Video Cases for CdnOB 8e
Cirque du Soleil
Cirque du Soleil has experienced steady global growth and profitability despite a volatile economy and a dynamic environment. Cirque’s diverse workforce includes 3,000 employees from 45 countries who speak 25 different languages. Cirque leverages its talent and technology to thrill and delight its audiences. Founded by its visionary leader, Guy Laliberté, Cirque continues to remain relevant and focused on change and innovation.
Discussion Questions
- What perspectives of organizational effectiveness are particularly relevant to Cirque du Soleil’s sustained success?
2.How does Cirque du Soleil leverage workforce diversity as a competitive advantage?
Clockless Office: Best Buy’s ROWE Program
Kelly McDevitt has a busy job as online promotions manager for Best Buy. But McDevitt doesn’t have to worry about punching a time clock because of the retailer result-only work environment (ROWE). “I don’t count my hours – I don’t have hours,” she says. McDevitt attends office meetings, but even attending those events is optional. “It’s not how many hours somebody puts in face time at the office, it’s are they getting their work done” explains Calli Ressler. This BusinessWeek TV program describes the ROWE program, explains why it was introduced, and outlines its apparent benefits.
Discussion Questions
1.Why would productivity jump at Best Buy under ROWE compared to the traditional employment arrangement where employees are expected to be at the office?
2.What effect would the ROWE program have on workplace stress? Explain your answer.
3.What are the limitations and risks of the ROWE program? Which jobs and employees would be poorly suited to this work arrangement?
Duha Colour
Duha Colour is a global organization that manufactures and sells paint chips and fan decks using colour-matching technology. Duha links its learning initiatives directly to the corporate business plan to strengthen sustainability. Duha’s learning organization approach generates thousands of ideas from the shop floor, which have been implemented to create meaningful change and enhanced business results.
Discussion Questions
- How have organizational learning practices contributed to Duha’s effectiveness and success?
2.What are some of the methods that Duha Colour uses to acquire, share, and use knowledge?
Lindblad Expeditions: Under the Surface
Traveling around the world for six months as a crew member of an expedition ship is a dream job, in many respects. But as this recruitment video from Lindblad Expeditions describes, working on the National Geographic Sea Bird and other cruise ships requires a dedicated crew, and that means a real working day. This video program provides viewers with a realistic picture of what it is like to work on board one of these vessels. Crew members offer their candid thoughts about why they joined, and what they experienced, including the most exciting and most arduous aspects of the job.
Discussion Questions
1.In your opinion, is this program effective in providing a realistic job preview of working life on board an expedition cruise ship? Why or why not?
2.Discuss this effectiveness of this video program in terms of the learning and adjustment of new employees. Are the risks of discouraging some job applicants offset by the positive effects on those who apply and are hired?
3.If you were responsible for the hiring and induction of new employees at Lindblad Expeditions or a similar organization, what other means would you apply to ensure that employees experience an effective socialization process?
Pike Place Fish Market
Fifteen years ago, Pike Place Fish Market in Seattle had unhappy employees and was in financial trouble. Rather than close shop, owner John Yokoyama sought help from consultant Jim Bergquist to improve his leadership and energize the workforce. Rather than rule as a tyrant, Yokoyama learned how to actively involve employees in the business. Soon, staff felt more empowered and gained more enjoyment from their work. They also began to actively have fun at work, including setting goals as a game, throwing fish to each other as sport, and pretending they are “world famous”. Today, thanks to these and other strategies described in this video case, Pike Place is world famous. The little shop has become a tourist attraction and customers from California to New York call in orders.
Discussion Questions
1.Based on the model of emotions and attitudes in Chapter 4, explain how the changes at Pike Place Fish Market improved job satisfaction and reduced turnover. How did these attitude changes affect customer satisfaction?
2.Goal setting is discussed as an important activity at Pike Place. Evaluate the effectiveness of this goal setting process in the context of the characteristics of effective goals described in Chapter 5 of this textbook.
3.How is coaching applied at Pike Place, and how does this coaching influence employee performance?
Ricardo Semler - Brazil's Caring Capitalist
This video program gives the viewer a rare glimpse inside the fabled operations of the Brazilian conglomerate, SEMCO SA. Two decades ago, Ricardo Semler transformed his father’s rigidly hierarchical shipbuilding supplies business into an organization that embraces egalitarianism and worker autonomy. Today, almost all of SEMCO’s 3,000 employees set their own work schedules. They are encouraged to move around to different workstations, in part so that supervisors have difficulty knowing who is at work and who has gone home. Employees are also key decision makers, choosing everything from the office furniture to how much they should get paid. But SEMCO is not a laid-back country club. Employees are rewarded for how well their work unit performs, so co-workers will not tolerate those who fail to pull their weight. Also, although employees can set their own salaries, those who ask for too much money find themselves without a team willing to keep them on the payroll. This video program also describes Ricardo Semler’s recent initiatives and education and eco-tourism, both of which also give employees both authority and responsibility.
Discussion Questions
1. Describe SEMCO’s organizational culture. What artifacts are mentioned in this program that represent and reinforce this culture? What strategies or practices does SEMCO apply to specifically support its culture?
2.SEMCO is apparently a very successful company. Which of the four perspectives of organizational effectiveness described in Chapter 1 best explain this organization’s success?
3.SEMCO SA is mentioned in Chapter 12 of this book as an example of shared leadership. What information in this video program indicated that SEMCO encourages shared leadership?
Virtual Teams at GM
When General Motors acquired Saab Automobile it began laying the groundwork for a new system that makes use of a global research network. Technology collaboration involves the use of global virtual teams for research and development to leverage and broaden GM’s capabilities and competencies.
Discussion Questions
- Why has GM implemented virtual teams?
2.What benefits does GM expect to realize from the use of global virtual teams?
Wendy’s Restaurants of Canada
Employees at Wendy’s Restaurants of Canada are about to be swept up in a tide of extraordinary change. To boost profits, Wendy’s wanted to break down the military style of management and, in its place, create a culture of vulnerability and trust. To launch this change process, Wendy’s brought together 160 restaurant managers from across Canada to an Ontario resort where New Mexico-based Pecos River guided them to a new way of working with their employees. This classic CBC video program takes the viewer through the Pecos River program, then transports us to Winnipeg where district manager Craig Stapon is responsible for getting his managers on-board the change process. Although this program was filmed in the early 1990s, it remains one of the best video clips to illustrate the trials and tribulations of introducing change in the workplace.
Discussion Questions
1.What changes did executives at Wendy’s Restaurants of Canada expect to result from the Pecos River program? Did these changes occur in the Winnipeg restaurants?
2.Was there any resistance to change among the Winnipeg restaurant managers? If so, what form of resistance did it take?
3.What change management strategies did Craig Stapon use among the Winnipeg managers? Were these strategies effective? Why or why not?
Yahoo!7 on Diversity
In this segment, Yahoo!7 executives discuss the benefits of employing a diverse workforce, particularly GenerationX/Y staff.
Discussion Question
- Canadian Organizational Behaviour identifies workforce diversity as one of the contemporary challenges for organizations. How does Yahoo!7 view and address this challenge?
Yahoo!7 on Values/Ethics
This video segment focuses on values, ethics, and corporate social responsibility, including the importance of Yahoo!7’s values, the types of corporate social responsibility that the company engages in, and the importance of ethics as well as how ethics are reinforced.
Discussion Question
- Why are values, ethics, and corporate social responsibility important at Yahoo!7?
Yahoo!7 on Employee Engagement
This video segment refers specifically to employee engagement at Yahoo!7 as well as the application of the Backslappers reward and recognition program.
Discussion Question
- What specifically does Yahoo!7 do to support employee engagement? How do these practice relate to employee motivation, the MARS model, and other OB concepts?
Yahoo!7 on Creativity
In this video segment, Yahoo!7 executives and staff talk about creativity and, in particular, the creative value of “hack days.”
Discussion Question
- What are “hack days” and how do they encourage creativity at Yahoo!7?
Yahoo!7 on Teamwork
In this video segment, client services executive Joanna Holcombe, search engineering manager Sebastian Urban, and account manager Lani Booth discuss the importance of teamwork at Yahoo!7 as well as ways that the company supports a positive team-oriented environment.
Discussion Question
- Based on the interviews in this video segment on teamwork, how does Yahoo!7 support a positive team-oriented environment?
Yahoo!7 on Organizational Culture and Socialization
The segment on organizational culture refers to the role of employees in the company’s culture, how employees are selected, and what socialization processes are used to help them to learn and adjust to Yahoo!7’s work environment.
Discussion Question
- Describe the selection and socialization of employees at Yahoo!7, and explain why the company pays so much attention to these processes.