HRM and Organisational Culture - Essay Example

HRM and Organisational Culture Explain how human resource management techniques can be a major resource in the management of organisational culture? Introduction The culture of an organisation is not a static entity which exists in a vacuum. It can change, it can grow and it can develop into something which is larger than the organisation itself. One of the first companies in the world to adopt an informal business culture was Apple and few other companies have seen the drama, emotional involvement as well as ups and downs as Apple. The company has stood the test of time and has managed to turn out convincing products that have given it an image of innovation and being a radical organisation. Even a cursory glance at the history of the company will show that the human resource management techniques used at Apple have greatly affected the company’s culture. A culture of power and an aura of personal authority extend from the CEO of the company and as the CEO often behaves in a radical, unconventional and anti-organisational way, so does the company follow in his mighty footsteps. At the same time, the traditional levels of secrecy and company loyalty at Apple means that the company manages to hold back the negative implications of having an anti-organisational culture at bay while making the positive implications into an advantage for itself. This peculiar ability of Apple to gain the benefits out of a group of reckless employees while avoiding the disadvantages can be observed with detailed information from examples of various everyday incidents at the company which are provided by those who worked for the company. There is no lack of information about Apple or the one person on which Apple banks for leading the company forward, i.e. Steve Jobs. Perhaps the best resource for the management of the company as well as the personality of Steve Jobs is the website folklore.org that gives details of hundreds of incidents that show how applicable human resources policies are used to define the culture of the company and for the people working for Apple Computers. The subjective analysis given by the writers and analysts working with Apple comes as first hand accounts of the organisation’s behaviour. This objective analysis is also presented in terms of how successful Apple’s products have been in the past and present. However, there is a limitation of how much inside information about the inner workings of the organisation can be obtained while remaining outside the company. The Culture at Apple: Company or Person? Apple Computers is generally taken to be an American company that prides itself on creating innovative products for the consumer electronics and technology sectors (PC Magazine, 2006). In 2005, it posted global sales of nearly 14 Billion dollars and had more than fourteen thousand people working for it around the world. The company is based out of Cupertino in California where the main offices of the company are situated. The central products of the company are personal computers, portable media devices, software and associated hardware. Steve Jobs However, no mention of Apple can be complete without discussing the cult of personality which revolves around its founder and current CEO, Steve Jobs. Jobs has had a tumultuous relationship with the company he founded since he was removed from service and called back by the board after many years of absence (Beckman & Hirsch, 2001). Writing for The Guardian, Smith says that: “To technology freaks and geeks, he is a demigod, whose product launches are adulatory affairs regularly likened to religious revivalist meetings. The Jobs life story - humble birth, rise and fall, then miraculous comeback - has even been likened by Apple fanatics to the heroic myths of Odysseus, Jason, Krishna and Christ (Smith, 2006, Pg. 1).” Therefore it is difficult to separate the man from the company since Jobs is the driving force behind the innovations and technologies created by Apple (Smith, 2006). This is why anti-organisational behaviour is so valid for giving a name to the culture at Apple since the personality of Steve Jobs appears to reflect the radical humanist perspective of management (Burrell, 1979). At the same time, his ways of governing the company look terrifying (Hertzfeld, 1982). The analysis of the company’s culture has to be done at two different levels, firstly at how the company is controlled by the power wielded by Steve Jobs and looking at the Culture of Apple which also owes a lot to the direction given by Jobs during his first and second terms as the head of the company (Deutschman, 2000). At the same time, it is useful to examine the image presented by Apple of itself as a company and how the marketing mechanics utilised by Apple let it be seen as a cool and hip company while giants like IBM and Microsoft come across as nothing more than big brother (Scott, 1991). A part of HRM is making sure that only the right people continue to work for the company while others are gently removed from service. However, Steve Jobs’ management of termination for employees is absolute and unquestioned since he is famous for his summary ‘executions’ where he has been known to fire people working for the company in the time it takes to go from one floor of the building to another in an elevator. His presence on the company campus is affectionately known as the reign of terror in which anything can happen anywhere at anytime (Deutschman, 2000). Normally, an organisation takes a lot of time and places a lot of thought into both hiring and firing individuals since there are legal checks which need to be made and decisions like removing people from service can have far reaching effects on the overall company. Such rules do not seem to apply at Apple since Steve Jobs’ working tactics have been discussed by Deutschman (2000) who says: “He had total disregard for the hierarchical chain of command. He would remember what several hundred people did and call on whomever he needed, always bypassing their managers. It was as though everyone in the company reported directly to Steve himself (Deutschman, 2000, Pg. 1).” This management style is a perfect fit for a culture which does not really pay heed to established rules since it directly tackles the issue of social constraints and limits to human potential that can be created due to strict management and hierarchical systems of management. Bypassing managers and breaking the chain of command might have irked people in middle and senior management teams but the end results and the profits declared by Apple under such leadership speak for themselves (Forbes, 2006). Breaking Social Constraints Te best example of breaking social constraints comes from Hertzfeld (1982) who worked with Apple during its formative years. Hertzfeld describes an interview that was taken by Steve Jobs where Steve behaved in a manner which is totally unsuitable for an interview if not completely illegal. The senior management personnel had told Steve that the company needed someone who could continue the sprit of the team and that individual should not be authoritarian. One unnamed candidate for the interview was described as, “Extremely straight-laced and uptight, dressing more like an insurance salesman than a technologist. He also seemed very nervous as he fumbled at our first few questions (Hertzfeld, 1982, Pg. 1).” Steve Jobs asked him questions like, how old he was when he lost his virginity. When the candidate wanted a clarification, Steve asked if he was still a virgin. Before the individual could answer Jobs changed the subject to drugs and asked about the number of times that person had taken LSD. If breaking these social constraints was not enough, Steve Jobs started making turkey like noises while the person was in the process of answering a technical question. At that point the candidate realized that he was not the right person for the job and declared the same to the interviewing panel. Steve simply responded, “I guess youre not, I think this interview is over (Hertzfeld, 1982, Pg. 1).” Human Resource Management Given the personality and the known activities of Steve Jobs, it is easy to imagine what the culture of the company could be like. However, despite the unconventional personality, there are several conventions which are established at Apple and are strictly adhered to in many ways (Wikipedia, 2006). Before the conventions are discussed, it is important to see how the company breaks the conventions of an organization that bring it closer to being a rebel. The image of having a ‘cool’ culture within the company is quite strong since the products as well as the method of producing them seem to be oriented towards the users and the end clients. The culture of the company is closely linked to the computer architecture under development at Apple and even though the architecture changes every ten years or so, the essential characters of Apple’s culture remain more or less the same (Wikipedia, 2006). Apple was the first company in the 1970s to redefine what corporate culture should be. The company was flat instead of being hierarchical and it was mostly casual rather than formal in terms of attire and work timings. Executives walked about the company campus barefoot in shorts and short sleeved shirts. Anyone wearing a business suit was looked at with surprise even after Apple became part of the Fortune 500 list. During the reign of later chief executives, the company changed its outlook somewhat and became more business like but essentially remained close to its original roots (Wikipedia, 2006). Getting Things Done The central purpose of HRM is to make sure that the human potential which the company can call on is fully utilises. A story given by Hertzfeld (1984) discusses how the human potential of the team was unleashed by Steve Jobs’ stubborn refusal to give up even when the situation seemed drastic. In 1983, the Macintosh system was about to be launched and the people working on the project were going at it round the clock even forgoing their Christmas break. Despite their hard work there were quite a few problems with the software which needed fixing before the computer could be launched (Hertzfeld, 1984). However the launch date was approaching and it seemed useless to continue working on problems for which there simply was not enough time. The team estimated that they needed a few weeks more to correct the issues and needed to inform Steve Jobs of the delay. After Steve had been told of all the problems connected with the launch he responded by saying: “No way! Theres no way we’re slipping! You guys have been working on this stuff for months now, another couple weeks isnt going to make that much of a difference. You may as well get it over with. Just make it as good as you can. You better get back to work! (Hertzfeld, 1984, Pg. 1).” By working harder and not sleeping for three days before the launch, the programmers eventually managed to launch the computer half an hour before the deadline. They stayed awake on coffee and chocolate covered espresso beans and after the launch they could only sit on sofas in the lobby to stare at each other in disbelief. Hertzfeld recalls, “We must have been quite a sight; everybody could tell that we had been there all night (actually, I hadnt been home or showered for three days). I finally drove home around 9am and collapsed on my bed, thinking that Id sleep for the next day or two (Hertzfeld, 1984, Pg. 1)”. Of course this can be called cruel management but Jobs was able to get the result he wanted for his company. Changes in the Company While the company was being run by previous CEOs like Scully, it had developed a relaxed atmosphere which was good for morale but it was hurting production and output. Deutschman (2000) describes the conditions before Steve’s return to the company and says: “Before Steves takeover, the campus had a leisurely atmosphere. Staffers loved to hang around smoking and chatting in the courtyard of the R&D complex, which always had ashtrays stocked at the outside and inside doors of all six of its buildings. Some employees seemed to spend most of their time throwing Frisbees to their dogs on the lawns (Deutschman, 2000, Pg. 3).” Steve changed that for the better with new rules that prohibited smoking anywhere on Apple property. Dogs were banned from the campus and it seemed as if, “Steve were pushing his own lifestyle on 10,000 others (Deutschman, 2000, Pg. 3).” These steps made quite a few employees unhappy since smoking in the courtyard allowed individuals of different departments to interact with each other and people who worked nights and weekends for Apple had hardly any time left to be with their pets (Deutschman, 2000). Given sudden change in HRM styles, it would seem that Jobs’ decisions were wrong and could lead to disaster because such changes can affect individuals very negatively. Strangely enough, these steps appeared to work at Apple and the company began turning itself around. The record breaking profits, the sale figures and the brand value appreciation as Steve Jobs returned to Apple all show that his management style and organizational structuring have worked wonders (Deutschman, 2000). From behaving like members of a civil service that did what it wanted without paying attention to short lived CEOs at the top, the company became proactive and employees began to interact with the boss at the top on a deeper level as discussed by Deutschman (2000) who says: “People started to realize that Steve could assert his authority over seemingly any aspect of the companys life. Apple was going to follow the vision of a single person, from the no-smoking rules to the editing of the TV advertisements. Steve was clearly in charge, and Steve was seemingly everywhere (Deutschman, 2000, Pg. 3)”. Secrecy Keeping things under a tight lid is one of the hallmarks of Apple computers since no one can ever be sure of what Apple is about to release on to the market. Rumours and speculation begins weeks before any company event and before the return of Jobs, a lot of information was often leaked to the press. As reported by Deutschman (2000) the situation changed in a matter of weeks: “Before Steves takeover, Apple people loved to leak. They did so partly because the company really did have lacklustre marketing. If you were proud of your work, the only way to let other people in the industry know about it was to leak it yourself. Steve insisted on his old “loose lips sink ships” policy. At first the employees were incensed. Before long, though, they began to trust Steve to do Apples marketing for them (Deutschman, 2000, Pg. 3).” Clearly, going against the established culture with effective HRM skills was certainly possible in this case. Primarily because there was a person in charge who others in the company could trust completely and who could get away with things like using foul language in board meetings as well as firing people on the spot. Playing on the edge of ethics and legality may be seen as something most people would like to avoid, but Steve Jobs seems to relish this location as his personality and his actions fit perfectly with the requirements of the HRM needs of his company. If results are what matters most then Steve Jobs and Apple both have certainly shown the results required of them. Theory X and Theory Y With regard to Apple’s culture, there are several applicable theories which are related to the paradigm under consideration. For instance, Theory X and Theory Y which deal with power structures within an organisation could lead a better understanding of the methods of management used at Apple (Lee, 1982). While the relaxed nature regarding the corporate structure and the work environment point towards a Theory Y management style, the tyrannical image given to the CEO of the company suggests a Theory X management style. The mixture is very potent since both give advantages to the company. Additionally, taking a Darwinian approach might also be useful when analysing Apple with the ecological theory of organisation as described by Astley (1985). When the company was restructured and changed to bring it more inline with the requirements of the time, there were quite a few people who objected to the state of affairs. Things like healthy choices on the menu, banning of smoking across the campus as well as the prohibition against pets made Apple a more difficult place to work for some individuals and they either adapted to the new situation or left the company altogether (Deutschman, 2000). Conclusion I believe that it is the cultural perspective (Lee, 1982) that is important with regard to Apple since the culture of the company not only extends to its various business partners, but is also appreciated and adopted by Apple fans around the world. The culture of the company is again the product of one person who founded Apple and gave it the unique sprit it enjoys. Finally, given that Steve Jobs’ style of HRM has created the culture for Apple not once but twice, it points towards the fact that the relationship between culture and HRM is quite deep. Works Cited Astley, W. 1985. “The two ecologies: population and community perspectives on organizational evolution”, Administrative Science Quarterly, vol. 30, pp. 224-241. Beckman, D. and Hirsch, D. 2001, ‘Mac Is Back in Town’, ABA Journal, vol. 87, no. 8, pp. 70-72. Burrell, G. 1979, Sociological Paradigms and Organisational Analysis, Heinemann Educational Books. Deutschman, A. 2000, ‘The once and future Steve Jobs’, Salon.com, [Online] Available at: http://archive.salon.com/tech/books/2000/10/11/jobs_excerpt/index.html Forbes. 2006, ‘Steven Jobs’ Forbes.com, [Online] Available at: http://www.forbes.com/lists/2006/10/HEDB.html Hertzfeld, A. 1982, ‘Gobble, Gobble, Gobble’, folklore.org, [Online] Available at: http://www.folklore.org/StoryView.py?project=Macintosh&story=Gobble_Gobble_Gobble.txt&topic=Management&sortOrder=Sort%20by%20Date&detail=medium Hertzfeld, A. 1984, ‘Real Artists Ship’, folklore.org, [Online] Available at: http://www.folklore.org/StoryView.py?project=Macintosh&story=Real_Artists_Ship.txt&topic=Management&sortOrder=Sort%20by%20Date&detail=medium Lee, J. 1982, The Gold and the Garbage in Management Theories and Prescriptions, Ohio University Press. PC Magazine. 2006, ‘Low-Cost Apple laptop is very enticing’, PC Magazine, vol. 25, no. 13, pp. 31-32. Scott, L. 1991, ‘“For the Rest of Us”: A Reader-Oriented Interpretation of Apple’s “1984” Commercial.’, Journal of Popular Culture, vol. 25, no. 1, pp. 67-81. Smith, D. 2006, ‘The non-stop revolutionary’, The Guardian, [Online] Available at: http://technology.guardian.co.uk/opinion/story/0,,1697348,00.html Wikipedia. 2006, ‘Apple Computer’ Wikipedia.org, [Online] Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_computer Read More