DUE: April 8, 1999, 3:30 p.m.

FORMAT:

• Typed, double-spaced, page numbers included. Staples only, no paper clips or report covers.
• NO NAMES on the front of the paper. Name on back of the paper only. Put your name on the reverse side of the last page ONLY.
• Title of research project should be clarified on the cover page, which should be separate from the main text.
• Check spelling and grammar and proofread carefully. Do not present a first draft. I should see an evidently edited version. Each error costs 1% of your total grade.

DETAILS:

If you have been frustrated, this is common. Organizational culture researchers will spend a lot of time trying to figure out what's going on. The process of observing, collecting, and focusing IS NOT OBVIOUS.

Organizational culture research is an involved process that emerges and evolves as you do the study.

At the same time, however, you need to focus your analytical gaze, or risk too many problems at the end of the semester. NOW IS THE TIME to start focusing on some particular aspect of the organization that intrigues you.

Do not make this project too big. Often, students will think their projects should cover every aspect of the organization. Other students don't think they'll have enough to write about. DON'T WORRY; YOU'LL HAVE PLENTY TO WRITE ABOUT!! For example, you could write an entire paper about one meeting, one common story, one metaphor, one symbol.

In this analysis you should strive for depth of description and depth of analysis. I do not want a superficial or surface description of what happens in this organization: i already have that information.....and it may be interesting, but simple description is NOT analysis.

When I read your analyses, I will probably ask myself questions like these (and I might ask you these questions in the margins if you have not answered them in some way through your writing):

SO, YOU SHOULD ASK YOURSELF QUESTIONS LIKE THESE WHERE APPROPRIATE IN YOUR OWN ANALYSIS.

Keep in mind that you are striving to demonstrate your ability to ANALYZE organizational discourse and write an interpretation, supplying examples, discourse, and other information as needed. Specificity is crucial.

To overview your goals for this assignment, then:

1) You are presenting me with the results of your initial analysis of this organization, based on your specific analysis of organizational discourse. This should be seen as a CASE STUDY. You are not simply describing the organization. You are making an argument about this culture, based on a careful, close analysis of some organizational discourse. You are also presenting me with the specifics of your analysis process, so that I can follow your reasoning, and so I have specific instances and examples to help me see what you mean.

• organizational discourse includes but is not limited to: conversations among members, transcripts (or specific notes) of your interviews with organizational members, nonverbal interactions among employees, paralinguistic behaviors, interactions between members and the physical environment.
• Analyze means "to examine methodically." In this specific assignment, you should be able to provide an interpretation of your findings, based on some analysis you've conducted.
  • For example, if you've found that many of the organizational members tell a common story, you might want to interpret this narrative and make an argument about (a) what it means, (b) who it influences, (c) what it tells us about the organizational culture, (d) how it may be reproducing or creating a particular frame for the organizational culture, etc.
  • For example, you may find that people use common metaphors when talking about the organization. You may want to make an argument about how metaphor is used and how a particular metaphor or set of metaphors shapes a particular understanding of the culture.
  • For example, if you find that people have a common symbol, ritual, or artifact that seems to bind them together in the culture (like the black box). You will want to describe the symbol, ritual, or artifact. But you'll also need to describe how it is used by members. Then, you will probably need to make arguments about (a) what the symbol, ritual, or artifact means to this culture, (b) what it tells us about this culture, or (c) what it implies for the use of symbols, rituals, or artifacts.

2) You are also demonstrating that you have the ability to write clearly, precisely, and accurately. Please do not present me with a draft of your ideas. This is a mini case study, where you have the opportunity to present a specific portion of your analysis for approval, critique, and feedback. Use this opportunity.

3) You are demonstrating to me that you are actively engaged in the organization you chose as the site of your semester project, and that you are actively working on your analysis.