Best 2009 Employer

NetApp, the data storage company, has not only been selected by Fortune Magazine to be at the very top of its 'Best Companies to Work For' list for 2009, but, in believing that happy people are more productive, the company also continues to rake in the revenue. Company culture, it seems, is the key to making a company thrive.

Recent research even suggests that good company culture can have a very positive impact on a nation's culture, in that companies that empower their employees to cut workplace costs not only improve their bottom lines, but may also foster civic engagement and contribute to peace in their societies. According to Professor Gretchen Spreitzer of the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business, empowered and satisfied employees tend to live in open, peaceful societies, because, it seems lessons learned at work are applied in employees' social and political lives. "The idea that business organisations can be a sort of olive branch for peace, rather than just a harbinger of excess and exploitation is attractive," she says. Professor Spreitzer found that countries in which workers participated very little in decision-making had higher levels of unrest.

Montesquieu, the French social commentator and political thinker who lived during the Enlightenment, seemed to concur in stating that, “the natural effect of commerce is to lead to peace”, while also cautioning that the desire for profit could imperil the concept of equality. In the 1980s, this understanding was translated into Total Quality Management (TQM), that originated in the Japanese automotive industry with the aim of encouraging all employees to contribute ideas in order to increase profits, but which also heightened job satisfaction to boot.

The book titled 'Maslow on Management' by Abraham H. Maslow, with Deborah Stephens and Gary Heil, indicates that in companies with such enlightened management: trust is highly rated - appearing to be a common denominator in high-performing organisations; tolerance for mistakes is high and essential if creativity is to flourish; openness and clear communication are prevalent; and all staff have the same ultimate managerial goals and identify with them, such that everyone pulls together in furtherance of a company's vision, mission, and values – something that is best facilitated if employees at all levels participate in the planning processes.

The ingredients for company success are, therefore, very clear and can be very far reaching; but for some employers implementing them can be a frightening leap into the dark and the unfamiliar.

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