Every organization wants to extract maximum possible from its employees,
by willingly motivating them, into contributing their time, talent, energy and concentration, to the organization, and getting emotionally attached to it. It makes the workplace attractive and organizes activities, which keep the employees together. This is what is meant by corporate cult. It is a cycle of manipulation and controlling of the employees, and their becoming loyal, and helplessly dependent on the organizations. They devote long hours on the job, with few or no friends outside the workplace. But this is not good for the employees, their private life, their families and the community. True happiness is with the family only. This book has twelve Chapters. As per Chapter 1, apart from work, we have to find value in what we are. Those persons, who have low self-esteem and little individual identity, find solace under group identity, and the organization is their only source of individual value. They have a very high level of devotion to the organization. Chapter 2 talks about, value systems of different persons, age groups and generations. The value set of a person is based on, his environment in his initial life. As per Chapter 3, the new organization models are called Collection of specialists. They are only for what they do, and they can’t be inculcated into a corporate cult. Employees having values within a narrow band, become a highly committed workforce. As per Chapter 4, due to multiple moves of the person for work, the family members and the person have no community life. Families are maintained throughout the life span of the individual, while work-groups are limited to the tasks to be performed. Also there is no privacy in corporate cults. We should not give up our identity to a corporate cult. Some organizations prefer to hire husband and wife team and also their relatives, thus aiding in making the work their family. As per Chapter 5 Corporate cults honour the organization over the individual, and exercise tight
control on them. The codes of conduct in corporate cults are sacrosanct. As per Chapter 6, once we are devoted to work, we are unable to separate the personal feelings, from those at the work. Of course, devotion grows with time when we enjoy the work, or even without our knowledge. Chapter 7 states that Leaders of traditional cults use a standard group of mind control techniques. The author lists, ten cultic techniques generally used by them. These leaders play on the emotions of fear and intimidation. External pressure leads to internal cohesion.
Chapter 8 states that actions taken are intended to be good for the organizations, but shown as good for the employees. Services like day care, banking, uniforms, company housing, facilities for exercise, sports and laundry etc., separate the employees from the community. Due to no life outside work, romance develops at work itself and creates some problems. Chapter 9 says that measuring organizational culture is very difficult, being an intangible concept. Higher the status of the
employee, the higher culted he is. How an employee views the cultedness of the organization, is measured by the corporate cult test. Each of the listed 20 questions of this test is to be answered on a scale, from strongly agreed (1) to strongly disagreed (5). The questions are for devotion, charismatic leadership and community. Scores are recorded for each of the 3 groups separately and also for the total. The author gives a method for interpretation of the scores. Chapter 10 tells us about methods to separate self, and become independent from the organizational cult life. Some employees have high expectations about their needs and wants, to be fulfilled by the workplace. In the culted organizations, mostly the old timers arrange continuing education, as in-house training. At a certain time the employee feels that, he has made enough sacrifices for his employer, and that he should now choose family over work, and plan for his betterment. People of generation X feel that a corporate cult contains a career and excitement. But it is best to make our hobby our job. As per Chapter 11 individual’s personality determines, his remaining independent of corporate cults. It explains the personality characteristics and circumstances associated with corporate cult. Every one is susceptible to corporate cult membership, at some point in his life. Chapter 12 discusses avoiding corporate cult membership in future. Each person should have an admiring trait, rather than just emulating the charismatic leader. If we are in one cult, we should reevaluate our self, and then examine other job offers. We should maintain several relationships. People in corporate cults have lack of motivation to leave. We should find an organization that is different from the corporate cult. However every organization has some level of cult, but it finally depends on us how much we give up. This book is an eye opener. It is an interesting and useful book, for the managers and executives of organizations and companies, academicians, psychologists, students and for every one else, including the family members of such persons and the community at large.