Description
Massbuild: Culture “Gets it Done”: Abstract
Massbuild: Culture “Gets it Done” is a case study by Conrad Viedge.
In February 2015, Llewellyn Walters, CEO of Massbuild, the building products division of Massmart, a warehouse retail organisation, was perplexed by the results of the 2014 employee engagement survey. The survey showed that employee engagement had continued to decline for a third year. Walters reflected on his decision in 2009 to work on the adage “culture will eat strategy for breakfast” and initiate a culture change process as a means of ensuring that Massbuild achieved its strategic objectives. The decision to go the culture route had not only led to better results, but also facilitated decisions regarding the division’s brands and resulted in renewed customer focus. He wondered what more the organisation could do to reinforce its culture.
Teaching objectives
The objective of the case is to enable the students to understand the importance of instilling a common culture in an organisation in order that strategy is achieved. It aims to enable students to:
- Appreciate that the process of creating a culture to take the organisation forward is as important as the end product
- Understand how to bring about clarity of purpose
- Be able to instill and reinforce culture in the organisation
- Identify the leader’s role in managing organisational culture
