ABSTRACT
Entering the workplace after many years in school may feel a bit like encountering a strange culture. This chapter talks about coming to grips with our new environment, with an emphasis on learning about our new organization and understanding how to work with people within it. Most practitioners will work with or for an organization. Newcomers to an organization quickly become aware of the distinctiveness of unique culture, and eventually come to appreciate how it helps set the framework within which undertakings – including our own efforts – succeed or fail. The North American organizational landscape is complex enough, but considers what happens when the organization is embedded within a very different societal culture, or when two very different kinds of organizations interact. One of the key determinants of organizational culture is, of course, the leadership. Working with a team will require tact, sensitivity, adjustment, and a sometimes steep learning curve.
