Participate in a Culture Walk:

One way to observe the culture in your organization is to take a walk through the building to look at some of the signs of culture. For example: How is space allocated? Where are the offices located? Are supervisors located on the top floors or integrated throughout with the other employees? These types of nonverbal cues give a glimpse of the accepted culture of the organization.

Directions:

For this assignment, you will reflect on an organization you are familiar with. This can be a previous or current employer or an organization such as your neighborhood church, a dream job/position you have researched, or even your own home.

You will apply concepts of culture and power as discussed in the reading to answer the topics below. Your responses should include details, explanations, and/or examples from the course material to support your points.

1. Explain which of the two post-Fordism approaches to organizational culture covered in the reading (pragmatist or purist) would fit best to describe the culture of your chosen organization.
2. Explain how the identified main view of organizational culture (pragmatist or purist) affects the communication of the organization.
3. Analyze the influences of power within the organization, and explain how these influences affect the organizational communication:
   1. How are common areas such as lunch rooms utilized? Are people grouped or integrated?
   2. How do employees communicate with each other? Is the communication predominately formal or informal? What is said in memos or email? What tones are used in the messages (formal or informal, pleasant or hostile, etc.)? How often do people communicate with one another? Is all communication written (email), or do people communicate verbally?
   3. How is information distributed? Is there a clear delineation of those who are “in the know” (meaning they are given company information) and those who are not “in the know”?
4. Analyze how culture influences the communication within the organization. For example, explain the following:
   1. How is space allocated? Is there a distinction between the location and size of the office depending on the level of authority in the organization?
   2. What types of things are posted on bulletin boards or displayed on walls?
   3. What artifacts are displayed on desks or in other areas of the building? Are family photos or other personal items allowed?
   4. Do employees socialize outside of the workplace? Are they encouraged to do so or discouraged from doing so?
   5. What rituals are followed?
   6. Who are the heroines and heroes that are held up as role models? What dominant social culture can you identify? What co-cultures can you identify?
5. Provide an overall conclusion on what you noticed about your organization’s culture and if that changed (or maintained) your perception of the organization in general.
6. Describe one thing you would change about this organization’s culture in order to improve productivity or employee retention. Explain why you believe this would make a difference.

• Accurately apply the concepts related to organizational culture.
• Provide practical examples relevant to the substance of the project.
• Address clearly and identifiably each question posed in the assignment.