Building on your assignment from Week 2, this week you will expand on your topic and develop a thesis statement and an outline for your Final Paper.Prepare: This is the second step in writing your Final Paper, so please be sure to re-review the POL201 Assignment Guide and the POL201 Final Paper template within the online classroom. Reflect on the policy topic that you determined last week and review your instructor’s comments and feedback regarding the policy and preliminary research. Review the research articles you found last week and determine what other aspects of the policy still need to be discussed and supported.Reflect: Reflecting on your policy and your previous research, think about how to best structure your thesis (the argument) that you are supporting within this assignment. For this assignment, you will establish your thesis and then outline your paper with your supporting resources. You will utilize your four references from last week and add at least two additional references this week, for a total of six sources for this week’s assignment. At least four of these resources should be from the Ashford University Library. The following resources will help you to use the library effectively to find resources for your assignment:For guidance on using library databases to locate scholarly, peer-reviewed articles click on Help! Need Article (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. and then click the “How Do I Search for Articles” button from the menu.For guidance on identifying the types of sources you can use for academic research, watch this interactive tutorial on Evaluating Sources (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.. Continue the research process and find sources that support your ideas and that can be integrated into your paper effectively. The POL201 Research Guide (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.is designed to help you find sources for your paper. Be sure you make use of this librarian-created resource for your assignment.The Scholarly, Peer-Reviewed and Other Credible Sources (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. table offers additional guidance on appropriate source types. If you have questions about whether a specific source is appropriate for this assignment, please contact your instructor. Be sure that the sources you are utilizing to support your ideas are valid, reliable, and not overly bias. For more information on identifying information bias, watch this interactive tutorial on Subjective and Objective Statements (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site..Write: You will establish and develop a strong thesis for your Final Paper. The thesis (see Writing a Thesis Statement (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.) will serve as the backbone of your Final Paper and should showcase in one complete statement what your policy is, why it is important, and how it relates to policymaking and government program administration within the American national government.Once you have established your thesis, you will then outline (see Outlining (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.) your Final Paper utilizing outline format. When utilizing an outline, be sure to include the elements from the Week 2 assignment and remember to use headings and subheadings. All sentences within your outline should be complete and should help to support your ideas.To complete the assignment, save the Week 3 Outline Worksheet to your computer, fill it out, and submit it via Waypoint. Within the worksheet, you will state your thesis statement, provide an outline of your paper, and integrate the four sources from your annotated bibliography, plus two more sources, into your outline to showcase how these resources support your ideas. Provide a full APA references list with a minimum of six sources. Please be sure to utilize outline format and to support all statements with scholarly research. All references should be listed in full APA format and cited appropriately.

Module 4 - BackgroundORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE AND CULTURERequired SourcesOrganizational CultureHave you ever observed how some organizations just seem to be shining stars in their fields, even if the product or service they produce is not that much different from their competitors? Have you noticed that it seems that they are the ones who are the most successful? Did you ever wonder why? Read the following material on organizational culture for some insights into what culture is, what it does, how it is formed, and how it is taught to newcomers in the organization. This reading is available in the Trident University Library.Flamholtz, E. & Randle, Y. (2011). Corporate Culture: The Invisible Asset. Corporate Culture: The Ultimate Strategic Asset. (pp. 3-25), Stanford, CA: Stanford Business Books.This material on organizational culture type may be particularly helpful as you prepare your Module 4 SLP assignment.McNamara, C. (2000) Organizational Culture. Adapted from the Fieldguide to Organizational Leadership and Supervision. Free Management Library. http://managementhelp.org/organizations/culture.htmOrganizational Structure and DesignThe way an organization is designed and structured can have significant effects on its members and its ability to execute its strategy. In this module we will try to understand those effects and analyze the behavioral implications of different organizational designs.An organizational structure defines how job tasks are formally divided, grouped, and coordinated. According to Robbins and Judge (2014), managers need to address six key elements when they design their organization’s structure:Work specialization – the extent to which activities are subdivided into separate jobs.Departmentalization – the basis on which jobs will be grouped together.Chain of command – the people who individuals and groups report to.Span of control – the number of individuals that a manager can direct efficiently and effectively.Centralization and de-centralization – the locus of decision-making authority.Formalization – the extent to which there will be rules and regulations to direct employees and managers.One way to gain insight into the complexity of organizations and how organizations are structured or designed is through metaphors. For example, using metaphors, an organization can be talked about as if it were a machine or as if it were an organism. The organization that is like a machine is characterized by extensive departmentalization, high formalization, and limited by low formalization, flat hierarchy and the use of cross-hierarchical and cross-functional teams, free flow of information, and decentralization. Each design has advantages and disadvantages. For example, organizations that are like machines are often good at keeping the costs of standardized products or services down, but could inhibit innovation and creativity. Read the excerpt (pp. 98-108) for insight into organizational design and how metaphors can be used to understand how organizations work:Cameron, E. & Green, M. (2009) How Organizations Really Work. Making Sense of Change Management: A Complete Guide to the Models, Tools, & Techniques of Organizational Change 2nd Ed. (pp. 98-108). London and Philadelphia: Kogan Page. http://www.bms.lk/download/GDM_Tutorials/e-books/Making_Sense_of_Change_Management.pdfOrganizational structures are also considered in how they fit or align with an organization’s strategy, mission, and objectives. Traditional structures were divisional structures, functional structures, team-based or process structures, and flexible structures. More recently, organizations have needed to take on more “open boundary” designs. Models of hollow, modular, and virtual organizations describe these “open boundary” organizations. Overall, the key learning here is that the structure selected should match the organization’s strategy – or it will be very difficult for the organization to be successful.The following reading considers organization design in an era of newer strategic considerations such as globalization and changing market dynamics:Narasimhan, A., Yu, H. H., & Lane, N. (2012). Organization design: Inviting the outside in. Retrieved from https://www.imd.org/research-knowledge/articles/organizational-design-inviting-the-outside-in/Aligning culture and structureDesigning an organization's structure involves more than just shifting boxes and lines on an organizational chart. Mootee (2012) offers several critical tests when considering the adequately designing an organization’s structure:The Future Test: Does the design reflect the needs for how a company plans to compete in the future?The People/Culture Test: Does the design adequately reflect the motivations, strengths, and weaknesses of employees?The Competitive Advantage Test: Does the design allocate sufficient management emphasis to the strategic priorities?The Power Test: Does the design provide the desired allocated power to groups/individuals that is linked to the strategic value of the unit or functions?The Agility Test: Is the design adaptable and swift to respond to future changes? (p. 1)It makes intuitive sense that organizational culture and organizational structure should affect each other. Indeed, the way work is coordinated, the way hierarchies are designed, and the way communications are channeled should align with the norms and values of the people who work there. If they do not, there will be tension and conflict between the way people feel comfortable working and the structures that force work to be done in a different way. The following article is an excellent and compelling analysis of why management should consciously insure that culture and structure support each other so that the organization can function as smoothly and effectively as possible.Janicijevic, N. (2013). The mutual Impact of organizational culture and structure. Economic Annals 58(198). Retrieved from http://www.doiserbia.nb.rs/img/doi/0013-3264/2013/0013-32641398035J.pdfOptional SourcesOrganizational CultureDenison, D., Hooijberg, R., & Lane, N. (2012). Building a high-performance Business Culture. Leading Culture Change in Global Organizations: Aligning Culture and Strategy. (pp. 1-23), Hoboken, NJ, USA: John Wiley & Sons. Retrieved fromhttp://media.wiley.com/product_data/excerpt/4X/04709088/047090884X-373.pdfA classic source for an overview of organizational culture is:Schein, E. H. (2010) Organizational Culture & Leadership. 4th ed. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Available in the Trident University Library.Organizational Structure and Design “Guidelines for Organizational Design” assembled by Carter McNamara, PhD, provides library links to several readings on the topic.McNamara, C. (n.d.) Guidelines for organization design. In Free Management Library. Retrieved from http://managementhelp.org/organizations/design.htmMechanistic vs. Organic Organizational Structure: Contingency Theory (2014) BusinessMate.Org http://www.businessmate.org/Article.php?ArtikelId=44Mootee, I. (2012). What is the right organizational design for your corporation? And what test to use to know if you’ve got the right one? Innovation Playground. Retrieved from https://www.futurelab.net/blog/2012/06/what-right-organization-design-your-corporation-and-what-test-use-know-if-youve-gotRobbins, S.P. & Judge, T.A. (2014). Essentials of Organizational Behavior (12th Edition). Pearson.Module 4 - SLPORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE AND CULTUREFor the SLP 4 assignment, you will explore some aspects of an organization's culture, at least as you see it. (Select an organization you have worked with, if possible.) Since the concept of organizational culture is open to many interpretations and classifications, this assessment offers a slightly different approach from your background reading on organizational culture.Required ReadingThe People Group, Based on Gallup Research: What Makes a Great Workplace? Retrieved from https://thepeoplegroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/article-gallup-research-what-makes-a-great-workplace1.pdfMcNamara, C. (2000) Organizational Culture. Adapted from the Field guide to Organizational Leadership and Supervision. Free Management Library. Retrieved from http://managementhelp.org/organizations/culture.htmAssignmentThink about the results from the Gallup Survey for a minute, and how it compares to the Academy, Baseball Team, Fortress, and Club cultures described by McNamara in the Background reading.Then prepare a 2- to 3-page paper addressing:In your opinion, do the Gallup results fit your general expectations or constitute a surprise in some ways? Interpret the results of the Gallup survey in terms of your own experience, either to confirm or to question the results. Compare the Gallup results and your opinions with the McNamara categories.The degree to which the Gallup results and the McNamara information tell you similar or dissimilar things about your organization.Does the Gallup survey and the McNamara categories help improve your managerial understanding and/or skills? What can you infer from the results about how your organization’s culture fits or doesn't fit with you? What (if anything) can you do to make your interaction with the culture more effective?Provide your opinion on whether or not the above two sources in this SLP 4 help you understand the organization and how you cope with it. Do they accurately depict what is needed to analyze a company’s culture?SLP Assignment ExpectationsYour paper will be evaluated using the criteria on the SLP rubric (see the rubric for more detail): Assignment-Driven, Critical Thinking, Business Writing, Effective Use of Information, Citing Sources, and Timeliness.