Handbook of Principles of Organizational Behavior - Soltanieh ...

LEAD THROUGH VISION AND VALUES
379
The BB & T Vision is “ To create the best financial institution possible and to be the best
of the best. ” The vision is further elaborated by the Mission, or reason for existence, which
is “ to make the world a better place to live by (1) helping our Clients achieve economic
success and financial security, (2) creating a place where our Employees can learn, grow,
and be fulfilled in their work, and (3) making the communities in which we work better
places to be; thereby, optimizing the long - term return to our Shareholders, while providing
a safe and sound investment. ” The bank ’s Purpose is summarized as “ Our ultimate
purpose is to create superior long - term economic rewards for our shareholders ” and is
explained further in detailed paragraphs explaining the importance and inter- relationships
of clients, employees, communities, and shareholders.
BB & T Values form the foundation of the vision; employees are expected to display the
values on a daily basis. The 10 values and a brief description of each ( paraphrased from
The BB & T Philosophy ) are:
◆ Reality (fact - based): Actions must be based on the facts.
◆ Reason (objectivity): Decisions must be based on a logical reasoning process based
on facts.
◆ Independent thinking: Employees are challenged to make rational decisions; creativity
can only occur through independent thought.
◆ Productivity: We turn our thoughts into action to improve economic well - being,
including company profi tability.
◆ Honesty: We act consistently with reality; we say what we mean and mean what
we say.
◆ Integrity: We act consistently, in accordance with our logically - developed principles.
◆ Justice (Fairness): Individuals are evaluated and rewarded objectively, based on their
contributions toward accomplishing the mission and adhering to our values.
◆ Pride: We are proud of our accomplishments that are achieved by living our values.
◆ Self - esteem (Self - motivation): By acting in their rational self - interest and doing their
work well, our employees earn positive self - esteem.
◆ Teamwork/Mutual supportiveness: Our work requires an integrated effort among
outstanding individuals to accomplish important tasks.
Rather than simply listing values and expecting employees to understand how they are
relevant to their job, The BB & T Philosophy shows how the values are applied in the company:
◆ A list of Concepts that Describe BB & T – client - driven, quality oriented, effi cient, growing
both our business and our people, continuous improvement, and objective
decision making – is presented.
◆ Special attention is given to describing the BB & T management style – a participative
and team - oriented process provides better information and thus results in better
decisions.
◆ Attributes of an outstanding BB & T employee are described as “ they believe that their
lives matter and that they can accomplish something meaningful through their work. ”
These values served BB & T well during the recent downturn in the lending industry.
Guided by its values, BB & T decided that subprime loans were not based on reality or