2 Three Levels Organizational Culture Analysis John Johnson HRMN 367/7380 November 20, 2014 An organization's culture is what normally sets it apart from other companies in the industry that could be offering similar services. Scholars have described organizational culture as the behavior of people within a particular organization, including their norms, beliefs, language, and habits as well. Culture is often used to explain why organizations differ in terms of success, employee’s loyalty, and even public perception. This paper will explore the organizational culture of Apple Inc on three levels- artifacts, values, and assumptions. This approach to understanding organizational culture is useful because it allows for an in-depth look at issues within an organization. Artifacts Artifacts are visible components of an organization's culture although members can interpret them very differently. Rituals and ceremonies are the easiest artifacts to spot within any given company. At Apple Inc, there are numerous rituals that past and current employees associate strongly with the consumer electronics industry. For instance, new employees have to go through an orientation process to ensure they understand what being a member of the organization entails. The company's CEOs are also known for keeping in contact with employees at the operational level. The contact is supposed to motivate employees and to ensure they understand the CEO's vision for the company. Other common ceremonies at the company include staff parties to celebrate both big and large goals that have been accomplished. The ceremonies make the company a desirable and a fun place to work, while employees are also allowed to dress down on certain days of the week (Ahmad, 2012). Another element of Apple's culture is slogans and symbols that only members of the company can decipher correctly. For instance, Apple has the phrase 'who's in charge' amongst its staff. The phrase means that for each activity, there must be a person that is responsible to ensure that it is completed successfully (Ahmad, 2012). Responsibility avoidance is highly discouraged and even lower level employees are held responsible totally for their assignments. This element of culture is a source of motivation because people feel that they are contributing directly to the success of the company. The company's logo is a very important in shaping the culture of the company. It represents the fact the company is a leader in the computer and phone manufacturing industry. The final artifact in the company is stories told about the company's past. Stories are supposed to highlight the key moments in the company's journey to success. By telling such stories, employees are expected to learn the attributes that leaders showed at those key moments and practices them. For instance, Apple decided to settle on a new logo and expand their products to include music players and phones. That was the beginning of a company's rise to .

1. 2
Three Levels Organizational Culture Analysis
John Johnson
HRMN 367/7380
November 20, 2014
An organization's culture is what normally sets it apart from
other companies in the industry that could be offering similar
services. Scholars have described organizational culture as the
behavior of people within a particular organization, including
their norms, beliefs, language, and habits as well. Culture is
often used to explain why organizations differ in terms of
success, employee’s loyalty, and even public perception. This
paper will explore the organizational culture of Apple Inc on
three levels- artifacts, values, and assumptions. This approach
to understanding organizational culture is useful because it
allows for an in-depth look at issues within an organization.
Artifacts
Artifacts are visible components of an organization's culture
although members can interpret them very differently. Rituals
and ceremonies are the easiest artifacts to spot within any given
company. At Apple Inc, there are numerous rituals that past and
current employees associate strongly with the consumer
electronics industry. For instance, new employees have to go
through an orientation process to ensure they understand what
being a member of the organization entails. The company's
CEOs are also known for keeping in contact with employees at
the operational level. The contact is supposed to motivate
employees and to ensure they understand the CEO's vision for
the company. Other common ceremonies at the company include
staff parties to celebrate both big and large goals that have been

2. accomplished. The ceremonies make the company a desirable
and a fun place to work, while employees are also allowed to
dress down on certain days of the week (Ahmad, 2012).
Another element of Apple's culture is slogans and symbols that
only members of the company can decipher correctly. For
instance, Apple has the phrase 'who's in charge' amongst its
staff. The phrase means that for each activity, there must be a
person that is responsible to ensure that it is completed
successfully (Ahmad, 2012). Responsibility avoidance is highly
discouraged and even lower level employees are held
responsible totally for their assignments. This element of
culture is a source of motivation because people feel that they
are contributing directly to the success of the company. The
company's logo is a very important in shaping the culture of the
company. It represents the fact the company is a leader in the
computer and phone manufacturing industry.
The final artifact in the company is stories told about the
company's past. Stories are supposed to highlight the key
moments in the company's journey to success. By telling such
stories, employees are expected to learn the attributes that
leaders showed at those key moments and practices them. For
instance, Apple decided to settle on a new logo and expand their
products to include music players and phones. That was the
beginning of a company's rise to the position it occupies today
in the industry. The customers recognized the brand and
associated it with quality, especially due to the premium
pricing. Another story is about the management style of the
former CEO. He was good at getting the best out of people by
speaking directly to them and setting targets for them as well
(Ahmad, 2012).
Values

3. Values are best described as the sum of behaviors that the
company wants to promote amongst its employees. They are the
things that a company would want to be known for and any
employee doing something that contravenes these values risks
tarnishing the company's image. The most important value at
Apple is the dedication towards delivering quality to clients.
Therefore, the company cannot do anything that would
compromise this quality including the selection of parts, hiring
of employees, and even conducting quality checks. The
company outsources services such as assembling to countries
where the cost of labor is lower than the USA. Still, the
company has to choose the most reliable companies to do such
work (Ahmad, 2012). As a result, the company rarely has to
recall any of its products because of quality issues and this
helps in boosting its image and reputation.
The ethical standards that a company sets for itself also part of
its values. Apple, like most corporations, has a code of conduct
that employees must adhere to. Some of the most important
issues highlighted there is integrity (Ojo, 2009). Management
staff is expected to act in the best interests of the company and
any actions that contradict this could lead to prosecution for
breach of their fiduciary duty to the company as well as
professional negligence. The company also lists some of the
ethical values that it holds itself accountable to. For instance, it
states its dedication towards environmental conservation by
funding programs meant to foster proper waste management. In
addition, its factories in Asia also dispose e-waste properly and
research is ongoing to develop more environmentally friendly
equipment parts (Ojo, 2009).
Finally, a commitment towards guiding the professional
development of its employees is another important value. As
highlighted, new employees often get some training to help
them become well acquainted with the goings on with the
company. The company also invests in taking employees to

4. training conferences to ensure they are aware of developments
in the tech-world. Further, the company is always ready to fund
research programs that employees want to be involved with.
This attitude sends a message to employees that they can
actualize their ambitions at Apple. The ripple effect is that
Apple attracts the best and most talented people in the
technology world. Other ways of promoting the growth of
employees is to hand them challenging tasks and making them
fully responsible for them. As time moves, these employees
become used to handling responsibility.
Assumptions
The visible aspects of the company's culture have the effects
that they do because of underlying assumptions, perceptions,
and beliefs. For instance, the CEO is perceived with a great deal
of importance at the company. He is expected to give a sense of
direction to the rest of the members at the organization.
Therefore, when the CEO interacts with employees at the lower
level, it adds to the symbolism of the action. The importance
attached to his office makes it easy to inspire members by
simply declaring or showing belief in their abilities. This
explains why Steve Jobs, the former CEO could make people
achieve beyond their beliefs.
Another assumption is that Apple is supposed to be leader in the
industries it competes, and that its products are the best. This
desire to remain as leaders makes the company invest in
research and employees know that they are expected to be
forward thinking. Apple Inc built the first smart phone and
paved way for other companies to follow suit with their designs.
The belief that the company is a leader makes it easy and
possible for employees to act as ambassadors of the company.
They can easily talk about what the company envisions to
develop in the near future with confidence because they know it
will be actualized (Ahmad, 2012).

5. It is also worth noting that assumptions play a major role in
developing norms and other unwritten rules within a given
institution. For instance, at Apple, it is assumed that
innovativeness and creativity are desirable qualities. Therefore,
employees will strive to display these qualities and at the same
time, shun things such as uncertainty avoidance. Based on the
code of conduct, integrity is also valued very highly at the
organizations. An existing assumption, therefore, is that
promotions are based not only on productivity but on integrity
as well. It is therefore normal to find people considered to be
trustworthy being handed small responsibilities that eventually
lead to bigger positions within the company.
Conclusion
As stated, the culture of an organization is what sets it apart
from other organization. The three levels of culture of an
organization help in the deeper understanding of the dynamics
that affect daily operations. The understanding of organizational
behavior can help a new employee get their way easily and
climb the corporate ladder. Further it will help avoid conflicts
and also address them quickly whenever they occur. Apple's
culture has helped it curve a niche for itself and make a name as
a producer of high quality products and also a great place for
career development. Some of the artifacts at the company
include stories regarding how the brand was developed while
values include a great regard for quality. All these are supported
by an assumption and belief that Apple should always develop
the best quality products for its customers.
References
Ahmad, M. S. (2012). Impact of organizational culture on
performance management practices. Editorial Note Words from
the Board of Editor 2 Profile of Authors Included in this
Number 3 Information for Contributors 5, 5(1), 50.
Ojo, O. (2009). Impact assessment of corporate culture on
employee job performance. Business Intelligence Journal, 2(2),

6. 388-397.
Change Management Plan
Instructions
Final project part 2, 30% of your course grade
Based on your last paper, create a change-management plan. Put
yourself in the position of a consultant making
recommendations to the CEO of the organization.
Present your recommendations in a PowerPoint presentation of
10-15 slides. State whether the organization is prepared with its
current culture to meet the needs and challenges of the future.
Defend your argument.
Your presentation should include the following (at a minimum):
• an evaluation of the current situation and analysis of whether
the current culture is sufficient to meet the needs of the future,
or if the culture needs to change; include the ramifications of
doing nothing (keeping the culture the way it is)
• recommendations for change, with specific strategies that need
to be adopted by the leadership, including for communication of
the changes and responses to resistance to change
• justification and support for the recommended changes, based
on both your own observations and the literature (at least three
sources)
Due Date
Nov 23, 2014 11:59 PM
Hide RubricsRubric Name: Final Project, Part 2: Change
Management Plan
Criteria
Not Present
0 points
Beginning
3 points

7. Developing
4 points
Accomplished
5 points
Exemplary
6 points
Recommendations
Recommendations are missing
Recommendations are only partially presented; major segments
are lacking description.
Basic elements of the assignment are included, but the
recommendations do not take a thorough and innovative
approach, and there is not a direct alignment to the
organization's goals.
Recommendations for change in the culture demonstrate an
alignment to the business objectives of the organization and the
changes or issues existing.
Recommendations for change in the culture clearly demonstrate
an innovative and direct alignment to the business objectives of
the organization and the changes or issues existing.
Rationale and justification
Not present
Plan is not justified and does not appear to address the needs of
the organization; needed actions and strategies required by the
leadership of the organization are lacking or not thorough.
Presentation has some rationale and justification, but these are
not necessarily or totally convincing; actions and strategies
required by the leadership are not comprehensive.

8. Rationale and justification are thorough; needed actions and
strategies required of leadership are fairly comprehensive and
adequate for change.
Rationale and justification are convincing and thorough; needed
actions and strategies required of leadership are comprehensive
and adequate for change.
Resistance to change
Paper does not address
resistance to change and
ideas on how to address
this
There is not a clear
understanding of a clear
direction on how to deal
with resistance to change
Some ideas on how to
address possible resistance
to change are presented
There is
acknowledgment of
resistance to change
and some ideas on how
to address it
Paper demonstrates
clear understanding of
resistance to change and
ideas on how to address
this, based on literature
Sources

9. Not present
sources are not appropriate (e.g., Wikipedia, About.com).
One appropriate source is used that supports the need and the
plan for change.
Two appropriate sources are used that support the need and the
plan for change.
At least three appropriate sources are used that support the need
and the plan for change.
Format
Paper was not submitted or the file can not be opened
Paper is difficult to understand due to the many mistakes in
spelling, grammar, and APA formatting; use of resources is
inadequate.
Paper shows some mistakes in communication, APA style, or
grammar that make portions of the paper confusing; use of
resources is too limited.
Paper demonstrates excellent communication; it has few
mistakes in APA formatting, grammar, or spelling, and these do
not hinder understanding of the paper; a portion of the required
outside resources are used.
Paper demonstrates excellent communication; it adheres to APA
style; it has no more than 2–3 mistakes in grammar and
mechanics; it shows use of appropriate outside resources.
Overall Score
Does not meet expectations
0 or more

10. D
18 or more
C
21 or more
B
24 or more
A
27 or more