Lesson Plan

Your name: Aimee Dars Ellis

Type of Lesson: Interactivity, Site Curation, and Gamification

Lesson Plan Title: Understanding Organizational Culture

Discipline and Topic: Business/Ethics

Business/General
Business/Marketing

Target Population

Grade Level: Postsecondary, Advanced High School

Population Characteristics: Students in this class are typically 16-22 years old. They
must have good standing in their school, which means they have a 2.0 grade average and
have demonstrated minimum writing and reading skills. Although I do not yet have a
class list, based on past classes, students will have diverse learning styles, in terms of
Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences, although visual, linguistic, and interpersonal
skills seem to predominate. Having a variety of activities during a class period is ideal for
the group.

Lesson Groupings: This lesson has elements of whole class, small group, and individual
groupings.

Curriculum Links
The Organizational Culture lesson is designed for an Organizational Behavior class but
can also be used in Introduction to Business and Business Ethics.

Edward Schein defines organizational culture as “A pattern of shared basic assumptions

learned by a grp as it solved its problems of external adaptation and internal integration,
which has worked well enough to be considered valid and, therefore, to be taught to new
members as the correct way to perceive, think, and feel in relation to those problems”
(Schein, 2010, p. 18). Schein identifies three layers of culture: artifacts, values/beliefs,
and underlying assumptions. An organization’s culture is important because it provides a
sense of identity to members and increases their commitment to the organization, frames
organizational members’ sense-making, and reinforces the values of the organization. An
organization’s culture can affect firm-level outcomes like effectiveness as well as person-
level outcomes like turnover, satisfaction, and commitment.

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This lesson is delivered near the end of the term after lessons on teams and leadership and
directly before or after a lesson on organizational structure.

Objectives
After completing the Understanding Organizational Culture lesson, students will be able
to:

1) Given a particular company, identify artifacts of organizational culture with 90%

accuracy
2) Given a particular company, interpret organizational culture artifacts in terms of
the values they represent with 90% accuracy
3) Distinguish between espoused and enacted values
4) Discuss the potential negative aspects of organizational culture with 90%
accuracy
5) Describe assumptions as defined Schein’s model of organizational culture

List the ISTE Student Standards/Profiles objectives with which your lesson plan
aligns.

ISTE Standard Lesson Plan Application

1. Design, develop, and test a digital n/a
learning game to demonstrate
knowledge and skills related to
curriculum content. (1, 4)
2. Create and publish an online art n/a
gallery with examples and
commentary that demonstrate an
understanding of different historical
periods, cultures, and countries. (1, 2)
3. Select digital tools or resources to use n/a
for a real-world task and justify the
selection based on their efficiency and
effectiveness. (3, 6)
4. Employ curriculum-specific n/a
simulations to practice critical-
thinking processes. (1, 4)
5. Identify a complex global issue, n/a
develop a systematic plan of
investigation, and present innovative
sustainable solutions. (1, 2, 3, 4)
6. Analyze the capabilities and n/a
limitations of current and emerging
technology resources and assess their
potential to address personal, social,
lifelong learning, and career needs. (4,
5, 6)

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 7. Design a Web site that meets
accessibility requirements. (1, 5)
8. Model legal and ethical behaviors
when using information and
technology by properly selecting,
acquiring, and citing resources. (3, 5)
9. Create media-rich presentations for
other students on the appropriate and
ethical use of digital tools and
resources. (1, 5)
10. Configure and troubleshoot hardware,
software, and network systems to
optimize their use for learning and
productivity. (4, 6)
n/a
Students will demonstrate this standard in
their homework assignment which requires
posting resources to a Sticky Note
application (Padlet)
Students will demonstrate this standard in
their homework assignment which requires
posting resources to a Sticky Note
application (Padlet)
This standard is not a focus of the lesson’s
activities, but students will need to be able
to configure and troubleshoot the tools
needed to complete the assignments.

Materials and Timing

This lesson will require one 45 minute class session.

Lesson Quiz
 Completed through LMS online before class session.

Readings (to be read by students before class)

 Excerpt from Organizational Culture and Leadership
 Chapter ## in textbook
 Culture Fundamentals from Edward Schein:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Fw5H7GWzog

Videos (select one)

 3-2-1: Google’s Culture (3:48,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_R3XG7s2hw)
 Zappos Organizational Culture (5:40,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CcLIPaUz3E)

Handout: Analyzing Organizational Culture (hard copies)

Assignment Description (on course website)

PowerPoint File (on Dropbox/course website)

Scope and Sequence

00-05 Announcements and Introduction

05-10 Discussion about organizational culture (definition, functions,
impact of leadership on, and possible negative consequences
arising from)

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 10-30 Three layers of organizational culture presentation
As a class, look at artifacts in photographs of offices
View video and discuss
30-40 Group activity – identifying artifacts
40-45 Conclusion / Exit Ticket / Explain homework: creation of a Padlet
board

Supplemental Materials

n/a

Evaluation of Students

Objectives Activity Excellent Satisfactory Needs

Improvement
Given a particular Lesson Quiz 95-100% 80-94% <79%
company, identify In class -- -- --
artifacts of discussion☼
organizational Group activity☼ -- -- --
culture with 90% Homework Padlet includes 10+ Padlet includes 8-9 Padlet includes 7 or
accuracy assignment relevant artifacts, relevant artifacts, fewer relevant
two created by two created by artifacts
student student
Given a particular In class -- -- --
company, interpret discussion☼
organizational Group activity☼ -- -- --
culture artifacts in Homework All artifacts (10+) All artifacts (10) in Captions for less
terms of the values assignment in Padlet include Padlet include than 10 artifacts
they represent with caption describing caption describing and/or unclear link
90% accuracy how it represents how it represents between artifact
values of values of and values
organization organization with
some ambiguity
Distinguish Lesson Quiz 95-100% 80-94% <79%
between espoused In class -- -- --
and enacted values discussion☼

Discuss the Lesson Quiz 95-100% 80-94% <79%

potential negative In class -- -- --
aspects of discussion☼
organizational
culture with 90%
accuracy

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Describe Lesson Quiz 95-100% 80-94% <79%
assumptions as
defined Schein’s
model of In class -- -- --
organizational discussion☼
culture
☼
Ungraded, but will be recorded through Poll Everywhere or blackboard/
smartboard to be used for evaluation purposes.

Evaluation of the Lesson

Both summative and formative assessments will be used to evaluate the lesson. The
“Understanding Organizational Culture” lesson includes several Poll Everywhere polls
with accompanying discussions, and I can evaluate the responses to see if immediate
adjustments in teaching strategies are necessary for the material. After the class, I will
look more closely at the Poll Everywhere responses, and if more than 20% of responses
are incorrect, I will revise the lesson for the next term.

The only handout this lesson is a group activity and doesn’t reflect individual
performance, but I will I will review them and categorizing them into groups: 1) exceeds
expectations, 2) meets expectations, 3) does not meet expectations. If more than 20% of
students do not meet expectations, I will review the material during the next class period.

The handout will be used as an exit ticket and includes a “teaching tweet” for students to
complete using one of three prompts:

If several students have the same question about the lesson, I will review the material at
the beginning of the next class and revise the instructional strategies related to that
content for the next term.

I will evaluate the quiz by looking at the questions reflecting each objective. If more than
20% of students score below 80% on the test’s subscales, I will revise the lesson for the
particular objective(s) with poor student performance.

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 References

Schein, E. H. (2010). Organizational culture and leadership (4th ed.). San Francisco:
Jossey-Bass.

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Figure 1: Wal-Mart Headquarters Interior

Figure 2: Boeing Flight Test Center

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Figure 3: Etsy Office Space

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Figure 4: Facebook (California)

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Figure 5: Blackboard

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HANDOUT

Analyzing Organizational Culture

Name: Date:

Use the image you were provided to answer the following questions. Each person in your
group should complete the handout. You should discuss questions 1 – 3 with your group
members. Complete the teaching tweet on your own.

1) Identify as many artifacts as you can see in the image and note what they might
represent.
2) Determine four to five values that the firm might espouse based on the artifacts.
Be sure to justify your answers.
3) What type of company do you think this is?

Exit Ticket

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Homework
Analyzing Organizational Culture

Name: Date:

Your Company:

Collect at least ten artifacts from your company and add them to Padlet. (Sample:
http://padlet.com/doctordarzy/xgvswclsb5nu). At least two of these must be artifacts you
have collected yourself, e.g. a photograph from the company showing the employee
handbook, office space, employee parking, etc.

In the caption for each post, describe what espoused values the artifact might represent
and why.

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Sample Padlet

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Slide 1

Organizational Culture

Chapter ##

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Slide 2

What is
organizational
culture?

(Poll Everywhere Open-ended Question/

Discussion)

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Slide 3

What are the functions

and impacts of
culture?

(Poll Everywhere Open-ended Question/

Discussion)

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Slide 4

What are some

possible negative
impacts of culture?

(Poll Everywhere Open-ended Question/

Discussion)

 Could justify extreme/unethical activities

 Could be difficult to merge with other companies
 Could attract homogenous applicant pool, limiting diversity
 Could make it difficult for organization to adapt to environment

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Slide 5

How does a leader

impact an
organization’s
culture?

(Poll Everywhere Open-ended Question/

Discussion)

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Slide 6

Layers of Organizational Culture

Artifacts
Values/Beliefs
Underlying Assumptions

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Slide 7

Layers of Organizational
Culture
Artifacts
Observable manifestations • Dress
of the organization’s culture • Use of Space
• Reports
• Stories and Myths
• Ceremonies/
Rituals
• Physical Structures
• Language

"[Artifacts include] all the phenomena that one sees, hears, and feels when encountering a
new group with an unfamiliar culture. Artifacts would include the visible products of the
group such as the architecture of its physical environment, its language, its technology
and products, its artistic creations, and its style as embodied in clothing, manners of
address, emotional displays, myths and stories told about the organization, published lists
of values, observable rituals and ceremonies, and so on. For the purposes of cultural
analysis this level also includes the visible behavior of the group and the organizational
processes into which such behavior is made routine." (p. 17)

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Slide 8

Slogans/Chants

 Leave no man behind

 QSCV (McDonald’s)
 Simply BOLD (Minolta)
Distinct from
 Method marketing tag
• Keep Method weird. lines –
• What would MacGyver do?
• Innovate, don't imitate. MELTS IN YOUR
• Collaborate like crazy. MOUTH, NOT IN
• Care. YOUR HANDS

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Slide 9

Layers of Organizational
Culture
Values
Social principles, goals, and
standards held within a
culture to have intrinsic worth

What the employees care

about… used to make Espoused
decisions and moral vs. Enacted
judgments so often
emotionally charged!

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Slide 10

Layers of Organizational
Culture
Assumptions
Unobservable values that
have become so ingrained
over time they are taken for
granted. They are highly
resistant to change. Acting
contrary to assumptions
inconceivable
• Relationship to
environment
• Nature of reality,
time, and space
• Nature of human
nature
• Nature of human
activity
• Nature of human
relationships

Basic underlying assumptions are taken-for-granted beliefs and philosophies that are so
ingrained that employees simply act on them rather than questioning the validity of their
behavior in a given situation.

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Slide 11

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Slide 12

Longaberger

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Slide 13

James P. Gorman – Morgan Stanley

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Slide 14

New York Times

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Slide 15

ROTC – Texas University

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Slide 16

Why wait for the elevator when you can take the slide? Corus Entertainment’s
headquarters in Toronto is a study in smart design (with a LEED Gold-targeted building),
and a model for a quirky aesthetic to bring out the creativity in its employees. "It's all
about fun," says John Cassaday, Corus's founding CEO.

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Slide 17

Joke slide – from Office Space movie

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Slide 18

Organizational Culture Video

 While watching this video, take notes on

• Artifacts you see
• Values that people mention
• Ways culture impacts employees

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Slide 19

Group Activity

 In your groups, analyze the image you have been

given. Each person in the group should complete a
handout – it will serve as your exit ticket.
 The shortest person in your group will be your
spokesperson.

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