Organizational Culture Assessment of Terre Haute Economic Development Corporation - Assignment Example

Terre Haute Economic Development Corporation Executive Summary This paper is focused on face to face interviews taken on 5 management personnel of Terre Haute Economic Development Corporation (THDC). The questions asked mainly focus on the missions and visions of the company’s management in relation to the objectives of the company. THDC is a development corporation that focuses on economic, social, educational and environmental development of Terra Haute County. The interviews have given a positive image of the organization in respect to the development of the county. The organization stresses on making the citizens educated and trained for job opportunities thus ensuring skilled and high productivity performance from the workers. The company has an added location advantage which makes it accessible from air, highways and sea. The company has a high culture by way of integrity and sense of unity among the employees, as well as a “can do” attitude. Company description Historically, in Terre Haute/Vigo County the economic development has not been smooth, and keeping in view the county’s requirement of economic development services, THEDC was originated to provide strategic solutions to economic problems and development. This corporation works jointly with other entities for all round economic development, and emphasizes on business development, attraction and retention. Terre Haute/Vigo County is a place where leadership and creativity flourish in the unity between community members and government agencies. The most important matters that need strategic solutions range from growth, management to green living. The sincere efforts from leaders and citizens of Terre Haute are contribution towards development of the county. I choose this company for its competency and because it had some very significant successes for the community, and also because it is the Lead Economic Development Organization (Welcome to Terre Haute/Vigo County, n.d.). Participants In this paper I put forward interviews taken on 5 people who are currently working in the management body of the corporation. The employees in the corporation are recruited across a range of industries according to their skill, productivity and experience. THEDC offers workers to other industries at lower wage rates compared to other parts of the county. I have taken interviews of 3 women and 2 men who belong to the age group between 35 and 40 years. I have taken face to face interview of all the 5 people. I visited their office at allotted times after prior appointments. Findings and Analysis My interview questions ranged from the interviewees’ missions and visions to the organizational culture along with the organization’s strengths and weaknesses (See appendix). The interviewees share their mission which is an overall economic development of Terre Haute/Vigo County. Their vision ranges from proper growth and management of the county to development in the transportation sector. One of the interviewees stressed on green environment and sustainability as a core vision. The common vision is to provide best opportunities to the citizens for jobs and businesses. The Terre Haute Innovation Alliance which is a partnership between the city of Terre Haute, the Terre Haute Economic Development Corporation, Indiana State University and Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology has taken strategic steps towards economic development and education. With this alliance the current mission is to provide the students to work in projects which will give them job oriented knowledge. Being in the management body of the THEDC, my interviewees have a mission to create innovative technology that will prepare the student for a future economy with new prospects. Three of my interviewees talked about improving public services of the city as well as solving problems of local industries as part of their mission. The core values of the management body of the corporation include strong work ethic and a sense of unity. The common visions that they share make them work together to fulfill their missions. The cultural ambiance of the corporation is the positive attitude among the people associated with it. Their high level of confidence in any kind of job works in favour of the progress of their missions. The goals and objectives of THEDC are economic development and creating sustainability in the environment. The purpose is to create well-being of the citizens by providing them practical education and training to prepare them for job opportunities. THEDC strives to create incentive programs that are attractive and technology friendly to cater to the needs of new and developing businesses in the community. The interests of the community are also looked after. THEDC works in close coordination with local and state officials to develop suitable packages to meet the business development of the city and the requirements of the citizens. I have observed pride in the management personnel as they claim that many development project shown positive results so far. Most of these projects have been successful in the economic development process of Terre Haute County. I can conclude from the interviews that the common view of the interviewees seem to be that the organization’s strength lies in the workers’ confidence, ethical sense, loyalty and integrity towards their work. The people in the Terre Haute County have a sense of unity, as well as they are highly skilled with great productivity. This is an added advantage for the company’s recruitment. This unity is also the strength of the workers as they share a healthy relationship with each other. There is also a positive relation between the workers and the management for which information flow easily from one level to the other. THEDC expects loyalty and complete focus of work from the employees. High productivity is expected and in return the company gives proper incentives to the workers. Further strength of the company is its location at the western border of Indiana. This area is highly accessible from the highway and also by rail and air. It is also not far from Indiana’s three deepwater ports. One weakness that has come to the forefront from the interviews is the company’s not much progress in improving the inefficient sewer system of Terre Haute. Much of the funds go into development process of the sewer system. Although the sincere efforts of THEDC is progressing in the route of the County’s economy, but much is dependent on investments from outside. From these interviews I can see that the most prominent aspects are that Terre Haute provides enough motivation to new industries to develop by way of tax reductions. The interviewees have mentioned some of them like tax abatements on personal properties of manufacturing companies that invest in Terre Haute, tax-exempt bond financing and tax increment financing assistance. Conclusion THEDC is doing a great job in the development of Terra Haute County. Its biggest strength is positive attitude and confidence among the workers. The projects so far has been successful and the incentives have provided motivation to new and developing industries in the County. The mission and vision of the company’s management is in proper alignment with the objectives of the company. Reference Welcome to Terre Haute/Vigo County, (n.d.) terrehauteedc, retrieved on February 22, 2013 from: http://www.terrehauteedc.com/ Appendix Questions asked :- • What are your mission, vision, and core values?  • What is the culture of the organization?  • What are the major goals or objectives of the organization?  • How does the organization currently perform with respect to these goals/objectives?  • What are the strengths and weaknesses of the organization?  • What barriers do you believe stand in the way of good performance?  • What gets noticed and rewarded?  • Are relationships healthy throughout the organization? Why or why not?  • Does feedback flow smoothly throughout the organization? Why or why not?  • What qualities does this organization want your employees to possess? Read More