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JWI 521 – Week 9 Lecture Notes (1192) Page 1 of 5
JWI 521
Recruit, Develop, Assess, Reward, Retain
Week Nine Lecture Notes
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JWI 521 – Week 9 Lecture Notes (1192) Page 2 of 5
A WINNING CULTURE
What it Means
The culture of a company is hard to define, but most employees will tell you that they know a good
organizational culture when they experience it. Culture is inherent in the environment in which
employees work, and it is expressed in the company’s mission, business practices, goals,
expectations of its employees, and relationship with the wider community. It is the responsibility of
business leaders to set the cultural values and behaviors for their company, and to embody those
values and behaviors in their leadership style.
A positive workplace culture is important because it will attract talented and committed people,
enable productive business practices, foster innovation, and build employee engagement. While a
company’s culture will always have some core features that persist, it must also be flexible enough
to adapt and change over time, so as to remain relevant in today’s fast-changing marketplace.
Why it Matters
• A strong workplace culture attracts high-caliber candidates and supports retention of
top talent
• A positive culture drives engagement through shared values and behaviors in the
workplace
• Organizations with stronger cultures outperform their competitors financially
“Trust happens when leaders are transparent, candid,
and keep their word. It’s that simple.”
Jack Welch
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JWI 521 – Week 9 Lecture Notes (1192) Page 3 of 5
WHAT IS CULTURE?
Once you have hired excellent people and placed them in strategic positions, what determines whether they
stay and succeed in your company? One key part of the answer is the organization’s culture. Does your
company have a culture that allows high performers to try new things, develop professionally, learn from
failure, and experience the rewards of success? To answer such questions, let’s look more closely at the
concept of culture. What is culture and how do you cultivate a winning one?
The organizational culture is the character or personality of a company. It defines the environment in which
employees work. It comprises many elements, such as work environment, company mission, values, ethics,
expectations, and goals. A positive workplace culture attracts talent, drives engagement, impacts employee
satisfaction and affects performance. In other words, it enables your business to compete and win. Building
a strong culture takes time and commitment, but is arguably the most important aspect of your workplace.
It is important to remember that an organization’s culture, like an individual’s personality, is not a static entity.
It is based on certain core beliefs and values, but it is must also grow and adapt over time. Grand ideas in a
mission statement achieve nothing if they are not put into action. Culture is represented by the values that
the people of the organization truly live by. To embody the company’s culture, leaders must understand and
believe in the core values and behaviors of the organization, and they must hold themselves, their
managers, and all employees to those values and behaviors every single day.
Culture is what makes your business unique; it is the sum of its values, traditions, beliefs, interactions,
behaviors, and attitudes at any given time in its history. When you understand this definition of culture, it
becomes clear how important it is to define and express your company’s cultural values, and to put those
values into action in your current business environment. It also becomes clear how critical it is to hire people
who fit well into your culture, because their personal belief systems and values align with those of the
organization.
WHAT MAKES A WINNING CULTURE?
While there are many successful companies, with varying cultural styles and missions, certain key elements
can be identified that make for a strong and winning business culture.
Trust
If you want to be trusted, you must demonstrate that you trust others. A culture of trust is imperative if your
organization is to grow, innovate, and succeed in the marketplace. If you micro-manage your employees, it
will directly conflict with the building of trust. What if they make a mistake? Any successful entrepreneur will
tell you that they will make mistakes, but also that those mistakes can lead to valuable learning. Perfection is
not a realistic or productive goal. Professional growth and application of lessons learned are much better
goals. Check in regularly with your employees, but do not micro-manage them. Give them clear guidelines
and then let them spread their wings.
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JWI 521 – Week 9 Lecture Notes (1192) Page 4 of 5
Effective Leadership
One critical element supporting positive employee engagement is the relationship between a manager and
their direct report. This relationship is the linchpin of an engaged and satisfied workforce. Surveys suggest
that 75 percent of people who choose to leave their job do so because of their boss, not the company. If your
managers do not relate well to their people and manage them effectively, you can be certain that it is hurting
your company culture, increasing turnover, and reducing your bottom line. At the same time, effective
leadership by the executive team is vital because it sets the direction and tone for the whole organization,
impacting employees at every level.
Mission, Vision, and Values
Companies that clearly define the purpose of their work will attract and retain the best talent, and their
workforce will develop a team spirit. It is the job of the executive leadership team to create and communicate
a clear and inspiring mission, vision, and set of values. Leaders and managers should take the lead in
expressing the company’s core values through their own actions and behaviors. Employees who are
convinced of a larger common goal are people who are excited to work because they view their role as part
of a larger purpose.
Ownership and Growth
A strong company culture encourages employees to see their work as more than just a job that pays the
bills. You want them to own their job and feel invested in their own ideas and their team’s ideas. If you build
a collaborative, trusting environment, where employees feel invested in the organization’s success, they will
bring ideas to the table. If an employee brings you a great idea, put them in charge of it, or involve them in
the team that implements it! If an employee wants to learn something new, provide support for them to do it.
Today’s successful companies do not hire people to remain in the same job indefinitely; they hire innovators
who will contribute to the future of the company.
Communication
This is a key area of culture and the one that is often neglected. The founder of a startup can be so focused
on pursuing his or her idea, that communication with other people gets neglected. The executive team can
become disconnected from the concerns and needs of the majority of their employees. In large companies
with many departments, silos can develop, where different business units operate separately and lose touch
with each other. When communication is poor, the business suffers operationally and financially.
However, the importance of good communication goes beyond business targets and processes. The
company’s cultural values must also be conveyed to employees. How is this to be done? To achieve this,
communicate goals to your team based on the company’s mission. Demonstrate the company’s values in
your leadership style through trust and candor. For example, if an employee is not performing well, don’t
ignore the issue, but take action. Engage in thoughtful conversations about the challenges and create a plan
for improvement. Be authentic and honest with your team. Have regular meetings with all of your direct
reports to review plans and goals. And when your employee or your team has a win, be sure to celebrate!
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copied, further distributed, or otherwise disclosed, in whole or in part, without the expressed written permission of Strayer University.
JWI 521 – Week 9 Lecture Notes (1192) Page 5 of 5
GETTING THE MOST OUT OF THIS WEEK’S CLASS
As you read the materials and participate in class activities, stay focused on the key learning outcomes for
the week:
• Understand the importance of culture in attracting and retaining top talent
A top performer who feels aligned with the mission and values of their company is far less
susceptible to job offers from the competition. Is this factor in hiring and retention well-understood at
your organization? Is the company culture used as an inducement to attract and retain high
performers? If so, how does this happen? Is the culture implied in the wording of job descriptions?
Are new hires assessed for their fit with the culture, as well as other desirable traits like relevant
skills and experience? Is there a pipeline of top performers aligned with the company culture to fill
future leadership positions? If not, what could HR do to support change in this area?
• Discuss how companies can retain high-performing employees
Your top performers are a valuable resource, and your competitors think so, too. They will try to
attract your top people to come and work for them. What will it take to retain your top talent?
Promotions and pay raises can only do so much, since there is always another company out there
that is willing to offer more money. This is where intangibles such as the company culture,
opportunities for leadership, challenging projects, freedom to innovate, and recognition can be
important. Does your company use these tools effectively to retain its high-performing employees? If
not, how could HR help to raise awareness of such non-financial retention tools?
• Explore what factors create a healthy and strong organizational culture
Take a look at your own organization’s culture, as expressed in the company mission, values,
leadership practices, traditions, goals, and expectations. Do you consider it to be a positive and
strong workplace culture? If so, what makes it successful? If not, what required factors are
lacking? Since there is always room for improvement, how can the positive aspects of your
culture be reinforced? How will the culture need to adapt to keep your company competitive
and strong in the future? How can you keep the organization’s core cultural values intact, while
remaining flexible enough to meet future challenges in your industry and sector?
