Teacher email explanation of assignment below.
Part 1. Culture Code
Why devote an assignment component to Culture Code? The best answer to this is a single word with which we’re all only too familiar: globalization. But it’s also a word possessing implications that we don’t often consider–such as, How does globalization affect each of us as individuals? and How can each of us both contribute to and benefit from globalization? Though we see ourselves as leading lives of full independence (a notion that COVID-19 now may well have us questioning), the “‘under-appreciated ‘interconnectedness’ of our lives” merits personal inquiry, and is the central idea on which this option is based.
How will the assignment for both Culture Code and Iconic Branding be conducted? This one is easy (not to mention redundant!). You may share your responses for both Ethics and Knowledge Building in the form of an e-mail, or–if you prefer–another program, such as Word, PowerPoint, or Prezi. Note that because this assignment is intended to fulfill only the attendance/participation component of your grade, please consider the assignment as a kind of mini (or micro) presentation that you might make in class. Accordingly, what’s being asked for here is a succinct delivery of your perspective–so you need not worry about authoring lengthy, refined sentences to share that perspective. Bullet points, not “style points” are what’s called for here.
What will the Culture Code option involve? .
In terms of PowerPoint slides, we’ll look at Clotaire Rapaille’s “Culture Code,” which is attached. These slides represent a concise summary of the work Clotaire Rapaille devotes to his book bearing that title.
In terms of Video links, you’re asked to look at the following TED videos, one of which (Tony Robbins) focuses on the questions to ask of yourself to lead a rewarding life, while the second (Jessica Jackley) centers on one young woman’s inspirational journey to finding her own purpose in life–and in turn, to helping others find their own purpose–through following the principles of Grameen Bank founder and Nobel Prize recipient Muhammad Yunus:
Here’s the link to the Tony Robbins TED talk: It’s called “Why We Do What We Do” (time: 23:12)
Here’s the link to the Jessica Jackley TED talk. It’s called “Power, Money–and Love” (time: 18:33)
Summary of Culture Code: Clotaire Rapaille has devoted a significant part of his career as a corporate consultant (he has ties with more than half of the Fortune 500 companies) to evaluating how individuals in different cultures interrelate with one another, and how organizations can better appreciate and gain benefit from the distinctions between social practices and business practices among different cultures. Jessica Jackley–who is much (much!) younger than Clotaire Rapaille–has experienced as an individual some of the insights that Clotaire Rapaille explored as an academic, as reflected in her decision to leave behind her comfortable corporate life and move to East Africa to learn about microlending, the financial practice (focused on individual entrepreneurship in typically impoverished regions) that Muhammad Yunus created through Grameen Bank. Taken together, the life paths of Clotaire Rapaille and Jessica Jackley help us understand the ways in which taking on something new–by situating ourselves in the midst of cultures very different from our own–can lead to growth in personal perspective and business insights that might not otherwise have been attained.
PART 1 (CULTURE CODE): THE ASSIGNMENT. Now for the heart of the matter. For the Culture Code part of this week’s assignment, your response should use expanded bullet points (or very brief paragraphs) to address the following:
Background. Imagine yourself as a rising young executive within an organization (the business profile of the organization is COMPLETELY adaptable to your needs, and can range from a nonprofit centered on the arts to a consumer-products-oriented marketing company to a major financial institution–or to anything else that might represent a match with your career plans as you now foresee them, including an entrepreneurial business that you’ve launched and are now planning to expand to another part of the world).
Assume that your organization has asked you to choose an international location where you will spend the next three to five years of your career. While you might be initially reluctant to accept an international assignment, you also know that you’re young enough to exercise flexibility as your career unfolds–and you know, too, that nearly every highly successful professional has international experience on their resume.
Please use expanded bullet points (or very brief paragraphs) to address each of the following:
1. Choice of International Environment.
— Which international location would you choose to work at (imagine that your organization has branches in operation throughout the world from which to choose)?
— Why would you select that specific environment?
— What would you expect to gain from that environment on both a short-term and a longer-term basis (i.e., lasting after your 3-5-year assignment has concluded)?
— Which personal aptitudes and attributes do you believe you have to contribute that would enable you to succeed in that environment, both professionally and personally?
2. Problematic Issues. Lastly, what specific problems do you anticipate encountering in the international environment you’ve chosen (viewed from both social and business perspectives), and how do you believe you might overcome them?
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Part 2. Iconic Branding
Why devote an assignment component to Iconic Branding? In a sense, you’ll already have explored–albeit unconsciously–iconic branding through two of our major assignments, Evolving Self and Necessary Upheaval (if you’ve already begun them, that is), both of which relate to self-inquiry as the first step on the path to self-realization (and self-maximization). Iconic branding is a form of marketing that differs from classical marketing (or “onion-skin” marketing) models in that it emphasizes the unique personal characteristics of a brand, rather than the utility/function that the brand has for its consumer audience, as you’ll see from the PowerPoint slides developed from Douglas B. Holt’s “How Brands Become Icons,” which I’ve attached. While it is extremely difficult, if not impossible, for an individual to brand himself/herself in accordance with the classical marketing model, Douglas B. Holt explains how smaller brands (and individuals) can become successful by recognizing their personality traits (rather than their utility) and identifying just how they fit within the larger world–that is, the world beyond mere consumption. As a result, there are clear parallels to be drawn between iconic branding and your Evolving Self and Necessary Upheaval projects, both of which serve to help define just who you are.
Knowing yourself–strengths, weaknesses, and all points in between–is, I believe, the most essential component of personal and professional success. In addition, because this assignment component will ask you to consider an ongoing personal challenge (e.g., perhaps cited as one of the “weaknesses” you’ll devote a slide to in the Evolving Self project) that you face–and the strategies you might employ to reduce or eliminate it–what you’re asked to consider for this Non-Major project component closely parallels the work you might undertake for the Individual Option within the Professional Analysis & Recommendation project, which is the most significant project you’ll be responsible for completing during our time together in COM3150.
How will the assignment for both Culture Code and Iconic Branding be conducted? This one is easy (not to mention redundant!). You may share your responses for both Ethics and Knowledge Building in the form of an e-mail, or–if you prefer–another program, such as Word, PowerPoint, or Prezi. Note that because this assignment is intended to fulfill only the attendance/participation component of your grade, please consider the assignment as a kind of mini (or micro) presentation that you might make in class. Accordingly, what’s being asked for here is a succinct delivery of your perspective–so you need not worry about authoring lengthy, refined sentences to share that perspective. Expanded bullet points (not “style points”) or brief paragraphs are what’s called for here.
What will the Iconic Branding component involve?
In terms of PowerPoint slides, please review the Iconic Branding slides (which are attached). These slides explain how iconic branding (also known as cultural branding) differs from traditional marketing practices.
In terms of Video links, you’re asked to look at the following (all very brief) videos.
First, here are the links to four different international condom commercials (of all things!), which do NOT serve to illustrate the principles of iconic branding, because the specific personality and circumstances of the condom brand are immaterial to the (humorous) message being conveyed:
And now here are links to a particular brand that, in the eyes of Douglas B. Holt, DOES convey iconic branding, because the personality and circumstances of the respective actors play such a pivotal role in the messaging process (unlike the four condom commercials, in which brand personality is subordinate to situation):
Finally, here’s a somewhat longer (26:16) YouTube clip of Douglas B. Holt himself describing the origins of Iconic Branding (which he also refers to as Cultural Branding) and explaining its value as a marketing tool:
PART 2 (ICONIC BRANDING): THE ASSIGNMENT. Now for the heart of the matter. For the Iconic Branding component of this week’s assignment, your response should use expanded bullet points to address the following:
For the Iconic Branding aspect of this assignment, the task you’re asked to undertake will involve yet more introspection.
In this instance, you’re asked to treat yourself as a UNIQUE marketable product, using Douglas B. Holt’s approach: envision yourself preparing to make an “Elevator Speech” or “Elevator Pitch” (that is, explaining yourself succinctly, but also powerfully and effectively) to someone you believe can be inspired to hire you at your “dream company.”
What are your primary qualifications (i.e., your personal strengths) for a role at your “dream company,” as you explore in your Evolving Self?
Beyond your strengths, what is the foremost ongoing challenge you face in your life, and what are the personal strategies you’re deploying to address that challenge? (For example, you might discuss issues like your self-perceived weaknesses in (a) leadership skills or (b) public speaking or (c) subject matter at college that you’re afraid you won’t be able to master, or (d) how you’re striving to make yourself a better team player.) What can you deliver to your “dream company” immediately (i.e., using your strengths to advantage), and what do you anticipate you’ll be able to deliver as your career continues to evolve (i.e., by continuing to work hard to resolve one of your self-perceiving weaknesses)?
In essence, the Iconic Branding assignment can be seen to represent the convergence of all the work we’ve been undertaking this semester.
Accordingly, your response should feature the following:
1. Sharing Your Strengths. Please provide an expanded bullet-point summary of your individual strengths, emphasizing what they have contributed to your life to date.
2. Actively Overcoming a Personal Challenge You CURRENTLY Face. Describe (also in expanded bullet-point form) an ONGOING personal challenge that continues to confront you, but that you’re working very hard to resolve (because it could adversely impact your career success). Please describe the steps you’ve taken, are taking, or plan to take in order to minimize or eliminate this problem.
3. Leveraging (a) Your Strengths and (b) Your Willingness to Actively Address Your Personal Challenge (rather than ignore it). Finally, and most important of all, use a CONCISE (i.e., brief) paragraph to explain how these characteristics–your individual strengths and your ongoing quest to successfully mitigate a major challenge in your life–enable you to contribute to your “dream company” immediately and in the long run.
