Applying Values-Based Leadership

Applying values-based leadership

In terms of the organization’s choices related to P-O-L-C, Hanna Andersson applies the values-based leadership by focusing on the organization’s core values and connects those core values with their employees’ personal values. They make their employees feel like a part of the organization’s family. By doing this, employees are more apt to identify with the organization.

Hanna Andersson “provides supplemental child-care reimbursement to all employees—even part-time sales associates. Additional employee benefits include part-time and flexible work hours, considerable paid time off, and 8 hours per year of paid time for employees to volunteer in the community.” (Lumen) The company also offered extended parental

From 1988 to 1995, Mary Roberts was the chief operating officer. The Denharts choose her because they wanted to hire someone from within the organization rather than an outsider. "We wanted someone who understood and could maintain the same values even as we changed," says Gun. (Murphy)

Roberts resigned in 1995 and was replaced by Phil Iosca, former group president of Lands' End. (Fundingverse) Gretchen Petersen, who had been with the company since 1994, explains, “From 1995 to 2010, we retained the same CEO (Iosca) and therefore, the face of the company and the management style did not fluctuate greatly.” (Lumen)

The company leaders did have to make some changes to values of the founders. Some of the biggest changes were in 1998 when the Hannadowns program stopped giving credit for clothing that was returned and the child care subsidy was lowered to 40%. (Fundingverse)

Internal and external reasons for organizational change within Hanna

In 2014, the company added the company’s first complete kid’s bedroom collection. (Koncius)

With all the internal and external changes, Hanna Andersson still maintained its core values of taking care of its employees and helping the community.

Unique challenges family-owned and -operated businesses face

When it comes to family-owned and operated businesses, one of the unique challenges they face is what to do when the business gets to big. In the case of Hanna Andersson, when the business started to expand the owners were faced with the decision of hiring a person to run the business. Another unique challenge that they face is should they sell their small business to a larger company; will that company hold the same values as the original company.

How did the mission of Hanna Andersson evolve over