Management Decision

Creating an Organizational Culture It's the end of a long day in the kitchen. Your floor is mopped, dishes are clean, and your wait staff has gone home for the night. You sit down in a corner of your restaurant to finally enjoy your own dinner. As you savor the locally cured salmon in your salad, you take a moment to survey the new business you've created and think about how to sustain and grow it.

Trying to marry the value of locally produced food prepared in interesting ways with the goal of a quick, inexpensive meal that makes fast-food restaurants so popular among customers may seem like trying to mix oil and water. But the popularity of books like The Omnivore's Dilemma that have raised awareness about problems in the food industry and increasing dissatisfaction with the unhealthy choices offered by many fast-food restaurants have you convinced that more and more customers want a sustainable, tasty alternative to fast food. And you know you can provide it.

An important part of what you need to do now is create a culture in your company that supports your mission for the restaurant. Ironically, as you finish your last bite of salad, you consider taking a page from a fast-food playbook. As you were browsing the shelves at the local bookstore recently, you picked up a copy of In-N-Out Burger:

A Behind-the-Counter Look at the Fast-Food Chain That Breaks All the Rules. Sure, it's fast food, but it's beloved by some of the most famous foodies around. And apparently they're doing something right. Like your business, In-N-Out started small. And it's still small compared to the big chains, yet it leaves McDonald's in the dust when it comes to sales per store. Quality is the key value for In-N-Out. Their burgers are certainly good, or five-star chefs wouldn't be eating there. But the real secret seems to be that quality food is coupled with quality workers.

While many fast-food chains shuffle unskilled workers in and out of low-paying jobs, InN-Out Burger selects employees who show initiative, are able to make good decisions, and have good people skills and trains them for a career in management with the company. And once they've made it, the company treats them like any blue-chip manager, with a six- figure salary and performance-based bonuses.

You wish you could pay your employees that well- after all, many of them came to work for you because they already share the values of sustainable food production and gourmet cooking that drove you to start this business. But, as the owner of a single restaurant (for now . . .), you've got to think a bit smaller. What can you actively do to create a consistent organizational culture that is in line with your mission and values and that will help you attract the employees and customers needed for your business to grow?

Questions

1. What things are you already doing and what things do you already have in place to create a consistent organizational culture?

2. What do you think might already be seen, heard, and believed among the employees and customers in your restaurant?

3. Create a list of things you could do to grow and strengthen the organizational culture in your restaurant. Consider factors discussed in the text as you make your list: What stories could you tell? Who are your heroes? What visible artifacts could you create? How might you select employees?