ROWE program in Best Buy - Term Paper Example

?Case Five: ROWE program in Best Buy. Describe the culture of Best Buy: The organization culture is one of the vital factors within any organization.However, for Best Buy one of the positive factors involved in their organization culture is the ability of accepting the changes. The culture has been treated as the variable factor in the organization which can change in ant time. But in most of the cases the culture is one of the factors which help the particular organization to get recognize within the competitive business world. The recognizable cultural entities are values, norms, rituals, ceremonies, verbal communication process and the ability to accept change (Alvesson, 2002, p. 24). USA has always given a great performance towards the development of the business culture among them as well as to the world and that is the reason US is always portrayed as the top nation in the world. In other hand United Sates of American (USA) is a mixture of many races, cultures and religions, it is the best known cosmopolitan country in the world. Being one of the most promising American electronic companies, the Best Buy has created a culture within the organization which is a win win situation for both the company and the employees. The New ROWE program is the example of the new thought to change the organizational culture to increase the level of job satisfaction and the productivity among the employees. However, the culture in the Best Buy can be treated as a variable factor which is ever changing for the betterment of the company and to reshape the meaning of job satisfaction. Discuss the approach to organizational change that the ROWE program illustrates. It is understood by most of the countries in the world that knowing the US business culture in one of the essential tools to do business with United States of America. Being the fourth largest country in the world, US culture is having a most diverse socio-cultural structure in the world. The ROWE (Result only work environment) program is one of the most diversified cultural approach in the business environment. This is a program which allows the employees to accordingly their daily schedule. In one hand it can be said that the working hour is 24 hours and in other hand it also can be said that an employee can work when he or she feels. This new business cultural approach would give great advantages to the employees to balance their corporate and family lives. According to the program there are no work schedules in the traditional manner, employees are not to judge how long they work or how long they will be with their colleagues within the office rather it is the productive work they do no matter within short or longer time. This tactical approach has been proven as one of the most effective way of motivating the employees. This particular approach has also been affective to maintain the low turnover ration within the organization. It means that this approach has given the motivation to the employees to be with the company for the longer time. The employees who thought to quit, they stayed back after the implementation of the particular program. The best part about this approach is the flexibility of the work time, employees can work from home, so in this case the employees can enjoy the family life and at the same time he or she can make her daily office work also accordingly. The bottom line is, this particular approach have given a new look to the work culture. The employees have started loving their work and the result was shown in the productivity report. Discuss the resistance, both organization and individual, that the ROWE program had to overcome. USA can be considered as the global cosmopolitan country as people from many countries come here to seek better careers or business opportunities. As a result, the business environment is very much competitive, and the culture in molded with self-reliance, independence, individuality, etc rather than self sacrificing behavior for the country or for the community. The main socio-economic business culture can be described with some behavioral traits, and they are candor, individualism, self-reliance, freedom, independence, democracy, competition, equality and justice. However, the Best Buy is one of the dynamic company which accept changes for the betterment of the organizational culture. The ROWE program is definitely one of the wise decisions taken by the management of the organization. But as usual there would be some flaws which could bring a great negative affect to the organization. For an example there are many departments in the organization which are not allowed to take this program as they need to be in the office and their work schedules can’t be changes to the 24 hour mode. Now, these few groups might feel neglected and that could be negative motivation for them. So basically the ROWE program cannot be implemented to all the people in the organization. In other hand the employees would not be feeling the job pressure in the house while they do work. It means the office culture and the home atmosphere cannot be same for many employees. It is definitely right that they attrition rate has been lowered but sometimes the productivity rate might be affected. Discuss the sources of stress that are apparent in the case. US business people don’t need office room specifically for their important meetings, they do meetings everywhere, such as in cafes, in restaurants, in airplanes and even sometime in parties also, these behavioral traits show that how open-minded and advanced they are. Personal relationships are kept aloof from the business context. Most of the business people believe time is money in USA. (Shippey, 1995, p.222-229). However, the family stress and the job pressure are always there. In this case of Best Bye the lady Janssen who works in the finance department is very much stressed for the work pressure from the vendors and in other hand she also has to pick up her children from the day care. In this case she is in total dilemma. Now this stress is from the both parts and that is office and the family choirs. However, the main stress is how to manage the time to do both the work proficiently. In another case, Darrel Owens, an aged employee of Best Buy worked for three consecutive days in the company. However, the company gave him bonus and vacation. But, instead of enjoying the vacation he ended up in the hospital. This could have been avoided if he would have given to participate in the ROWE program, in which he could have done the work from home with his suitable time. Many other stresses are there in the daily life. Mainly for the women who are pregnant, are very much vulnerable to serious injuries. So for these pregnant women the ROWE program could be perfect. Discuss whether or not the organizational culture has helped with the change. The ROWE program is definitely a great and courageous step taken by the company authority. The flexible timing of the work can change many things which are not possible within the traditional office schedule. In the recent changing environment the mental peace is a very vital factor. The daily office schedule would be associated with the loss of time for commuting, and the loss of money for commuting. These two factors are very vital for the employees as these two factors are responsible for the higher fatigue level within the employees. So, if they can start working after the take their breakfast or may be in the night with the laptop then they can be pretty much productive and also happy about their jobs. However, the real picture comes out while the performance report comes out. From the given study it has been proved that the turnover ratio has been dropped, this means employees don’t want to leave the company anymore, so the cost of recruitment is also lower down. And in other hand the performance is also improved with the help of the ROWE program. So, it is very much recommended to apply the ROWE program as a standard schedule in the Best Buy. References Alvesson M. (2002). “Understanding organizational culture”. London: SAGE. Shippey, K. (1995). USA business: the portable encyclopedia for doing business with the United States. California: World Trade Press. Read More