II. Research the Culture of an Organization

On the Internet, find an organization that is of interest to you and work through the steps listed below (helpful materials for this step can be found in Chapter 16 Organizational Culture in our OB textbook and the presentation slides such as “How to read an Organization’s Culture”).

Name of Organization:       Google        URL of Homepage:http://www.google.com/about/company/

a) Did you have any impressions or ideas regarding the organization’s culture before you started researching the organization? If so, list them here briefly (keywords are fine):

b) What are some of the artifacts* of the organization’s culture that you found through your research? (*symbols, stories/language, rituals, policies, or behaviors/interaction styles): If so, list them here briefly (keywords are fine): dd

è Please note the URL(s) you used to answer this question: ___________________________________________________.

c) Were you able to detect something that “speaks to” the organization’s rules, norms, or values? In your answer, please clarify whether 1) you found explicitly declarations that the organization considers those rules, norms, and/or values as elements of its culture, or 2) you had to infer those rules, norms, and/or values from your research (i.e., they were implicitly embedded in the materials you reviewed). My findings were: _______________________________________________________________________________________________________
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d) Read the article “Find Your Employer ‘Culture Fit’ With Social Media”. Then briefly evaluate the feasibility and usefulness of using social media tools to evaluate the “culture fit” between you and the organization you have researched. If possible, please specify in your answer which tool (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc.) would be most useful.  Feasibility: ____________________________________________________
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Usefulness: _________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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III. On the Internet, find Bridgewater Associates’ website.

1.      When we discussed the question of the origins of an organization’s culture in class, one answer pointed to the influences of founders and their values. Briefly describe the role that Bridgewater’s founder had in shaping the organization’s values, principles and eventually culture. In your answer, make sure to mention what—according to the founder—the two most important values are and why the founder emphasizes those two values (i.e., to what ends are those values important?). _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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IV. Read the Financial Times article “Reckitt’s strongly flavoured Essence”.

2.      In your own words, briefly describe Reckitt Benckiser’s organizational culture (keywords are fine): _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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3.      Name a rule, norm, or value that is part of Reckitt Benckiser’s shared social knowledge and describe how this rule, norm, or value impacts the attitudes and behaviors of Reckitt Benckiser’s employees. One rule, norm, or value is: __________________________________________________________, and it shapes the attitudes and behaviors of RB’s employees in the following ways: _________________________________________
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V.  On the Internet, find Reckitt Benckiser’s website.

4.      How does RB describe life at the company and its people? The company describes life at RB and its people as: _______________________________________________________________________________________________________
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5.      Compare your answer above (i.e., #6) to your answer to question #4 (i.e., describing RB’s organizational culture in your own words). To what extent does your answer to question #4 capture how RB sees itself? If there is no discrepancy between your perception and RB’s own perception, kudos to you! However, if a discrepancy exists, it is probably due to the fact that “a complete understanding of organizational culture is a process that happens over time” (Colquitt, LePine, & Wesson, 2015, p. 5__). Please name the primary process by which such an understanding is obtained. The process is called: _______________________________________________.

a.       Are there explicit links between RB’s self-description and one of the two primary outcomes of our integrated OB model? If so, give an example of words or a phrase from RB’s website that demonstrate such a link: ____________________________________________________________________________________
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b.      According to its website, which four core values does RB list as essential to their organizational culture and which drive RB’s success?
1) ________________________________________________  2) ____________________________________________________
3) ________________________________________________  4) ____________________________________________________.

c.       Reflect on those values for a moment. Would you and RB be a good match? According to our textbook, which concept is used to describe such matches? Plus, provide one reason why the concept is important. 1) The concept is called: ________________-______________________________  ___________,
2) and it is important because ______________________________________________________________________________
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VI. ASA Framework (for information see our OB Textbook)

6.      What does “ASA” in ASA framework stand for? ASA stands for: ___________________________________________
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7.      What does the ASA framework postulate? The ASA framework ____________________________________________
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8.      How does the ASA concept apply to Reckitt Benckiser, as described in the Financial Times article?
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VII. When looking for a job, should you pay attention to an organization’s culture? Why or why not?

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