The Cult (ure) of Business
51
What is culture; Ancient script identifies the word as Meme. This is the ideas or beliefs that are transmitted from one person or group of people to another. The root word is cult, which refers to a group whose beliefs or practices are considered strange.
What is the culture of business? The most common dictionary definition says that culture is a group of people who have shared beliefs and values. It also says that these same individuals share the same practices and attitudes. When a business starts to ignore these attributes, they will surely fail.
Any real business owner knows the importance of building a business culture. The culture of the business will undoubtedly define the company, regardless of what the company sells or offers. It could be the vendor on the corner or a fortune 500 company. No matter which one you chose, know that the success of the company will be based on the culture.
The culture of the business is what drives the business. The culture of the business is what brings in the customers and causes others to want to do business with that company. Culture is everything. For example, I recently had an experience with my phone carrier Sprint. I had been a faithful customer of theirs for over 10 years. Why, because I loved the culture, I enjoyed what they had to offer and the price was right.
Unfortunately, Sprint started to lose their culture. The integrity of the company had gone missing. It seems as if the “Valued Customer” really didn’t matter at all. At least this held true in my case. Maybe it was due to the fact that the competition had increased and they need to play hardball in order to stay afloat. Whatever the case may be it seems as if their bottom line was all that was important. Sprint lost their culture and as a result they lost my business forever.
The bottom line is this. A business (any business) is only as good as its representatives. These are the people cult and the culture. These are the people who are on the ground floor selling the service and moving the products. These are the people who will undoubtedly bring back future business. These are the people who will tell the world how great their company is and how wonderful it is to do business with that company.
If your company is not doing as well as you would like, it might be time to reassess your company’s culture, because in the end it will be the company with the best Cult (ure). That will win.
ReggieD06 14 months ago
Donald,
Great hub! You are right! A company's culture has a great deal to do with the success of that company. That culture is largely set by the management and leadership teams in place. If the workers at the lower levels of the organization has the perception that upper management and the leadership teams in the company are lackadaisical in their approach towards the business, the workers will deliver lackluster performance. This in turn will promote lower customer acquisition and retention.
This is one of the reasons that successful organizations have implemented performance review processes in their business practices. They are aware that if they do not address poor performance at all levels of the organization, the overall performance of the organization will suffer. A company cannot afford to have the best performers being treated in the same manner as the worst performers. This being said, it is absolutely critical that the performance review process is fair and just.
When a company's management team moves with set goals, clear vision, ethical practices, business integrity, customer focus, and employee concern, it will be able to position the company for great success. It is a proven fact that customers are willing to pay higher prices for products and services if the providers of these products and services are fulfilling more of the customers' total needs than the competition.
I could write a lot more on this subject, but I'll stop for now. Thank you again for sharing this important information! As you stated, every business should be aware of the important role that culture plays in the success of the business. The company's image and indeed its very existence is dependent upon having a committed, dedicated, motivated, well-trained workforce.
Thanks for allowing me to share.
Take care,
Reggie D.