Running Head: THE IRVINE COMPANY 1

The Irvine Company

Sima Zandi

THE IRVINE COMPANY

Executive Summary

Overview

The scope of this cultural analysis is to analyze the cultural elements that

influence the behaviors and practices of The Irvine Company’s workforce. This analysis

specifically addresses the Irvine Company Apartment Communities division (ICAC).

Further, the purpose of this project is to uncover the values within the organization by

examining cultural elements, such as communication practices, rituals and language, in

order to improve organizational effectiveness and seek areas of opportunity.

Benefits

The benefits of analyzing The Irvine Company’s culture are that current problems

and deficiencies within the organization can be identified more clearly, which leads to

solutions and implementation of more effective practices.

Actions

Textual analysis was conducted using the company website, a training workbook,

e-mail transmissions, and company memos. Linguistic analysis was done to uncover

underlying valued embedded in the language used in credible texts. Lastly, observations

were done in the organization to analyze the organizational structure, and observe how

employees interact.

Considerations

Considerations for analysis include mission and vision statements, company

overview and history, guiding principles of the company, and the company’s rituals and

practices.

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Next Steps

Overall recommendations are related to improving practices that will help make

The Irvine Company more effective and organized, especially in regards to

communication.

Company Overview

The Irvine Company is a private property management company headquartered in

Newport Beach, California, and is currently wholly owned by chairman Donald Bren.

The purpose of this company is to provide the highest quality products in real estate. Its

products include office properties, retail shopping centers, hotels and resorts, and its

largest and most profitable division: Apartment communities. The Irvine Company is

responsible for developing and designing the city of Irvine, and prides itself on master

planning and land preservation.

Company History

Since 1864, the Irvine Ranch has been the premise for The Irvine Company.

James Irvine, along with his three partners Benjamin and Thomas Fliny, and Llewellyn

Bixby, founded the 185-square-mile ranch for agricultural uses and cattle operations. In

1894, eight years after James Irvine died, his son James Irvine II, incorporated the land

and it became The Irvine Company. It was not until the l960’s to late 1970’s that the

cattle business had stopped, and master planning in the city of Irvine started. In 1959, The

Irvine Company sold 1,000 acres to the University of California for one dollar on which

to build UC Irvine. Shortly after, development in the city of Irvine began surrounding the

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campus. As of now, there are 130 apartment communities, 500 office properties, forty-

one shopping centers, and five resort properties. The Irvine Company continues to

develop and has recently marked its 150th anniversary. The organization strives to

maintain a reputation of having the most attractive, high quality properties on the market

in Coastal California.

Mission & Vision

‘Land. Legacy. Life.’ is The Irvine Company’s tagline. As stated on their website,

the primary mission of The Irvine Company is “to actively manage this land so as to

continually enhance its value as a long-term investment, and to enhance its value for

those who have chosen to live and work here” (The Irvine Company, LLC, 2002). They

have a sense of stewardship in preserving natural land. For example, over 60% of the

Irvine Ranch is preserved for recreational uses such as parks, trails, and is to remain

undeveloped. The vision for The Irvine Company is to develop and maintain beautiful

resort-style residential communities, foster luxurious outdoor shopping, dining, and

entertainment experiences, and create a legacy of quality and excellence for years to

come. According to the Irvine Company website, “Irvine Company seeks to enhance the

long-term equity values of all properties through the creation of vibrant, well-planned

new communities, as well as the development and management of our own growing

portfolio of premium quality investment properties” (The Irvine Company, LLC, 2002).

Organizational Goals & Initiatives

Reinvestment is one of The Irvine Company’s initiatives. The organization has a

vast real-estate portfolio, and there is an ongoing commitment to reinvest in and enhance

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their properties. Recently, there was a $240-million initiative to refurbish dozens of the

apartment communities, shopping centers, office buildings and resort properties. Not only

does the organization want to have the most attractive and well-maintained properties on

the market, but they are also driven to reduce their carbon footprint, and cut operating

costs.

Another ongoing initiative that The Irvine Company has is giving back to the

community. According to their website, giving back to the community is ‘at the core of

the Irvine Company’s culture” (The Irvine Company, LLC, 2002). They have a

commitment to philanthropy, which is inspired directly by Chairman Donald Bren. The

Irvine Company and the Donald Bren Foundation have contributed more than $200

million toward public schools and four-year universities for programs, events,

recognitions and scholarships that advance research and enrich primary education.

Organizational Stakeholders

The Irvine Company is a private company, so there are no shareholders. Inside

stakeholders include their workforce, all levels of management, and its chairman, Donald

Bren. There are several divisions and subcultures within The Irvine Company, and there

are several levels of management and non-managerial positions that make up their

workforce. In this analysis, the apartments division was examined. In successful

organizations, both managers and the workforce contribute skills to perform their

required duties in order to achieve organizational goals (Jones, 2013). Within ICAC,

leasing consultants (inside stakeholders) receive commission (inducements) to use their

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sales skills and lease apartments. The organizational goal is to get leases and maintain a

high occupancy rate at all communities.

Outside stakeholders include residents, customers, the general public, community,

and their suppliers. Using the apartments division as an example, residents are the largest

outside stakeholder group. The money that the residents pay for their apartments is their

contribution to the organization. The Irvine Company has had continued success with

their apartments division and recently expanded to Northern California and Los Angeles.

Even though the rents are considerably higher with The Irvine Company, clients are

willing to pay because they value the product. As long as The Irvine Company continues

to provide a product that people value, they will maintain success.

Organizational Environment

The Irvine Company’s general environment consists of economic,

cultural/demographic, and technological forces that shape the specific environment and

affects the ability to obtain resources. For example, the housing market is part of the

Irvine Company’s general environment that is a changing economic force, and directly

affects the apartments division. Depending on the state of the economy, the housing

market could be affected, which can cause either a positive or negative affect on the

organization.

Irvine Company’s specific environment includes forces from outside stakeholder

groups, which includes customers, competitors, and suppliers. In the apartments division,

competitors directly affect the ability for The Irvine Company to secure their resources,

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which would be residents. For example, there are several non-ICAC properties that have

well-maintained apartments at lower prices than what Irvine Company offers.

The Irvine Company’s responsibility is to build relationships with outside

stakeholders and satisfy their needs so they do not lose business to competitors. An

organization must be able to customize its products to cater to the preferences of different

consumers if it wants to succeed. One way The Irvine Company does this is by having a

wide variety of apartment communities. ICAC offers high-end apartments in upgraded

communities with resort-style amenities, but also provides lower-priced apartments in

what they call ‘value-communities’ for clients who are more price-driven.

Organizational Design

Continuing to use the apartments division as an example, their organizational

structure involves having different ‘verticals’ to better use their resources and control

how their managers and workforce coordinate their actions to achieve organizational

goals. In the apartments division, there are three verticals: Sales, administration, and

maintenance. Within each of the three verticals, there is a hierarchy, which is a

classification of people according to their rank. Even though members from each vertical

work together in the same community, the verticals are independent of each other and

have their own values, rituals, and standards. Below is the organizational chart for ICAC:

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THE IRVINE COMPANY

Organizational Culture Analysis

Methodology

The methodologies that were used for this analysis were observations, textual

analysis, and linguistic analysis. The first method, observations, was completed with

participation in the organization on a daily basis. The second method, textual analysis,

was completed by reviewing a list of credible texts. Most credible texts used were e-mail

transmissions, website, employee handbook, and memos. In order to discover underlying

SALES VERTICAL

Portfolio Leasing Manager

Leasing Manager

Sr. Leasing Consultant

ADMIN VERTICAL

General Manager

Community Manager

Asst. Manager

MAINTENANCE VERTICAL

Service Manager

Asst. Service Manager

Service Technicians

Leasing ConsultantsResident Relations

RepresentativesPorters

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themes, coding was used to identify common phrases, words, and grammar. This led to a

linguistic analysis, which involved dissecting the company’s guiding principles, mission

and vision statement, and standards to reveal the values embedded in the language.

Usually, to complete the linguistic analysis, a small and culturally significant text such as

a mission statement or press release is used to identify things such as pronoun use, verb

tense, and overuse and underuse of certain words or types of words (Brenton & Driskill,

2011).

Results

The results of the analysis displayed cultural themes of employee engagement and

customer service. These themes were derived from analyzing elements of the Irvine

Company’s rituals and language. For example, Kick-off is an annual event that takes

place in the Bren Events Center at UC Irvine. All of the apartment communities close at

11AM, and ICAC employees attend the event while getting paid for a full day of work.

There is lunch provided, as well as music and opportunities to win prizes from a raffle.

This event is a combination of an awards ceremony and celebration for all ICAC

employees. Senior leadership from the highest levels of corporate attends to recognize

employee accomplishments and distribute the awards.

Other ICAC rituals include an annual baseball game at Angels Stadium that

includes free food and alcohol, a paid day at Disneyland for all employees who work at

communities that maintained 95.5% occupancy for one year, and a formal holiday party

at the Hotel Irvine, which includes discounted hotel room rates. These rituals demonstrate

a culture focused on employee appreciation and employee engagement, and makes

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employees believe that they are truly valued. There is a psychological contract that there

will be inducements and recognition for a job well done, and frequent employee

appreciation.

The language used at The Irvine Company is unique and demonstrates an

accommodating nature, with strong focus on customer service. Each community has a

poster somewhere in their office titled ‘Service Standards’, that details how employees

should behave and interact with residents and clients. For example, one of the standards

reads: “Recognize language, “home” vs. “unit”, “my pleasure” vs. “not a problem”, -

remove “policy” from resident interactions- use “standard, “practice, “guidelines”, or

“protocol” (The Irvine Company, LLC).

Another element is the use of acronyms and taglines. One of the acronyms that

Irvine Company uses frequently is PSP, which stands for People Serving People. Each

community has a poster with PSP on it, and employees are encouraged to share personal

stories of when they provided outstanding service to someone. There is even a PSP award

that is given to an individual that was nominated by their peers for providing outstanding

service. People Serving People encourages employees to be more empathetic with clients,

and helps them relate to others on a more personal level rather than professional. ICAC

also has its own tagline: Love Where You Live, which management and the workforce

strive to uphold for the residents. Online surveys are sent to random residents to ask them

about their experiences living at ICAC, and the admin team is required to call at least five

residents a week to follow up on their experiences on the property. The Irvine Company’s

selection of language suggests a culture focused on serving others, and creating personal

connections with clients to establish positive experiences.

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One last element that was analyzed was communication styles. Within ICAC, the

most common form of communication is e-mail. Any changes or important updates get

sent out to different e-mail distribution lists. Since all the verticals are independent from

one another, there is information that certain employees will not receive because they are

not in that vertical. This has led to bad experiences with residents and miscommunication

because not all employees are informed on other verticals.

Recommendations

There is an area of opportunity to improve communication practices so that it

aligns with the underlying cultural theme of customer service. In order to avoid bad

experiences with residents, different communication styles should be used. Face-to-face

meetings with employees from each vertical can be implemented to ensure that all

employees receive the same information and are on the same page. Improving

communication within the three verticals will build a stronger team and improve

customer service.

Consulting Fees

Fees are charged at a fixed hourly rate of $80 an hour, but are subject to change

depending on scope of the project.

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References

Brenton, A., Driskill, G. (2011). Organizational Culture in Action: A Cultural Analysis Workbook. (2nd ed.) Thousand Oals, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.

Jones, G. (2013). Organizational theory, design, and change (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall. 

The Irvine Company, LLC. (2002). Apartment Communities. Retrieved on April 17, 2015. https://www.irvinecompany.com/apartment-communities.

The Irvine Company, LLC. Training Workbook On-Boarding Program.

The Irvine Company, LLC. Service Standards.

The Irvine Company, LLC. Guiding Principles.

The Irvine Company, LLC. Intranet.

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