Empower People, Elevate Performance
With the Certificate in Organizational Culture Creation from the Knauss School of Business at the University of San Diego, you’ll gain the practical framework — and an executable plan — to empower your employees, unlock your team’s productivity and ignite a thriving organizational culture.
Hybrid Model
Online with 2 Residencies
16 Weeks
Program Length
2026 Spring Start
Set Schedule
$8,500
Per Person
The Challenge in Organizational Culture
Company culture is the lifeblood of a successful organization. But many employees and managers report a widening gap between their company’s stated values and actual behaviors and actions of leadership.
In 1 in 4 organizations, employees say there is little to no alignment between their leaders’ behaviors and the organization’s stated values, and it's been shown that companies with engaged employees outperform those without them by 202%.
What can leaders do to address this misalignment and create a positive, productive culture?
By acting intentionally, leaders can create the alignment needed to empower people, elevate performance and create an extraordinary organizational culture.
A New Program for the Current Moment
The University of San Diego’s Knauss School of Business has designed the Certificate in Organizational Culture Creation for leaders at organizations of all sizes, across both private and public sectors. The program dives deep into six key areas of culture creation, providing the confidence and tools to revitalize and build organizational culture. Unlike other leadership programs, this program directly focuses on each participant’s organization. Participants will develop tailored, faculty-reviewed Culture Creation Plans to bring back and execute at their organizations.
Certificate Format
This program has been intentionally designed for working professionals, so that they can benefit from deep learning without taking too much time away from their main focus— their organization. With our format, participants will bring as much possible back to their organization, in the shortest amount of time possible.
Over a 16-week period, the program incorporates two residence sessions in sunny San Diego, plus six online learning modules, at a cost of $8,500 per person. Organizations are welcome and encouraged to send more than one participant.
An Incredible Send-Off Experience
Team and Culture Building on the Water
The highlight of the final residence session is a single-day collaboration with the University of San Diego’s athletic department. Participants will explore teamwork and culture through the lens of the NCAA Division 1 Women’s Crew Team and coaches on San Diego’s beautiful Mission Bay.
Session Topics
Each module will have one zoom class per week and will include cases, best practices and a deliverable. Together, these deliverables will build and culminate in a Culture Creation Plan and Execution Roadmap tailored for your organization.
Participants will arrive on campus in San Diego, CA to receive and walk through the course overview and launch into their culture plans for the course.
The participants will start with a deep dive into why culture is needed, led by Garry Ridge '01, Former CEO of WD-40 who has also been honored by the San Diego Business Journal with the CEO of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award for his leadership and commitment to fostering a positive culture.
Participants will analyze team dynamics and use contextual leadership techniques to develop a performance plan, including measurable objectives for at least three distinct team scenarios.
Meet Your Faculty
Jacquelyn Brown, PhD, Clinical Professor of Management, Law and Ethics
Participants will draft a culture strategy document that identifies three to five core organizational values and outlines measurable action steps for embedding these values into organizational practices, with specific timelines and accountability metrics.
Meet Your Faculty
Jennifer Miles, PhD, Assistant Professor of Management
Participants will design an action plan that includes at least three initiatives aimed at improving collaboration and competency, supported by measurable indicators such as changes in team feedback scores or participation rates within team interactions.
Meet Your Faculty
Julie Dinh, PhD, Assistant Professor of Management
Participants will create a workforce development plan addressing retention, growth, and succession planning, including three key strategies with metrics such as reduced turnover rates, increased internal promotion percentages, or improved employee engagement scores.
Meet Your Faculty
Devalina Nag, PhD, Assistant Professor of Management
Participants will develop a culture communication plan that outlines at least five key messages, appropriate communication channels for each audience group, and measurable success metrics such as employee survey response rates or engagement levels.
Meet Your Faculty
Participants will formulate an organizational change roadmap, detailing three critical systems or processes to be established, along with metrics for success such as process efficiency improvements or completion rates of implementation milestones.
Meet Your Faculty
Zeki Pagda, PhD
Participants will arrive on campus at the University of San Diego to present their culture plans, attend in-person courses and wrap the course up with a closing reception.
“A high ‘will of the people’ is the sign of a strong culture. Put as an equation, the ‘will of the people’ times strategy equals business success.”
Take the First Step
Organizations today are facing more complex challenges than ever. A positive, productive culture provides the foundation you need to navigate tomorrow's challenges. Schedule a consultation today to see if this program is the right fit for your organization.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! We highly encourage any participating organization to send multiple individuals in order to receive the greatest benefit from the program. Sending multiple individuals in different roles can bring together different perspectives on challenges, enriching the Culture Creation Map and enabling a more coordinated implementation of the plan when you return to your organization.
At this time, we are not accepting individuals not associated with an organization or consultants to register for this certificate.
Yes. Details are forthcoming.
Over a 16-week period, the program incorporates two 3-day weekend residence sessions (Fri, Sat, Sun) in sunny San Diego at the beginning and ending of the course, plus six online learning modules that consist of one zoom class a week.
The cost is $8,500 per person.
No, the course only has two sessions that take place in San Diego, which are over a Friday, Saturday and Sunday.