The At Work box in Section 3.4 describes how organizations have the properties of a culture. Select a place of business where you have worked and describe in a few sentences its organizational culture. What rules, either explicit or implicit, guide the communication in that workplace? Describe how these cultural norms affect how you have interacted with supervisors, coworkers, and customers on that job.

Section 3.4:

@WORK Organizations Are Cultures
Organizations have cultures that can be just as distinctive as those of larger societies. Organizational culture reflects a relatively stable, shared set of values and behavioral rules within a company (Alvesson, 2011). Not all the rules and values of an organization are written down. And some that are written down aren’t actually followed. Perhaps the workday officially ends at 5:00 p.m., but you quickly notice that most people stay until at least 6:30. That says something about the culture.
Because you’re likely to spend as much time at work as you do in personal relationships, selecting the right organization is as important as choosing a best friend. Research shows that you are likely to enjoy your job and do it well if you believe that the organization’s values reflect your own and are consistently and fairly applied (Hartnell et al., 2011). For example, some companies reward team members for offering great customer service without exception. On the other hand, a boss who talks about customer service but violates those principles may cultivate a culture of cynicism and dissatisfaction.
Ask yourself these questions when considering whether a specific organization’s culture is a good fit for you.

• Is there a spirit of cooperation or competition among team members?
• What criteria are used to evaluate employee performance?
• How often do people leave their jobs to work somewhere else?
• Do leaders make a point of listening to, respecting, and collaborating with employees?
• Do people use their time productively, or are they bogged down with inefficient procedures or office politics?

Research suggests that communication—even small talk (Mak &
Chui, 2013)—is the vehicle through which people both create and embody culture. At both personal and organizational levels, effective, consistent, value-based communication is essential to success.