In identifying organizationally shared values and beliefs, there are several common misperceptions that result in an invalid understanding of the actual corporate culture. These misinterpretations should be guarded against as cultural understanding serves as a foundation for many of management’s decisions.
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Nathan Ives is a StrategyDriven Principal and Host of the StrategyDriven Podcast. For over twenty years, he has served as trusted advisor to executives and managers at dozens of Fortune 500 and smaller companies in the areas of management effectiveness, organizational development, and process improvement. To read Nathan’s complete biography, click here.
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Although work-life balance policies are meant to acknowledge the realities faced by dual earner families, existing workplace norms often stigmatize the use of such policies. While employers have started to offer several policies that facilitate better work-life balance, there is scant evidence that they are helping organisations foster a healthier work-life culture. There is also low utilization of such policies despite the widespread demand for such flexibility. The pressure to work long hours along with the career penalties associated with the use of work-life policies are creating workplace cultures where employees have limited choices in terms of managing their work and non-work demands.
Transforming the culture of an organisation to one that encourages a better work-life balance is often very challenging. Although it is debatable whether organisations have a responsibility for work-life balance, evidence suggests that providing support for work-life issues has significant payoffs for the employment relationship. Frequently organisations may offer a range of work-life policies but if not properly implemented these policies may fail to facilitate better work-life reconciliation.
Often effective policy implementation requires a transformation of the workplace culture and underlying assumptions about how work should be organised and how employee performance should be evaluated. Cultures that emphasize long working hours as a symbol of commitment frequently hinder employees from making use of work-life policies. In several organisations, managers focus on rewarding “face-time” rather than actual performance. When managers have subordinates who face work-life conflicts, the best approach is to direct their efforts toward evaluating actual performance rather than presenteeism or “face-time”. Effective role-modeling by leaders who are aware of the importance of work-life balance may also help in building a culture that champions reconciliation of work and nonwork lives while reducing feelings of inadequacies among workers who utilize work-life practices. Likewise, employees should also be encouraged to raise nonwork issues with their managers and should be assured that their employer does not expect them to subordinate their personal or family roles while prioritizing their work roles. Such a culture may allay worker fears about the negative career consequences of addressing work-life issues and also result in a favorable image of their employer as one that cares about their well-being.
About the Author
Shainaz Firfiray is an assistant professor in the Organisation and Human Resource Management Group at Warwick Business School. She received her PhD in management at IE Business School, Spain. Her research interests include work-life balance, social identity, and workplace diversity.
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Generally, the answer to this question is “always”, but the answer is much more involved. Sure Internet marketing is worthwhile but as with any type of marketing it is only worthwhile if it is done well. For example, you can spend thousands of dollars on a television marketing campaign but if no one sees your commercials or your commercials do not reach your target audience and generate sales, the advertising and the money that you spent was a waste of time and effort. So perhaps a more appropriate answer to this question would be that Internet marketing is worthwhile when it works. This is a rather vague statement, I know. But I will try to explain what I mean further and show you how you can make Internet marketing work for your business.
One of the most basic and most important principles of marketing is to make sure you reach your target audience. This is important because your target audience are the people who are most likely going to be interested in purchasing your products or services. It is much easier to sell your products or services to those who already have an interest in the products and services you have to offer. Much easier than it is to convince those who are not interested in your products or services at all. As an example consider a business who sells fishing rods. You will want to market your products to those who enjoy fishing either competitively or as a leisure activity because among this audience you are likely to find people who may be interested in purchasing a new fishing rod. It would make sense to place an advertisement for your business on a website selling bait and tackle or a website which organizes fishing trips in exotic locations. Conversely it would not make sense to place your advertisement on a website selling telescopes because you are not likely to reach a large target audience here. There may be some stargazers with an interest in fishing but your advertising dollars and efforts would be better spent placing advertisements with websites more closely related to your business.
Another factor to consider when purchasing advertising space on another Internet website is traffic the amount of traffic the other website receives. This is significant because you want to place your advertisement on a website which is closely related to your own and likely to attract a similar audience but you also want your advertisement to receive a large amount of attention. For this reason, it is important for your advertisement to appear on a website which receives a great amount of traffic each month. This will help to ensure your business is getting a great deal of exposure through this advertising.
When it comes to Internet advertising, there is a fine line between great advertising and spam. Some business owners get carried away trying to get as much exposure as possible and can sometimes go overboard and wind up being considered spam. Internet users who see your advertisement in a couple of key locations will likely notice the advertisement and may be compelled to visit your website immediately or may keep your website in mind for future use. However, Internet users who see your advertisement everywhere they look are likely to view your advertisement as spam. This can be harmful because they are not likely to visit your website because they expect it to not be worthwhile.
In any Internet marketing campaign, it is important to carefully monitor the results of your marketing efforts and make changes to your campaign as necessary. This is important because you want to make sure your marketing efforts are paying off and the best way to do this is to evaluate the results of your advertising carefully. One way to do this is to place specially coding in each one of your advertisements so you will know which advertisements are generating business for you and which ones are not. You can use this information to decide whether you should modify the ineffective website or stop running these advertisements. If you decide to modify these ads, you will want to continue to monitor the results to determine whether or not the changes made the advertisements more effective.
Good luck and happy advertising!
About the Author
John Montana has been a successful salesman since 1990. He currently lives with his wife and travels between Chicago and Los Angeles. He created his site – ABMSNOW to offer tips and ideas on how to become better at selling… no matter what your product is.
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When evaluating an organization’s culture, it is important to understand that variations likely exist vertically among personnel levels and horizontally across divisions, departments, and workgroups. Consequently, it’s important to establish the degree of alignment between the various organizational levels and business units to the cultural characteristics being evaluated in order to fully understand the cultural adaptation and adherence within the organization.
Hi there! Gain access to this article with a StrategyDriven Insights Library – Total Access subscription or buy access to the article itself.
Subscribe to the StrategyDriven Insights Library
Sign-up now for your StrategyDriven Insights Library – Total Access subscription for as low as $15 / month (paid annually).
Nathan Ives is a StrategyDriven Principal and Host of the StrategyDriven Podcast. For over twenty years, he has served as trusted advisor to executives and managers at dozens of Fortune 500 and smaller companies in the areas of management effectiveness, organizational development, and process improvement. To read Nathan’s complete biography, click here.
I have written several books, on business, entertainment, history and pop culture. The Legends series is an amalgamation of all of them.
My four Legends books include “Pop Icons and Business Legends,” “The Classic Television Reference,” “Houston Legends” and “Non-Profit Legends.” This series will have three more to come.
Most people are more products of pop culture than they are of training. Business dilemmas, solutions and analyses are framed first in the field of reference (pop culture teachings of their youth) and then reframed in modern business context.
Working with companies, I have realized that presenting organizational strategies as an extension of previously-held pop-culture values gets more understanding, comprehension, attention and support.
Most leaders of today’s corporations grew up in the 1950s-1980s. I have conducted countless strategy meetings where leaders cannot articulate business philosophies, but they can accurately recite lyrics from “golden oldie” song hits, TV trivia and advertising jingles.
Being one of the rare senior business advisors who is equally versed in pop culture, I found that bridging known avenues with current realities resulted in fully articulated corporate visions. Many a Strategic Plan was written by piecing together song fragments, nostalgic remembrances and movie scenarios, then were aptly converted into contemporary corporate nomenclature.
When we recall the messages of the songs, movies and books of the 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, we realize that today’s adults were formerly taught in their youths to:
Think Big Picture.
Conceptualize your own personal goals.
Understand conflicting societal goals.
Fit your dreams into the necessities and realities of the real world.
Find your own niche, do your thing.
Do something well and commit to long-term excellence.
Seek truths in unusual and unexpected sources.
Share your knowledge, and learn further by virtue of mentoring others.
How individuals and organizations start out and what they become are different concepts. Mistakes, niche orientation and lack of planning lead businesses to failure. Processes, trends, fads, perceived stresses and “the system” force adults to make compromises in order to proceed. Often, a fresh look at their previous knowledge gives renewed insight to today’s problems, opportunities and solutions.
I developed the concept of integrating Pop Culture Wisdom with management training and business planning over the last 40 years. It all started by teaching The History of Rock & Roll Music when I was in graduate school back in 1971. Fancy the concept of analyzing a recent time frame (the 1950s and 1960s) as social studies.
From 1958-1982, I produced many entertainment documentaries for radio, comprising anthologies of pop music. I emceed concerts with stars like Elvis Presley, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Little Richard, Kenny Rogers, The Beach Boys, Roy Orbison, Simon & Garfunkel, Nelson Riddle, Dionne Warwick and Andre Previn. I have produced videos with stars from Audrey Hepburn to Vincent Price, plus television public service announcements. That was another lifetime ago.
For the longest time, I didn’t let my business clients know about my years as a radio DJ, status as a musicologist and experiences in pioneering radio’s “golden oldie show” formats. I didn’t think that it lent credibility to wise business insights. However, years of experiences with corporate leaders made me come full circle and start integrating pop culture lingo into the conversations, consultations and planning processes.
All business leaders agreed that no road map was laid out for them. Executives amassed knowledge “in the streets,” through non-traditional sources. Few lessons made sense at the time and, thus, did not sink in. When repackaged years later, executives vigorously enjoyed the rediscovery process. The previously overlooked became sage wisdom. Knowledge they were not ready to receive as youngsters before became crystal clear in later times.
Reasons for Caring, Giving and Serving Others
I got into volunteering and community service at an early age. I found it heartening to be a good citizen and that community stewardship made me a better professional.
I have worked with more than 1,500 non-profit, public sector, and non-governmental entities over many decades. I interfaced with many on behalf of corporate clients. I conducted independent performance reviews of many. I served on boards of directors, search committees, awards panels, review boards and task forces for many. I have spoken at conferences, strategic planning retreats, symposia, workshops and board meetings for hundreds.
Non-profit organizations are the backbone of modern society. Every individual and business should support one or many. All of us are recipients of their services, community goodwill and worthwhile objectives.
There has never been a full-scope book on non-profit service. There have been books on fundraising and some articles on volunteer management and the business aspects of running non-profit organizations.
My “Non-Profit Legends” book covers everything non-profit, including such topics that have never appeared in an internationally published edition, such as:
Public service announcements.
Categories of non-profit organizations (my own creation).
The history of volunteering and community service, spanning 300 years. This parallels a chapter in my previous book, “Pop Icons and Business Legends,” where I covered a 400-year history of business.
Strategic planning, how-to instructions.
Pop culture influences of non-profit icons, events and campaigns.
Communications programs for NPOs.
Quotes on community stewardship, leadership and related topics.
Understanding your true service.
Here is what I wish to inspire via this book:
Motivate NPOs to be unique, true to purpose and make differences.
Encourage dialog on a Big Picture approach to non-profits.
Inspire new dimensions to corporate philanthropy.
Amplify discussions on community standards and ethics.
Encourage greater collaboration and partnerships.
Inspire a non-profit awards recognition program.
Inspire more non-profit presence on the internet.
Inspire more young people into community service.
Enlighten international audiences on Western world philanthropy tenets.
Here are the “heart and soul“ reasons for being engaged in humanitarian service:
Being good citizens
Volunteering, as time permits and worthy causes appear
Helping others
Business supporting communities
Non-profit organizations operating more business-like
Finding one’s passion
Working together with others
Exemplifying ethical behavior
Potlache: feeling happy and rewarded when serving others is appreciated
Sharing talents and skills
Innovating programs, strategies and methodologies
Recognizing and celebrating service
Honoring our elders
Involving young people in the lifelong quest toward community service
Diversity of society is reflected in service
Building communities
Interfacing with others
Learning from history
Enlightening others
Inspiring the next generation
Creating new constituencies
Re-involving those who have given, volunteered and participated in the past
Understanding the relationship of causes to quality of life
It’s good for business
It’s the right thing to do
Community events are fun and entertaining
Knowledge is transferable from community service to family and business
Injects heart and soul into yourself and your stakeholders
Leaders exemplify legendary behavior
Serving the under-served
Predicting new community needs
Benefiting humanity
Fostering respect
Communicating and developing people skills
Being productive and fulfilled
Planning for future programs and community service
Accountability of non-profit organizations and their programs
Learning from failure and success
Putting ourselves in others’ shoes
Visioning the future of communities and the population
Feeding, clothing, sheltering, educating and inspiring the needy
Sharing the wealth
Advocating for others
Learning more about life
Understanding conditions and circumstances
Discovering new frontiers, with opportunities to master
Networking, beneficial for all concerned
Growing as human beings
Growing as a society
Having fun while serving
Humanity as the basis for global peace and understanding
About the Author
Power Stars to Light the Business Flame, by Hank Moore, encompasses a full-scope business perspective, invaluable for the corporate and small business markets. It is a compendium book, containing quotes and extrapolations into business culture, arranged in 76 business categories.
Hank’s latest book functions as a ‘PDR of business,’ a view of Big Picture strategies, methodologies and recommendations. This is a creative way of re-treading old knowledge to enable executives to master change rather than feel as they’re victims of it.
Power Stars to Light the Business Flame is now out in all three e-book formats: iTunes, Kindle, and Nook.
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In identifying organizationally shared values and beliefs, there are several common misperceptions that result in an invalid understanding of the actual corporate culture. These misinterpretations should be guarded against as cultural understanding serves as a foundation for many of management’s decisions.
Nathan Ives is a StrategyDriven Principal and Host of the StrategyDriven Podcast. For over twenty years, he has served as trusted advisor to executives and managers at dozens of Fortune 500 and smaller companies in the areas of management effectiveness, organizational development, and process improvement. To read Nathan’s complete biography, click here.
Shainaz Firfiray is an assistant professor in the Organisation and Human Resource Management Group at Warwick Business School. She received her PhD in management at IE Business School, Spain. Her research interests include work-life balance, social identity, and workplace diversity.
John Montana has been a successful salesman since 1990. He currently lives with his wife and travels between Chicago and Los Angeles. He created his site – 
When evaluating an organization’s culture, it is important to understand that variations likely exist vertically among personnel levels and horizontally across divisions, departments, and workgroups. Consequently, it’s important to establish the degree of alignment between the various organizational levels and business units to the cultural characteristics being evaluated in order to fully understand the cultural adaptation and adherence within the organization.
Power Stars to Light the Business Flame, by Hank Moore, encompasses a full-scope business perspective, invaluable for the corporate and small business markets. It is a compendium book, containing quotes and extrapolations into business culture, arranged in 76 business categories.
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