Tag: weekof6/7

Discussion Questions

Response to #1

Out of the assigned readings I personally found the topic of organizational culture to be the most interesting. As the term culture has a very loose definition and can be molded based on the values and beliefs of different societies, organizational culture is not too dissimilar to the traditional sense of culture that we often perceive in religious and ethnic groups. In Watkins’ article, he pointed out the different responses to what the term organizational culture is, with some concluding it to be either a product of incentives or compensation. However, the quote that I find the most compelling and the closest to my perception of what organizational culture means is the one by Abdi Osman Jama. Jama stated that, “An organization [is] a living culture…that can adapt to the reality as fast as possible.” If we are to agree that the point of the organization is to survive, thrive, and provide meaning for its participants, adaptation and change according to reality is the utmost necessity and should serve as its defining feature. The only disagreement I have with Jama is that the quote and Jama’s definition defines an ever-changing culture, one that has no solid base or root in what created the culture in the first place. Whether the organization is centered on business, culture, religion, or any other goal, there has to be a set of “rituals” and origin story that cannot be changed. The stability of the origin point and meaning for the organization will prevent the final disintegration of the organization itself, since the organization loses all meaning when its sole purpose is simply based on adaptation to change and the unknown.     

Response to #2

Why Diversity Matters proves once again that racial and gender diversity in the workplace, in general, brings positive financial benefits. Based on McKinsey’s Diversity Matters report, the examined companies were all based in countries with large populations of diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds. This makes perfect sense since to appeal to the larger market in the Americas and the United Kingdom, representation within larger corporations provides both a better image as well as generate interest among ethnic minorities. However, coming from an East Asian background, the focus on racial diversity is not as prominent an issue as over in the West, especially due to the relatively homogenous ethnic structures of China, Japan, and Korea. Having spent most of my life in Hong Kong, which is already one of the more westernized and ethnically diverse cities in East Asia (with significant Filipino, Indonesian and Indian populations), I have noticed that minority ethnicities constantly fluctuate between 6~8% of the city’s population, and the lack of government assistance in assimilation, linguistic and communication issues prevent ethnic minorities in Hong Kong from being seen or represented in career fields outside of low-skilled labor. In this reality, the combination of low numbers and lack of financial capability means that the value and pressure placed on businesses in Hong Kong or the larger East Asian sphere to adopt the stance of having more ethnic diversity within the workplace is especially low compared to the West.          

Introduction

Hi, my name is Tim and I’m a recent graduate from VPA’s Industrial and Interaction Design program. I’m from Hong Kong and I am taking this course as well as some other design courses to fulfill the studio requirements. Spending the last five years in Syracuse was truly a life-changing experience, especially with meeting people from all fields of study as well as having the chance to study abroad in Poland and Central Europe. As for myself, besides my major in industrial design, my main passions and interests are history and playing the cello. Besides this course, I will be taking part in an internship for a design company assisting the Mini car brand as well as working on further videos for my channel on historical education. Since I have returned to Hong Kong from Syracuse since the early months of the pandemic last March, I have been taking online classes since. I believe that the most important part of learning asynchronously is having a strict schedule as well as self-control, especially since you have to keep track of the work by yourself and communication is slightly more difficult. However, no matter how strange times have become, I believe it will slowly improve and I look forward to working with all of you.

Discussion Questions

Response to #1

“What is organizational culture and why should we care?” by Michael Watkins provided many viewpoints on the topic but did not bring anything into sharp focus for me. After reading the various definitions, I began to wonder if organizational culture was actually just another “tool” created by management to be used to influence employee behavior, motivate them to work, and improve their performance. Perhaps all the talk about belonging and core values is really a form of manipulation? In other words, perhaps organizational culture is nothing more than an algorithm that creates greater profit. Companies are always upgrading their technology, maximizing the efficiency of their supply chains, trying new marketing strategies, etc, constantly looking for a competitive edge and higher profits. Is organizational culture just another one of those things that companies are working on and finetuning to maximize their profits at a particular point in time? I am interested in knowing if anyone has studied this.

The statistics in “Why Diversity Matters” by Vivian Hunt, Dennis Layton, and Sara Prince are widely referenced. On the surface, it all makes sense. A more diverse workforce will help your company understand the needs of more customers and see more opportunities in more markets. Therefore, you will make more profit. But I’m wondering if there is another factor that could also be contributing to the financial results that is buried in the data. I say this because this statement from the article seems to work against the idea of diversity: “While certain industries perform better on gender diversity and other industries on ethnic and racial diversity, no industry or company is in the top quartile on both dimensions.” In other words, companies don’t do as well if they have both gender and ethnic and racial diversity. I am curious to know more about this. Furthermore, the McKinsey study looked at the composition of top management and boards in 2014 and financial data for the years 2010 to 2013. This seems like a short time frame for the analysis. I am curious to know if diversity matters over the long term. Do companies with diversity from the start have a better chance of surviving and thriving over the long term? Does diversity make a difference all along the lifecycle of company?

Response to #2

In the article “Why Diversity Matters,” the authors state that diversity “leads to a virtuous cycle of increasing returns.” This immediately makes me think of my experiences in my high school’s vocal jazz ensemble. I was fortunate to go to a high school with a vocal music program that became a powerhouse because of the wide range of racial and ethnic diversity in our district. When I was in high school, I did not realize that so much of our success depended on our music director’s talent for selecting just the right composition of performers. Every song had complex arrangements and harmonies requiring a range of male and female voices. We also needed vocalists who could scat, beatbox and do vocal percussion, carry a walking bassline, and perform songs from different genres ranging from chamber jazz to gospel to pop. Factoring into all of that was each individual singer’s racial, ethnic, and cultural background that shaped our sound. Year after year, our jazz vocal groups would travel to competitions throughout California, and we would regularly win the top awards. We were often invited to perform at festivals like the Monterey Jazz Festival. We were named the best high school vocal jazz program in the nation by Downbeat magazine. Now that I think back to our competitions against other schools, I can clearly see that our diversity was the element that made us better performers.

Discussion 6/12

  1. Some researchable questions that the Watkins read: What is organizational culture and why should we care? personally evoked for me are mostly related to the time and data pool in which he conducted his research.  When I first started reading this article I realized that it was very outdated, since it occurred in May of 2013, more than eight years ago. This makes me wonder how different the responses would be if Watkins repeated this research more recently.  Another aspect of his research that made me a bit skeptical is that the only people invited into the survey were from LinkedIn.  So therefore that only people who heard about the survey had to already be a part of the organization, which largely narrowed down the data pool.  I also noted that out of the nine perspectives, only one was from a female.  It just made me wonder if the data in his research was slightly skewed and not completely accurate to current times and a wide range of people/genders. 

3) One aspect from the article Why diversity matters that sparked a big interest in me, was when the authors started to discuss the disparities between different countries and how diverse the executive teams are for each of them.  It is very discouraging to see that 97 percent of the United States fails to represent the racial demographic composition of the country’s population.  Even the United Kingdom, which does much better than the United States, still falls short of racial diversity with only 22 percent of companies that are racially diverse.  I think that this practice of not being diverse in companies goes back to the idea of organizational culture.  The first perspective in Watkins’ article quotes Aristotle, “we are what we repeatedly do”.  For much of America’s history, the only people allowed to hold a place in power were white men.  This practice is unfortunately still carried out often, evident in the very low statistics regarding racial and gender diversity.  The article titled Why diversity matters was written in 2015, so there is hope that the statistics have improved over the last 6 years, but no matter the improvement, there is still much to do to become truly diverse in the work field.

Discussion Questions

1) In the article “What is Organizational Culture and Why Should We Care?” I found the idea that culture is a product of compensation to be very interesting, in that paragraph it was mentioned that the best predictors of what people will do is what they are incentivized to do. I also connected this to the article “Why Diversity Matters” where it was mentioned that more diverse companies have been shown to be 35% more likely to out perform and have higher returns. The question I kept wondering about was Would companies be trying to improve their diversity if there were not statistics such as these to support the change?

3)Both articles “What is Organizational Culture and Why Should We Care?” and “Why Diversity matters” have provided me not only with new insight on these topics as well as allowed me to make connections to things that go on around us in the world. In “What is Organizational Culture and Why Should We Care?” a few definitions stood out to me. The first two were from the article “Organizational Culture is Civilization in the Workplace” in the paragraph that followed, the author went on to describe that Organizational Culture is derived from the societal norms that are behind upheld around the organization. The author writes about how the success of an organization can be determined by how willing the organization is to adapt to new cultures. It is mentioned that ” …established cultures can become impediments to survival when there are substantial environment changes.” This interested me because I believe this to be true, the more willing institutions and organizations are to rebrand their cultures, then the more successful they will be in the long run. The second was that “An organization is a living culture… that can adapt to the reality as fast as possible.” the author mentions that since the society is constantly changing it is hard to establish a set organizational culture which I completely agree with.As time passes we are changing as a society which also means that the things around us should change as well so they are able to keep up with current times. This made me reflect back on the importance of allowing room for improvements, and a large component of having this space is not to have a set in stone organizational culture.

In the article “Why Diversity Matters” It was said that The United Kingdom does better when it comes to diversity than The United States in senior leadership programs. At first I was wondering why this could possibly be but then it reminded me of something I learned in one of my college classes back in high school. In America where you live determines the types of jobs and schools you attend. Many minorities are confined to redlined neighborhoods and do not have access to the resources needed for them to leave. When they do they have a hard time finding jobs because they may not fit certain unspoken requirements. For instance a while back I read that when hiring, people are more likely to hire someone who went to a prestigious or well known university in comparison to someone who attended a community college or a lesser known university. This all can be a factor to why there is not as much diversity in senior positions in the U.S than in the U.K.

Discussion Questions

Response to #1

The articles “Why Diversity Matters” – Vivian Hunt, Dennis Layton and Sara Prince and “Organizational Culture and Why Should We Care?” – Michael D. Watkins, brought to mind several questions I’d like to explore further. As a Black woman who’s been working most of her adult life in majority white companies, I pondered over the intersection between a particular type of organizational culture and effective implementation of diversity and inclusion in a workplace.

“Organizational Culture and Why Should We Care?” mentions values being an integral part of an organization’s culture. This made me wonder what are some specific examples of values in companies? One person surveyed in the article posited that culture is shaped by the main culture of the society we live in. So how does that bode for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) folks whose cultures and values are marginalized in mainstream society?

I also began to wonder if any best practices for organizational culture have been established since the writing of the article in 2013? Are there any companies that have a successful culture? Who are they and how did they do it? What are the distinct characteristics of successful company culture? All of these questions should be considered when tasked with implementing or improving organizational culture.

Response to #3

The statistic that jumped out at me most in the article “Why Diversity Matters”, referenced how the United Kingdom, Brazil and the United States are doing on racial diversity in corporate senior leadership positions.  According to “Why Diversity Matters”, ‘The United Kingdom does comparatively better in racial diversity, albeit at a low level: some 78 percent of UK companies have senior-leadership teams that fail to reflect the demographic composition of the country’s labor force and population, compared with 91 percent for Brazil and 97 percent for the United States’.

Research has established that ethnically diverse companies are 35% more likely to outperform financially above national industry medians, thus why are American companies lagging so far behind in hiring ethnically diverse executives?  This is significant and leads me to a frightening revelation. The United States prides itself on being a capitalist nation, which often leads to putting the success of businesses above the needs of the people. So, it could be argued that keeping corporate America’s leadership roles (power) in the hands of a select few white people might outweigh all else. Even making money.  Many businesses will say that there isn’t an adequate pool of qualified diverse candidates to choose from. This isn’t a sufficient reason for executives being overwhelmingly white. It only means that there needs to be a change in corporate culture.

If organizations truly desire to transform culturally, more diverse employees must be hired at all levels and should be mentored, sponsored and promoted so as to one day be a defining voice at the head of a profitable corporation.

Discussion Questions

Response to #1

The organizational article to me was the most intriguing, as it created a sense of curiosity, which led to a variety of questions I had concerning organizations in general. Last semester, I took two management classes which focused heavily on organizations, their architecture, which was composed by the structure and culture, along with other various elements. This makes me want to dive deeper into these issues and understand how organizations or large corporations in general can create a culture where it fosters a company identity where tasks can be completed in an efficient as well as effective manner.

  1. Can organizational culture be influenced or altered to fit the needs or desires of a specific organization? For example, do office perks, monetary incentives, work schedules, HR management (acquisition, maintenance, and termination of employees) create an environment which provides for a certain type of organizational culture, or is organizational culture set in stone? Can it change over time? Are intrinsic or extrinsic factors the most influential when considering a company’s culture?

At first, I questioned the validity of what random LinkedIn users had to say about organizational culture. This is because they only represent a small population of users, where comments are often positive and uplifting. However, the authors findings made me realize a variety of different things concerning organizational culture. First, there are various components that make up an organizations culture, some people believe it is a way to control employees, others believe that it is set, while others believe that they are constantly changing to fit the needs of both the external, as well as the internal environment. LinkedIn provides for another unique opportunity that also makes me think of another question I would be interested in learning about in the future.

  • Is organizational culture different in certain parts of the world? Is this due to peoples personal beliefs and norms within that culture? What influences the different beliefs and personal cultures of people, and how does this impact a domestic organization in comparison with an international one?
  • What are some components in organizational culture which may be detrimental to the organization as a whole? What are some positive aspects of organizational culture or things that my contribute to the culture which make the organization act more efficiently as well as effectively?

Response to #2

This prompt makes me think back to being a young child and beginning to read. Everybody at one point of time did not know how to read, but little by little they built their knowledge and recognition of words to help them understand how to read. Thinking back, I started off with small words like cat, dog, and apple. Eventually from this, you learn how to read and write. Over time, especially on standardized tests, teachers teach you about a five-paragraph format to answer a prompt with evidence supporting your claim. This is in essence, one of the most important beginner templates in writing that you begin to use as a kid. Obviously being able to recognize the different components that make up essays, is extremely beneficial as you are able to recognize the structure and quickly skim over certain elements.

This is exactly what the TSIS article is trying to illustrate. By following a specific format structure, you are able to summarize other people’s opinions or statements off in a conversational manner while conveying your own thoughts afterword.  Having this format makes for a clear, concise paper which is easy to read. Much like my first five paragraph essays which had an introduction, three bodies of paragraphs for evidence, as well as a conclusion the TSIS format has structure.

Other structures that I have noticed have enabled me to save time and focus on the important parts of the writing. For example, in many of my classes and out of class work, I read 10-Ks. Each 10k that I read, I understand that there are distinct sections which include a summary of the business, risk factors, financial data, as well as MD&A.

Along with this, in the TSIS introduction it speaks a lot about having to consciously think through concepts or actions until you have mastered that task. This is just like reading in my opinion, as well as today analyzing certain documents. The more you are able to read them, the faster it is to understand the general idea and any information which pertains to the subject. I have also experienced this in sports. Growing up playing basketball, it takes countless hours making sure that your form is correct, and the only way to do this is through repetition. Growing up I always shot the ball in an underhand manner, which is extremely ineffective. After becoming more serious with the sport, I learned what you need to focus on in order to have a better shot. At the beginning of creating your shot, you have to think about making sure that your elbows are at the right angle, your wrist goes in the right direction, feet square, making you think about every time you take a shot. Eventually it becomes something that you can perform unconsciously. This relates back to the TSIS reading as it speaks that just like sports and other activities, writing takes practice and lots of thought to perform well.

Overall, I agree with the statement that the author makes concerning how writing is a process that can be learned through repetition, and it is extremely relevant to their own ideas concerning the structure and using conventional formulas/phrases when learning how to master something.

Introduction

Hi! My name is Joanna Vines and I am a rising junior from Villanova PA. I am pursuing a double major in Public Health and Policy Studies and a minor in Information Management & Technology. In addition to this course, I am working as a hostess and conducting research with a Professor overt the summer.

I am taking this class during the summer because I could not fit in to my schedule last spring. For a summer course I find the asynchronous format beneficial given the uncertainty of my schedule. However, during a normal semester I do not like this way of learning.

My advice to students who may not have taken a course completely online or asynchronously is to use an agenda or calendar to write the due dates of all assignments to help you stay organized. When you do not have a regular class meeting time it can be easy to forget about course work. By mapping out your work it can keep help you stay on top of your work and stay more connected with the class.

I am looking forward with this class with Professor Oakes! She was the writing consultant for MAX 123 when I took it last semester.

Introduction Dylan

Hi! My name is Dylan Lopez, and I live in Los Angeles, California, but I was born in Rochester, New York and spent the first half of my life there. I am going to be a junior in the Whitman School of Management next semester. I am planning to major in management and recently added a sports management minor. I am taking this course because I need to make room in my schedule for the minor classes and also because I have always enjoyed doing research to learn new subjects. A management course I took last semester briefly covered organizational cultures, and I look forward to going deeper into the material this summer.

In addition to taking this course, I am taking a religion course online and I am applying to summer jobs around my town. Being in California has unfortunately made it so I can only study remotely this summer, but I am happy that I will be able to organize the work to my own schedule.

My advice for all my remote student friends out there is to try and work on your assignments at the same time each day so you can stay on track. Also, I often print out the readings and find that I absorb more information that way without all the distractions that come with reading on the computer. That is something that has worked for me in the past.

Discussion Questions

1.

These readings cause me to think more about what organizational culture is, how it affects people and the way they live their lives, and how diversity plays a role in the success of companies. Based off the reading “What is organizational culture and why should we care?” it seems like the definition of organizational culture is a spectrum and is more of an opinion. Most of the people who voiced their opinions regarding what organizational culture is have very different ideas that one who said one thing might not have even thought of what someone else had said. The definition and the way it affects people is dependent on who the person is and what they have experienced in their life. While it would be easier for most people, if not everyone, to have one main definition for organizational culture, it seems like it will always be more of an opinion of what it is and that it affects people differently depending on what they see it as.

Diversity has been a topic of conversation for decades while people have struggled with discrimination and being treated a specific way because of their gender or skin color. It is extremely interesting that the companies that have more diversity in both gender and ethnic ways have more financial returns because as stated in “Why diversity matters”, this is definitely more of a correlation than a causation. Although, this could potentially be caused by the fact that by having a diversity among the people working could cause people who think differently to be working together and coming up with new and different ideas.

3.

The statistic that “racial and ethnic diversity has a stronger impact on financial performance in the United States than gender diversity, perhaps because earlier efforts to increase women’s representation in the top levels of business have already yielded positive results” is not only an interesting fact but proves that gender diversity has already been effective for businesses in the United States. The statistics in the article makes me think that the reason diversity is so positive for businesses is because there are different people with different backgrounds thinking differently about the same things. This allows me to create my own definition of what organizational culture is just like all the people from linkedin did in 2013. Organizational culture is within a company or even group of people when there is a diversity of people working on the same thing together. This matters because it is a way for people to be working together and is a way to get different perspectives and ideas on the same topic.