I remember when I first learned about the idea of organizational culture.
It was in a Hospitality course in college.
My professor stressed this word, culture.
We spent an entire class period on it.
That semester, we took a trip to Chicago and toured the Ritz-Carlton.
Our guide kept using the word culture.
She emphasized that the culture of the Ritz-Carlton was important to the way they do business and how it's a key element to their success.
When we returned from the trip, during the first class period back, my professor called on me and asked me what I learned on our trip.
I shouted "Culture!" Oh the College Days Staying in my college years, I was part of a student organization called the Hospitality and Tourism Society.
I joined as a sophomore to expand my horizons and meet new people.
I met many fun people.
The meetings were especially fun and entertaining.
The meetings were loud and cheerful with laughter and joking.
The atmosphere was very much representative of the students' interest in hospitality.
Everyone was kind to one another.
It was a very loose culture.
Anyone could speak at any time; even the executive board was run loosely.
We always had pizza and pop and talked about semester trips, volunteer opportunities, and fundraising.
I remember looking forward to going to the meetings each week.
It was an exciting time.
The meetings had a loose agenda with no time allotment for the meeting; whenever we finished, we finished.
No one was in a hurry and no one was anxious to leave.
In spite of the loose atmosphere, we were able to have very productive meetings and finish everything on the agenda.
As the year wound down, it was time to elect a new e-board.
The President was not coming back to the club the next year, so we would have a new leader when the new academic year started.
This election saw two members of e-board return and four new members elected.
I was elected to the position of Financial Director for the club.
The new President and Vice President were the two returning members of e-board.
As the new leadership team, we would finish out the academic year as the new e-board for the final few meetings.
We had weekly e-board meetings the day before the club meetings to prepare.
Those first few meetings would show the new managements' style.
As is always the case with turnover, new people in creates change in terms of culture.
Our first few meetings set the tone for the following academic year in which we would lead the club.
We had some bumps during the first few meetings, but that was expected as we were mostly inexperienced leading a student organization.
Night and Day The difference in culture was apparent from day one.
You would have thought we somehow exchanged our hospitality majors for accounting majors! The new academic year brought new faces to the organization.
Out were the upperclassmen who served as leaders to the youngsters of the group.
It was like somebody had flipped a switch and turned our lively, energetic meetings into a sleepy, tired afternoon nap.
We could have held our meetings in the library and not had anyone "shush" us.
As the year progressed the meetings improved slightly but the new culture was too difficult to change because it had become the status quo.
I believe the reason for the huge culture shift was due to a few reasons.
First, the new faces in the club were not aware of the club's prior culture, so they thought what they were experiencing during their first few meetings was how the club actually was.
They did not know the graduated seniors and fifth-year seniors that were apart of the club the previous year.
They weren't part of the fun, loose atmosphere of the previous year.
Second, the previous e-board consisted of excellent leadership.
The previous e-board brought the energy, enthusiasm, and fun to each and every meeting.
The President was fun and it was reflected by the members.
She was excellent at making everyone feel comfortable and putting everyone in a good mood with her jokes and laughter.
It really was contagious.
As a new e-board, we did not portray the same feelings and it was reflected back to us with quieter, more serious meetings.
Looking back, it's a shame and a disappointment that we were unable to do the same the next year.
Finally, we as an e-board did not have the experience necessary to lead the organization.
Perhaps the members saw it.
I'm sure those members that were part of the club for both years noticed the change.
It was our responsibility to change the culture if we didn't like it or didn't think it was holding the club back, after all it was supposed to be fun.
An organization's culture needs to be aligned with the organizations goals and overall mission.
The culture of an organization really does start at the top.
Leaders must portray and become what they want to see from their organization.
If the leader is serious and stern, others will reflect that attitude back.
If the leader is energetic and has an outgoing personality, it can be seen throughout the organization in the way people behave.
It's a top-down effect.
What attitudes are reflected in your organizations culture? Does it reflect leadership's vision, goals, or values? If the culture doesn't seem to fit, learn from my mistake: change it!
It was in a Hospitality course in college.
My professor stressed this word, culture.
We spent an entire class period on it.
That semester, we took a trip to Chicago and toured the Ritz-Carlton.
Our guide kept using the word culture.
She emphasized that the culture of the Ritz-Carlton was important to the way they do business and how it's a key element to their success.
When we returned from the trip, during the first class period back, my professor called on me and asked me what I learned on our trip.
I shouted "Culture!" Oh the College Days Staying in my college years, I was part of a student organization called the Hospitality and Tourism Society.
I joined as a sophomore to expand my horizons and meet new people.
I met many fun people.
The meetings were especially fun and entertaining.
The meetings were loud and cheerful with laughter and joking.
The atmosphere was very much representative of the students' interest in hospitality.
Everyone was kind to one another.
It was a very loose culture.
Anyone could speak at any time; even the executive board was run loosely.
We always had pizza and pop and talked about semester trips, volunteer opportunities, and fundraising.
I remember looking forward to going to the meetings each week.
It was an exciting time.
The meetings had a loose agenda with no time allotment for the meeting; whenever we finished, we finished.
No one was in a hurry and no one was anxious to leave.
In spite of the loose atmosphere, we were able to have very productive meetings and finish everything on the agenda.
As the year wound down, it was time to elect a new e-board.
The President was not coming back to the club the next year, so we would have a new leader when the new academic year started.
This election saw two members of e-board return and four new members elected.
I was elected to the position of Financial Director for the club.
The new President and Vice President were the two returning members of e-board.
As the new leadership team, we would finish out the academic year as the new e-board for the final few meetings.
We had weekly e-board meetings the day before the club meetings to prepare.
Those first few meetings would show the new managements' style.
As is always the case with turnover, new people in creates change in terms of culture.
Our first few meetings set the tone for the following academic year in which we would lead the club.
We had some bumps during the first few meetings, but that was expected as we were mostly inexperienced leading a student organization.
Night and Day The difference in culture was apparent from day one.
You would have thought we somehow exchanged our hospitality majors for accounting majors! The new academic year brought new faces to the organization.
Out were the upperclassmen who served as leaders to the youngsters of the group.
It was like somebody had flipped a switch and turned our lively, energetic meetings into a sleepy, tired afternoon nap.
We could have held our meetings in the library and not had anyone "shush" us.
As the year progressed the meetings improved slightly but the new culture was too difficult to change because it had become the status quo.
I believe the reason for the huge culture shift was due to a few reasons.
First, the new faces in the club were not aware of the club's prior culture, so they thought what they were experiencing during their first few meetings was how the club actually was.
They did not know the graduated seniors and fifth-year seniors that were apart of the club the previous year.
They weren't part of the fun, loose atmosphere of the previous year.
Second, the previous e-board consisted of excellent leadership.
The previous e-board brought the energy, enthusiasm, and fun to each and every meeting.
The President was fun and it was reflected by the members.
She was excellent at making everyone feel comfortable and putting everyone in a good mood with her jokes and laughter.
It really was contagious.
As a new e-board, we did not portray the same feelings and it was reflected back to us with quieter, more serious meetings.
Looking back, it's a shame and a disappointment that we were unable to do the same the next year.
Finally, we as an e-board did not have the experience necessary to lead the organization.
Perhaps the members saw it.
I'm sure those members that were part of the club for both years noticed the change.
It was our responsibility to change the culture if we didn't like it or didn't think it was holding the club back, after all it was supposed to be fun.
An organization's culture needs to be aligned with the organizations goals and overall mission.
The culture of an organization really does start at the top.
Leaders must portray and become what they want to see from their organization.
If the leader is serious and stern, others will reflect that attitude back.
If the leader is energetic and has an outgoing personality, it can be seen throughout the organization in the way people behave.
It's a top-down effect.
What attitudes are reflected in your organizations culture? Does it reflect leadership's vision, goals, or values? If the culture doesn't seem to fit, learn from my mistake: change it!
SHARE
