Internet Exercises

Exercise 1

Goal: This activity is designed to help students identify the dimensions of an organization's culture and acquire more than a simple definition of these concepts.

Instructions: Your task is to go to Saturn's web page <www.saturn.com> and read as much as you can about the company. Based on what you read and the information presented in this chapter, describe Saturn's organizational culture. Use the eight dimensions of organizational culture identified in this chapter (e.g., how structured does the organization appear to be, what sense do you get of the company's power distribution and job autonomy, etc.) as a guide to completing this activity. Be prepared to discuss your findings.

Exercise 2

Goal: This activity is designed to help students distinguish between modern and postmodern organizations and see how a large corporation can change over time.

Instructions: Using Table 2-5 as your guide, you should go to Nike's web page <www.nike.com> and read about the company. After you have explored the organization, decide whether the modern or postmodern organizational description best characterizes Nike. Be prepared to discuss why you believe the organization fits better into one description than it does the other and whether or not where it appears to fit now will need to be changed within the next five years.