The Homewood

Primary control results when employees with individualistic tendencies (see Bellah et al., 1987) attempt to shape the social and behavioral factors surrounding them, including co-workers and particular events, with the aim of increasing their rewards. Thus, many members of the organization demonstrate behaviors and establish goals that may be incongruent with those desired by the organization. For these reasons, formal control systems made up of rules, standards, and norms of behavior…

In the twentieth century many reached the understanding that disputes are normal in human society, and not necessarily destructive, and that if they do not get out of hand they may have within them a potential for growth, maturity, and social changes, an opportunity for new ways of thinking and new experiences. Because conflicts are an integral part of human interaction, one should learn to manage them: to deal with them in a way that prevents escalation and destruction, and arrives at new,…

Unfortunately, some companies have mismanaged their greatest asset—their brands. This is what befell the popular Snapple brand almost as soon as Quaker Oats bought the beverage marketer for $1.7 billion in 1994. Snapple had become a hit through powerful grassroots marketing and distribution through small outlets and convenience stores. Analysts said that because Quaker did not understand the brand’s appeal, it made the mistake of changing the ads and the distribution. Snapple lost so much…