Project Overview
For this project, you will analyze artifacts—physical objects made by societies for use by the people who live in them—and describe how the artifacts relate to your workplace culture. Then, you will present your findings in a report.
Competency
In this project, you will demonstrate your mastery of the following competency:
Analyze the relationship between cultural artifacts and societal norms
Scenario
In this project, you will be choosing objects used in a workplace and looking at them as cultural artifacts. These objects can be from your actual workplace, one you are familiar with, or a one where you might like to work in the future. You will analyze how well these artifacts reflect the culture of the workplace they come from and write a report on your findings.
Directions

Your task is to describe and analyze workplace artifacts to show the importance of aligning them to company culture. Artifacts are real, physical objects made by people that embody the ideas of the creators, users, and the culture in which they were made.

Choose two objects that fit the description of artifacts above. Examples of artifacts include training materials, a piece of equipment, a decoration, a business card, a newsletter, or something else.

Analyze the artifacts. Use the questions in the Artifact Analysis Guide to help you do this.

Write a report. In your report:
Identify the type of organization or workplace you used.

Briefly explain why artifact analysis is relevant to workplace culture.

Explain the importance of analyzing artifacts for understanding culture. 
Provide specific examples of ways your workplace could improve its culture based on the results of the analysis.

Describe your chosen artifacts in detail. 

If possible, include a picture of them.
Be sure to identify who created them and who uses them.

Explain the purpose of your chosen artifacts. 

State whether you think the creator(s) succeeded in achieving that purpose.
How do different people interact with the artifacts?

Discuss how the artifacts reflect the norms, beliefs, and values of the organizational culture. 
To do this, compare your artifacts with specific workplace culture statements. These might include a mission statement, motto, vision document, slogan, and so on. Do the artifacts reflect the workplace culture in which they are found?

Your report can be in the format you consider most appropriate. You could create a visual presentation (slides) or a written report. If you choose to create a presentation, you should provide comprehensive speaker notes. Remember to cite any sources you use.
Artifact Analysis Guide
Use these 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.
Rubric Criteria
Guiding Questions
Explains the importance of
analyzing artifacts for
understanding culture,
providing specific examples
of how artifact analysis
could help your company
improve the workplace
culture
•
•
•
Describes chosen artifacts in
detail, including who
created them and who uses
them
•
Explains the purpose of the
chosen artifacts and
whether the creator(s)
succeeded in achieving the
purpose
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
What is an artifact? Why are artifacts created?
How do artifacts reflect the norms, beliefs, and values of a culture?
How do artifacts represent the different aspects of society: politics,
history, religion, social perceptions, social norms, technology,
media, education, and so on?
How do artifacts transform as cultures and societies change?
How are artifacts studied?
Why are artifacts studied? What can we learn from artifacts?
How could analysis of workplace artifacts help improve the
workplace culture? How can you use this knowledge in the
workplace?
How would you describe the artifacts to someone who is not
familiar with them?
Who created the artifacts? Who are the users?
Where and when were the artifacts created?
What were your initial reactions to the artifacts? Are they
something you would like to encounter often?
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 company interact and
value the artifacts? How would insiders and outsiders to the
organization perceive the artifacts?
Why are these artifacts significant to your workplace?
Rubric Criteria
Guiding Questions
Discusses how the artifacts
reflect the norms, beliefs,
and values of the
organizational culture,
comparing the artifacts with
specific workplace culture
statements
•
•
•
•
•
•
Does the artifact reflect the workplace culture in which it exists?
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 impacted 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 overtime?