Remaking JC Penney's Organizational Culture
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Case Details:
Case Code : HROB093
Case Length : 19 Pages
Period : 2004-2007
Pub Date : 2007
Teaching Note : Available
Organization : J.C. Penney, Inc.
Industry : Retailing
Countries : USA
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Fixing What Might have Broken Contd...
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A band of "office police" reporting to the Human Resource (HR) department
ensured that the employees complied with the rigid rules. Moreover, due to the
recent turnaround, the mood of the employees was not "forward-thinking" as they
were pleased that a major disaster had been averted.
Ullman realized that this mood and the rigid culture were not conducive to
attaining the ambitious plan set by the company. He felt that the rigid culture
at JCP was intimidating new recruits, resulting in a high turnover, and acting
as a hindrance in attracting talent. So in conjunction with the newly appointed
HR chief Michael Theilmann (Theilmann), Ullman started an initiative to redefine
the culture at JCP.
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Various symbolic changes were made in 2005. These included a campaign called
'Just call me Mike!', in which the company encouraged the employees to call
their superiors and co-workers by their first names. Other changes included
a relaxation in dress codes, cubicle décor, and disbanding of the "office
police". JCP followed up these symbolic changes with setting up a more democratic and
inclusive climate and taking some training and development initiatives.
The
most notable among these were the 'Winning Together' principles (WTP) and
the 'Retail Academy'. The WTP laid down codes for employees working at JCP.
It borrowed from and built upon a similar code established by the
founder of JCP in 1913. The main difference between the two was that
while the earlier code had been restricted to profit-sharing members
of JCP, WTP was more inclusive and included all the employees.
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The
Retail Academy was similar to a graduate college where high
potential JCP employees were trained in a variety of retailing and
leadership issues by top level managers including Ullman.
By the end of 2006, the results of the culture change initiatives
were clearly visible. JCP was able to attract enough talent.
Graduates from premier design and retail schools showed an interest
in working with the company.
The impact on the bottom line was also
visible as JCP posted its 15th consecutive quarter of sales gains at
the end of fiscal year 2006.9... |
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