Organizational Culture Assesment

To understand the organizational culture of a company, one needs to start by looking at the history. Lakeshore Learning Materials was born from a divorced mother of three named Ethelyn Kaplan, who took a dream and a chance by moving her family to California in 1954 to open a toy store. When she started noticing that teachers were interested in her material, Ethelyn realized that she needed to expand her business into educational materials. 60 years later, Lakeshore Learning Materials has grown into a company with over 2000 employees, 60 retail stores throughout the United States and growing. Lakeshore Learning Materials is currently headed by Ethelyn’s grandsons, Bo and Josh Kaplan. Under the supervision of Bo and Josh, Lakeshore continues to be a leader in the Educational Materials, yet still able to keep the family culture that their grandmother started. Highest quality customer service and hard work are the core values that shape Lakeshore’s Organizational Strategy. These high expectations aren’t hard for employees at Lakeshore because the company is so loved by everyone that works there, that they give nothing less than the best.

I work for Cornerstone Services in Joliet, IL. Cornerstone is a not-for-profit organizational that provides vocational, residential and behavioral health services for individuals with chronic mental illness and/or intellectual disabilities ("Cornerstone Services,” 2016). Cornerstone has been serving the Joliet and greater Will County area since 1969, and Kankakee County since 2013, and strives to integrate individuals from institutions and nursing homes into the community and make connections to local resources to enrich the lives of those we serve. A number of therapy programs are offered such as outpatient therapy, group therapy, addiction counseling, psychosocial rehabilitation

The unit I selected to study is the Sales and Service department of the organization where I am employed, Verizon Telecommunications. It is the customer service department in which customers call in to order new service, add services or products to existing service, and report any questions, comments or complaints. In addition to placing orders for services, if a customer has a problem or a technical issue, my job is to analyze the problem or issue and recommend a solution. Notice however, the department title, Sales and Service. It is of no accident that the word Sales, is before Service. This is in fact a sales job. During every call, I must make sure I recommend a product or service to

The current organizational culture type of my organization is Clan, based on the Organizational Culture Assessment Instrument. Schein’s Three-Layer Organizational Model has three levels: artifacts, adopted behaviors and basic assumptions. Artifacts are made up of things that can be seen and felt. My organization has a relaxed dress code, which is considered a normal value for our organization. The office is in our family home, which provides a warm and welcoming atmosphere. We have several special dinners each year to celebrate our business. Outsiders would easily recognize these artifacts, and therefore these artifacts are a part of the work culture of my organization.

According to workers, organizations with significant wellness programs remain a minority. Demographic evidence suggests that the current laissez-faire attitudes toward workplace wellness found in many organizations will soon need to change. It's important to understand those needs to tailor a wellness program to the organization and its people. To be successful, wellness programs must be employee driven and management supported. (Walker, 2004)

The general line of reasoning is that if we learn to incorporate each other’s diverse traits and characteristics in the workplace, we can then use these differences to foster an innovative environment, which will give the company a competitive advantage over the competitors that do not accept workforce diversity. According to the Allied Academies International Conference, “Diversity is rapidly becoming a common practice among companies due to the increasing number of minorities entering the job market today. As these groups become more prevalent throughout companies, upper-level employees are facing numerous challenges when determining what changes must take place to create a positive working environment for everyone. Management is responsible for the development and implementation of effective policies directly relating to diversity to ensure the acceptance of minorities into the workplace and to aid in minorities’ success through equal opportunities and treatment.” (Marcia L. James, 2001, Academy for Studies in International Business Proceedings)

From analyzing the readings on organizational culture a topic that stood out to me was the concept of culture. In the reading it was discussed that culture involves structural stability, depth, breadth and patterning or integration which I believe is true. The concepts above that involve culture are concepts that I can relate to involving my work experience in different education settings.

41% of employees report experiencing three or more indicators of stress sometimes, often or very often, which is a significant increase from 2002.

Acknowledging that organizational culture is an important aspect for space planners, this paper provides an overview of four organizational culture types: Control (hierarchy), Compete (market), Collaborate (clan), and Create (adhocracy). This typology reflects the range of organizational characteristics across two dimensions that were found critical to organizational effectiveness. The spatial implications for each type are presented so that workspace planners might be able to interpret the results of an organizational culture assessment in their process of designing

Organizational culture influences many aspects of work life. Workplace cultures that are grounded in strong and formally articulated values and modes of behavior define an organization. Well-communicated values influence employee behavior and drive how employees relate with all stakeholders within the organization—from co-workers, management and members of the board to clients, shareholders and the community at large. When organizations seek to change their culture, HR—as change agent and educator of the change process—plays a significant role in this endeavor. In addition, HR's role is both up front and in the background, by leading, supporting, coaching, encouraging, measuring and evaluating the change during the process and over time.

The organizational culture of an organization serves as a foundation that should guide the practice and attitude of all healthcare professionals and staff. King & Demarie (2015) describes organizational culture as the basis that determines right and wrong. A hospital organization’s mission, vision, and goals are derived from the culture established within the organization. Organizational decisions are highly influenced by the organizational culture within an environment. Growth, advancements, and acquirements must be aligned with an organization’s culture to facilitate success. Healthcare organizations must ensure that all staff are aware of the efforts they must portray in order to properly exhibit the culture to all individuals seeking healthcare services.

McLaren Health Care Corporation does value diversity. They do this by making sure that their leaders adhere the Standards of Conduct. The leaders are “charged with ensuring a culture that promotes high standards of ethics and compliance and with selecting future employees who embody these characteristics” (McLaren Health Care, 2013). The one story that characterizes McLaren Health

The organization that I work for has many locations but I will concentrate on my work site. The organizational focuses on the well being of the residents and families. For this paper, I decided to focus more on the organizational culture. I will look into how the administrations of this organization are directly responsible for building and sustaining the culture within an organization.

Managers today face obligations, deadlines, and projects from both personal affairs and business affairs. While this can be hectic, effective management skills in time, emotion, stress, energy, and engagement are ascertainable, via a balanced approach. The amount of undesirable energy spent on anyone of these factors, can contribute to managers burning out early. However, focusing on time management and stress management can offset ill effects. In regards to time management, several questions can bring fulfillment to managers who seek guidance. According to Caroselli (2000),

Living in a world of approximately 7.5 billion people mean living with different perspectives, different ideas, different cultures; in other words, we live in a society full of diversities. Throughout this semester, I have learned that an organization cannot function without people. In fact, employees are one of the valuable assets of an organization. Every organization has a corporate culture; thus, living in a world of diversities poses the challenge for companies in maintaining such culture alive. I believe that organizational culture, just like Politics, cannot be avoided within an organization. I am not a mother yet, but based on my observation, organizational culture is like growing up a child that is, it requires of a strong mother (an empowered leader) to nurture a child (culture) with values and confidence which are key elements towards attaining success.