Culture in the Technology Industry

By: Kyle Yergenson

Article Overview The title of the article is Twitter tops all in culture and values,

employees say Article starts with a statement that says, “Tech industry

accounts for 11 out of 25 companies rated highest by employees”

Roof-top meetings and friendly colleagues make Twitter’s employees the happiest in the country (Ranked #1 on Glassdoor’s culture and values list)

Twitter received highest ratings from employees in terms of corporate culture and values; average score of 4.5 on a scale of 1 to 5

Article Overview (Continued) From July 2013 to July 2014, 1,600 of Twitter’s employees

turned into millionaires Workers get free meals, in-office yoga classes and unlimited

vacation at Twitter’s San Francisco headquarters Article later talks more about the specific opinions of

employees about the company that are submitted anonymously

Employees at tech companies likely rate their employers highly in culture and values because they really buy into the companies’ mission statements

Twitter’s mission statement is to make the world more connected and open

Deal & Kennedy’s “Strong Cultures”

According to the text book Organizational Communication: Approaches and Processes by Katherine Miller, there are four key components of a strong culture that make an organization great and successful:1. Values – Beliefs and visions that members hold for an

organization2. Heroes – Individuals who come to exemplify an

organization’s values Ex: Bill Gates, Steve Jobs3. Rites & Rituals – ceremonies through which an organization

celebrates its values Ex: Company picnic, sporting events4. Cultural Network – communication system through which

cultural values are instituted and reinforced

Peters & Waterman’s “Excellent Cultures”

According to the text book Organizational Communication: Approaches and Processes by Katherine Miller these are eight themes of successful companies with excellent cultures:1. A bias for action2. Close relations to the customer3. Autonomy and entrepreneurship4. Productivity through people5. Hands-on, value-driven6. Stick to the knitting7. Simple form, lean staff8. Simultaneous loose-tight properties

Twitter’s Core Values

1. Grow our business in a way that makes us proud.2. Recognize that passion and personality matter.3. Communicate fearlessly to build trust.4. Defend and respect the user’s voice.5. Reach every person on the planet.6. Innovate through experimentation.7. Seek diverse perspectives.8. Be rigorous. Get it right.9. Simplify.10. Ship it.

Twitter’s Heroes

CEO and co-founder Jack DorseyCreated Twitter to bring people together to

watch live events in the place where information comes the fastest.

Twitter’s users

Twitter’s Rites & Rituals

According to the article:The company often holds roof-top meetings

with a beautiful view in Silicon ValleyFree meals, in-office yoga, and unlimited

vacation

Google

The article mentioned that Google was ranked third on Glassdoor’s culture and values list

Average rating of 4.4 out of 5 Features a “culture of respect” Google’s mission is to organize the world’s

information and make it universally accessible and useful.

Google’s Core Values

1. Focus on the user and all else will follow.2. It’s best to do one thing really, really well.3. Fast is better than slow.4. Democracy on the web works.5. You don’t need to be at your desk to need an answer.6. You can make money without doing evil.7. There’s always more information out there.8. The need for information crosses all borders.9. You can be serious without a suit.10. Great just isn’t good enough.

Google’s Heroes

Surprisingly, Google’s CEO, Eric Schmidt was asked who his heroes are in the tech industry and outside it, he answered during an open event that, “For me, it’s easy. Steve Jobs.”

Google and Apple have been rivals for years but Schmidt and Jobs had a well documented friendship before their companies started competing over many things in the past few years

Google’s Rites & Rituals

New employees have a ritual in which they wear beanie hats in the Google logo colors with propellers on top that say “Noogler.” It makes them feel that they are a part of the exclusive group

They also have free food, places to do laundry, nap pods, and many other fun and interesting activities to do

Facebook

Tries things out rather than debating Values getting things to work Long-term plans Younger culture (employees act young) More open about knowing details about

people’s personal lives Focus more on user experience than

generating revenue

Facebook’s Core Values

1. Be Bold2. Focus on Impact3. Move Fast4. Be Open5. Build Social Valuehttps://www.facebook.com/facebookcareers/photos/?tab=album&album_id=1655178611435493

Facebook’s Heroes

CEO Mark Zuckerberg - a never-give up attitude, and a willingness to work hard and determinedly on any task.

All of Facebook’s members

Facebook’s Rites and Rituals

CEO Mark Zuckerberg reads an important book every two weeks and discusses it with the Facebook community

Offer lots of free food, stock options, open office space (including Mark Zuckerberg), on-site laundry, focus on teamwork and open communication to create a sense of equality among all of the employees

Adobe’s Core Values

1. Genuine2. Exceptional3. Innovative4. Involved

Adobe’s Heroes

Recipients of the annual Founder’s Award, which is where Adobe employees are recognized for consistently representing Adobe’s core values, they make a major impact of the company

CEO Shantanu Narayen, named one of the world’s best CEOs by Barron’s magazine

Adobe’s Rites & Rituals

Annual awards like the Founder’s Award Employees often go through a series of

rituals to get their creative minds flowingSome crank up tunes, draw on white boards,

talk to others, look at inspiring pictures or sights around the building

Thoughts/Future Research

It seems many tech companies have similar cultural values with making the customer happy, taking risks, and having open communication

I would like to compare the cultural values of the tech industry to cultural values of another industry and see how they compare

A question I have is if these companies ever change their core values? A company may make core values when they are first created, but they may find out later that they are not that great

Works Cited Huddleston, Jr. Tom. "Twitter Tops All in Culture and Values, Employees

Say." Fortune Twitter Tops All in Culture and Values Employees Say Comments. Fortune, 21 Aug. 2014. Web. 26 Oct. 2016. http://fortune.com/2014/08/22/twitter-tops-list-company-culture/.

Frier, Sarah. "The Future of Twitter: Q&A with Jack Dorsey." Bloomberg.com. Bloomberg, 21 Mar. 2016. Web. 26 Oct. 2016. http://www.bloomberg.com/features/2016-jack-dorsey-twitter-interview/.

Nieva, Richard. "Google's Eric Schmidt: Steve Jobs Is My Hero." CNET. CNET, 03 Oct. 2014. Web. 26 Oct. 2016. https://www.cnet.com/news/googles-eric-schmidt-steve-jobs-is-my-hero/.

Patel, Sujan. "10 Examples of Companies With Fantastic Cultures." Entrepreneur. Entrepreneur, 6 Aug. 2015. Web. 26 Oct. 2016. https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/249174.

Orsow, Andy. "A Look Inside Design at @Adobe - InVision Blog." InVision Blog. InVision Blog, 13 July 2015. Web. 26 Oct. 2016. http://blog.invisionapp.com/a-look-inside-design-at-adobe/.