Overview

'In a cogent and easily accessible style, it provides superb guidelines for observing, interpreting, and understanding the subtle and complex nuances of an organization's culture. The integration of qualitative research methods with cultural analyses makes this text distinctive and valuable addition to any organizational communication class' - Linda Putnam, Texas A&M University 'The authors skillfully weave together theory, application, and their professional experiences to create a wonderfully useful book that meets the needs of students and practitioners. Anyone who takes cultural analysis seriously should read this book' - Phillip G Clampitt, University of Wisconsin-Green Bay and Metacomm 'Organizational Culture in Action fills a real resource gap. It is a ""workbook"" in the most positive sense of the word. It offers enough step-by-step guidance to give students the confidence they need to move forward independently. At the same time, it does not sidestep the theoretical complexities, conflicts, and confusions surrounding the world of organizational culture and cultural analysis. The book is well conceived, usefully structured, and filled with application exercises that really make sense and are pedagogically justified. My students found it to be both accessible and stimulating' - John Gribas, Idaho State University What is organizational culture? And how might knowledge of culture improve our organizational performances? This stimulating workbook guides students through data collection, analysis, interpretation, and application of organizational culture data using a practical five-step process. It begins by explaining theories on which organizational culture is based. It then provides guides for gathering information to help improve organizational performance. Based on more than 20 years of experience in using this approach with hundreds of students, the authors help students apply cultural insights to fostering diversity, supporting organizational change, making leadership more dynamic, exploring the link between ethics and culture, and making organizations more effective overall.

Full Product Details

Author:   Gerald W. Driskill ,  Angela Laird Brenton
Publisher:   SAGE Publications Inc
Imprint:   SAGE Publications Inc
Dimensions:   Width: 21.50cm , Height: 1.30cm , Length: 27.90cm
Weight:   0.570kg
ISBN:  

9781412905602

ISBN 10:   1412905605
Pages:   240
Publication Date:   09 March 2005
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Tertiary & Higher Education
Replaced By:   9781412981088
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Out of Print
Availability:   Awaiting stock  

Table of Contents

"Preface Acknowledgments Part I: Cultural Analysis Planning 1. Introduction: Setting the Stage Objective: Understand the pervasiveness of organizations in our lives, the goal of cultural analysis, and how to select an organization for analysis. Rehearsal 1.1 Determining Your Purposes for a Cultural Audit Rehearsal 1.2 Identifying an Organization Rehearsal 1.3 Method Acting & Getting Real 2. The Significance of the Stage Objective: Understand the value of a cultural analysis and the major steps in the process. Rehearsal 2.1 Creativity and Constraint Rehearsal 2.2 The Value of a Cultural Analysis Rehearsal 2.3 The Value of Writing a Culture Article Part II: Cultural Analysis Basics 3. Step One: Understanding the Concept of Culture: Constructing the Set Objective: Understand the concept of culture and the significance of different images and metaphors for organizations Rehearsal 3.1 How do you define culture? Rehearsal 3.2 Playing With Metaphors Rehearsal 3.3 Writing a Cultural Analysis Proposal 4. Step Two: Identifying Cultural Elements: Understanding Roles Objective: Understand the major cultural elements as a template for identifying a variety of types of cultural data. Rehearsal 4.1 Exploring Web Sites Rehearsal 4.2 Getting More From Our Stories Rehearsal 4.3 A Game of Metaphors Part III: Cultural Data Collection & Interpretation An Introduction to Step Three: Use Multiple Methods for Gathering Cultural Information: Method Acting Objective: Learn the importance of using multiple data collection methods. Rehearsal III.1 Introduction to Method Acting: The Last Time I Was Wrong 5. Method Acting: Observation Objective: Understand the basics of improving the way we observe culture. Rehearsal 5.1 A Potpourri of Things to Observe in Cultural Analysis Rehearsal 5.2 Alien Culture Observation Rehearsal 5.3 Note-Taking Guides 6. Method Acting: Interviews & Surveys Objective: Learn to use interviews to gather cultural data Rehearsal 6.1 Sample Interview Questions for ""Reading"" a Culture Rehearsal 6.2 Alien Culture Interviews/Surveys 7. Method Acting: Textual Analysis Objective: Understand the basics in conducting analysis of cultural artifacts. Rehearsal 7.1 Selecting Texts for Analysis Rehearsal 7.2 Content Analysis Rehearsal 7.3 Critical Linguistic Analysis 8. Step Four: Synthesizing and Interpreting Cultural Data: Getting Inside the Character Objective: Develop your interpretation of the culture through data synthesis and interpretation. Rehearsal 8.1 Finding a Theme Rehearsal 8.2 A Practice Stage Rehearsal 8.3 Reliability/Validity Check Rehearsal 8.4 Cultural Analysis Write-Up Guides Part IV: Cultural Analysis Application Overview: An Introduction to Step Five: Identifying Applications for Cultural Analysis 9. Casting Against Type: Diversity Objective: Tie the larger framework of national and organziational cultures to the issues of managing diverse organizations. Rehearsal 9.1 Are You a Privileged Member of Your Organizational Culture? Rehearsal 9.2 Diversity Survey 10. Improvisation: Managing Change Objective: Introduce a model for managing cultural change. Rehearsal 10.1 Forces Driving Change Rehearsal 10.2 Cultural Approach to Change Rehearsal 10.3 Adapting Change Messages to the Culture Rehearsal 10.4 A Change Plan Rehearsal 10.5 A Change Case 11. An Honest Portrayal: Ethics Objective: Provide a framework for understanding and addressing the ethical challenges organizations face. Rehearsal 11.1 Applying the Economizing Value Tension Rehearsal 11.2 Applying the Power Aggrandizing Value Tension Rehearsal 11.3 Applying the Ecologizing Value Tension Rehearsal 11.4 Other Value Tensions Rehearsal 11.5 Ethics and Communication Leadership 12. The Director′s Chair: Symbolic Leadership Objective: Understand the role of the manager in meaning management. Rehearsal 12.1 Assessing Yourself as a Leader Rehearsal 12.2 Case Study of Cultural Leadership 13. Reading Reviews: Organizational Effectiveness Objective: Connect Chapter 1 discussions on the significance of culture to issues of effectiveness. Rehearsal 13.1 How Do You Measure Effectiveness? Rehearsal 13.2 Finding the Drawbacks of the Best Fit Rehearsal 13.3 Gauging Effectiveness 14. Opening Night: Conclusion Objective: Provide an application template for interpreting and applying the data collected in the process. Rehearsal 14.1 Action Plan for Professional Communication Development Rehearsal 14.2 Organizational Development Action Plan Appendix: Example Student Analysis References Index About the Authors"

Reviews

'In a cogent and easily accessible style, it provides superb guidelines for observing, interpreting, and understanding the subtle and complex nuances of an organization's culture. The integration of qualitative research methods with cultural analyses makes this text distinctive and valuable addition to any organizational communication class' -Linda Putnam, Texas A&M University

Author Information

Dr. Gerald W. Driskill (Ph.D., University of Kansas; M.A., & B.A., Abilene Christian University)is an Associate Professor of Speech Communication at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. He has taught graduate classes in Organizational Culture and Intercultural Communication since 1993 at UALR. He has taught Managerial Communication in Bangkok, Thailand and has also published a number of organizational communication articles from observation and interview transcript analysis in a multinational firm to analysis of communication patterns in day care cultures. He has served as a President of the local chapter of ASTD (American Society for Training and Development). The workbook grew from his collaboration with Dr. Brenton as he received positive feedback from mid-level managers and others in the ASTD network that used the course material in their own organizations.   Gerald continues to teach in the areas of organizational and intercultural communication. On campus he continues to take a lead role in internationalizing the curriculum. His current participant observer research focuses on communication and unity among religious, non-profit, and government organizations engaged in community building. This research provides a window into issues relevant to leaders creating a culture of community mindedness within their organizations. Dr. Angela Laird Brenton (Ph.D., University of Kansas M.A., University of Oklahoma, B.S.E. & B.A., Oklahoma Christian University) is Dean of the College of Professional Studies at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. She has taught graduate classes in Organizational Culture since 1982 at UALR, Pepperdine University, Abilene Christian University, and Southwest Missouri State University. She has published a number of articles using qualitative research methods to study organizational communication--from critical linguistic analysis of organizational texts to analysis of organizational identification. She collaborated on the workbook with Dr. Driskill using materials she has developed over the years of teaching and consulting in the areas of organizational culture.     Angi, with her current administrative duties as dean of an eight-department college, teaches primarily in the area of conflict analysis and mediation and plans future writing projects in that field. She is particularly interested in conflict analysis in religious and non-profit organizations, as well as developing consensus in public policy disputes. She has been appointed as a founding faculty member of the Clinton School of Public Service, associated with the Clinton Presidential Library in Little Rock, and is currently developing a course in Communication Process and Conflict Transformation for that innovative master′s in public service.

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