The creation and maintenance of corporate culture is discussed with a strong emphasis on spiritual interdependency and how it affects the current workplace. And while spiritualism is emphasized, values are clearly the building blocks of culture itself.

1. CREATING & MAINTAINING CORPORATE CULTURE
A Literature Review
by
david harold moore

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT………………………………………………………………………. 3
1. INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………………… 4
2. CORPORATE CULTURE…………………………………………………………. 5
3. CROSS-CULTURAL BARRIERS & ADAPTATION………………………………… 7
4. LEADERSHIP……………………………………………………………………. 9
5. INNOVATION…………………………………………………………………… 13
6. TECHNOLOGY AND CORPORATE CULTURE…………………………………… 14
7. EMPLOYEE RETENTION & SELECTION…………………………………………. 16
8. BENEFITS OF CREATING & MAINTAINING CORPORATE CULTURE……………. 23
9. CONCLUSION…………………………………………………………………... 24
BIBLIOGRAPHY…………………………………………………………………. 26

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ABSTRACT
The creation and maintenance of corporate culture is discussed with a strong emphasis
on spiritual interdependency and how it affects the current workplace. While
spiritualism is emphasized, values are clearly the building blocks of culture itself.
And in discussing values, a closer look at leadership, an analysis of the term innovation,
and the dissection of cross-cultural barriers, is necessary. In discussing these elements,
and their relationship to corporate culture, the ever-evolving intricacies of technology
are introduced.
Finally, a detailed discussion of employee retention, and employee selection, leads the
reader to the benefits of creating and maintaining a holistic, and humanistic, corporate
culture.

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CREATING & MAINTAINING CORPORATE CULTURE
INTRODUCTION
“We are so busy moving people around, trying to meet our deadlines, trying to
influence people to believe in what we are doing, that we just don’t want to look into
anybody’s eyes and see that they have souls. We should start with the premise that we
have souls. But souls are difficult to lead. And even if we talked about people having
souls, it would probably be from a corporate viewpoint. Not that a corporate viewpoint
is inherently bad, but that in the context of the current workplace, soul could easily be
made into a slogan.” (Briskin, 1998)
The new ‘corporate spiritualism’ is the idea that corporations are equally concerned
about the bottom line and about nurturing their employees’ well being. Today the
premium is on innovation and creativity, and corporations cannot legislate innovation
and creativity like we legislated the industrial age. If corporations create a culture in
which people feel alienated, and only do what is required of them, then the business
won’t get impassioned people with the necessary entrepreneurial ethic. Great co-
workers are nurtured by affiliation to the corporate culture; and the foundation of
values upon which the corporate culture is built. And all of this is a product of the
progressive leadership approaches that we are associating to spiritually interdependent
corporate culture. (Cole, 1998)
When creating a culture for organizations one must not see the culture as some ’other’
thing in the business. Similar to a Human Resources Department making itself a ‘warm
fuzzy’ for employees. The corporate culture should be everything one does as a

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business. How one solves problems, builds products and works in teams. Even how
one leads. A corporate culture must be just that, the culture of the business, to be truly
effective. (Morgan, 1998)
CORPORATE CULTURE
Culture can be defined as the collective beliefs, values and approaches that are shared
among all levels of an organization; or what people do when no one is looking. A
positive culture instills in its employees values that commit both employees and
customers to the organization’s financial goals while leading to innovation and
productivity; both key drivers of profitability. (Garmager & Shemmer, 1998)
For example, Fortune’s 1997 Most Admired Companies key priorities were: teamwork,
customer focus, fair treatment of employees, initiative, and innovation (Fortune, 1998). Given
Southwest Airline’s Mission statement, “employees will be provided the same concern,
respect and caring attitude within the organization that they are expected to share
externally with every customer”, the importance of culture is apparent. (Garmager &
Shemmer, 1998)
On the other side of this Corporate Culture revolution is a privately held chemical
company called PQ Corporation. PQ faces new challenges as it tries to maintain its
corporate culture, particularly the ethical concerns of its Quaker founders, in a faster-
paced world. For PQ, the process of reconciling a bygone age with new demands has
included increased reliance on professional, rather than family, leadership. (Gibson,
1989)

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These necessary changes of our times directly affect the corporate culture. These
necessary changes, particularly in human resources, should come about by evolution,
not revolution (Chambeau & Gridley, 1988).
Professor Killman, from the University of Pittsburgh, suggests using five tracks in the
prescribed order. The first three tracks, CULTURE, LEADERSHIP-SKILLS, AND TEAM -
BUILDING, adjust the behavioral infrastructure of the organization; the blood and guts of
how people behave toward one another on the job. The last two tracks; STRATEGY-
STRUCTURE AND REWARD-SYSTEM, adjust the organization's tangible features; the
documents, technologies, systems, and resources that guide people's behavior toward
an agreed-upon mission. Without first developing an adaptive inner organization, any
adjustments to the outer organization would be cosmetic and, therefore, short-lived.
(Killman, 1989)
When developing a corporate culture one should take it in steps. This will make it
easier when applying a long-term strategy.
The first step is to Benchmark. Benchmarking is developing a plan that spells out the
culture and/or the cultural changes needed in the company. It is wise to do research on
other companies.
The second step is to Write it Down. By comprehensively documenting with definitions
and examples what the culture is about, you guarantee yourself a clear and defined
focus that everyone can understand. It must be updated on a regular basis.

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The third step is to Link it to the Business. Culture is everything. The culture must touch
common points across key operating concepts.
The forth step is to Educate from the Top Down. If the executives aren’t in, it won’t work.
The fifth step is to Measure It. One must be able to quantify the results to make it an
effective tool of measurement. And by making it measurable the culture can be
evaluated in its overall effectiveness.
The final step is to Change It. Adjust the culture until it works, while continually
evaluating effectiveness. (Morgan, 1998)
An important note in this age of merger’s and acquisitions is to realize that a culture
must tie together distant places and different styles. One can’t have, and shouldn’t
want, a cookie-cutter culture, but a strong culture can and should provide a common
language, common goals and a common way of doing business. (Morgan, 1998)
CROSS-CULTURAL BARRIERS & ADAPTATION
Leaders must be sensitive to the culture of their target market. Unfortunately, little
research exists on the interaction of culture and services. However, there are some
broad cultural distinctions that help leaders understand how to implement successful
service strategies. One such distinction is the sociologists' concept of "high-context" and
"low-context" cultures. (Goodwin & Elliot, 1995)

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High-context cultures are those in which interactions between people are influenced
more by nonverbal cues than by verbal communication. There is no need to ask for
explicit information because cues for understanding are expected to be noted by the
listener. Personal relationships must be well established before extensive interaction
can take place. The members of the group share common values and are likely to be
part of a close-knit social group. Task completion is not as important as maintaining
personal relationships, and group welfare. China, India, Japan, and Brazil are examples
of high-context cultures. (Goodwin & Elliot, 1995)
Low-context cultures rely primarily on explicit verbal communication; nonverbal cues
are much less important. What is said is what is meant, whereas in high-context
societies, what is said is only partially what is meant.
Low-context cultures are more diverse, with differing social values, expectations, and
attitudes. Completing a task successfully is more important than developing close
interpersonal relationships and does not depend on particular relationships.
The U.S. and Canada are good examples of low-context cultures, along with the
northern European area such as Germany and the Scandinavian countries. The social
aspect of commercial relationships is de-emphasized, and there is more reliance on legal
mechanisms and formal business procedures. A low-context approach reduces the
amount of time needed to negotiate business deals, since it is less necessary to carefully
evaluate the integrity and trustworthiness of the potential business partner. (Goodwin
& Elliot, 1995)

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“Being a pioneer in a high-context culture hasn’t been easy for Patagonia. The outdoor
clothing manufacturer has one Japanese female leader in their headquarters located in
Japan. She was having a difficult time because her male co-workers were looking down
on her when she brought in her daughter while she worked.” (Soloman, 1998)
The leadership must take full responsibility for the successful execution of the corporate
culture initiative. And history has shown us that most improvement efforts are led by
various staff groups (human resources, personnel, industrial relations, or employee
relations), and a completely integrated program for long-term organizational success
should be led by line management; and preferably by top management. With top
management behind the change, the resources needed to conduct the whole program
are more likely to be forthcoming. Moreover, with top management leading the charge,
top priority will be assigned to the improvement effort in spite of all the pressures to
concentrate on the here-and-now business problems and operational issues. (Killman,
1989)
LEADERSHIP
A leader is a coach, a team player and a person who empowers employees giving them
the freedom to determine the best way to accomplish their work. As Jack Welch, CEO
of GE states, “anyone who is in a position of managing people is expected to be a
leader, but very few managers understand what it takes to be a good leader”.
(Garmager & Shemmer, 1998)

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Jack Welch of GE also states, “leadership requires speed, simplicity, and self-
confidence.” This is similar to General George Patton’s quote that says, “War is a very
simple thing, and the determining characteristics are self-confidence, speed, and
audacity.”
Jack Welch and General Patton have much in common. Both leadership styles have
incurred a high cost to human life. In fact, Jack Welch has been known to be unethical,
overcharging defense contracts, and immoral. However, there is no doubt he has made
a ton of money for GE. The question must be asked however, “Is there a better way?”
(O’toole, 1996).
Dr. Goll of the University of Nevada Las Vegas uses a model to define what it takes to
be a good leader:
Understand the Situation (Empathetically)
Upon entering any situation, the leader must strive to understand the situation from the
other parties perspective (empathetically). Only then can we take a leadership role. In
other words, only when we understand the situation empathetically can we help others
help themselves.

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Leadership by Values
Values
Norms
Goals
Roles
Status
positive/negative Organizational Culture
(figure 1. Leadership by Values Action Triad)
The action triad above illustrates the intellectual tool named Leadership by Values.
Leadership by Values (LBV), if used effectively, will clarify the reasons the organization
exists. Effective use of the tool means a consistency among the elements contained
within the tool. In other words, values (the why) should shape a corporation’s
measurable and achievable goals, while the norms (the how) enhance and protect the
values of the organization.
If the action triad is positively consistent, then the roles (expected behavior) and status
(how well the role is played) are carried out in the correct manner and we create a
positive organizational culture. If inconsistent, the values become garbled and we end up
with a negative organizational culture.

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Balanced Leadership
Balanced leadership is based upon two premises. One is that any strength carried to an
extreme has the potential to become a weakness. The other is that leadership must be
more responsive to the needs of the employee.
(figure 2. Balanced Leadership)
The figure above illustrates balanced leadership by showing the two extremes points
represented at either end of the perfect bell curve. The model has both a positive or a
negative because any strength carried to an extreme has the potential for becoming a
weakness. It also represents that there are two points of extremes and that the balance
approach is the best approach.
The arrow represents a pendulum which should swing to where the need is greatest.
This represents the second premise that leadership must be more responsive to the
needs of the employee.
+/- +/-

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System Mentality
A system mentality simply defines that a system is a series of interrelated and
interdependent parts, which work together to make up a whole. In essence, each part
affects the whole, and one part cannot operate effectively, and efficiently, without the
other. The system mentality concentrates on the fact that what one does to one part of
the system, has the potential for affecting the other parts of the system, in either a
positive or negative manner. The leader will realize this.
In summary, when entering any situation one must understand the situation
empathetically (UTS-E) upon which the understanding is underlined by the values of
the organization’s as well as your own values (LBV). Upon evaluation, the pendulum
swings to the greatest need where a balance occurs (BL). The action then has an affect
on the entire organization (SM).
The Chinese philosopher Lao-tzu, who was born some six hundred years before Christ,
said it best:
A leader is best when people barely know that he exists. Not so good when people obey and
acclaim him. Worst when they despise him. Fail to honor people, they fail to honor you. But of
a good leader, who talks little, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will all say, “We did
this ourselves.” (O’toole, 1996)
As Lao-tzu implies, the leaders most important task is in the creation of learning
cultures, “we did this ourselves” – contexts in which employees can explore,

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experiment in the margins, extend capabilities, and anticipate customers’ latent needs
(Barrett, 1995).
This type of organizational learning is motivated not by performance problems or
crises, but by provocative information, market diversity, and the desire to seize
opportunities. Such proactive learning is driven by forces that inspire rather than
threaten leaders to act. Having a diverse array of markets or customers, for example,
may alert leaders to potentially superior ways of competing. (Miller & Chen, 1994)
As shown throughout the study of high performance organizations, leaders find
themselves experimenting with their companies’ social architecture in an effort to foster
innovation and learning (Barrett, 1995). This leads us to the discussion of innovation.
What is it?
INNOVATION
Innovation requires the ability to identify a “gap in the marketplace” and the
subsequent strategizing that leads to a new product, a new organization or a new
customer. (Garmager & Shemmer, 1998)
The successful corporations of the future will govern themselves in new ways. They
will create corporate cultures that allow employees to be the stewards or caretakers of
their organizations, rather than being merely the managed masses. The ways in which
organizations will be governed will depend more on core work teams than on top-
down management. These far-reaching reforms are our best hope for democracy to

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thrive in organizations and allow individuals to live out their spiritual and ethical
values while attaining economic success. (Laabs, 1993)
The push for innovation requires a different kind of learning, one that goes beyond
adapting to challenges and solving problems and instead focuses on imagining
possibilities, on generating new ways of looking at the world. The idea of an
‘appreciative learning culture’, is ultimately the only realistic culture which will allow
its members to continually learn and experiment, think systematically, question their
assumptions and mental models, engage in meaningful dialogue and create visions that
energize action. (Barrett, 1995)
The spiritual corporate culture, of which innovation is so intertwined, begs the question; how
does technology fit in?
TECHNOLOGY AND CORPORATE CULTURE
The era of the virtual corporation is upon us. The scattered work and workers are no
longer confined to steel and concrete towers or sprawling complexes, but strung around
the world like so many Christmas lights, linked--or is it bound--by technology. (Barlyn
& Smith, 1999)
Video teleconferencing, a now common technology, is used to train employees on new
performance management systems and also used for interviews through
teleconferencing. Patagonia’s Terri Wolfe interviews all leadership candidates through
teleconferencing for an initial screening to see if they fit the corporate culture by asking

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them there management philosophies, their environmental beliefs and their personal
interests. If they aren’t energetic about the environment or they lie about being an avid
back-country snow boarder, then they don’t get the job. (Soloman, 1998)
The live broadcast of a business television program is another use of technology to
maintain and create corporate culture. The New England is a company that uses a
television program to update and analyze the current financial markets and their effect
on The New England's insurance products to the company's agents and representatives.
The broadcast, from the studios of Convergent Media Systems in Littleton,
Massachusetts, is one of the ways that The New England keeps in touch with
salespeople and agents gathered at 54 satellite receiving sites around the country. The
program, and others like it, keeps them informed about market trends, new product
offerings, and everyday corporate news and announcements.
The New England is not the only company using such technology Home Depot, Digital
Equipment Corporation, Hewlett-Packard, Federal Express, John Hancock, and Ford
Motor Company are just a few of the companies that are using business TV for
corporate communications, training, new-product introductions, press conferences, and
sales meetings.
The reason? It's an effective and relatively low-cost method for quick, mass
communication to a range of distant sites. And it's a great way to build and maintain
corporate culture in widely-dispersed business organizations. (Keenan, 1995)

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This innovative use of technology creates competitive advantage of helping service
firms establish value niches. Technology can add value by speeding delivery of services,
lowering costs, or providing a greater variety of services. The wise use of technology
may enable a service provider to dominate several niches. However, service
technologies can also trigger negative reactions when introduced in a new context.
Firms must anticipate and shape customer reactions to the technologies they introduce.
(Goodwin & Elliot, 1995)
Wal-Mart Stores, which celebrates its 35th anniversary this year and passed the
watershed $100 billion mark in annual revenues last year, is the most phenomenal
success story in the history of retailing. And information systems are no small part of
the reason for its success.
"Technology is a tool that has enabled us to grow while still remaining centralized in
our decision making," says Randy Mott, Wal-Mart's senior vice president and CIO.
"Without technology, it would have been much more difficult to maintain our corporate
culture on a broad scale." (Fleischer & Failla, 1999)
Yet technology's prowess cannot replace the power of a simple handshake or compete
with the creative energy generated by a roomful of brainstorming scientists, marketing
managers, or production workers. Technology cannot create the corporate culture that
solidifies a globalized business. Leadership has got to be able to inspire and create
loyalty among the employees. (Barlyn & Smith, 1999)

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EMPLOYEE RETENTION & SELECTION
A multifaceted component of creating and maintaining corporate culture is employee
retention and selection. The location of the company, evaluating the whole employee,
the promotion strategy, the incentive program, the amount of fun it is to work at the
company, and most importantly, do they ‘fit’ in with the company, are all factors that
must be considered and developed.
Location, Location, Location
So where's the best there, the place to base a business, or a life? Answering that
question leads to a bigger one. "You have to ask, What is work?" says futurist Robert
Elmore, a partner at Arthur Andersen in Boston. "Work is taking raw materials and
machines and producing a product. Two of the three components of that theory are
changing. The raw materials are changing to ideas, and the machines are changing to
PCs. The only things not changing are the people." (Barlyn & Smith, 1999)
“In today’s tight labor market and rapid growth economy, future profitability may be
limited by a company’s ability to attract and retain highly qualified and motivated
employees.” (Garmager & Shemmer, 1998). In Fortune’s 1997 survey of most admired
companies, “the single best predictor of overall excellence was a company’s ability to
attract, motivate and retain talented people. CEO’s stated that corporate culture was
their most important lever in enhancing this key capability (Fortune, 1998).

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That's why Fortune's 1995 best cities for business are those that best serve the evolving
workplace. As life and work become more intertwined, people will flock to cities that
cater most appealingly to both. (Barlyn & Smith, 1999)
A good example is a company which sells home-style takeout food in locations
nationwide. It could have moved anywhere but chose Golden, Colorado, a few miles
from Denver, in part for its Rocky Mountain lifestyle. Robin Showkeir, who helped
organize the move for Boston Market, reveres the Denver area for the opportunities it
offers her two children. "My kids are mountain-biking and rollerblading. They're on the
cover of Loving Life magazine." (Barlyn & Smith, 1999)
Denver is making strides not as a headquarters site but as an example of a new
phenomenon: the emergence of back office and operations functions into "information
factories." These are operations--claims processing, say--that were once done at
headquarters, or at scattered sites that are now being upgraded and centralized. Denver
is home to customer service centers for Merrill Lynch, Janus, and Invesco. Merrill,
which is constructing a major expansion of its Denver customer-support center, plans to
employ 3,000 people at the location by the year 2000. (Barlyn & Smith, 1999)
The Mile-High City is a perfect example of the clustering effect. "Once the financial
services industry gets started in a community, the community grows itself," says Allen
White, a Merrill senior vice president in charge of real estate. (Barlyn & Smith, 1999)

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The Whole Employee
After location, the personality-based assessment is the next big thing. Human Resource
professionals are discovering that no matter how skilled a job candidate is, it's the less
obvious behavioral competencies like being able to work under pressure and having
strong communication skills that enable employees to grow with an organization
(Caudron, 1997).
Terri Wolfe, who is director of HR for Patagonia outdoor clothing manufacturer,
actively recruits people with diverse interests outside of their job. Whether it’s family
commitments or personal activities, employees openly bring other parts of their lives
into work. Taking time to surf receives the same nod of approval as does taking time
for parent-teacher conferences. Employees are vigilant about protecting the
environment, about recycling and about enjoying work as a part of their lives.
(Soloman, 1998)
Promoting from Within
Patagonia also believes in promoting from within the company to maintain the
corporate culture (Soloman, 1998). The director of Human Resources for US Long
Distance believes promoting from within has been successful for their corporate culture
as well. Within the last year, twenty-three employees have been promoted into
management in the operator- and customer-services departments. Twenty of the
positions were filled internally, and eighteen of them were filled by minorities. "When
you hire from within, you're dealing with a known quantity. It's great for employee
morale and employee relations”. (Sunoo, 1994)

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A testimonial to the promoting from within strategy is Hughes, a regional manager
with CVS, who began at the chain as a part-time crew member while still in college. "I
felt from the beginning that CVS cared about me as an individual," notes Hughes. "As a
college student, being on a first name basis with the store manager, having him take a
genuine interest in what I thought and did and being treated as family made a lasting,
positive impression."
Hughes stayed with CVS after graduation, moving up steadily to district manager in
Philadelphia, then to her current position as regional manager responsible for
operations of all CVS stores on Long Island and the New York City borough of Queens.
She oversees general operations of all the stores, including real estate, human resources
and pharmacy, and is responsible for a total of 65 CVS stores. (Chain Drug Review,
1995)
Incentives
A few employee incentives at Patagonia are the ability to wear sandals, t-shirts and
overalls while working in huge open spaces with plants, windows and ceiling fans.
There are no dividers and no cubicles. There a handball courts, basketball courts,
daycare and an ocean breeze. (Soloman, 1998)
The "carrots" companies are dangling in front of employees include paid time off, gift
certificates, cash, travel, and "adrenaline incentives" such as mountain-biking
adventures and hot-air-balloon rides. Additionally, incentive programs that offer

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pampering trips to health spas are becoming more popular. "This is in direct response
to the stress factor in today's workplace," Edmunds says. . (Caudron, 1997)
The idea behind this new crop of incentive programs is to get employees' attention and
cause them to change behaviors by offering tangible, immediate, and worthwhile
rewards for doing so. What are the behavioral changes companies are looking for? You
name it: increased customer service, quicker turnaround on accounts receivable,
improved plant safety, better teamwork. Companies are finding that virtually any
behavior that can be measured can be improved and rewarded. . (Caudron, 1997)
To be successful, an incentive program must have certain components, starting with a
clear list of objectives. "The basic principle behind every incentive program is that you
get what you reward," Nelson says. "If you reward employees for good attendance or
long-term service, you'll have people who show up for work every day but may not be
productive." For this reason, companies must first know exactly what they want
employees to accomplish, and then they must clearly communicate those goals to the
workforce while being consistent with the corporate culture. (Caudron, 1997)
Fun?
Activewear firms have been promoting company loyalty with rah-rah events that range
from rafting trips down roaring rivers to bowling parties. The need to pump up team
spirit and encourage camaraderie has been hastened by two factors: the increasing
poaching of executives and designers at some of the top companies and the tremendous
growth of those companies as they spread globally. (Feitelberg, 1997)

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As companies get bigger, there is a growing danger of workers feeling more like part of
a machine rather than part of a team. And that is what today's activewear giants are
attempting to avoid (Feitelberg, 1997).
Despite lucrative signing bonuses, bigger salaries, and profit sharing, the concept many
companies fail to grasp is that many employees are selecting and staying with companies
whose culture is fun and fit their values (Garmager & Shemmer, 1998).
One must hasten to add that the responsibility does not only lie on the employer to
guarantee the right fit, but also the candidate seeking a job with the company. He or
she must research and select a company that fits their values and their lifestyle (Siegel,
1998).
Do They Fit?
Good people, people who fit the specific corporate culture can always learn Yet no
matter how skilled they are, it’s doubtful that they can change their basic personalities
to blend into the culture. Developing a checklist for interview questions can help in
eliciting a personality sketch. (Chapdelaine, 1998)
However, according to Professor of Management Gary Powell, a single-minded pursuit
in either hiring employees who fit the existing organizational culture or those who increase the
diversity of the workforce to compete successfully are limiting themselves. To determine

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when it is appropriate to pursue either a reinforcing/cohesive selection philosophy or
an extending/diverse selection philosophy, three questions must be asked:
DOES HE OR SHE FIT ON WHAT PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES?
Search for a reinforcing fit on values that are pivotal to the organizational culture.
Search for a reinforcing fit on general types of knowledge, skills, and abilities.
Search for an extending fit on specific types of knowledge, skills, and abilities that are
needed to perform different types of jobs, solve different types of problems, and to take
advantage of different types of opportunities.
IS HE OR SHE FIT FOR EMPLOYMENT IN WHICH JOBS?
Search for a reinforcing fit for employees at lower levels who neither hold nor are
expected to hold jobs with decision-making responsibilities.
Search for an extending fit for employees at lower levels who either hold or are
expected to hold jobs with decision-making responsibilities and for employees at higher
levels who hold jobs with decision-making responsibilities.
DOES HE OR SHE FIT IN WHAT SITUATIONS?
Search for a reinforcing fit when the organization is at an early stage in its life cycle or is
in a state of equilibrium and is likely to remain so. Or when the organization serves
similar customers.
Search for an extending fit when the organization is at a later stage of its life cycle, when
the industry is subject to revolutionary change at short notice, when the organization

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has a high degree of contact with customers and when the organization serves diverse
customers.
Organizations that base their strategies for selecting new employees and developing
current employees on the above questions will fare well in competition against
organizations that emphasize the pursuit of either organizational cohesiveness or
organizational diversity to the exclusion of the other. (Powell, 1998)
BENEFITS OF CREATING & MAINTAINING CORPORATE CULTURE
Mature Industrial countries are undergoing a change in economic structure, moving
from manufacturing to services. In the U.S. and many other developed economies,
most of the workforce is employed in creating and delivering intangible products, i.e.,
services. Since the U.S. is the vanguard of the service explosion, it has built up a base of
experience that can facilitate entry into foreign markets. The service sector is one of the
fastest growing sectors in world trade, and one in which the U.S. has earned substantial
surpluses -- $ 50 billion in 1992 and $ 60 billion in 1993. (Goodwin & Elliot, 1995)
It is no longer enough for employees to work physically hard in order to generate
profit. There is a revolution in the way organizational cultures are designed and the
way we define the task of leading. The old command and control models for leaders
are being replaced by a new set of tasks that fosters high-commitment work
arrangements. (Barrett, 1995)

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Sears Roebuck found that employees attitudes about their workload, treatment by
bosses and other such matters have a measurable effect on customer satisfaction and
revenue. Sears discovered that if employee attitudes on 10 essential counts improved
by 5% then customer satisfaction would jump 1.3 percent, finally driving a one-point
rise in revenue (Cole, 1998).
To overcome the costs of doing business overseas and the advantages of international
competitors, the expanding firm must be able to create and sustain an edge in serving
its customers. To gain that edge, most successful international companies adhere to
value based corporate cultures rather than cost-based strategies. (Goodwin & Elliot,
1995)

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CONCLUSION
The most admired companies key priorities were teamwork, customer focus, fair
treatment of employees, initiative and innovation (Fortune, 1998)
Companies with a strong culture, clear vision, and leaders who inspire innovation, have
the following attributes in common:
• Choose leaders with a strong sense of self; have a passion for their business
• Have a higher reason to exist (bring sight to the world, bring wonder to harried lives)
• Develop cultures that are so unique that they can’t be copied.
• Invest in learning, knowledge and people development
• Involve all level in developing strategies.
• Don’t compete on price but on innovation and service to the customer.
• Experience joy in their work rarely seen at other companies.
• “Institutionalize” reflection
• Experience financial success in profits, growth and stock price.
• Have lower-than-industry-average turnover rates.
• Outpace competitors’ financial and market performance.
“We are transformed not by caring for our own soul in isolation, but by entering into a
dialogue with something outside ourselves. It may, at times, be work we care about, or
someone we care about, or something we feel needs attention. But whatever it is, we
must meet it at the boundary and know it as something alive, animated by its own
powers – a spark of soul addressing us.” (Briskin, 1998)

28. 28
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