Question

Company X is one of the most successful and unique organizations in the film industry and, perhaps, anywhere in the world. It has produced ten major movie hits, and they are all highly creative and computer-animated. The blockbuster movies include Toy Story, A Bug's Life, Monsters Inc, Finding Nemo, The Incredible, Cars, and Wall-E, to name a few. In fact, all of Company X's movies have been highly successful, which is a truly amazing accomplishment. Company X's success is due to the talent of its managers and how it grows and develops its associates, as employees are called. It begins with a thorough recruitment and even more careful selection process. It believes that it is important to have the right type of employee who cares about and is challenged by producing the best possible movie. The company looks for people who are innovative with good communication skills. In fact, it looks for people who have failed but overcome their failures and learned from them. As the Vice President of Human Resources observed, "the secret of innovation is learning from mistakes, not avoiding them." Hiring the right employee is only the first step. Allowing associates to grown and reach their full potential is the second step of Company X's success. Company X builds teams of people and expects them to work together to produce an amazing end product. Managers trust their teams and give them the autonomy and decision-making responsibilities to work in their own way; the only criteria is that the outcome be of the highest quality. Everyone is expected to participate in solving problems by contributing their best solutions in open and honest conversations. "We practice team innovation and team problem-solving. All 200 to 250 members of a production group are given an opportunity to offer their ideas. Sure, it takes time, but it is only in this way that we are able to create the blockbuster hits that we do," explains one of the team leaders. There are few rules but everyone is expected to offer their ideas, while, at the same time, respecting the opinions of everyone else in the team. In this way, everyone contributes to the overall success of the organization. Everyone is challenged to grow through involvement with the whole creation and production of each movie. Company X rewards its employees highly by offering the highest salaries and benefits in the industry. As one senior executive said, "We hire the best and treat them the best! It is our employees who are responsible for our success!" In this way, Company X is able to not only attract and develop the most talented individuals in the movie industry, but also to keep them. Company X's turnover is less than 4% per year--much below the industry standard. In addition to teamwork, Company X emphasizes integrity and collaboration. It believes that it is important to create a work environment where everyone can have fun while pursuing their passions. Interdisciplinary learning is encourage and creativity is rewarded. George Lucas (creator of Star WARS) founded Company X in 1970 and sold it to Steve Jobs in the late 1980s for $10 million. Jobs sold Company X to Walt Disney in 2006 for $7.4 billion! This shows you the value of human capital and the benefits of managing that talent to gain the most from it. Question 1: What was the company doing right that made it achieve so much success? Question 2: Which Organizational Culture can explain its success?

Answer 1

1. The company was right in its people policies. That is, it had clear goals on recruitment. They exactly knew the kind of people to be hired. Secondly, and very importantly they treated their employees with a lot of respect and care. This made everyone feel included in the larger goals of the company and strive towards its success.

2. The organizational culture that can explain its success is the clan culture of the company whereby the management follows a deep rooted belief in collaboration. The company that consists of 200-250 employees treats everyone equally and everyone's ideas are taken into consideration before making a decision. This collaborative decision making makes people feel accountable for the success and failure of the company and thereby their own perks and benefits from it. Hence, this culture drives them to work better and harder.