Semester Summary

In sum, this blog demonstrates Team Tophat’s ability to recognize and use OB topics outside of the classroom; each blog post utilizes a different K&K lesson. “Google’s Organizational Culture” discusses the observable artifacts, espoused values, and enacted values exhibited by all levels of Google’s organization. “Culture Clash: Sprint-Nextel” illustrates the importance of strong organizational culture and provides an example of the difficulties companies face when they go through mergers because of organizational cultural differences. “Adaptations to Culture by International Businesses” relates to the article we read about Disney’s move to Japan and the overall sensitivity businesses must have when dealing with diverse cultures. “Employee Motivation Enabled by the Google Work Environment” shows that certain work environments will improve employee retention and motivation, another lesson taught in K&K. “Google’s Use of Feedback to Determine Good Behaviors of Managers” exhibits the positivity that can come out of properly utilizing employee feedback. “Google’s Model for Change” describes how a successful organization embraces change even though it can be difficult to implement, and how Google uses a process similar to the System Model of Change that is written in our textbook. Finally, “Meaningful Work and Income: What Truly Motivates Wake Forest Students” explores the motivating forces that drive WFU students’ process of job selection; focusing particularly on intrinsic and extrinsic forces of motivation.

Although our blog posts explore many of the topics addressed this semester in Organizational Behavior, each member of Team Tophat gained something from the class on an individual level as well:

“OB has taught me the importance of seeking continuous improvement throughout the organization one belongs to. It is essential in order to empower employees, provide better service to customers, and an excellent opportunity to develop leadership skills.” –Kevin Fennell

“I have learned that there are a lot of different theories regarding why people in organizations behave the way they do and that there are sometimes contradictory ideas about how to motivate employees to work in the most effective manner. However, many of the theories have commonalities and it is pretty well understood that the most effective managers are those that are good role models, effective coaches, and that design a strong organizational environment where employees are intrinsically motivated to strive for success.” –Kelly Ferrell

“I think the most interesting topic we covered this semester was networking. It is single-handedly one of the most important concepts to master because like my dad always says, ‘sometimes it’s more about who you know, not what you know.’ Since almost everyone at Wake Forest is extremely intelligent, I feel like the only way to differentiate myself from other Wake students is to work on increasing the size of my network” –VJ Cerniglia

“The most valuable lesson I have learned since being in OB has been the importance of learning what motivates your employees and further cultivating that motivation. It’s interesting to me to see how different people will respond to different motivating forces. Knowing what motivates your employees will ultimately help your company succeed.” –Ashley Suchoski

In the end, each of us learned something personally valuable from Organizational Behavior this semester. Hopefully we'll remember these lessons and use them to make a change in our own organizations in the future!