The document analyzes challenges facing the Disney Company based on an article from Fortune magazine. It identifies four reasons for Disney's difficulties: 1) a dramatic shift in its strategic context due to increased competition and changing customer base, 2) structural and cultural inertia that have made the organization resistant to change, 3) CEO Michael Eisner's hands-on management style has hindered efforts to adapt, and 4) Disney's past success has bred an insular culture unsuited for today's environment. It recommends that Disney reconsider its strategy in light of the new context, align its structure and culture through organizational changes, and have Eisner empower others to drive the transformation.
This case study examines how Beauty Base Ltd (BBL), a soap manufacturing company in Nigeria, applied the concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) to solve a problem. BBL had been polluting the air and water in the community where its factory was located. In 2006, a lawsuit was filed against BBL for $2 billion in damages. While the government initially defended BBL, the company responded by initiating socially responsible actions like building a road in the community. Through CSR initiatives, BBL was able to improve its reputation and relationship with the community, providing a solution to the lawsuit and business challenges it faced.
Michael dell leadership & personality traitsAkhil Pillai
Michael Dell was born in 1965 in Houston, Texas. He started his first business at age 12, washing dishes at a Chinese restaurant. At age 15, he purchased an Apple computer to take apart and learn how it worked. He founded Dell Computer in 1984 from his dorm room at the University of Texas. As CEO, he helped grow Dell into the largest PC manufacturer in the world. He stepped down as CEO in 2004 but remained chairman. In 2007, he reassumed the CEO role to help turn the company around. In 2013, he took Dell private again in a move to rebuild the company he had founded.
This document discusses organizational culture and provides a model for measuring it. It defines organizational culture as the shared values, beliefs, and assumptions that guide behavior in an organization. The document then presents the Denison Organizational Culture Model, which measures culture using four traits: involvement, consistency, adaptability, and mission. It describes how each trait is divided into further subdimensions and how an organization's scores in these areas can be plotted on a circular chart. The document concludes by providing an example culture profile for a Chinese company using this model.
This book discusses how good companies can become great by studying companies that made successful transformations. It found that these companies exhibited level 5 leadership, focused on finding the right people rather than just paying more, confronted hard facts realistically yet with faith, developed a simple "hedgehog concept" strategy, built a disciplined culture, used technology to accelerate progress, and persevered through consistent, step-by-step efforts like a flywheel rather than trying to change everything at once. The book provides tools to help professionals and organizations strive for greatness.
A study into what organisational reputation is, what threatens it, how it can be measured, managed and protected and how particular companies have responded to a reputation crisis.
Researched and written as part of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations' Chartered Practitioner scheme.
THRIVING IN A MULTI-GENERATIONAL WORLD - MILLENNIALS to BOOMERSSteve Dosier
Workforce trends and the existence of a multi-generational workforce pose unique challenges to today’s business environment. Understanding each generation is critical to optimizing an organization’s culture.
Today’s workplace is made up of several different generations of employees. Two generations that can be radically different are the Baby Boomers and those just entering the work force, the Millennials.
This presentation provides an in-depth overview of the diversity in trends, education, beliefs and values in the workplace. When the groups e balanced, they bring value to an organization.
Idealism and commercialism are not polar opposites. In fact, as counterintuitive as it may seem, sustainable profits are supported by sustainable idealism. Brand owners should not have to choose between idealism and profit, and profits based on a degree of idealism are more likely to be strong and sustainable over time. Businesses have come to recognize this and want their objectives, and those of their brands, to be attractive and easily defensible. While the economic crisis has tested some companies’ resolve, the fundamental factors that encourage them to espouse inspiring missions and defensible practices are unlikely to wane. Ogilvy has developed The big ideaL process to convey the ethos of the brand or company to people from different cultures and to employees and consumers alike.
This case study examines how Beauty Base Ltd (BBL), a soap manufacturing company in Nigeria, applied the concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) to solve a problem. BBL had been polluting the air and water in the community where its factory was located. In 2006, a lawsuit was filed against BBL for $2 billion in damages. While the government initially defended BBL, the company responded by initiating socially responsible actions like building a road in the community. Through CSR initiatives, BBL was able to improve its reputation and relationship with the community, providing a solution to the lawsuit and business challenges it faced.
Michael dell leadership & personality traitsAkhil Pillai
Michael Dell was born in 1965 in Houston, Texas. He started his first business at age 12, washing dishes at a Chinese restaurant. At age 15, he purchased an Apple computer to take apart and learn how it worked. He founded Dell Computer in 1984 from his dorm room at the University of Texas. As CEO, he helped grow Dell into the largest PC manufacturer in the world. He stepped down as CEO in 2004 but remained chairman. In 2007, he reassumed the CEO role to help turn the company around. In 2013, he took Dell private again in a move to rebuild the company he had founded.
This document discusses organizational culture and provides a model for measuring it. It defines organizational culture as the shared values, beliefs, and assumptions that guide behavior in an organization. The document then presents the Denison Organizational Culture Model, which measures culture using four traits: involvement, consistency, adaptability, and mission. It describes how each trait is divided into further subdimensions and how an organization's scores in these areas can be plotted on a circular chart. The document concludes by providing an example culture profile for a Chinese company using this model.
This book discusses how good companies can become great by studying companies that made successful transformations. It found that these companies exhibited level 5 leadership, focused on finding the right people rather than just paying more, confronted hard facts realistically yet with faith, developed a simple "hedgehog concept" strategy, built a disciplined culture, used technology to accelerate progress, and persevered through consistent, step-by-step efforts like a flywheel rather than trying to change everything at once. The book provides tools to help professionals and organizations strive for greatness.
A study into what organisational reputation is, what threatens it, how it can be measured, managed and protected and how particular companies have responded to a reputation crisis.
Researched and written as part of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations' Chartered Practitioner scheme.
THRIVING IN A MULTI-GENERATIONAL WORLD - MILLENNIALS to BOOMERSSteve Dosier
Workforce trends and the existence of a multi-generational workforce pose unique challenges to today’s business environment. Understanding each generation is critical to optimizing an organization’s culture.
Today’s workplace is made up of several different generations of employees. Two generations that can be radically different are the Baby Boomers and those just entering the work force, the Millennials.
This presentation provides an in-depth overview of the diversity in trends, education, beliefs and values in the workplace. When the groups e balanced, they bring value to an organization.
Idealism and commercialism are not polar opposites. In fact, as counterintuitive as it may seem, sustainable profits are supported by sustainable idealism. Brand owners should not have to choose between idealism and profit, and profits based on a degree of idealism are more likely to be strong and sustainable over time. Businesses have come to recognize this and want their objectives, and those of their brands, to be attractive and easily defensible. While the economic crisis has tested some companies’ resolve, the fundamental factors that encourage them to espouse inspiring missions and defensible practices are unlikely to wane. Ogilvy has developed The big ideaL process to convey the ethos of the brand or company to people from different cultures and to employees and consumers alike.
This document provides a case study on the impact of mergers and acquisitions on organizational culture, focusing on Disney's acquisitions of Pixar Animation Studios and Marvel Entertainment. It begins with background information on each company, including their origins and corporate cultures. Disney is known for its strong culture emphasizing customer happiness. Pixar has a culture valuing creativity, talent, and the fusion of art and technology. Marvel had a weaker culture due to ownership changes.
The document then discusses relevant organizational behavior principles, including the importance of organizational culture in mergers. It recommends conducting a bicultural audit to reduce cultural clashes and ensure mergers positively impact culture. Dialogue between merging companies is important to understand differences in operations and
Project Strategy Implementation and Evaluation.pdfsdfghj21
1. The document discusses corporate governance, corporate ethics, and social responsibility. It analyzes TOMS Shoes' "buy-one-give-one" business model and compares it to criticisms of Nike's business practices in the 1990s.
2. Boards of directors play a key role in corporate governance through oversight of CEOs, advising on strategy, and representing stakeholders. Issues around CEO compensation, perks, and potential conflicts of interest are discussed.
3. The possibility of corporate takeovers provides incentives for effective governance; terminology around takeovers tends to portray management in a negative light.
This document provides an overview of the economics of reputation. It discusses 5 fundamental questions about reputation: 1) what is reputation, 2) why reputation has become critical, 3) how reputation is created, 4) how reputation creates value, and 5) how reputation can be measured. For each question, it summarizes the key themes in the academic literature, including definitions of reputation as perception, judgement, or an asset. It also provides perspectives from stakeholders on reputation topics. The overall document aims to give readers a straightforward way to understand the topic of reputation.
Saylor URL: http://www.saylor.org/books Saylor.org
313
Chapter 10
Leading an Ethical Organization: Corporate
Governance, Corporate Ethics, and Social
Responsibility
L E A R N I N G O B J E C T I V E S
After reading this chapter, you should be able to understand and articulate answers to the following
questions:
1. What are the key elements of effective corporate governance?
2. How do individuals and firms gauge ethical behavior?
3. What influences and biases might impact and impede decision making?
TOMS Shoes: Doing Business with Soul
Under the business model used by TOMS Shoes, a pair of their signature alpargata footwear is
donated for every pair sold.
Image courtesy of Parke Ladd, http://www.flickr.com/photos/parke-ladd/5389801209.
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/
http://www.saylor.org/books
http://www.flickr.com/photos/parke-ladd/5389801209
Saylor URL: http://www.saylor.org/books Saylor.org
314
In 2002, Blake Mycoskie competed with his sister Paige on The Amazing Race—a reality show where
groups of two people with existing relationships engage in a global race to win valuable prizes, with the
winner receiving a coveted grand prize. Although Blake’s team finished third in the second season of the
show, the experience afforded him the opportunity to visit Argentina, where he returned in 2006 and
developed the idea to build a company around the alpargata—a popular style of shoe in that region.
The premise of the company Blake started was a unique one. For every shoe sold, a pair will be given to
someone in need. This simple business model was the basis for TOMS Shoes, which has now given away
more than one million pairs of shoes to those in need in more than twenty countries worldwide. [1]
The rise of TOMS Shoes has inspired other companies that have adopted the “buy-one-give-one”
philosophy. For example, the Good Little Company donates a meal for every package purchased. [2] This
business model has also been successfully applied to selling (and donating) other items such as glasses
and books.
The social initiatives that drive TOMS Shoes stand in stark contrast to the criticisms that plagued Nike
Corporation, where claims of human rights violations, ranging from the use of sweatshops and child labor
to lack of compliance with minimum wage laws, were rampant in the 1990s. [3] While Nike struggled to
win back confidence in buyers that were concerned with their business practices, TOMS social initiatives
are a source of excellent publicity in pride in those who purchase their products. As further testament to
their popularity, TOMS has engaged in partnerships with Nordstrom, Disney, and Element Skateboards.
Although the idea of social entrepreneurship and the birth of firms such as TOMS Shoes are relatively
new, a push toward social initiatives has been the source of debate for executives for decades. Issues that
have sparked particularly .
Saylor URL: http://www.saylor.org/books Saylor.org
313
Chapter 10
Leading an Ethical Organization: Corporate
Governance, Corporate Ethics, and Social
Responsibility
L E A R N I N G O B J E C T I V E S
After reading this chapter, you should be able to understand and articulate answers to the following
questions:
1. What are the key elements of effective corporate governance?
2. How do individuals and firms gauge ethical behavior?
3. What influences and biases might impact and impede decision making?
TOMS Shoes: Doing Business with Soul
Under the business model used by TOMS Shoes, a pair of their signature alpargata footwear is
donated for every pair sold.
Image courtesy of Parke Ladd, http://www.flickr.com/photos/parke-ladd/5389801209.
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/
http://www.saylor.org/books
http://www.flickr.com/photos/parke-ladd/5389801209
Saylor URL: http://www.saylor.org/books Saylor.org
314
In 2002, Blake Mycoskie competed with his sister Paige on The Amazing Race—a reality show where
groups of two people with existing relationships engage in a global race to win valuable prizes, with the
winner receiving a coveted grand prize. Although Blake’s team finished third in the second season of the
show, the experience afforded him the opportunity to visit Argentina, where he returned in 2006 and
developed the idea to build a company around the alpargata—a popular style of shoe in that region.
The premise of the company Blake started was a unique one. For every shoe sold, a pair will be given to
someone in need. This simple business model was the basis for TOMS Shoes, which has now given away
more than one million pairs of shoes to those in need in more than twenty countries worldwide. [1]
The rise of TOMS Shoes has inspired other companies that have adopted the “buy-one-give-one”
philosophy. For example, the Good Little Company donates a meal for every package purchased. [2] This
business model has also been successfully applied to selling (and donating) other items such as glasses
and books.
The social initiatives that drive TOMS Shoes stand in stark contrast to the criticisms that plagued Nike
Corporation, where claims of human rights violations, ranging from the use of sweatshops and child labor
to lack of compliance with minimum wage laws, were rampant in the 1990s. [3] While Nike struggled to
win back confidence in buyers that were concerned with their business practices, TOMS social initiatives
are a source of excellent publicity in pride in those who purchase their products. As further testament to
their popularity, TOMS has engaged in partnerships with Nordstrom, Disney, and Element Skateboards.
Although the idea of social entrepreneurship and the birth of firms such as TOMS Shoes are relatively
new, a push toward social initiatives has been the source of debate for executives for decades. Issues that
have sparked particularly .
Chapter 1010.1 Leading an Ethical Organization Corporate Govern.docxbartholomeocoombs
Chapter 10
10.1 Leading an Ethical Organization: Corporate Governance, Corporate Ethics, and Social Responsibility
Learning Objectives
After reading this chapter, you should be able to understand and articulate answers to the following questions:
· What are the key elements of effective corporate governance?
· How do individuals and firms gauge ethical behavior?
· What influences and biases might impact and impede decision making?
TOMS Shoes: Doing Business with Soul
Under the business model used by TOMS Shoes, a pair of their signature alpargata footwear is donated for every pair sold.
Parke Ladd – Quinn’s new Tom’s – CC BY 2.0.
In 2002, Blake Mycoskie competed with his sister Paige on The Amazing Race—a reality show where groups of two people with existing relationships engage in a global race to win valuable prizes, with the winner receiving a coveted grand prize. Although Blake’s team finished third in the second season of the show, the experience afforded him the opportunity to visit Argentina, where he returned in 2006 and developed the idea to build a company around the alpargata—a popular style of shoe in that region.
The premise of the company Blake started was a unique one. For every shoe sold, a pair will be given to someone in need. This simple business model was the basis for TOMS Shoes, which has now given away more than one million pairs of shoes to those in need in more than twenty countries worldwide (Oloffson, 2010).
The rise of TOMS Shoes has inspired other companies that have adopted the “buy-one-give-one” philosophy. For example, the Good Little Company donates a meal for every package purchased (Nicolas, 2011). This business model has also been successfully applied to selling (and donating) other items such as glasses and books.
The social initiatives that drive TOMS Shoes stand in stark contrast to the criticisms that plagued Nike Corporation, where claims of human rights violations, ranging from the use of sweatshops and child labor to lack of compliance with minimum wage laws, were rampant in the 1990s (McCall, 1998). While Nike struggled to win back confidence in buyers that were concerned with their business practices, TOMS social initiatives are a source of excellent publicity in pride in those who purchase their products. As further testament to their popularity, TOMS has engaged in partnerships with Nordstrom, Disney, and Element Skateboards.
Although the idea of social entrepreneurship and the birth of firms such as TOMS Shoes are relatively new, a push toward social initiatives has been the source of debate for executives for decades. Issues that have sparked particularly fierce debate include CEO pay and the role of today’s modern corporation. More than a quarter of a century ago, famed economist Milton Friedman argued, “The social responsibility of business is to increase its profits.” This notion is now being challenged by firms such as TOMS and their entrepreneurial CEO, who argue that serving other stakeho.
Chapter 1010.1 Leading an Ethical Organization Corporate Govern.docxzebadiahsummers
Chapter 10
10.1 Leading an Ethical Organization: Corporate Governance, Corporate Ethics, and Social Responsibility
Learning Objectives
After reading this chapter, you should be able to understand and articulate answers to the following questions:
· What are the key elements of effective corporate governance?
· How do individuals and firms gauge ethical behavior?
· What influences and biases might impact and impede decision making?
TOMS Shoes: Doing Business with Soul
Under the business model used by TOMS Shoes, a pair of their signature alpargata footwear is donated for every pair sold.
Parke Ladd – Quinn’s new Tom’s – CC BY 2.0.
In 2002, Blake Mycoskie competed with his sister Paige on The Amazing Race—a reality show where groups of two people with existing relationships engage in a global race to win valuable prizes, with the winner receiving a coveted grand prize. Although Blake’s team finished third in the second season of the show, the experience afforded him the opportunity to visit Argentina, where he returned in 2006 and developed the idea to build a company around the alpargata—a popular style of shoe in that region.
The premise of the company Blake started was a unique one. For every shoe sold, a pair will be given to someone in need. This simple business model was the basis for TOMS Shoes, which has now given away more than one million pairs of shoes to those in need in more than twenty countries worldwide (Oloffson, 2010).
The rise of TOMS Shoes has inspired other companies that have adopted the “buy-one-give-one” philosophy. For example, the Good Little Company donates a meal for every package purchased (Nicolas, 2011). This business model has also been successfully applied to selling (and donating) other items such as glasses and books.
The social initiatives that drive TOMS Shoes stand in stark contrast to the criticisms that plagued Nike Corporation, where claims of human rights violations, ranging from the use of sweatshops and child labor to lack of compliance with minimum wage laws, were rampant in the 1990s (McCall, 1998). While Nike struggled to win back confidence in buyers that were concerned with their business practices, TOMS social initiatives are a source of excellent publicity in pride in those who purchase their products. As further testament to their popularity, TOMS has engaged in partnerships with Nordstrom, Disney, and Element Skateboards.
Although the idea of social entrepreneurship and the birth of firms such as TOMS Shoes are relatively new, a push toward social initiatives has been the source of debate for executives for decades. Issues that have sparked particularly fierce debate include CEO pay and the role of today’s modern corporation. More than a quarter of a century ago, famed economist Milton Friedman argued, “The social responsibility of business is to increase its profits.” This notion is now being challenged by firms such as TOMS and their entrepreneurial CEO, who argue that serving other stakeho.
The competitive Advantage of corporate cultures Daniel Denison, .docxmehek4
The competitive Advantage of corporate cultures
Daniel Denison, IMD Business School
Levi Nieminen, Denison Consulting
Lindsey Kotrba, Denison Consulting
What is Corporate Culture? At the climax of the annual holiday party in one rapidly growing American company, hundreds of balloons are released from the ceiling. Inside each balloon is a crisp new $100 bill and whoever scrambles the hardest, gets the most money! The lesson is simple, fun, and more powerful than all the personnel policy handbooks in the world. It helps capture the essence of some of the key definitions of corporate culture: Culture is “the way we do things around here,” and “what we do when we think no one is looking.”1 Most scholars further describe culture in terms of two important definitional fea tures, 1) culture has multiple layers or levels, and 2) culture is learned. Schein’s classic approach divides culture into three levels.2 He argues that basic, underlying assumptions lie at the root of culture and are “uncon scious, taken-for-granted beliefs, perceptions, thoughts, and feelings.” Espoused values are Artifacts, behaviors, and derived from basic underlying assumptions and are the “espoused justifications of strate gies, goals and philosophies.” Finally, at the top level are “artifacts,” that are defined as “visible, yet hard to decipher organizational structures and processes.” Like the iceberg norms are visible and tangible. Personal values and attitudes are presented in Figure 1, only about 10 percent of an organization’s culture is visible, whereas 90 percent is below the surface. However, it is the part of the culture that we can’t see—the less visible, but can be talked about. Underlying fundamental beliefs and assumptions—that often sinks the ship. beliefs and assumptions are Figure 2 reminds us that culture is learned—it includes “the lessons that we have learned that are important enough to pass on to the next generation.”3 The lessons from subconscious,invisible, and rarely questioned. Figure 1 Schein’s Three Layers of Organizational Culture the Visible Symbols cultural values that are important are reflected in the visible symbols that surround us, which further reinforce and shape our culture into the future, and so on. Winston Churchill made a similar point about architecture, stating that, “We shape our buildings; thereafter they shape us.”4 Returning to our discussion from above, it is almost always easier to change the buildings than it is to modify the cultural values that guided their construction. In other words, the stuff that resides below the surface of an organization’s culture—the fun damental beliefs and assumptions—is the core of what is learned over time and what comes to guide behaviors and visible structures and processes. Survival Figure 2 Diagram of Culture as Learned Why is Corporate Culture Important? Many top executives attest that shaping and managing their organization’s culture is one of their most important challenges. As ...
IMAGE IS INDEED EVERYTHING: AN ANALYSIS OF HOW AMERICANS VIEW LEADING COMPANI...ijmpict
The document analyzes a survey that assessed Americans' views of leading companies' reputations across 7 dimensions. It found:
- Patagonia, Honda, and Moderna were rated highest overall, while Trump Organization, Fox, and Facebook rated lowest.
- Reputation did not perfectly correlate with visibility/familiarity - less visible companies like Patagonia and Moderna had stronger reputations than more visible ones like Amazon.
- The document explores the survey results for each reputational dimension to identify the companies viewed most positively and negatively. It aims to provide insights for corporate reputation management.
This document discusses creating an ethical culture in business. It argues that defining a manager's role as solely profit-maximization can conflict with ethics and is dysfunctional, as business environments require cooperation between interdependent stakeholders. The document proposes two principles to give ethical purpose to management: 1) recognize one's interdependence with others for success, and 2) see others not as constraints but as necessary partners. It provides examples of ethical dilemmas in business and advocates for changing perceptions so managers promote win-win cooperation instead of seeing stakeholders as adversaries.
- Panera Bread decided to focus on attracting customers who could afford to pay more for their meals, around $8.50, rather than offering discounted products during the economic downturn like their competitors.
- Panera has a strong company culture of providing fresh, high-quality food in a welcoming environment and giving back to the community through food donations.
- Customer surveys and press awards have recognized Panera's success and voted it as one of America's most popular restaurant chains.
This document discusses the importance of trust, truth, and transparency in business. It argues that social capital, generated through open contribution from customers and fans, is becoming an important asset for companies. When organizations share power and information transparently, it creates reciprocity and builds trust both internally and externally. However, fear often underlies a lack of transparency and constrains relationships. True trust is based on responding to others through open communication, rather than reacting fearfully or trying to control through positional power. Developing skills like "exforming" allow people to share doubts and feelings respectfully to build understanding.
Sean JusticeCorbischapter 3The Organizing Function.docxkenjordan97598
Sean Justice/Corbis
chapter 3
The Organizing Function
Chapter Goals
After completing this chapter, you should be able to
• Connect the organizing function with company success.
• Explain the basic principles of job design.
• Employ the best form of departmentalization for a specific company.
• Finalize the structure of a company.
• Describe various types of organizational configuration.
min66227_03_c03_p055-080.indd 55 7/8/11 5:31 PM
56
CHAPTER 3Section 3.1 Introduction
3.1 Introduction
Learning Objective #1: What role does organizing play in company success?
One key part of a manager’s job is to identify the best way to organize and run a company or organization. Well-organized companies are often recognized as being the most efficient, effective, and productive within an industry group. A
well-organized company is critical to success. Having a manager who can work with and
implement the structures and plans of a company is vital.
Organizing is a normal process that flows naturally from the human tendency for coopera-
tion. People are predisposed to cooperate with one another. Early humans used cooperation
behaviors and organizational skills, familiar to us today, initially as survival techniques. As
humanity progressed, cultural technologies were developed to enhance success in life.
While some cooperative human behaviors are likely instinctual, the majority are learned
through various interactions with the environment, family, school, and culture. Many
people learn early in life to keep their bedroom clean and orderly. They later learn to keep
a school locker orderly, and eventually how to organize computer files and MP3 music
files on portable music devices. The progression of organizational abilities throughout
history indicates that humans have a natural understanding that everything has its place.
Organizing complex structures, however, such as a large-scale manufacturing plant or a
500-guest-room resort requires sophistication beyond basic socialization.
Organizing may be defined as the process of efficiently and effectively bringing people
and resources together to create products and services. Organizing establishes task and
authority relationships that allow people to work together to achieve the organization’s
goals. Organizing consists of three primary activities: (a) job design, (b) departmentaliza-
tion, and (c) completion of the organizational structure.
In a business organization, the focus should be on creating a structure within the orga-
nization as a social institution. The structure of the organization is made up of the func-
tional jobs within an organization, and they represent “the skeleton of the organizational
system” (Steers, Ungson, & Mowday, 1985). This structural “skeleton” holds up the entire
organization and allows it to move forward to achieve its plan for success. An organiza-
tional structure is a formal system of task and reporting relationships that coordinates the
acti.
This essay discusses the short story "The District Doctor" by Ivan Turgenev and examines the relationship between the title character, Dr. Trifon Ivanich, and his patient Aleksandra Andreyevna. It argues that the doctor's romantic feelings for Aleksandra compromised his ability to treat her illness effectively and objectively, potentially endangering her life. Physicians must remain detached emotionally to focus solely on their patients' welfare and rehabilitation. The story raises issues around doctors balancing human imperfections and maintaining ethical patient care.
Organizational identity is a complex concept that is central to understanding organizations but also problematic. The document discusses nine perspectives on organizational identity including graphic design, organizational behavior, and multidisciplinary approaches. It presents Balmer and Gray's 1999 model of the corporate identity and communications management process but notes there may be room to improve the model, such as addressing when strong organizational identity could potentially harm individuals, organizations, or society.
1) The document discusses the concept of "creative destruction" where companies must constantly change and abandon old ways of doing business in order to survive and thrive in changing market conditions.
2) It argues that most companies will be unable to match or outperform the constantly changing market without abandoning the assumption of continuity and increasing the rate of "creative destruction" within their own organizations.
3) However, implementing significant internal change is difficult for companies due to "cultural lock-in", where the corporate culture becomes unable to change even in the face of clear threats, due to ingrained decision-making processes, controls, and mental models.
This document provides a case study on the impact of mergers and acquisitions on organizational culture, focusing on Disney's acquisitions of Pixar Animation Studios and Marvel Entertainment. It begins with background information on each company, including their origins and corporate cultures. Disney is known for its strong culture emphasizing customer happiness. Pixar has a culture valuing creativity, talent, and the fusion of art and technology. Marvel had a weaker culture due to ownership changes.
The document then discusses relevant organizational behavior principles, including the importance of organizational culture in mergers. It recommends conducting a bicultural audit to reduce cultural clashes and ensure mergers positively impact culture. Dialogue between merging companies is important to understand differences in operations and
Project Strategy Implementation and Evaluation.pdfsdfghj21
1. The document discusses corporate governance, corporate ethics, and social responsibility. It analyzes TOMS Shoes' "buy-one-give-one" business model and compares it to criticisms of Nike's business practices in the 1990s.
2. Boards of directors play a key role in corporate governance through oversight of CEOs, advising on strategy, and representing stakeholders. Issues around CEO compensation, perks, and potential conflicts of interest are discussed.
3. The possibility of corporate takeovers provides incentives for effective governance; terminology around takeovers tends to portray management in a negative light.
This document provides an overview of the economics of reputation. It discusses 5 fundamental questions about reputation: 1) what is reputation, 2) why reputation has become critical, 3) how reputation is created, 4) how reputation creates value, and 5) how reputation can be measured. For each question, it summarizes the key themes in the academic literature, including definitions of reputation as perception, judgement, or an asset. It also provides perspectives from stakeholders on reputation topics. The overall document aims to give readers a straightforward way to understand the topic of reputation.
Saylor URL: http://www.saylor.org/books Saylor.org
313
Chapter 10
Leading an Ethical Organization: Corporate
Governance, Corporate Ethics, and Social
Responsibility
L E A R N I N G O B J E C T I V E S
After reading this chapter, you should be able to understand and articulate answers to the following
questions:
1. What are the key elements of effective corporate governance?
2. How do individuals and firms gauge ethical behavior?
3. What influences and biases might impact and impede decision making?
TOMS Shoes: Doing Business with Soul
Under the business model used by TOMS Shoes, a pair of their signature alpargata footwear is
donated for every pair sold.
Image courtesy of Parke Ladd, http://www.flickr.com/photos/parke-ladd/5389801209.
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/
http://www.saylor.org/books
http://www.flickr.com/photos/parke-ladd/5389801209
Saylor URL: http://www.saylor.org/books Saylor.org
314
In 2002, Blake Mycoskie competed with his sister Paige on The Amazing Race—a reality show where
groups of two people with existing relationships engage in a global race to win valuable prizes, with the
winner receiving a coveted grand prize. Although Blake’s team finished third in the second season of the
show, the experience afforded him the opportunity to visit Argentina, where he returned in 2006 and
developed the idea to build a company around the alpargata—a popular style of shoe in that region.
The premise of the company Blake started was a unique one. For every shoe sold, a pair will be given to
someone in need. This simple business model was the basis for TOMS Shoes, which has now given away
more than one million pairs of shoes to those in need in more than twenty countries worldwide. [1]
The rise of TOMS Shoes has inspired other companies that have adopted the “buy-one-give-one”
philosophy. For example, the Good Little Company donates a meal for every package purchased. [2] This
business model has also been successfully applied to selling (and donating) other items such as glasses
and books.
The social initiatives that drive TOMS Shoes stand in stark contrast to the criticisms that plagued Nike
Corporation, where claims of human rights violations, ranging from the use of sweatshops and child labor
to lack of compliance with minimum wage laws, were rampant in the 1990s. [3] While Nike struggled to
win back confidence in buyers that were concerned with their business practices, TOMS social initiatives
are a source of excellent publicity in pride in those who purchase their products. As further testament to
their popularity, TOMS has engaged in partnerships with Nordstrom, Disney, and Element Skateboards.
Although the idea of social entrepreneurship and the birth of firms such as TOMS Shoes are relatively
new, a push toward social initiatives has been the source of debate for executives for decades. Issues that
have sparked particularly .
Saylor URL: http://www.saylor.org/books Saylor.org
313
Chapter 10
Leading an Ethical Organization: Corporate
Governance, Corporate Ethics, and Social
Responsibility
L E A R N I N G O B J E C T I V E S
After reading this chapter, you should be able to understand and articulate answers to the following
questions:
1. What are the key elements of effective corporate governance?
2. How do individuals and firms gauge ethical behavior?
3. What influences and biases might impact and impede decision making?
TOMS Shoes: Doing Business with Soul
Under the business model used by TOMS Shoes, a pair of their signature alpargata footwear is
donated for every pair sold.
Image courtesy of Parke Ladd, http://www.flickr.com/photos/parke-ladd/5389801209.
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/
http://www.saylor.org/books
http://www.flickr.com/photos/parke-ladd/5389801209
Saylor URL: http://www.saylor.org/books Saylor.org
314
In 2002, Blake Mycoskie competed with his sister Paige on The Amazing Race—a reality show where
groups of two people with existing relationships engage in a global race to win valuable prizes, with the
winner receiving a coveted grand prize. Although Blake’s team finished third in the second season of the
show, the experience afforded him the opportunity to visit Argentina, where he returned in 2006 and
developed the idea to build a company around the alpargata—a popular style of shoe in that region.
The premise of the company Blake started was a unique one. For every shoe sold, a pair will be given to
someone in need. This simple business model was the basis for TOMS Shoes, which has now given away
more than one million pairs of shoes to those in need in more than twenty countries worldwide. [1]
The rise of TOMS Shoes has inspired other companies that have adopted the “buy-one-give-one”
philosophy. For example, the Good Little Company donates a meal for every package purchased. [2] This
business model has also been successfully applied to selling (and donating) other items such as glasses
and books.
The social initiatives that drive TOMS Shoes stand in stark contrast to the criticisms that plagued Nike
Corporation, where claims of human rights violations, ranging from the use of sweatshops and child labor
to lack of compliance with minimum wage laws, were rampant in the 1990s. [3] While Nike struggled to
win back confidence in buyers that were concerned with their business practices, TOMS social initiatives
are a source of excellent publicity in pride in those who purchase their products. As further testament to
their popularity, TOMS has engaged in partnerships with Nordstrom, Disney, and Element Skateboards.
Although the idea of social entrepreneurship and the birth of firms such as TOMS Shoes are relatively
new, a push toward social initiatives has been the source of debate for executives for decades. Issues that
have sparked particularly .
Chapter 1010.1 Leading an Ethical Organization Corporate Govern.docxbartholomeocoombs
Chapter 10
10.1 Leading an Ethical Organization: Corporate Governance, Corporate Ethics, and Social Responsibility
Learning Objectives
After reading this chapter, you should be able to understand and articulate answers to the following questions:
· What are the key elements of effective corporate governance?
· How do individuals and firms gauge ethical behavior?
· What influences and biases might impact and impede decision making?
TOMS Shoes: Doing Business with Soul
Under the business model used by TOMS Shoes, a pair of their signature alpargata footwear is donated for every pair sold.
Parke Ladd – Quinn’s new Tom’s – CC BY 2.0.
In 2002, Blake Mycoskie competed with his sister Paige on The Amazing Race—a reality show where groups of two people with existing relationships engage in a global race to win valuable prizes, with the winner receiving a coveted grand prize. Although Blake’s team finished third in the second season of the show, the experience afforded him the opportunity to visit Argentina, where he returned in 2006 and developed the idea to build a company around the alpargata—a popular style of shoe in that region.
The premise of the company Blake started was a unique one. For every shoe sold, a pair will be given to someone in need. This simple business model was the basis for TOMS Shoes, which has now given away more than one million pairs of shoes to those in need in more than twenty countries worldwide (Oloffson, 2010).
The rise of TOMS Shoes has inspired other companies that have adopted the “buy-one-give-one” philosophy. For example, the Good Little Company donates a meal for every package purchased (Nicolas, 2011). This business model has also been successfully applied to selling (and donating) other items such as glasses and books.
The social initiatives that drive TOMS Shoes stand in stark contrast to the criticisms that plagued Nike Corporation, where claims of human rights violations, ranging from the use of sweatshops and child labor to lack of compliance with minimum wage laws, were rampant in the 1990s (McCall, 1998). While Nike struggled to win back confidence in buyers that were concerned with their business practices, TOMS social initiatives are a source of excellent publicity in pride in those who purchase their products. As further testament to their popularity, TOMS has engaged in partnerships with Nordstrom, Disney, and Element Skateboards.
Although the idea of social entrepreneurship and the birth of firms such as TOMS Shoes are relatively new, a push toward social initiatives has been the source of debate for executives for decades. Issues that have sparked particularly fierce debate include CEO pay and the role of today’s modern corporation. More than a quarter of a century ago, famed economist Milton Friedman argued, “The social responsibility of business is to increase its profits.” This notion is now being challenged by firms such as TOMS and their entrepreneurial CEO, who argue that serving other stakeho.
Chapter 1010.1 Leading an Ethical Organization Corporate Govern.docxzebadiahsummers
Chapter 10
10.1 Leading an Ethical Organization: Corporate Governance, Corporate Ethics, and Social Responsibility
Learning Objectives
After reading this chapter, you should be able to understand and articulate answers to the following questions:
· What are the key elements of effective corporate governance?
· How do individuals and firms gauge ethical behavior?
· What influences and biases might impact and impede decision making?
TOMS Shoes: Doing Business with Soul
Under the business model used by TOMS Shoes, a pair of their signature alpargata footwear is donated for every pair sold.
Parke Ladd – Quinn’s new Tom’s – CC BY 2.0.
In 2002, Blake Mycoskie competed with his sister Paige on The Amazing Race—a reality show where groups of two people with existing relationships engage in a global race to win valuable prizes, with the winner receiving a coveted grand prize. Although Blake’s team finished third in the second season of the show, the experience afforded him the opportunity to visit Argentina, where he returned in 2006 and developed the idea to build a company around the alpargata—a popular style of shoe in that region.
The premise of the company Blake started was a unique one. For every shoe sold, a pair will be given to someone in need. This simple business model was the basis for TOMS Shoes, which has now given away more than one million pairs of shoes to those in need in more than twenty countries worldwide (Oloffson, 2010).
The rise of TOMS Shoes has inspired other companies that have adopted the “buy-one-give-one” philosophy. For example, the Good Little Company donates a meal for every package purchased (Nicolas, 2011). This business model has also been successfully applied to selling (and donating) other items such as glasses and books.
The social initiatives that drive TOMS Shoes stand in stark contrast to the criticisms that plagued Nike Corporation, where claims of human rights violations, ranging from the use of sweatshops and child labor to lack of compliance with minimum wage laws, were rampant in the 1990s (McCall, 1998). While Nike struggled to win back confidence in buyers that were concerned with their business practices, TOMS social initiatives are a source of excellent publicity in pride in those who purchase their products. As further testament to their popularity, TOMS has engaged in partnerships with Nordstrom, Disney, and Element Skateboards.
Although the idea of social entrepreneurship and the birth of firms such as TOMS Shoes are relatively new, a push toward social initiatives has been the source of debate for executives for decades. Issues that have sparked particularly fierce debate include CEO pay and the role of today’s modern corporation. More than a quarter of a century ago, famed economist Milton Friedman argued, “The social responsibility of business is to increase its profits.” This notion is now being challenged by firms such as TOMS and their entrepreneurial CEO, who argue that serving other stakeho.
The competitive Advantage of corporate cultures Daniel Denison, .docxmehek4
The competitive Advantage of corporate cultures
Daniel Denison, IMD Business School
Levi Nieminen, Denison Consulting
Lindsey Kotrba, Denison Consulting
What is Corporate Culture? At the climax of the annual holiday party in one rapidly growing American company, hundreds of balloons are released from the ceiling. Inside each balloon is a crisp new $100 bill and whoever scrambles the hardest, gets the most money! The lesson is simple, fun, and more powerful than all the personnel policy handbooks in the world. It helps capture the essence of some of the key definitions of corporate culture: Culture is “the way we do things around here,” and “what we do when we think no one is looking.”1 Most scholars further describe culture in terms of two important definitional fea tures, 1) culture has multiple layers or levels, and 2) culture is learned. Schein’s classic approach divides culture into three levels.2 He argues that basic, underlying assumptions lie at the root of culture and are “uncon scious, taken-for-granted beliefs, perceptions, thoughts, and feelings.” Espoused values are Artifacts, behaviors, and derived from basic underlying assumptions and are the “espoused justifications of strate gies, goals and philosophies.” Finally, at the top level are “artifacts,” that are defined as “visible, yet hard to decipher organizational structures and processes.” Like the iceberg norms are visible and tangible. Personal values and attitudes are presented in Figure 1, only about 10 percent of an organization’s culture is visible, whereas 90 percent is below the surface. However, it is the part of the culture that we can’t see—the less visible, but can be talked about. Underlying fundamental beliefs and assumptions—that often sinks the ship. beliefs and assumptions are Figure 2 reminds us that culture is learned—it includes “the lessons that we have learned that are important enough to pass on to the next generation.”3 The lessons from subconscious,invisible, and rarely questioned. Figure 1 Schein’s Three Layers of Organizational Culture the Visible Symbols cultural values that are important are reflected in the visible symbols that surround us, which further reinforce and shape our culture into the future, and so on. Winston Churchill made a similar point about architecture, stating that, “We shape our buildings; thereafter they shape us.”4 Returning to our discussion from above, it is almost always easier to change the buildings than it is to modify the cultural values that guided their construction. In other words, the stuff that resides below the surface of an organization’s culture—the fun damental beliefs and assumptions—is the core of what is learned over time and what comes to guide behaviors and visible structures and processes. Survival Figure 2 Diagram of Culture as Learned Why is Corporate Culture Important? Many top executives attest that shaping and managing their organization’s culture is one of their most important challenges. As ...
IMAGE IS INDEED EVERYTHING: AN ANALYSIS OF HOW AMERICANS VIEW LEADING COMPANI...ijmpict
The document analyzes a survey that assessed Americans' views of leading companies' reputations across 7 dimensions. It found:
- Patagonia, Honda, and Moderna were rated highest overall, while Trump Organization, Fox, and Facebook rated lowest.
- Reputation did not perfectly correlate with visibility/familiarity - less visible companies like Patagonia and Moderna had stronger reputations than more visible ones like Amazon.
- The document explores the survey results for each reputational dimension to identify the companies viewed most positively and negatively. It aims to provide insights for corporate reputation management.
This document discusses creating an ethical culture in business. It argues that defining a manager's role as solely profit-maximization can conflict with ethics and is dysfunctional, as business environments require cooperation between interdependent stakeholders. The document proposes two principles to give ethical purpose to management: 1) recognize one's interdependence with others for success, and 2) see others not as constraints but as necessary partners. It provides examples of ethical dilemmas in business and advocates for changing perceptions so managers promote win-win cooperation instead of seeing stakeholders as adversaries.
- Panera Bread decided to focus on attracting customers who could afford to pay more for their meals, around $8.50, rather than offering discounted products during the economic downturn like their competitors.
- Panera has a strong company culture of providing fresh, high-quality food in a welcoming environment and giving back to the community through food donations.
- Customer surveys and press awards have recognized Panera's success and voted it as one of America's most popular restaurant chains.
This document discusses the importance of trust, truth, and transparency in business. It argues that social capital, generated through open contribution from customers and fans, is becoming an important asset for companies. When organizations share power and information transparently, it creates reciprocity and builds trust both internally and externally. However, fear often underlies a lack of transparency and constrains relationships. True trust is based on responding to others through open communication, rather than reacting fearfully or trying to control through positional power. Developing skills like "exforming" allow people to share doubts and feelings respectfully to build understanding.
Sean JusticeCorbischapter 3The Organizing Function.docxkenjordan97598
Sean Justice/Corbis
chapter 3
The Organizing Function
Chapter Goals
After completing this chapter, you should be able to
• Connect the organizing function with company success.
• Explain the basic principles of job design.
• Employ the best form of departmentalization for a specific company.
• Finalize the structure of a company.
• Describe various types of organizational configuration.
min66227_03_c03_p055-080.indd 55 7/8/11 5:31 PM
56
CHAPTER 3Section 3.1 Introduction
3.1 Introduction
Learning Objective #1: What role does organizing play in company success?
One key part of a manager’s job is to identify the best way to organize and run a company or organization. Well-organized companies are often recognized as being the most efficient, effective, and productive within an industry group. A
well-organized company is critical to success. Having a manager who can work with and
implement the structures and plans of a company is vital.
Organizing is a normal process that flows naturally from the human tendency for coopera-
tion. People are predisposed to cooperate with one another. Early humans used cooperation
behaviors and organizational skills, familiar to us today, initially as survival techniques. As
humanity progressed, cultural technologies were developed to enhance success in life.
While some cooperative human behaviors are likely instinctual, the majority are learned
through various interactions with the environment, family, school, and culture. Many
people learn early in life to keep their bedroom clean and orderly. They later learn to keep
a school locker orderly, and eventually how to organize computer files and MP3 music
files on portable music devices. The progression of organizational abilities throughout
history indicates that humans have a natural understanding that everything has its place.
Organizing complex structures, however, such as a large-scale manufacturing plant or a
500-guest-room resort requires sophistication beyond basic socialization.
Organizing may be defined as the process of efficiently and effectively bringing people
and resources together to create products and services. Organizing establishes task and
authority relationships that allow people to work together to achieve the organization’s
goals. Organizing consists of three primary activities: (a) job design, (b) departmentaliza-
tion, and (c) completion of the organizational structure.
In a business organization, the focus should be on creating a structure within the orga-
nization as a social institution. The structure of the organization is made up of the func-
tional jobs within an organization, and they represent “the skeleton of the organizational
system” (Steers, Ungson, & Mowday, 1985). This structural “skeleton” holds up the entire
organization and allows it to move forward to achieve its plan for success. An organiza-
tional structure is a formal system of task and reporting relationships that coordinates the
acti.
This essay discusses the short story "The District Doctor" by Ivan Turgenev and examines the relationship between the title character, Dr. Trifon Ivanich, and his patient Aleksandra Andreyevna. It argues that the doctor's romantic feelings for Aleksandra compromised his ability to treat her illness effectively and objectively, potentially endangering her life. Physicians must remain detached emotionally to focus solely on their patients' welfare and rehabilitation. The story raises issues around doctors balancing human imperfections and maintaining ethical patient care.
Organizational identity is a complex concept that is central to understanding organizations but also problematic. The document discusses nine perspectives on organizational identity including graphic design, organizational behavior, and multidisciplinary approaches. It presents Balmer and Gray's 1999 model of the corporate identity and communications management process but notes there may be room to improve the model, such as addressing when strong organizational identity could potentially harm individuals, organizations, or society.
1) The document discusses the concept of "creative destruction" where companies must constantly change and abandon old ways of doing business in order to survive and thrive in changing market conditions.
2) It argues that most companies will be unable to match or outperform the constantly changing market without abandoning the assumption of continuity and increasing the rate of "creative destruction" within their own organizations.
3) However, implementing significant internal change is difficult for companies due to "cultural lock-in", where the corporate culture becomes unable to change even in the face of clear threats, due to ingrained decision-making processes, controls, and mental models.
1. Example of Case Analysis Writing
Below is an example of what I consider excellent work. As you read through this
example, note how clearly the author applies concepts from the course (this was a class
on organizational change) and applies them to the case. This application is clear and
explicit.
For example, the first section of this paper deals with the problems Disney faces. This
author suggests that Disney's "strategic context" is an important issue. "Strategic
Context" is a key concept from the literature this class read on managing organizational
change. Note how the author introduces the concept, clearly defines it, and then uses that
concept to analyze Disney. In this discussion, evidence regarding Disney's strategic
context is clearly presented and discussed/ evaluated using the concept.
The September 6, 1999 Fortune article entitled, “Eisner’s mousetrap,” describes the
well known Disney Company as a large organization ($24 billion in revenue in 1999) that
“has simply stopped growing.” The status of the company was examined in detail by the
article and a number of problems were revealed. This paper is based on the information
provided by the article and is divided into two sections. The first section discusses four
reasons for the difficulties currently confronting the Disney Company. The second
section offers suggestions that would allow Disney to addresses the difficulties it now
faces as it successfully changes.
Reasons Why Disney is Facing Difficulties
The myriad of problems facing Disney can be traced to four causes. The difficulties
began with a dramatic shift in the strategic context under which the company operates.
This shift highlighted shortcomings in the company’s structure and culture. And CEO
Michael Eisner’s hands-on, meddlesome approach has thwarted efforts to turn around the
company.
Disney’s strategic context. Tushman and O’Reilly define strategic context as three
key factors that help managers understand the opportunities and constraints that fie before
their organizations. The factors are: (1) the environment in which the organization
operates, (2) the resources available to the organization, and (3) the history of the
organization. The strategic context is the vital first step in Tushman and O’Reilly’s
congruence model. Once the strategic context is understood, strategic choices can be
made, critical tasks defined, and alignment checked between those critical tasks and the
organization’s people, organization, and culture. If that strategic context is altered,
however, choices can be incorrect, critical tasks off target, and relationships misaligned.
Disney’s strategic context has undergone dramatic changes in recent years. Its
competitive environment, its customers, its market position, and its history have all
combined to alter its strategic context.
Disney used to have the some markets (particularly the kids market) to itself, but in
broadcasting Disney is now a “poor third” behind Nickelodeon and the Cartoon Network
among kids aged 2 to 11 and in popular kids shows (and related merchandising) Disney
has nothing to compare to Nickelodeon’s Blue’s Clues, PBS’s Teletubbies and WB’s
Pokemon. In videogames, Disney is an “also-ran.” Disney used to be the only studio to
produce animated features, but now Warner, Dreamworks, and Fox all do. Even Disney’s
2. theme parks are facing greater competition from companies such as Universal.
Similar competitive changes have happened with the company’s Cap Cities assets.
ABC’s network ratings have fallen 13% among the 18- to 49-year old demographic, and
it is now third behind NBC and Fox. Disney-controlled ESPN, which used to dominate
the sports market, is being challenged by Fox Sports.
Disney feels that the technological changes being wrought by the Internet will benefit
the company because of its rich and deep stock of content. Others, though, including
Patrick Keane, an analyst from Jupiter Communications, feel that technological change
may be a competitive disadvantage for Disney: “diversified media companies move at
glacial speed with it comes to the Internet.”
Disney’s core audience and traditional customers have been young families. The
company has made an effort to reach beyond that market by appealing to conventioneers,
senior citizens, and “pre-families” (or singles). Disney has had recent trouble, though,
connecting with the kids of its core customers. Disney characters drawn from history and
myths have been unable to compete with more contemporary characters developed by
Nickelodeon. Age-compressed 9 and 10 year-olds, which used to enjoy Disney, now
bristle at the notion that Disney is “good for them” and think the company’s products
are only “for little kids.”
Disney’s performance and its position in the market have suffered in recent years.
Home video earnings have tumbled; licensing and merchandising revenues are down,
operating income from its broadcasting segment was down 18% in 1999, Touchstone
Television production studio had failed to develop a hit series since 199 1, and the
company’s stock was trading 3 7% below its 1998 high. The company with a history of
producing “magical moments” has not been able to produce much magic for its
customers or shareholders. As the article stated, “The old Disney magic just isn’t working
anymore.”
Disney’s structural inertia. Structural inertia is the resistance to change that is rooted
in the size, complexity, and interdependence of an organization’s structures, systems, and
formal processes. (Tushman & O’Reilly) This interdependence develops over time as
organizations evolve from smaller, simpler entities into larger, more complex entities. In
stable environments, structural inertia doesn’t much matter because any changes that are
necessary are usually smaller and more manageable. In shifting environments, as in the
one confronting Disney, structural inertia can lead to failures.
Disney’s past success was often powered by hit entertainment ideas. As the article
states, “Until recently, Disney was propelled by a handful of big ideas that were executed
flawlessly.” Growth in the company, however, has made it a much more complex
organization than the one run by Walt Disney. “The company has grown so big and its
problems are so far-reaching - ranging from the phenomenon of “age compression” to the
explosion of media choices - that they can’t be fixed by a couple of hit movies or TV
shows or more Disney stores.” As one Disney insider said, “This isn’t Mickey’s house
anymore. It’s a multibillion-dollar company.
Disney’s cultural inertia. Like structural inertia, cultural inertia comes with
organizational age and success. Culture, for Tushman and O’Reilly, is the shared
expectations about how things are to be done within an organization, and it is manifested
in informal norms, values, social networks, and myths and heroes that have developed
over time. When organizations are successful, the shared expectations become ingrained
3. and institutionalized because of that success. That same culture, though, can cause
organizations to become complacent and hold the firms hostage to their past (a.k.a., the
“Tyranny of Success”).
Disney’s culture was described by the article as “insular,” possibly even “arrogant.”
Decision making at Disney has been hierarchical, centralized, and slow. Synergy was an
obsession, even if it was achieved at the expense of individual business units. Outsiders
were viewed with suspicion and relationships were not cultivated. This culture served
Disney well in the past, but is it what is needed now that “Disney must manage multiple
brands in a world where speed counts and partnerships are vital”? Here’s the article’s
answer: “It’s an utter mismatch for the Intenet age.”
Eisner’s meddling. Another thing that seems a mismatch for the Internet age as well
as for Disney itself is Michael Eisner’s meddling in day-to-day operational activities of
the company. He screens rough-cuts of animated features and complains about “stale
jokes.” He leads brainstorming sessions about how to keep Mickey Mouse relevant. He
“tweaks” theme park rides and screens ABC pilots. He insists on making too many
decisions for himself and “clogs up the decision making process.” Efforts to more quickly
tap into local trends turn out to be not a delegation of authority, but a shortening of the
distance between the rest of the world and Eisner. In short, he drives subordinates “up the
wall with his meddling.”
“Eisner’s approach worked for the old Disney, where the focus was on a single brand;
he could gather a cadre of executives at his Monday lunches and get things done.” The
company, though, has grown too big to be run from the top down. As one ex-Disney
executive said, “the world has changed, but Michael hasn’t.”
Eisner’s meddling and centralized control also is at odds with Collins and Porra’s
notion that organizational leaders should be clock builders, not time tellers. Clock
builders build companies that can prosper beyond any single leader and through multiple
product life cycles. The primary output of a clock builder is the company itself and not
“the tangible implementation of a great idea, the expression of a charismatic personality,
the gratification of their ego, or the accumulation of personal wealth.” Clock building
means “spending less of your time thinking about specific product lines and market
strategies, and spending more of your time thinking about organizational design.” Walt
Disney was a clock builder. Michael Eisner, as depicted in the article, appears to be
telling time.
Suggestions Necessary for Successful Change at Disney
The difficulties at Disney were the result of the four problems identified in the
previous section. These problems can be remedied with three recommendations. First,
Disney must reconsider its strategic choices and critical tasks in light of its new strategic
context. Second, Disney must align its structure and culture with its redefined critical
tasks using at the keys to successful change. Third, Eisner must reinforce the structural
and cultural changes with his behavior as leader of the company.
Reconsideration of strategic choices and critical tasks. Tushman and O’Reilly say
that an understanding of strategic context is necessary for organizations to make good
choices about their strategy (what businesses it is in, how it intends to compete, and who
its target customers are), objectives (expectations against which performance can be
compared), and vision (expression of the organization’s broader aspirations). With clear
strategic choices, organizations can identify the critical tasks necessary to implement
4. their choices.
The old Disney, the smaller Disney, the Disney that only had to manage one brand,
and the Disney that could hold on until its next animated classic operated within a much
different context than the modem day Disney. It follows, then, that the strategy,
objectives, vision, and resulting critical tasks of the old Disney may not be sufficient or
even appropriate for the modem Disney. Disney needs to acknowledge it is operating
within a new and different strategic context and then reconsider its strategic choices and
critical tasks in light of that context. There is some evidence presented in the article that
Disney has begun to develop a few new strategies and identify some new critical tasks
(e.g., the company’s Internet strategy and its emphasis on international growth), but a
new vision (beyond making everyone happy) and a comprehensive assessment of its
strategic choices has yet to emerge. These things are necessary for Disney to move on to
changing its structure and culture.
Alignment of structure and culture using keys to successful change. Structural and
cultural inertia are, by definition, resistance to change based on an organization’s
complexity, interdependence, and shared expectations. Breaking through that resistance
and aligning Disney’s structure and culture with new critical tasks developed in light of a
new strategic context will require Disney to embrace the keys to successful change. The
article highlights areas where several of the keys would be particularly useful.
The first key Disney needs to utilize is developing dissatisfaction with the current
state. This may be one of the most difficult chores for Disney. Consider these statements
made by Eisner in the article. “I don’t consider this a crisis.” “Everybody takes for
granted that we make good products.” “We are the most profitable media company in the
world.” “There’s no brain drain.” “We have unbelievably strong management.” It
certainly doesn’t sound Eke Eisner is too dissatisfied with the current state of the
company, but his comments belie the litany of financial difficulties described in the
article. A critical factor in driving change is to “demonstrate how unrealistic it is to
assume that the current state is and always will be good. The greater the pain and
Dissatisfaction with the current state, the greater the motivation to change.” To break
through the inertia, Disney and particularly Eisner must change their tune and begin to
develop that dissatisfaction.
The second key to changing Disney’s structure and culture is to develop a vision that
will clarify the direction in which the company needs to go and will channel people’s
emotional energies into getting there. As was mentioned above, the development of a
vision is a strategic choice. For Disney, though, it is also a means to facilitate change.
The animation/theme park Disney of the mid- to late-20’h century could thrive on a
vision of making everyone happy. The multi-media conglomerate Disney of the 21st
century, though, needs a vision as described by Collins and Porras: one that “defines
‘what we stand for and why we exist’ that does not change ... and sets forth ‘what we
aspire to become, to achieve, to create’ that will require significant change and progress
to attain. This “preserving the core while stimulating progress” can also be enhanced by a
third key: addressing Disney’s culture.
A culture that is insular, arrogant, centralized, and slow may be good at preserving a
core, but it does little to stimulate progress. Disney’s culture served it well for many
years and certainly the creative aspects of the culture can serve it well for many more. A
changed context, though, can cause a culture to hold a firm hostage. Culture can, to use
5. Kotter’s words, serve as an obstacle to the new vision. Disney needs to preserve the
creative core of its culture, but change those other aspects that serve as impediments to
progress (e.g., slowness, fear of outsiders, unclear accountability, etc.).
Beyond the culture, other sources of resistance will arise and they must all be dealt
with by Disney. Participation can be used to overcome resistance, but Disney’s
hierarchical structure and plodding culture will not make employee involvement and
participation easy. That is why it is crucial for Disney’s formal organizational structure,
culture, and people (especially CEO Eisner) to all be aligned with the company’s newly
defined vision and critical tasks.
“Power is essential to the implementation of change strategies.” Change requires a
strong guiding hand or, again in Kotter’s words, a powerful guiding coalition. Eisner can
certainly provide that strong hand, but in Disney’s case, the devolution of power will also
play an important role. The centralized approach to decision making employed by Eisner
focuses power at the top, but a changed structure and culture that is more responsive and
quicker will require that power to be diff-used. In a twist on conventional thinking, Eisner
can actually use his power to guide change by giving up some of his power. His diffusion
of power can then facilitate involvement that can be used to overcome resistance.
Reinforcement of the structural and cultural changes with Eisner’s behavior as
leader. Eisner’s role as CEO is the biggest key to changing Disney. A new context and a
changed structure and culture will require a different leader than Eisner has been. As
Collins and Porras state in their chapter on Clock Building, Not Time Telling, “one of the
most important steps you can take in building a visionary company is not an action, but a
shift in perspective.” Eisner needs to change his perspective from being a time teller to
being a clock builder.
If he wants to be a clock builder, he needs to acknowledge there are problems with
the company. He needs to begin to create dissatisfaction with Disney’s current state. He
needs to develop a vision that captures Disney’s past while guiding it into the future. The
“vision thing,” to quote a former U.S. President, is perhaps most important because it will
force Eisner to see Disney beyond himself His perspective would shift to the long-term:
away from operational matters and on to organizational design; away from himself and
on to other people; away from the successful past and on to an even more successful
future. A changed Eisner can be a dynamic and effective leader of a changed Disney. An
unchanged Eisner can reinforce nothing and will, in fact, be an obstacle to change.