A Sports Direct store is a fixture in nearly every town in the United Kingdom. Founded by Mike Ashley in 1982, the retailing group has grown to become Britain's largest sporting goods retailer, with approximately 465 stores and 29,000 employees. However, a number of reports, most recently by The Guardian newspaper in 2015, revealed a number of questionable work practices. It seems that the company's success may have been underpinned by a culture of fear Undercover Guardian reporters at the company's Derbyshire warehouse found individual employees being told to work faster via a public-address system and security searches at the end of a shift (taking place after employees had clocked out). Most disturbing was the warning system, referred to as the "six strikes." You could receive a "strike" for a number of reasons, including errors in your work having long toilet breaks, or a period of reported sickness. Receiving six strikes over a six-month period would result in your contract being terminated. In 2016, a Parliamentary committee was set up to investigate the claims from The Guardian and other sources. They concluded that the success of Sports Direct had been achieved through a culture that allowed some employees to be treated without dignity or respect. Although the committee did concede that there were probably other organizations guilty of employee mistreatment, they identified Sports Direct as a particularly bad example of this type of exploitation. Reviewing evidence regarding the "six strikes" policy, the committee heard from a union representative who described people coming to work ill as they feared that they would receive a strike for calling in sick. This increase in presenteeism-going to work when you are too ill to do so-thus poses health and safety risks. Between January 1, 2013, and April 19, 2016, a total of 110 ambulances or paramedics were dispatched to the warehouse. Of these, 50 cases were classed as life-threatening, including a woman giving birth in the toilet. Although strikes were often given in a very arbitrary manner, the committee concluded that workers were unlikely to argue as they were agency workers and protest could mean that they would probably not be given as many hours work in the future. The strict control systems in force suggest a strong culture; however, it is difficult to say whether this case high- lights a subculture specific to the warehouse or a dominant culture demonstrating core values across the organization. It is clear that there was a negative workplace climate at the warehouse that was affecting the health and wellbeing of the employees. After the committee, Ashley agreed to look into a number of issues, including the "six strikes policy and allegations of bullying and physical intimidation. As the founder of the company, a cultural change has to be driven by him. A year on and some things have clearly changed. The company has a staff wellbeing service and a staff listening group as well as an employee representative who attends board meetings.

Questions:

1. How would you describe the culture at the Sports Direct warehouse? How might this culture be a liability to the organization?
2. What does the case study tell you about the six characteristics of organizational culture at Sports Direct?
3. With so many stores and employees, how do you change the organizational culture at Sports Direct? What action do you think should be taken and by whom?