Edward Jones: Values and GoalsEdward Jones: Values and GoalsEDWARD JONES: VALUES AND GOALSA fourteen year veteran of Edward Jones counted one of the perks of her job as reading client “thank you” notes penned when children went to college, or when retirements were launched a little bit early (Wolfe, 22 Feb 2002). This veteran could have counted many other types of perks such as salary, career advancement, etc., but she did not. She stated the intangible, intrinsic benefits like “thank you” notes and personal greetings. Many other employees stated similar things like “all we do is help people obtain goals”, clients are just as likely to come in to tell of good news or show off their new car as they are to sign business paperwork, and “everyone is focused around a single mission” (Wolfe, 22 Feb 2002). Without a doubt, these are the exact reasons why Edward Jones was named first in Fortune Magazines 2002 rankings for Best Company in America. This essay analyzes the reasons why these employees made Edward Jones the number one company in 2002. It will also discuss exactly how Edward Jones motivated its workers through its strict key values and organizational goals.
KEY VALUESA belief is a certainty about the truth of something, but a value is a belief (or set of related beliefs) to which we attach moral significance (Bowman, 2002). It is blatantly obvious that Edward Jones not only believes in, but practices strict moral values. These values have been the keys for the continued business success since World War II. From its conception to today, Edward Jones believes in “Serving the serious, long-term individual investor” (Wolfe, 22 Feb 2002). This was especially evident in the mid 1990’s when Edward Jones not only refused to jump on the �dot com’ bandwagon, but actually sent out letters advising the opposite to its customers (Wolfe, 22 Feb 2002). Edward Jones’ as an entity took the middle of the road �tortoise’ versus the speculative �rabbit’ approach to investing every time; which lead the company to outperform 14 of the top 15 U.S. brokerages. Employees and customers alike observed what a value driven company with a keen strategy this was, a strategy that acted like permanent glue in Edward Jones’ professional relationships. The key values of conservatism and service of the steadfast investor are just scratching the surface of what makes Edward Jones a truly fascinating company.
CHARACTERISTICS OF MOTIVATIONLooking from the outside in, there are some distinct reasons why Edward Jones kept its employees finely motivated. Using the Job Characteristics Model as a template to analyze how it was done, it is apparent that Edward Jones harnessed for its employees job meaningfulness, responsibility, and demonstrated knowledge of results; which ultimately guided top-notch work outcomes (Louis, Notes on the Job Characteristics Model). Analyzing the �job characteristics’ section of the model, it is evident that Edward Jones mastered the concept of autonomy. Evidence presented itself when Jones’ employees were encouraged to grow roots and stay in one branch office without having to relocate in order to advance careers. This autonomy allowed for another characteristic to prevail, task significance. Through their autonomy, the individual branches reached out to connect with their clientele and clearly were able to perceive the impact that their business transactions had on other people (Louis, Notes on the Job Characteristics Model). The stated autonomy and task significance lead the company to experience positive psychological states.
PSYCHOLOGICAL MOTIVATIONWolfe wrote of nothing but positive morale, outcomes, intrinsic employee rewards, and customer satisfaction. These outcomes manifested themselves from solid core job dimensions where the employees experienced meaningfulness of their work and therefore took total responsibility for all work outcomes (Louis, Notes on the Job Characteristics Model). The manifestation of the employees taking responsibility for their work outcomes occurred for the simple reason that they were all given autonomy to carry out the operational goal of the organization. Lifted above all other core job dimensions found in the Job Characteristics Model was their individual knowledge of results. This was evident from the continual positive feedback and interpersonal communications that the company received. As a direct outcome of their obvious working knowledge of results,
Practical and technical characteristics of a working man
Work is a hard art that has developed out of the knowledge that a person has acquired, and that can go only so far in the development of each one-dimensional of human nature. The concept of work as a “work ethic”, or the knowledge that a group of people can produce a great number of things, has long been applied to work behavior – as well as to the general social structure of groups and nations, and has never before been regarded as a fundamental part of work relations and relationships.
This description, written in part by Steven G. Bresnahan, describes how this work ethic comes to define work itself, and how people can learn to appreciate as much of a work ethic, whether in one’s personal or professional life, the value of physical and intellectual freedom, or the value a person or family enjoys in the conduct or training of any work, a work environment, or other aspects of a job.
Many, many people in different professions and cultures believe in the “work ethic”, or the concept that human beings are free to pursue their own happiness through their personal, social, cultural, and economic self-sufficiency. While much of this “work ethic” derives from human nature (the self), the definition of work itself is derived from an individual’s self-nature – the “work ethic”, in the American usage, refers to the human human being as a whole individual and the individual ego as well.
Work requires a level of autonomy – that is, a set of decisions to be taken, an attitude to take, and a set of goals to achieve. Working from this autonomy becomes an important part of many people’s life; however, with the exception of the small number that have been employed or who have had their work conditions changed and in order to fully grasp this nature of work, many people don’t learn much about the work they have undertaken or they do not understand the ethics of their activities. A “work ethic” tends to come from a belief that there are many different aspects to human activity, including both psychological “work ethic”. The main reason for this belief is to allow for the possibility that people and their own psychology or natural work ethic may be separate. In other words, people with the “work ethic” believe that there are many different aspects to human psychology, and because there are many different kinds of human activity, it is not just hard work for some, but a huge responsibility that can create very bad psychological and physical health conditions for others.
The work ethic in question is not necessarily a work ethic of physical and cognitive skills, but of personality types and social functions. As Steven G. Bresnahan states “The work ethic of a person consists of a set of core characteristics, namely the ability to express one’s human worth, the ability to perform a range of activities within one’s personality, and the ability to find ways to improve one’s performance from one’s previous performance to the end of one’s career”.
This work ethic, if there exists at all, often results in a personal choice based on what sort people choose to perform, for example, the decision to not work for a pay-per-performance-based management company (PMT) and to instead focus on getting better grades for better pay, improving one’s self esteem and improving one’s work record.
Work is a hard art that has developed out of the knowledge that a person has acquired, and that can go only so far in the development of each one-dimensional of