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84 SMT Magazine • February 2014 be diverse and sometimes conflicting cultures that co-exist due to different characteristics of the management team. Organizational culture may also have negative and positive as- pects. Managing culture and minimizing conflicting cul- ture dynamics becomes im- portant for an organization to reap the positive benefits. Since organizational culture affects the way people inter- act with each other and with customers, new employees are taught collective behav- iors and assumptions. Culture Strength Strong culture is said to ex- ist where employees respond to situations based on their alignment to organizational values. Strong cultures help companies to engage, execute and exist like well-oiled machines. In manufacturing, where low profit margins are standard, this can make the difference between survival and extinction. Conversely, weak culture is where there is little alignment with organizational values, and control must be exercised through extensive procedures and heavy-handed management and bureaucracy. Organizations that foster strong cultures have clear values that give employees a rea- son to embrace the culture. Strong culture is especially beneficial to complex service-based companies like contract manufacturers, since employees create the customer experience with their moment-by-moment decisions and ac- tions. And these actions directly determine the decisions customers make about the company. Organizations may derive the following benefits from developing strong and productive cultures: • High employee motivation and loyalty • Alignment toward achieving vision, mission, values, and goals • Team cohesiveness among departments • Consistency, coordination and control • Efficiency-minded employees Where culture is strong, people do things because they believe it is the right thing to do. Cohesiveness encourages and strengthens the group dynamic, whereby teams think consistently and any rogue activ- ities are handled or eliminated by the team themselves rather than bureaucratic practices. Knowing these benefits, who would say no to the de- sire for a strong culture? But where do you start? Start by assessing your current cul- ture against specific culture models. Culture Model There are many models used to assess corporate cul- ture. These models attempt to measure how culture affects organized performance and based on employee measure- ment, the organization can be deemed cultur- ally strong or culturally weak. Employee values are measured against organizational values to predict employee intentions and predict turn- over. One example of a model for assessment that can be used to evaluate current and future cul- ture strength is Daniel Denison's model. This model asserts that organizational culture can be described by four general elements and each is further described by three sub-elements: 1. Mission a. Strategic direction and intent b. Goals and objectives c. Vision 2. Adaptability a. Creating change b. Customer focus c. Organizational learning 3. Involvement a. Empowerment b. Team orientation c. Capability development 4. Consistency a. Core values b. Agreement c. Coordination/integration EVolUTIoNArY SolUTIoNS We are IN THIS TOGeTHer! continues Strong culture is especially beneficial to complex service-based companies like contract manufacturers, since employees create the customer experience with their moment-by-moment decisions and actions. " "