• Michael Bonsignore, CEO of Honeywell, states that Honeywell will not be an extension of the old Honeywell or Allied Signal. He is creating a new culture that blends the best of the merged companies of Honeywell and Allied Signal. He says that Honeywell will compensate and reward people that look for best practices from both companies in creating a new corporate culture and punish those who do not. Do you predict Honeywell will be successful?
I do believe that Honey well will be successful, I say that because it is interesting to see where this CEO’s roots lie. I think that since Michael Bonsignore comes from a background of understanding the company and how it works through over twenty years of experience, this will be the difference maker. Mike did not just walk into the CEO position because he knows someone or is the son of a former CEO, I feel that Mike earned his position. With that being said, it is my understanding that Mike has gone through a merger before and understands what it takes to continue to change and improve an organization. With this statement he is solidifying the fact that he believes in this merger, he understands that the best of both worlds needs to be brought into the current merger.
It seems like merging two companies is never easy, you have to bring in people who are extremely comfortable where they are at and have them understand that the business will change. Along with the business changing the culture will be drastically affected by the new merger. Mike stands behind the importance of adapting and changing the culture and feel that anyone that is not willing to adapt will be punished. Those which adapt well will be compensated, compensating strong work from good employees is essential. We can see the importance of having a strong base of employees to change the culture of a company through the example which Gordon Bethune’s Continental Airlines has provided for us. Gordon Bethune showed us that by creating an amazing new culture for his employees has helped the company go from one of the worst airliners to one of the mist successful ones in the United States.
• What barriers do you see based on what you observed in the video?
One of the essential barriers which I see in this video is the fact that many companies like the Honeywell Company will have a hard time keeping up with modern times. It seems to me that in this video the U.S is about to go through a technological boom which will cause many companies to continue to advance and modernize their corporate culture. I believe that at this point in time companies which cannot continue to adapt everyday will begin to fall very quickly. I am not exactly sure of the year this video took place but it seems like it was shoot over a decade ago. I believe that at that time period is when business took a big change and newer technology turned the business world upside down.
• What critical success factors should Honeywell consider as it crafts its organizational strategies around a new culture?
I feel that Honeywell should consider the fact that the business world is a rapid changing place in which companies that get complacent can be left behind. A business that does not continually change can fail no matter how big the business is, just because Honeywell is considered a colossus does not mean that they are immune to failure. I believe that Mike realizes that times are changing at a very quick rate, he mentions in the video how no CEO should be in place for more than ten years. I do feel that Mike was being honest when he said that he feels like his time as a CEO is starting to become short. He knows that he will be the first person to recognize when his time is over, it is hard to keep up with modern times and keeping a modern culture is essential to the success of any business.
• What can you take away from this exercise to immediately use in your career?
As a leader I always thought that when I get along with my employees or subordinates it creates a great atmosphere, as Gordon said in the video “it is easier to motivate people when they like you”. I never believed in ruling with an iron fist, I actually think that it causes much more tension and rebellious behavior will not be too far away. The culture that Gordon created at continental is the type of organization which I would like to create and emulate, I hope that as a future manager I will be able to create a happy culture. My ideal organization or department would consist of happy employees who feel like they are part of the business, I want people to feel like they gain something when the company does well. I understand that there will be obstacles when creating this type of culture but as we can see with the example set by Gordon that it is definitely possible.
Reference:
Films for the Humanities and Sciences (FFHS). (2012). Mastering the Art of Corporate Reinvention. Available from
http://digital.films.com/play/GWEU7L
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