Case Study «Training weekend»

ISSUE

Your company recently organized an outdoor weekend to develop teamwork amongst a group of managers. The staff had to do mountain-walking, rock-climbing, canoeing and finally build a bridge over a river. During this last activity one of the team, Doug Walters, suddenly announced that he was not prepared to carry on ‘playing these silly games’ and left the training centre and drove home. The rest of the group reported that he had seemed tense over the weekend and had clearly not enjoyed the activities. He is an introverted and thoughtful man, very good at his job and well-respected in the company. The weekend had been arranged by the Training Manager who is very much in favor of this type of team-building course. This meeting has been called to discuss Doug and this type of training.

AGENDA

1. Report from Training Manager on weekend and feedback

2. Doug Walters

3. Types and objectives of training

4. Future training policy

Notes to the agenda

1. Report from Training Manager on weekend and feedback

The Training Manager will briefly describe the course, objectives and feedback from the other participants.

2. Doug Walters

The Human Resources Manager will update the meeting on Doug Walter’s views and feedback from the weekend.

3. Types and objectives of training

A discussion of training policy and plans.

4. Future training policy

Any decisions to be taken concerning a change in policy.

Brainstorming

Think over the task and sound your decision, providing with effective arguments.

Promoting a new model

The car manufacturer you work for plans to produce a new model and to target consumers between 18 and 25 years old.

You have been asked to make suggestions for promoting the car.

Discuss the situation together, and decide:

• which features of a car might be important to the target group

• how an advertising campaign could present the car

• where you could advertise the car.

INDIVIDUAL PROJECT / 3-Minute Pitch:

Recent Designs for Cultivating Creative Thinking at work (1 by choice)

Unit 5 theory: «understanding organisations»

«The way we do things around here gives a sense of identity:

who we are, what we stand for and what we do»

Lundy Cowling

Over time, organizations develop established and expected behavior patterns. A number of organizational culture types have been identified by various researchers.

• Task culture – a definite team culture develops because teams are formed to complete particular jobs and given the power to make decisions. This often produces a distinct level of creativity.

• Role culture – this is often found in large hierarchical organizations, where each individual has a clearly specified function to perform. Employees often work to their job description and they tend to follow the rules rather than be creative.

• Power culture – this is centered on the pre-eminence of one or a small number of individuals within an organization and is more commonly found in small businesses or within constituent parts of a large business.

• Person culture – this is characterized by a loose form of organization where individuals are encouraged to express themselves fully and are allowed to make decisions. This can often be found in small start-up businesses.

These different types of organizational culture are more often found in the private sector. Some researchers have identified other cultures such as bureaucratic culture, where there is top-down decision-making, and collegial culture, where there are committee decision-making structures. These are more often in the public sector, especially in state-owned companies in the developing world and educational institutions worldwide.

FOLLOW-ON QUESTIONS…

1. What basic types of organizational cultures have been identified by researchers?

2. In which organizational culture would you prefer to work? Why?

3. Do dress code, attitudes, personalities, and energy level vary form organization to organization? Why?

4. What are the goals of leading corporations intending to go worldwide?

5. What are some of the possible problems that cultural differences can lead to? What opportunities can they lead to?