Tea Plantations in the highlands of Malaysia. Photo by Dr. Md. Munir Hayet Khan
Culture Framework: How Needed is it at Work? By Prof. Jonathan AcuĂąa-Solano, M. Ed. School of English Faculty of Social Sciences Universidad Latina de Costa Rica Saturday, April 28, 2018 Post 315
Some time ago, a friend of mine from Malaysia, Munir, shared a beautiful picture of the arrays of tea bushes in a plantation with me. And by paying attention to its planting patterns, despite the differences in the terrain, I often wonder how Mother Nature provides us with such a beautiful landscape captured by Munir’s eye. And when I relate this to my current working situation and why things get to happen, these arrays can help us visualize what needs to be comprehended in detail to better function within an institution such as the private
university I work for, or any other place where I may get to work in the near or far future. I’ve been working for this private university at my home country for almost 20 years, and being there has given me the chance to experience the understanding of the search and need for a culture framework at work. And having been asked to participate in an online asynchronous training on what a culture framework is has also made me reconsider what I believe as an educator in a higher education institution and as an instructional designer at the binational center where I hold a position, too. A culture framework at any institution where one works helps us all to be aligned with what the institution envisions for its future and helps us all understand what our role in the organization is, like the purpose and meaning of the planting patterns in Munir’s photograph. Things in connection to a company’s culture framework are not random decisions or movements; a tea plantation is not done in a haphazard way. So, what does a culture framework at work do for us employees within an organization? The Laureate Culture Framework training I participated in emphasizes that “the framework answers fundamental questions and ensures that everyone at Laureate is aligned with our movement and working together to achieve our long-term objectives” [CITATION Lau18 \l 1033 ]. If all employees at an institution endorse the company’s culture framework, we are bound to comprehend and embody the goals that the institution attempts to attain. Employees have a clearer set of accomplishments to be achieved as an organization and not just as isolated departments rivaling one another when there is lack of understanding of corporate policies, if any. The organization’s “planting patterns” become a way towards the achievement of goals because they can be traced and tracked by all personnel. The array of planting patterns become clear in the workers’ mindset making them (or all of us) fully operational within an institution. Based on the Laureate Ethics Center (2018), their Culture Framework pillars find their foundation in the Founder’s Mission, Purpose, Long-Range Plans, and Operating Principles. And having to come to think about these pillars in connection to the places where I have worked in my professional life as an educator, I wonder how clear these core ideas (planting patterns) are for all employees at those organizations I have been part of. A company is born
because its founder(s) had (and continue(s) to have) a mission. Companies are not created just because; there is a reason for them to exist. This reasoning for its creation is then linked to the organization’s purpose that needs to be adapted to continue being current in the market and satisfy the need the founder(s) spotted in the market. And for this purpose, long-range plans are set to be achieved within a 12-month period or so. And in other to make these plans come true, the institution must have a set of operating principles that help employees understand how things must be done for the accomplishment of goals. And if we continue to admire Munir’s photograph, we then get to see why the tea plantation, despite the irregularities in the terrain, still looks well-organized. For the sake of an education institution’s well-being, the existence of a Culture Framework must be present. Based on this, the answer to the question, “is it necessary to have a culture framework?” is a resounding YES! As highlighted by the Laureate Ethics Center (2018), they help workers answer “fundamental questions” regarding their role in the organization and what goals are in the company’s future that depend on the joint effort of all departments to be attained. Moreover, the interaction of the four pillars proposed by Laureate help everyone in an institution to get aligned with the its “movement” (their way of being, doing things, and planning). No random planting patterns will be around confusing workers who will probably see only an amorphous set of goals they hardly understand.
References Laureate Ethics Center. (2018). Our Culture: The Laureate Movement. Retrieved May 17, 2018, from Laureate Ethics Center: https://laureateconsole.lrn.com