Good Essay On Contextual Analysis

Introduction

Every organization possesses its own unique culture that is different from the others. Sometimes changes are required to be made in the organizational culture in order to prevent it from becoming obsolete (Alvesson & Sveningsson, 2007). Organizational culture can be defined as the unique environment of an organization that is transformed by the people working in the organization (Alvesson & Sveningsson, 2007). It shapes a system of shared values and beliefs, which define the way people, should behave while working in the organization. This essay analyzes in depth the characteristics of my context in addition to its organizational culture and re-culturing needs with some suggestions for change.

Characteristics of Organization

Little Scientists Academy (LSA) is one of the oldest educational organizations in Saudi Arabia. This organization comprises four branches spread in major cities across the country. LSA is a private organization that follows a public- private hierarchical education system owned by well-known family business groups. As a rule, consumers vary from three to six years old divided according to their ages into four stages (Toddlers, Kg1, Kg2, and Kg 3). Traditionally, the curriculum and the vision of the organization are to meet the children’s needs by providing pleasant, safe environments and enjoyable learning experiences with peers. Aside from the massive annual income of 5,720,000 Saudi Ryal, about 286 children are divided into 11 classes; each class is forced to hold approximately 26 kids every year. With more than three decades of subsistence, the organization remains strong enough to walk through unfavorable circumstances.
I worked at the largest branch of LSA organization which is located in The City of Mecca. Based on figure 1 in appendixes; the organization is located on a busy street, therefore, the entrance of the building has a unique trend in which cars have to keep track of the inner one-way lane then exit from the other way around. In addition to that, my organization attracts viewers; outside the building, name and logo signs are beautifully written on three walls. Only elite artworks and valued proverbs were hanged on the main hall inside the building.

Organizational Culture

At LSA, the common belief is that children should get a strong grounding in academics to increase their prospects of having bright futures. This is something that is pursued by all staff to ensure that the children master reading and language skills, and they develop numeracy skills. Five and six-year-olds spend more time in classrooms than they do on play zones or at the Music Centre. Strong academic grounding is pursuit at the expense of burying the innate gifts and talents of the children. The children are expected to be fast learners and develop their fluency in English quickly. The teachers go to great lengths to ensure that the academics of the young minds are excellent. Teaching should be a broad-based thing that is deeply focused on developing all facets of a pupil including the academics, the innate gifts and talents (Giles, 2010). The young children should be exposed to a multitude of environments so that their innate abilities and talents are discovered while they are this young. The kids will be at an advantage if they get more play time and the curriculum used is tailored in such a way that it focuses more on discovering their abilities and exposes them to a wide array of phenomena.
Teamwork is something that has not been embraced among staff of Little Scientists Academy. Individual teachers have personal interactive sessions with the kids, and they don’t participate as a team in teaching as well as taking care of the young children. Diverse input from several members of society would be beneficial in enabling the young children to enjoy learning and playing with their peers. For example, a psychologist hired by LSA to offer counseling services can be of use to the teachers who directly deal with the children by enabling them understand behavior patterns of the kids and how to respond to these behavior patterns. Essentially, teamwork is something that will make both teaching and learning by the kids an exciting affair.
Moreover, at Little Scientists Academy, there is immense focus on the welfare of the staff and safety of the children. The people who are part of this organization are the most important resource for its growth and development. Safety for the children is something that is given great priority. The common practice is that every member of staff is actively involved in ensuring all children are safe, protecting them from accessing dangerous sections like slippery floors, electric installations, and the swimming pools. The children who attend this school are extremely young and their safety cannot be compromised. Therefore, the shared belief among every staff of this organization is that children safety is something to be pursued by everyone.

Re-culturing the Organization

There are aspects of the organizational culture of LSA that need to be examined and reviewed accordingly. These elements include building teamwork among staff and using a curriculum that will help to bring out the children’s natural gifts, talents, and abilities. Organizational culture re-structuring is not a one-off affair. It is a slow process that requires training of staff, organizational realignment, and which necessitates strong leadership to achieve (Boleman and Terrence, 2008).
The management at Little Scientists Academy should examine its current and do a projection of the anticipated performance if it tweaked some elements of its culture. LSA should remain to be a learning institution that is focused on adapting the organizational cultures that will help them to grow (Senge, 2006). Moreover, being an educational facility, the needs of its clientele should be fulfilled, and they should focus much more on quality of its programs. The clientele, in this case, are the staff and the kids who are enrolled in this facility. Any culture that the company desires to adopt should maximize what the staff can offer and lead to the emergence of a more enabling environment for the organization to prosper.

Suggestions for Changes

Little Scientists Academy should pay more attention to offering a broad-based education to the kids. They should be offered more play time so that they stay on the self-discovery path. Too much focus on numeracy and language skills is not good enough to ensure the overall growth of the kids. The teachers should involve the children more in outdoor activities such as music, sports, and drawing so as to afford them a chance to learn other interesting things. Actually, the exposure to music, sports, and art subjects of these children can play to their advantage and help the teachers discover their interests and talents even at an early stage. Therefore, outdoor activities are equally important to the learning of these children, and it will help the teachers gauge the abilities and interests of individual child so he or she can tailor his or her teaching to be tune with the needs of each child.
Working as a team is something that is immensely valued at LSA. Guiding the young children in their class work and imparting good character to them is something that requires concerted efforts by all staff. Teachers should work in cohorts especially when dealing with the infants. Working as a team ensures that the staffs develop positive relationships among them which ensure that a harmonious working environment is realized. The managers of the Little Scientists Academy have to show strong leadership by laying the structures that enable the staff to easily form teams. The teachers would easily form functional teams and contribute their efforts towards bettering the learning and growth of young children.
The third suggestion of cultural aspect that should undergo re-culturing is breaking the walls that exist between the staff and management. The management team should easily interact with the staff especially the teachers. By doing this, they will be able to know how teachers perceive the existing culture and how it can be restructured to fit the organization.

Conclusion

LSA has the potential to grow to astronomical heights if only it is restructured some elements of its culture. The existing culture in any organization can be the cause of the downfall or success of an organization (Giles and Yates 2011). LSA only requires inculcating teamwork among its staff and tailoring its curricula to focus on discovering the innate talents within the children. A focus on discovering the abilities of the children and at the same time growing their mastery of language and development of numeracy skills will attract more parents to admit their young kids to this educational facility. In addition, teamwork will enhance the cohesiveness of the staff.

References

Boleman, Lee G & Deal, Terrence E, ‘Reframing change in organizations: training , realigning, negotiating and grieving’, in Bolman, Lee G & Deal, Terrence E, Reframing organizations artistry, choice, and leadership, 4th edn, Jossey, San Francisco, pp. 373-396, 2008.
Giles, David, ‘Developing pathic sensibilities: a critical priority for teacher education programmes’, Teaching and Teacher Education, 26.8 (2010): 1511-1519.
Giles, David & Yates, Russell, ‘Re-culturing a university department: a case study’, Management in Education, 25.3 (2011): 267-290.
Gronn, Peter, ‘Leadership: who needs it?’, School Leadership and Management, 23.3 (2003): 267-290.
Senge, Peter M, ‘Give me a lever long enoughand single-handed I can move the world’, in Senge, Peter M, The fifth discipline: the art and practice of the learning organization, Rev. and updated ed., Random House, London, pp.3-16, (2006).