Draft 7/29/15

Culture, Organization and Technology

PUBP 503 001 Fall 2015

Bonnie Stabile, PhD

Research Assistant Professor

School of Policy, Government and International Affairs

George Mason University

Course Information

Meets: Wednesdays, 4:30 – 7:10 pm, Founders Hall, Room 476

Office Hours: Thursdays, 6:00 – 7:00 pm, FH 652

Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 3:00 – 4:00 pm, or by appointment.

Contact: Email bstabile@gmu.edu; or phone 703 993-8566

Course Description

Effective policy analysis, program design, implementation and management often depend

on understanding cultures, organizations and technologies and how they interact with one

another. Within both the professional cultures of governmental or business systems, and

the larger processes of organizational, societal or technological change, lack of

knowledge of cultures and organizations, and lack of reflection on the nature and impacts

of technologies, frequently results in conflict or program or policy failure. This course is

designed to provide practical and intellectual skills, not only to help minimize such

failures, but to maximize success in organizational and societal contexts.

This course focuses on the role of culture, organization and technologies in societal,

political, and economic processes, nationally and internationally. Culture, organizations

and technology are seen as dynamic and interactional, often shaping and being shaped by

technological change and one another, and as influenced by, influencing, or otherwise

interacting with the process of globalization.

Thus, the objectives of this course include learning to:

• Understand the framing of policy questions

• Observe and describe culture and organization at the micro and macro

levels

• Observe and describe the role of technologies and their interactions with

organizations and culture in the global context

• Identify cultural enablers and barriers to effective policy development,

program design, and implementation

Students will also be introduced to various methodological skills and will participate in

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selected exercises:

• Organizational and cultural observation and analysis

• Open-ended interviewing

• Participant observation

• Social network analysis

The course teaches students pertinent approaches to the study of technologies,

organization and culture, from the analysis of technologies and organizational structures,

to social networks, to that of belief systems and identities.

Requirements, Grades and Examinations

Writing assignments (see Appendix for descriptions)

Workplace Observation 10%

Cross Cultural Interview 10%

Data Collection 10%

*Research paper 25%

Exam Final 25%

Effort, Participation and Approach 20%

*Students will give 10 minute presentations on the topics of their research papers during

the final class sessions of the semester.

A grade of A or A- indicates sustained excellence and outstanding performance on all

aspects of the course. The grades of B and B+ denote mastery of the material and

very good performance on all aspects of the course. The grade of B- is given for marginal

quality work that is not quite up to graduate level standards. The grade of C denotes work

that may be adequate for undergraduate performance, but is not acceptable at the graduate

level. The grade of F denotes the failure to perform adequately on course assignments.

The class participation grade takes into account a student’s presence in class and

contributions to the course dialogue. Conscientious participation entails:

- earnest discussion and demonstrated knowledge of assigned readings

- application of course concepts to relevant current events or the work

circumstances and experience of individual students

- courteous, professional, and respectful dialogue with course colleagues

If you must miss more than one, or perhaps two, classes, you can mitigate (but not

eliminate) the negative impact on your grade by submitting a written synopsis of 750

words about the missed night’s readings.

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All written work is expected to be of the highest quality, representing both grammatically

correct and carefully considered analysis. Elements of central importance to sound

analysis include adequate depth, breadth, relevance and clarity of the concepts

considered.

Assignments must be submitted on time to receive full credit.

Finally, even if you do not regularly use your GMU e-mail account, be sure to open it and

place a forwarding address to the account that you regularly use so that you can get GMU

and class announcements. Also be sure to empty your account occasionally, because if

you do not and it exceeds the limit, you will not receive incoming e-mail until you have

cleared the space.

Citation Rule of Thumb

If you use more than 3 consecutive words of another author or speaker, put them in

quotation marks and cite.

The SPGIA Policy on Plagiarism

The profession of scholarship and the intellectual life of a university as well as the field

of public policy inquiry depend fundamentally on a foundation of trust. Thus any act of

plagiarism strikes at the heart of the meaning of the university and the purpose of the

School of Public Policy. It constitutes a serious breach of professional ethics and it is

unacceptable.

Plagiarism is the use of another’s words or ideas presented as one’s own. It includes,

among other things, the use of specific words, ideas, or frameworks that are the product

of another’s work. Honesty and thoroughness in citing sources is essential to professional

accountability and personal responsibility. Appropriate citation is necessary so that

arguments, evidence, and claims can be critically examined.

Plagiarism is wrong because of the injustice it does to the person whose ideas are stolen.

But it is also wrong because it constitutes lying to one’s professional colleagues. From a

prudential perspective, it is shortsighted and self-defeating, and it can ruin a professional

career.

The faculty of the School of Public Policy takes plagiarism seriously and has adopted a

zero tolerance policy. Any plagiarized assignment will receive an automatic grade of “F.” This may lead to failure for the course, resulting in dismissal from the University. This

dismissal will be noted on the student’s transcript. For foreign students who are on a

university-sponsored visa (eg. F-1, J-1 or J-2), dismissal also results in the revocation of

their visa.

To help enforce the SPP policy on plagiarism, all written work submitted in partial

fulfillment of course or degree requirements must be available in electronic form so that

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it can be compared with electronic databases, as well as submitted to commercial services

to which the School subscribes. Faculty may at any time submit student’s work without

prior permission from the student. Individual instructors may require that written work be

submitted in electronic as well as printed form. The SPP policy on plagiarism

is supplementary to the George Mason University Honor Code; it is not intended to

replace it or substitute for it. (http://www.gmu.edu/facstaff/handbook/aD.html)

Students with Special Needs

If you are a student with a disability and you need academic accommodations, please see

me and contact the Disability Resource Center (DRC) at 993-2474. All academic

accommodations must be arranged through the DRC.

Weekly Reading and Assignments*

*All chapters from books and most articles will be available via E-Reserves.

Session 1 (September 2): Introduction to the Topic and Overview of the Course

Professor Wedel’s co-authored article on an anthropology of public policy describes the thinking behind her development of this course in collaboration with colleagues for the Masters in Public Policy Program. Tonight we will discuss the importance of the themes of culture, organization and technology, and the methodologies we will use to explore them. We will also begin discussion of two primary areas of inquiry in which we will examine these themes: Women’s Issues and Food Systems. Pollan, Michael. “Forward,” Food Politics: How the Food Industry Influences Nutrition

and Health by Marion Nestle (Berkley: University of California Press, 2013) and both

Prefaces by Nestle, pp vii-xxii.

Torregrossa, Luisita Lopez. “The Internationalization of Women’s Issues,” The New

York Times, (January 8, 2013). Available at

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/09/us/09iht-letter09.html?_r=0.

Wedel, Janine, Cris Shore, Gregory Feldman and Stacy Lathrop. “Toward an

Anthropology of Public Policy,” Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social

Science, Vol. 600, The Use and Usefulness of the Social Sciences: Achievements,

Disappointments, and Promise (Jul., 2005), pp. 30-51. Available via E-Journals.

Session 2 (September 9): Tools of the Trade: Methodologies for Investigating

Cultural, Organizational and Technological Elements of Policy Issues

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Geertz, Clifford, “Thick Description: Toward an Interpretive Theory of Culture,” chapter

1 in The Interpretation of Cultures, (New York: Basic Books, 1974), pp. 3-30.

National Science Foundation, “Overview of Qualitative Methods and Analytic

Techniques,” Chapter 3: Common Qualitative Methods. (2003). Available at

http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/1997/nsf97153/chap_3.htm.

Schutt, R. K., "Qualitative Methods: Observing, Participating, Listening," Investigating

the Social World: The Process and Practice of Social Research, 3rd ed., (Thousand Oaks,

CA: Pine Forge Press, 2001), pp. 263-307.

U.S. Government Accounting Office, Ethnographic Studies Can Inform Agencies’ Actions, GAO-03-455, March 2003, (see especially pp. 1-14). Available at

http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d03455.pdf

Practitioner example: Richard Seel, "Describing culture: From diagnosis to inquiry," Oct

2001, http://www.new-paradigm.co.uk/describing_culture.htm and

"Organizational culture check list," http://www.new-paradigm.co.uk/checklist.htm

Session 3 (September 16): Cultural Objects and Cultural Objectification?

Workplace Observation Due

In this session we will consider some basic definitions of culture, and how culture and values influence gender roles, policy positions and life outcomes, particularly for women. As a central expression of human values, religion is a critical component of culture. Martha Nussbaum’s work raises some key points in this realm, while Wendy Griswold offers the “cultural object” and “cultural diamond”

as “conceptual tools… for organizing our thinking and investigation” (17).

Griswold, Wendy. “Culture and the Cultural Diamond,” Cultures and Societies in a

Changing World (Pine Forge Press, 1994), pp. 1 – 17.

Nussbaum, Martha C. “Women and Cultural Universals,” in Sex and Social Justice

(Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999), pp. 29 - 54.

Nussbaum, Martha C. “Religion and Women’s Human Rights,” in Sex and Social Justice

(Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999), pp. 81 - 117.

Session 4 (September 23): The Food System and the Nature of Work

Ritzer, George. “An Introduction to McDonaldization,” The McDonaldization of Society

(Pine Forge Press, 1993), pp. 1-22.

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Taylor, Fredrick W. The Principles of Scientific Management, 1911. Excerpts.

Available at http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/pds/gilded/progress/text3/taylor.pdf

Monteiro, Carlos, Jean-Claude Moubarac, Joseph G. Cannon, Shu Wen Ng and Barry M.

Popkin. 2013. “Ultra-Processed Products are Becoming Dominant in the Global Food

System,” Obesity Reviews (Suppl. 2), 21–28, November. Available at

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/obr.12107/epdf.

Recommended:

Nestle, Marion. “Introduction: The Food Industry and ‘Eat More,’” and Parts One and

Two: “Undermining Dietary Advice” and “Working the System” in Food Politics: How

the Food Industry Influences Nutrition and Health, Revised and Expanded with Foreword

by Michael Pollan (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2013), pp. 1-158.

Session 5 (September 30): Techno-Skepticism and Techno-Triumphalism

We use the word “technology” so frequently that we scarcely stop to think about what it means. Rudi Volti provides us with some basic definitional distinctions to inform our dialogue. Marcy Darnovsky explores “Techno-Skepticism and Techno-

Triumphalism” in the realm of biotechnology as we consider the theme of technology

and progress.

Research Paper Proposal Due

Darnovsky, Marcy, “’Moral Questions of an Altogether Different Kind:’ Progressive

Politics in the Biotech Age.” Harvard Law and Policy Review 4, pp. 99 – 119 (2010).

Volti, Rudi. “The Nature of Technology,” and “Winners and Losers: The Differential

Effects of Technological Change,” Chapters One and Two in Society and Technological

Change, 5th Edition (New York: Worth Publishers, 2006), pp. 3 – 36.

Winner, Langdon, “Look out for the Luddite Label,” MIT Technology Review,

(November/December 1997), p. 62. Available at

http://www.technologyreview.com/article/400135/look-out-for-the-luddite-label/

Recommended:

Toyama, Kentaro. 2015. Geek Heresy: Rescuing Social Change from the Cult of

Technology, (New York: PublicAffairs).

Session 6 (October 7): The Politics and Impacts of Technological Artifacts

Cross Cultural Interview Due

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Technology can help us overcome problems such as malnourishment or infertility, yet the technological artifacts that proffer solutions can be politically contentious and prone to unintended consequences and negative externalities.

Almeling, Renee. “Introduction” in Sex Cells: The Medical Market for Eggs and Sperm

(Berkeley: University of California Press, 2011), pp. 1-21.

Hvistendahl, Mara. “Prologue” and “Epilogue” in Unnatural Selection: Choosing Boys

Over Girls, and the Consequences of a World Full of Men (New York: PublicAffairs,

2011), pp. xi-xix, and 249-262.

Stuart, Diana and Michelle R. Woroosz. 2013. “The Myth of Efficiency: Technology

and Ethics in Industrial Food Production,” Journal of Agricultural and Environmental

Ethics, February, Volume 26, Issue 1, pp. 231–256.

Winner, Langdon. “Do Artifacts Have Politics?” Chapter 2 in Whale and the Reactor

(Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1986), pp. 19-37.

Recommended:

Nestle, Marion. “Inventing Techno Foods, ” and Parts Five in Food Politics: How the

Food Industry Influences Nutrition and Health, Revised and Expanded with Foreword by

Michael Pollan (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2013), pp. 295-357.

Session 7 (October 14): Nannies, Sluts, Boys and Bitches: The Role of Rhetoric in

Shaping Thinking and Policy Outcomes

Though objectionable to some, these words are drawn from public policy debates about food, contraception for women, violence against women and women’s leadership. Policy debates are rife with buzzwords that call to mind social constructions to characterize issues and groups in ways that favor particular policy outcomes. These readings will help us consider the role of rhetoric in both reflecting and shaping our thinking on pertinent policy issues.

Clemons, Randy S. Mark McBeth and Elizabeth Kusko. “Understanding the Role of

Policy Narratives and the Public Policy Arena: Obesity as a Lesson in Public Policy

Development,” World Medical & Health Policy 4 2, 2012.

Doan, Alesha E. and Kellee Kirkpatrick. “Giving Girls a Shot: An Examination of

MandatoryVaccination Legislation,” Policy Studies Journal 41 2, pp. 295-318. (scan

only)

Orwell, George, “Politics and the English Language,” in 1984 (New York: New

American Library, 1945, 1981). Available at:

http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/orwell46.htm.

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Session 8 (October 21): Organizational Culture and Leadership

Berman, Jillian. “Even Companies that Sell Tampons are Run by Men,” Huffington Post

(July 24, 2014). Available at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/21/women-

companies_n_5563256.html?utm_hp_ref=tw.

Eagley, Alice H. and Linda L. Carli. “Women in the Labyrinth of Leadership,” Harvard

Business Review (September 1, 2007).

Sandberg, Sheryl. “Introduction: Internalizing the Revolution,” and “Working Together

Toward Equality,” Chapters 1 and 11 in Lean In: Women, Work and the Will to Lead

(New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2013), pp. 3-11, and 159-172.

Schein, Edgar H. “The Concept of Organizational Culture: Why Bother,” and “The Three

Levels of Culture,” Chapters One and Two in Organizational Culture and Leadership,

Third Edition, (Hoboken, New Jersey: Jossey-Bass, 2004), pp. 1-33.

Session 9 (October 28): Networks

Castells, Manuel. “Prologue: The Net and the Self,” The Rise of the Network Society

(London: Blackwell Publishers, 1996), pp. 1-28.

Christakis, Nicholas and James H. Fowler. “The Spread of Obesity in a Large Social

Network over 32 Years,” The New England Journal of Medicine 357 4 (July 26, 2007),

pp. 370-379.

van den Brink, Marieke and Yvonne Benschop. “Gender in Academic Networking: The

Role of Gatekeepers in Professorial Recruitment,” Journal of Management Studies 51 3

(May 2014), pp. 460-492.

Session 10 (November 4): Intercultural Considerations

Data Collection Due

Griswold, Wendy. “Culture and Organizations: Getting Things Done in a Multicultural

World,” Chapter 6 in Cultures and Societies in a Changing World (Pine Forge Press,

1994), pp. 116-137.

Hofstede, Gert and Hofstede, Geert-Jan, “He, She and (S)he,” Chapter 4 in Cultures and

Organizations: Software of the Mind 2nd edition (New York: McGraw-Hill, 2005), pp.

115-162.

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Session 11 (November 11): Social Capital

Lowndes, Vivien. “Getting On or Getting By? Women, Social Capital and Political

Participation,” British Journal of Politics and International Relations 6 1 (February

2004), pp. 45-64.

Sanyal, Paromita. “From Credit to Collective Action: The Role of Microfinance in

Promoting Women's Social Capital and Normative Influence,” American Sociological

Review 74 4 (August 2009), pp. 529-550.

Session 12 (November 18): Violence Against Women at Home and Abroad

We’ll apply what we’ve learned in our study of culture, organizations and technology to diagnose, address, and consider the implications of the distressing incidence of violence against women on college campuses and in the international community. You will contribute to our study by reporting on the incidence of sexual violence on your undergraduate campus, and the mechanisms in place or planned for contending with the problem.

Peer, Basharat. “After a Rape and Murder, Fury in Delhi,” The New Yorker (January 2,

2013). Available at http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/after-a-rape-and-

murder-fury-in-delhi.

U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Financial & Contracting Oversight – Majority Staff.

Sexual Violence on Campus: How Too Many Institutions of Higher Education are

Failing to Protect Students (July 9, 2014). Available at

www.mccaskill.senate.gov/SurveyReportwithAppendix….

(November 25 – no class meeting: Happy Thanksgiving!)

Session 13 (December 2): Student Research Presentations

Research Papers Due

Final Distributed

Session 14 (December 9): Student Research Presentations

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Final Due

Appendix: Description of Writing Assignments and Participation Expectations

A. Participation: All students are expected to actively participate in and contribute to

the course dialogue. To be prepared for each session’s discussion:

1. Write a brief statement encapsulating, in a sentence or two, the overarching

theme of the evenings readings, and be prepared to share it.

2. Identify a quote of significance from the reading that really strikes you and that

you think warrants further examination and discussion.

3. A few times during the semester, bring an article from the popular press to our

attention on an issue that illustrates course themes, or might be usefully examined with

course frameworks or methodologies.

4. Consider using Twitter to share articles and insights on topics of interest to our

inquiry. I’m @bstabile1.

B. Written Assignments: All writing assignments should be submitted to the

instructor in electronic form (sent as a Word document email attachment titled with your

last name, course number and assignment, as follows: “Smith 503 Research Paper”). All

should use standard margins, be double-spaced and typed in a 12 pt font.

1. Workplace Observation

Explore either your current workplace or an organization where you have considerable

experience where you regularly volunteer. Examples of organizations (other than the

workplace) that you might consider include community, political, or religious

organizations (church, synagogue, mosque) and civic, health, or sports clubs.

Participant Observation and the “Rules of the Game”

Select at least 4-6 specific extended periods of time that you intentionally focus on your

ethnographic observations in the organization. Be sure that at least a few of these times

would be considered typical occurrences/interactions, such as weekly staff meetings or

monthly reporting sessions. Carry out “participant observation” and record your

observations. Include observations related to relevant cultural patterns that we are

studying during the semester, such as use of language, framing, metaphor, social

networks and brokers.

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What do you notice? How does the organization work? What is happening? How do

people behave? Include observations in not only times and places and with people that

are a part of your normal routine, but also include some observations in other settings or

times in your organization. Do some informal interviewing as one aspect of your

observations. Ask questions. Include observations of written and printed materials that

are intended for internal or external use, such as annual reports or typical e-mail

messages.

Describe the “rules of the game” in your organization. How does the organization differ

from other organizational settings in which you have worked or participated? Which

activities, contacts, and communications are encouraged? Which ones are discouraged?

Think of this part of the exercise as if you were instructing an outsider on how to behave

and perform successfully in your organization.

Include descriptions of any pertinent artifacts or cultural objects. What does the physical

presence of the space and the objects in it tell outsiders and employees about the culture

of the organization?

This report is due September 16th, and should be 3-5 pages in length.

2. Cross Cultural Interview: The Experience of Gender

This assignment is to interview either:

1) a person or family that has immigrated to or emigrated from the United States, or

2) someone who has conducted extensive business, either private sector, government

or military, in another country.

The object is to understand the perspective of immigrants as they encounter differing

gender roles and expectations between cultures; the perceived influence of value systems;

how they adapted to any new expectations regarding gender roles; and how they managed

conflicts about values and culture that may have arisen in this realm, including those

affecting their sense of self, family and place.

1. Prepare an interview protocol, or list of questions, that you’d like to ask. These

questions should be structured to progress logically through the interview, but also

permit open-ended responses, which are sometimes very revealing and useful. You

are basically trying to elicit from your respondents the meaning they attribute to their

experience, the deeper story of their lives as immigrants/emigrants.

2. Interview protocol questions could include topics such as the following:

aspects of life back home

ethnic, social, educational,

economic background and

status

employment, occupation or

profession

family size and composition

religion or other belief system

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reasons of

immigrating/emigrating:

economic, political refugee?

social networks of family,

friends, co-workers

destination situation, housing

job or employment

challenges of adjustment

school experience

A write up of the interview, with the interview protocol provided as an appendix,

is due October 7th and should be 3-5 pages in length.

3. Data Collection

Report on the incidence of sexual assault on the campus of your undergraduate college or

university. Provide any available statistics, a description of the institution (public/private,

religious affiliation, size, location) and what protocols are in place for reporting and

adjudicating incidents of sexual assault. For instance, is there an informational website,

are there peer educators, etc.

This report should be just 1-2 pages and is due on November 4th.

4. Research Paper Guidelines

The research paper should examine a policy issue in the context of its cultural,

organizational or technological influences. Literature from the course syllabus, or related

literature, may be used in the analysis. Each paper should cite several peer-reviewed

journal articles, among other sources. A standard research format is recommended; that

is, the paper should have a research question and a hypothesis or hypotheses, cite

evidence, apply analysis and include a consideration of the policy implications of its

findings. The paper should be about 12 pages in length with standard margins, be

double-spaced and typed in a 12 pt font.

A proposal for the paper is due September 30th. The proposal should include a

well-written paragraph describing the topic, and a preliminary bibliography of at least six

meaningful, properly cited references. The paper itself is due in class on November 19th

in electronic form (sent as an email attachment titled with your last name, course number

and assignment, as follows: “Smith 503 Research Paper”). Finally, each student will give

a brief presentation on his or her topic in class on December 2nd or December 9th. Each

presentation should be ten minutes in length, including time for questions.