Drinking the Kool-Aid*: The Importance of Employees’ Buy-In to Organizational Culture

1. Drinking the Kool-Aid*: The Importance of Employees’ Buy-In to Organizational Culture Presenter James Thurmond, Ph.D. Director, Master of Public Administration Program University of Houston 15th Annual Local Government Seminar

2. *For the Record – Kool-Aid is not guilty! • "Drinking the Kool-Aid" • Carries a negative connotation. • Represents reckless devotion at its worse. • The media erroneously reported that Kool-Aid was used by Jones (Forbes 2018) https://www.forbes.com/sites/bruceweinstein/2018/03/29/two-great-reasons-to-stop-saying-i-drank-the-kool-aid/#187f733334e3 15th Annual Local Government Seminar

3. My Background • +30 years of local government experience • US Army – 1969-71 • Education • BA Texas A&M University • MPA University of Texas • Ph.D. University of Houston • 10 years teaching experience • Wife, Nancy, married 49 years, 3 children, and 2 grandsons and 2 granddaughters (5 Aggies!) 15th Annual Local Government Seminar

4. What is Organizational Culture? • The way we do things around here. • “Hidden, yet unifying theme that provides meaning, direction and mobilization” • Your organization’s SOPs and/or values. • Informal aspects of organization. 15th Annual Local Government Seminar

5. What’s your opinion about your Organization’s Culture? • Good? • Bad? • Waste of time to worry about? • What does it matter? 15th Annual Local Government Seminar

6. To be candid with you . . . Your opinion doesn’t matter because you have organizational culture whether you want it or not! The real question is whether it is good or bad. 15th Annual Local Government Seminar

7. Culture matters because it • Motivates employees [Positively or Negatively] • Sets the bar for employee performance [High or Low] • Shapes the performance of public organizations (Dull 2010) [Good or Bad] • Provides employees with a sense of the organization’s purpose and mission. • Reduces ambiguity and provides a sense of direction when faced with uncertainty. (Bolman and Deal 1997) 15th Annual Local Government Seminar

8. Culture matters because it (Continued) • Provides a moral compass – i.e., the way we do things around here • Can improve decision-making and problem-solving • Can improve productively Accordingly, managers must work to make it a positive force and not negative 15th Annual Local Government Seminar

9. Everything but Culture is identified as a cause for poor performance 15th Annual Local Government Seminar

10. But Culture can be THE problem! 15th Annual Local Government Seminar

11. Examples of Organizational Culture Good • U.S. Marine Corp or U.S. Army Cavalry • IBM • Microsoft • General Schwarzkopf’s unit in Vietnam • Cities of Uvalde and Missouri City Bad • Army unit involved in My Lia Massacre (1968) • Enron (2001) -- fraudulently concealed large losses • WorldCom (2001) -- used fraudulent accounting methods to push up the stock prices • Adelphia Communications (2002) -- Internal corruption • Bernard L. Madoff (2008) --  largest Ponzi scheme in history • Organized Crime • Gangs 15th Annual Local Government Seminar

12. How to create, sustain, and protect good Organizational Culture • Hire good employees • Public Service Motivation • Train employees • Retain good employees • Terminate underperforming employees • Leadership • Communicate 15th Annual Local Government Seminar

13. How to change bad Organizational Culture • Leadership is key • Convince the employees to change • Terminate employees as needed • Make a clear break from the past • Plan for the change – it must be intentional • Either a slow or fast process – it depends 15th Annual Local Government Seminar

14. Not Simple to Change Culture Hopefully, the dog’s drastic solution is not needed in your organization. Lol 15th Annual Local Government Seminar

15. Culture is not Mandated Culture cannot be entirely top down by edict. Follow the steps listed in this presentation. 15th Annual Local Government Seminar

16. Changing to a Positive Culture • Identify organizational values for the employees • Have an understandable mission & communicate to the employees • Have “heroes” who personify the organization’s values and provide good role models for employees to follow • Have rites and rituals that demonstrate the right kind of behavior expected. • Recognize good behavior • Hire the right employees • Train employees • Fire the right employees • Communicate • Be a good leader – “walk the talk” 15th Annual Local Government Seminar

17. Important Points • Organizational culture is forever changing • It must be intentionally cultivated and managed • Poor management will destroy good culture. • However, good culture can help an organization survive poor management in the short run. • It must not be taken for granted or ignored. 15th Annual Local Government Seminar

18. Questions? 15th Annual Local Government Seminar