Hilton’s Transformation
Q1. Contrast Hilton’s earlier corporate culture with the emerging set of cultural values.
1. Earlier Corporate Culture
▪ Inward Focused
▪ Employees treated as family
▪ Autonomy
▪ Job security
▪ Entitlement/Comfort
▪ Few Cost Controls
▪ “Outside” or “Hard” municipal service focus – road building, utility construction and maintenance, fire and police protection, recreational facilities, and land use control
▪ Expansion
▪ “Inside Workers” (taxation, community service, ect) given less priority
▪ Inside Hires
1. Emerging Corporate Culture
▪ Outward Focused
▪ Customer/Citizen friendly for citizens/business owners
▪ “Soft” municipal service focus – libraries, social activities, community services
▪ Save money
▪ Employees treated as employees
▪ Hire the best people for the job regardless of background or whether they are in the company or not
Q2. Considering the difficulty in changing organizational culture, why does Hilton’s management seem to be successful at this transformation?
By replacing the top management with people whose backgrounds are congruent with the new corporate culture they are practicing “drastic unlearning” a form of cultural change known as coercion (OB page 362). By cutting out the driving force behind the old values the management team has new room to expand and change the old culture to fit their desired outcome. In essence the managers are practicing “deculturation” (OB pg 347) often seen in mergers to change the culture of a company that has been acquired. The company’s new view is focused on creating an “Adaptive culture” (OB pg 340) where their focus is on the people of the city. This “citizens needs first” approach is one that will help the company continue to build and grow because it is the citizens opinions and needs that will direct their change.
Other Possible Topics To Cover:
Attracting, Selecting and Socializing employees (ASA Theory pg 343)
Social Identity Theory (pg 35)
Why employees resist change (page 356) – direct costs, fear of the unknown, and breaking routines.
Q3. Identify two other strategies that the city might consider to reinforce the new set of corporate values.
Two other strategies that the city might consider to reinforce the new set of corporate values are:
1. Team Building
▪ Team Building (page 193)
▪ Team Cohesion (page 196) – see PPT slides
1. Increased Employee Involvement/ Flattened Organizational Structure
▪ Employee Involvement (page 164)
▪ Employee Engagement (page 106)
▪ Power (page 236)
Tall and Flat Organizational Structure (page 311)