Examine the four clusters of descriptions as directed by your instructor. For each one:

1. Decide what ‘message’ each one sends to employees about the organization’s culture.

2. Speculate on the views and behaviours it might encourage or discourage among employees.

Descriptions

1. Companies value high-performing employees. 

(a) Company A conducts annual staff appraisals between an employee and their manager. Those performing below standard are asked to explain their poor performance. 

(b) Company B conducts quarterly reviews between an employee and their manager. If employees exceed their annual performance target, they are given a substantial bonus in that year.

(c) Company C conducts regular team appraisals in which team members comment on each other’s strengths and weaknesses. All receive extensive preparatory training and each person promptly gets a summarized, anonymized report of these comments about them, and this is used when promotion decisions are made. 

2. Companies want their employees to have creative ideas. (a) Company A hires only the smartest people and then, immediately after appointment, sends them on creativity workshops. 

(b) Company B has a rigorous selection procedure. Its expensive and elaborate three-day assessment centre selection approach focuses on determining each applicant’s level of creativity.

(c) Company C has a staff restaurant with only six-seater tables to allow different staff to meet; its rest areas have whiteboards on the walls; and there are suggestion boxes in every main corridor.

3. Companies have different approaches to employees’ work spaces.

(a) Company A encourages staff to personalize their work spaces by decorating them with photos, toys, and other items brought from home. Staff are free to come to work dressed as they like. 

(b) Company B has open space work areas for all staff. They wear business dress and address each other by their first names. Managers do not have their own offices or secretaries. The conference suite is used for department meetings to which secretarial and support staff are invited. Recycling boxes are located throughout the building. 

(c) Company C believes messy desks demonstrates a lack of personal organization; it operates a paperless office system and requires managers to enforce a ‘clear surface’ policy. Non-business-related items in work spaces are considered unprofessional and are banned. ‘Dress-down Fridays’ were introduced by senior management after much discussion, some time ago. 

4. Companies have different approaches to employees’ errors. 

(a) In Company A, an employee’s mistake is discussed at a team meeting, and recorded on the employee’s file, and senior management is informed for possible disciplinary action. 

(b) In Company B, the manager identifies errors made by subordinates and talks to the individuals, showing them where they went wrong and what they should do in the future. 

(c) In Company C, employees discuss their mistakes with their managers. The manager assists the subordinate to analyse their error, helps them learn from it, and agrees an action plan for future improvements.