Week 1 Assignment: Does Culture Matter?
Before beginning work on this assignment, read Chapters 1 and 3 in Jacobs and Crockett (2021) and the articles by Sharma and Sharma (2022), Omazić, et al. (2020) and Mohammad, et al. (2021). In this paper, you will argue for AND against the statement that “Culture matters in an organization.”
Begin by reviewing some well-known, profitable organizations by researching their websites, on various social media sites, and on corporate transparency websites such as glassdoor.comLinks to an external site. and comparably.comLinks to an external site.. (Some suggestions are Google, Apple, Walmart, Harpo Productions, Zappos, Starbucks, Southwest Airlines, Amazon, Facebook, Uber, Bridgeman Foods, Family Dollar, ADT, Molina Healthcare, Brightstar, and Express Scripts).
Review the mission and values statements of these organizations and then determine if the company’s public image is aligned with its mission, values, and norms. Choose an organization that has a functional culture and another organization that has a dysfunctional culture. Use the infographic listing the features of functional and dysfunctional organizational cultures to review possible selections.
Image Long Description
The infographic compares functional and dysfunctional organizational cultures.
Functional organizational culture has:
- Clearly defined purpose
- Effective upward and downward communication systems
- Shared values
- Open systems
- High level of commitment to the organization
- Ability to respond to and manage change
Dysfunctional organizational culture has:
- Lack of defined purpose
- Ineffective or insufficient communication or lack of upward and downward communication
- Values that are different from stated or published organizational values
- Closed systems
- Low level of commitment to the organization
- Lack of response to change or practice of rapid and constant change
In your Does Culture Matter? paper,
- Evaluate the culture in each organization you selected, identifying what you found in your research on each organization.
- Explain the cultural determinants you used to make your decisions about the nature of the organization, explaining what is positive and what is lacking in the culture of each organization.
- Defend the statement that “culture matters in an organization” using examples from the organizations you evaluated.
- Debate the statement that “culture does NOT matter in an organization” using examples from the organizations you evaluated.
The Does Culture Matter? Paper,
- Must be at least 1,000 words in length (not including abstract, title, and reference pages) and formatted according to APA StyleLinks to an external site. as outlined in the Writing Center’s APA Formatting for Microsoft WordLinks to an external site. resource.
- Must include a separate title page with the following in title case:
- Title of the paper in bold font
- Space should appear between the title and the rest of the information on the title page.
- Student’s name
- Name of institution (The University of Arizona Global Campus)
- Course name and number
- Instructor’s name
- Due date
- Title of the paper in bold font
- Must utilize academic voice.
- See the Academic VoiceLinks to an external site. resource for additional guidance.
- Must include an introduction and conclusion paragraph.
- Your introduction paragraph needs to end with a clear thesis statement that indicates the purpose of your paper.
- For assistance on writing Introductions & ConclusionsLinks to an external site. and Writing a Thesis StatementLinks to an external site., refer to the Writing Center resources.
- Must use at least two scholarly sources in addition to the course text.
- The Scholarly, Peer-Reviewed, and Other Credible SourcesLinks to an external site. table offers additional guidance on appropriate source types. If you have questions about whether a specific source is appropriate for this assignment, please contact your instructor. Your instructor has the final say about the appropriateness of a specific source.
- To assist you in completing the research required for this assignment, view the Quick and Easy Library ResearchLinks to an external site. tutorial, which introduces the University of Arizona Global Campus Library and the research process and provides some library search tips.
- Must document any information used from sources in APA Style as outlined in the Writing Center’s APA: Citing Within Your PaperLinks to an external site. guide.
- Must include a separate references page that is formatted according to APA Style as outlined in the Writing Center.
- See the APA: Formatting Your References ListLinks to an external site. resource in the Writing Center for specifications.
Tutorial for Does Culture Matter?
