"Corporate culture" is the driving force and foundation of day-to-day activities.

Amidst a variety of contexts and backgrounds, such as adapting to changes in the business environment, organizational restructuring, business reorganization, and the progression of globalization, many companies are positioning the strengthening and transformation of corporate culture as a crucial management issue.

(Cases)

  • Due to poor communication between the Southeast Asian subsidiaries and the headquarters, there is an increasing sense of opacity and dissatisfaction on both sides.
  • As a result of growth through M&A, a mix of various values and behavioral styles has emerged within the group, making it difficult to share perspectives and directions.
  • Incidents of misconduct have occurred, leading to a loss of trust in the management and a decline in employees' confidence in themselves.
  • There are generational differences in engagement and satisfaction levels among young, mid-career, and senior employees.
  • Traditional views on careers are not being accepted by the younger generation, leading to a shift in attitudes towards work and work values, and impacting performance.

Brightz Partners leverages the insights gained from the strengthening and transformation of corporate cultures of many companies to support the realization of these goals.

Steps

The journey to achieving the strengthening and transformation of corporate culture is comprised of the following three steps.

Corporate Culture Assessment

 Visualization & Articulation

Through the assessment, we visualize and articulate "the current state (As-Is)" and "the desired future state (To-Be)" from various perspectives.

Typically, the assessment is designed and conducted by combining surveys and interviews. We also offer the option to conduct surveys only.

 Assessment Report

We provide a ”Corporate Culture Assessment Report" as an output of this assessment.

We use the 'Global Culture Score' as an indicator to show the level of corporate culture.

This Global Culture Score sets the average value at 50.0 and calculates the level of corporate culture based on how much each evaluation item's score deviates above or below this average, using the standard deviation.

  1. Results Summary
  2. Key Findings
  3. Result Details
     ・Principal Factors
     ・Individual Factors
  4. Breakout by Entities
  5. Breakout by Geographics
  6. Breakout by Profiles & Attributes
  7. Methodology
  8. Assessment Overview
  9. Answerers Overview

The Culture Assessment Report is available in either Japanese or English. For any other languages, additional production costs will be incurred.

 Clarification of Gaps

Based on the results obtained through the above assessment, we clarify the gaps between the current state and the desired future state.

During this process, it is important to articulate the fundamental causes of these gaps while forming hypotheses.

(Identified Issues)
Case of a global FMCG Manufacturer

  • Limitations of Tacit-Knowledge-based Ethics
    While the overall assessment of ethical awareness is high, it remains largely tacit. There is a significant expectation for its articulation and systematization.
  • Backlash risk of Excessive Performance Orientation
    The company's strong execution ability towards achieving goals is recognized as a strength, but there are concerns about swinging towards an excessive focus on numbers.
  • High-Context Environment
    While superficially advocating for speaking up, in reality, there is an expectation to understand the unspoken nuances and behave appropriately.
  • Polarization of Optimism and Pessimism Across Generations
    Younger employees realistically foresee a future where existing businesses may not thrive, while expressing anxiety and frustration towards the senior layer for not being proactive in finding solutions.
  • Alienation of Foreign Employees, Resignation
    Foreign employees feel strongly alienated, believing they are excluded from the treatment and development opportunities available to Japanese employees, leading to a sense of resignation.

Designing Initiatives

Based on the results of the assessment, the next step is to design initiatives to address the identified gaps.

Given the abstract nature of corporate culture, it often takes times to make improvements or progresses. Therefore it is crucial to have a plan with clear KPIs and solid milestones in planning.

 3 Key Factors

From our track record in supporting the improvement and transformation of corporate cultures, Brightz Partners identified three key factors that significantly influence the success or failure of these initiatives.

When implementing these initiatives, it is effective to focus on and integrate these key factors.