Organizational Culture at the Bose Corporation
After one week at Bose, the culture has really impressed me. I was ready to jump into a very professional and formal culture, but that is not the case. I have found that not only is the dress code very casual, but all the interactions I have seen and/or been a part of have been extremely informal in the best way; friendly, welcoming, and comfortable. I sit in an area that has about six desks, within a floor of about 30 people including marketers, engineers, the design team, and more. Everyone on my floor is working in efforts to better the same product, but we all have very different responsibilities and skill sets. Regardless of their job, everyone I encounter is excited to have an intern there and has been amazing in welcoming me to the team. The company itself is all about growth and innovation and they encourage an environment of respect and passion. These values have been particularly noticeable for me in my first week. They all welcome my ideas and thoughts, and they respect me as if I was a senior executive. The history of Bose has definitely had an impact on its culture, but they have evolved a lot in the past few years. Although they are making changes, they are all in an effort to stress the importance of the existing essence and values that have been in place since the start of Bose. One example is the dress code. Bose has recently (in the past few years) decided to allow employees to wear whatever they want to work, as appropriate. People wear sneakers, jeans, and t-shirts, depending on their preference. Bose wants their employees to be comfortable throughout the day, instead of in clothes that will make people want to count down the minutes until they can go home and change. Other efforts have been made to increase employee satisfaction and productivity, like changing the old rule that there could be no food or coffee at the desk. With this change, people can keep themselves fueled throughout the day without having to take themselves away from their desk. Overall, the Bose culture has really impressed me because of the way it considers its employees, of every level, without compromising the excellence of the company and the work that is being done.
First – it is evident that this is about organizational culture but please categorize your reflections (choose organizational culture, leader/follower relationships, or multiple categories if you choose); if you do not categorize them, they don’t readily show up in the blog. Sounds like a really interesting organization. I would have liked to hear more about how the history of Bose impacts its culture; you reference this, but then don’t really elaborate (e.g. you talk about dress code and food at desks and how that’s changed, but that doesn’t really explain how that relates to history). I’m so glad that you’ve joined such a welcoming environment.