Question I.
To answer the questions below, take the organization in which you work or have done an internship as the point of departure, or take an organization that you know, such as the university you attend or your faculty, as a starting point, or explore the Internet for an organization you are familiar with.
- Describe the play ambition of this organization based on figure 3.1, page 59 of the book ‘Organizational Change as Collaborative Play’.
- Describe the cultural levels of this organization based on figure 3.2, page 60 of the book ‘Organizational Change as Collaborative Play’.
- What ways of information gathering are possible to understand the cultural levels in depth?
Question II.
Think about one or two of the organizations you want to work for, and look up their explicit values, visions, missions and responsibilities on its webpage so as to understand the meaning and purpose of the organization.
Once you have a clear idea of the purpose and what the organization says it wants to mean to its stakeholders and environment, take a look at annual reports and other published material to identify KPIs, metrics and other success criteria.
- Does the way the organization measure its performance reflect its previously stated values, visions, missions and responsibilities, or does the organization put greater emphasis on successes that are not related to its stated purpose, but rather financial goals such as quarterly earnings, margins and share price?
- Most organizations do not explicitly state financial goals as its purpose of existence on its webpages. Why, you think, organizations put so much emphasis on such goals?
- Do you really want to work for the companies you have explored, now you understand their play ambition?
Question III.
Customer value should be a core part of company´s play ambition and identity. Imagine a situation where a company is having trouble maintaining its clients and a customer survey reveals it is due to the fact that clients do not like the organizational culture and values of the company.
- How could a company end up in such a situation?
- What could be the underlying problems of the mismatch and which steps would you take to prevent them?
- Would you rather try to find new clients or change the organizational culture? Why?
Question IV.
The culture of an organization has several levels, from basic assumptions to values and norms up to symbols and artefacts.
- If you think about an organization you were part of, which symbols and artefacts have you noticed?
- In your opinion, which were the values and above all the basic assumptions behind them?
- Were they coherent with the values explicitly stated by the organization, or did they clash with them?
Question V.
If you had to change the culture of that organization, knowing that you need to recognize and possibly change the basic assumptions, would you start by trying to directly change those assumptions through discussion, start by changing symbols and artefacts, do a mix or use another approach? Why?
Question VI.
Did it ever happen to you that in an organization you were part of, symbols and artefacts were changed and by changing your visible behavior, with time also your values and your assumptions changed?
- How was this possible in your opinion?
- And if this did not work, why it did not work in your opinion?
Question VII.
Have a look at a TED Talk and ask yourself how this talk is related the play ambition of organizations:
Question VIII.
Have a look at this documentary about football in the lowest classified countries on the FIFA ranks. The FIFA is news for many years because of corrupt decision-making and losing their legitimacy. Listen to the story of the monk and answer the question how far the FIFA has flown away from his own core values.
Question IX.
Look at the change dilemmas described in this chapter about the play ambition and make a well-considered choice how to cope with these dilemmas related to a change process in an organization you are known with.
Question X.
Read the practical example in the final paragraph of this chapter about the play ambition and write a reflection how you think this organization has coped with the change dilemmas.