Real Communication An Introduction

330 Part 3  Group and Organizational Communication

that enables Zappos employees to meet and work off campus as much as

they do at the office.

c Although Zappos is taking clear and committed steps toward cultivating its

organizational culture, the company recognizes that culture doesn’t form

overnight. Hseih feels that the process can take anywhere from five years to

a lifetime. “It’s not a two-year execution and you’re done” (Hsieh, quoted in

Nisen, 2013, para. 4).

Activities

1. LaunchPad for Real Communication offers key term videos and encourages self-
   assessment through adaptive quizzing. Go to bedfordstmartins.com/realcomm
   to get access to:

LearningCurve

Adaptive Quizzes.

2. Compare two organizations that you belong to or have regular contact with
   (such as a social organization, a volunteer organization, or a company). Describe
   the type of management approach at these two organizations. Also think about
   how the two organizations differ in their organizational culture. Be specific
   about how their values, artifacts, slogans, or assimilation practices vary.


3. Workplace comedies and dramas typically play off situations that really arise in
   organizational settings. Watch a few episodes of such workplace sitcoms as Parks
   and Recreation and Workaholics or workplace dramas like Grey’s Anatomy and The
   Newsroom and reflect on the different organizational contexts shown. What are
   the supervisor–supervisee relationships like? Are there any mentor–protégé re-
   lationships? What about peer relationships? How do these various relationships
   affect the way the organization functions?


4. In this chapter, we talked about some of the challenges that today’s organiza-
   tions face, including work–life balance, sexual harassment, and communication
   technology. Does your organization—be it a college or university, a club or
   campus organization, or a business—also tussle with some of these challenges?
   What challenges are specific to your organization? How might your organiza-
   tion minimize or adapt to some of these challenges?

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THINGS TO TRY

Video clips that illustrate key concepts, highlighted in

teal in the Real Reference section that follows.