You have just founded a company that provides editorial services to textbook publishers. How would you insure that your personal values and norms were spread throughout the organization over time? Give an example of how a founder's personal values affect an organization's competitive advantage.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

An organization's founder and his or her terminal and instrumental values have a substantial influence on the values, norms, and standards of behavior that develop over time within the organization. Founders set the scene for the way cultural values and norms develop because their own values guide the building of the company, and they hire other managers and employees who they believe will share these values and help the organization attain them. Moreover, new managers quickly learn from the founder what values and norms are appropriate in the organization and thus what is desired of them. Subordinates imitate the style of the founder and, in turn, transmit their values and norms to their subordinates. Gradually, over time, the founder's values and norms permeate the organization.

Student examples will vary but will likely address some names from the text: David Kelley of IDEO; Ray Kroc, McDonald's founder; or Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft.