Business Culture
Part A: Organizational Culture
A successful business is one that has a strong culture build on a strongly-held as well as widely-shared beliefs held together by effective planning structure. Having a strong culture makes it possible for three things to happen. One, workers understand how senior management needs them to handle all situations. They also firmly believe that the required reaction is an appropriate one, and finally, workers expect a form of reward for exhibiting the values of the organization. HR (human resources) plays a significant role in sustaining a robust culture, which starts with selecting and hiring candidates who display the capacity to share organizational values and flourish in that culture (Linnenluecke & Griffiths, 2010).
I was once an intern at an international company, where I got to experience a great organizational culture throughout the period I was there. I can describe the corporate culture as a clan culture. I noted that the recruitment process is one of the significant factors that keep a good culture going. The HR made sure to select employees based on their commitment to adhere to the organization’s values and keep them alive. This included not only permanent employees but also temporary ones, such as interns. This assisted in strengthening the organization’s values and making sure that everyone followed the company’s ethical standards. Additionally, communication, as well as feedback channels, are two-way. This means that employees are free to express themselves and share their contributions with the top management and, in turn, they get feedback, which helps them improve their weaknesses. Issues and challenges are, therefore, handled accordingly and promptly, enhancing the organization’s efficiency. The organization has well-defined roles, responsibilities, as well as accountabilities. Every employee understands what is expected of them, and this ensures a smooth flow of activities in the organization. Finally, the organization offers continuous learning and training, and also encourages empowerment and teamwork through a sustainable reward and recognition system.
The above described organizational culture encompasses all the three busines culture levels: observable artifacts, basic assumptions, as well as espoused values. They make the organization successful by bringing the three levels together to promote good values, ethics, and hence performance. The employees learn the organization’s culture mostly through a hero, who, in this case, is the organization’s top management that acts as a role model in demonstrating the company values. They also learn through organization socialization, where they are given continuous training as well as a chance to learn and become more competent. Lastly, the organization has rites and rituals that involve events and occasions where employee accomplishments are acknowledged and awarded as a way of motivating them.
Part B: Freshii Organizational Structure
A strong culture has a considerable capacity to shape an organization’s long term success through enhancement of its competitive advantage (Zheng, Yang & McLean, 2010). Freshii Restaurants utilize a flat organizational structure that perfectly fits in the business’s strategy. A flat organizational structure establishes a system in which employees understand their responsibility within the business. This earns them trust in the company hence enabling them to come up with swift decisions when necessary. By choosing this structure, Corrin needed passionate employees to define the organization (Whitehead, 2018). When workers feel valued, and as an essential part of the organization, they exhibit more commitment and motivation towards their work. Fresh believes that more success in the restaurant business is heavily dependent on employee empowerment and leaders assisting workers to locate their passions and then showing them to satisfy the passions via their tasks. Corrin discovered that swift decision making and empowerment were crucial to success and hence made workers partners and stockholders within the business (Whitehead, 2018). Every employee is wholly invested in Freshii since their role and earnings depend on the business’s success.
The business has an organizational structure that reinforces its mission and values and specifies the responsibility of every company member. Workers are encouraged to share their ideas, and Freshii quickly implements them. The company’s mission is to assist world citizens in living better by ensuring the availability of healthy, convenient, and affordable food. The workers at Freshii live active and also healthy lives as the company preachers to its consumers. Their food is available to all people at affordable prices as compared to other fast-food companies. The company has a culture that prides itself on hard work as well as ownership in every department. Teaming up with partners with shared goals has assisted in advancing the company into its current position (Whitehead, 2018).
To ensure that all individual franchises abide by its specified culture, Freshii should first make sure that they all deeply understand the company culture. The franchises should also understand the importance the company places in its culture and how abiding by it would assist the business move forward. The company should also keep records of all its franchises and conduct regular analysis, whether they are abiding by its culture. This would help them understand the steps they need to take or what needs to be addressed to ensure adherence.
References
Linnenluecke, M. K., & Griffiths, A. (2010). Corporate sustainability and organizational culture. Journal of world business, 45(4), 357-366.
Whitehead, S. A. (2018). Freshii founder tells how missteps can be key teachers on the path to success. Retrieved from https://www.qsrweb.com/articles/freshii-founder-tells-how-missteps-can-be-key-teachers-on-path-to-success/
Zheng, W., Yang, B., & McLean, G. N. (2010). Linking organizational culture, structure, strategy, and organizational effectiveness: Mediating role of knowledge management. Journal of Business Research, 63(7), 763-771.