The Woodland Community Center Cooperation (WCCC) had been established in 1926 by a social worker who thought that Woodland, an East Coast seaport town, would benefit from a variety of social and human services. Alain Yates, the longest serving executive director, was a long standing icon in the organization for many years, and due to a mixture of longevity and assertion, had shaped the organizational culture of the agency during his time of leadership. He had established a culture that didn’t necessarily reward what would be considered the “norm”; such has hard work and excellence. Instead he rewarded seniority and loyalty to the organization, and above all, loyalty to him. Employees advanced through becoming Yates’ “pet” employees, and
As more employees became loyal to Yates, the control system became to strong.
The weakest part of the culture is tied to the “social glue” (McShane 466). “Organizational culture is the “social glue” that bonds people together and makes them feel part of the organizational experience” (McShane 466). The case study talks of a “growing rift” among employees that are loyal or not to Yates (McShane 539). The organizational culture suffers from a split in the employees as more experienced employees feel left out by Yates. This effectively shows a lack of “social glue” within the organizational culture of WCCC.
Overall, it is easy to see that the organizational culture during Mr. Yates tenure has been significantly decreased at WCCC. The company lacks any “social glue” that could improve employee moral and it further harmed by the overbearing control of Mr. Yates. During his 25 year stay at WCCC, Mr. Yates has turned the organizational culture to nothing more than a “yes” culture. Fred Chambers is well aware how much organizational change is needed at the Woodland Community Center Corporation. There are both driving and restraining forces for change found in this case which will make Fred Chambers’ new position of executive director a difficult one. It is his goal to effectively manage these forces in order to