The_Organizational_Culture_and_Communication_of_Macy's_Inc.

The Organizational Culture and Communication of Macy’s Inc. Racquel O. Sinigal BCOM/230 October 25, 2010 Paulette Schirmer The Organizational Culture and Communication of Macy’s Inc. Macy’s culture is based primarily on the idea of maintaining a diverse workforce and customer base. This is carried out in abundance by the numerous Diversity Councils and Employee Resource Groups designed to ensure an inclusive and supportive work environment to attract and retain top talent. The goal is to “encourage creativity and innovative thinking, which is at the heart of our success” (Clark, 2010). The Macy’s corporation realized that the multicultural society they serve needed to be reflected by the workforce. “Diversity is a strategic business initiative…this approach helps Macy's better understand and satisfy the needs of its increasingly diverse customer base and creates deep customer loyalties…” (Hawthorne, 2010). Because of Macy’s commitment to this diverse organizational culture, they have been recognized as a top company to work for by several diversity groups and well-known magazines. Macy’s uses marketing campaigns as an effective method of external communication. In honor of Black History Month, Macy’s celebrated and promoted the brand of African American Sheila P. Coates, owner of BYOB, Be Your Own Brand and for Asian Pacific American Month, Macy’s celebrated local Asian-American fashion experts and Media personalities. Fostering strong relationships in the work environment through effective internal communications is accomplished by promoting two-way communications and creating strong and dependable pathways for feedback from employees. Macy’s internal communications are friendly and approachable. Acheiving a strong alignment between the organizations’ culture and communications is an important goal for the company. “When we approach our internal communications strategies and tactics, we’re focused on creating alignment with our mission, values and priorities across the organization” (Gick, 2010). Every communication sent out by Macy’s, whether internal or external is designed to be universally understood by all customers and employees regardless of race, religion or culture. The goal is to include customers and employees in the decision making process. This will solidify the workforce and give employees a feeling of pride as a stakeholder rather than an employee. The alignment between Macy’s espoused values and enacted values is undeniable. Social responsibility is demonstrated by the upgrading of stores and facilities to comply with the Americans With Disabilities Act and Macy’s efforts to reduce their impact on the environment has earned them recognition by the Environmental Protection Agency as one of its top 20 partners for generating the most green electricity on site. Macy’s believes that great leadership equals great performance and to support this belief they have developed The Leadership Institute to strengthen the leadership and business management skills of their top 2,000 executives. Macy’s believes in positive reinforcement and recognition of top performers, which is why they have created the Star Academy to honor the most successful individuals from the top executives down to the sales associates and support staff. These are just several examples of how Macy’s commitment to company values. Macy’s culture is strong and uniform and the communication is open and honest. The values are reiterated throughout the company through campaigning, marketing and specific developments. The communication reflects the culture by attracting and retaining customers and employees nationally. “We demonstrate that commitment, through charitable contributions, employment initiatives, volunteerism and the creation of economic partnerships" (Goldberg, 2010). References Clark, D. (2010). Diversity leadership. Macy's Inc. Retrieved from http://www.macysinc.com/diversitymanagement/workforce/index.aspx. Gick, L. (2010). Building Strong Employee Engagement interview with Lisa Gick. Retrieved from http://www.prlog.org/10998416-building-strong-employee-engagement-interview-with-lisa-gick- at-macys.html Goldberg, E. (2010). Diversity leadership. Macy's Inc. Retrieved from http://www.macysinc.com/diversitymanagement/community/index.aspx Hawthorne, B. (2010). Diversity leadership. Macy's Inc. Retrieved from http://www.macysinc.com/diversitymanagement/workforce/holisticplan.aspx.