Observable Artifacts Associated With The Chrysler Culture

Buchanan, A. H. (2001). Organizational Behaviour:An Introductory Text (4 ed.). (F. T. Hall, Ed.) Pearson Education.

The culture type is consistent because if Chrysler hadn’t made the changes, who knows where they would be now. The old management at Chrysler had made many decisions that were costing the company money and it caught the attention of the higher executives and Mr. Marchionne.

I am prepared for the responsibilities and challenges that come with the full-time position, and am just as excited about the rewards and opportunities that can be shared. After almost two years as a Gallery Host, my interest in the Chrysler Museum has never stopped growing. I know I am ready to take on the role of full-time Gallery Host and would greatly appreciate the opportunity.

On February 2, 2018 at approximately 1950 hours, I observed a 2006 Chrysler utility vehicle bearing Florida tag HWHB51 exiting the Walmart parking lot located at 8701 US HWY 19 Port Richey, FL. The vehicle made a right turn at a posted left turn only exit. I observed the Chrysler to not have an operational tag light. I initiated my unmarked patrol vehicle’s (116) emergency equipment in an effort to conduct a lawful traffic stop in the area of US HWY 19 and Ridge RD.

When Sergio Marchionne first took the helm at Chrysler he was handed a company that had just declared bankruptcy and accepted a bailout loan from the U.S. government (McNulty, 2014). Needless to say, it was not a successful culture. He knew before he would ever see success he would have to change the way employees behaved, what they valued, what they expected, and make them believe that with his guidance they could be successful again. He knew he would have to change the entire makeup of the organizational culture. Here I will outline some of the mechanisms Marchionne utilized to change the organizational culture of Chrysler.

Prior to Sergio Marchionne’s arrival, it appeared Chrysler Group LLC, organizational culture consisted of reacting “to falling sales by slashing prices” (Kreitner and Kinicki, 2013). Due to reduced sales volume, Chrysler had experienced major financial issues, including bankruptcy reorganization. The observable artifacts that I would suspect prior to Marchionne’s arrival would be massive advertisements endorsing Chrysler rebates, vehicle discounts, and slashed prices. After Marchionne got upset about the sales team “giving away margin”, he had to shake up the organization culture and transform the company’s way of thinking. Chrysler had to do something if it was ever going to get back to a profitable state.

The recommendation I would suggest to Marchionne is to focus on providing leadership training for executives and developing a strong clan value environment. For example, Marchionne restructured the organization’s goals, as his focus was more on profit that job satisfaction for Chrysler employees. This approach eliminated current executives and replaced with new employees. The current employees can succeed as Marchionne can demonstrate positive feedback, motivation, and encouragement.

When looking at the case study of Sergio Marchionnes’ takeover of Chrysler and revamp of the corporate culture, it seems to me that Marchionne utilized several mechanisms for embedding the corporate culture that he desired. I feel that Marchionne utilized six of the eleven ways of embedding culture that was covered in the text.

The observable artifacts of the financial downfall of Chrysler were due in part to “heavy discounting in pursuit of high volumes” (Kreitner & Kinicki, 2013, p.86). This has become the espoused value in the auto industry for some automakers with the belief it would help them become more financially stable. When Chrysler hired Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne, he had to change the company’s observable artifacts resulting in some long term executives being replaced with more recently hired staff. Sergio had to change the culture of employees and the vision of the company in order to have an espoused value of sustainability. Sergio had basic assumptions about the executives he let go, and further confirmed them when he interviewed many of

Chrysler was in desperate need for a lifecycle cultural changeover prior to the arrival of Mr. Marchionne. The company was working on an antiquated system of organizational behavior that yielded little to no results. Mr. Marchionne and his Hierarchy culture approach significantly improved the overall performance of Chrysler and subsequently, led to higher volume of sales and profits. Clearly, control is the driving force within hierarchy culture. (Kreitner, & Kinicki, 2013, p. 70).

To me the new culture change in Chrysler made a major impact on the mangers. They had to step up and make sure the rest of the employees were up to par. One way mangers understood Chryslers new culture was the competing values framework better known as CVF. Competing values framework is a way for mangers to understand, measure, and change organizational culture. (Citation).Within the CVF there are four types of cultures. They are Clan, Adhocracy, hierarchy, and market. Within the Chrysler organization all could be possessed but there is always going to be one that overpowers the others. When Marchionne started the new culture change he broke it down into dimensions. In dimension 1 it focused on Marchionne primary goal of profitability.

Three distinct layers compose the culture of any organization. Observable artifacts make up the first layer. “Artifacts are the physical manifestations of an organization’s culture” (Kreitner & Kinicki, 2013, p.84). Observable artifacts can range from awards in the lobby at the corporate headquarters to team building displays in shared spaces. From an outsider’s perspective, the most easily accessible view of Chrysler’s observable artifacts is found on their website www.chrysler.com. A section highlights many awards received for safety (Choose, 2017). An interactive timeline illustrating popular Chrysler products of each time period along with related notable achievements of the period sends a subtle message to the reader that Chrysler

Mr. Marchionne’s mechanism for changing the organizational culture of the Chrysler corporation was to utilize the market culture.” A market culture has a strong external focus and values stability and control. Organizations with this culture are driven by competition and a strong desire to deliver results and accomplish goals. Because this type of culture is focused on the external environment, customers and profits take precedence over employee development and satisfaction” ( ). Mr. Marchionne’s Unwise decisions related to discounts and enticements made by the upper management, unfortunately resulted in negatively impacting Chrysler’s bottom line and leaving them to make the ultimately decision of bankruptcy.

When looking at the new culture that Marchionne created at Chrysler you can see characteristics from each of the four types of cultures that are found in the competing values framework. These characteristics all were relevant components of the reinvention of Chrysler’s culture and their product line, in addition to their ability to remain a main player in the auto industry.

Observable artifacts represent the more visible level of the organization’s culture. The observable artifact associated with Chrysler’s culture, described what was not acceptable by the Chief Executive Officer Sergio Marchionne. The CEO communicated his disapproval of the rebates and discounts given to boost sales to generate profits for the dealership. Espoused values are the values defined as the normal standards in which a company conducts business. Mentioned in the text are markup margins and the quality of the vehicles needed to improve and better control over pricing. Basic assumptions are the values of a company that are resistant to change which represents the behavior of the organization. In the text the basic assumptions redefined