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HEB Culture
According to Vault. ... Butt Grocery Company (2002) and the Central Market Company History (2002), HEB was started in 1905 in Kerrville, TX by Charles Butt for a $60. ... HEB opened its second store in Del Rio in 1927, purchased three additional stores in 1928, and relocated the headquarters to the Rio Grande Valley. ... By the 1950’s HEB began opening supermarkets which brought together a fish market, butcher shop, pharmacy and bakery “under one roof”. ...
The purpose of this paper is to examine HEB’s leadership and corporate culture and how it is passed down to the store level. The authors will first discuss what culture is and the three levels of culture. They will then present HEB’s leadership and corporate culture and the store-level culture. Next, they will discus to what extent the actions of HEB match the values expressed by that culture. In particular, the authors will examine HEB’s actions with respect to community service, employee participation in store events and customer service. Finally, the authors will present recommendations for continued success for HEB based on this study.
What is Culture?
“The term corporate culture has been defined as the values, symbols, and beliefs that people in a given organization hold jointly and that thus guide an organization. Corporate culture has a powerful influence throughout the organization, affecting everything from what decisions get made to who gets promoted. It is especially important for persons joining an organization to know whether the organization’s culture and values are compatible with their own” (Warick, 1987). ...
Think of culture as an orange. ... Culture has three essential layers. To truly understand an organization’s culture, an observer must carefully peel away these layers to get to the core.
The three levels of culture are: artifacts, espoused values, and basic underlying assumptions. ... These are the first things one would observe upon entering into an unfamiliar culture – what can be seen, heard, and felt. Upon entering into one HEB, for example, the practitioners immediately noted that all personnel were dressed with matching shirts with the words “HEB Partner” written on the front (HEB calls its employees “Partners,” a symbol of HEB’s ideal that every person counts). ...
The next layer or level of culture is espoused values. ... An example of an espoused value within HEB is posted on a sign in the customer service area. ... Here, HEB is stating an espoused value – they are telling the customers that they value their service and if an item is not right, for whatever reason, HEB will refund their money without hassle.
Finally, at the core of an organization’s culture are the basic assumptions. Basic assumptions are the true essence of an organizations culture and what it stands for. In the brief period of time spent assessing the culture at HEB, one could not even begin to peel away the layers of the organizations true culture. However, throughout HEB, there is evidence that a basic assumption within the organization is teamwork – regardless of rank or position. At HEB, employees are partners – it says so on signs throughout the store, it’s written on their shirts, and most importantly, it is evident in the actions of the employees. ...
HEB Corporate Culture and Leadership
“Neither culture nor leadership, when one examines each closely, can really be understood by itself. In fact, one could argue that the only thing of real importance that leaders do is to create and manage culture and that the unique talents of leaders are their ability to understand and work with culture. ... Therefore, the culture of the organization is often created and influenced by the leader. The role of a leader is critical in understanding culture. “One of the most decisive functions of leadership is the creation, the management, and sometimes even the destruction of culture” (Schein, 1992). ... ” Inside the HEB culture, leadership plays a key role. ... Programs such as the School of Retail Leadership and the School of Retail Management enroll internal and external individuals that HEB invests in in order to mold them to become exemplary leaders. Once Partners experience the “Spirit of HEB,” they continue to grow and learn in an environment that supports their efforts toward exemplary leadership. The visible behaviors of management at HEB stores and corporate level exemplify leadership skills and knowledge. The constant sense of urgency to keep up with change, the ability to offer positive feedback to Partners, and also the unique charisma of each manager exemplifies HEB’s commitment to develop leaders.
Approximate Word count = 3676
Approximate Pages = 14.7
(250 words per page double spaced)
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