Corporate Culture at Herschend Family Entertainment – Case Study
Corporate Culture
Among the characteristics of corporate culture stated by Brusseau (2012), the culture at Herschend Family Entertainment is a constellation of values, a dynamic constellation of values, and a provider of guidance. To begin with, the constellation of values at Herschend includes kindness, patience, humility, selflessness, respectfulness, honesty, forgiveness, and commitment. These set Herschend’s view of the economic world. Second, this constellation of cultural values is dynamic. Notably, a dynamic constellation of values means everyone involved stretches and pushes the organizational culture (Brusseau, 2012). In this regard, Herschend executives push the organization’s culture by having 50% of the annual bonus awarded based on how organizational culture is exhibited and promoted. Third, Herschend’s corporate culture guides employees, for instance, regarding how they should treat each other. This guidance is exemplified in their phrase “admonish in private, praise in public” (Brusseau, 2012, p. 465), where Joel Manby, the CEO, notes that this prevents embarrassing others.
Corporate Culture Ethics Audit
A corporate culture ethics audit is an evaluation of how the ethical values set by the top organization level to guide activities align with the actual practices throughout the open channels in the organization (Brusseau, 2012).
A Corporate Culture Ethics Audit for Herschend
A corporate culture ethics audit for Herschend is likely to produce a relatively high score. Arguably, Manby’s statement explaining that their culture involves respecting, forgiving, and treating others with honesty and humility and their phrase “admonish in private, praise in public” (Brusseau, 2012, p. 465) suggest a leadership style marked by integrity, compassion, empowerment, and putting others first, which are all key characteristics of servant leadership. Subsequently, servant leadership is linked to favorable outcomes across all organizational levels: individual, team, unit, and firm, where the positive effects flow to the bottom line (Bavık, 2020). Additionally, servant leadership enhances employees’ discretionary behavior and engagement. For these reasons, the ethical values set by Manby to guide activities are highly likely to align with the actual practices across all organizational levels, producing a relatively high audit score.
Possible Attributes of the Culture at Saab
Based on this case study, the likely attributes of the culture at Saab include excellence, expertise, flexibility, discipline, commitment, and superiority.
What Counts as Success
For Herschend, success is defined partly by how well the corporate culture is promoted and exhibited and, thus, partly by hitting numbers. Therefore, for Herschend, success is fully promoting and exhibiting the corporate culture and hitting numbers in terms of operating theme parks. On the other hand, success at Saab is seemingly defined by getting numbers correct; therefore, what counts as success at Saab is precise accuracy.
The Distinction Between Workers from People Who Work
An organization that sees employees as “workers” limits their value to only what they do to get paychecks. Conversely, an organization that perceives its employees as “people doing work” values them as integral people with determinations beyond organizational aspirations (Brusseau, 2012, p. 430). The constellation of values, such as kindness, humility, and selflessness, suggests that Herschend values its employees as people; therefore, Herschend fits into the category that perceives employees as people who work. Contrariwise, Manby’s experience at Saab, where he had to fly to Europe just to be harshly criticized by the president of all Saabs for slightly missing his numbers, shows a culture where employees are valued only for their work. Thus, Saab perceives employees as workers.
Ethical Values in Corporate Culture
Corporate culture comprises a set of values, beliefs, customs, and habits that define organizational activities and actions. However, organizations have unique goals, and since corporate culture often matches organizational goals, then corporate culture and ethical values may differ across organizations. Therefore, one cannot say that a set of ethical values is right or wrong. Besides, from the perspective of business ethics, an organization like Saab can argue for its culture and provide reasons showing that how it does things is the way things ought to be done in the business world—the same can be said for Herschend.
Nonetheless, one can say that one set of ethical values is right for them and another set is wrong. Notably, an individual may resonate more with an organization’s ethical values if these values align with the individual’s personal beliefs, principles, or habits. Subsequently, the individual can conclude that this organization’s ethical values are right for them. Similarly, the individual can conclude that another collection of ethical values is wrong for them when the company’s ethical values do not match their beliefs, principles, or habits. In this respect, Mandy can say that ethical values at Herschend are right for him and those at Saab are wrong for him because he resonates more with Herschend’s values than those at Saab.
References
Bavık, A. (2020). A systematic review of the servant leadership literature in management and hospitality. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 32(1), 347–382. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijchm-10-2018-0788
Brusseau, J. (2012). Business ethics (v. 1.0). Creative Commons. https://2012books.lardbucket.org/pdfs/business-
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Question 
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- Define corporate culture and its importance in shaping organizational success.
- Briefly introduce Herschend Family Entertainment and its core values.
- Understanding Hersch End’s Corporate Culture
- Summarize the key elements of the company’s corporate culture (e.g., family values, employee engagement, service focus).
Corporate Culture at Herschend Family Entertainment – Case Study
- Discuss specific practices or programs that reflect their commitment to creating a positive work environment.
- Summarize the key elements of the company’s corporate culture (e.g., family values, employee engagement, service focus).
- Impact of Culture on Business Performance
- Analyze how Herschend’s corporate culture contributes to employee satisfaction, customer experience, and overall business success.
- Provide examples from the case study to illustrate these impacts.
- Challenges in Maintaining Corporate Culture
- Identify potential challenges Herschend may face in sustaining its corporate culture as it grows or navigates market changes.
- Suggest strategies to address these challenges while staying true to their values.
