About this course: Behind the success and failure of teams lies team culture. But what exactly is culture? How and why does it contribute to success and failure? In this course, you will learn how to recognize aspects of team culture of which most people are normally unaware. It is often these seemingly unimportant aspects that have the greatest effect on the outcomes of group tasks. Your recognition of them will enable you to more effectively form, join, and lead teams. You will also come to appreciate the role of ritual and symbols in the daily operation of teams, as well as in situations of change and crisis. Knowledge of the ideas and information in this class will enable you to be not only a better team player but also a more effective team leader.

Created by: University of Pennsylvania

Taught by: Greg Urban, Ph.D., Professor
Anthropology

Basic Info	Course 1 of 5 in the Culture-Driven Team Building Specialization.
Level	Beginner
Commitment	4 weeks of study, 2-4 hours/week
Language	English
How To Pass	Pass all graded assignments to complete the course.
User Ratings	4.7 stars Average User Rating 4.7See what learners said

Syllabus

WEEK 1

Course Overview

Welcome to The Power of Team Culture! Behind the success and failure of teams lies team culture. But what exactly is culture? How and why does it contr...

2 readings

WEEK 2

Why Culture Matters in Organizations

In this unit, we will begin by defining the "team" and then proceed to explore what enables teams to function, the role that culture plays in every team, and how "habitus" and "cultural fit" could affect our performance in specific teams.

13 videos, 2 readings

Graded: Why Culture Matters in Organizations

WEEK 3

Crossing Cultural Boundaries

Sometimes we must take a step back and view cultural differences from perspectives different from what we're used to. Cultural boundaries exist everywhere. Differences can be found within one culture as well. Have you ever considered that a smile isn't just a ...

12 videos, 2 readings

Graded: Corporations in Culture

WEEK 4

Team Rituals and Symbols

Rituals and symbols can be found in every team. They can evoke affect, or feeling, as you will see. Speech, or stories have symbolic meaning too and can do wonders to motivate a group of individuals. In this unit we will examine a number of rituals and symbols...

12 videos, 2 readings

Graded: Rituals & Symbols in Organizational Culture

WEEK 5

Effecting Cultural Continuity and Change

In this unit, we will examine inertia, change, and metaculture, introduce interest as a force at work on the motion of culture as well as provide a conclusion to the concepts covered in this course.

12 videos, 1 reading

Graded: Effecting Cultural Continuity & Change

FAQs

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Coursework

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Creators

University of Pennsylvania

The University of Pennsylvania (commonly referred to as Penn) is a private university, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. A member of the Ivy League, Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, and considers itself to be the first university in the United States with both undergraduate and graduate studies.

Pricing

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Access to course materials	Available	Available
Access to graded materials	Not available	Available
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Ratings and Reviews

Rated 4.7 out of 5 of 26 ratings

Thoroughly enjoyed the insights and approach!

Excellent introduction to team culture for leaders. Understanding different cultures for businesses in a global stage is essential to build products and services that are true to the cultures of the origin and also destination.

very good and useful course

an excellent course - Greg Urban is an excellent, informed teacher with great techniques for teaching and learning.

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