web posters--organizing and culture 1

This week we'll blog about the web posters. I first developed the idea for web posters based on student research when I had to design web posters for my classes. I started teaching online in 1999 and because online learning was so new, one of the staff members in eCampus (called the Distance Education program at the time) suggested web posters to get students interested in our online classes. The poster provided a useful way of summarizing information. So I adapted the idea for several of my classes. For the class this semester, students submitted 14 web posters. I'll briefly discuss two or three each day this week, grouping them together by themes. I'll start with some of the web posters that addressed organizing and culture.

Kartik focused on cross-cultural communication in organizations that operate in the U.S. and India. The two countries have become quite intertwined in many ways, but certainly in terms of organizations working in new communication technologies. And the recent terrorist attacks in India aimed at prominent Indian, U.S., and British executives underscores the close ties between U.S. and Indian organizations. Kartik's suggestions for future research demonstrate the gaps in the literature.

SS & Garota de Ipanema examined culture from an intercultural perspective. The authors provide several avenues for future research that identify areas where current research is sparse. One neglected area is the impact of local culture on global culture. This parallels the general cause-effect bias in culture research, which often assumes that a more dominant culture is impervious to the effects of a less-powerful culture. For example, there's much concern about the impact of Western culture on developing nations without considering the flow of culture in the other direction.

One of the most-discussed issues in the organizational culture literature is the ability of leaders and managers to change an organization's culture, the topic Hapa's web poster addresses. If all organization members participate in creating and maintaining organizational culture, is it possible for managers and leaders to bring about change? Although those in the upper echelons of organizational hierarchies may attempt changes in organizational cultures, research does suggest these attempts often fail. As Hapa points out, "The most striking finding of my research was the relatively low success rate of cultural change efforts."

~ Professor Cyborg