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Essay On Organizational Culture In The Workplace

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An organization always faces challenges when allowing new employees into their culture. Brethren Woods Camp and Retreat Center encounters this change every year when they orient their summer staff. Last summer, however, a new problem occurred to challenge their organizational culture. During the fifth week of their six week summer camp program, they caught wind from a stakeholder that some of their employees had been in violation of the personnel policy they all signed earlier in the summer. After confirming this information with the employees in question, they were quick to judge the situation. Two employees were fired while the rest were treated to a talking circle. The incident was not explained to the entire staff and was never spoken …show more content…

With roots in the Church of the Brethren, it is easy to trace where the organizational culture gets its roots. In fact their mission statement is “to provide Christian educational opportunities, facilities, and programs for all ages in an inviting woodland setting; encouraging the formation of Christ-centered living, leadership, and stewardship of creation, leading toward wholeness in the kingdom of God” (Brethren Woods, 2017). These Christian beliefs are explicit in each camp week as the organization values events including bible study, vespers, and morning watch. They can also be seen in the expectations for employees from the dress code to the housing rules. Brethren Woods also gets much of their funding from Brethren churches surrounding the area. As stakeholders, these churches keep the camp accountable to their values because they do not want to put their money into an organization that does not align with their beliefs. All of these elements of the camp’s organizational culture led to the way the handled the problem with their staff. First off, one of the elements of their mission is to form leaders in Christ. With their leaders exhibiting behaviors contrary to these values, something had to be done. Next, there was a culture set by the executive director and two co-program directors that they wanted to perpetuate. They could not allow the culture to morph into something against their mission. Lastly, the stakeholders expect Brethren Woods to uphold an

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