The Organizational Culture of a Business-Management Philosophy - Essay Example

? Portfolio analysis BY YOU YOUR SCHOOL INFO HERE HERE Portfolio analysis ARUP The job fair experienced involved an interview with the company ARUP, a multi-faceted organisation providing multiple services in areas of consulting, design and architecture, software development, business management support and operations consulting (arup.com, 2010). This particular organisation, identified through research and personal interaction, recruits with diversity in mind, which seems to be a main focus of their entire employment package and processes. The organisation, whenever possible, attempts to recruit from within by offering competitive promotional opportunities for high performers. Externally, the company attends job fairs, creates advertising literature in multi-media formats, and also sends recruiters to colleges and universities across the country and abroad to identify the most appropriate talent for its many diverse consulting and specialized service divisions. Much like other organisations, ARUP has considerable hiring criteria that must be met in order to be considered a valid employee candidate. These include having technical education skills, management experience and education, strong dedication to communication and customer service skills along with technological education and know-how on a variety of software platforms. It seems the goal of ARUP is to test individuals in their second interview, depending on their potential role within the organisation, using software testing objectives and scenario planning to identify how the individual would respond to various management situations and/or crises. Some of these criteria were identified during the rather long interview process. One specific labour-related criteria that was identified as being necessary for landing a career with ARUP is the ability to function within a decentralised organisation. ARUP attempts to involve all of its employees in decision-making rather than having knowledge and decision trickle from the top tiers of senior management. Each employee is given a great deal of autonomy in their job role functions and provided the necessary training to become more interactive in the daily operations of the business as innovators and decision-makers. Thus, the main focus of ARUP seemed to be making sure that the candidate had the ability to function well within this type of hierarchy and remain dedicated to securing long-term customer service focus and team methodology. “Leaders aspiring to be effective in multicultural environments must develop an awareness of the different dimensions of culture that are and will be most central to their different constituencies of customers or followers” (Shriberg & Kumari, 2008, p.20). ARUP operates in a global, multi-cultural environment consisting of employees from different cultural backgrounds and ethnic backgrounds, therefore diversity remains a top focus for the organisation and its leadership. Further research identified that this is becoming a paramount skill to maintain in the global marketplace related to knowledge of different cultures and how they tend to interact with one another in a diverse business environment. In fact, research identified what is referred to as Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions Framework which shows the different cultural preferences and attitudes associated with certain employees. For example, individualistic cultures have more of a drive for empowerment and autonomy in job roles and demand rewards for their accomplishments at the individual level. Collectivists, under this model, which is common in Asian and Middle Eastern countries, have more affiliation for group work and tend to consider themselves part of a larger family and thus demand rewards and acknowledgement based on group involvement and participation (Blodgett, Bakir & Rose, 2008). It is important at ARUP to maintain these skills and would likely be an important job-related skill to have that is backed with cultural education and experience working within diverse work groups in many different environments socially, academically and professionally. One interesting fact about ARUP and its management team is that there is little power distance between senior and mid-level managers and lower-tiered employees. The goal in this decentralised organisation is to ensure that everyone maintains the same quality of relationships built around a team-focused cultural map and structure. Senior leaders are interactive with the lower levels of the organisation and often include them in business meetings so that everyone has the potential to be recognised and speak their opinion regarding new business practices and how best to tackle day-to-day projects. This was apparent in the casual dress of the managers at the job fair and the method by which they chose to communicate to both their potential job candidates and the service workers that also attended the interview sessions. It seems to be a casual environment that is backed by the decentralised philosophy that drives the majority of their business strategy. Several times during the communication process, discussion seemed to revolve around the potential job candidate’s ability to master their own destiny. By this, it seemed that ARUP wanted to ensure that the candidate did not have the tendency to blame others for failures and would accept accountability for their actions within this environment dedicated to securing long-term business partnerships across the globe and domestically. Further research identified that in order to be employable and desired by companies, they must have a high locus of control. This is when an individual believes they control their own futures and circumstances and do not believe their fate is controlled by the actions of others internally and externally. They are a take control type of personality (Treven & Potocan, 2005). Those with a low locus of control manifest stress more easily and tend to be passive and defensive (Treven & Potocan). Companies in this labour environment will value take charge employees that can cope with stressful or crisis situations. All in all, ARUP seems to fit the basic characteristics of a decentralised organisation that remains focused on their employee needs and employing diversity policies designed to improve their status in the business and fulfil their psychological needs. This was evident by the different vacation and profit sharing packages offered to new recruits as a means of making themselves seem more competitive (arup.com, 2010). The choice of seeking employment with ARUP was directly related to personal experience, especially in terms of management philosophy and the ability to work with diverse team members. I learned recently that my personality is one that is focused on empathy and teamwork which made ARUP stand out for its many practices in working with diverse clients on a variety of special projects. My experiences with group work and the positive outcomes that came from it, along with rewarding relationships, seemed like a perfect fit for the organisational culture that thrives at ARUP. Sector analysis ARUP is more diverse than other companies in this sector since the business provides multiple services in a variety of industries from technology, to earth sciences, to management. This involves routine interaction with clients from around the globe and the ability to function within diverse teams in order to launch special projects. The business, therefore, faces much competition around the globe especially in areas of management consulting, a business that often operates by independent owners using the Internet as the foundation for the consulting services. These small businesses often provide management consulting services at a cheaper price, however without the necessary interaction between clients that larger companies like ARUP can provide. Therefore the sector must be concerned with advertising and marketing as part of their brand-building activities and also be aware of price when quoting service options to customers. When competition runs high, these functions become quite important in gaining trust and loyalty and standing out amid a tough competitive environment. Also, this type of business assumes a great deal of risk, especially when there are no guarantees that a specific job venture or partnership will be successful in the long-term. Further research identified much literature regarding risk management and how it is tied into the management and consulting business functions. “Risk management is the systematic process of planning for, identifying, analysing, responding to, and monitoring risks using processes and tools to help the manager identify probability of risk and the consequences of adverse events” (dot.ca.gov, 2007, p.12). The management function requires knowledge of operations and controls, such as in areas of production and human resources. ARUP is clearly a human resources-focused business that cares a great deal about its people and works constantly to ensure that they are given opportunities and benefits that satisfy them and keep their turnover rates low from dissatisfied employees. There are risks when working in a decentralised organisation such as losing control over employee behaviours or costs associated with special project teams built on contracted agreements with diverse customers. The consulting sector is filled with potential risks including unsatisfied clients, budget over-runs, the influence of high regulatory powers, or simply having an ineffective special project team member or leader. It was identified that risk is an ongoing business problem that must have special focus and dedicated risk management teams so that the business functions properly and meets with organisational and client-demanded goals. What attracts me most to the management consulting sector is the ability to change the organisational culture of another business or improve their standing competitively by offering insight about management philosophy and structure. Knowing that an employee can make a long-term positive impact on profitability and improving human relations between the business and the employee is intrinsically motivating to say the least. My people-focused and high devotion to quality communications are skills that would be very beneficial to ARUP, or any other management-based firm, due to my previous experience with positive social outcomes from these interactions. However, in order to be fully effective, I would need to build more knowledge about human resources and how to motivate people using psychological tools and rewards strategies. It is important to understand what drives performance in workers and more education in this area would be required to be fully beneficial to this sector. My ethical principles are completely in-line with those of companies like ARUP where people are the main focus and where building relationships is a top objective of the business. My strong empathy toward others and knowledge of cultural backgrounds will be beneficial within this multi-cultural environment where team philosophy is the most critical dimension for successful reputation and loyalty, and even word-of-mouth marketing in the pursuit of potential referrals. This can build higher bonus motivation which is offered by the company generously as a method of acknowledging success. References Arup.com. (2010). [internet] Services A-Z. [accessed 10.3.2011 at http://www.arup.com/Services/A-Z.aspx] Arup.com. (2010). [internet] Your reward. [accessed 9.3.2011 at http://www.arup.com/Careers/Your_reward.aspx] Dot.ca.gov. (2007). [internet] Project risk management handbook: threats and opportunities. 2nd ed, p.12. [accessed 10.3.2011 at http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/projmgmt/documents/prmhb/caltrans_project_risk_management_handbook_20070502.pdf] Blodgett, J., Bakir, A. & Rose, G. (2008). A test of the validity of Hofstede’s cultural framework, The Journal of Consumer Marketing. 25(6), p.339. Shriberg, A. & Kumari, R. (2008). Why culture matters: leveraging cultural differences to create a business advantage, The Business Review. 10(1), pp.19-25. Treven, S. & Potocan, V. (2005). Training programmes for stress management in small businesses, Education & Training. 47(8/9), pp.640-653. Read More