Exemplary Leadership and POB

Former long-time CEO Jim Sinegal's driving vision for Costco still dominates and it is all about conceiving that small company feeling and he did this by creating value from within. Of course for Sinegal, creating value from within meant taking good care of Costco's 160,000 employees, which is explicitly stated in the vision statement. One way Sinegal was able to do this was by fashioning a corporate culture that established a more proactive and effective management that catered directly to the needs of Costco's employees. Sinegal made it a company-wide policy to get management to be deeply involved with Costco's employees in many different ways, this primarily included eliminating physical structures and
When visiting stores, Craig Jelinek wears a nametag just like any employee would be required to. He will take the time to actually talk to employees, to straighten shelf items, to assist customers, or even to pick trash up off the ground. Unlike most CEOs, Jelinek also often answers his own phone. Although he is sometimes criticized for treating people too well, Jelinek defends his strategy by reminding critics that unlike competitors he is looking to have a company that will remain strong for the next fifty years, not just to increase profits over the next week.
Costco’s mission is “To continually provide members with quality goods and services at the lowest possible prices.” (www.referenceforbusiness.com, 2010) To accomplish this goal, Costco places a great deal of emphasis on its code of ethics which involves:

- Obeying the law
- Taking care of members
- Taking care of employees
- And respecting suppliers

Jelinek believes that by doing these things, Costco will also increase profits. He believes that by treating people right, Costco’s good reputation will continue to spread even though the company does not have a PR department and does not spend any money on advertising. Although not focusing simply on creating value for shareholders, Jelinek bases his management strategy on the idea that Costco will be successful if it continues to implement its code of ethics throughout the organization. Jelinek stresses the importance of