SAS Organisation

SAS is the organization under review. It is the chosen company because it has experienced unbelievably rapid growth since its inception. Initially, SAS stood for Statistical Analysis System. The SAS Company commenced its business at North Carolina State University. The primary target of the organization was to develop software that could help in analyzing agricultural research. However, the demand for the software increased leading to the need to expand its usage. Consequently, the SAS software company was established in the year 1976 to cater for the growing demand. Despite the fact that earlier on, the software was intended for use in agriculture, its preference spread to other fields such as banking. Governmental, educational entities, in addition to pharmaceutical companies, started using the software. The company thrived after its formation as its software could run across various platforms. The company achieved this goal by using the multivendor architecture. Although the company has spread its scope across the world, its corporate culture has mainly remained unchanged. The corporate culture is engrained in innovation. According to the SAS Institute Inc. (2010), the company’s philosophy/vision is stewardship for today, preservation for tomorrow.

The company pays close attention to human relations. This is clearly based on the approach used to harmonize relations among employees and managers in the organization. At the initial stages of the group, faculty members of the North Carolina State University, Jim Barr and Jim Goodnight, were preferred to lead the company. Barr was in charge of creating the architecture while Goodnight oversaw the implementation process. The role of employees was clearly reflected in the company’s way of operating. Based on the philosophy of the company, “every job was each employee’s job”. This approach was incorporated to ensure that the group met its targets. The implication is that employees shared responsibilities. Specifically, employees shared such duties as, answering phone calls, selling, teaching classes, etc . For instance, every time user manuals arrived, each employee stopped to form a human chain, which carried them to the stores. Sall, Goodnight and Barr were in charge of writing the system’s code. At the same time, the SAS staff served as administrative assistants, trainers, programmers, sales representatives and documentation specialists. As such, it is evident that the relationship at the organization facilitated growth.

Corporate culture serves as a defining feature of an organization. Looking at SAS, its corporate culture is inspiring. The culture of the organization rests on the recognition paid to employees. When studying human resources, it emerges that employees are an indispensable part within any organization. Consequently, recognizing the employees facilitates faster achievement of organizational goals. Thus, it is not coincidental that acknowledging the value that employees brought to SAS formed a core part of the company’s heritage. Individuals who served the company often mentioned how Goodnight could carry them in his station wagon whenever they met in the streets of Hillsborough. Moreover, SAS offered a flexible work place. In this regard, such trademark as an employee-friendly culture was visible within the organization. Breakfast goodies and the M&M phrase supported the view that SAS was a human-oriented organization. The company also embraced the culture of open communication as it kept all its employees informed about its organizational activities using newsletters.

Human resource management is a critical component within organizations. It is no longer possible to ignore the role of employees by treating them in unacceptable ways. The SAS organization appears to have considered the worth of employees from the onset. This is reflected in the manner in which employees were accorded with opportunities to grow while serving. It is evident that employees were encouraged to work as a group, since they performed some tasks collectively. An aspect that reflected the inclusive nature of the human relations approach that the company employed, was that company leaders, such as Goodnight and Barr led by example.

Information about the company is easily accessible online. The primary source is the company’s website. Other useful sources include books such as the ones written by Allison (1999) and Brocklebank & Dickey (2003).

Three Objectives

Based on the brief examination of the SAS Group, the following three objectives are explored. The first objective is to increase the supply of the statistical analysis software across the globe. The second objective is to increase flexibility of working terms within the organization. Thirdly, the company should explore the objective of improving the workers’ welfare. Measuring an increase in supply is easy, since assessing an increase in demand would be sufficient. When pursuing an increase in flexibility, the focus is on working terms. In regard to improving worker welfare, the central concern borders on salaries and other benefits that are extended to workers.

Table of deliverables