Start with the word culture. What does this mean to you and me? What comes to your mind right away? I bet it is words like food, clothes, race, music, values and beliefs, religion and different countries. These are only part of what culture is all about. Probably the one that most affects our comfort level in any situation is values and beliefs.
In your group, brainstorm all the words or categories that you think are connected to culture.
Think about the similarities and differences within your group. Look at your similarities and answer some questions:
Are their other questions you could ask that would highlight similarities?
Why is it important to consider these questions? Has your idea of culture expanded? Does it include more than you thought it did? Workplaces have their own culture. Each workplace is unique and unlike any other workplace. This is important information because the culture of an organization may not be a comfortable fit for an individual.
There are all sorts of ways we can connect personal ideas about culture to organizational culture. Brainstorm with your group or a partner how the following could be related to an individual's success in a workplace. Add any other categories that you identified during the brainstorming about culture.
How did you do? Are there areas you are not sure of?
Are there things that are important to you that may conflict with a workplace culture?