Module 4 – SLP

Organizational Structure and Culture

For the SLP 4 assignment, you will explore some aspects of an organization’s culture, at least as you see it. (Select an organization you have worked with, if possible.) Since the concept of organizational culture is open to many interpretations and classifications, this assessment offers a slightly different approach from your background reading on organizational culture.

Required Reading

Debra Woog McGinty and Nicole C. Moss have compiled a short corporate culture survey aimed at identifying characteristics of workplaces. The categories of workplace description that it generates are fairly self-explanatory.

Assignment

When you have completed the assessment think about it for a minute, and how it compares to the Academy, Baseball Team, Fortress, and Club cultures described by McNamara in the Background reading. Then prepare a 2- to 3-page paper addressing:

• Your scores on the McGinty/Moss assessment and whether or not they fit your general expectations or constitute a surprise in some ways. Interpret the results of the assessment in terms of your own experience, either to confirm or to question the results. Compare your findings with the McNamara categories.
• The degree to which the McGinty/Moss assessment and the McNamara information tell you similar or dissimilar things about your organization.
• Do the assessment and the McNamara categories help improve your managerial understanding and/or skills? What can you infer from the assessment results about how your organization’s culture fits or doesn’t fit with you? What (if anything) can you do to make your interaction with the culture more effective?
• Provide your opinion on whether or not the questions asked help you understand the organization and how you cope with it. Do they accurately assess what is needed to analyze a company’s culture?
• Include the actual results to the survey in an Appendix section in your paper.

SLP Assignment Expectations

Your paper will be evaluated using the criteria as stated in the SLP rubric. The following is a review of the rubric criteria:

Assignment-Driven: Does the paper fully address all aspects of the assignment? Is the assignment addressed accurately and precisely using sound logic? Does the paper meet minimum length requirements?

Critical Thinking: Does the paper demonstrate graduate-level analysis, in which information derived from multiple sources, expert opinions, and assumptions has been critically evaluated and synthesized in the formulation of a logical set of conclusions? Does the paper address the topic with sufficient depth of discussion and analysis?

Business Writing: Is the essay logical, well organized and well written? Are the grammar, spelling, and vocabulary appropriate for graduate-level work? Are section headings included? Are paraphrasing and synthesis of concepts the primary means of responding, or is justification/support instead conveyed through excessive use of direct quotations?

Effective Use of Information: Does the submission demonstrate that the student has read, understood and can apply the background materials for the module? If required, has the student demonstrated effective research, as evidenced by student’s use of relevant and quality (library?) sources? Do additional sources used provide strong support for conclusions drawn, and do they help in shaping the overall paper?

Citing Sources: Does the student demonstrate understanding of APA Style of referencing, by inclusion of proper citations (for paraphrased text and direct quotations) as appropriate? Have all sources (e.g., references used from the Background page, the assignment readings, and outside research) been included, and are these properly cited? Have all sources cited in the paper been included on the References page?

Timeliness: Has the assignment been submitted to TLC (Trident’s learning management system) on or before the module’s due date?