Learning About Organizational Culture - Personal Experience

Learning about organizational culture was exciting. I learned a lot during the visit to FAC facility in the University of Kentucky. For example, it was my first time studying the organization culture and thus I was excited to know factors to consider during such a study. During the study, I learned that organization culture comprises of the physical characteristic of the organization, the behavior of the stakeholders, and norms and values in the facility. The activity during the group study involves meeting workers in the facility premises, observe the buildings, designs, and inquire from staffs regarding the norms and practices in the facility.

During the tour to the FAC facility, there were many interactions with stakeholders of FAC facility. There was a need to create a rapport with employees of the facility to create a willing heart for interaction and to give details about their organization. For example, it was necessary to interact with staff members to know whether there are heroes in their midst, the acceptable language in the premises of the organization and norms. The group members were engaged in movements and careful observations of different variables in the institution. I learned that studying organization culture requires that an individual walk with a guide know things to consider during the study. The study was successful because we knew all that organization culture entails.

Reflective Observation

The study of organization culture comprised of observation, and interviews. There was evidence of diversity in the observation of organization culture. The artistic features in the buildings, the designs of structures and the relationship between staff members had different implication to different people. For example, there was a great division in understanding how the leadership of the institution under the study observed culture or there was no culture. Some of the members of the college revealed that they respect diversity in the premises of the institution. However, the words of the members of the college meant a different thing to the different members of the group.

Despite some differences in observation during the study, every member of the group observed that most students were focused on the organization. To me a focused student refers to those students that observe silence in college premises, attend classes in time, and meet the datelines of the assignments. However, I noticed that some defined focused students as those following college timetable and engage learning activities every time. I learned that environment dictates our perceptions and that every member of our group was free to define things their way.

Abstract conceptualization

During the study, I realized that the reading materials in class are applicable. In lectures and in the reading materials, it is apparent that organizational culture is observable. For example, I observed students in the FAC facility working in groups, engaging in serious group discussions and observing neatness in the premises of the institution. Most of the things we observed relate closely to the suggestions from Edgar Schein. In his theory, Edgar attempted to explain the definition of organizational culture. The theoretical perspective of culture holds that it stands for assumptions and external adaptations. During the study of organizational culture, I learned that our focus was on the observable characteristics of the organization. Some of the things we were observing during the study include designs, relationships in the organization, assumptions that guides behaviors in the organization and internal and external adaptations in the organization. The reading materials inform practical activities in the organization. For example, I had the definition of organizational culture in my mind. As a result, during the visit to the different department of the university, I knew factors to consider when detecting the changes in the organization culture. For this reasons, there was a close relationship between the practical study of organizational culture and theoretical part in the lectures and class readings.

Active Experiments

During the study, I learned that theory and practice are important elements during the study. Taking part in a practical study requires that an individual is equipped with facts about steps to follow during the study. I learned that studying organizational culture, in reality, requires a pre-visit to prepare the staff for the organization the day of the visit. For example, it took us time introducing our goals to the administration, interacting with students and interrogating them for some little information we needed to know. In future, I will consider developing a plan to guide a study. It is important to allocate enough time to all activities during a study. As a result, it is important to develop a schedule to follow during the study, allocate time to every activity, and give priority to important activities. In our observation, sound organization culture is helpful. On our first day in the institution, we noticed that students were regulated by the values and norms of the institution. Besides, the institution had a unique way of doing things to reflect the culture and norms of the institution.