PROFESSOR: Welcome to Open Campus, Soft Skills
Course, Module 8, part two, Corporate Culture.
In this module, you will learn the definition and benefits
of cultural diversity, the definition
of lifelong learning, and how to improve corporate culture.
As a recap from the first part of module 8,
what is corporate culture?
Corporate culture is the shared values, attitudes, standards,
and beliefs that characterize members of an organization.
The focus areas that we will have for this module
will be on cultural diversity and lifelong learning.
Well, what is cultural diversity?
Cultural diversity is a form of appreciating the differences
in individuals.
These differences can be based on gender, age, sex, ethnicity,
sexual orientation, and social status.
Companies have realized the value
in acquiring a diverse workforce.
And the benefits to cultural diversity
is that cultural diversity helps to create a sense of value
in the employees, that their contributions are worthwhile,
that they are being noted.
And it just gives a strong sense of just self-esteem, especially
when you are of a different culture
or of a different ethnicity from the majority of people
on your company that you work for.
Also, it helps to spark creativity and new ideas.
When we have diverse individuals with different backgrounds
coming together to work on products and projects
in a workplace, it creates this new energy
and it opens up for innovation, as well.
Productivity, as well as profitability
tends to increase as well with cultural diversity.
Cultural diversity also helps us to promote cultural differences
and to celebrate those differences as we are
all a part of one organization.
Cultural diversity helps to increase attendance.
There are many statistics that show
that there is a lower absenteeism and a lower
absentee rate when there is an appreciation
for cultural diversity in the company.
And lastly there, it creates a high employee retention.
When people feel good about where they work,
when they feel that they are a part
of a team in an organization, and that who they are matters,
it creates an environment where people
want to remain employed there.
So there's very low turnover rates for, the most part,
with organizations that promote cultural diversity.
Lifelong learning.
Lifelong learning is ongoing.
It's a voluntary and self-motivated pursuit
of knowledge, for either personal or professional
reasons.
There are many benefits to lifelong learning
and some of the key ones include expanding your knowledge base.
When you are in the spirit of lifelong learning
both for professional as well as for personal reasons,
it creates this opportunity to grow and to develop
and to learn new and exciting things.
Also, lifelong learning helps you to grow your network
because as you're learning different things,
you're meeting different people, and those individuals
may be beneficial to you on future projects or future work
opportunities.
So you're expanding your net worth, as well as your network.
Also, lifelong learning helps you
to strengthen your existing skill
sets, which, in turn, prepare you for future opportunities.
If there are things that you need
to learn the new technology about with regards
to your position, you are expanding your knowledge,
increasing and building upon your existing skill sets
by becoming a lifelong learner and learning
new and exciting technologies, new and exciting techniques,
and ways to increase your productivity in the workplace.
And it also set you up for success
for future opportunities or promotions within the company.
Here are some tips on corporate culture.
First, learn the organization's values, traditions, and goals.
Oftentimes we look at corporate culture
from the organizational perspective,
but there are things that we can do
as employees of a company that can help to enhance
the corporate culture.
So number one, by learning the organization's values,
traditions, and goals.
Not just when you first go out to apply
for a job with a company, but really take
heed to what the company is about and how they show up
and serve the world.
Being able also to focus on the mission of a organization.
Everything that you do, as far as the work
that you are accomplishing, how you fulfill the deliverables
with a company, with your clients and customers,
should always go back to the mission of the organization.
Knowing your company's mission statement
is beneficial to being able to know
how to represent fully the mission of the organization.
Also, when you're dealing with corporate culture,
you should be authentic.
Be the best you that you can be.
Don't try to have a personality like someone else,
or behave or act like other people.
You were hired because of your uniqueness,
because the company saw something
in you that they really felt would
be a good fit with the organization.
So be authentic, be true to yourself.
Also be a team player.
Seek out opportunities to work with others,
to be a part of a new team.
Take on a different assignment or sign up
to volunteer to be a part of a particular committee.
But you can build upon and increase the corporate culture
by being a team player.
Participate in company activities.
If there are signature events, if there's always
an annual company retreat, or if there is a company awards
program, or a new member orientation committee,
find ways to be engaged with the corporate activities.
Don't just come to work, do your job, and go home,
find a way to be engaged in the atmosphere,
in the environment of the organization.
Also be aware of how you interact with coworkers
and with customers.
You want to make certain that at every touch
point of engagement, whether it's
with your peers, your coworkers, your supervisor,
or whether it's with a customer or a client,
you want to make certain that you are representing
the organization in a favorable way
at each and every touch point.
Assess your attitude and assess your personality periodically.
Self-assessment is always good because if there
are pieces of your personality that's not meshing well
with different individuals or with certain departments
or responsibilities, that creates an opportunity
to communicate and to dialogue with other people.
Not always assessing others, or reviewing and evaluating
others, look at yourself.
See if there are ways that you can
make adjustments to be able to enhance the corporate culture.
And last but not least, embrace change.
Change is oftentimes inevitable but there are always
ways to be a part in a favorable way
and to proactively embrace change.
And when you're dealing with corporate culture, that's
the beauty of a corporate culture,
is that you have an opportunity to make adjustments on the way.
As an employee, if you see that there are certain things that
are not flowing, that may need to be tweaked on your end,
or if there are things that your department or division can
build upon, that's where change comes into play.
And it's always good to be open to that.
This concludes Chapter 8, Corporate Culture, Module 8,
part two.
And at this time we'll have the quiz for the second part
of Module 8.