Administered a Culture Survey (E.G., the Oci)

¶ … administered a culture survey (e.g., the OCI) to all store employees (a.k.a. "crew members") and management, do you think espoused culture as described by management would match the culture expressed by the employees? Why or why not?

I think it likely that the espoused culture as described by the management of Trader Joe would match that expressed by the employees as a whole since, as the article indicates, employees receive intensive training during which they are likely imbued with culture expectations on n overt and covert level. More so, Trader Joe has its culture explicitly delineated and customer service is emphasized. The employee of Trade Joe who wishes to retain his or her position - and who does not given the attractive compensation, the difficulty in retain a job today, the opportunities 'at the end of the tunnel' and Trader Joe's fun and positive working environment -- would seek to produce his or her best, collaborate with the 'team' and epitomize the Trader Joe culture.

Trader Joe's culture also reminds me of that of Zappos and this parallel is informative in answering both questions in this essay.

Zappos provides a leadership that is not managerial (namely, 'bossy' as described in comparison to corporations in the article) but rather consists of providing purpose, meaning and team spirit towards one's employees. Zappos attempts to motivate and please their employee realizing that their laborers are their most valuable resource. Trader Joe does the same. Zappos too provides detailed training and exact directions of its employees by coining its 10 values outlining expectations for its employees: Trader Joe does this too (although not to the same extent as Zappos does). Zappos focuses on happiness (using positive psycholgoy0 as atmosphere of its workplace. Employees love to work there (with 93% selecting to forego the $3,000 incentive to drop out after having received training). The fun atmosphere and dignity accorded employees is well-known and attractive. Trade Joe has that same reputation. Both Trader Joe and Zappos too have an understanding of cultural issues that includes the facts that people value independence; how the culture relates to power issues; how the culture views gender; and other issues relevant to the specific culture. Both companies also experience minimal overhead. This alone indicates the fact that employees would agree with managers in depiction of their culture. Trader Joes, through its Leadership Development Program, emphasize employee autonomy and encourages employees to make their own decisions. It accords employees independence within reason. Given that they fuse this with a fun environment, there is no reason to expect that the espoused culture as described by the management would not match the culture expressed by the employees.

2. How and when do cultures typically change and adapt? Do you think it would be difficult to change the corporate culture at Trader Joes? Can you envision any reason why the company might need to in the future? Explain.

As long as the company exists under leaders that continue with the same unique and attractive cultural distinctions with little unchanged, and that only adapted to the positive, little differnce should be noted in the company's culture. Respect for different cultures infuses their store. Hsie, CEO of Zappos, opines that "if we get the culture right, then everything else, including the customer service, will fall into place." (Twitchell, 2009) and, indeed, Zappos has managed to maintain their culture despite ownership change. It is the leader who makes the fundamental differnce as noted with Zappos' Hsei and with Virgin's Branson. Substitute either with a different manager who decides to drastically alter rules or who lacks some of the leadership characteristics of either individuals, and it is then that the culture may fail o change and adapt. Leadership and management is not the same thing. Management is focused on controlling the structure and the resources of the company. The leader, on the other hand, is focused on the employee: on guiding, supporting, motivating the employee through the day-by-day hassles of the company.