ORGANISATION DEVELOPMENT
CREATING AN ENVIRONMENT IN WHICH THE SPIRIT OF THE ORGANISATION MOVES THE BRAND
By Mr John M. Williams

Brand building is a way of life for most large organisations in today's world. The major global brands got to where they are today by building an awareness of their products in a consistent way so that the consumer had faith that the product would not deviate in quality and that it had a relevance to their lifestyle and /or needs. This is obviously an over simplification of what goes into brand building but demonstrates what the objective is in portraying an organisation in a way that builds trust and loyalty.

Behind each brand is an organisation that is built to support the brand. Research and development is essential to ensure that products and services remain relevant and desirable to the customer and thereby attracting an ever-expanding client base. Quality measures are also essential in order to ensure consistency, the aim being to get it right every time, thereby satisfying the customer's need and creating that much needed loyalty.

The truly successful brands are built around a culture that is designed to nurture a certain spirit in the organisation that makes it dynamic and unified. Unfortunately many companies in Asia only pay lip service to this aspect of building a corporate culture. If you wander into any Asian corporate office you will see the company's Vision, Mission, Values, etc. proudly framed on walls, but usually that's just about how far it goes.

So why is it important to ensure that every employee in an organisation understands the corporate culture?

Every entrepreneur embarks on a business venture with a vision of where this will lead. The vision is not always immediately articulated but as the business grows it becomes desirable to share that vision with others to ensure everyone knows the driving force behind the company, which is the ultimate goal. Understanding the vision will foster an environment in which everybody understands the primary purpose of the business.

Too often we see companies losing their focus and wandering off into unrelated businesses in which they have little or no experience. This has been the recipe for disaster for some very large corporations who eventually recognised the need to concentrate on their core businesses in order to survive and grow.

VISION AND MISSION STATEMENT
The vision should inspire and challenge and be the ultimate standard against which all progress is measured. If the there is a major deviation in the company's activities that distracts from the vision then alarm bells should ring out loud.

Supporting the vision is an overall mission statement which should clearly state:

• Who you are
• What you do
• For whom you do it
• Why you do it

The statement should be broad enough for all employees to recognise that they can make a contribution. From this overall statement you may create sub-sets to clearly define each areas contribution to the mission. The further breaking down of the mission will give a clearer understanding of the employee's role.

CORPORATE STRATEGIES
We now know what out guiding star is and our purpose in the business world but how do we close the gap between where we are today and where we want to be sometime in the future. Alexander the Great, when faced with this sort of challenge, devised battle field strategies that are studied and admired to this day. Likewise corporations, today, devise battle plans to enable them to win in the market place. These battle plans are their corporate strategies, their mapping out of the journey to the vision.

The journey is a shared journey. All plans must align with the strategy and all employees must embark upon the journey together. Stragglers will slow down the progress and cause misalignment of goals. Communications, timing and commitment are vital for implementation of any strategy; just ask Alexander.

ORGANISATION STRUCTURE
Incorporated into any good organisation is a viable, relevant structure. Most organisations develop their structures over a number of years and accommodate the internal customer in so much as layer upon layer of management are developed to fill the so called need of managers. The longer a growing organisation is in existence, the more unwieldy the structure is likely to be. You've heard the common complaint "the work load is now too much" and you've seen the common response, which is to add another layer of management, be it a V.P. or a section leader. Over time the number of layers increase to a point where the CEO is so far removed for the customer that he sometimes forgets he actually has some, the only evidence of their existence being the sales figures. Bad structures hinder empowerment, make for ineffective communications and dynamic decision-making is lost to a matrix that resembles a snakes and ladders board.

All organisation structures should revolve around products and services with the customer being given the prime consideration. The number of layers should be kept to a minimum and proposed additions should be resisted. The flatter the organisation is, the more dynamic it is likely to be. The more dynamic an organisation is, the better able it will be to deliver its promises in a timely fashion.

VALUES
All organisations have a set of rules to operate under. These rules are usually practical and protect the business from error and litigation and manifest themselves as policies and procedures. There are another set of rules that are essential to any organisation and they are their values. The values of a company are important to both customers and employees alike as they clearly state how the company wishes to portray itself to the world at large. How we act is who we are. Values typically incorporate integrity, the way we treat our employees and customers, the promise of quality and acting in a responsible manner to the community in which we live. Values differ from company to company and should always be considerate of the culture of the community in which it operates. Stated company values cannot be the values of one person but must reflect those of the organisation as a whole. They should reflect the underlying philosophy that drives the conduct of the organisation and the development and implementation of policies and actions. Whatever the values are, they will only be meaningful if they are demonstrated as actions by the management team, as role models, in an inspirational way.

PEOPLE
People are any company's most valuable asset. How many times have you heard that phrase and how many companies turn these words into real action? I can tell you for certain, not many.

If you have a valuable asset you nurture and protect it, you do your best to make it work for you to its fullest capacity and add to it, or supplement it to make it more ever more effective. Well that's what we do with technology but unfortunately not with people.

In today's world we do not need as many people to perform the same tasks as yesteryear, as we live in the hi-tech times of the twenty first century. What we do need is a stable, highly qualified, adaptable workforce that is always ready and willing to learn new skill sets. It's an old cliché, but a true one, the only thing certain in today's business world is change.

So how much attention do we give to this most valuable asset? As an example, we promote people into management jobs and introduce them to their new desk and expect the rest to follow. As a consequence we often create a poor leader, which affects every employee and customer with whom he has contact.

Learning and development opportunities, coupled with a meaningful rewards system go a long way in creating a loyal and effective workforce. Rolling out the same old training programs is not the answer. Companies must look for programs that truly fit the needs of the individual, or group; programs that will enhance their skills, be they of a technical or leadership nature. If the worth is perceived and the experience a positive one, then the employee will have a higher sense of satisfaction and his contribution will be enhanced.

Compensation is a measure of a person's worth to any organisation but that does not mean you have to be the best payer in the market place to retain good staff. There are many ways of rewarding and retaining employees and companies should ensure that they maximise the return on their payroll costs by implementing systems that reward the best performers and offer future enticements to persuade people they have a vested interest in staying.

CUSTOMER
The customer is king, another well-worn cliché and the truth is, it should be true. The customer is a company's raison d'etre and should be treated with great care.

What is customer care? That depends on the product or services provided but in general terms it means providing the customer with a product or service which is at a minimum what he was promised and at times exceeding their expectations to the point of delight.

But how do we know what the customer wants? Simple, we ask him.

Customer surveys should be carried out on a regular basis and should incorporate:

• Customer experience
• Quality
• Product / Service relevance — why bought
• Comparison v competition
• Promise fulfillment
• Service levels or after sales service

The questions asked will depend to a large extent on the type of business you are in and it is sometimes advisable to solicit general comments to ensure the customer is given a voice. Once you receive the results act upon them.
It's advisable to get a professional to conduct surveys for you, as there is a science to this in which they are trained. An expert will also help you interpret the results.

Customer service should be a way of life in any organisation and, where possible internal measures should be in place to assess the service levels. Today's quality standards have error rate expectations that are miniscule. Quality is the promise we make to customers and the fulfillment of that promise must be ensured.

Remember everyone in an organisation from the janitor to the CEO is a customer service provider and a quality officer.

COMMUNICATIONS
Effective communications are essential in all aspects of business and are, a major driver in any organisation's success. This is no less true, when dealing with the will factors of individuals, for it is the will factor that will ensure that the desired culture is inculcated and nurtured throughout the whole company. Getting people to buy into visions, missions, values etc. is never going to be one hundred percent successful, there will always be detractors. The key to getting a large majority on board is making sure every individual is informed and understands what the organisation is trying to achieve and how.

Effective communications and quality overlay all we do in business and neither aspect should be ignored. The best-laid plans go awry due to poor communications.

COMMITMENT
Herein lies the rub. You can set in place everything that is needed to create a desired culture but it will absolutely nothing if the management team do not act as role models. These are the guys that have to walk the talk. The organisation looks to its executives for direction, thought leadership, integrity and all the things that make for strong leadership and a successful company. The onus is squarely on their shoulders. Their performance should be measured against values, leadership qualities as well as business results. Success can be measured and tracked through employee and customer surveys, and all managers should partake in 360% feedback.

It's not enough to write the words, frame them and put them on the wall for all to see.

The management team is responsible for making the desired culture a living, breathing thing.

CONCLUSION
The necessity of building a culture to support and grow a brand has long been recognised in Asia BUT it is still generally only paid lip service and not treated as a priority. Companies seem to move from one crisis to another and say they will address this later. Well the bad news guys is that the rest of the world woke up to this stuff years ago and they didn't do it for fun. If you have ignored this subject in your business, be you big or small, then do something about it now; be negligent at your peril.