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Modalidad Virtual

Universidad EAFIT- Todos los derechos reservados

Organizations and Cultures

Learning Unit 3: Understanding relations within organizations  

To understand organizations it is mandatory to acknowledge first that any

organization is composed by individuals whose behavior shapes relationships

within it, as well as the way the organization relates to other institutions and the

environment in which it performs.

Activity 4: Personality, Perceptions and Attributions.

Learning outcomes By developing this activity, you will learn the key definitions and theories relating

to personality, perception and attribution, in order to understand its influence at

the workplace. You will also analyze the cultural implications of the studied

concepts considering a specific cultural group.

Learning Activities - understanding individual behavior

Every organization is made out of individuals. In order to understand how

organizations work, it is required to analyze first the behavior of its individual

members.

What is personality? Can you understand why individuals behave in a certain

way?

How does perception work? What are the main barriers and elements that

influence the perception process?

Do you attribute your behavior to internal or external factors? Why?

Work plan 1. Review the key concepts by reading chapter 3 of the book

Organizations and Cultures

“Organizational Behavior: Science, The Real World and You”. Make sure

you have a clear understanding of the key concepts listed below (See the

key concepts section).

2. Read the article “Enhanced external and culturally sensitive attributions

after extended intercultural contact.” Identify the application of attribution

theories and concepts to the study. Keep in mind the following question:

o Why is that we tend to attribute other’s behavior to internal causes

and our own behavior to external causes?

• Forum: join the forum named “Attributions and Cultural Sensitivity” and

participate actively in the discussion proposed by the tutor.

• Wiki: research and write in your wiki about personality, perception and/or

attributions in organizations in the context of the specific cultural group

assigned for this project. The following questions may be useful when

writing in your Wiki:

ü What role does personality play in the organizations?

ü Are stereotypes and perception barriers present in the organizations?

ü Is behavior of individuals attributed to internal or external reasons?

Key Concepts

• Personality

o Trait theory

o Psychodynamic theory

o Humanistic theory

o Integrative approach

o Locus of control

o Self-esteem

o Self-monitoring

o Positive-negative affect

Organizations and Cultures

• Perception

o Perceiver, target, barriers

o Selective perception

o Stereotypes

o First impression error

o Self-fulfilling prophecy

o Impression management

• Attribution

o Internal attribution

o External attribution

o Fundamental attribution error

o Self-serving bias

o Ultimate attribution error

o Correspondence bias

Learning resources • Nelson, Debra L. and Quick, James Campbell. 2011. ORGB 2. South-

Western Cengage Learning, Mason, USA. Chapter 3.

• Vollhardt, J. (2010). Enhanced external and culturally sensitive

attributions after extended intercultural contact. British Journal of Social

Psychology, 49(2), 363-383. doi:10.1348/014466609X459899.

Available at:

http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=52425

499&lang=es&site=ehost-live [January, 2014]

Organizations and Cultures

Further Reading

• Power point presentation by South-Western College Publishing.

Available at: http://www.swcollege.com/management/nelson-

quick/powerpoint/ch03.ppt. [January, 2014]

• If you want to reflect about the role of perception in management, read

the following article. Takao Inamori, Farhad Analoui, "Beyond Pygmalion

effect: the role of managerial perception", Journal of Management

Development, Vol. 29 Iss: 4, pp.306 – 321

• The Iceberg Metaphor. Available at: http://www.culture-at-

work.com/iceberg.html [January, 2014]

• What Is your locus of control? Take this test and find out. Available at:

http://cl1.psychtests.com/take_test.php?idRegTest=2974 [January, 2014]

• Stereotypes impact organizational performance. To learn more about

The Stereotype Threat got to

http://www.reducingstereotypethreat.org/definition.html [January, 2013]

• Personality can be tested by using the MBTI Test. If you want to know

more about it check the following links:

o The Myers Briggs Foundation: http://www.myersbriggs.org/my-mbti-

personality-type/mbti-basics/ [January, 2014]

o Human Metrics: http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/jtypes2.asp

[January, 2014]

References • Nelson, Debra L. and Quick, James Campbell. 2011. ORGB 2. South-

Western Cengage Learning, Mason, USA. Chapter 3.

Organizations and Cultures

Activity assessment Forum

The following criteria will be used to assess your participation in the forum:

5,0 4,0 3,0 2,0 1,0

Your posts evidence

critical analysis; it

has professional application, and elicits responses

and reflection from other students.

Your posts evidence

reading and understanding of the article

provided, and shows

application of the key

concepts of the unit.

Your posts evidence

reading and understanding of the article provided, but

does not show

application of the key

concepts of the unit.

Your posts express a personal

opinion which does not evidence reading and/or

understanding of the article

provided.

You create and submit a post for the forum, but your

participation is too

general or unrelated to the contents of the unit.

Notes:

• If you do not participate at all in the forum your grade will be 0,0.

• Be aware that you should participate in the forum at least once but no more than twice.

Participating in a forum means far more than just saying “I agree” or “I disagree”

to other student’s posts. The following recommendations will guide you when

structuring your own posts*:

• You should submit your initial post(s) early in the session, and your

subsequent responses to the posts of other learners at timely intervals within

the duration of the session. Keep in mind the goal is to have a dynamic

discussion that lasts throughout the entire session.

• Your posts and responses should be thorough and thoughtful. Just posting

an "I agree" or "Good ideas" will not be considered adequate. Support your

Organizations and Cultures

statements with examples, experiences, or references. You are, however,

encouraged to be brief — keep each post and response to one or two short

paragraphs. Keep in mind that your fellow learners will be reading and

responding to you, too.

• Make certain to address the discussion prompt(s). This does not mean you

should not extend the topic, but do not stray from the topic.

• Discussions occur when there is dialogue. So, build upon the posts and

responses of other learners to create discussion threads. Make sure you

revisit the discussion forum and respond (if necessary) to what other

learners have posted to your initial responses.

• When relevant, add to the discussion by including prior knowledge, work

experiences, references, Web sites, resources, etc. (giving credit when

appropriate).

• Your contributions to the discussions (posts and responses) should be

complete and free of grammatical or structural errors.

*Source: http://www.pbs.org/teacherline/courses/common_documents/disc_assess.htm [January, 2013]

Wiki

The following criteria will be used to assess your individual contributions to the Wiki as a collective creation of knowledge about cultural groups from an organizational perspective.

On the upcoming units of the course, you will find further instructions and

activities to be developed on your Wiki.

Please

• A new page should be created for each activity, not for each student.

• The contribution by each student is limited to 500 words.

• The assessment criteria follows and incremental pattern in which you need

to fulfill every step in order to achieve the maximum score. (You will not be

awarded 5 points unless you fulfill requirements 1 to 5).

Organizations and Cultures

Criteria

Range

5,0 4,0 3,0 2,0 1,0

Literature review (60%)

You reference

new sources that add

academic value to

the Wiki or evidence

the practical

application of the topic.

You use proper

referencing in your

contributions including

and privileging the use of academic sources.

Your contributions to the page

are meaningful, organized. There is an adequate

use of sources and referencing,

but you mostly use the sources provided or

suggested in the course.

Your contributions

to every page relate directly to the unit of the course

in which the activity is proposed.

You make contributions

to every page based

on your common

sense adding very little value to

the Wiki.

Presentation and

Consistency (40%)

The collective result for

each activity (each

page) is consistent, organized

and provides

significant knowledge about the assigned cultural group.0

Your contributions

add significant value by including

key elements or concepts.

Your contributions

are connected to

other member’s

contributions.

You make a minimum

contribution to each

activity by simply

editing or adding

superficial pieces of

information to each page.

Your contributions are isolated or unrelated

to the proposed activity for each page.

Organizations and Cultures

Activity 5: Attitudes and Values Learning outcomes

Attitudes and values play a key role in shaping organizational dynamics. If you

want to understand what is important to an organization, you need to know first

how attitudes are formed and how they influence organizational commitment

and job satisfaction.

Learning Activities

This activity will allow you to review the key concepts relating to attitudes and

values, and then, use them to understand what are the main attitudes and

values that characterize the cultural group assigned for your Wiki Project.

Work plan 1. Review the key concepts by reading chapter 4 of the book “Organizational

Behavior: Science, The Real World and You”. Make sure you have a clear

understanding of the key concepts listed below (See the key concepts

section).

2. Read the article “Another Look at the Impact of Personal and Organizational

Values Congruency.” Identify the application of theories and concepts to the

study.

Forum: join the forum named “Personal and Organizational Values” and

participate actively in the discussion proposed by the tutor.

Wiki: research and write in your wiki about attitudes and values attributions

in organizations in the context of the specific cultural group assigned for

this project. The following questions may be useful when writing in your

Wiki:

ü What attitudes are welcomed / unwelcomed in organizations?

ü Common attitudes towards: time, change, leadership, hierarchy, etc.

Organizations and Cultures

ü What is valued by organizations in a given cultural context?

ü What are the traditional work values for the specific cultural group?

Key Concepts • Attitudes

o ABC model of Attitudes (Affect, Behavior and Cognition)

o Forming attitudes from experience and social learning

o Attitudes influence on behavior:

§ Specificity

§ Relevance

§ Timing of measurement

§ Personality factors

§ Social constraints

o Cognitive dissonance

o The role of attitudes at work:

§ Job satisfaction

§ Organizational commitment (affective, continuance, normative)

• Values

o Instrumental and terminal values

o Work values

Learning resources • Posner, B. (2010). Another Look at the Impact of Personal and

Organizational Values Congruency. Journal of Business Ethics, 97(4),

535-541. doi:10.1007/s10551-010-0530-1. Available at:

http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.eafit.edu.co/login.aspx?direct=true

&db=bth&AN=55511209&lang=es&site=ehost-live [January, 2014]

• Nelson, Debra L. and Quick, James Campbell. 2011. ORGB 2. South-

Western Cengage Learning, Mason, USA. Chapter 4.

Organizations and Cultures

Further Reading

• Do you know which are your career values?. In this website you will find

a free test to learn more about your underlying work values and needs.

Available at: http://www.myplan.com/assess/values.php [January, 2014]

• Duarte, F. (2010). Working with Corporate Social Responsibility in

Brazilian Companies: The Role of Managers' Values in the Maintenance

of CSR Cultures. Journal of Business Ethics, 96(3), 355-368.

doi:10.1007/s10551-010-0470-9.

• Available at:

http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.eafit.edu.co/login.aspx?direct=true

&db=bth&AN=53945020&lang=es&site=ehost-live. [January, 2014]

Individual values influence organizational performance. This study

explores the relationship between manager’s values and the existence of

Corporate Social Responsibility actions in organizations.

• To learn more about job satisfaction and organizational commitment,

check the following link:

http://wfnetwork.bc.edu/encyclopedia_entry.php?id=244 [January, 2014]

• Mathew, J., & Ogbonna, E. (2009). Organizational culture and

commitment: a study of an Indian software organization. International

Journal of Human Resource Management, 20(3), 654-675.

doi:10.1080/09585190802707433. Available at:

http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.eafit.edu.co/login.aspx?direct=true

&db=bth&AN=37184578&lang=es&site=ehost-live [January, 2014]

Does organizational culture influence employee commitment?. This study

explores the relationship between these two Concepts in an Indian

Software Organization.

Organizations and Cultures

• To learn more about how values influences political and sociocultural

change, check the web site of “World Values Survey”. Available at:

http://www.worldvaluessurvey.org/ [January, 2014]

• In the following link you will find a comprehensive check list to analyze

the work values that are most important to you:

http://www.csd.uwa.edu.au/job/guide/ex_3.htm [January, 2014]

• Check the following link for a simple definition of the Cognitive Dissonance theory: http://tip.psychology.org/festinge.html [January, 2014]

References • Posner, B. (2010). Another Look at the Impact of Personal and

Organizational Values Congruency. Journal of Business Ethics, 97(4),

535-541. doi:10.1007/s10551-010-0530-1. Available at:

http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.eafit.edu.co/login.aspx?direct=true

&db=bth&AN=55511209&lang=es&site=ehost-live [January, 2014]

• Nelson, Debra L. and Quick, James Campbell. 2011. ORGB 2. South-Western Cengage Learning, Mason, USA. Chapter 4.

Activity assessment FORUM

The following criteria will be used to assess your participation in the forum:

5,0 4,0 3,0 2,0 1,0

Your posts evidence

critical analysis; it

has professional application, and elicits responses

and reflection from other students.

Your posts evidence

reading and understanding of the article

provided, and shows

application of the key

concepts of the unit.

Your posts evidence

reading and understanding of the article provided, but

does not show

application of the key

concepts of the unit.

Your posts express a personal

opinion which does not evidence reading and/or

understanding of the article

provided.

You create and submit a post for the forum, but your

participation is too

general or unrelated to the contents of the unit.

Organizations and Cultures

Notes:

• If you do not participate at all in the forum your grade will be 0,0.

• Be aware that you should participate in the forum at least once but no more than twice.

Participating in a forum means far more than just saying “I agree” or “I disagree”

to other student’s posts. The following recommendations will guide you when

structuring your own posts*:

• You should submit your initial post(s) early in the session, and your

subsequent responses to the posts of other learners at timely intervals within

the duration of the session. Keep in mind the goal is to have a dynamic

discussion that lasts throughout the entire session.

• Your posts and responses should be thorough and thoughtful. Just posting

an "I agree" or "Good ideas" will not be considered adequate. Support your

statements with examples, experiences, or references. You are, however,

encouraged to be brief — keep each post and response to one or two short

paragraphs. Keep in mind that your fellow learners will be reading and

responding to you, too.

• Make certain to address the discussion prompt(s). This does not mean you

should not extend the topic, but do not stray from the topic.

• Discussions occur when there is dialogue. So, build upon the posts and

responses of other learners to create discussion threads. Make sure you

revisit the discussion forum and respond (if necessary) to what other

learners have posted to your initial responses.

• When relevant, add to the discussion by including prior knowledge, work

experiences, references, Web sites, resources, etc. (giving credit when

appropriate).

• Your contributions to the discussions (posts and responses) should be

complete and free of grammatical or structural errors.

Organizations and Cultures

*Source: http://www.pbs.org/teacherline/courses/common_documents/disc_assess.htm

(April, 2011)

Wiki

The following criteria will be used to assess your individual contributions to the Wiki as a collective creation of knowledge about cultural groups from an organizational perspective.

On the upcoming units of the course, you will find further instructions and

activities to be developed on your Wiki.

Please

• A new page should be created for each activity, not for each student.

• The contribution by each student is limited to 500 words.

• The assessment criteria follows and incremental pattern in which you need

to fulfill every step in order to achieve the maximum score. (You will not be

awarded 5 points unless you fulfill requirements 1 to 5).

Criteria

Range

5,0 4,0 3,0 2,0 1,0

Literature review (60%)

You reference

new sources that add

academic value to the

Wiki or evidence

the practical

application of the topic.

You use proper

referencing in your

contributions including and privileging the

use of academic sources.

Your contributions to the page

are meaningful, organized. There is an

adequate use of sources

and referencing,

but you mostly use the sources

provided or suggested in the course.

Your contributions to every page relate directly to the unit of the course in

which the activity is proposed.

You make contributions to every page

based on your common sense adding

very little value to the

Wiki.

Organizations and Cultures

Presentation and

Consistency (40%)

The collective result for

each activity (each

page) is consistent, organized

and provides

significant knowledge about the assigned cultural group.

Your contributions

add significant value by

including key elements or concepts.

Your contributions

are connected to other

member’s contributions.

You make a minimum

contribution to each

activity by simply editing

or adding superficial pieces of

information to each page.

Your contributions are isolated or unrelated

to the proposed activity for each page.

Activity 6: Motivation

Learning outcomes

To study motivation through diverse theories will enable you to understand what

moves individuals to behave in a certain way. That, taken to an organizational

context will allow you to analyze what motivates employees in different cultural

and organizational contexts.

Learning Activities

Taking motivation theories to practical situations: after reviewing the selected

motivation theories, you should be able to use them to understand practical

situations.

Work plan 1. Review the selected motivation theories by reading chapter 5 of the textbook

by Nelson & Quick or/and the article “Employees Motivation Theories

Developed at an International Level”. Keep in mind the following questions in

order to prepare to participate in the forum:

ü Is every person motivated by the same factors?

Organizations and Cultures

ü Is it important to understand individual needs in order to understand

individual behavior?

Forum: participate in the forum named “Understanding motivation”:

Wiki: research and write in your wiki about the role of motivation at work in the

context of the specific cultural group assigned for this project. The following

questions may be useful when writing in your Wiki:

• What moves people to behave in a certain way within organizations?

• What are the traditional motivation strategies used by organizations?

• Which theory better explains motivation at work when it comes to the

assigned group?

Key Concepts • Motivation

• Theories

o Internal Needs vs. external incentives

o The Hawthorne Studies

o Maslow’s hierarchy of needs

o Theory X and Y

o ERG Theory

o McClelland’s need theory

o Herzberg’s two-factor theory

o Expectancy theory

o Adam’s Equity Theory on Job Motivation

Learning resources • Nelson, Debra L. and Quick, James Campbell. 2011. ORGB 2. South-

Western Cengage Learning, Mason, USA. Chapter 5.

• Viorel, Lefter, Manolescu Aurel, Marinas Cristian Virgil, and Puia Ramona

Stefania. 2009. "EMPLOYEES MOTIVATION THEORIES DEVELOPED

AT AN INTERNATIONAL LEVEL." Annals of the University of Oradea,

Organizations and Cultures

Economic Science Series 18, no. 4: 324-328.

• For information about Adams Equity Theory on Job Motivation, go to

http://www.businessballs.com/adamsequitytheory.htm [January, 2014]

Further Reading • Changing Minds Website, offers simplified explanations about many theories

relating to motivation:

http://changingminds.org/explanations/theories/a_motivation.htm [January,

2014]

• Check the following link to read about the relationship about motivation and

job performance: http://www.accel-team.com/motivation/index.html [January,

2014]

• To learn more about Maslow’s theory, check the following web site:

http://www.abraham-

maslow.com/m_motivation/Theory_of_Human_Motivation.asp [January,

2014]

• Join the Virtual Psychology Classroom to review the chapter about

Motivation and Emotion: http://allpsych.com/psychology101/emotion.html

[January, 2014]

• Are you wondering about the practical application of Herzberg’s theory?

Click on the following link to learn how this theory can be used to understand

change processes in organizations: http://www.strategies-for-managing-

change.com/herzberg-motivation-theory.html [January, 2014]

References • Nelson, D.L. & Quick, J.C. 2010. Organizational Behavior: Science, the

Real World and You. South-Western College Publication, 7th. Ed. Chapter

5.

Organizations and Cultures

Activity assessment FORUM

The following criteria will be used to assess your participation in the forum:

5,0 4,0 3,0 2,0 1,0

Your posts evidence

critical analysis; it

has professional application, and elicits responses

and reflection from other students.

Your posts evidence

reading and understanding of the article

provided, and shows

application of the key

concepts of the unit.

Your posts evidence

reading and understanding of the article provided, but

does not show

application of the key

concepts of the unit.

Your posts express a personal

opinion which does not evidence reading and/or

understanding of the article

provided.

You create and submit a post for the forum, but your

participation is too

general or unrelated to the contents of the unit.

Notes:

• If you do not participate at all in the forum your grade will be 0,0.

• Be aware that you should participate in the forum at least once but no more than twice.

Participating in a forum means far more than just saying “I agree” or “I disagree”

to other student’s posts. The following recommendations will guide you when

structuring your own posts*:

• You should submit your initial post(s) early in the session, and your

subsequent responses to the posts of other learners at timely intervals within

the duration of the session. Keep in mind the goal is to have a dynamic

discussion that lasts throughout the entire session.

• Your posts and responses should be thorough and thoughtful. Just posting

an "I agree" or "Good ideas" will not be considered adequate. Support your

statements with examples, experiences, or references. You are, however,

encouraged to be brief — keep each post and response to one or two short

Organizations and Cultures

paragraphs. Keep in mind that your fellow learners will be reading and

responding to you, too.

• Make certain to address the discussion prompt(s). This does not mean you

should not extend the topic, but do not stray from the topic.

• Discussions occur when there is dialogue. So, build upon the posts and

responses of other learners to create discussion threads. Make sure you

revisit the discussion forum and respond (if necessary) to what other

learners have posted to your initial responses.

• When relevant, add to the discussion by including prior knowledge, work

experiences, references, Web sites, resources, etc. (giving credit when

appropriate).

• Your contributions to the discussions (posts and responses) should be

complete and free of grammatical or structural errors.

*Source: http://www.pbs.org/teacherline/courses/common_documents/disc_assess.htm

[January, 2013]

Wiki

The following criteria will be used to assess your individual contributions to the Wiki as a collective creation of knowledge about cultural groups from an organizational perspective.

On the upcoming units of the course, you will find further instructions and

activities to be developed on your Wiki.

Please

• A new page should be created for each activity, not for each student.

• The contribution by each student is limited to 500 words.

• The assessment criteria follows and incremental pattern in which you need

to fulfill every step in order to achieve the maximum score. (You will not be

awarded 5 points unless you fulfill requirements 1 to 5).

Organizations and Cultures

Criteria

Range

5,0 4,0 3,0 2,0 1,0

Literature review (60%)

You reference

new sources that add

academic value to

the Wiki or evidence

the practical

application of the topic.

You use proper

referencing in your

contributions including and

privileging the use of academic sources.

Your contributions to the page

are meaningful, organized. There is an

adequate use of sources and

referencing, but you mostly

use the sources

provided or suggested in the course.

Your contributions to every page relate directly to the unit of the course in

which the activity is proposed.

You make contributions to every page

based on your common sense adding

very little value to the

Wiki.

Presentation and

Consistency (40%)

The collective result for

each activity (each

page) is consistent, organized

and provides

significant knowledge about the assigned cultural group.0

Your contributions

add significant value by

including key elements or concepts.

Your contributions

are connected to other

member’s contributions.

You make a minimum

contribution to each

activity by simply editing

or adding superficial pieces of

information to each page.

Your contributions are isolated or unrelated

to the proposed activity for each page.

Activity 7: Communication

Learning outcomes

Human beings are social beings by nature; meaning that they interact and

Organizations and Cultures

communicate constantly with others. To build successful relationships, within an

organizational context, which leads to the development to individuals and

organizations, communication processes, need to be effective. Through this

activity you will learn about the key elements of communication as a process,

the common barriers to such process and even some characteristics of effective

managers in terms of communication.

Learning Activities

Through this activity you will learn the basics about the communication process

and analyze how it impacts organizational performance. When you think about

communication, you need to broaden your horizons to include more than words;

communication takes place in many ways within organizations: from written

notices to body language, there are many ways of effectively communicating a

message.

Work plan 1. Review chapter 8 of the textbook about communication and the link about

barriers to effective communication (see the learning resources section).

Make sure all the key concepts for this activity are covered.

• Forum: Read carefully the article “A Sound Strategy for Intercontinental

Hotels”, considering the key concepts previously reviewed, and prepare to

participate in the forum named “Communication Strategies: Beyond the

Use of Words”.

• Wiki: research and write in your wiki about the traditional communication

style of organizations in the context of the specific cultural group assigned

for this project. The following questions may be useful when writing in your

Wiki:

ü Which are the traditional communication channels in organizations?

ü How do leaders communicate with employees?

ü Is there a relation between the corporate strategy and the

communications strategy?

Organizations and Cultures

ü Does the communication style in organizations reflect the way

messages are communicated in society outside organizations?

Key Concepts • Communication

• Interpersonal communication

o Communicator, receiver, perceptual screens, message

• Principles of effective communication

• Defensive and non-defensive communication

• Reflective listening

• Effective communication at the workplace

o Expressive speakers, empathetic listeners, persuasive leaders, informative managers,

• Communication barriers: language, physical and socio-psychological barriers

• Communication strategy

Learning resources • Nelson, Debra L. and Quick, James Campbell. 2011. ORGB 2. South-

Western Cengage Learning, Mason, USA. Chapter 8.

• Barriers to Effective Communication in Business. Available at:

http://www.mbaknol.com/business-communication/barriers-to-effective-

communication-in-business/ [January, 2014]

• Jones, P. (2009). A ‘sound strategy’ for Intercontinental Hotels. Tourism &

Hospitality Research, 9(3), 271-276. doi:10.1057/thr.2009.13. Available at:

http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=4222357

2&lang=es&site=ehost-live [January, 2014]

Further Reading • For some recommendations about reflective listening, go to:

http://www.eruptingmind.com/reflective-listening/ [January, 2013]

Organizations and Cultures

• You can improve your communication skills just by paying attention to how

other people communicate. Let’s take some lessons from the last US

election from president: Learning from Obama's Effective Communication

Skills. Available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2rp-oBjJzg [January,

2014]

• Video: Coca Cola Enterprises Transforming the Business.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ds8h1ncLxQQ [January, 2014]

When playing it, download the case study “Coca-Cola Enterprises

Accelerates Executive Communications”

http://www.cisco.com/web/about/ac79/docs/wp/CCE_CS_0905.pdf [January,

2014]

• Active listening? Reflective listening? What’s the difference? The following

video will help you clarify these two Concepts: Active Listening vs. Reflective

Listening, Do you know the difference?. Available at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6pIWIFSzIs [January, 2014]

• To learn more about how to build a Communications strategy, check the

following chapter: Designing a Communications Strategy. Available at:

http://www.idrc.ca/uploads/user-

S/1226604865112265957811Chapter_6%5B1%5D.pdf [January, 2014]

• Effective Communications can become a competitive advantage. Check the

following article to learn about it: Effective Organizational Communication: A

Competitive Advantage. (2008). HRMagazine, 53(12), 1. Retrieved from

EBSCOhost. Available at:

http://eds.a.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=4&sid=2060313

e-d572-4f09-b113-9a1327585087%40sessionmgr4001&hid=4203

References • Nelson, Debra L. and Quick, James Campbell. 2011. ORGB 2. South-

Western Cengage Learning, Mason, USA. Chapter 8.

Organizations and Cultures

Activity assessment FORUM

The following criteria will be used to assess your participation in the forum:

5,0 4,0 3,0 2,0 1,0

Your posts evidence

critical analysis; it

has professional application, and elicits responses

and reflection from other students.

Your posts evidence

reading and understanding of the article

provided, and shows

application of the key

concepts of the unit.

Your posts evidence

reading and understanding of the article provided, but

does not show

application of the key

concepts of the unit.

Your posts express a personal

opinion which does not evidence reading and/or

understanding of the article

provided.

You create and submit a post for the forum, but your

participation is too

general or unrelated to

the contents of

the unit.

Notes:

• If you do not participate at all in the forum your grade will be 0,0.

• Be aware that you should participate in the forum at least once but no more than twice.

Participating in a forum means far more than just saying “I agree” or “I disagree”

to other student’s posts. The following recommendations will guide you when

structuring your own posts*:

• You should submit your initial post(s) early in the session, and your

subsequent responses to the posts of other learners at timely intervals within

the duration of the session. Keep in mind the goal is to have a dynamic

discussion that lasts throughout the entire session.

• Your posts and responses should be thorough and thoughtful. Just posting

an "I agree" or "Good ideas" will not be considered adequate. Support your

statements with examples, experiences, or references. You are, however,

Organizations and Cultures

encouraged to be brief — keep each post and response to one or two short

paragraphs. Keep in mind that your fellow learners will be reading and

responding to you, too.

• Make certain to address the discussion prompt(s). This does not mean you

should not extend the topic, but do not stray from the topic.

• Discussions occur when there is dialogue. So, build upon the posts and

responses of other learners to create discussion threads. Make sure you

revisit the discussion forum and respond (if necessary) to what other

learners have posted to your initial responses.

• When relevant, add to the discussion by including prior knowledge, work

experiences, references, Web sites, resources, etc. (giving credit when

appropriate).

• Your contributions to the discussions (posts and responses) should be

complete and free of grammatical or structural errors.

Source: http://www.pbs.org/teacherline/courses/common_documents/disc_assess.htm

[January, 2013]

Wiki

The following criteria will be used to assess your individual contributions to the Wiki as a collective creation of knowledge about cultural groups from an organizational perspective.

On the upcoming units of the course, you will find further instructions and

activities to be developed on your Wiki.

Please

• A new page should be created for each activity, not for each student.

• The contribution by each student is limited to 500 words.

• The assessment criteria follows and incremental pattern in which you need

to fulfill every step in order to achieve the maximum score. (You will not be

awarded 5 points unless you fulfill requirements 1 to 5).

Organizations and Cultures

Criteria

Range

5,0 4,0 3,0 2,0 1,0

Literature review (60%)

You reference

new sources that add

academic value to

the Wiki or evidence

the practical

application of the topic.

You use proper

referencing in your

contributions including

and privileging the use of academic sources.

Your contributions to the page

are meaningful, organized. There is an adequate

use of sources and referencing,

but you mostly use the sources provided or

suggested in the course.

Your contributions

to every page relate directly to the unit of the course

in which the activity is proposed.

You make contributions

to every page based

on your common

sense adding very little value to

the Wiki.

Presentation and

Consistency (40%)

The collective result for

each activity (each

page) is consistent, organized

and provides

significant knowledge about the assigned cultural group.

Your contributions

add significant value by including

key elements or concepts.

Your contributions

are connected to

other member’s

contributions.

You make a minimum

contribution to each

activity by simply

editing or adding

superficial pieces of

information to each page.

Your contributions are isolated or unrelated

to the proposed activity for each page.

Organizations and Cultures

Activity 8: Virtual Teams

Learning outcomes

This activity aims at reviewing and testing your understanding about the

functioning of virtual teams, as well as the potential advantages, disadvantages

and difficulties resulting from its use within organizations.

Learning Activities

What are they? How do they work? What’s the difference with other teams or

groups?

When you consider individuals working for an organization, the fact that they

need to work together towards a common purpose is undeniable. Do they form

groups or teams? Are team members located geographically close? Or are we

talking about a team which involves members in distant locations? Then we are

talking about virtual teams.

Work plan

1. Read the article “Virtual Teams: a Literature Review”. Make sure the key

concepts are covered and clear. (See the key concepts section). If you need

further information, you may want to review other learning resources

proposed for this activity. (see the learning resources section)

• Forum: after reviewing the article, watch the video “Building the Virtual

Team” available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u997kUDE88Q

[January, 2014] and prepare to participate in the forum named “Will Virtual

Teams Replace Traditional Teams?

• Wiki: research and write in your wiki about how teams work in the context

of the specific cultural group assigned for this project. The following

questions may be useful when writing in your Wiki:

ü What is the role of the leader?

Organizations and Cultures

ü How does the interaction of team members take place?

ü What are the usual communication channels?

ü How is performance measured?

For this assignment you may choose to focus on traditional teams, virtual teams to address both.

Key Concepts • Team

• Tele-work

• Virtual groups / virtual teams

• Key characteristics of virtual teams

• Advantages, disadvantages, difficulties

• Effective virtual teams

• Virtual communities

Learning resources • Nelson, D.L. & Quick, J.C. 2010. Organizational Behavior: Science, the

Real World and You. South-Western College Publication, 7th. Ed. Chapter

9.

• Ebrahim, N., Ahmed, S., & Taha, Z. (2009). Virtual Teams: a Literature

Review. Australian Journal of Basic & Applied Sciences, 3(3), 2653-2669.

Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Available at: http://cogprints.org/7814/1/2653-

2669.pdf [January, 2014]

• Kuruppuarachchi, P. R. (2009). Virtual team concepts in projects: A case

study. Project Management Journal, 40(2), 19-33. doi:10.1002/pmj.20110.

Available at:

http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=4133184

9&lang=es&site=ehost-live [January, 2014]

• Nunamaker Jr., J. F., Reinig, B. A., & Briggs, R. O. (2009). Principles for

Effective Virtual Teamwork. Communications of the ACM, 52(4), 113-117.

Organizations and Cultures

Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Available at:

http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=3729579

0&lang=es&site=ehost-live [January, 2014]

Further Reading

• Virtual teams offer many potential advantages but they also impose great

challenges. Read the following article to learn how to deal with them:

Cordery, J. L., & Soo, C. (2008). Overcoming impediments to virtual team

effectiveness. Human Factors & Ergonomics in Manufacturing, 18(5), 487-

500. doi:10.1002/hfm.20119. Available at:

http://eds.a.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?sid=2060313e-d572-4f09-b113-

9a1327585087%40sessionmgr4001&vid=8&hid=4203

• On the following web site, Effective Meetings shows the findings of a study

in the US about the outcomes of using virtual teams. Available at:

http://www.effectivemeetings.com/technology/virtualteam/mci10.asp

[January, 2014]

• If you want to learn more about virtual communities, review the article

“Definitions, Antecedents and Outcomes of Successful Virtual

Communities”. Available at: http://www.irma-

international.org/viewtitle/48739/

• Building trust in virtual teams can be a difficult task. To learn about it check

the following article. CLARK, W., CLARK, L., & CROSSLEY, K. (2010).

DEVELOPING MULTIDIMENSIONAL TRUST WITHOUT TOUCH IN

VIRTUAL TEAMS. Marketing Management Journal, 20(1), 177-193.

Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Available at:

http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=5509698

5&lang=es&site=ehost-live [January, 2014]

• Virtual teams offer many potential advantages but they also impose great

challenges. S Read the following article to learn how to deal with them:

Organizations and Cultures

Maynard, M.T, Mathieu, J.E, Rapp, L.L.G. Something(s) old and

something(s) new: Modeling drivers of global virtual team effectiveness.

Journal of Organizational Behavior, Vol. 33, No. 3, The Changing Ecology

of Teams: New Forms, New Work, New Leadership — Not Your

Grandfather's Work Team (April 2012), pp. 342-365. Retrieved from Wiley

Online Library. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/job.1772/pdf

[January 2014]

References

• Nelson, D.L. & Quick, J.C. 2010. Organizational Behavior: Science, the

Real World and You. South-Western College Publication, 7th. Ed. Chapter

9.

• Building the Virtual Team. Available at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u997kUDE88Q [January, 2014]

Activity assessment FORUM

The following criteria will be used to assess your participation in the forum:

5,0 4,0 3,0 2,0 1,0

Your posts evidence

critical analysis; it

has professional application, and elicits responses

and reflection from other students.

Your posts evidence

reading and understanding of the article

provided, and shows

application of the key

concepts of the unit.

Your posts evidence

reading and understanding of the article provided, but

does not show

application of the key

concepts of the unit.

Your posts express a personal

opinion which does not evidence reading and/or

understanding of the article

provided.

You create and submit a post for the forum, but your

participation is too

general or unrelated to the contents of the unit.

Organizations and Cultures

Notes:

• If you do not participate at all in the forum your grade will be 0,0.

• Be aware that you should participate in the forum at least once but no more than twice.

Participating in a forum means far more than just saying “I agree” or “I disagree”

to other student’s posts. The following recommendations will guide you when

structuring your own posts*:

• You should submit your initial post(s) early in the session, and your

subsequent responses to the posts of other learners at timely intervals within

the duration of the session. Keep in mind the goal is to have a dynamic

discussion that lasts throughout the entire session.

• Your posts and responses should be thorough and thoughtful. Just posting

an "I agree" or "Good ideas" will not be considered adequate. Support your

statements with examples, experiences, or references. You are, however,

encouraged to be brief — keep each post and response to one or two short

paragraphs. Keep in mind that your fellow learners will be reading and

responding to you, too.

• Make certain to address the discussion prompt(s). This does not mean you

should not extend the topic, but do not stray from the topic.

• Discussions occur when there is dialogue. So, build upon the posts and

responses of other learners to create discussion threads. Make sure you

revisit the discussion forum and respond (if necessary) to what other

learners have posted to your initial responses.

• When relevant, add to the discussion by including prior knowledge, work

experiences, references, Web sites, resources, etc. (giving credit when

appropriate).

• Your contributions to the discussions (posts and responses) should be

complete and free of grammatical or structural errors.

*Source: http://www.pbs.org/teacherline/courses/common_documents/disc_assess.htm

[January, 2013]

Organizations and Cultures

Wiki

The following criteria will be used to assess your individual contributions to the Wiki as a collective creation of knowledge about cultural groups from an organizational perspective.

On the upcoming units of the course, you will find further instructions and

activities to be developed on your Wiki.

Please

• A new page should be created for each activity, not for each student.

• The contribution by each student is limited to 500 words.

• The assessment criteria follows and incremental pattern in which you need

to fulfill every step in order to achieve the maximum score. (You will not be

awarded 5 points unless you fulfill requirements 1 to 5).

Criteria

Range

5,0 4,0 3,0 2,0 1,0

Literature review (60%)

You reference

new sources that add

academic value to

the Wiki or evidence

the practical

application of the topic.

You use proper

referencing in your

contributions including

and privileging the use of academic sources.

Your contributions to the page

are meaningful, organized. There is an adequate

use of sources and referencing,

but you mostly use the sources provided or

suggested in the course.

Your contributions

to every page relate directly to the unit of the course

in which the activity is proposed.

You make contributions

to every page based

on your common

sense adding very little value to

the Wiki.

Presentation and

Consistency (40%)

The collective result for

each activity (each

page) is

Your contributions

add significant value by including

key

Your contributions

are connected to

other member’s

contributions.

You make a minimum

contribution to each

activity by simply

editing or

Your contributions are isolated or unrelated

to the proposed activity for

Organizations and Cultures

consistent, organized

and provides

significant knowledge about the assigned cultural group.0

elements or concepts.

adding superficial pieces of

information to each page.

each page.