What Is Cypress's Competitive Culture

Cypress is formally organized into a multi-divisional system. On the primary layer, Cypress is functional; it is divided into Products, Finance, R&D, Marketing, and Manufacturing. Within these departments, it is market-based by both product and geography. From Rodgers’ recruitment system to killer software, Cypress’ architectural features instill and maintain the company’s competitive and cutthroat culture. The tight control of the hiring process reflects the internationalization of Cypress’ competitive culture. The pressure and expectation for candidates to sign job offers on the spot demonstrates the need for employees’ to identify with the inherent values of the company. Hiring is not only a process but also a mindset. The raiding parties
and intense screening of resumes allows Cypress to find the right fit for their competitive culture. Furthermore, the hiring system itself is an example of the competitive culture as only “three percent are expected to get interviews” and a mere ten out of thousands can expect offers. The rigidity of the process allows mirror the quality needed of the labor pool to “wipe out the competitor” and reflects the culture of the company. The performance management system ensures the quality and encourages competition in the workforce. Under the compensation system, outstanding performers with great value to the organization get bigger raises and bonuses. The public ranking and the process of challenging the rank foster competition in the workplace. Furthermore, the use of stock options rewards loyalty and commitment to the company which allows the culture to exist. The Killer Software System is a prime example of the competitive culture because of its strict and aggressive features. By shutting down the computers of low performing individual or groups, Cypress is promoting a competitive environment that can cause employees to act unethically or cut corners to meet goals.

What roles does the culture play in Cypress's strategy? What do you think about the alignment between Cypress's strategy and culture?
Cypress’s strategy emphasizes “competing in higher-volume markets through competitive cost structures and rapidly introducing new products.” CEO T.J.
Rodgers declares, “Cypress will compete in any market, with any competitor, at any price, and still make a profit--a good profit.” Cypress’s strategy features a blend of low-cost leadership and product differentiation. The semiconductor firm has taken measures to ensure improvement in the cost-efficiency and productivity of their operations by implementing cycle-time and inventory-reduction programs. Cypress’s culture promotes a winning mentality upheld by Rodgers, the authoritarian leader at the top. Cypress’s culture encourages employees to place company interests above all else. Rodgers holds employees accountable for the tough, non-compromising expectations that they must complete. Cypress’s cutthroat culture does not align with their strategy to be low cost and reap the benefits of their products with high revenues. The control-oriented culture does not align with the goal to be technologically innovative. This environment does not foster creativity, as it discourages employees from taking
risks.
The company is effective, in the sense that they focus on their revenue and ensuring that the products are top of the line. Although, they are strategic in their method of hiring, it is unlikely for them to attract the smart, innovative and creative talent that they need because they have created an environment where the most cutthroat individuals dedicated to winning will thrive. Although, these characteristics are beneficial to have in employees, these values may serve as a detriment to their goal of providing technological innovation. Thus, there is a clear incongruence with Cypress’s strategy of being innovative and their intense culture. The lack of alignment between Cypress’s culture results in Cypress’s inability to perform at their full potential. Although, Cypress’s low cost strategy is effective in the short run, they run the long term risk of not being innovative.

What needs to change? Why?
In order to be sustainable in the higher-volume market of Silicon Valley, Cypress must change to emphasize innovation in the culture. Although the strong competitive environment aligns with the strategy of low cost structure, it is not consistent with the strategy of “rapidly introducing new products” (Pp. 3). The lack of creativity prevents the innovation necessary to remain competitive in Silicon Valley. In order to increase innovation for such markets, Rodgers must develop a culture that supports and celebrates creativity. The current culture, supported by formal organizational structures like the performance ranking and killer software systems, fosters competition that is focused on efficiency.
While this culture is beneficial to low cost strategy in the short run, a culture that emphasizes innovation is essential in the long run for product development. Overall, the strong competitive culture creates a situation in which employees do not express creative ideas because the cost of doing so it too high. For example, the performance ranking system hinders employees from taking risk for fear of a low ranking and lower compensation, causing them to feel like “losers” (Pp.14). Furthermore, the killer software, and its harsh deadlines and public goal performance, causes employees to value efficiency over creativity. They prioritize meeting deadlines over taking the time to develop creative ideas. This is caused by the fear of the consequences for not meeting deadlines, and ear of their coworker’s perception of their performance, caused by the software. Overall, the current culture and formal organization puts the cost of innovation too high in employee’s eyes. Because of the high risk involvement with expressing a creative idea, Rodgers must create a culture that formally and informally celebrates innovation and
creativity.

Consider Cornell University: How would you describe its culture? Is it strong or weak? Does it play a role in the organization's strategy? What specific architectural features support the culture? Cornell has a preprofessional culture in which students come here with a set goal to achieve upon graduation. There is a distinction between students who feel passionate about their preprofessional track because they are celebrated by their peers and the administration. Students who have undecided majors are often seen as confused and not as motivated as their peers; they are excluded from the community of successful students. Students look up to upperclassmen who have had the best internships and job offers for guidance and hopes of being referred to different programs that would help them with their future profession. Students are often found bragging about their jobs and and programs they might be applying to. Cornell has a strong, internalized culture. People proudly identify themselves as premed, prelaw, Hotelie, etc. The main question students ask one another is, “What’s your major?” This shows the high agreement amongst students that preprofessionalism is valued. This culture motivates students to want to know their career plans as early as possible. It creates bonds between students through different organizations such as, business, premed, and prelaw fraternities. Cornell’s strategy is product differentiation within the separate identities of each School under the University. This supports the pre-professional culture in many ways. The Hotel School is lauded for being the best school for hospitality in the world. The ILR School is very specific in terms of its focus on Labor and Management related fields. On the other hand, Arts and Sciences is the only college with a mission to be a Liberal Arts College that may seem to veer away from the preprofessional culture; however, many students within that school still feel the cultural pressure to identify with prelaw or premed under Government or Biology respectively. Cornell features a multidivisional, market-based by school architectural structure.
This separation is supported with the pre-professional school such as The School of Hotel Administration, The School of Industrial Labor and Relations, College of Art, Architectural, and Planning. Preprofessionalism is found even within the name of each product within the university. Also, every college has their own Admissions Office. Applications that are specific about the school is what is valued as opposed to generally talking about Cornell.