My most interesting and most challenging job is one in the same. It was for a small, start-up trucking company. The owner, who already owned one small, non-union trucking company, had secured a contract with a large national grocery chain to haul groceries outside a 150-mile radius of the city. However, because the grocery chain was a unionized company, the owner, in fear of an attempt to organize his current trucking company, chose to start a new entity to handle the newly acquired business. This is a story of two conflicting cultures, overt cultural interpretation, and the struggles associated with bringing the two cultures together to meet the conflicting needs of the owner and the union workers.
The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines culture as “the customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group” (Merriam-Webster Inc, 2004, pg. 175). With this definition in mind, and knowing that the owner entered this business endeavor with a preconceived fear of union organization, it is easy to understand how interesting and challenging working within the organization was going to be. There were many different cultural issues within this company over the years, but I will discuss the issues involved with introducing a safety program into the organization.
In the textbook, Conrad and Poole, 2012 indicate, “Differences in background and experiences mean that many different belief systems are present with each organizational culture and potentially compete with one another” (pg. 159, para. 1). When I entered the organization, it was clear there were two distinct cultures, each culture in competition with the other, and neither was willing to work with the other. The first culture was that of the c...
... middle of paper ...
...ed for very small mom and pop type businesses, where culture seems nonexistent. However, I can see where creating a specific culture in a very large organization is very important. That is not to say it is not important in a small business. I just have never worked for an organization that considered culture as part of the business model, which may be why I struck out on my own. In my own small business, I try to cultivate a positive and fun business culture, where employees enjoy coming to work. This week’s material has provided me with many different aspects to consider in building my business and creating such a culture.
Works Cited
Conrad, C. R., & Poole, M. S. (2012). Strategic organizational communication in a global economy. Chichester, U.K: Wiley-Blackwell.
Merriam-Webster, Inc (2004). The Merriam-Webster dictionary. Springfield, Mass: Merriam-Webster.
Poole, c. a. (2005). strategic organizational communications in a global economy. belmont ca: wadsworth cengage learning.
“Probably the most cited perspective on corporate culture is that of Schein (1985). He defines culture as having three levels. The most visible, but most superficial, level is that of culture as a pattern of behavior. It is ‘the way things are done around here,’ the norms, the stories, the symbols. These behavioral patterns reflect a second, deeper, level of culture, which are the firm’s shared values. Shared values are, on their turn, driven by the third and most fundamental level of culture: shared assumptions” (Van den Steen, 7).
The rapid technological evolution and the growth in the population around the world are playing considerable role in creating new levels of intercultural communicate both locally and globally. People now can get the information from any spots on the planets easily through many televisions channels. Also, gaining huge amount of knowledge from every part around the world is provided by computer networks. Computer networks facilitate the communications as well. Beside create new opportunities, technological and demographic evolutions provide significant challenges to the people. Communicating successfully in another language depends on shifting the frames of reference, norms, and assumptions (Kinzer, 2003). In other words, when individuals use another language effectively, they must adopt new perspectives about communication and language and not just focus on the structure and vocabulary. Reading, writing and discussion of texts will help learner to understand another way of thinking. Actually, there are needs to embrace issues of cultural identity and for an inclusive process in how reading and writing are being taught. In this regard, language appeared as one of the most essential aspects of culture and social being. Language is not the only mean which individuals create activities and identities. Also, language is not enough to be recognised in a specific community or group. Person must behave and act in ways considered right among this community or group.
There are many co-cultures in the world. I am a twenty nine year old Caucasian mother of two girls with an annual income of around thirty thousand a year. I am a wife in a Methodist household, where my job is a home maker; as well as, I am a college student. I am a French Canadian, German, Native American, and Polish breed.
The workforce in the United States no longer consists of only Caucasian or American workers. According to the 2014 Foreign Summary Report from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) (https://www.sec.gov/divisions/corpfin/internatl/companies.shtml) there were 912 foreign companies registered and reporting with the SEC. Additionally, companies employ people from other countries locally as well as overseas and relocate or expand to other parts of the world due to globalization. All employees, whether from this country or another, have language and cultural differences that can cause misunderstanding and miscommunication among coworkers. In order to understand how other cultures communicate, we should learn about other cultures and the ways they communicate with each other. When all team members make an effort to understand each other better, a more cohesive team is formed. International
Corporate culture is the shared values and meanings that members hold in common and that are practiced by an organization’s leaders. Corporate culture is a powerful force that affects individuals in very real ways. In this paper I will explain the concept of corporate culture, apply the concept towards my employer, and analyze the validity of this concept. Research As Sackmann's Iceberg model demonstrates, culture is a series of visible and invisible characteristics that influence the behavior of members of organizations. Organizational and corporate cultures are formal and informal. They can be studied by observation, by listening and interacting with people in the culture, by reading what the company says about its own culture, by understanding career path progressions, and by observing stories about the company. As R. Solomon stated, “Corporate culture is related to ethics through the values and leadership styles that the leaders practice; the company model, the rituals and symbols that organizations value, and the way organizational executives and members communicate among themselves and with stakeholders. As a culture, the corporation defines not only jobs and roles; it also sets goals and establishes what counts as success” (Solomon, 1997, p.138). Corporate values are used to define corporate culture and drive operations found in “strong” corporate cultures. Boeing, Johnson & Johnson, and Bonar Group, the engineering firm I work for, all exemplify “strong” cultures. They all have a shared philosophy, they value the importance of people, they all have heroes that symbolize the success of the company, and they celebrate rituals, which provide opportunities for caring and sharing, for developing a spiri...
Our culture is a scholarly arrangement of presumptions that shape our observations of the world, and of suitable qualities, standards, states of mind and practices. We learn our culture. Perceptions about gender, age, and social class are culturally based, as are our ideas about race, ethnicity, religious practices, sexual orientation, physical appearance and ability, and regional and national characteristics. What is intercultural communication? Intercultural communication is defined as a form of communication between individuals or groups of different cultural origins. Communicating across cultures is challenging. Every society has set rules that its individuals underestimate. Few of us know about our own social inclinations on the grounds
Culture is not something that you carry in your DNA. It is not about genetics, it is about being born into a society with certain cultural characteristics. From the moment that you are born, you start learning about culture throughout the course of your life. You gain knowledge of culture from your parents, grandparents, friends, teachers in school and so on. Cultural characteristics refer to the elements that define individuals. Some of these characteristics consist of beliefs, values, norms and social practices. In the next paragraphs you will find a better definition of each cultural characteristic and how they influence verbal and non-verbal communication.
When thinking about what has been covered so far in the unit, I would consider lending my USB to my friend unacceptable. During our group discussion, my groupmates also have all agreed that it would not be very smart as it could result in problems such as plagiarism. To communicate this to my friend, firstly I would tell them that I cannot lend my USB to them and explain why afterwards. I would tell them the problems that might surface from borrowing my work and suggest a few tips. I would explain to them what plagiarism is and what would happen if we plagiarised; we could earn a zero from our work or subject, and in severe cases, could lead to both of us being expelled from the university (Butler, 2005). I would talk about the other ways for
The aspects that were most beneficial to me were learning to proficiently weld and cut, operating heavy machinery, freedom to move around the company and interface with the workers, and the heavy emphasis...
The term “culture” refers to the complex accumulation of knowledge, folklore, language, rules, rituals, habits, lifestyles, attitudes, beliefs, and customs that link and provide a general identity to a group of people. Cultures take a long time to develop. There are many things that establish identity give meaning to life, define what one becomes, and how one should behave.
Culture in an organization is created, embedded, evolved, and ultimately manipulated, and at the same time culture can constrain, stabilize, and provide structure and meaning to the members of the organization. An organization founder or leader creates the organization’s culture. Leadership is entangled with culture formation, evolution, transformation, and destruction (Schein, 2004).
Simply speaking, a company’s structure and design can be viewed as its body, and its culture as its soul. Because industries and situations vary significantly, it would be difficult and risky to propose there is a “one size fits all” culture template that meets the needs of all organizations” (Nov 30, 2012). Those organizations who have shared beliefs and values and have organized methods on chain of command going to have positive outcomes. This will help shaping their employees views and performances. The growth and profit of the business relays on their employees and their performances. Culture is the core which will help and encourage all different level workers. If the core itself is weak, it will weaken the atmosphere of the business. Many companies announce that they have great culture but fail to implement to the lower level of workers. The basic issue is when organization has one set of culture and thinks one culture will meet the needs of all the workers. Each business is different and each individual is unique and have different beliefs and behaviors. The culture that is right for one individual might not work the same for the others. The ideal approach in this case would be, looking at the bigger picture of diverse working environment and give importance and respect to what are the ranges of business firms to achieve the perfect culture for organization. Sometimes one size fits all will not going to fit anybody, so the organization have to keep their ideas open and value everyone’s presence respecting all of their culture for the betterment and
Can the effects of cultural misunderstandings can be painful for the individuals, but also for the organization as a whole. Embarrassing situations and inadvertently insults, offenses and failure to achieve individual and organizational goals are among the consequences of the joint. Experience of many managers and researchers in the field of strategy, organization, and the development of the theory of the organization suggests all this ", the study of cultural issues at the organizational level is absolutely essential to a basic understanding of what goes on in organizations, and how it works, and how to improve" (Shin 1990).
Organisational culture is one of the most valuable assets of an organization. Many studies states that the culture is one of the key elements that benefits the performance and affects the success of the company (Kerr & Slocum 2005). This can be measured by income of the company, and market share. Also, an appropriate culture within the society can bring advantages to the company which helps to perform with the de...