About this course: Behind the success and failure of teams lies team culture. But what exactly is culture? How and why does it contribute to success and failure? In this course, you learn how to recognize aspects of team culture of which most people are typically unaware. It is often these seemingly unimportant aspects that have the greatest effect on the outcomes of group tasks. Your recognition of them enables you to form, join and lead teams more effectively. You also come to appreciate the role of ritual and symbols in the daily operation of teams, as well as in situations of change and crisis. Knowledge of the ideas and information in this class enables you to be a better team player and a more effective team leader.
Created by: University of Pennsylvania
Taught by: Greg Urban, Ph.D., Professor
Anthropology
| Basic Info | Course 1 of 5 in the Culture-Driven Team Building Specialization |
| Level | Beginner |
| Commitment | 4 weeks of study, 2-4 hours/week |
| Language | English |
| How To Pass | Pass all graded assignments to complete the course. |
| User Ratings |
Syllabus
WEEK 1
Course Overview
Behind the success and failure of teams lies team culture. But what exactly is culture? How and why does it contribute to success and failure? In this course, you learn how to recognize aspects of team culture of which most people are typically unaware. It is often these seemingly unimportant aspects that have the greatest effect on the outcomes of group tasks. Your recognition of them enables you to form, join and lead teams more effectively. You also come to appreciate the role of ritual and symbols in the daily operation of teams, as well as in situations of change and crisis. Knowledge of the ideas and information in this class enables you to be a better team player and a more effective team leader.
2 readings
- Reading: Syllabus
- Reading: Meet Dr. Greg Urban
WEEK 2
Why Culture Matters in Organizations
In this unit, we will begin by defining the "team" and then proceed to explore what enables teams to function, the role that culture plays in every team, and how "habitus" and "cultural fit" could affect our performance in specific teams.
13 videos, 2 readings
- Video: 1.1 Introduction
- Video: 1.2 What are Teams?
- Discussion Prompt: What teams are you a part of?
- Video: 1.3 A Closer Look at Culture
- Video: 1.4 Culture as Cultivation
- Video: 1.5 Being Unaware of Culture
- Video: 1.6 Expectations and Realities
- Video: 1.7 The Little Cultural Things that Matter
- Video: 1.8 Culture Shock
- Video: 1.9 Habitus
- Video: 1.10 Characteristic Ways of Speaking within the Team
- Video: 1.11 What We Say Versus What We Do
- Video: 1.12 Hiring and Cultural Fit
- Video: 1.13 High Culture
- Reading: Shakespeare in the Bush by Laura Bohannan
- Reading: Hiring as Cultural Matching: The Case of Elite Professional Service Firms
- Discussion Prompt: Have you ever experienced culture shock? Share your experience!
Graded: Why Culture Matters in Organizations
WEEK 3
Crossing Cultural Boundaries
Sometimes we must take a step back and view cultural differences from perspectives different from what we're used to. Cultural boundaries exist everywhere. Differences can be found within one culture as well. Have you ever considered that a smile isn't just a simple natural response? In this unit we delve deeper into culture and the differences amongst various cultures, including corporate culture.
12 videos, 2 readings
- Video: 2.1 Two Examples of Cultural Boundaries
- Video: 2.2 Why Police Boundaries
- Video: 2.3 Culture in Motion
- Video: 2.4 Golden Arches East
- Video: 2.5 The Art of Smiling
- Video: 2.6 The Right to Fire
- Video: 2.7 The Law of Jante
- Video: 2.8 Cultural Relativity and Ethnocentrism
- Video: 2.9 Avoid Stereotyping
- Video: 2.10 A Checklist of Little Differences for Business
- Video: 2.11 Gestures as Boundary Marker
- Discussion Prompt: Bryan Brothers Chest Bump, have you seen it?
- Video: 2.12 Corporate Personhood
- Reading: Crossing Cultural Boundaries
- Reading: Cultural Relativity & Moral Judgments
Graded: Corporations in Culture
WEEK 4
Team Rituals and Symbols
Rituals and symbols can be found in every team. They can evoke affect, or feeling, as you will see. Speech, or stories have symbolic meaning too and can do wonders to motivate a group of individuals. In this unit we will examine a number of rituals and symbols, as they exist in their various forms, and discover the way in which they are utilized in teams.
12 videos, 2 readings
- Video: 3.1 Burning the American Flag
- Video: 3.2 Team Mascots
- Video: 3.3 The Concept of the Symbol
- Video: 3.4 Transference of Affective Quality
- Video: 3.5 The Motivational Video
- Discussion Prompt: Harley-Davidson York Transformation Video
- Video: 3.6 People as Symbols
- Video: 3.7 The Pragmatics of Motivational Speech
- Video: 3.8 Symbolic Meaning of Stories
- Video: 3.9 Instrumental Symbols: The Gavel
- Video: 3.10 Individual and Collective Rituals
- Video: 3.11 Types of Rituals in Business
- Video: 3.12 Initiation, Enhancement, and Group Worship
- Reading: Symbols
- Reading: Rituals & Culture
Graded: Rituals & Symbols in Organizational Culture
WEEK 5
Effecting Cultural Continuity and Change
In this unit, we will examine inertia, change, and metaculture, introduce interest as a force at work on the motion of culture as well as provide a conclusion to the concepts covered in this course.
12 videos, 1 reading
- Video: 4.1 Culture in Time
- Video: 4.2 The Inertial Forces
- Video: 4.3 Habit and Drift
- Video: 4.4 Inertia and Change: An Ancient Egyptian Case, Part 1
- Video: 4.5 More on Reflective Culture or Metaculture as a Force
- Video: 4.6 Inertia and Change: An Ancient Egyptian Case, Part 2
- Video: 4.7 Inertia and Change: An Ancient Egyptian Case, Part 3
- Video: 4.8 Secret to Successful Cultural Change
- Video: 4.9 Introducing the Force of Interest
- Video: 4.10 Interest at the Interface between Different Inertial Patterns
- Video: 4.11 The Conditional Motion of Culture
- Video: 4.12 Conclusion
- Reading: Rules, Ultimate Causes, and Cultural Motion by Greg Urban
Graded: Effecting Cultural Continuity & Change
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University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania (commonly referred to as Penn) is a private university, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. A member of the Ivy League, Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, and considers itself to be the first university in the United States with both undergraduate and graduate studies.
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Ratings and Reviews
enjoyed the lecturing, clear and good guidelines
Professor Urbin is lovably transformative teacher.
I have gained more understanding in Team Culture from several examples.
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Some of the research on recruiting was a bit outdated, considering modern inclusivity best practices.