“ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE.”

It is an era of intangibles. The assets, which contribute to the wealth generation of an organization, are; competencies, connectivity, and a culture shift of an organization. All these prime assets are intangible, in nature. By the day, these are assuming a pride of place in management’s priority attention- list.
What is an organizational culture after all? How does one bring about a change in it to suit the present day conditions?

Culture is a set of belief systems, commonly shared by all the persons working in an organization. It could be one, which is developed scientifically or evolves by experience.
Both act, on the behavior, of the entire human resource. Culture is unconsciously developed, through practice.

BUILDING A CULTURE, IN AN ORGANIZATION.

When Eiji Toyoda, a nephew of TOYOTA Motor co. founder; visited FORD, in 1950; Japan was coming out of the shock, and devastation of 1945. The young engineer, who later built the Car Company to its eminent position, was surprised to note the difference in their respective sizes, but not overawed.
Ford was making 8000 units per day, against just 40 of TOYOTA.
Earlier on TOYOTA, had acquired the knowledge to make car engines, which were an exact copy of Chevrolet.
On return from the U.S., Toyoda set out to make cars which could be as good as, ones seen by him at Detroit. He had mustered the help of their production chief, Taiichi Ohno, in this magnum opus.
They evolved their own methods to suit the cultural environment and style; multi-skilling, kanban, kaizen, lean-manufacturing etc. One important factor to be noted is, that they did not replicate the manufacturing models of Detroit.
In 1955 their own model Crown, was a failure on U.S. highways and freeways. They recoiled for some time. But then in the sixties they came back with a vengeance, their small car 'Corona' proved to be a favorite in the market, overseas. Later they introduced Corolla in 1966. A resounding success and a popular buy in the international markets.

BUBKA SPIRIT

Normally one would stop at this, and bask in the glory. Not Toyota.
They embarked on a mission of competing the big players like Daimler, BMW, and Rolls Royce.
They introduced in 1989, LEXUS, This was a run-away success.
LEXUS is giving tough time to the established giants in the luxury car segment, now. There were many success stories to follow. Such inspiring events build the culture of an organization. What one may term as Sergi Bubka spirit. Competing with oneself, and running one’s own race, to progress, is the underlying principle
Fortune 500, now lists TOYOTA, as the largest company in Japan, at $ 120 Bn, turnover, ahead of such giants, from Japan, as Mitsubishi, Mitsui, Itochu, Marubeni etc.
These accomplishments and achieving them together brings in a sense of belonging, and a team spirit. A winning spirit.

UNIQUE SELLING POINTS

“Walkman” the celebrated 1979 invention of Sony was a pioneering event, crafted by their marketing genius, Akio Morita. They could well have continued with the original 1979 model. It was selling well, they being the first, in the virgin field, internationally.
They have manufactured over 400 models, since the original one of 1979. Each a progressively better one, sending the prior one to the museum. The strategy to make one's own products obsolete may sound crazy. It stems from the idea that the competitors would have brought out the copycats of “SONY- original” in the market. When the customer finds a way to the improved version of the original, by the ever-vigilant competitor, he (the customer) will permanently be lost, by SONY.
Instead it is wiser, that Sony competes with themselves and make their own models obsolete by pursuit of new and better, designs. The customer will innately trust that he will get the best product which technology can offer when he buys SONY. Not just what they are comfortable to offer. When you are the" numero uno” by pushing back the frontiers of your earlier achievements, establish your superior competence, in every product offering.
In days, when a culture shift is called for; new and outlandish sounding strategies; have more significance.

DIFFERENT TYPES

The culture development in an organization can be divided broadly in three types.
• Autocratic.
Governed by one person or a group of persons only. A blind following is
expected, no participation is tolerated.
• Democratic
Shared views, and; decision-making is by consensus. There is a continuous exchange of views, with all the employees.
• A Culture shift
The present complex and changing environment needs an altogether different culture now.
The previous belief systems have to shift to be able to survive and thrive in a competitive atmosphere. This context demands a mix of the above two, and an ever-responsive attitude to the changes in customer needs.

‘MOORE’S LAW’

Knowledge base is changing fast, in organizations such as Intel, who are at the cutting edge of technology.
Gordon Moore, one of the co-founders of INTEL, struck on a “finding” in 1965, named after him.
“ Chip power doubles every 18 months and costs fall by half.”
A great challenge, indeed, for any entrepreneur. How do you produce continuously a better product at lesser costs? Their solution to this was simple. Instead of chasing the demand; which most organizations resort to; put the resources ahead of the demand. If there is a demand for Pentium I, put the resources behind Pentium II and so on. Don’t go on digging the same oil- well deeper. An organization’s combating of their problems, as a team; establishes a distinct culture throughout the organization.

LEADER’S CHARACTERISTICS RUB OFF

Andy Grove, of INTEL had evolved a “formula” to combat the recession in the chip market in1981. It was, working by the staff, 25% more, for no additional pay. This way he did not have to resort to lay offs, which would have been the obvious solution. It worked. Intel was, like always, n+1. A step ahead of the rest.
In1994, when they could ill-afford it, he had spent $475 million to replace the defective Pentium chips. The defect was not easily noticeable and most consumers would never have encountered it.
The positive side was, the culture of quality was rooted in the minds of the employees. Dependability of their products was established. The customer confidence multiplied.
He always strived for excellence, which is the CULTURE OF THE ORGANISAGTION, now.

TO DO LIST

Tune to the customer, and then be responsive, to his changing needs. It should not be ritualized, then it will be a closed system. Organization’s capacity to examine traditional knowledge and belief systems, objectively establishes dynamism in the culture. If and when needed new scientific knowledge has to be incorporated in the scheme of operations. The leader has to clearly spell out what is desirable, and goad the team to accept the transformation process. Lesson for our nation has to be, a time sense, (Punctuality). The ever-present “not invented here syndrome” has to be abandoned, consciously.
The culture is perfected over a period, practiced across the organization, and perpetuated by the new entrants, as assiduously as a religion of the organization.

M. S. Ranade,
mranade@vsnl.com
PUBLISHED IN INDIAN EXPRESS PUNE, ON THURSDAY 20TH FEB., 2003, APPOINTMENTS COLUMN.