Do you guys think that this culture change will help save Dynegy? Should other struggling companies follow Mr. Flexion's example? Is this idea of more efficient workers and more frugal executives perhaps what this country's economy needs as a whole?
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Can Culture Changes Fix Distressed Companies?
This Article from the WSJ talks about how Bob Flexion, the new Chief Executive of Dynegy, is trying to save his company by changing the general culture of the company. He has already done things like move out of the expensive executive office his predecessor used and into a cubicle with his fellow employees, as well as moving the company to a cheaper building. This move will save the company 5 million dollars per year. He has also made his workers more efficient by not allowing them to mess around on their phones or the internet while working.
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Save money how you can, but make sure everyone is on board. I am totally for culture changes, but if you are going to go down that road, you have to understand that some talent may not want to come with you. You have to accept that some people are comfortable with the way things are and big changes can upset them. This reminds me of a story I read earlier about the Yahoo! CEO who was trying to move workers away from technology all together and work more with paper. Also she was no longer going to allow people to work from home. There was outrage. If your going to do it, do it right, and be ready for some fight back
ReplyDeleteThis culture change seems like it will provide a huge boost to Dynegy. Not only has the company started to save money on office space, but the article mentions that morale is up as well. As Travis pointed out, turnover may be a bit of an issue with such drastic changes, however the turnover rate has dropped about 2.2% since 2011. In addition, there seems to be better communication between hourly workers and upper management.
ReplyDeleteThis is very interesting and a bold move. I dont see it happening in the broader sense. I hope this can help spearhead change in the cooperate world.
ReplyDeleteWhy is this a bold move, Gift? I think this is what a lot of companies need--a bit of humility. Sure, it's a nice view on the top floor of the Willis Tower; however, it's another game to let your product or service speak for itself.
ReplyDeleteI think we need to begin focusing on sustainability over mere growth. With companies on the whole, its time that we see more measures like this universally in capitalism.
ReplyDeleteThe stereotypical notion that growth--indicates success is doomed to fail in many instances. Sustainability breeds stability. Policies like the one listed above are case and point.
Changing cultures can be very hard. Freakonomics had an article on it awhile ago, and they talked about how people who try to restructure corporations and change corporate have to clean almost the entire old guard. Otherwise, any new people who come in are just overwhelmed and absorbed into the old, corrupt culture.
ReplyDeleteCultural change sounds great given the current situation but it does not sound practical at all. Every company have created their own style of working. Cultural change cannot happen overnight. It takes time and it takes even more longer for people to get used to it. If a sudden change is enforced it might have negative effect on the performance of the company.
ReplyDeleteI think this is overall a good move but will have some negative impacts. Culture changes like this will help save money and keep workers on task but I don't see how it increases morale. Implementing rules for workers like not being able to mess around on their computers, etc. should bring down morale and increase the stress on the employees.
ReplyDeleteI definitely think this will help Dynegy. First of all the fact that they are saving $5 million on a building alone is amazing. This move alone should help save the company. Secondly, since he is asking for more out of his employees I think that he should give them all small pay increases to help counterbalance the loss of morale. I believe if more companies cut down on some slack within their companies they would see more gains on the balance sheet.
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