Organizational leaders in the future need to discover sustainable paths which innovates their company’s organizational behavior in an effort to rise above competition found around the globe. Statistical Analytical Software (SAS) has proven to be a leader in arguably one of the most competitive sectors of the economy, being the technology industry. Today's software industry traditionally doubles in technological ability every eighteen months and the CEO of SAS since 1976, Jim Goodnight, has strived to make it his personal goal to stay one step ahead of these advancements. Jim Goodnight has done this by evolving methods of organizational management, thus changing corporate culture of the workplace in an effort to make it an environment employees want work for and arouse their creative capabilities. Jim Goodnight and author Richard Florida demonstrate theories to reach the pinnacle employee of innovation and creativity in the following link published by the Harvard Business Review:
SAS’s corporate social responsibility is evident in the company’s headquarters, called “the campus”, as it truly has an academic feel to it on the 300 acres of wooded forest which it sits. The campus also offers many services to SAS employees such as healthcare, daycare, and recreation center. Offering such services to employees may take away from daily stresses which come to mind, thus allowing workers to comfortably focus on the task at hand while on the job. Employees who are comfortable at work will be better capable of fluently transferring their original ideas amongst each one another in the flexible environment created for them by SAS.
The idea of giving employees benefits and an environment for creativity has proven to work for SAS, but how would it translate to other businesses in sectors such as finance or marketing? SAS obviously operates under the Theory Y principle, that all employees are not lazy and enjoy work, but does this theory only work because it applies to a rapidly changing industry that is stimulated by innovation? Self-motivation may be relevant for employees in evolving industries but other fields which have not seen swift transformation, such as accounting, may need a Theory X management approach for staff members. Overall, employees deserve to receive great benefits and be treated with the highest degree of admiration by an organization in order for the business to see the highest rate of return from its workers. However, a great atmosphere and free reign may not translate to productivity for some businesses.
Should the corporate culture implemented by SAS be the new business standard for all companies, or should it only apply companies in industries which require a high degree of creativity from employees?
-Zach Seibel
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