Values and Culture Profiles of International Companies
Part 1
Speaking from the perspective of company’s values and culture, TransAlta would be the best fit with my fundamental work place values, which are altruism, security, and prestige, as it scores the highest in these three values. The company can with good reason be described as a socially responsible business. Its website states, “Being a good neighbour means investing in and making a commitment to the communities in which we operate” (qtd. in TransAlta.com). TransAlta website focuses on how much they value their employees and invest in them. Additionally, they have good compensation plans and benefits, such as educational assistance for courses and workshops. TransAlta seems to be an ideal place for me to develop professionally.
It seems that PepsiCo organizational values are similar to those of mine. However, I am not sure whether this company can be regarded as a good fit for me. Although the company scores high on altruism, I consider their products to be extremely unhealthy and harming the society. As I scored 5 on altruism and, therefore, making my society a better place to live is of paramount importance to me, which would at least be a challenging if not impossible task in cooperation with PepsiCo.
As to Chevron, its work place values seem to match those of mine least of all. My highest four scores were on altruism, security, friendship, and prestige, but in actual fact Chevron scored low at all of them. The company holds itself out as a responsible business. “Yet, there is increasing evidence that some of those actions have been harmful to the environment and continue to create health risks for thousands of people” (Donziger, 2009).
Even though the majority of values of the City of Calgary are similar to my individual work place values, the company seems to score low on altruism, prestige, and relationships with other. Based on these factors I decided to avoid expending any real effort in order to find employment in the City of Calgary.
Since I am majoring in accounting I think that none of the four above-mentioned companies is attractive enough to me. As an accounting student I would prefer to work for one of the top four accounting companies (PwC, Ernst & Young, Deloitte, and KPMG) or a company that specializes in a field of accounting.
Company’s Values and Culture in Detail
The two specific companies I would like to work for after graduation are EY (Ernst & Young) and CM Accounting Professionals Inc., both which are located in Canada. The findings about corporate values and culture of these companies are outlined in the portfolio of the company’s values and culture dimensions (see table 1).
The values and culture dimensions of CM Accounting Professionals Inc. are in some degree outlined in the “About Us” section of their official website. “We are committed to providing timely and accurate accounting and tax services to our clients in a professional, approachable and reliable manner” (qtd. in Cmaccounting.ca). In other words, when you click on “About Us”, you get to know that the fundamental values of the company are Relationship with Others, Prestige and Security as well as Attention to Detail and Outcome Orientation.
These particular work values and organizational culture dimensions were also brought into focus by the interviewee. According to him, the Relationship with Others dimension got a high score of 3.67, which is indicative of friendly atmosphere in the workplace.
Moreover, the Altruism dimension of the company was evaluated by the interviewee at a rate of 4, which is indicative of the company’s concern about the community we live in and its aspiration to make a real change and contribute to the better tomorrow for future generations. However, charitable activities are not described in detail on their website.
Not surprisingly, the company scored 3.4 on the Outcome Orientation dimension, as it defines the effectiveness and successfulness of any accounting firm. The company’s website states, “We take pride in delivering quality work in a timely, professional manner” (qtd. in Cmaccounting.ca). This means that they place the interests of its client ahead of everything.
CM Accounting Professionals Inc. 5 on the Attention to Detail dimension. High scores in this dimension signify the company’s professional competence and qualification.
The company scored 4 on the Team Orientation dimension, which is a high figure indicating friendly ties and effective cooperation within a team of professionals. Their website indicates, “Our friendly, professional staff provides quality services” (qtd. in Cmaccounting.ca). The company refers to its group of professionals as to ‘our friendly team’.
There is almost no indication of the Pay dimension on the company’s website. In the meantime, in compliance with the interviewee’s results, CM Accounting Professionals Inc. does not seem to be concerned with the monetary remuneration for labor of its employees. This is confirmed with the interviewee’s low score of 2.67 on the Pay dimension. However, such low rate might be explained by the small size and insufficiently high returns of the company itself to provide its employees with high salaries (as opposed to KPMG, PwC, etc.)
In compliance with the interviewee’s evaluation, the company scores 2.25 on the Innovation dimension, which makes sense to me. Considering that accounting services and related areas of practice are highly standardized and formalized procedures, there is no point in introducing innovation in this field.
Areas of Personal Fits and Misfits
On the whole, CM Accounting Professionals Inc. is regarded by me as a deserving consideration and attractive employer. If I were offered to work for that company, I would accept the job offer without any hesitation. The fundamental reason is that my personal work values and culture preferences almost perfectly coincide with those of the company.
In the first place, I scored the highest rate of 5 on the Altruism dimension, which means that I am ready to exert every effort to contribute to both society and humanity. Therefore, altruism and charity are extremely important aspects to me in the activity of any business. The fact, that the Altruism dimension of CM Accounting Professionals Inc. was evaluated by the interviewee at a rate of 4, proves that this company thinks about the future of our community and the planet as a whole and, consequently, is a perfect fit for me.
Another workplace value that is of paramount importance to me is the Relationship with Others dimension, as I scored 4.33 on it. Considering that the company is a friendly team of professionals who strive to create friendly ties with all the clients, the relationship value should be regarded as an area of perfect fit. As I scored 3.0 on the Pay dimension, I can draw a conclusion that high salary is not the key factor influencing my choice of occupation. Of course, the company does not offer extremely high salaries. All in all, the Pay dimension of CM Accounting Professionals Inc. can also be determined as an area of fit for me.
I can describe myself as a goal-oriented individual. Therefore, the company’s high score in the Outcome Orientation dimension seems to be an area of fit. In the meantime, the company scored low on the Supportiveness dimension. Considering that I would prefer to work in a supportive and collaborative environment, this dimension is an area of misfit.
On the other hand, the company scores quite moderately on the Security dimension, which is an important work place value to me. I would prefer to feel more secured in the event of unemployment, incapacity for work, or other circumstances beyond my control.
Based on my research, some of the value dimensions appealing to me turned out to be lower than desired. However, this fact did not influence my general perception of the company, as I am positive that the atmosphere and high scores on crucial dimensions are likely to compensate for all the drawbacks of the company’s portfolio.
Company Portfolio & Dimension Ranking
Part 2
Person-Organization Fit
Person – Organization (P-O) Fit is most broadly defined as “the compatibility between individuals and organizations in which they work” (Kristof, 1996, p. 3). In other words, the higher the P-O Fit, the better and more effective the interaction between both of the parties. The adequate level of the P-O Fit can be achieved on conditions that one of the parties satisfies the need of another one. There are two major perspectives on the nature of P-O Fit. Speaking from the needs-supplies perspective, P-O Fit is when an organization meets individuals’ needs, wants, or requirements. Therefore, in order to have more productive and efficient working environment and achieve a better P-O Fit, the organization has to meet an employee’s needs by means of a respectable salary, additional or non-monetary bonuses as well as by means of motivating strategies and tasks. In contrast to this approach, from the viewpoint of the demands-abilities perspective, P-O Fit takes place when an individual possesses the skills and abilities required to meet the demands of a company. That is, the P-O Fit can be achieved provided that an employee is able to meet the organization’s demands, including time, effort, commitment, required skills, knowledge, and qualifications.
Likewise, a Person-Environmental (P-E) can be defined as the compatibility between an individual and the surrounding environment. P-E Fit can be determined as a particular type of person–situation relationship that comprises the match between a person and dimensions of immediate environment.
In addition to the P-O and P-E Fit, there are also several types of fit that an organization may try to achieve for the purpose of improving its working environment. The types of fits are as follows:
Person-Group (P-G) Fit: This is the compatibility between an individual and the group in which he/she operates. The better this compatibility between the employee’s personalities, the more effectively they would cooperate in a professional environment.
Person-Job (P-J) Fit: This is the degree of compatibility between an employee’s skills and qualifications with a position’s requirements. Only when an employee’s knowledge and skills coincide with the job’s demands, the better overall performance and more efficient time use can be achieved.
Person-Person (P-P) Fit: This is the degree of compatibility between an individual’s cultural choices and those of another person. The majority of people tend to demonstrate better outcomes in the workplace when they are within culture familiar to them, which could be achieved when there is higher Person-Person Fit.
Person-Vocation (P-V) Fit: This is the compatibility between an individual’s characteristics and those of a working environment. It is one of the primary responsibilities of an HR Manager to examine the employee’s values and stated objectives goals to analyze whether they fit within the organization and whether they match the company’s values and culture taken as a whole.
In addition to the above-mentioned types of fit, any organization should also distinguish between two more types of fit: Supplementary and Complementary Fits. A Supplementary Fit takes place when an individual emulates other persons’ characteristics in an organization in order to become a part of a particular group. As opposed to this, a Complementary Fit takes place when an individual assimilates specific characteristics making the environment a whole or adds other major characteristics what have been missing before.
References
CM Accounting Professionals Inc. About Us. (2016). Retrieved January 29, 2016, from http://www.cmaccounting.ca/en/about_us.html
Donziger, S. (2009, September 16). The Chevron Way. The Forbes Magazine. Retrieved January 26, 2016, from http://www.forbes.com/2009/09/16/chevron-texaco-crude-amazon-ecuador-opinions-contributors-steven-donziger.html
Kristof, A. L. (1996). Person-Organization Fit: An Integrative Review of its Conceptualizations, Measurement, and Implications. Personnel Psychology, 49(1), 1-49.
Our Culture. TransAlta. (2015). Retrieved January 26, 2016, from http://www.transalta.com/about-us/culture
Person–environment fit. (2016). Retrieved January 29, 2016, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Person–environment_fit
