3.

0: Week 3 Introduction

Weekly Introduction

Welcome to Week 3! During this week we will be exploring organisational culture.

As you work through this week’s content, consider the following:

 How will you develop your own approach to leadership in the context of
organisational culture?
 How does the particular culture (either that of your country or of the organisations
you have experienced) inform your understanding of organisational culture?

Click the video below to watch the course introduction.

We have provided a transcript of the presentation Download transcript of the presentation. The
closed captions are automatically generated and so please be aware if you choose to have closed
captions on as the accuracy can vary.

3.0.1: Outcomes and Activities

Weekly Learning Outcomes

At the end of this week, you will be able to:

1. Distinguish between the ways that organisational culture can be described / defined
(MO3)
2. Appraise an organisational culture through different dimensions and scales (MO 2
& 3)

Weekly Activities

Below is an outline of the items for which you will be responsible throughout the module.

READ
DUE: Early in the week
Read the following early in the week to help you respond to the discussion questions and to
complete your assignments.

Required Readings:

 Bush, T., & Middlewood, D. (2013). Chapter 4: Organisational Culture, in Leading

and managing people in educationLinks to an external site.. Sage. – WO1
 Zhu, C. et al. (2014) Examining school culture in Flemish and Chinese primary
schools. Educational management, administration & leadership.Links to an external
site. 42 (4), 557–575. – WO 1&2

Suggested readings:

 Schein, E.H., Organizational Culture and LeadershipLinks to an external

site. (California: Jossey-Bass, 5th ed. 2016). Part 2: What leaders need to know about
macro cultures
  Law, W.-W. (2012) Educational leadership and culture in China: Dichotomies
between Chinese and Anglo-American leadership traditions?Links to an external
site. International journal of educational development. 32 (2), 273–282.
 Morris, J. E. et al. (2020)The role of leadership in establishing a positive staff
culture in a secondary schoolLinks to an external site.. Educational management,
administration & leadership. 48 (5), 802–820.
 Lam, Y. L. J. (2002) Defining the Effects of Transformational Leadership on
Organisational Learning: A Cross-Cultural Comparison. School leadership &
managementLinks to an external site.. 22 (4), 439–452.

WATCH
DUE: Early in the week
Read the following early in the week to help you respond to the discussion questions and to
complete your assignments.

Watch the video on the following topic:

 How do you create a great organisational culture? - WO1

Watch the micro-lecture on the following topic:

 Culture and its impact on organisations - WO1

DISCUSS
Discussion 1 DUE: First post by Wednesday, responses to classmates by
Friday
Respond to the discussion prompts and questions by the due dates outlined in the assignment.

 Organisational culture – Definitions and importance - WO1

Discussion 2 DUE: First post by Saturday, responses to classmates by Monday

Carry out the following activities to ensure that you achieve this week’s learning outcomes.

 Analyse an educational institution’s organisational culture – WO1 & 2

3.1: Micro-lecture - Culture and its

impact on organisations

Lesson - Culture and its impact on

organisations

The concept of culture has become increasingly significant in education within the broader
context of globalisation. Culture can provide a focus for organisational action. An understanding
of organisational culture will provide a sound basis for leading and managing people in
education.

As you watch the video, reflect on the following:

 What is culture?
 Why do you think culture in an organisation is important for a leader to
understand?

Click the video below to watch the micro-lecture.

We have provided a transcript of the presentation Download transcript of the presentation. The
closed captions are automatically generated and so please be aware if you choose to have closed
captions on as the accuracy can vary.
3.2: Reading - Organisational
Cultures

Reading - Organisational Cultures

After watching the micro-lecture, now read chapter 4 on Organisational Cultures by Bush and
Middlewood (2013) to achieve a deeper academic understanding of the concept.

Task
Read:
Bush, T., & Middlewood, D. (2013). Chapter 4: Organisational Cultures, in Leading and
managing people in educationLinks to an external site.. Sage.

As you read this, please consider these questions:

 What does organisational culture mean?

 How is societal culture different from organisational culture, while how are they
related?
 What strategies are presented in this chapter for leaders to generate organisational
culture?

3.3: Discussion - Organisational Culture –

Definition and Importance - Robert's Group
 Discussion - Organisational Culture –
Definition and Importance

Based on the micro-lecture and Bush and Middlewood’s (2013) Chapter 4 on Organisational
Cultures, in this activity you will be selecting a picture/metaphor that can represent your
understanding of organisational culture and thinking about the importance of organisational
culture.

Task
Step 1
Find a picture/metaphor that can represent your understanding of organisational culture. Post it to
the Padlet embedded below. Explain the meaning of organisational culture to your classmates
and why do you think culture in an organisation is important for a leader to understand?

Padlet Instructions
 To add a post to your desired section, select the plus icon

directly below the section heading for the week

 To add an image or a file from your computer select the first green button that looks

like a document with the corner folded over

 Type your solution into the card that appears (please make sure you add the name

in your post as outlined above) and click publish

 To scroll across to more sections, drag the bar at the bottom across

View Padlet full screen hereLinks to an external site.

Step 3
Read and comment on two of your classmates’ posts considering:
  What are the common and contrasting elements between your definition and your
classmates’?
 How has their explanation of the importance of organisational culture enriched your
own and how can your explanation enrich theirs?

Padlet Instructions
 To type your comment click where it says add comment at the bottom of the

card and start typing (please make sure you add your name in
your comment)
 To submit the comment either click ENTER on your keyboard or press the arrow

button to the right of the comment

 You can amend your comment by clicking the 3 vertical dots next to your
comment

 You can also like a post by selecting the heart icon

Guidelines
Support your thinking with academic references. Please complete share your post by Thursday
and reply to your colleagues by Saturday of this week.

Grading
This discussion is not graded. However, participation in this task will help you develop the
knowledge and skills that you need in order to be successful in your assessments. As well as
learning from each other’s posts, your module tutors may also make observations and
comments.

3.4: Reading - School Culture in

Flemish and Chinese Primary Schools
 Reading - School Culture in Flemish
and Chinese Primary Schools

Organisational culture is subject to the influence of the broader context of national or societal
culture. Read the research paper below to learn about how the authors examine different
dimensions of school culture in two different contexts. Compare the within-group and across-
group differences and think about how they affect leadership practice.
Note: the topic was examined quantitatively. Please focus more on the theoretical background
and critical discussion if you find the quantitative research method terms difficult to understand.

Task
Read:
Zhu, C. et al. (2014) Examining school culture in Flemish and Chinese primary schools.
Educational management, administration & leadershipLinks to an external site.. 42 (4), 557–
575.

As you read this, please consider these questions:

 What are the differences regarding school culture features between Flemish
schools and Chinese schools?
 What is the Schein’s (1985) three levels of school culture and the five dimensions
of School Culture Scales?
 How is school culture related to leadership?

3.5: Micro-lecture - How do you

create a great organisational culture?
 Lesson - How do you create a great
organisational culture?

Following your reading of different school cultures in China and in Flanders. Let’s explore some
strategies to build a great organisational culture. Kevin Oakes talks about the most important
ways in which organizations can create a company culture where employees enjoy their jobs and
feel appreciated.

https://sardertv.com/great-company-culture-kevin-oakes/Links to an external site.

As you watch the video, reflect on the following:

 What are the strategies that Oakes gives to develop a great organisational culture?
 How would you apply them in educational settings?

3.6: Discussion - Analyse an educational

institution’s organisational culture - Robert's
Group

Discussion - Analyse an educational

institution’s organisational culture
Following your reading of Zhu et al.’s (2014) research paper on School Culture in Flemish and
Chinese Primary Schools and viewing of the video on creating a great organisational culture, in
this activity you are going to analyse an educational institution’s organisational culture.

Post your answers to the following questions to the discussion forum.

Task
Step 1
Identify an educational institution that you are personally familiar with – preferable a current or
former employer. Please take time to answer the following questions and post your answers on
discussion forum:

1. Apply the five dimensions of School Culture Scales from Zhu et al.’s (2014) to assess
the various facets of organisational culture of your selected educational institution
2. Evaluate the positive and negative aspects of the organisational culture
3. What are the recommendations you would like to make for improvement?

Step 2
You should then take time to read the responses of your classmates. Select two classmates and
comment on their posts. Your comments should be supportive and constructive by considering
the following questions:

1. What do you learn from your classmates’ analysis?

2. Apart from your classmates’ recommendations, what other suggestions or comments
do you have for the improvement of the organisational culture?

Guidelines
Please post your response to the question no later than Saturday, 23:59 of this week.
You should then aim to have responded to at least two of your classmates by no later than 23:59
on Monday of this week.
Please make sure that you correctly cite and reference all secondary sources used in your posts.
Grading:
This discussion is not graded. However, participation in this task will help you develop the
knowledge and skills that you need in order to be successful in your assessments. As well as
learning from each other’s posts, your module tutors may also make observations and
comments.

3.7: Page - Additional resources

Additional resources

You may wish to visit some of the resources listed here to broaden your knowledge of the issues
examined this week.
Read

 Schein, E.H., Organizational Culture and LeadershipLinks to an external

site. (California: Jossey-Bass, 5th ed. 2016). Part 2: What leaders need to know about
macro cultures
 Law, W.-W. (2012) Educational leadership and culture in China: Dichotomies
between Chinese and Anglo-American leadership traditions?Links to an external
site.International journal of educational development. 32 (2), 273–282.
 Morris, J. E. et al. (2020) The role of leadership in establishing a positive staff culture
in a secondary school. Educational management, administration & leadership.Links
to an external site. 48 (5), 802–820.
 Lam, Y. L. J. (2002) Defining the Effects of Transformational Leadership on
Organisational Learning: A Cross-Cultural Comparison. School leadership &
managementLinks to an external site.. [Online] 22 (4), 439–452. WO2

3.8: Week 3: Summary

 Week 3: Summary

During this week we

 Examined the definition and importance of organisational culture

 Read about important concepts that link culture, strategy and leadership
 Analysed an organisation’s culture

This will form a valuable foundation for the weeks to follow.

Join me for the next week as we investigate leadership problems and dilemmas