The strategy I selected for this assignment, Strategies for Building Culture, was one I suggested when working in a corporate environment. The central premise was to streamline procedures, open communication flows and develop cross-training to best optimize the current workforce and processes. Our department was made up of groups assigned based on their specific specialization. Each group had a supervisor and above all a department manager. Each group contained subgroups ranging from leaders who were strong in their specialization, middle/general workers who lacked the basic knowledge or skills to fill higher roles, and support workers who were generally temporary employees. My role was as a subject matter expert (SME) and team leader in a specialized product type with clients who had highly specific guidelines on how their work was processed. At the heart of all the work were the regulations and laws established by the federal government that were non-negotiable. Our department was non-communicative, protectionist, distrustful, stagnant, biased, wasteful and, above all, limited by lack of opportunity. We were a culture of waste, resistance and lack of progress. Strategies needed to be brought to top management to change the culture for the betterment of all. Engaged employees would be more productive, productive employees would feel valued and recognized collaborators, and valued employees would be more adaptable to change. As I progressed in my role, I began to notice procedures that were outdated, time-consuming, wasteful of company resources, and furthermore, rejected and overlooked opportunities in the workforce pool. Supervisors were very resistant to change and suggestions were…half paper…and departmental rewards were issued and approved by upper management. In retrospect, I would have to say that the greatest success came from cross-training opportunities and the ability of employees to improve their work performance with a limitation resulting only from their own motivation to learn. As I recently learned, the PLC that was established still exists within the department, understandably so; it has been adapted and changed over time, as most of these types of programs generally are. Works Cited Gregory, G.H. (2008). Differentiated teaching strategies in practice. Thousand Oaks, CA:Corwin Press.Nichols, M. (2002). Principles of best practice for 21st century education. EducationalTechnology & Society, 5(2), Retrieved from http://www.ifets.info/journals/5_2/discuss_summary_april2002.html DOI: ISSN 1436-4522