Firms in a variety of industries have been recognized as being among the Most Admired Companies by Fortune magazine. Others have been highlighted as being the “Best Companies to Work For” by Fortune or as Optimas Award winners by Workforce Management. These recognitions contain some common elements because of how HR management has contributed to organizational success and is being positively viewed by employees. Three examples are highlighted here.
One recognized firm is Google, which is well known by many individuals because of its Internet components. Google has an HR image as a creative contributor to business objectives through its work environment guided by HR. According to the head of HR at Google, Lazio Bock, the overriding key of HR at Google is its emphasis on organizational culture and business objectives. The focus of Google HR is on giving its employees flexibility to produce results, not just following core job requirements. Consequently, HR at Google has established innovative efforts for its people and has made the administrative part of HR efficient. Minimizing numerous HR administrative forms, data, and reports by using technology has occurred, which would be expected in a prominent technology firm.
At Google, HR communicates to its employees extensively about business objectives, organizational results, and relevant current information. Because many of the Google employees are stock shareholders also, they have a personal interest in Google being a successful business. Thus, they continuously want to know the operational results by seeing current reports, data, and information. Overall, Google’s HR approach is unique in comparison to the approaches at other companies recognized by Fortune, but its success illustrates that how HR is established and operates can be a key to organizational success.
A different firm with a variety of organizations and a strong HR culture is Scripps Network, a prominent television and communications corporation. At Scripps, HR plays a core role in establishing strategic goals and efforts. Even when Scripps has merged separate media firms, HR has focused on getting the cultures of the two entities to integrate effectively.
Several HR functions are used to support the culture and core values at Scripps. One is an active pay-for-performance system to reward employees at higher job levels with base pay increases, annual incentives, and long-term incentives. Another key part of HR’s effort at Scripps is that HR emphasizes leadership development throughout the firm. Additionally, the firm has widely used work variability efforts such as work-life balance, telecommuting, and worker flexible schedules. These are done as part of a core value at Scripps of “compassion/support.”
A different firm with an extended history of effectively integrating corporate culture and HR is UPS, the transportation and logistics delivery firm that operates worldwide. Its culture is different from the cultures of Google and Scripps; however, for more than a decade, UPS has been recognized for its corporate integrity, culture, and HR inclusion with employees.
UPS has emphasized linking HR with business objectives and uses communication and intranet programs to ensure that employees are kept constantly informed on business objectives and workforce challenges. One well-recognized component at UPS is the established codes of conduct that are consistently reviewed with all employees. These reviews include specific examples of ethical situations that employees may face and how to respond to them. Annually, managers complete a “conduct code” report that asks specific questions about ethical problems that have arisen during the year.
These three firms are in different industries, have different cultures, and use a variety of HR efforts. However, each of them has been recognized for implementing HR as core to their organizational cultures and successful business results.
Assignment
Review the supplemental case study HR, Culture, and Success at Google Scripps, and UPS. Provide an Introduction paragraph to briefly explain the case. Use a main heading for each case question to address the topic area being addressed. Provide a brief Conclusion paragraph at the end to give a brief synopsis.
In your case analysis, demonstrate critical thinking along with research support (three credible sources that include at least one recent library journal article) to cover the situation and possible issues, along with providing suggestions for improvement. Consider yourself in the role of a consultant examining the firm and people who work there. What are the concerns to address if applicable? What suggestions and best practices elsewhere might be applied to make improvements? How might the firm implement your ideas? This is your opportunity to problem solve and practice a management perspective for a workplace.
Use APA format for references at end of paper on separate last page and use in-text cites in body where sources are applied to give proper credit. Double space the paper and indent the first word of each new paragraph. Your case analysis will be 2 to 3 pages for content. Include a cover sheet which identifies you as the student. Use a header with page number on top right corner. Save the file name with your last name and upload as an attachment using the title assignment link. The case analysis paper will be evaluated using the Case Write-up Rubric.
Questions
- How does the integration of HR with the organizational culture contribute to the success of Google, Scripps, and UPS? To find ideas, go to the corporate website for each of these companies and search for additional insights.
- Discuss how some of the cultural facets mentioned compare to those among employers you have worked for and explain the difference in the views of these various employers.
