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Essay / The George Washington Women in Business Organization
Like all institutions around the world, George Washington University has its own culture. The culture of the university defines the values and traditions that play an essential role in its institutions and how different stakeholders relate to them. Indeed, various departments and faculties at George Washington University (GWU) reflect its culture, including student organizations and clubs as well. This phenomenon can be demonstrated by the example of the organization GW Women in Business (GWWIB). As a subgroup within the GW academic community, it preserves the overall culture of George Washington University, but also has its own goals, "artifacts and values, which may differ from the institutional culture of the 'host' (Kuh and Whitt, 1988, p. 27). ). One of the key objectives of the GWWIB organization is to help young women pursue their professional careers by providing its members with a networking platform with all the necessary recourses. Although the GWWIB embodies the culture of the George Washington Universities organization, its primary goal differs from that of the universities, that of helping female students bridge the gap between academic and professional life. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay The culture of GWU's institution is influenced by a number of factors, but cannot meet all of the interests of GWU students. For example, GW University values a vibrant, student-centered community shaped by the culturally diverse environment of Washington, DC (gwu.edu, 2016). However, as the university has many different establishments, it is not possible to meet all the needs of every student. These institutional voids are mostly filled by organizations founded and led by GW students. With a sufficient number of students sharing the same problem to solve, groups are formed. In other words, student subgroups reflect different “group responses to problems encountered by […] students at the same institution” (Kuh & Whitt, 1988, p. 86). It is therefore important to note that a problem is not a prerequisite for the creation of an organization. Rather, it may be due to students' needs and interests not being addressed by academic institutions. Although GWU offers degree programs such as the “Women's Studies Program” or graduate courses like “Women's Entrepreneurial Leadership,” these are not enough to prepare young women for their future career. In addition to these academic programs, the university offers numerous job fairs and internships and has its own career services center, but it lacked a unique (career) network just for female students. As a result, GWWIB was founded in the summer of 2006 by a small group of senior GWU women who realized the need for an organization where interested women could boost their professional careers (gwwib.org, 2016). Including GWU's values and mission of fostering excellence in academic life and merging practice and theory in forming organizations, culture can be seen in this case as a "process and a product." Kuh and Whitt (1988) stated in their book "The Invisible Tapestry" that culture is a product possessing "the web of meaning contained in its ideologies, norms and values" and a process in which its forms are "communicated to members" (p. 15). Thus, the George Washington Women in Business organization plays an important role in bridging.