Organizational Culture and Costco Essay - 3370 Words

Group 4 Jiaqi Ji, Kai Yang, Yuju Chien, Longyi Han, Uthum Kurukulasooriya – Wednesday section 24 Contents Abstract 2 Introduction 2 Cultural context 3 Organizational Culture 4 Affects of Organizational Culture 8 Team 4 Group dynamics 10 Bibliography 12 Abstract We chose Costco for our term paper because of the high opinion each of us had towards it. We are all a part of the Costco generation; it is a household name and we look to it as one of life’s necessities. Furthermore we have all had positive experiences there; no one can beat Costco’s prices and its quality. What will we do without Costco? It’s an unimaginable thought. Given all of this we believed that it would be rather interesting to investigate the root†¦show more content†¦However unlike the US, Hofstede indicates the Mexico has a very high degree of uncertainty avoidance, which means that its people are very orthodox and rigid in their beliefs; there is usually no tolerance for new innovations or ideas. The remaining nations, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan also share some of the same characteristics as Mexico, so Hofstede characterizes them as collectivists societies as well. Given these cultural contexts, it is safe to say that Costco embeds itself and operates within a variety of different cultures. Organizational Culture In terms of Costcos organizational culture itself, Costco refuses to look at itself as a big Wall Street corporation, instead it works to maintain itself more as a small company even though it is the countrys 4th largest retailer by volume. Its espoused values can be drawn from its vision statement which says: In order to achieve our mission we will conduct our business with the following Code of Ethics in mind: obey the law, take care of our members, take care of our employees and respect our vendors. Former long-time CEO Jim Sinegals driving vision for Costco still dominates and it is all about conceiving that small company feeling and he did this by creating value from within. Of course for Sinegal, creating value from within meant taking good care of Costcos 160,000 employees, which is explicitly stated in the visionShow MoreRelatedEssay about Organizational Culture Analysis: Costco798 Words   |  4 PagesIn 1983, Costco Wholesale Corporation, the fourth-largest retailer in th e United States, was founded by former Price Club executive, Jim Sinegal, and lawyer Jeffrey Brotman. Costco focuses on selling products at low prices in bulk packaging and focuses mostly to large families and small businesses. They sell products like flat-screen TVs, gallon jugs of mayonnaise, and coffins. Costco operates 556 stores worldwide: 405 in the United States, 77 in Canada, 31 in Mexico, 21 in the United Kingdom,Read MoreCostco Wholesale Is A Retail Warehouse Club With 698 Stores1613 Words   |  7 Pages Costco Wholesale is a retail warehouse club with 698 stores in eight countries (Costco Wholesale, n.d.). The modern day Costco began in 1993 when Price Club, founded by Sol Price in 1976, merged with Costco, founded by Jim Sinegal and Jeff Brotman in 1983. When the two companies initially merged they utilized the name PriceCostco, but later reverted back to the name Costco (Costco Wholesale, n.d.). At the time of the merger, Costco had 206 locations and has quickly gro wn, now servicing over 170Read MoreCostco Wholesale Corporation s Organizational Structure1500 Words   |  6 PagesCostco Wholesale Corporation’s organizational structure is based on the company’s current operation and locations as well as the market. The organization structure is the shape to connect different organizational components to address the business needs. Costco’s organizational structure active enables the management of operations in different markets. Even though Costco is the biggest membership warehouse club in America, and designed it structure for success in the management of it business inRead MoreManager as a Leader733 Words   |  3 Pages2015 Craig Jelineks personality Craig Jelinek has been with Costco team since 1984, and he has done various jobs in those years. He is dedicated to Costco and what the company represents. He became the President of Costco in 2012. If something works don’t change it as in the $1.50 Costco hot dog deal. He worked with the previous President Jim Sinegal and learned about business management from him. Jelinek’s knows Costco culture and what has worked with its employees and customers. He helpsRead MoreStrategic Management and Costco Company Essay1460 Words   |  6 PagesCostco Wholesale Corporation Part III Costco Wholesale Corporation is in an industry where there are several of dynamic competition from huge chains such as Wal-Mart or Sam’s Club and Target, and yet it could maintain a competitive and profitable stance. Effective strategic planning is essential part in operating any business in relation toward adapting to organizational and operational adaptation to changing markets. Through inquiries, the influence in the recent economic trendsRead MoreValue Chain Analysis For Costco1000 Words   |  4 PagesThe purpose of this paper is to do a value chain analysis of Costco, identify their resources and capabilities, to conduct a SWOT analysis to identify the opportunities in which they are lagging and to form a strategy to move forward using the recourses and capabilities in the direction of utilizing those opportunities. Value Chain Analysis for Costco Conducting a value chain analysis provides a snapshot for identifying a firm’s relative competitive performance, core competencies, and for focusingRead MoreCostco: Join the Club1936 Words   |  8 PagesDescribe the culture at Costco. Organizational culture has been described as shared values and beliefs that underline a company’s identity. A strong culture that encourages employees from the top to the bottom in adaptation and change can increase organizational performance by energizing and motivating employees, shape behaviors, unify personnel in the goals / objectives and align employee’s actions with the priorities of the company (Daft, R., 2013). Creating a constructive culture should be aRead MoreAnalysis Of Old Style Vs. New Style2512 Words   |  11 Pagesauthors rightly predicted that modern organizational design would shift focus from elimination of middle management to maximization of their value to the company. Consequently, the emphasis in organizational design has, in many cases, shifted to organizing around processes rather than position (Nelson Quick, 2013). In Organizational Behavior, Nelson and Quick describe the â€Å"New-Style† organizations as emerging from the combination of â€Å"three streams† of organizational design: high-performance/self-managedRead MoreCostco History Essay1839 Words   |  8 Pages The History of Costco Wholesale DeAna Castro Wilmington University MGT 6501 Abstract Costco is a members only, international retail chain discount warehouse Club. They combine high quality merchandise with low prices. Costco began in 1976 as Price Club and restructured in 1997 as Costco Wholesales. Costco’s passion, mission, and ethics have been the key to the leading membership warehouse retail giant to supply their customers with low prices. Their low cost business strategies andRead MoreAnalysis Of Mullen Rhoadsrmgt7110-4 : Evaluating Strategic Leadership1834 Words   |  8 Pagesaffects the vision, growth, and possible success of an organization (Malewska Sajdak, 2014; Yukl, 2013). When organizational leaders employ strategic leadership, they consider various elements including internal and external factors that can affect performance, the influence leaders have on people and processes, situations that may alter a leader’s ability to affect performance, cultures within the organization, disaster planning, succession planning, and the role o f role of executive teams (Malewska