UK JMU SCOM Study Abroad Trip

 Dr. Johnson and the dictionary By: David Cianci The dictionary I had no idea that Dr. Johnson was the person who created the dictionary. I assumed the dictionary was created hundreds of years before it was actually created. I also assumed that the first every dictionary was created during the times of Mesopotamia or the Egyptians. They had elite forms of communication, why would they not have a dictionary. Anyway, I cannot believe that one man was the sole creator of the dictionary. It must have been so exhausting to write out so many words for years upon years. I respect him for his grit and tenacity to do such an important job for the future generations to use.  My thoughts on the non-profit I think the non-profit of Dr. Johnson's house is great. I believe a non-profit that pursues high excellence in education and scholarship opportunities for bright students from underprivileged backgrounds is very important for our society. Some people are born into a low level of wealth ...

 The only outdoor theatre in London By: David Cianci Organizational culture within The Globe  When analyzing Edgar Schein’s model of organization culture and cultural change, he discusses that a difference arises between the desired and the prevailing culture, cultural interventions should take place. At the globe theatre, the tour guide mentioned that Shakespeare did not allow women to act in his plays. Once he passed away, women were slowly given roles in his plays, which has led to today where many women are playing very prominent roles in his plays. A difference I noticed is in the United States I never noticed outside Stadium theaters to be prominent such as the type of theater The Globe is meant to be. The Globe is more of a professional outdoor stadium compared to the ones offered in the United States.  I highly recommend going to see a Shakespeare play at The Globe the link is below to find a show to go see https:/...

 Advertisement heaven By: David Cianci Organizational culture within The Museum of Brands   A quote from Three Cultures of Management: The Key to Organizational learning depicts the embodiment of The Museum of Brands mission. The quote reads, “A culture is a set of basic tactic assumptions about how the world is and ought to be that a group of people share that determines their perceptions, thoughts, feelings, and to some degree, their overt behavior.” The Museum of Brands was created to share all the cultures in British life so people could understand the thought process of advertisement in every era dating back to the Victorian Era. At home there is no museum close to The Museum of Brands. This is purely unique for its creativity and rich historic collection of different types of advertisements companies portrayed.  The Museum of Brands is an organization that wants to open the mindsets of all cultures to understand the history of advertisements that once were and still...

 The greatest former monastery By: David Cianci Organizational culture within Westminster Abbey -           When discussing a cultural analysis of the value of reflecting on images or metaphors, it is very strong what is displayed at Westminster Abbey. A metaphor that captures the assumptions we hold about ways to think and communicate is the fact that Westminster Abbey looks and feels like a church, but it was originally made to be a Benedictine Monastery. The organization gives off the appearance of the church and will never show that it used to originally be a Benedictine Monastery unless the organization speaks upon its history.   Westminster Abbey as on organization has maintained a reputable image. They have done this through preservation of the church, marketing of the brand for tourists to visit while in London and, act welcoming in their actions through respectful and polite manners.  Myself in front of Westminster Abb...

 The future of how we grow food By: David Cianci Organizational culture within Growing Underground The article the importance of being discusses how if an organization suppresses information within upper management, then the company will receive a very narrow view of opinions that influence the company. This causes trust to decrease within all level of employees within the organization because information is not shared freely. Growing Underground does not have this problem at all, which is why they are a thriving up and coming company. The CEO of Growing Underground made a point that information is shared freely from top to bottom which has developed a trusting community with all the information that needs to flow within the company to make it excel. All the employees at Growing Underground feel safe with open and direct communication with anyone in the company. Here is a picture of myself in their growing facility Organization culture continued When using Schein’s three levels of ...

 A taste of the British Government By: David Cianci Big Ben I must say, when I first saw Big Ben from outside, I instantly thought it was the most beautiful and unique government building I have ever seen. The famous clock tower and Big Ben is my favorite part of the building because I believe that extra height gives the building more context in London's skyline. It was hard to keep my eyes of the building because I knew I would never get the opportunity to see another government building quite like Big Ben.  Here is a picture of myself inside of Parliament Operations of the British Government When I walked inside of Parliament, I was met with a behemoth of a ceiling which was quite immaculate. I felt like I was in a Roman Catholic church at first. As I walked through Parliament, I was met with hallways that I imagined to be stereotypical British Government offices. I instantly recognized the main Parliament building where the government officials go to discuss policies and bi...

England's premier football Stadium By: David Cianci Organizational culture within Wembley Stadium In the article differences in Corporate Culture in the UK vs US, they discuss how American corporate culture has a strong reputation for being customer-centric that provides honest and positive communication. I believe that the Wembley Stadium organization tried to exactly exemplify that culture. This most notably because of the huge success of sports organizations in the US. The difference I noticed of Wembley compared to American Sports Organizations is that Wembley is more focused on the fans to make themselves feel like one of the players while the American organizations focus more on the overall experience. Here is a picture of myself in the Wembley media room My final emotions of Wembley Stadium I enjoyed the Wembley Stadium tour very much. As an avid sports fan and occasional concert goer, I was surprised by how big the stadium was when in...

 A place I want to work when I am older By: David Cianci Organizational culture concepts within Innocent Drinks When analyzing Innocent Drinks as an organization, you will find that they are a company who prides their culture on indirect mechanisms compared to direct mechanisms. Innocent Drinks on their main website page and in their real-life location advertises their core values and mission/goals as a company. Through the tour I received, my tour guide spoke predominantly regarding the guidelines, corporate identity and rites and rituals of the company. This was evident by the examples the tour guide showed us such as the pictures on the walls and the setup of the workspaces. By doing this, Innocent Drinks allowed their direct mechanisms such as their behaviors, opinions, and statues to speak for themselves once you interact with the organization. The values of Innocent Drinks natural, entrepreneurial, responsible, commercial, and generous play a huge role in the identity of the ...

 The city of dreaming spires By: David Cianci Organizational culture within Oxford In the reading the importance of being, it discusses that in communication the idea that how is message is understood is more important than how it is sent out. An argument could be made that during my tour of Oxford, I was being fed constant communication from my guide. I don't have to do anything with that information, I could ignore it for all I care. Instead, I used that information I learned to apply it back into my life to immerse myself in the culture. The culture at Oxford is clearly understood having multiple layers or dimensions of structure. You have the students, the professors, the athletic coaches, the tourism operators, and the workers for the school. An unconscious level of influence is asserted onto the students by the professors and athletic coaches, while the workers at the school have their own strict hierarchy of order to follow depending on their position within Oxford.  Ol...

 Boat trip adventure to Greenwich By: David Cianci Boat ride to Greenwich The boat ride to Greenwich was very relaxing and peaceful for me. I connect well when I am within or on water in some capacity. It was amazing to have the opportunity to see London from a different vantage point than what I was used to on land. My favorite Part of the boat ride was going under the famous London Bridge.  Here is a picture of the London Bridge and I Greenwich meridian line Although I was not able to stand in two different time zones or zero degrees longitude and latitude, I got close enough to take a picture with the official line. I thought it was interesting that the world chose this London suburb to be the whole worlds official coordinate for every countries time zone.  Here is a picture of the Meridian line and I The Cutty Sark Since I was young, I have always had a love for ships whether that be pirate ships or cruise ships. This was neither, but I still enjoyed my stroll around ...

 Amazing Grub in London By: David Cianci My food the first night in London Wow, was I blown away by my food I had on my first day in London. I was severely jet lagged, irritable, and hungry. I knew I had to eat something tasty or it would only get worse. I stopped in at a local pub to eat some classic fish and chips. I was blown away how great the fish tasted. At the time it was the best fish I had ever had and I am personally not the biggest fan of fish. I then had some thick chips on the side which I enjoyed as well. Following that magnificent meal awhile later for dinner, I got hungry again. Andrew and I decided to walk to a charcoal grilled pizza restaurant called Lost Boys. I was skeptical if I would like blackened pizza, nonetheless I was all for trying it. I got a goat cheese pizza with spinach, onions, ricotta, garlic, and balsamic. Some of my favorite pizza toppings. I loved the pizza. The burned dough gave the pizza a new flavor I had yet to experience. I ate the pizza so...

 Harrod/Selfridges/Liberty stroll around the stores By: David Cianci Organizational Culture Concepts within the stores When analyzing UK culture as a variable, I have noticed a cause-and-effect relationship while walking around these stores. The article discusses how it is easy to predict and thus cause specific outcomes. Since I have been dressing up nicely to go to these stores and also be surrounded by other people that are dressed up to par if not better than I dressed, than it is reasonable to predict that while I am in the UK, I will make more of an effort to dress better to maintain the standard of dress that people in the UK dress to, especially in the stores I visited.  Here is a picture of me dressed up as how I imagined a classic Londoner Observations of stores in America and The UK I noticed that in the US, more of a value in shopping is focused on free things such as buy one get one free deal, or free shipping. In the UK, I asked one store attendant how quickly I ...

 Nightlife in London By: David Cianci O'Neill's One prominent bar I and my fellow JMU students went to at night time on a frequent basis was O'Neill's. I loved going to O'Neill's because they offered a diverse array of music that I was not used to hearing, while also mixing in some classical American tunes that everyone loves. I met many people from all walks of the Earth such as people from Brazil, France, India, Romania, and Spain. Being able to meet so many people from different backgrounds allowed me to converse with these people as we shared experiences and opinions based on our upbringings. I felt that being able to connect with people outside of America gave me a new glimpse of what life is like in other countries and how privileged I am to be living and from America.  Here is a picture of my friend Guzman I met from Spain one night.  Ballie Ballerson Another bar I went to at night time was Ballie Ballerson. This bar was very unique compared to any other ...