Entitlement Culture

mitch — Mon, 12 May 2008 05:44:47 GMT

It’s a shame what has happened to some of our best industries and
the hundreds of thousands of employees working in those industries.
Legacy airlines and behemoth automobile manufacturers are struggling
for their futures. These companies have lost and continue to lose
billions of dollars of shareholders’ money annually. I think one of the
anchors pulling these companies down is the culture of entitlement that
crept in over the years.

The culture of entitlement is a “you owe me” attitude, one where
people believe that society, a company, or government owes them
something and they do not have to earn or deliver value for what they
receive. These people believe they are owed something because of who
they are or what social group or union they belong to—not because of
what they earn.

People who feel entitled take for granted what they have and keep
asking for more, and the more they get the more they expect. They focus
more on what they are owed than what they contribute. In a culture of
entitlement, peer pressure to perform is replaced by peer pressure to
conform to the lowest common denominator; looking good is more
important than doing the right thing.

People need to realize that a company in a capitalist economy exists
to enrich the shareholders. Companies do not exist simply to employ
people. Companies employ people because it is necessary to reach the
goal of enriching the shareholders. They should be thankful for the
job. Yet, you see people trying to hold their company hostage with that
“you owe me attitude” like the company owes them a job. Unfortunately,
this attitude has crept out of the business world and is prevalent in
many other aspects of our lives.

How do you know if you have a culture of entitlement in your
company? A few of the signs would be giving employees raises just
because it’s that time of year, giving promotions based on how long
someone has worked for the company as opposed to how well they perform
or having contests or incentives to get employees to do what they are
already being paid to do. Do poor performers just get reassigned as
opposed to being asked to leave?

We would all be better off as business owners and members of society
if we foster a culture of merit as opposed to entitlement.
Transitioning from a culture of entitlement to one of merit is not
easy—it takes tough decisions, tough conversations, and it takes
consistency. People who feel entitled hate being held accountable.

You can create a culture of merit by rewarding top performance and
frowning on mediocrity. Run your business like a team and not a family.
No one ever gets fired from a family and no matter what you do, you are
still part of the family. On a team, members are motivated by peer
pressure, the superstars are cheered and the slackers are booed and the
weak team members are quickly replaced. You can’t mandate a culture of
merit; you create one by expecting a lot from your employees, holding
them accountable and celebrating the successes. Let your employees know
that job security, advancement and pay increases are guaranteed only by
high performance and company profits.

Foster a culture of merit in your company and you will see
performance, quality and morale quickly go to new levels and the value
of your company will quickly multiply.

Mitch Free's Blog

Entitlement Culture