Make One Original Post Reflecting On Organizational Culture

Make One Original Post Reflecting on Organizational Cultural Systems

For this assignment, you are asked to make one original post to the discussion during the first half of the week (Monday through Thursday during the week assigned on the course schedule). You will choose an organization that served as your previous or current place of employment. If you have limited work experience, you may choose to focus on an organization where you completed an internship or held a part-time job.

Then, you will reflect on your time in that organization, and draft a list of examples of the formal cultural systems within the organization and a list of examples of the informal cultural systems within the organization. For your first discussion post, you should use the material in chapter 5, especially the questions in Table 5.1 (p. 202) and Table 5.2 (p. 203), to guide your analysis.

In your post, you will address the following questions: What is the name or industry of the company under review, and how long have you been a member of the organization? [NOTE: Either the name or industry is sufficient, please list what you are comfortable including.] Are the ethical culture systems aligned to support ethical behavior or unethical behavior? Or, are the ethical culture systems misaligned (i.e., sending mixed messages)? Define the alignment or misalignment of the formal and informal systems, and include at least 4 specific examples.

Please keep your responses to no more than 4 paragraphs. Note that reading is attached below. For reference, page numbers of tables are provided in the notes above.

Paper For Above instruction

In reflecting on my previous employment at a mid-sized marketing firm specializing in digital advertising, I aim to analyze the organizational cultural systems—both formal and informal—and their alignment with ethical standards. I have been with this organization for nearly three years, experiencing firsthand the nuances of its cultural dynamics. The formal systems include clearly articulated codes of conduct, structured compliance training sessions, established reporting channels for unethical behavior, and formal management policies. These systems are designed to promote a professional environment rooted in integrity and transparency, guided by the organization’s core values outlined during onboarding and reinforced through periodic training.

On the informal side, the organizational culture is heavily influenced by peer interactions, shared social norms, unwritten rules about work punctuality, and the informal mentoring relationships among staff. For example, a culture of openness and mutual support prevails during team meetings, and employees often share informal feedback about management practices. These informal systems generally foster collaboration but sometimes contribute to mixed messages, especially when informal behaviors clash with formal policies. An instance of misalignment appears when employees informally celebrate success through social media posts that subtly bypass formal approval processes, conveying a more relaxed attitude toward compliance. Another example is the informal peer pressure to participate in after-hours social events, which, while fostering camaraderie, can undermine formal policies promoting work-life balance.

Regarding ethical culture alignment, I observe that the formal systems are largely supportive of ethical behavior, emphasizing transparency, accountability, and compliance. However, certain informal behaviors and cultural norms sometimes send mixed messages—particularly when employees prioritize personal relationships over procedural adherence. For instance, informal favoritism in task allocation can inadvertently promote unethical bias, despite formal policies advocating fairness. A notable misalignment occurs when employees feel pressure to conform to informal social norms that may conflict with formal integrity standards, such as engaging in covert communication to bypass official reporting channels. Overall, although the organization’s formal ethical systems are robust, the informal culture occasionally undermines these frameworks by promoting behaviors that could lead to ethical violations, revealing a partial misalignment between formal and informal systems.

References

• Schein, E. H. (2010). Organizational Culture and Leadership (4th ed.). Jossey-Bass.
• Ferrell, O. C., Fraedrich, J., & Ferrell, L. (2019). Business Ethics: Ethical Decision Making & Cases (12th ed.). Cengage Learning.
• Schneider, B. (1985). Organizational Climate and Culture. Jossey-Bass.
• Hatch, M. J. (1993). The Dynamics of Organizational Culture. Academy of Management Review, 18(4), 657–693.
• Biberman, J. (2004). Ethical Organizations: A Review of the Literature. Journal of Business Ethics, 50(3), 229–239.
• Kameda, T., & Hinds, P. (2007). Interpersonal Influences on Organizational Culture. Journal of Management, 33(5), 614–639.
• Martin, J. (2002). Organizational Culture: Mapping the Terrain. Sage Publications.
• Schein, E. H. (2017). Organizational Culture and Leadership (5th ed.). Wiley.
• Palmer, D., & Towler, A. (2010). Cultural Considerations in Ethical Decision Making: The Role of Organizational Culture. Business Ethics Quarterly, 20(3), 441–471.
• Treviño, L. K., & Nelson, K. A. (2017). Managing Business Ethics: Straight Talk About How to Do It Right. Wiley.