MGT380 Week 3 Instructor Guidance

1. MGT380: Leadership
for Organizations
Week 3

2. MGT380: LEADERSHIP
FOR ORGANIZATIONS
MGT380: Leadership
for Organizations
Week 3

3. WEEK THREE OVERVIEW
Week 3 examines the challenges that leaders face regarding cultural
differences and building and maintaining a corporate culture.
• Dealing with cultural differences in both areas (of building and
maintaining) is challenging because it’s impossible to know everything
when it comes to cultural differences.
• It’s also extremely difficult to influence an organization’s culture unless
there are significant systems of checks and balances in place. We’ll take a
look at the reasons why and how to overcome the barriers.
MGT380: Leadership
for Organizations
Week 3

4. WEEK THREE LEARNING
OBJECTIVES
• Explain why it is important for leaders to be
able to manage across cultures and
understand cultural differences.
• Analyze how a leader interacts with corporate
culture
MGT380: Leadership
for Organizations
Week 3

5. READINGS, REQUIRED
ARTICLE, AND WEBSITE
Readings
Read the following chapter in An Introduction to Leadership:
1. Chapter 7: Communication
2. Chapter 10: Organizational Culture
MGT380: Leadership
for Organizations
Week 3

6. CULTURAL DIFFERENCES

7. COMMUNICATION AND CULTURE
• Communication is one of the most important
aspects of executing organizational strategies. If
employees select the right types of communication
channels, and the appropriate information to
communicate, they can accomplish a great deal in a
short time.
However, when dealing with cultural differences we
often do not consider the ingrained aspects of
communication. We have slang, jargon, idioms and
quite a few aspects that set unspoken expectations
in the workplace.

8. CULTURAL DIFFERENCES
Keep in mind that cultural differences are not always differences in the
traditional sense. When we think of multiculturalism we think of a mix of
persons from two different countries. However cultural differences can
exist within one country (e.g. region to region) or among subgroups
within the major culture.
Click here to visit a great website that focusing on various cultural
differences from around the world.

9. CULTURAL ENGAGEMENT
One of the key challenges for leaders is the aspect of cultural
engagement. As mentioned in previous slides, this process starts
with communication. The goal of communication within
organization systems should include:
• Using diversity and inclusion to close cultural gaps.
• Create a unique organizational culture that leverages the cultural
diversity in the workplace.
• Create opportunities to learn about various cultures in the
workplace. (Llopis, 2016)
Although this isn’t a comprehensive list it is a good start.
Llopis, G. (2016, April 23). Is Diversity Good For Business? Retrieved December 23, 2016, from
http://www.forbes.com/sites/glennllopis/2016/04/23/is-diversity-good-for-business/#1c3614e712e8

10. WHERE TO START???
Leaders typically have no problem identifying cultural differences. The
challenge is in knowing how to frame them and develop a plan based on
that information. A good guide to determine a starting point is the
Competing Values Framework developed by Robert E. Quinn and John
Rohrbaugh in 1983.
Values Based Management Inc. (2016, January 06). Summary of the competing values framework.
Abstract. Retrieved December 29, 2016, from Values Based Management,
http://www.valuebasedmanagement.net/methods_quinn_competing_values_framework.html
Figure 1 – Competing Values Framework. Retrieved December 29, 2016, from
http://www.artsjournal.com/fieldnotes/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/CompetingValues2.jpg

11. CORPORATE CULTURE

12. THE MAKE-UP OF CORPORATE
CULTURE
Corporate culture has a tremendous impact on the organization’s ability to
accomplish things. This week’s reading will cover the three areas that have the
most impact on organizational culture:
1) Artifacts
2) Espoused (or expressed) values
3) Assumptions (Weiss, Ch 10.1, 2015).
No matter the type of the organization, these three areas will always be present.

13. ARTIFACTS
Artifacts are the visible things that you see in the organization. It’s slogan,
marketing materials, logo, etc. Artifacts give the first impression about the
organization and gives outsides the first impression of the organization and gives.
Additional examples of organizational artifacts include:
• The company’s handbook
• Traditions (e.g. taking new hires to lunch on the 1st day)
• Employee recognition programs
Organizational artifacts are easy to identify because they are at every level of the
organization and they are applied equally.

14. ESPOUSED VALUES
• The espoused values are the ones that the leaders use to define the
organization’s purpose. The espoused values are often rooted in the
organizations mission, vision and values statements. These are the
things that the organization says that it values, however they may not
actually practice what they preach. The values the organization
actually puts into practice is known as enacted values.
Additional examples of espoused values:
• The company’s code of ethics
• Corporate Social Responsibility programs

15. ASSUMPTIONS
The assumptions are the things employees automatically assume about
the organization because of their experience and history with it.
Additional examples of assumptions include:
• The expectations from leadership
• The level of employees
• Behavioral expectations
• Acceptable ways of communication

16. THE FOUNDATIONS OF BUILDING
AN ADAPTABLE CULTURE

17. WEEK 3 QUIZ
• Ensure that you complete your Week 3 you Quiz by Day 7.

18. LET’S LOOK AHEAD
Let’s look at the final paper… what to expect…
and how to prepare…

20. CONSIDER WORKING WITH THE
ASHFORD WRITING CENTER
Ask your professor to refer you to the Ashford Writing Center (AWC). They are quite
helpful and you will benefit from the resources there.
Email your professor and ask for a referral.

21. STILL HAVE QUESTIONS
ON ACADEMIC WRITING
OR APA FORMATTING?
https://awc.ashford.edu/Index.html

22. ANY
QUESTIONS?
Please post your
questions in the Ask
the Instructor thread
or e-mail your
instructor directly.