ROWE Program at Best Buy - Term Paper Example

? ROWE Program at Best Buy Describe the culture of Best Buy. The concept of Result-Only Work Environment (ROWE) in Best Buy Corporation was pioneered by Jody Thompson. The culture at Best buy was driven by long work hours which forced the employees to give up leisure time so as to complete work assignments. Most employees including managers noted that before the introduction of the ROWE program, there was no work-life balance. According to Hellriegel & Slocum (2011), employees at Best Buy felt that their work was the first priority and everything else came second. The organizational development approach of Results-Only Work Environment (ROWE) was adopted by Best Buy in 2003. A good organizational culture is a result of sharing core values among employees of an organization. Prior to ROWE program, there was minimum sharing of values among the Best Buy employees. The negative working environment prevalent in the organization hindered the work bond among employees. There was not much time available for employees to interact since each was busy trying to beat deadlines and working overtime. A survey conducted to verify the attitude of ROWE participants found out that the participants’ feeling of pressure and a sense of working hard had killed the creative ability to initiate and develop a participative culture. Stunted growth and insecurity had been created by the lack of interaction, brought about by lack of time and too much fixation with the individual work. It goes without saying that no organization can effectively achieve its mission and objective if the organizational culture is improperly balance. Hitt, Ireland & Hoskisson assert that apart from their work time, every employee needs to bond and interact with other employees and thus, make the organization work as a team (2009). Discuss the approach to organizational change that the ROWE program illustrates. Centered on thirteen principles and principles, the ROWE program is aimed to turn around Best Buys organizational culture and improve all aspects of operational efficiency. Some of these principles are: Flexible work schedules No focus on hours worked Every meeting is optional with key exception Focus is on getting the assigned work done. Hellreigh and Slocum (2011) stated ‘ROWE is all about results.   No results, no job’ (p. 553). ROWE program displays a culture of more personal life friendly atmosphere. It was implemented and demonstrated at the Best Buy headquarters in Minneapolis. In the year 2009, Best Buy replicated this program to its retail stores. The ROWE program is aimed at building employees’ competencies so that they become better managers of their work and time. The program gave the employees a sense of power over their work and provided a paradigm shift from how work is completely to only the work results. The change made the employees more flexible in terms of work-life balance, which boosted employee morale. Managers now have a sense of accountability regarding the part they have played to create stress free environment for their employees. Discuss the resistance, both organization and individual, which the ROWE program had to overcome. Immediately after the ROWE program was launched, there was resistance from the employees in the program implementation. The management thought that too much flexibility was being given to the employees and they could not handle it. There was an issue of whether the program was fair to the employees regardless of the department they worked in. For the individuals, they were simply moving from known to unknown and they were not sure of what lay ahead. They felt that their way of work was being interfered with and they had to figure out another way to get ahead. Organizations in Best Buy had to change they was of production. The managers could no longer set up work without proper and adequate planning. They had to devise ways of assigning employees work. Then get the job done without having the workers working longer hours than was necessary. Thus, the managers felt they needed to stick to their rigid managerial process so as to keep their organizations productive. Discuss the sources of stress that are apparent in the case. A source of stress that is evident in this case is the work-life balance by the employees of Best Buy. Initially, they were not able to balance work and their personal life. Thus, both of them were negatively affected, to the point that results produced were not optimal. The pressure of having to spend long hours working to get ahead created work stress which some employees could not cope with. Employees were fired if they did not see be working long hours or putting in hard work. For instance, management catalyzed this by awarding those who were the first ones to turn on lights and the last ones to turn off the lights. This all made the employees to feel a sense of guilt, another personal stress created. Guilty for not spending enough time with their families. One employee stated that she avoided her family so that she could get to work on time. Discuss whether or not the organizational culture has helped with the change. Work environment at Best Buy has been influenced greatly by the organizational culture created by the ROWE program. The element of importance between work and family has been enhanced by Best Buy through this program. Notable changes after the onset of this program are: The work morale was boosted within the company The departments saw a decrease in voluntary employee turnover Increased turnover at Best Buy corporation Improved work environment and productivity Because of the impressive impact made by the ROWE program on the company’s productivity rate (it has increased by about 35 percent) and reduction in turnover, we are right to say that the old culture of Best Buy may be a thing of the past. The culture of ‘do what you want, when you want, as long as you get the job done’ is slowly taking over. References Hellriegel & Slocum, Jr., D, J.W, Jr. (2010). Organization behavior, 13th ed. South-Western: Centrage Learning Marquez, J. (2008). Changing a company's culture, not just its schedules, pays off. Workforce Management, 21. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Gresham, L. (2007). A new dawn: Employee Benefit News Canada, 4(2), 28-29. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Hoskisson, R.E, Ireland, M. N & Hitt, M.A. (2010). Strategic Management, 6 ed. South-Western: Centrage Learning Read More