Management 12e, Chapter 9 - Organizations: Effectiveness, Design, and Cultures

Ethics Exercise: Do The Right Thing

Xerox CEO Ursula Burns worries about her corporate culture being too nice.

[Geoff Colvin, Fortune Magazine]: Xerox has a famously strong culture, but you've said it could use a little adjusting. What did you mean?

[Burns]: Let me note the strong points. We are nice, and I mean in a good way. If you get sick, we take care of you. We're not one of these mechanical cultures. We are real people working with real people. It's phenomenal.

We are a team-based company. Diversity is important. Everyone thinks racial, and gender diversity is important for sure, but differences in how you work, your points of view, are things that we love. Some of those things can become a hindrance, especially when you need to move quickly, which is every day. The niceness sometimes leads to a lack of motion, lack of decision.

What are the ethical implications of the following interpretations?

3) Yes, cultural change is in order. But in a company that genuinely values teamwork, the change should be driven by employee problem-solving teams at all levels and consensus-building, not by demands from the top. Suggestions?