Introduction
Every institution around the world has its unique culture that defines how various stakeholders relate among themselves and with the external environment. By definition, culture can be defined as the common ideologies, assumptions, values, expectations, beliefs, norms and attitudes that knit a given community together 1988 (Kuh & Whitt, 1988, Pg. 12). Like other institutions, every university has a cherished and unique culture. The culture is steeped in tradition and stems from the history of the institution. This defined tradition, in turn, reinforces university’s history and works to integrate newcomers into the culture by imparting well-defined cultural values. This means that the culture, values and the tradition of the university are not only paramount but they are also instrumental to the institutional wellbeing because they offer continuity and stability. For this reason, this study looks at the culture of George Washington University as reflected and shaped by the colonials in general (athlete teams of the George Washington University). GW has a diverse culture blended in communal and social values and anchored in a strong commitment to the well-being of the human.
George Washington University Culture Overview
The culture of the institution is influenced by many factors such as external environment, Institution itself, the subculture within the institution, and individual actors (Kuh & Whitt, 1988). This is true of the George Washington University, hereafter GW. GW is dedicated to furthering the wellbeing of the human. GW values a student-focused, dynamic community stimulated by the intellectual and cultural diversity that built upon a foundation of openness, creativity, and integrity to exploit the new ideas which are shaped by the external environment where the university is located in culturally diverse National Capital Area (Washington DC). The University is committed to excellence in dissemination, creation, and knowledge application. To meet is the mission of providing and promoting lifelong learning process from both integrative and global perspectives, the University offers a stimulating intellectual environment for its diverse faculty and students. By nurturing teaching excellence, GW offers an outstanding learning experience and acts as a catalyst for creativity in sciences, arts, and professions. The culture of the university is represented in many dimensions and symbols, which include color, songs, mascot, values, beliefs, and competitive tradition.
The GW athletes culture overview
According to Schien 1985, the culture can be looked through a conceptual hierarchy that consists of three levels, that is, artifacts, values and basic assumptions and beliefs. The culture of the George Washington athletes is looked at in light of these hierarchical concepts as it relates to the university’s culture.
- Artefacts
Kuh and Whitt (1988 p. 16) noted that meanings are usually stored in symbols. Artifacts act largely as symbols of culture by repr…………………………..
