Finding a job with the right Corporate CultureWritten by Scott Brown
When people look for jobs, they are mostly focused on a fairly narrow set of criteria such as salary, job title, and commuting time. An important factor that most people don't give much thought to until after accepting a new position is corporate culture. While just about everyone who isn't happy with culture of company they work for complains about it after they're hired, very few people examine corporate culture before accepting a job.CAUSES OF CORPORATE CULTURE The main driver of a company's culture is its senior management team. These people set stated business objectives. They also set unstated guidelines by way in which they manage people. For example, Jack Welch set a culture of people focused on competition and selling more than competitors when he set a business objective that all GE companies had to be #1 in their markets. Sam Walton set a corporate culture of attention to detail by visiting individual Wal-Mart stores personally and inquiring about minute issues. COMPONENTS OF CORPORATE CULTURE Sense of Urgency - While just about all business managers will tell you their objectives are important, there is often a discrepency between what they say and decisions they make. By asking employees to work however many hours it takes to finish projects and demanding that deadlines be met, managers create a corporate culture where performance is highly valued. Many managers, on other hand, put a premium on employee comfort and low stress levels, and therefore do not demand that employees work harder or more hours to accomplish objectives. If you're a performance-minded person, there's a good chance you'll be unhappy in a comfort-minded company. People who are goal-oriented and who are looking to accomplish a lot in their careers, can feel stifled by a corporate culture that does not want to "overwork" its employees. Business Size - Business size has a major impact on job satisfaction. Working at a large company, you may feel distant from decision making and having an impact. However, large companies generally provide more opportunities for career advancement. Large companies can also provide more social interaction, opportunities for after-work activities, etc.
| | Becoming a Star Performer in your CareerWritten by Scott Brown
So what's difference between a star performer who can name his/her salary and get whatever job he wants, and someone who can't? Very successful people tend to put a lot of effort into improving themselves. Coach Dean Smith of University of North Carolina talks about how when he first noticed Michael Jordan, he didn't see NBA material. Jordan didn't even make his high school's varsity basketball team. However, UNC basketball clinic accepted Michael for a summer training program because he was quick on his feet and showed potential. Coach Smith talks about how his staff was amazed at amount of effort Michael put into practicing and learning skills that ultimately made him a great basketball player.Michael Jordan didn't stop learning how to be a great player in that high school clinic though. He kept on practicing and learning until he got into NBA. Then he kept at it more and more until it just became a way of life. He even was able to apply same skill of continual learning to become a good baseball and golf player. People like to talk about how Michael fell short of expectations in these other sports but reality is his being able to transition to those other sports was nothing short of amazing, even though he wasn't able to play at level of athletes who had been playing those other sports as long as he'd been playing basketball. If you want to make more money and to be able to command types of positions you really want, you need to adopt a Michael Jordan attitude. When continued learning and growth becomes a habit and it's integrated into your lifestyle, you'll find yourself moving into a whole new echelon of career success. Continued growth is key to being able to compete in today's era of globalization and high unemployment.
|
