While I do not have the perks of having a Culture Committee with my employer, I too can say that my company's culture promotes its employee as well. For instance on your hire date anniversary and on your birthday my department gives you a half day off. You may come in the morning and leave at lunch or sleep in and come in for the second part of your day. And on your birthday you can expect your desk to look something like this...
The culture within my department celebrates its team members so I can appreciate what it is Southwest does with its Culture Committee.
I think that Southwest's Culture Committee serves a few purposes. It promotes the values and beliefs that the company wants its employees to espouse. It's purpose is to garner employee support, promote communication, and to give back to the employees. I think having such a committee is a beneficial addition to an organization. I must say I am surprised more companies do not adopt a similar approach.
If Embry Riddle had a culture committee I think one great benefit would be for it to bridge the gap of communication between leadership and its team members. If communication is such an important necessity for change than why isn't more information shared at every level? Brown (2011) wrote "Making information available at every level increases employee motivation and permits faster decision making . This helps employees t identify with organizational goals." (p.67). Why does leadership feel the need to not share information? Is it for fear of resistance, rejection, or resentment? For example, recently my team was informed of a "special" February term that was to be offered. There are 5 academic terms in a calendar year. Coming off of the fall, because of the government shutdown the university offered a "special" term in November mainly for students that were unable to register for classes due to the shutdown. We were just coming off of our October term when we added the November term, we were working on the January term enrollments. When it was all said and done we were notified that the November term was deemed to be a failure. We would not be adding any more "special" terms. After the holiday break we returned to learn that in fact there would be another "special" term offered. But why the change all of a sudden (I can take a wild guess)? This irked my team to say the least. It was made known at our next meeting. Given the limited resources in terms of the actual number of advisors we have and the extra work we were being asked to do this was upsetting to us. Why were we not made aware of this possibility before hand? Why did leadership not give us the respect to ask our thoughts or feelings about the extra effort this would entail not just for our department but for other supporting departments? If we had a culture committee maybe there would be an opportunity for ideas to be shared more actively. This would help us all realize the organization's goals together as a team.
My take away from this exercise is that it is possible to create a culture that employees will embrace. It is possible for the culture within an organization to have a life of its own and to make perhaps the biggest influential impact on failure and success. The head of the organization should be the epitome of the organization's culture. Brown (2011) noted "Corporate cultures are the very essence of organizations. Whether effective or ineffective, organizational structures exist- usually reflecting the personality of the top executive. Corporate culture often affect the success or failure of the organization and are shaped in various ways by the employees." (p.66).
A few questions I have are:
- Why do companies not promote the organization's culture on a more conscious level?
- Can organization's expect to remain relevant without taking a look at how to improve on their existing culture?
- Has their ever been a company to be considered successful without a corporate culture?
No comments:
Post a Comment