Introduction
Organizational behavior is the study and use of knowledge on how individuals and groups act in organizations. It is concerned with the relationship between people and the organization (Davis, 1993, p.57). This study encompasses a wide range of topics which includes leadership, change, and human behavior.
Stone Cold Creamery
This company was founded in 1988 in Arizona. The company deals with a wide range of ice cream products and has franchise stores spread in many parts of the world. It is one of the fastest-growing franchises in America (The Company’s Website).
Mission statement
The mission statement of stone-cold creamery states that “we will make people happy”. This mission statement shows that the organization plans to do more than just selling ice creams (but also to put smiles on people’s faces). Further, their mission statement portrays that they aspire to provide their customer with incredible ice cream flavor. They claim to deliver happiness with their expertise.
Looking at this mission statement, about the organization’s behavior, we observe different expectations from different groups in the organization for the firm to accomplish its mission. The mission of any organization shows a lot in how it deals with its interested parties. It also shows the expectation of different groups when dealing with the organization (The Company’s Website).
The organization has certain expectations from its employees, most importantly the employees are hired to enable the organization to achieve its mission. This is done by meeting its production, financial objective, and customer service. For Stone Cold Creamery to achieve its mission, employees are expected to possess a given code of behavior.
The mission statement of any company is meant to be a guiding principle for all the employees in the organization. The main idea that is portrayed in this mission statement is that of customer service. This shows some attachment between what the customers’ expectations are and what the organization is offering. Research has shown that many organizations are focusing on the provision of excellent services, this is to ensure high customer satisfaction and retention.
This organization expects its employees to provide world-class services both to its franchisees and the ultimate consumer. There is also the element of all the people dealing with the organization being happy, these include suppliers, creditors, customers, and the directors (The Company’s Website).
In our case the organization expects the employees in the research and development to come up with quality ice creams that meet customer requirements and needs. Considering that consumers hold different tastes and preferences, this department is expected to be very aggressive in research and come up with products that give very high customer satisfaction. The employees from all the other departments are also expected to provide quality services to enable the organization to live up to its promise of making the people happy.
The Organizational Chart
The stone-cold organizational chart shows that the organization has adopted a flat organizational structure. It is designed in such a way that encourages the interaction between different levels of management; reporting chain is simplified and not very hierarchical.
This kind of organizational structure encourages information sharing which results in a good decision being made; it also encourages interaction between its members hence a friendlier atmosphere. A flat organizational structure brings about motivation to its employees.
Conflict Resolution Policy
Stone cold creamery adopts the dialogue mode of conflict resolution. This policy is adopted at all levels of management. This kind of conflict resolution is very efficient because decisions are reached through consensus by all the concerned parties. Through this policy, any conflict is addressed in good time thereby preventing grave outcomes that may arise from unattended conflicts.
This policy enhances an open and friendly culture within the organization. It also reduces further conflicts arising because all the parties are involved in solving the problem. Dialogue also fosters a common understanding of what is expected of each person within the organization.
Ethics Statement
This is a statement that shows the mode of behavior that is expected by the members of a given organization. It governs the generally accepted actions of the members of a given organization. Looking at the relationship between Stone Cold Creamery’s mission statement and its ethical statement we see the aspect of ensuring a good relationship between the customers and the employees. They both embrace cooperation in all areas of operation.
The Corporate Culture
Culture is the conservative conduct of a society that encompasses values, mores, information, and practices. It dictates human actions, even though it rarely gets into their consciousness (Davis 1993, p.62)
Cold Stone Creamery’s corporate culture is to enhance the spirit of cheerfulness. The organization encourages the custom of being jovial to all the parties in the business. This is in line with its mission statement of making the people happy. The organization can develop this culture by involving both the employees and customers. They request the customers to give relevant information on what they think can make them happy. This shows that the organization has well-set organs for dealing with customers’ complaints. This enables the company to improve the customer service which in turn gives high customer satisfaction (COLD STONE CREAMERY, 2009). Requesting the customers to give their opinion on the business practices also makes them feel like being part of the organization.
Through customer involvement in the development of corporate culture, the organization can collect adequate market information and the customer feedback can be responded to quickly. Customer involvement also enhances customer development and retention. A good corporate culture fosters organizational growth and development.
The employees of Cold Stone Creamery are instructed to sing cold stone songs while serving their customers. These are melodies that one can associate with the organization. These songs make the customer an active participant because as they purchase products they catch some phrases which they can identify with the organization. This shows that Stone Cold Creamy has developed an anthem that the organization can be identified with (COLD STONE CREAMERY, 2009).
Looking at this corporate culture we realize that employees and customer behavior has developed over a long period and has become part of the organization. We observe that both the customers and the employees know what is expected of them.
Conclusion
Organizational behavior is an important study in any organization. This is because it impacts greatly on the organization’s success. A well-crafted behavior in an organization provides a competitive edge in its areas of operation. It influences the actions of employees in the organization as well as its customers. The organization’s culture, mission, and ethics are rooted in the generally accepted behavior in the organization. Cold Stone Creamy can attribute its success to good organizational behavior.
References
COLD STONE CREAMERY. (2009). Cold Stone Creamery Launches First Integrated Advertising Campaign. Web.
COLD STONE CREAMERY. (2009). The Company’s Website. Web.
Davis, J. (1993). Organization Behavior: Human Behavior at Work. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.