Organizational Culture Aspects

Organizational Culture Aspects

The impact of culture is very important when it comes to attempting and achieving personal goals and business goals. Organizational cultures are the characteristics that are based on morals, values, traditions and personnel behavior. Values are very important because people act out upon his or her values, and values channel behavior. Saying and doing the right thing are two different things and if managers are trying to set the culture they have to set the example. Physical manifestations such as ethical codes or written rules are some ways the organization reflects its values. General Electric, Lockheed Martin, Haliburton Company, Corporate Express, ACH Foods and Whole Foods are corporations that strive to be ethically oriented. Drive for success is dictated by management and decision making by the leaders inside the company. We will discuss ways many organizations have different cultures and beliefs on how they plan on managing their corporation with hopes to not have hostility or conflict.

General Electric Company

We will examine both General Electric (GE) company workplace efforts and compare those to Corporate Express Canada (CEC). One method used to better communication practices are the employee surveys at GE; the GE Employee Opinion Survey and the Engagement Survey (Ge.com, 2007). The combination of both “enables the Company to continually evolve and improve its [sic] engagement and relationship with employees.” CEC uses monthly manager meetings and annual country meetings to accomplish effective communication within the corporation (Cexp.ca, 2008). Diversity is given a front seat at GE. GE recruits from the military and has individual support forums (2007) for the Women, African American, Asian Pacific, and Hispanic employees within GE. CEC does not reflect the diverse culture that GE represents. CEC show upper management to be predominately male whereas GE has a vast demographic culture. Technology dependent working cultures have evolved to the point where a company is required to take notice. “Within this new era, GE strives to provide comprehensive systems for immersing recruits in the GE culture from day one—and then providing them with multiple sources of two-way communications to encourage an open dialogue”(Ge.com, 2006 p 80 para. 1). Both companies seem to embrace technology to increase the environment of their employees. GE has many mission statements (MS), although not named as such. One type of MS is referred to as a Citizenship report. In this report we will show many programs that are crucial to the role employees play in the culture at GE and how to support those roles. The citizenship report on GEs website states, "GE depends upon the imaginations, intelligence and curiosity of its employees to drive the growth of our businesses, and strengthen our leadership position in the marketplace." Much like CEC mission statements are used to accomplish best practices. The way that GE company adheres to ethical standards and behaviors is witnessed through continued efforts to be “green,” involve the employees to be involved in leadership training programs(2008) and overall compliance to the company, environment and themselves. In the 2003 Citizenship report this is the leading line, “Being a good citizen has always been an important part of our corporate history and how we run your company” (2003). GE and CEC have some similarities and some differences both reflecting their overall vision for the company.

Lockheed Martin

A company’s culture influences the ethical values and Lockheed Martin is no exception when it comes to succeeding with diversity. According to Bob Stevens the Chairman, President and CEO of Lockheed (2008), he knows that success depends on effectively bringing together a wide range of perspectives, skills and experiences to customers. Communication is a start to getting things done and keeping a closer to unity with employees. Employee surveys are used to track the level of performance in the work environment. General Electric also gives surveys and the only difference between them and Lockheed is that they go by different names. Lockheed Martin uses The Diversity Maturity Model (DMM) to measure employee’s thoughts and perceptions to a better work environment.

We all have heard the slogan “We never forget who we are working for.” Well, that is exactly what Lockheed’s mission is based on, “What’s good for people is good for business” (2008). Many companies are customer based and like General Electric they also “depend upon the imaginations, intelligence and curiosity of its employees” (2008) to serve customers better. Diversity is accepted and welcomed at Lockheed Martin because they rely heavily on teamwork.