What kind of culture does your company foster?
By Brian Carroll, E-business editor -- Furniture Today, April 14, 2002
In the spirit of the check-the-box self-tests so common in many women's magazines, here's a quick, painless way to evaluate the vitality of your company. In just a few minutes, you can determine with the (often-misleading) precision only numbers can provide whether your firm is ready for global competition or the garbage heap.
Perfect for that long market elevator ride to the Retailer Resource Center or for waiting in line at your favorite five-star High Point restaurant, this test was audited by Arthur Andersen. You know you can trust it.
Simply give your company one point for each question answered in the affirmative. We'll tell you how to score your company's fate at the end.
Let's begin. Here are the questions:
-
Does your company reward loyalty over honesty?
-
Does your company honor tradition and hierarchy versus being open to inventiveness and new ideas no matter where they may come? (Have you ever heard someone say, "But we've always done it this way?")
-
Is your company ostentatious, giving away largesse instead of making significant, glamourless investments in the business? (Hallmarks to look for here are lavish company parties, golf tournaments and fat bonuses.)
-
Do executives champion obedience and discipline versus industry, initiative and enterprise?
-
Does the company foster a fortress mentality rather than collaborate with other companies and entities? (How many facility tours does your company give? How active is it in AFMA, NHFA or HFIA?)
-
Is deception rewarded if it gains the company an advantage?
-
Is dissent searched out and squashed versus encouraged, even demanded, for better decision-making?
-
Is the dominant corporate outlook one of fatalism as opposed to opportunism? (The rhetoric surrounding Chinese imports might help here.)
Finished? Here's what your score means:
8 points = Rigor mortis already has set in.
6-7 points = Stick a fork in it; this company is done.
4-5 points = "Give me the paddles and . . . Clear!"
2-3 points = Do the words "Enron" or "Global Crossing" mean anything to you?
1 point = Take 2 aspirin and call a consultant in the morning.
Market is a great time to do some navel-gazing. Away from the office and its daily rhythms, scenic High Point offers an opportunity not only to evaluate where your merchandise mix is headed, but the health of your company's culture, ethos and values. What are the values that underpin viable commercial life? In the wake of Enron and the dismantling of LifeStyle Furnishings International, these are valid and timely questions.
So, before we get to our recipe of the month, here's a book plug: Read "Systems of Survival" by Jane Jacobs. Find out more about whether your company fosters a guardian culture or a vital commercial culture. The choice is not whimsy. Here's Oprah to tell you more…
-
Brazil show reports record attendance
May 15, 2012 -
Furniture plant closings hit Virginia region hard
May 24, 2010 -
Ashley Furniture opens first China store in Shanghai
May 18, 2012 -
HMI announces its presence
Mar 21, 2012
VIEW ALL GALLERIES
