Team

Schein has performed well in open communication and trust.

For communication, ‘there are no hidden agendas and we take care to ensure all messages from us are consistence so there is no confusion or uncertainty within the organization.’P6

‘Part of the culture is that everyone is informed of the smallest detail especially when things go wrong’ ’Yet, Stanly has created a culture where any senior executive can walk into a meeting and ask candid quotations about strategy or action’P7

Good communication requires employees’ engagement; Schein has performed well in this part.

‘we want people feel like entrepreneurs’ ’we have no patents, so if we are not engaging our team, then we are not optimizing the company’s success.’P8

For trust (可以看leadership里面的Authentic leadership 专门强调trust的).

In addition, Schein has avoided one necessary dysfunctions of a team avoidance: accountability.

Because Stan had accounting background, he cares about the business and accountability results, not merely the softer elements of culture. P8

Turning individuals into team players

Selection P10

If the candidates have been seen as fit, Schein would hire he or she. Culture fit is important; the positions were filled with people who would fit the culture. The interview process is prudent, Schein would choose candidates who is fit, and Schein also give people the chance to determine whether they felt they fit. In addition, it may take long time to decide whether a candidate is suitable, for example, a candidate’s interviews took place over 7 months. Moreover, the interview process is thorough. Benjamine would ask his assistant observe the interviewees behaviors.

If employees have trouble fitting but work hard, he or she will be couched and place in another department or organization.

If employees are not fit in, he or she will be fired. Because the company stands for the majority, employees would not feel good unless they embrace the culture.

Rewarding P11 (这块也可以用做 transformational leadership)

Encourage employees to do more work for Schein, instead of only concentrate on salaries. So the fringe benefits were among the best in the industry, while the salaries were at the industry medium.

Building a good working environment. employees have opportunities to achieve self-development. Internal promotion was common, and were preferred over bringing in someone from the outside. Talented individuals were tapped for new position outside of their functional area of expertise. It could contribute to lower turnover rates, and higher productivity.

Emphasis on team building, using theme day to entertainment employees. It lower employees’ stress and higher their satisfaction.

Limitation: Team are not always the best answer   P7

Teamwork requires more time and resources, but sometimes the cost is bigger than benefit. Low efficiency. Part of the culture is that everyone is informed of the smallest detail. Actually, it may make work complexity. Too much support or help from others may bother the normal operation.

It could be a waste because some people are not relevant to one special topic, but we still need to communicate with them.

‘It is great to have the support and help of others,’ said one senior executive, ‘but don’t get me wrong. There are times when you want to say’ enough! I’ve got it covered,’

 another manager added, ‘which communications you copy 20 people not 4, you want everyone to be aware of an issue or decision even if it does not directly impact their department.’