Source: Google Images

In every organization, there is a culture that plays an important role in shaping the beliefs and behaviours of the organization.  We have learnt in class that organizations can have a dominant culture – which are core shared values, and also subcultures.

I personally think that having a very strong positive organizational culture is very important – where employees within that organization are given recognition and are valued for their contribution, and where there is emphasis on open communication between different hierarchy levels.

Another point I would like to add is that, I think that organizational cultures should be dynamic and constantly changing.  As an organization grows, there are bound to be changes in the management and employees.  With those changes, it is important to note that the culture of the organization has to change in accordance to ensure stability or further growth in the organization.

I found this article by Michael Watkins in the Harvard Business Review, though it is a few years old, I still think that the content is very informative and relevant to what we have learnt in our COMM 292 classes.  In the article, Watkins shares different perspectives of what an organizational culture is, from information he gathered through a discussion he set up on LinkedIn.

A particularly interesting point and a new perspective to me in the article I found was when he mentions that organizational culture works like the human immune system where it “prevents wrong thinking and wrong people from entering the organization”.  It appealed to me because I have not thought about organizational culture in this way, I have always thought of organizational culture as only what already happens within a business.

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Sources:

“What is Organizational Culture?  And Why Should We Care?”  Harvard Business Review.  15 May 2013  <https://hbr.org/2013/05/what-is-organizational-culture>

Source: Google Images

In class, we learnt about four different styles of communication which are action oriented, process oriented, people oriented, and idea oriented.

I think the communication style that I fit into the most is being people oriented.  People oriented communication is where people talk about relationships between individuals, needs, awareness, feelings, and valuing team spirit.  I highly value the human connection I get when communicating with others.  I also enjoy the idea of working in teams.  When I am put into a group, I always try my best to establish a team spirit because I believe that when a team spirit is establish, a common goal is as well, the group as a whole would be more motivated to achieve the best they can and the group can be more effective when trying to reach their goals.

However, I feel like my style of communication also fits into the action oriented category because I am a very driven person with a strong personality.  I like to be given a clear set of objectives and I enjoy carrying out my responsibilities efficiently.  One of the best parts about working in teams for me is when every individual member carries out their responsibilities and we are able to see clear results.

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Before coming to Sauder and learning about human resources and managements, I have always assumed that a leader and a manager do the same thing.  But, after learning and reading more into the subject, I have learnt that they play completely separate roles.

The main takeaway I had from the lecture on leadership in our class was that managers are people who set day to day objectives and goals, delegate workload, and maintain a good workforce environment, whilst leaders are people who are innovative and unique, who have vision for the future, growth and development of the organization.

I also came across a very informative article on Forbes that outlines “9 Differences Between Being a Leader and a Manager”.

In my opinion, one of the best points in the article was, “leaders are change agents, managers maintain the status quo”, where it says that leaders are “proud disrupters” and can “accept the fact that changes to the system often create waves”.  I really enjoyed this because I personally adopt the mentality that well planned and well executed change, no matter of what magnitude, can bring about better outcomes, even if there are many road bumps along the way.  To me, the hard work and struggles are what make the process of me doing any task worthwhile, and also makes me feel more accomplished at the end of the day.

The rest of the article basically implies that managers are more systematic people whilst leaders have a voice and are more outspoken.  Having said that, I do think that both leaders and managers are essential for any organization to be successful.

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Sources:

“9 Differences Between Being A Leader And A Manager.”  Forbes.  15 Nov, 2016.  <https://www.forbes.com/sites/williamarruda/2016/11/15/9-differences-between-being-a-leader-and-a-manager/#799193bf4609>