OU IT– ONE UNIVESITYOBSERVING COMMUNICATION & CO-CULTURE

Sahel Kouhi, Max Munchinski, Maranda Ogle, Josh Prewitt & Daisy Valasco (group 1)

What is OU IT???

IT stands for Information Technology

There are two Information Technology center’s in Norman– one located on Campus Corner and the other is located in the Oklahoma Memorial Union, known as One University, which is the one we observed.

The reason they call it “One University" is because this specific store’s branch has a name, while the other branch on Campus Corner has another name.

What is OU IT???

OU IT provides tech support and other services to students at the University of Oklahoma and the public

Recommendations on products and other forms of tech assistance can be found here as well

For instance, if you break your iPhone case and are in desperate need for a new one or are feeling spontaneous enough to purchase a 3D printer– you can purchase either of those items here

When first walking into One University…

Employees mingling with one another printers and making jokes towards one another, therefore,

Co-Culture Characteristics

ValuesFriendly staff membersopen environment

BeliefsIt’s necessary that the employees get along Spend time together outside of One University

Mutual InterestsPoliticsOU Pride– aka a co-culture within a co-culture

Co-culture Attire

In order to maintain a professional impression, the employees have a specific dress code

The dress code makes it more simple for new and current employees to distinguish who is and is not in the co-culture, which can be seen as an in-group member in this circumstanceThe attire can also be beneficial to a

customer (out-group member) that is in need of assistance

Co-Culture Attire continued…

One University employees are required to wear either khakis or jeans along with a black polo or t-shirt

They all appear to wear black shoes, a name tag, and carry around an iPad in hand at all times, too.

Power-Distance of the co-cultureThe distribution of power among the

employees at One University resembles that of a Low-Power-Distance co-culture.

Not one employee holds power over any of the othersApart from the manager

All employees share the same duties, responsibilities, and power in the store and they are not assigned specific jobs.

Power-Distance continued…

Although, each person is given the opportunity to adopt something in the store that interests them, once they find their interest they may become the go-to person for that particular item.FOR EXAMPLE: One employee may find they

have an interest in the 3D Printers. If they become knowledgeable enough with the printers they might be seen as the specialist.

Employees do acknowledge these non-official roles but not as authoritative roles.

3D Printer

In case you were wondering, the 3D printers available in store range from $1,275 to $2,799

Feminine or Masculine?

The IT Store as a co-culture would be more Feminine than masculine for several reasons.

As a group they are very helping and courteous to each other as well as to customers.

They are very soft speaking and polite to each other and customers.

Their overall goal is to serve the needs of customers.

The employees work together to accomplish their goal.

Their merchandise is very fragile and handled with care.

The employees are very clean cut, and dressed to impress, as well as their working environment.

Context of the co-cultureThe clarity and directness among the store

represents a low-context co-culture

This can be seen through verbal communication

There is not many behavioral cues that can be viewed through body languageInstead, the staff members are direct with one

another when a task needs to be completedAlso, when the staff speaks to a customer–

which makes it simpler for the customer to not feel intimidated by the knowledgeable employees which are usually just students and members

of OU Pride

Monochronic or Polychronic?

Considering that the One University store is required to be an orderly organization that is run through the university and OU IT The co-culture is monochronicThere are several sorts of managers that

make sure things are running smoothly at all times

The employees are expected to show up to work on time and failure to do so can lead to no longer having a job This would be considered as irresponsible

Monochronic or Polychronic?

Each member on duty is assigned specific tasks and assists one customer at a timeIn a polychronic culture, staff

members would multitask, instead.

Individualistic or Collectivistic?

Individualist Culture: A culture in which people believe that their primary responsibility is to themselves.

Collectivistic Culture: A Culture in which people believe that their families, and their employers.

Our Co-Culture is Collectivistic because their main goal is to help others and not themselves.

The Galaxy Room

Inside the One University store is a small room with glass doors towards the back, also known as the Galaxy Room

The Galaxy Room is where the 5 panels of Google Earth are located for anyone to view, the managers have meetings, and students of the university are able to have study sessions or do their homework.By having this room in the store, the co-

culture is promoting small-group communication Students, managers, etc.

Uncertainty Avoidance

In the service industry, many companies strive to achieve more for uncertainty avoidance than uncertainty acceptance. This is shown through the planning and structure shown through our culture’s organization.

Example: People bringing in tech issues

The Galaxy Room

The Galaxy Room

Creditshttps://www.flickr.com/photos/universityofoklah

oma/sets/

Richard Russel

Lisa Tomas Store manager of OU IT Store/ One U