Is Building Positive Organizational Culture Manipulative?

Introduction

In todays society it is difficult to find a business you truly want to work with. There are so many businesses competing for employees and clients. Each business has to constantly promote and market themselves as a company that people want. They have to prove their value to consumers and eligible employees. For future employees and consumers, they need to do excessive research on each company to find out if their reputation is positive. If a company has a good reputation then are their values upheld in difficult situations? It makes you wonder if a positive organizational culture is good for a company or manipulative?

Establishing Positive Culture

Positive organizational culture is important to a business when it comes to hiring employees and keeping employees happy while working. There are many benefits to having a positive organizational culture that helps the business and its employees. The first is attracting potential employees that want a permanent place at a business with a positive reputation. Positive organizational culture leads to employee job satisfaction, loyalty, and employee morale. “A positive culture facilitates social interaction, teamwork and open communication” (Kohll). It is very important for a company to help celebrate its employees uniqueness. When a company employees people of different backgrounds it helps consumers see that they are unique and value people of all demographics. Respecting others beliefs, goals, norms and their history is important in any company. A positive culture also leads to corporate having values such as: “honesty, pride, concern for others, independence, positive reinforcement for a job well done …” (Create). These values are not written but they are more like internal values that we uphold within ourselves. There are companies that do truly care about employees hard work and dedication and they are rewarded immensely for it. Rewards could be up to job promotion, bonuses, and paid vacations. If there is a problem at work the best solution is to bring it up to your boss until a solution is found. A company that has a positive work culture takes care of problems when they arise instead of sweeping it under the rug. An example would be discrimination between employees. It is best to investigate the problem and determine the best outcome of the situation. A positive work culture helps employees to enjoy their job and to maintain positive relationships with their bosses and coworkers. “This allows for better social connections, empathy, collaboration, and encouragement among team members, which will ultimately lead to the growth of your team and business as a whole” (Four).

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Positive Work Culture is Manipulative

A positive work culture is sometimes manipulative because each company has steps towards one common goal. A company sets the steps, explains the goals and then the employees follow what they are given and finish the task given to them. The question is, is this what you really want to do? Is this task enjoyable to you or does it give you a purpose? A company can create this big huge image of how their business can give you a purpose driven life but when you're hired, it turns out a fluke! Companies may promote that they are looking for candidates that think outside of the box and are determined to make a difference. When you promote ideas that are unique your boss may decide that he/she doesnt like it and puts you on the back burner. A multimillionaire company may promote an employee to full-time manager that comes with insurance that barely covers doctors appointments or emergencies! One example from my personal life at work is when I transferred from Rue 21 in Corsicana Texas to Rue 21 in Greenville Texas. In Corsicana, the minimum wage for a part-time associate was seven dollars and twenty-five cents an hour. It was enough for me because I lived at home and was starting college full-time. When I transferred over to Greenville, my old store manager and I didn't know that associates were paid eight dollars an hour. I worked at this location for a month and half before I found out I was being paid less than everyone at that store. I brought it up to the current store manager and she emailed our district manager and I never heard back from it. Now, I am a part-time assistant manager and I make ten dollars and fifty cents an hour with no insurance. I am not sure what it is like for other clothing companies but my job has a program that we are supposed to offer part-time associates to help them become full-time but the company cannot afford to change them to full-time. The store managers and their bosses along with the full-time managers are the only employees who receive insurance. Some days I enjoy my job other days I do not because of the customer service aspect. “The customer is right” is a quote I’ve heard all my life in movies, tv shows, and at the store. Now that I work in customer service I detest that quote with all of my might because the customer is not always right! It is understanding when an employee is rude to a customer for them asking a question because I’ve been on the receiving end of that. “When managers are unethical, employees will emulate the bad behavior. Eventually, the unethical environment will hinder business” (The Effects).There have been many times where a customer has been wrong about information but we still have to compensate for the mistake that they made. Every now and then a customer will come in to the store on drugs and attempt to hurt an employee and that is when a company will defend the employee. Any other problem with an employee the only advice you receive is for you to handle it the best way you can but always compensate them. This is why customer service or “the customer is always right” is very contradictory. “When it comes down to supporting your employees or supporting an insufferable, irate customer, you want to support your employees. You want customers to know that, while you value them, you won’t let them abuse your employees” (7).

Role of Management

The four basic functions for managers are: planning, organizing, leading, and controlling. When operating in a foreign market, the first step is to start planning. Managers need to see challenges they will face and plan to fix those challenges (What). An example is a business is wanting to start a contract with China. One major problem to overcome is for the team to learn Chinese and research their customs. Doing this shows China that we are serious about doing business with them and that we do not want to disrespect them. The second function while operating in a foreign market is organization. “ … identify activities to be accomplished, classify activities, assign activities to groups or individuals, create responsibility and delegate authority” (What). The key to having a successful business is to organize every aspect of your team's plan. By organizing every single little detail you will be on top of the game plan and will have everything figured out in the time frame given to you. An example of organizing is taking your goal and figuring out how you can do it and the steps you can take. Then, assign each group member a task or two to complete and then the group leader needs to put it all together. The third step to operating a business overseas is leading the operation. Once you've planned and organized your proposal it's time to start leading. A big part of leadership is making sure that the tasks you've given are completed. When it comes to leadership on a global scan, it is difficult because you have more than one operation in different countries. It is best to talk with each team individually by planning calls and helping them figure out what the next step is. “projecting a strong sense of direction and leadership when setting goals and communicating new processes, products and services, or internal policy” (The Four). As a leader, employees look up to you. When you talk with your team overseas it's best to complement them on the steps they take or suggest what they could do the next time a problem arises. The last step to operating a business overseas is being in control. After completing a project you still need to check on it and make sure it's still helping the company the way it is designed. Just because you work has finished doesn't mean its completed. In day-to-day operations, including overseas, it's still important for you to communicate with your teams and make sure they are working hard towards the company goal. “ … managers should consistently monitor employee performance, quality of work, and the efficiency and reliability of completed projects” (The Four). Quality control is also very important as it makes sure goals are met with no problems. It helps to have an environment where employees are safe and feel happy while working (Quality).

Conclusion

It is a very hard decision to make when debating if positive organizational culture is genuine or manipulative. There are some companies that are positive and they keep up a great work environment and care for their employees. There are other companies that attempt positivity but have moment where the work environment is negative. I have had my fair share of both and the only thing I can do as a manager is to maintain positivity and help my employes out when I can. I truly believe in my opinion that one of the hardest aspects of a business is customer service. You walk a fine line with it because the customer treats you badly yet you can't afford to lose their business so you compensate them. Since we are in the twenty first century maybe we can better customer service with different approaches or companies realize that the customer isn't always right.

Sources Cited

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3. Four Reasons to Create a Positive Work Environment and Why It’s . Retrieved April 28, 2019, from https://www.sandler.com/blog/create-positive-work-environment
4. The Four Functions of Management: What Managers Need to Know . Retrieved April 28, 2019, from https://www.aiuniv.edu/degrees/business/articles/functions-of-management
5. Kohll, A. (2019, April 27). How To Build A Positive Company Culture. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/alankohll/2018/08/14/how-to-build-a-positive-company-culture/#629f041b49b5
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