"The Empathetic Organization"

David Lei and Charles Greer

Organizational Dynamics

Vol. 32, No. 2, pp. 142-164, 2003

The authors of this article state that "the empathetic organization attempts to build competitive advantage by harnessing the knowledge it learns from each customer to conceive entirely new products and solutions that ultimately set a key performance standard for the industry."

The article first looks at how the empathetic organization differs from two other paradigms—the knowing organization, which "places great emphasis on the establishment of rules, practices, procedures, and processes that are to be strictly followed throughout the firm to create value" (McDonald's, United Parcel Service, Intel, and Discount Tire Company are discussed as examples) and the learning organization which "places a great value on harnessing multiple perspectives and insights within the firm to develop and to improve upon ideas" (Sony Corp., 3M Company, and Frito-Lay are discussed as examples). Compared with these two paradigms, empathetic organizations are characterized by "the saliency of their belief that they should learn from and grow with the customer."

The management practices of empathetic organizations include

1. extensive training and development
2. comparatively high compensation
3. openness and empowerment
4. high selectivity in hiring
5. trust, egalitarianism, and caring

The competitive strategy of empathetic organizations focuses and differentiates on the basis of

1. service intimacy
2. individualized service
3. empowering the customer
4. empathetic product or service design
5. inclusion of customers in the social context

Leadership for the empathetic organization has a clear sense of direction deeply imbued in the organization. This is strongly influenced by the values of the founders, as well as an emphasis on personal development.

In addition, empathetic organizations are likely to embrace many practices that are strongly associated with clan cultures, such as

1. commitment
2. loyalty
3. participation
4. flexibility
5. cohesion
6. requirements for common beliefs and behavior
7. concern for people
8. emphasis on identity via rituals, traditions, etc.,
9. belief in importance of individuals
10. emphasis on internal stability
11. extended family
12. trust and organizational honor

Four empathetic organizations are discussed in detail in the article: The Container Store, Apple Computer, Harley-Davidson, and Mary Kay.

Back to top of page