Michael Bonsignore, CEO of Honeywell,
states that Honeywell will not be an extension of the old Honeywell or Allied
Signal. He is creating a new culture that blends the best of the merged
companies of Honeywell and Allied Signal. He says that Honeywell will
compensate and reward people that look for best practices from both companies
in creating a new corporate culture and punish those who do not. Do you predict
Honeywell will be successful?
In
my opinion, it seems a little harsh to hear the CEO express this way. It’s
basically saying either get with the new program quickly or you are fired. In a
way, I think this strategy might work for the success of the company but in the
other aspect, I think it really depends on how the CEO truly goes about making
these changes. If he is indeed very serious about letting go of employees who
do not follow his rules, chances are that employees who want/need to keep their
jobs for personal reasons may begin to come up with short term or faulty ideas
just to keep management happy. In another form, this type of pressure may
actually help some employees channel their inner creativity to begin looking
for new effective and efficient practices. From the organizational perspective,
it seems like a great decision but from the human resource part of it, it seems
rather harsh and selfish to let go of employees who have dedicated their time
and years with the company.
At
the same time, it is very important for the company to create a new corporate
culture, specifically one that will nurture the success of the company.
Sometimes employees get too caught up on the old habits and practices that
instead of working together they continue to work as if it was two different
companies. In my opinion, this type of work environment ruins the culture of
the company and it will eventually destroy the company from the inside out.
Therefore, letting go of employees who do not follow these new rules of
creating a new corporate culture, one that reflects the future success of the
company, means there’s more room for new employees to join the Honeywell family
and who are looking forward to work with others under one roof. New employees
have an easier time adhering to the new rules, practices, and corporate
culture, as they may not be familiar with the old habits or rules of the
separate companies. Some employees may even help management create new
practices that will help manage the departments or the entire organization much
easier. Overall I think creating this expectation for employees that they must
adhere to the new corporate culture will help the organization succeed in the
future. So, yes this does predict that Honeywell will continue to be successful.
What barriers do you see based on what
you observed in the video?
If
I understand this question correctly, one of the barriers I foresee with
creating an entire new corporate culture is for the employees who were there
for the old culture to begin implementing parts of the old culture into the new
culture. This may eventually cause some problems between employees, and even
create a corporate clash. It may even slow down the progress the company has
made so far. Another barrier I have observed is that the CEO of Honeywell does
not go into detail about how he plans on creating this new culture. So if no
clear leadership is established for this new culture then how are employees
expected to create a new culture, to know what the new goals and vision is? In
addition to these questions, is the CEO “walking the talk”? Is the CEO actually
providing examples or following his new rules or practices of the new corporate
culture? From this video it seems to me that the CEO wants to change the
culture but he continues to think the same as the old culture and have the same
old habits. So, how is an organization supposed to create a new culture with an
unclear vision, goals and with a CEO who isn’t actually doing the same thing he
wants the employees to do? Lastly, there doesn’t seem to be a set strategy on
how the CEO plans on creating a new corporate culture. Therefore, would the
strategy actually have an integrated approach to change (structural,
technological, and behavioral strategy)? Would there be a stream analysis made?
What type of OD intervention should be used?
What critical success factors should
Honeywell consider as it crafts its organizational strategies around a new
culture?
A
few of the most critical success factors that Honeywell should consider as it
crafts its organizational strategies is implementing an integrated approach to change,
considering the second-order consequences of the decisions that will be made,
creating a stream analysis in order to have a clear understanding of how one
decision may affect the entire change program and so on. Also, selecting an OD
intervention may also help improve the health of the client system. Creating
programs and activities will help determine which change strategy is needed.
This will help the organization understand which aspect of the organization
needs to change in order to successfully implement the changed requested.
What can you take away from this exercise to immediately use
in your career?
In my opinion, I think the most
important part of this exercise is for me to “walk the talk”. If I say I want
things to change, then I must be the first one to show others that I am truly
committed to what I have said. There are times where we all get side tracked by
other projects and at the end we wonder what did ever happened to what I sought
out to do? Another point I immediately take from this exercise is the need to
have a clear plan, goal, and vision. If I just want to change something in my
life, I can’t just sit around and say “I want to change this” or put someone
else on the task and say, “Hey, you need to change this for me”. I need to be
the one to start the change with a clear plan, vision, and goal. I also have to
be committed to the change. I can’t say I want something changed and continue
to act the same old way. New effective and efficient habits must be created but
still be opened to new things.
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