Corporate Culture
How Different Aspects of Corporate Culture
Affect the Employees and Corporation
11/7/2014
Eryn Brandt
Rhianna Brown
Carmina Galvez
Zane Harold
Jemerrio Simmons
UNIV 112
Introduction
Once upon a time, Americans fought a war to separate themselves from English
corporations that sought to take their money and reduce their freedom as citizens of the
new country. For a long time thereafter, corporations were only instituted for the good of
the public and had many restrictions placed upon them. However, nowadays America –
and many other parts of the developed world - has a whole crop of corporations to supply
citizens with goods and services. They are more successful than smaller businesses and
seem to be controlling a large portion of the economic system. However, with so many
corporations, what sets them all apart from another? The answer is their corporate
culture. Each corporation has their own set of values, practices, standards, strategies,
goals, and so on that differentiates them from the others and contributes to their own
corporate culture. There are many components that make up corporate culture, and our
group chose to examine five of them – child labor policies, retirement plans, services for
employees, wages and/or salary, and contributions by women.1
How have child labor laws affected corporate culture, both in terms of
corporate profits and employee satisfaction? [Carmina Galvez]
Child labor is more accessible in certain situations. In areas in which poverty is a
prevalent problem, more child labor would exist (Dessy and Pallage, 68). Children would
work to try to provide money for their families, so they would be more inclined to take up
any job offers. Companies would then take this opportunity to get workers for a cheaper
amount of money. In discussing whether or not child labor is needed for a company to
1
Wages/salary and contributions by women have been omitted from the paper.
succeed, Bourdillon, Levison, Deborah, & Myers, informs how some of the employees
would even agree with child labor for the survival of a business (81). They use the
example of a small business in India to describe how child labor could help a business,
because of the cheap wages given to children. They lead to the conclusion that, “low-paid
child workers seemed to be necessary for enterprise survival because such a small share
of the profits from the final product went to the family businesses” (81-82). These cheap
wages allowed them to keep the rest of the money earned for the success of the business.
The use of child labor tends to decrease when a business is more stable and successful.
Businesses, especially family run businesses, would not go out hiring children when their
business is more competitive, because “their parents would hire external labor force if
they could instead of employing them” (Dumas 136). This supports how child labor is
used more in poverty-stricken areas or for businesses that are failing.
Although, there are cases in which child labor can help a company, this does not
guarantee the safety or fairness provided for the child. In the 19th century, the working
conditions for children were brutally harsh. At first, nobody really realized the severity of
the situation, so children would be found working in many different places. Perera, who
examined how science affected the progression of child labor laws from the 1870-1900,
discussed these dangerous places and how they negatively impacted children’s health.
Perera explained that, “textile manufacture, the dangerous machinery, contaminated
atmosphere, and inhumanely long hours do not permit normal development of a growing
child” (Perera 1866). This may have been overlooked because they did not realize until
later that children were, “biologically vulnerable, differing from adults in their biological
response to toxic exposures and psychosocial stress The children would be exposed to
these toxins and large machinery that have a high potential in harming them. Around this
time, “The mortality rate for children younger than 5 years was a staggering 52 percent”
(1864). That implies that children younger than 5 years old had less a chance of survival.
It was not until the 1865- 1900s that people started to recognize and pay more attention to
a child’s vulnerability that it led to the establishment of many places that focused on
children’s well being (1865).
The rise of attention on child labor led for child labor laws to be created, in order
to provide safer working conditions. The earlier child labor law stated that,
“no child younger than 14 years could be employed in any factory unless a
physician had examined the child and certified in writing that the child was free of
certain specified diseases and in proper physical condition for factory work; no
child aged 14 years or older was to be employed for more than 10 hours a day or
in certain specified hazardous industries (including mining, glass work, mercury,
lead, arsenic, iron or brick works, tobacco products, or manufacturing in living
quarters); and no child younger than 14 years could be employed in occupations
involving the use of dangerous machinery” (1864).
Restrictions were placed upon younger children, the working hours decreased, and
different working conditions for children were considered. Other than health
considerations, child labor laws focused on making sure children had education. The
Labor in Factories Act of 1844 decreased the number of working hours in order to fit
school hours into the schedule (1864). In order to keep this method going for poor
families that wanted their children to earn money instead of go to school, the Conditional
Cash Transfer program was created. This program helped poor families financially as it
gave “poor mothers a small payment for each child who attends school regularly”
(Bourdillon, Levison, Deborah, & Myers 82). There continues to be child labor laws
today that help to increase a safe working environment.
Child labor still exists today, but the amount of child labor has decreased. The
better living conditions in which we live in today allow for a successful business, so the
use of child labor is not so much in demand. There are still cases in which big name
companies violate child labor laws. In the past couple of years, Burger King was accused
of breaking child labor laws. In order to settle the case, “Burger King, while denying
wrongdoing, agreed to pay $ 500,000 to settle charges that it was illegally requiring teens
to work longer hours than allowed by federal law” (Lawlor 1B).” This led Burger King to
refine their policy by not allowing 14-15 year olds to work there (1B). Child Labor exists
more in poverty-stricken areas, like in third world countries. According to Clark, who
studied child labor that took place in the recent years, found information that statistically
reported, “Ninety-five percent of economically active children reside in the developing
world (Arat 2002)” (1034). This suggests that the economic state in which a country
contributes to whether or not child labor will be more frequently practiced.
How Do Retirement Plans Differ Between Corporations And Affect
Employees? [Eryn Brandt]
Unless they are some sort of workaholic, an employee is not going to want to work for
their current employer forever. The time will inevitably come when he or she wants to
depart from their chosen career and either cease working entirely or seek an easier job.
This is the time of retirement.
Companies have specific requirements for retirement policies, including mandatory
specification for date of retirement, possibility of post-retirement work, any preretirement training offered to help the retiree prepare for retirement, and provision of
advice (Armstrong 251). An employee looking for a position in a certain corporation may
seek out a specific combination of those five requirements to fully suit him or herself. It
is very for prospective employees to thoroughly research a corporation’s retirement
policies. A good place to begin is at the Human Resource Department. Human Resource
departments often hold the responsibility of handling employees before they retire to
assure that they are fully aware of the circumstances surrounding retirement (Armstrong
435).
Another crucial aspect of a corporation’s retirement plan is whether or not an employee
will have benefits subtracted from their retirement plan if they choose to retire earlier
than the company-specified mandatory retirement date or age. While thirty years ago,
ninety percent of people between fifty-five and sixty-four were participating in the labor
force, in current years that number comes to only seventy-five percent. This and other
studies related to retirement ages indicate that more people are retiring earlier (Rosen and
Jerdee 408). To ensure that they retain their employees, companies have begun placing
restrictions on retirement benefits. Some retirement plans try to prevent early retirement
by decreasing payments with each year before age sixty-five that a person retires (Rosen
and Jerdee 408). For this reason, over half of the laborers in a study conducted by North
Carolina researchers Benson Rosen and Thomas Jerdee indicated that they (the laborers)
would increase the speed of their retirement plans if the plan did not cut benefits for early
retirees (Rosen and Jerdee 410). Susan Stevens, who is a Chartered Financial Analyst,
Certified Financial Planner, and Certified Public Accountant, found through calculations
that a good plan to maximize financial gain from Social Security plans is to increase the
amount of post-retirement benefits taken based on increasing age, keeping in mind a life
expectancy estimated by using personal and family health histories. Additionally, she
writes in an article for the San Jose Mercury News “If you are working, are younger than
full retirement age, are earning more than $12,480 (in 2006), and are taking Social
Security benefits, you'll actually lose $1 for every $2 you earn above $12,480. In the year
when you reach your full retirement age, you'll lose $1 for every $3 you earn above
$33,240 (2006). At full retirement age, you can work and not lose any of your benefits although if you keep working to age 70, you'll get even higher benefits (Stevens).”
In addition to providing pension to retired employees, another study by Timothy Gubler
and Lamar Pierce produced evidence that contributing to a 401k retirement plan actually
practiced healthier behavior. Gubler and Pierce noted that “…safety behaviors improved
more for contributors, including a 7% improvement in seat-belt use, reduced smoking,
and reduced usage of sleep and relaxation medications, although these were not quite
significant at the .10 level. Finally, and most striking, we found that the number of sick
days reported was dramatically lower for contributors than for non-contributors, with a
relative decrease of more than 40% (p < .05) (Gubler, Lamar 1826).” However, although
a 401k retirement plan has been proven to create many benefits for an employee, many
employees still choose not to participate. Whether or not a corporation offers an effective
and beneficial retirement plan that fits the needs of its employees is an establishing factor
of their corporate culture.
How Do Corporate Services for Employees Affect the Company’s
Bottom Line? [Zane Harold]
Corporate Services and creativity within the office will obviously make the
working environment more enjoyable, but just how much does this element of corporate
culture strengthen and increase the company’s bottom line? It has been proven that these
employee services and activities provided by the company increase creativity, work ethic,
and innovative mindset within employees which then helps the company’s bottom line.
Google's various offices and campuses around the globe reflect the company's
overarching philosophy, which is nothing less than ''to create the happiest, most
productive workplace in the world,'' according to a Google spokesman, Jordan Newman
(Stewart 1). Companies such as Google use unique approaches to maximize their sense
of culture which then maximize their productivity. Mr. Newman, 27, who joined Google
straight from Yale, and Brian Welle, a ''people analytics'' manager who has a Ph.D. in
industrial and organizational psychology from New York University, led me on a brisk
and, at times, dizzying excursion through a labyrinth of play areas; cafes, coffee bars and
open kitchens; sunny outdoor terraces with chaises; gourmet cafeterias that serve free
breakfast, lunch and dinner; Broadway-theme conference rooms with velvet drapes; and
conversation areas designed to look like vintage subway cars (Stewart 1).
Corporations must always been striving to make every opportunity available to
employees with regards to services based on enjoyment, relaxation and creativity. These
range from free meals to massages on employee lunch breaks, and can even be as simple
unique office architecture. In the course of our brief conversation, she mentioned
subsidized massages (with massage rooms on nearly every floor); free once-a-week
eyebrow shaping; free yoga and Pilates classes; a course she took called ''Unwind: the art
and science of stress management''; a course in advanced negotiation taught by a Wharton
professor; a health consultation and follow-up with a personal health counselor; an author
series and an appearance by the novelist Toni Morrison; and a live interview of Justin
Bieber by Jimmy Fallon in the Google office (Stewart 2). These services are becoming
more widely used corporate techniques when businesses are attempting to increase
innovation through the productivity of their workers. Writing for The New York Times,
James B. Stewart examines the relationship between the corporate practice of providing
services to employees as a way to broaden their culture and eventually increase their
productivity. Stewart uses specific corporations such as Google to illustrate this aspect of
corporate culture, and while its focus is purely on the great things Google employees
have to look forward too, it says a lot about the direction most innovative companies are
taking.
Employees who have a wider range of company provided services feel better about
their company, which in turn makes them want to contribute more to the company’s
success. These services do not always have to be in the form of free goods or
revolutionary office conformities; they may also be in the form of stock or some other
share-based incentive. Eric Flamholtz and Yvonne Randle, two authors who published
into the world of corporate success strategies, said “There are many mechanisms through
which employees can voice their concerns, and they know that these concerns will be
listened and responded to promptly. Finally, Southwest employees have a stake in the
company’s success because they are in fact shareholders” (Flamholtz and Randle 48).
Their book, Corporate Culture: The Ultimate Strategic Asset, focuses on the ways
companies use the concept of corporate culture to expand their business ventures, keep
employees happy, and thereby increase productivity. Though it does not expand on
simple services such as office dry-cleaning and free lunches, it does illustrate how
employees who are given a share of the company produce better for that company.
These services are most definitely cherished by employees, but there viability lies
directly with what that actually do for the businesses bottom line.
Sarah Simoneaux and Chris Stroud’s article “A Strong Corporate Culture is Key to
Success, published in the Journal of Pension Benefits: Issues in Administration, focuses
on the necessity of a strong corporate culture in order to have a successful company.
Simoneaux and Stroud provide lists and real corporate examples to support their claim.
These examples are reliable and the focus of the article is based around public
information while the 2014 publication date shows recent scholarship. Numerous perks
and on-site services, including flex time, tuition reimbursement, free lunches, onsite
doctors, oil changes, massages, and fitness classes, blend the line between work and
home and encourage high productivity and keep people in the office longer (Simoneaux
and Stroud 52). Keeping people in the office longer means higher amounts of work being
completed, which then points to more innovative ideas and production opportunities for
the company. The array of other services make this experience fun for the employees,
where they may even forget they are working in the first place. This provides for a
greater employee retainment; the happier the employees, the longer they stay. Employees
can use in-office “fun slides” instead of elevators to go down to a lower floor, and
conference rooms contain pool tables to promote creativity. The atmosphere is very
appealing to creative, young, energetic employees and makes work fun, and the rewards
for Google are big in the way of new, innovative products (Simoneaux and Stroud 5253). Google’s approach and their subsequent output of technologically and socially
advanced products prove that they are on the right track in terms of work productivity.
William Hanley, writing for the Architectural Record, describes the role of play
and recreational areas in a corporate office environment by making use of the offices of
Google and Facebook as examples of this shift in corporate thinking. However, the article
then discusses certain criticism when evaluating the usefulness of the design of these
spaces. The sketch satirizes both the life of the creative worker, in which selling an affect
requires tearing down boundaries between work and play, and its backdrop, an
increasingly common design vocabulary that fosters that confusion (Hanley 36). This
illustrates how this large amount of “playtime” in the office presents more problems that
productivity, for workers oftentimes forget that they are there to work. But even in their
watered-down versions, these design elements signify a culture in which work and fun-along with their social and identity-forming dimensions--occur around the single valence
of the office (Hanley 36). In this approach to the corporate office, that aspect of an
employee’s life becomes the biggest factor in their lives
Although arguments can be made against the company provided services being
made available to employees, there is overwhelming evidence to suggest that this
approach is successful in the corporate environment. “Culture is vitally important to a
company because it has been shown to have a direct, statistically significant impact on
the bottom line of corporate financial performance” (Flamholtz and Randle 37). A strong
corporate culture is the pathway to a new world of business, and it leads only to a more
productive, successful working environment.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it is corporate culture that sets one corporation apart from the other
corporations. While Google makes their campus a fun and exciting environment that is
almost like a giant play place, Burger King practices- or rather practiced in the past –
shady employment of young teens. The strategies, policies, goals and beliefs that help to
define corporate culture can ultimately decide whether a company is successful or a
failure. Whether it means flexible and accommodating retirement plans, strict policies
forbidding the unfair or illegal employment of underaged children, or fun perks that make
work seem more like play, corporations can improve the various aspects of their
corporate culture in order to maximize employee satisfaction and simultaneously
increase productivity.
Annotated Bibliography
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Management Practice. 12th ed. London, U.K.: Kogan Page, 2012. 435. Print.
This book was found using VCU’s Research Guides and the category
“Management” with sub-category “Human Resources”. [Eryn Brandt]
Armstrong, Michael. "People Resourcing." Armstrong's Handbook of Human Resource
Management Practice. 12th ed. London, U.K.: Kogan Page, 2012. 251. Print.
This book was found using VCU’s Research Guides and the category
“Management” with sub-category “Human Resources”. [Eryn Brandt]
Bourdillon, Michael F. C., Levison, Deborah, and Myers, William E.. Series in
Childhood Studies : Rights and Wrongs of Children's Work. Piscataway, NJ,
USA: Rutgers University Press, 2010. ProQuest ebrary. Web.
The VCU Libraries (Book Search) was used to find this source. The term “child
labor” was used to search for this book. [Carmina Galvez]
Clark, Rob. "Child labor in the world polity: decline and persistence, 1980-2000."
Social Forces 89.3 (2011): 1033+. Global Reference on the Environment, , and
Natural Resources. Web. 6 Nov. 2014.
Dessy, S. E. and Pallage, S. (2005), A Theory of the Worst Forms of Child Labour. The
Economic Journal, 115: 68–87. doi: 10.1111/j.1468-0297.2004.00960.x
[Carmina Galvez]
Dumas, Christelle. “Market Imperfections and Child Labor” World Development,
2013, Vol. 42, pp. 127-142 Web.
[Carmina Galvez]
Flamholtz, Eric, and Yvonne Randle. Corporate Culture: The Ultimate Strategic Asset.
Stanford, 2011. Web.
This book was found using the VCU Libraries (Book Search) using the search
terms “corporate” and “culture.” [Zane Harold]
Gubler, Timothy, and Lamar Pierce. "Healthy, Wealthy, and Wise: Retirement Planning
Predicts Employee Health Improvements." Psychological Science. 9th ed. Vol.
25. Sage Publications, 2014. 1822-1830. Print.
This article was located using the VCU Academic Search Complete, using the
terms “retirement planning.” [Eryn Brandt]
Hanley,William. “Welcome to Corporate Kindergarten.” Architectural Record: 36-36.
Academic Search Complete. Web. Sept. 2012.
This article was found using a VCU Libraries database (Academic Search
Complete) using the search terms “create” and “corporate offices.” [Zane Harold]
Lawlor, Julia. "Burger King Funds Child Labor Group." USA Today 1 Dec. 1992: 1B.
LexisNexis Academic. Web. 18 Oct. 2014.
<http://www.lexisnexis.com/hottopics/lnacademic/>.
This source was found using LexisNexis, using the term “child labor.” [Carmina
Galvez]
Perera, Frederica. "SCIENCE As An Early Driver Of Policy: Child Labor Reform In The
Early Progressive Era, 1870–1900." American Journal Of Public Health 104.10
(2014): 1862-1871. Business Source Complete. Web. 18 Oct. 2014.
This journal article was found using the VCU Library, “Research Database”,
clicking on “business” and the subtext, “Public Relations.” The terms “child
labor” was used. The search term “child labor” was used. [Carmina Galvez]
Rosen, Benson, and Thomas H. Jerdee. "Retirement Policies For The 21St Century."
Human Resource Management 25.3 (1986): 405-420. Business Source Complete.
Web. 14 Oct. 2014.
This article was located through VCU’s online library search and the terms
“retirement plans”. [Eryn Brandt]
Simoneaux, Sarah, and Chris Stroud. “A Strong Corporate Culture is Key to Success.”
Journal of Pension Benefits: Issues in Administration 22.1 (2014): 51-53.
Business Source Complete. Web.
This journal article was found using the VCU Libraries discipline specific
database (Business Source Complete” using the search terms “corporate” and
“culture”. [Zane Harold]
Stevens, Sue. "Know the Ins, Outs of Social Security; Check Your Annual Statement For
Accuracy; Know How A Pension Affects Your Benefits." The Mercury News 29
Oct. 2006. San Jose Mercury News. Web. 7 Oct. 2014.
This article was located using the database LexisNexis and the terms “retirement
history”. [Eryn Brandt]
Stewart, James B. "A Place to Play for Google Staff." The New York Times March 16
2013, Late ed. Web.
I used the database LexisNexis, and the search terms were “work and play
offices” and “google”. [Zane Harold]