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Showing posts with the label cultural values

Book Review: The Moral Tale of Moby Dick

Moby Dick by Herman Melville is a classical example of 1851 literature that sparks deeper levels of thinking and provides a moral story for readers. As an artistic production it is seen as one of the greatest seafaring stories ever written. It provides a glimpse of early American life through the occupational experiences of sailors. Literature has an important function in society and transfers values and cultural beliefs. Story telling has been part of the human experience since the beginning of humanity. Moby Dick tells a moral story as much as it tells the tale of a whale hunt. Encouraging people to read such stories and think about their meanings helps to broaden their perspective.  Some of the lessons you may encounter include: Don’t Let Your Passions Consume You: Captain Ahab had a mission and he was going to fulfill that mission at all costs. His passions consumed him to the point that he no longer considered the other factors associated with winning. All miss

Social Sciences Relate to Organizational Behavior

Organizational behavior is basically studying the way people behave in organizations.   These organizations exist in many different fields of social science.   What are those fields?   1) Psychology, 2) Sociology, 3) Anthropology, 4) Economics, 5) Education, 6) Human Geography, and 7) Political Science.   Edgar Schein created a model for organizational behavior.   By using this model, leaders can understand the three elements of an organization, artifacts, values, and assumptions.   For example, a leader may try to change the underlying assumptions of an organization.     Artifacts are the tangible items that people can observe.   " Artifacts can be dress codes, furniture, art, work climate, stories, work processes, organizational structures etc. (Schein, 1992).   Values are those that are expressed by the leadership of the organization.   The values of the organization can be the mission, the goals, and the philosophies of the company (Schein, 1992).   " Assumpti