Cover Letter The Executive Committee, Young Initiatives Group, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia Dear YIGies, With respect

to the opportunity granted to me to conduct interviews with some members of your organization in view of my carrying out a cultural analysis of the organization, I wish to thank every member of the organization for making this possible. The study was a necessary step in my academic pursuits, and with the help of the members of the Young Initiatives Group that granted me an audience, I was able to complete it in good time and with flying colors. The experience I obtained while carrying out this study on your organization will be highly beneficial in my further career pursuits, as I will be conducting similar studies in other organizations as well. Rest assured that no names will be mentioned in future studies without your permission. Accompanying this letter is a report that contains a summary of the cultural analysis carried out on your organization and a few suggestions offered rather subjectively and in good faith. Also, I want to commend your organization for the humanitarian services it is rendering to the people of Jeddah. I thank the executive committee once again for this opportunity that might well serve as the launching pad of my future career. May Allah continue to bless your efforts in bringing smiles to peoples faces in a troubled world. Yours sincerely, Saleh Althobaity

Summary of Young Initiatives Group Organizational Cultural Analysis Report Every organization, large or small, is governed by a set of cultural norms (whether written or unwritten), and these norms define how the organization functions within and how it is seen by an external observer (especially the public). Therefore, the aim of any cultural analysis carried out on an organization is to identify the minute factors that are inherent in these norms and which may hinder the effective communication approaches needed to enhance the activities of the organization. When these factors have been identified, necessary adjustments can be made to improve both on practices that need improvement and on those that should be maintained. Furthermore, such cultural analysis helps an organization to integrate its ethics and values with its structures and practices, allowing it to have a greater impact on society. By conducting interviews with a few members of your organization, I was able to identify some of the cultural practices existing in your organization. These practices range from the meeting times and places, role models, and anthropomorphic qualities, to environment, language, and organizational values, to mention but a few. The findings revealed a great deal about your organizations cultural practices, and for the purpose of the conciseness of this report, I will briefly present the recommendations I can offer based on my findings. Do note that the recommendations are from a subjective angle and were based on what I obtained from the interviews. Firstly, from the various responses obtained from the members that were interviewed regarding organizational rules and values, I deduced that there are no laid-down rules and values. It appeared as if every interviewed member had his or her own rules. Although the mentioned rules were very befitting of the organization, I believe that the inconsistencies present in the responses need to be worked on. There is a need to have a written creed or constitution that every member of the organization agrees to identify with. Maybe such a

document already exists, but not every member has ready access to itor if they have, they have yet to digest the contents. Efforts should be made to ensure that every member understands the constitution of the organization. Additionally, apart from inconsistencies in the rules and values, there were also varying responses to the means and frequency of communication, as well as regarding organizational needs. The meeting intervals stated by the members were different, and there was no unanimous set of organizational needs articulated. I believe that the needs of the organization should be constant and uniform in the responses of the members of the organization; to achieve this, the needs should be discussed in each meeting. Also, the means and frequency of communication should be addressed in the constitution, as I suggested earlier on. These measures will help to present the organization to an outsider as a very efficient one and will help members to work more effectively. The organization will be able to create a stronger statement and also enforce the maintenance of such rules, values, and means of communication. Finally, I believe that the commendable work that your organization is performing would also be appreciated outside of Jeddah, in other Saudi Arabian communities. Although such an endeavor would be fraught with financial and management challenges, it would present the organization in a stronger light in other communities. These challenges may be minimized or completely eliminated by forming effective networks and cooperating with other existing nonprofit organizations. Such fruitful partnerships will help the organization to extend its humanitarian reach directly and indirectly to the rest of the Saudi Arabian community and the world at large.