Organizational Culture and Communication

PROFESSOR: Every organization
has a unique culture.

Today's video is about
organizational culture,

how we define it, and what
are some important elements

of organizational culture.

The first thing I'd like you
to do is think about some

of the places you've
worked or gone to school.

What was unique about them?

Probably, some of it was
the culture or at least

contributed to the culture.

So, for example, I worked at a
couple of different restaurants

in my teenage years
and in college,

and they were pretty different.

They were both breakfast
diners, but one

had a very clear orientation
towards family values.

It was family-run.

The whole family worked there.

It was very welcoming and warm.

And then another
one was less so.

The people who worked
there didn't care very much

about the business.

It created a very
different working culture.

The way we spoke was
different at the two

different organizations.

The things we wore
were different.

These are examples of
organizational culture.

One of the definitions we can
use for organizational culture

is the way we do
things around here.

It's like the stuff that
organizations are made of.

It's what breathes life into
organizations, is the culture.

So you can't necessarily
put it down on paper,

but it is what makes the
organization interesting.

This is related to communication
because communication creates

culture, and then
culture then shapes

the way people communicate
within an organization.

So culture and communication
are inextricably linked.

A more formal definition
of organizational culture

is a system of shared
meanings and beliefs expressed

through symbolic forms such as
rituals, stories, and myths.

So we'll talk a little bit
about rituals and stories today.

If you think about the places
you've worked or gone to school,

you can probably identify
some important stories.

So stories told in organizations
about organizations

are not simply stories.

They often have embedded
values and messages.

So if you think
about the stories

that you heard as a
new member to the place

that you currently go to school
or the place you currently work,

you can start to identify
pieces of the culture.

Sometimes it's hard to tell
until you've been there a while.

But if you reflect
back on those stories,

those pieces were
probably there.

So are the stories that are
told about hard work and effort

and getting ahead, or are
they about collaboration

and community and how we
really care for each other?

Or maybe it's a
combination of both.

But those stories are going
to look really different

in different
organizational cultures.

And we can learn
about the culture

by examining those stories.

Rituals are similar.

So rituals would be things like
how we do our annual holiday

party, how we do our
monthly staff meeting.

How does that work,
and how does it unfold?

Those are rituals.

There are often also heroes
of different organizations.

So I work at Michigan
State University,

and one of our
heroes is Tom Izzo.

He is highly regarded by most
people in this community.

People talk about sightings
of him at the grocery store.

People talk about
his leadership style.

And I know it gets taught
about in leadership courses.

And so he's one of our
organizational heroes

and would be an
important fixture

in our organizational stories.

Also, here at Michigan
State, there's

a saying which is
part of our culture.

So when somebody
says "go green,"

the response is "go white."

And when I first moved here, a
neighbor came out to meet us,

and they said, "go green,"
and I said, "go green" back.

And they looked at me like I
had two heads because that's not

the proper response.

So these are things
that you have to learn,

and it's part of the culture.

It gets embedded.

It identifies who's
in and who's out.

I was clearly out because I
didn't respond correctly to "go

green."

There are informal networks
within organizations that

create the culture as well.

So sometimes this is
called water cooler talk

or the grapevine.

And this is how
information moves

within an organization
that isn't necessarily

the formal network.

So a formal network might
be a supervisor and then

subordinates or employees
of that supervisor.

And those aren't
necessarily the best ways

to get information around.

Sometimes it's the peer groups,
people that have lunch together,

people that meet up after work.

Those are informal networks.

And most of the information that
goes around in organizations

move through those
informal networks.

I hope this has
helped you understand

organizational culture
a little bit better

and reflect on the
organizational cultures

that you've been a part of.