Point

Organizations should do everything they can to establish apositive culture, because it works. Scores of recent studies haveshown that individuals who are in positive states of mind at workand in life lead happier, more productive, and more fulfillinglives. Given the accumulating evidence, researchers are nowstudying ways to make that happen.

In a recent Harvard Business Review article, Wharton facultymember Adam Grant discusses an interesting concept: outsourcinginspiration. What does he mean by that? Grant writes: “A growingbody of research shows that end users—customers, clients, patients,and others who benefit from a company’s products and services—aresurprisingly effective in motivating people to work harder,smarter, and more productively.”

Some tangible examples of how this can work:

Northwestern University’s “buddy program” introduces Alzheimer’spatients to scientists working to develop treatments for thedisease.

At a Merrill Lynch branch, weekly team meetings begin withstories about how the team has made a difference in customers’lives.

“All Medtronic employees have a ’defining moment’ in which theycome face-to-face with a patient whose story deeply touches them,”writes former CEO Bill George.

At Wells Fargo, managers show bankers’ videos of peopledescribing how low-interest loans rescued them from severe debt—avivid reminder to the bankers that they are striving to serve theircustomers, not their managers.

Of course, there are other ways of creating a positiveorganizational culture, including building on strengths andrewarding more than punishing.

Creating a positive organizational culture is not magic, but ittends to have extremely positive benefits for organizations thatembrace it. Outsourcing inspiration is a great way for employees tofeel appreciated, to experience empathy, and to see the impact oftheir work—all motivating outcomes that will lead organizations tobe more effective and individuals more fulfilled in their work.

CounterPoint

There are many unanswered questions about the merits of usingpositive organizational scholarship to build positiveorganizational cultures. Let’s focus on three.

What is a positive culture? The employment relationship can beamicable and even mutually beneficial. However, glossing overnatural differences in interests with the frosting of positiveculture is intellectually dishonest and potentially harmful. Fromtime to time, any organization needs to undertake unpopularactions. Can anyone terminate an employee positively (andhonestly), or explain to someone why others received a raise?There’s a danger in trying to sugarcoat. Positive relationshipswill develop—or not—on their own. We’d be better off preaching thatpeople, and organizational cultures, should be honest and fair,rather than unabashedly positive.

Is practice ahead of science? Before we start beseechingorganizations to build positive cultures, we should make sure theseinterventions work as we think they do. Many have unintendedconsequences, and we simply don’t have enough research to supportthe claims put forth. As one reviewer noted, “Everyone wants tobelieve they could have greater control over their lives by simplychanging the way they think. Research that supports this idea getspromoted loudly and widely.” But it’s not based on a mountain ofevidence.

Is building a positive culture manipulative? Psychologist LisaAspinwall writes of “saccharine terrorism,” where employees arecoerced into positive mindsets by Happiness Coaches. You may thinkthis an exaggeration, but companies like UBS, American Express,KPMG, FedEx, Adobe, and IBM use Happiness Coaches to do exactlythat. As one critic noted, “Encouraging people to maintain a happyoutlook in the face of less-than-ideal conditions is a good way ofkeeping citizens under control in spite of severe societalproblems, or keeping employees productive while keeping pay andbenefits low.”

Pick a side (either POINT or COUNTERPOINT) and explain why youhave chosen this position. Present an argument regarding why amanager in an organization would benefit from the side/perspectiveyou have chosen.