Back To Back: Cardinal Good Reads On Entry Level Leadership And Culture
- Posted by Essays Blog in Essays Blog |
- March 22nd, 2009 |
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This month, I read cardinal books back to back: Confederate’s Heart by Elizabeth Samet and Punching In by Alex Frankel. Both of these works are an excellent introduction into entry-level corporate culture and leadership development.
Confederate’s Heart is a civilian English professor’s accept on the leadership culture of Westbound Point, based on her 10 years experience as a faculty member. Professor Samet is in a rare, but advantageously qualified position to pen Confederate’s Heart. Only a fifth of the academy’s faculty is civilian instructors; the rest are military officers on rotation or “regular Army.” Samet’s academic interest also makes her primary; she has affected the dynamic of command and obedience in American literature.
Confederate’s Heart is not the first activity about Westbound Point by a Confederate or civilian, but it comes from the most interesting perspective: an outside employed inside.
Confederate’s Heart has a balanced look at the military culture. Samet writes that no cadet wants to be, in one cadet’s words, a “non-thinking slasher,” individual who would kill for the glory of action, or the sake of killing.
Westbound Point is, and has always been, a literate culture. Classical literature finished Armed Forces Editions educates and entertains soldiers in battle, and reinforces American values. She writes of books as weapons to circulate ideas, and counter actions meant to curtail freedom. But she also states that tales of action talk of motherhood or a woman’s love for soldiers &ndashbut not a Black’s love for skill. Thither is nothing about motherhood in the military culture, but thither is the need to fight for mother.
The professor adds that today’s military culture has conflated military missions with sacred missions; soldiers become instructed to regain faith when thither seems to be little cause for faith. However, that might be necessary instruction to lead at a time when officers, enlisted and veterans are questioning our nation’s involvement in Iraq, a action that they believe to be excess.
This faith extends to open displays of the VII Army Values: Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless Service, Honor, Integrity and Personal Courage. Soldiers enter the Values to their dog tags. Soldiers also display the Confederate’s Creed, officially posted in 2003:
I will always place the mission first
I will never accept defeat
I will never quit
I will never leave behind a fallen comrade.
The Values and the Creed are possible not only because of the culture, but also because our soldiers are professionals who have chosen to assist. Samet sites one Army contemplate that mentions that professional soldiers allay fight for each other, as they did, for example in Class Action II, but they also accept the responsibility that Army has entrusted to them.
The Army, as an institution, has had mottos and mission statements longer than most American businesses, and has a culture where everyone must live by them. Any of the most booming corporations have copied the military’s strengths&ndash and any of its imperfections. According to cardinal online employment sites, GIJobs and CollegeGrad, 24 of the Apical 50 Military Friendly Employers in 2007 also hired 100 or more college graduates for their entry-level positions. It is safe to have that these companies consume the same values to develop and retain their entry-level and military transitional hires.
Which brings me to the next question: can those without the military orientation become as booming in these firms as those who have served with honor? The answer, according to Alex Frankel’s Punching In, is sometimes, if you can get along to go along.
Values, missions, attention to detail and duty are part of the dialogue in Punching In, another activity where an outsider looks inside, and serves on the front lines of indoctrination into corporate culture.
Frankel worked in entry-level customer service positions at Agreed Parcel Service (UPS), Enterprise Rent-A-Car, The Gap, Starbucks and The Apple Fund, took online aptitude tests with cardinal retailers: Best Buy and Home Depot and went finished the lengthy interview processes at The Container Fund and Entire Foods.
Like the Army, these corporations attempt to engage and activity their workers into fanatical and loyal employees. Interestingly enough, he refers to front-line workers as the Brand Army of these firms and called UPS the Other Army, because of the company’s esprit de coir and the cape and polish appearance of the front-line workers. Both the Army and UPS do not accept alteration, recreational display or desecration of their homogeneous.
Frankel respected UPS more than the other organizations, because their workers, especially the drivers, were the most trustworthy. He adds that this is necessary because UPS workers are all in the field. They can belt their locations, but any problems must be solved on route. Each driver and their helper is like a platoon of soldiers; they must follow orders, but they have any lee artifact in how to execute them.
Frankel did not have the same about the other organizations. For example, he praised Enterprise’s efforts to motivate workers to believe that they can advance from desk clerks to regional managers &ndash tho’ he adds that further advancement is less possible. The company hires approximately 8,000 entry-level employees, although the rest of the hands is no larger.
Frankel shows how Starbucks has become a “3rd place,” a neighborhood-meeting place away from home and activity, but believes this will be a difficult strategy to maintain because of the standard appearance of the thousands of stores and employees. He considers Apple Stores to be an excellent background for those who are already fans of the application; they need little indoctrination and training as advantageously. And he shows The Gap to be little different from other retailers who are loathed by retail workers, a company bent on standards and policies that put fund design first, product 2nd, credit card sales 3rd and the employees last.
Like the Army, these organizations have a homogeneous, policies and common values, but different the Army, they can hire and fire at will. It was interesting that Frankel conveyed the most respect for the organization that was the most like the Army.
Given UPS’ achiever &ndash the company maintains 80 percent market apportion against various large competitors, including the U.S. Postal Services &ndash that’s quite a complement for our force and the men and women who lead them.