Leadership Research Benchmarking

Within various levels of management at Good Sport, decisions needed to be made that encouraged team development, the understanding of subcultures, and the hanging of the organizational culture. Each individual of our team has explored various companies in similar situations and how those companies responded. Could these different approaches help Good Sport or Gene One? What can be learned as a new leader needing to make changes in the organization to increase productivity, cut costs, and keep employee morale high? Understanding how different companies are organized and operate can help new managers make sound decisions that will develop a strong organizational culture.

Company: Microsoft Corporation

Microsoft and Good Sport both had to change their culture because of the need to stay competitive and increase productivity. As the CEO of Good Sport, decisions had to be made that would motivate the different levels of employees from senior management to lower management, through increased knowledge sharing and responsibilities. Microsoft had to change its culture from one that was focused and driven by technology, to a culture focused on customers and services with skilled internal collaboration. Microsoft made this change through a career model that put the focus on developing leaders and creating teams through the development plan. First, it restructured functional units of product groups, operations, and sales groups into organized business units that were grouped around product portfolios with individual profit and loss statements. (Olesen, White, & Lemmer, 2007, p. 31). Through this reorganization, Microsoft realized the need to develop general managers for the business units which provided a focus on developing leadership talent and a career model framework that addressed the culture change (Olesen et al, 2007, p. 31). This resulted in a focus on collaboration across groups and a reward for groups who met customer and partner expectations. Through this process, Microsoft has changed its focus from individual excellence to team excellence. The model that Microsoft has implemented in changing its culture has resulted in a positive outcome. Having a system set up that is driven by talent management has helped Microsoft reinforce the desired behaviors of its employees to meet the desired cultural change. This has removed barriers for the company to grow and adapt to challenges in such a highly competitive market. Microsoft’s main focus has been to develop leaders, which helps Microsoft not only retain the best and the brightest, but to remain a global leader. This new direction also has provided the employees with the values of the organization and what is needed to achieve those goals. Microsoft has found a successful way to maintain talent management by lining up its people systems with business systems to meet strategic goals (Olesen et al, 2007, p. 34).

Company: Eli Lilly and Company

Marietta Stalcup, medical liaison team leader at Eli Lilly, created a teambuilding dynamic for her team to be part of while at a company meeting. There had been some conflict among the team members due to different styles and personalities. Ms. Stalcup identified that everyone in her team enjoyed cooking and eating, so she coordinated a culinary experience that would break down barriers and create a bond between team members who usually avoided contact with each other. After the team building exercise was over, everyone convened to discuss the experience and to voice any frustrations. People were much more open with their feelings and were joking about the experience. The next day, much more time was spent in group dynamic, stating how the exercise was pertinent to forming a successful team in the office environment. Oftentimes, individuals in the office environment disconnect from one another; not always a mutually beneficial interaction or exchange of ideas and knowledge. By conducting team building and team bonding exercises, individuals with diverse skills and knowledge are placed in a situation where they need to work together to create the best possible outcome. Catherine Margles, president and founder of the Creative Cooking School, understands that “people need to get along to boost the bottom line of a company” (Amer, 2005). Ms. Margles can create competitive or noncompetitive exercises. In the end, the ultimate goal is to either dissolve conflicts, or strengthen the bond between coworkers and colleagues. Eli Lilly is not the only company to recognize the importance of conducting teambuilding or team bonding exercises for its employees. Other large corporations have engaged employees in these exercises for various reasons, whether there have been mergers, acquisitions, or expanding to be a global competitor. One of the toughest barriers to become minimized by these exercises is communication. When people need to come together and build better working relationships, doing so in an environment that creates a level platform for everyone, enables the participants to enjoy the experience and get to know one another on a whole different level.

Company: Kraft Foods, Inc.

While planning the second-largest U.S. initial public offering (IPO), Kraft Food, Inc. promoted James Dollive to the position of Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Dollive, has been with Kraft since 1978 and recently was Senior Vice President of Finance and Information Systems (Accessmylibrary.com, 2001). Dollive’s previous responsibilities will be split between Ralph Nicoletti, recently named Senior Vice President of Finance, and Group Vice President, Irene Rosenfeld, now in charge of overseeing the unit’s information systems department (Accessmylibrary.com, 2001). This move by Kraft caused a shift in their culture. At the time of the company’s decision to become an IPO, they realized that some changes had to take place. The company was attempting to raise as much as $8.7 billion in an IPO, according to an amended regulatory filing. Creation of the CFO position is believed to be connected to the offering. This assumption is the key to the change in Kraft’s organizational culture. “The assumptions, values, and beliefs that represent organizational culture operate beneath the surface of organizational behavior” (McShane & Glinow, 2005). Because assumptions are unconscious and taken for granted, they represent the deepest part of the organizational culture.

The organizational culture change at Kraft Foods, Inc. as compared with Gene One is the assumptions of John Kirby, Executive Director Board Member and his belief that Charles Jones, Marketing Officer, does not have the business know-how to design the infrastructure needed to support