Workplace artifacts.
Use the following questions to guide your analysis of your chosen workplace artifacts. You are not required to answer each question directly, but they provide key talking points that you could address in your report or presentation.
Guiding Questions
• What is an artifact? Why are artifacts created?
• How do artifacts reflect the norms, beliefs, and values of a culture?
• How do artifacts represent different aspects of society? For example: politics, history, religion, social perceptions, social norms, technology, media, education, and so on.
• How do artifacts change as cultures and societies change?
• Why are artifacts studied? What can we learn from them?
• How could artifact analysis help improve the workplace culture?
• How would you describe your artifacts to someone who isn’t familiar with them?
• Who created the artifacts? Who are the users?
• Where and when were the artifacts created?
• What is the intended use of your selected artifacts? How have they actually been used?
• What was the original message the creator was trying to convey with the artifact? How was the artifact interpreted by others?
• Do these artifacts have the same use or purpose in other contexts?
• How do different stakeholders within the organization interact with and value the artifacts? How would insiders and outsiders to the organization perceive the artifacts?
• Why are these artifacts significant to your workplace?
• Do the artifacts reflect the workplace culture in which they exist?
• How do the artifacts and your organization’s culture relate to one another?
• Do the artifacts add to the understanding of the workplace culture? How?
• How does your workplace culture help you understand the artifacts?
• How might the artifacts be affected by the people and situations that surround them?
• How do the artifacts reflect the norms, beliefs, and values of the organizational culture? How have these changed over time?
