Reference no: EM132640286

Background

You described an organization, where you work or volunteer. You will now critique the same organization's culture.

To guide the discussion, your textbook makes the following observations: "Organizational culture refers to a system of shared assumptions, values, and beliefs that show people what is appropriate and inappropriate behavior" (Chatman & Eunyoung, 2003; Kerr & Slocum, 2005). Moreover, "An organization's culture may be one of its strongest assets or its biggest liability. In fact, it has been argued that organizations that have a rare and hard-to-imitate culture enjoy a competitive advantage" (Barney, 1986).

Discussion Prompts

Describe and evaluate the organizational culture of your organization.

Who defines the organization culture? Why?

Is the organizational culture written or unwritten? Do you have any guiding documents?

What behaviors or outcomes does your organizational context encourage? Discourage?

Complete the Organizational Culture Assessment Inventory (OCAI), located in the Learn section for this module. Instructions are provided in the downloadable excel document. What was your actual vs. preferred culture? What jumped out to you as relevant? See also the supplemental presentation for details on the OCAI instrument.