It is important to recognize the organizational culture of your business. This is something that can determine the fate of the business in the long run. The way in which a business is set up can prove to be a big driving factor in its growth or it can be the reason why a company is stalling out. 

Practice What You Preach 

A business is only as good as its internal structure. Most companies have a blueprint of rules they want every person to follow. The question - are those policies actually being followed or are they meaningless? It is important to review the guidelines from time to time to make sure they are meeting the intended purpose.

Case in point, CBS This Morning’s story on the federal government's Job Corps – “Grim Reality Of Billion Dollar Gov't Program” in which violence, drugs and falsifying success numbers was reported as common at several facilities; organizational behavior contradicting their mission, “to attract eligible young adults, teach them the skills they need to become employable and independent, and place them in meaningful jobs or further education.” Or its purpose to “assist eligible young people who can benefit from an intensive and comprehensive program, operated primarily in the residential setting of a Job Corps center, to become more responsible, employable, and productive citizens.”

A Refocused Vision

Business owners who realize there is something wrong with their set policies and take the initiative to reform them are on the right path. They may have had the right idea in mind when they were created, but for whatever reason those policies are no longer meeting the desired goal which means it’s time to revise to meet the current needs of the business. The truth is most businesses put profit above performance and in the instances below, safety.

Cases in point, General Motors Co. defective ignition switches and Takata Corp. exploding airbags.

• The ChicagoBusiness.com article, “How Your Company May Be As Bad As GM”, confirms “Corporate culture is real. Every company has one, for better or worse. Corporate culture is a set of values, expectations, norms and guidelines that determine how employees behave and make decisions.” The article goes on to state, “Author Anton Valukas of Chicago-based Jenner & Block LLP (and former U.S. attorney) highlights the role of the Detroit automaker's culture in delaying action to fix defects that killed people. Colorful images like the "GM salute" and the "GM nod" illustrate a culture of skirting accountability, burying bad news and emphasizing cost control over safety.”
• International Business Times.com Takata Airbag Recall: Does Your Car Have One Of These Dangerous, Shrapnel Spitting Airbags?, has a detailed outline of car manufacturers who purchased their faulty product with the year and make of vehicles. The end result reported by USA Today (Feds Confused, Automakers Alarmed Over Takata Air Bags), “Automakers continue to do business with Takata. They consider it a very good supplier despite this situation, in which a manufacturing process that created the defect and inadequate record-keeping made it hard to later identify which bags might be faulty, leading to updates and expansions of the recalls over the years.”

Creating Better Incentives

Often times, a company is not functioning properly because the right set of incentives is not in place for those who really drive the growth of the company. If people feel like they are unable to move up the ranks in a business, they are most likely not going to put in their best efforts. Reviewing the incentives system frequently is a must for any business looking to improve or revamp its operations.

Want to know which corporations are doing it right? Check out the Forbes article “The Top Companies For Culture And Values” listing the top 25 by job search powerhouse Glassdoor.

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