BUS 576-5

Image Source: http://in.myinfoline.com/forum/reply/1711

Week five was an examination of culture and change management within organizations. This week's EIAs were very interesting, detailed, and made me think about management and culture in new ways. Culture can be defined in two ways. There is culture that identifies nationalities and countries, and ethnic groups and there is culture that defines a workplace. The Hofstede's Centre offers an extensive look as culture, both national and organizational, that outlines multiple categories qualifying different cultures. This was my favorite part of the EIA's this week because I love to travel and I have experienced living in different cultures other than the culture I was born into.

I believe that studying culture and applying this knowledge to organizations is increasingly important considering we live in a globalized world. Everyone who plans on working in business should have an understanding of how to approach cultures they may work with. Before I taught English in Indonesia I was required to attend a workshop type conference where I was taught Indonesian and was presented with knowledge of Indonesian culture and how I should act as an American female in Indonesia. I am confident that the education I receive about Indonesian culture made my time in Indonesia more enjoyed as I was able to avoid some social faux pas such as not offending anyone and staying safe in a foreign place. I think that management should offer training and workshops from employees and mangers that are from countries that most organizations do business with. There should also be a significant amount of emphasis placed on cultural understating within the workplace. The United States is one of the most culturally diverse counties in the world. Cultural awareness should be seen as an asset.

However, I do believe that it is near impossible to become completely acclimated to a new culture solely through workshops and individuals can live years in a new country and not fully understand the culture. I lived in Indonesia for a year but I do not pretend like I am an expert on Indonesian culture. There were many things about Indonesia that still surprise and confuse me. Something else that occurred to me during this week's EIAs is that culture is not just different from one country to the next. There can be cultural differences within a single country. For example differences in socioeconomic status can result in cultural differences. The article I am including this week is from Thought Catalogue. This article is easy and fun to read. I wanted to post something about the perspective of America from people who are not originally American in culture. It is easy for Americans, and people belonging to other nationalities, to become very nationalistic and believe that the American way is the only right way of doing things. I think the article from Thought Catalogue is a run read that proves there are numerous ways of living.

I would like to critique this article by Aimee Groth at Business Insider. This article is about the importance of workplace culture and how businesses "sink or swim" based on how hires fit into the workplace. The main argument in this article is that leaders should hire candidates whose personal goals are aligned with goals of the company and should pass on applicants who are possibly capable but do not fit into the culture. I agree with this article! I have worked for organizations that hired a new employee and that employee did not fit with the goals of the team and the organization suffered. I would like to work for an organization that possesses a culture that I feel comfortable in. That is perhaps my first goal when searching for a new position.