Crafting Organizational Culture: ‘Getting the Boss to Work for You’

Abstract

This case study explores the organizational culture of a privately held company, Service Express, Inc. (SEI), headquartered in Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA, providing customers with onsite data maintenance service for mission-critical servers. As of January 2013, it had 250 employees located in 24 regional offices in the Midwest and Southeast, generating revenues of around $50 million. SEI’s vision is to help its employees achieve their personal, professional and financial goals. The company takes the position that culture drives performance; in particular, the case details how SEI crafts its culture for a superior organizational performance; it explores various aspects (e.g., service-centric focus, servant leadership) that drive this organization’s culture. It draws reader’s attention to the notion that organizational performance (including profit) is a lagging indicator, while organizational culture is the leading indicator of organizational success.