A Scaffolded Approach to Teaching about Organizational Culture: The Texas A&M Culture Exercise

Organizational culture is a popular topic in introductory management and organizational behavior classes, but teaching about culture in a way to which undergraduate students can relate is a challenge. Furthermore, undergraduate students who are used to lectures and unaccustomed to active learning methodologies may initially be reluctant to actively participate in class exercises. In this session, I describe the Texas A&M culture exercise for teaching about organizational culture in undergraduate, face-to-face classes. The exercise enables students to learn how to diagnose an unfamiliar organizational culture and to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of a strong culture.