Page 452 - leadership-experience-2008

CikguOnline
CikguOnline
CHAPTER 14: SHAPING CULTURE AND VALUES 433
to adopt, as well as implement formal training programs, which may include pair-
ing the newcomer with a key employee who embodies the desired values.
Newcomers learn about values by watching other employees, as well as
paying attention to what gets noticed and rewarded by leaders. But good leaders
don’t leave socialization to chance. At The Walt Disney Company, for example, all
new employees attend training sessions to learn about Disney’s unique culture, where
employees are referred to as “cast members,” work either “on stage” or “backstage,”
and wear “costumes” rather than uniforms. After their initial training, each
38
new hire is paired with a role model to continue the socialization process.
Starbucks Coffee also emphasizes socialization to maintain its strong culture. CEO

Howard Schultz compares an employee’s first days with the company to the early
years of childhood, when you want to instill good values, high self-esteem, and the

confidence to begin taking risks and making decisions. Schultz himself welcomes
each new employee by video, tells about the company’s history and culture, and
shares some of his own personal experiences at Starbucks. All employees receive
24 hours of training, during which they talk about the Starbucks mission and
39
values and the qualities that make Starbucks a unique company. Even though
Schultz believes an employee’s first two weeks may be the most important, social-

ization also continues throughout an employee’s tenure with the organization.
Formal socialization programs can be highly effective. One study of recruits into

the British Army surveyed newcomers on their first day and then again eight weeks

later. Researchers compared the findings to a sample of experienced “insider” sol-
diers and found that after eight weeks of training, the new recruits’ norms and values
40
had generally shifted toward those of the insiders. Another fi eld study of around
300 people from a variety of organizations found that formal socialization was associ-
ated with less stress for newcomers, less ambiguity about expected roles and behaviors,
and greater job satisfaction, commitment, and identification with the organization. 41

Daily Actions
One of the most important ways leaders build and maintain the cultures they
want is by signaling and supporting important cultural values through their
daily actions. Employees learn what is valued most in a company by watching
what attitudes and behaviors leaders pay attention to and reward, how leaders
react to organizational crises, and whether the leader’s own behavior matches
the espoused values. Steel company Nucor’s CEO Daniel DiMicco supports the
42
egalitarian cultural values by doing without perks such as an executive jet or as-
signed parking space; and when he takes the last cup of coffee in the break room,
DiMicco is always careful to brew another pot. Good leaders understand how
43
carefully they are watched by employees.
Leaders can also change unadaptive cultures by their actions. For example, at
Marriott, as at many hotels, the pursuit of superior round-the-clock performance
led to a deeply ingrained culture of face time—the more hours a manager put in, the
better. By the late 1990s, though, this philosophy was making it tough for Marriott

to find and keep talented people. When leaders wanted to instill values that encour-
aged work–life balance and an emphasis on results rather than hours worked, one
of their most important steps was to make a point of leaving work early whenever
possible. Encouraging lower-level managers to take more time off did no good until
top leaders demonstrated the new value with their own behavior. 44
Through ceremonies, stories, symbols, language, selection and socialization
practices, and their own behavior, leaders infl uence culture. When culture change
is needed to adapt to the environment or bring about smoother internal integra-
tion, leaders are responsible for instilling new values.