Charles Schwab organizational culture, climate, and ethics

Charles Schwab organizational culture, climate, and ethics

Organizational culture

Organizational culture comprises of elements such as organizational expectations, experiences, philosophies, along with values that tend to guide the employees within an organization. This aspect is highlighted at Charles Schwab as follows.

• Use of technology to handle business problems.

This falls under the experience bit of the organizational culture. In the course of undertaking its day-to-day undertakings, the organization relies more on automation of its processes. This has the consequence of increasing efficiency (Alvesson, 2013). Many organizations are now considering using technology to cut on the costs of labor, and this has subsequently led to them attaining competitive advantage, with Charles Schwab being no exception.

• Feedback and coaching from leadership.

This falls under the philosophy and value element of organizational culture. The employees receive constant feedback and continuous training from the management. The feedback from the management usually takes the form of progress reports for the employees to keep track of their efforts. On the other hand, when it comes to coaching, the aim of this is to inculcate new skills and knowledge in the employees in a manner that will help in attaining a competitive advantage. Both feedback and coaching, when combined, help in minimizing errors in the future.

• Open and friendly culture.

Friendliness falls under the expectations facet of organizational culture. The employees of the organization are friendly to their clients. This has the effect of increasing transaction volumes by bringing in more clients on board. When the staff within an organization are friendly to the clients, there are increased chances that such persons will return to the organization. In addition, the returning clients may share a word with the potential clients for the organization, and this may see the organization benefitting from more new clients. This will subsequently lead to an increase in sales volumes that can be translated in the form of increased returns.

Organizational climate

The climate of the organization comprises a set of measurable properties of the perceived work environment that are usually created either directly or indirectly by people within such an environment. The climate of the organization tends to have the effect of influencing the motivation and behaviors of people. Organizational climate is portrayed at Charles Schwab as follows.

• Happy employees

The staff at Schwab are happy, and this is due to the organizational            consideration for employee engagement, with the consequence being high employee retention (Schneider, 2009). Most of the decisions arrived at the organization are usually the products of the employees. In other words, Charles Schwab considers engaging in joint consultation with the employees on the various matters affecting them. As a result, this helps in reducing employee resistance within the organization, an aspect that positively influences the day-to-day working of the organization.

• Competency

The employees at Schwab are competent, and this can be supported by the fact that it considers hiring experienced veterans. Apart from that, the organization, as a way of offsetting competition, tends to hire the best employees in the market to fill its various vacant positions. The consequence of this is that it increases competitiveness as the firm will have a pool of labor that has the top of market knowledge and skills to be applied in carrying out its various operations.

• Efficient service delivery

The organizational climate at Charles Schwab can also be characterized by the level of service delivery, whereby there is the use of technology, precisely machines in the undertaking of its various operations. The use of machines in its operations has enhanced organizational efficiency in service delivery.

Organizational ethics

Ethics in an organization refer to the standards and the principles that guide the manner in which people operate within it. This element is perfectly portrayed at Charles Schwab as follows.

• Corporate social responsibility

The organization is known to be mindful of the environment within which it carries out its operations. For instance, Charles Schwab participates in volunteer activities for the benefit of the community members as a way of practicing corporate social responsibility. Engaging in CSR plays a significant role in mobilizing organizational support (Boylan, 2015).

• Non-discriminatory employment practices

Schwab is an equal opportunity employer and hires everyone to include people with disabilities. Apart from that, the firm has also been found to observe the gender rule, where it ensures that there is fairness in the distribution of the available employment opportunities within it. This kind of consideration helps in improving Charles Schwab’s corporate image.

• Excellent working environment

Employees at the organization have reported that the environment at Charles Schwab is conducive to work in. A conducive working environment goes beyond the physical working environment and covers part of the inner organizational environment to include flexible working hours, among other favorable terms of work. This has the consequence of attracting more new employees hence minimizing the chances of labor shortage, an aspect that may hamper the normal operations of the organization.

Whether legal measures need to be used to reshape culture, climate, and ethics.

There is no need for legal measures to be used to reshape or rather make changes to culture, climate, and ethics. This is because Charles Schwab is regarded as an employer of choice, and, at the same time, a service provider of choice. Given that there is no area that needs improvements or rectification, then Charles Schwab’s culture, climate, and ethics should not be subjected to legal measures. The culture, ethics, and climate of the organization should have been subjected to legal measures such as labor or employment legislation if there were any reports of abuse by the employees. Since the employees have reported that the exists a favorable working environment, among other desirable aspects, then the organization can be said to be legally compliant.

References

Alvesson, M. (2013). Understanding organizational culture. Los Angeles: SAGE.

Boylan, M. (2015). Business ethics.

Schneider, B. (2009). Organizational climate and culture. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass