Culture

I wanted to make my last post reflect what we have recently seen in Chapter 15. Our notes say that Microsoft has been described as having an aggressive culture. From everything I have read and studied about Microsoft this semester, I see them as a people-oriented culture. They very much focus on making their employees happy. Flexible hours and being able to work outside of the office please many workers by giving them a great balance between their job and their family life. They also offer many facilities within their offices like a place to workout, a  place to play games, or a place to get any office supply you could possibly want! Diversity is another value Microsoft focuses on. Diversity encourages employees to be more creative and get along with different types of people that they may not have previously been used to.
When Microsoft produces employees that are happy at work, they are more likely to produce employees that are happy TO work. These employees are enthusiastic about coming in ever day and doing what needs to be done in order to make Microsoft the best it can be. The more they build up the company, the better their job will be. This also makes Microsoft extremely stable. As long as things keep moving forward, Microsoft will be here for years and years to come.
Alivia Lindbeck

After reading Chapter 15, I thought more about Microsoft's culture and how it affects their motivational techniques. Chapter 15 classifies Microsoft as an aggressive culture that values competitiveness and outperforming others. While this is true, after learning more about Microsoft, after reading the section about "innovative cultures" I found this to be more accurate.

Innovative cultures are flexible, adaptable, and experiment with new ideas. This is exactly how Microsoft operates. They treat their employees with respect and make sure they have the flexibility to obtain all of their goals. Telecommuting is one way I believe they foster an innovative culture. They give their employees the freedom to work on their own time as long as they are still productive and keep innovating. This innovation leads their employees to be aggressive because they are employees because of their drive and desire to accomplish new things.

Overall, Microsoft has a great mix of the Innovative and Aggressive organizational cultures. They have the aggressiveness to pursue high goals and are incorporating more and more corporate social responsibility to manage their image at the same time. Microsoft should work on their public relations more, with their sometimes extreme aggression, yet highlight their innovative/flexible culture to the public as much as they can.

-Team 4
Kelsey Van Gieson

         Creating a positive environment is the first step to developing loyal and motivated employees. Microsoft creates this environment by developing great practices of diversity. Our textbook points out the positive aspects of diversity including: higher creativity in decision making, better understanding and service to customers, a more satisfied workforce, higher stock prices, lower litigation expenses, and higher company performance.


           Microsoft lists on their website their diversity and inclusion statement which says "To be led by a globally diverse workforce that consistently delivers outstanding business results, understands the various cultural demands of a global marketplace, is passionate about technology and the promise it holds to tap human potential, and thrives in a corporate culture where inclusive behaviors are valued". It is obvious that they understand diversity and how it contributes to their environment as well as their bottom line.


           Microsoft does not just have a statement about diversity, but they also practice it. They have relationships with many different organizations that foster diversity, such as American Association of People with Disabilities and the Society of Women Engineers.  They spend money on organizations that are diverse as well, their spending on women and minority owned businesses has increased by more than 250% over the last few years.


           Cultural intelligence, or "a person's capability to understand how a person's cultural background influences one's behavior" is a huge part of how diversity affects an organization. Microsoft, since it is a larger company, has the resources to truly understand different cultures and how they work. Their diversity training can show managers how different cultures tend to act and this will help them nurture these relationships.


           Microsoft's inclusion statement goes hand in hand with our textbook's positive aspects of diversity, showing that not only is it important fundamentally, but it is instrumental to a business' 
growth. 


-Kelsey Van Gieson
Team 4

Motivational Techniques used by Fortune 500 Companies

Hey!

I thought I would mix it up a bit for this post, and instead of focusing on Microsoft, I thought I would share an article I came across regarding motivational stategies used by Fortune 500 companies:

Fortune 500 companies often promote a healthy work/life balance to motivate employees. Companies may offer employees more personal days, unlimited sick days or additional vacation time to ensure a strong balance between their personal life and work time. This technique can be used to create a positive overall environment in the workplace.  Additionally, many Fortune 500 companies provide educational reimbursement packages to employees. This may allow employees to finish earning a college degree or obtain a new degree to advance their career. By using a competitive reimbursement package to advance their educational background, employees improve their understanding of the business environment. 

Furthermore, companies may offer a variety of incentives to motivate employees. While common incentives may include performance-based bonuses or compensation increases, other incentives may be less traditional. Non-traditional incentives may include telecommuting, a compressed workweek, on-site gym or gym discounts, and on-site childcare or childcare reimbursement. Aflac, Monsanto, Microsoft, Whole Foods, Mattel, Marriott International and Qualcomm are just a few of the Fortune 500 companies that offer these types of incentives to their employees.

By doing all of this, not only does it create a less-stressful work environment, it creates a more productive work enironment as well.  I also wanted to share it because it showed that across the board companies are behaving similar to Microsoft; which is beneficial to all stakeholders of these companies.

Check it out!

http://thinkup.waldenu.edu/management/hr-management/item/11953-motivation-techniques-used-by-fortune-500-companies

Thanks for looking!

Katelyn Fisher
Team 4

From the Outside

Hey there! It's Alivia from Team 4. I recently looked directly into what Microsoft is putting out for their customers to see about what they find important in their company. Their website states that being the world's largest software company, they help in making 'social and economic opportunities wherever (they) work, live, and do business.' The company strives to make their new technology, their workers, their partnerships and their day-to-day business have a genuine contribution to the betterment of communities and sustainability of the planet.
In order to create such a successful, innovative company, Microsoft needs to make sure that their employees are motivated and willing to work and hard in order to achieve that!
Microsoft finds it important to 'create a respectful and rewarding work environment' for their nearly 90,000 employees. Having a diverse and talented set of employees really puts things in motion for a great workforce. Microsoft finds this important in order to fuel creativity- leaving their employees feeling included, accepted, and also as a productive part of a team.
Microsoft knows that their employees are of the utmost importance, because of course, they fuel everything behind the company. Keeping them satisfied is a top priority. Every year, employees are encouraged to fill out a survey so that Microsoft can gage the satisfaction that employees feel within their job and the company.
In 2010, Microsoft found: 89% of employees feel proud to work for Microsoft, 91% feel they are treated with dignity and respect by their managers, and 83% feel that their work groups value diverse perspectives.
All in all, Microsoft knows that the key to a great company is great employees with a positive feeling towards their job.

Alivia Lindbeck

http://www.microsoft.com/About/CorporateCitizenship/en-us/
http://www.microsoft.com/about/corporatecitizenship/en-us/reporting/operating-responsibly/our-people/

An interview with a current Microsoft employee

Hey guys check this out!

http://professionaldevelopment.sqlpass.org/Blog/entryid/177/An-Interview-with-Microsoft-Employee-Cindy-Gross.aspx

This is an article written about an interview held with Cindy Gross, a current Microsoft Employee.  She is a DSE (Dedicated Support Engineer). The main point of the article is to promote Information Systems and computer programs, but I got a lot out the article than just that.  Cindy is so happy in her career and she has a great company like Microsoft to encourage her and help her along the way.

Microsoft facilitated Cindy's passion for working on computers, and allowed her to grow and prosper through the company.  She also talks about how she enjoys a conference that Microsoft sends her on once a year to meet with fellow "geeks."  She says she has made many friends and colleagues that also attend the event each year. 

This is just yet another example of how Microsoft encourages success and happiness within the company, and shows that is has such a positive Organizational Behavior!

Thanks for looking!

Katelyn Fisher

Team 4

Microsoft listed a top employer

"With its developers earning on average $106,000 a year, Microsoft pays well, according to Fortune, but also dangles some healthy perks. The company provides 100 percent health care coverage, an on-site gym, and subsidized gym membership. Telecommuting and the option to compress your work week also are available. Job growth for this year is pegged at 2 percent."

This is a quote from CNET, a Business Tech website, that was talking about how Microsoft earned its spot as 51st best company to work for. 51 doesn't seem like a high number, but compared to every company out there, 51st is amazing. Microsoft uses their treatment of employees to motivate them and inspire them to enhance the company day after day.


Our textbook often talks about how autonomy is a way to motivate employees and telecommuting is a way to avoid this problem. Microsoft gives their employees this flexibility in order to get them to be as productive as possible during their work day. Organizational climate is another way to produce autonomy for employees, so by having such a great healthcare, gym, and work day options, they are creative a great organizational climate.


The book showed us Zappos, and how their culture is influenced by treating employees well. Zappos has treated their employees well, by providing health care and flexibility similar to Microsoft's and have increased their customer satisfaction greatly. The CEO, Tony Hsieh, believes caring is what motivates employees to do well, and I think Microsoft is putting this same idea into action.


-Team 4
Kelsey Van Gieson

When doing the job and going home won't cut it.

           Microsoft's website has resources for businesses. In the section for management questions, someone asked how to motivate their employees to expand their ideas? His personal company has employees that work hard while at work, but go home and don't do anything related. He wants his employees to benefit and contribute to the expansion, but they don't seem to care. Microsoft has advice for this problem.
           Microsoft's response was that he should offer training, "go fish" create recognition, create policies, and listen and act. Offering training to a business is a mutually beneficial way to motivate employees. It shows them that you care and that you are willing to develop resources for them, and it also gets you ahead by expanding your employees horizons. When they mentioned "go fish", they meant letting employees explore their talents and express their happiness/emotions. This can benefit the company's culture a lot and definitely seems like it would help employees desire their work more. "Positive recognition is one of the mightiest of motivating factors at work", states the article (link below). Just by a manager giving you recognition for the good you do at work, you can increase motivation among employees substantially. Flex time and commuting are ways to create policies that enhance motivation and listening and acting means to just appreciate the knowledge people share and act upon it. I know this motivates me in my own job when my manager hears my feedback and does something about it.
          The most important part of the article, in my opinion, is that creativity goes a long way. Money is not going to do everything when motivating employees, you have to dig deep and find out what your employees really want.
          I believe goal commitment, the degree to which a person is dedicated to or committed to a goal, as defined in the text book, is the individual asking the question's problem. He needs to work on people being committed to their work, instead of only wanting to work the bare minimum. Microsoft had some great advice for him, and I believe if they use it, they will have better luck motivating their employees.


http://www.microsoft.com/business/en-us/resources/management/employee-relations/How-can-I-better-motivate-employees.aspx?fbid=BO0KPoaegcb#HowcanIbettermotivateemployees
        


-Team 4
Kelsey Van Gieson

Motivation Makes the World Go 'round

Most people won't do anything if there's no positive result in the end. Usually people think about how important their input is related to the amount of output they receive (amount of work to amount of praise/pay, amount of exercise  to the amount of calories burned, time put into homework compared to the grade recieved, etc).
The following table is something Microsoft uses when looking at how their employees are motivated and their level  of proficiency.

Level 1: Basic	Level 2: Intermediate	Level 3: Advanced	Level 4: Expert
Maintains a climate in which people want to do their best	Creates and maintains a climate in which people want to do their best	Empowers others and energizes them to do and to be their best	Inspires and motivates whole organizations with ample positive energy
Is aware of each person’s strengths, but does not consistently use this knowledge to motivate his or her actions	Assesses each person’s strengths, and uses them to get the best out of him or her	Looks for positive attributes, and concretely reinforces them, promoting confidence and optimistic attitudes	Recognizes each person’s strengths, development needs, and professional goals, and inspires them to succeed
Makes individuals feel his or her work is important; is someone people like working for and with	Invites input from each person, and shares ownership and visibility	Designs and provides incentives to encourage widespread participation and regularly incorporates stress-busters to minimize pressure points	Appropriately rewards and acclaims individuals, groups, and organizations for stellar achievements
Able to motivate a limited range of individuals within the organization	Able to motivate a wide range of individuals, including direct reports, team members, and project members	Successfully motivates people and organizational units	Successfully motivates the entire organization

In today's business programs in college across the United States, students are learning the importance of teams. We hear it over and over again, the importance of teams and leadership within  business in almost any position or situation. Microsoft heads do a great job of motivating their employers, but something you may not consider is the motivation between employees and their peers.
Microsoft believes in such a thing as over motivating. Employees should be encouraged by motivation and incentives, but a person would also want their employees to have their own intrinsic motivation that makes them want to do well for themselves and the company without a physical reward or getting praised. Also, putting a large emphasis on individual motivation can get in the way of group success at times. For this reason,  when hiring employees, Microsoft looks into not only how the person is motivated, but how they motivate others. Some questions and interviewer may ask are things like, "Describe a time you tried motivating someone and it didn't work. How did you fix this?" Motivation is important in a company from the top to the very bottom and at every stop along the way.

Motivational Strategies of Microsoft

Hey followers!

I just found an article about employee empowerment at Microsoft, and wanted to share it with you:

http://www.oppapers.com/essays/Motivational-Strategies-Microsoft/163367?topic

This article talks all about how much Microsoft Corporation need its employees, and what they do to empower and motivate them.  Microsoft is a company well known for its innovation in software and technology. But what most people don't know is that Microsoft is also a company that has remarkable employee empowerment. It also says that Microsoft realizes that without its employees they are nothing and that to keep these employees within the company, executives are thinking up new ideas to have the employees be valued.  Microsoft values their employees so much that they trust the recruitment of new employees to current employees. That is empowerment at its finest if I do say so myself. Letting employees know that the top management at Microsoft trust their employees to bring the best of the best to the company and shape the future of the company is a big responsibility and Microsoft does this without another thought. 

Microsoft is a company with a lot of trust they put into their employees to make them feel needed, and it's really simple.  A simple idea that creates one of the top companies in the world the best place to work for.  This whole article is eye-opening and shows how easy making employees feel empowered is, and that the little things make a huge difference here.  This makes Microsoft a precedent and a leader in the industry, and shows companies around the world what needs to be done to make a great company.  Sure, there are a lot of profitable companies that have great products, but Microsoft has it all; great products, very profitable, and happy employees.  More companies need to take this more seriously. 

I definitely want to work for a company like this! It would make me feel important and happy to go to work everyday!

I hope you found this article intresting.  Have a great day!

Katelyn Fisher

Employee Motivation and Retention Strategies at Microsoft Corporation

I read a case online recently about Microsoft's motivational theories within the last 20 years.  Although Microsoft is a great place to be employed now, it wasn't always the best.  Microsoft faced lawsuits and unhappy employees due to the company's size growing rapidly.  Cuts were made in order to recover profits and the employees lost many benefits.  However, a new Senior VP of HR was appointed in 2006 and she changed the way HR and the employees communicated.

She revamped the entire system with new benefits and new workplaces to motivate and retain employees.  Her new system, myMicrosoft, helped employees correspond to other departments, mainly HR.

Although Microsoft may have moved from a great work place, to a poor work place, and back to an employee friendly environment, this shows that the company is willing to work through problems and that employee happiness is a high priority.  Microsoft obviously believes that employees that are treated well, work better which helps the company.

I think this shows that Microsoft is truly a great place to work, seeing as though they put their employees happiness so high on their list.  What do you think?

Monica Brown

http://www.icmrindia.org/casestudies/catalogue/Human%20Resource%20and%20Organization%20Behavior/HROB129.htm

Motivation within Microsoft

I recently read an article by Stephen McConnell, a former Software Practitioner at Microsoft. He describes how it has been found that motivation is the single most important contributor to productivity. Microsoft takes this very seriously. The company finds it very important to motivate their employees in a positive environment in order to be an efficient company. McConnell goes on to describe work days of 12, 14, even 16 hours. Hearing this most people would cringe at the thought, but at Microsoft, their motivated employees are more than willing to put in extra hours in order to achieve a goal. Happiness within the company leads to more productive workers that want to see their company do well and want to be an integral part of that success.
A big part of Microsoft's motivational tactics is morale. Each group at Microsoft has a morale budget and are allowed to use it on anything- food, games, trips, or anything. The idea is that if employees are given things that make them happy, they are in an environment that are glad to work in; they don't need a higher salary or bigger office. Even small rewards like t-shirts boost the morale of employers.
Microsoft knows that a happy worker is often a hard worker and they are doing everything they can to keep that true!
Do you think they are things Microsoft is missing?

Thanks for reading!

Alivia Lindbeck


http://www.stevemcconnell.com/articles/art05.htm 

Microsoft's Perks for Employees

Hey it's Katelyn from Team 4.  I wanted to share this with you guys! I saw this video on You Tube that showed all the perks that goes on at Microsoft for its employees.

I think that it fully represents how happy employees of Microsoft are, and how free and creative they feel.  I think that Microsoft does a great job of making their employees happy to create a calm, and happy work environment.  This video definitely makes me want to work for Microsoft! The guy in the video seemed very happy, and although it didn't show him working much, and just showed all the perks they have to offer. We all know that Microsoft is a very successful company and with all the perks they have, they must be doing something right. 

It is important for companies (now more than ever) to please their employees in order to make for a stress-free work environment and allow their creative juices to flow.  This is beneficial for all stakeholders, as it allows for the company to be its best: financially, socially, and environmentally.  For Microsoft Leaders, they are doing an exceptional job of making the Microsoft Organization a happy and healthy place to work.

Well, fellow followers, that is all for now.  I hope this posting makes you realize what great things are happening at Microsoft!

-Katelyn Fisher

The Secret to Successful Motivation at Microsoft

        I recently read an article in Bloomberg Business Week about Microsoft and how well they motivate their employees. It is based on excerpts of the book "The 12 Simple Secrets of Microsoft Management" by Dave Thielen. Their main secret to success is simple, yet not commonly practiced. They rely on employees to self motivate, by constantly creating new ideas and never being punished for a bad idea. You can imagine what this would be like on a day to day basis. You have a department and within that area, you independently work on projects that interest you. That it in itself is pure motivation in my mind. Most of your work might never get published or even seen by someone in management, but when it does you have the entitlement of contributing to an extremely successful company.

       

        The excerpt, written by a previous Microsoft employee mentions that at Microsoft, there are no excuses. This seems like a harsh way of life, but at their company, it is really a positive. You are only measured by success. It doesn't matter what you did all day or what happens in your life that may have affected your work. If you develop something successful, you will be given the credit due. There isn't someone over your cubicle asking you why you didn't think of a great idea that day. People that work at Microsoft are intelligent and creative, they don't need someone to check up on them because they love what they do.

        Everyone has their own way to work and be motivated, personally I would love this environment and think Microsoft does a great job of managing their employees!

-Kelsey Van Gieson

GROUP 4

Link to article: http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/news/coladvice/book/bk990611.htm

Welcome to our blog, It's Always Sunny in Organizational Leadership!


Our blog will detail the importance of positive organizational scholarship. We will give you the recent information on what IS working in organizations. We will give examples of companies that know how to get their employees to perform well. Our goal is that when you leave you will be optimistic about organizations and how employees behave within them. We will look at issues that come up and how different organizations cope with these issues and make them work. You will be able to come to our blog to find out what organizations do to get their employees to perform to their full potential.  Let us know if there are any organizations that you already know of that promote great organizational behavior!

Enjoy!
Team Four:
Kelsey Van Gieson
Alivia Lindbeck
Katelyn Fisher
Monica Brown