Page 232 - DCOM506_DMGT502_STRATEGIC_MANAGEMENT

Strategic Management

Notes Nokia's annual meetings, referred to as the 'Nokia way', were used to exchange notes and
set priorities. After a brainstorming exercise, top managers defined the company's vision,
which was communicated to the lower layers of management through formal
presentations.
Nokia's culture was rooted in the Finnish national character-frugal, honest, very direct,
serious, with little tolerance for "fooling around"-mixed with a good dose of engineering
culture-"can do," pragmatic, and hands-on. The difficulties that Nokia had faced before
Ollila became CEO also played their part in shaping the culture.
The most distinctive characteristics of Nokia's organization did not show up on any
organization chart. When asked to describe the company's organization structure, Nokia's
managers talked about its flexibility, freedom, and the importance of networks, rather
than its formal architecture.
While Nokia was not known to pay high compensation, it had been successful in attracting,
motivating and retaining quality people because it provided these individuals with plenty
of growth opportunities in a challenging environment.
Nokia had introduced various innovations in its people processes to achieve a positive
employer image. Nokia believed in providing individuals with a platform for personal
growth in a challenging environment. Nokia believed in providing equal opportunities
to people and attempted to shape a culture of respect, openness and trust.
As a result, Nokia, is renowned all over the world for its organizational culture. A flat,
networked organization along with flexibility and speedy decision-making form the
main elements of Nokia's culture. Many analysts attribute the success of Nokia in becoming
world's largest maker of cell phones ahead of rivals such as Motorola, Siemens, Samsung,
etc., to the culture it follows.
Questions
1. What do you analyse as the most glaring aspect of Nokia's culture that you are least
likely to find with many companies?
2. Do you think that Nokia benefited financially from its culture? If yes, how?

Source: www.icmrindia.org

12.4 Personal Values and Ethics

Values, personal values, and core values all refer to the same thing. They are desirable qualities,
standards, or principles. Values are a person’s driving force and influence their actions and
reactions.
Ethics is defined as “the discipline dealing with what is good and bad, and right and wrong, or
with moral duty and obligation.”
Ethics refers to the moral principles and values that govern the behaviour of a person or group.
Ethics helps us in deciding what is good or bad, moral or immoral, fair or unfair in conduct and
decision-making. In other words, ethics serve as a “moral compass” to guide our actions.
There are many sources for an individual’s ethics. These include family background, religious
beliefs, community standards and expectations etc.

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