Ceremonies
Ceremonies are special events that in which the members of company celebrate the myths, heroes and symbols of their culture. Ceremonies exemplify and reinforce important cultural norms and values. In sales organizations like Mary Kay and Amway, annual ceremonies are held to recognize and reward outstanding sales representatives. Part of the reason for holding these ceremonies is to inspire sales representatives who have been less effective to adopt the norms and values of their successful colleagues. Whether they personify the "Mary Kay approach" or the "Amway philosophy," the people who are recognized and rewarded in these ceremonies greatly enhance the attractiveness of their companies' cultural underpinnings.
Rites
Often organizational ceremonies incorporate various rites. Rites are ceremonial activities meant to send particular messages or accomplish specific purposes. Rites of passage are used to initiate new members and can convey important aspects of the culture to them. In some businesses, new recruits are required to spend a lot of time with veteran employees and learning about cultural norms and values by listening to these veteran s' stories about their experiences at work. In other companies the rite of passage is merely a brief talk about company rules and regulations delivered by a human resources staff member to newcomers during the first day at work. In the latter case, the rite is more of a formal welcoming and does not really help newcomers learn much about the culture of the firm.
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When employees are transferred or demoted or fired because of low productivity, incompatible values or other personal failings, rites of degradation may draw the attention of others to the limits of acceptable behavior.
Rites of enhancement also emphasize the limits appropriate behavior, but in a positive way. Rites of enhancement recognize increasing status or promotion to a new position in a firm and may range from simple promotion to a new position in a firm and may range from simple promotion announcements to intricate recognition ceremonies such as the Mary Kay and Amway ceremonies previously described.
In rites of integration, members of an organization are given the opportunity to express and share the common feelings that bind them together. In rites of this sort, official titles and hierarchical differences are intentionally ignored so that members can get to know each other as people rather than as managers, staff specialists, clerks or laborers. This can take the form of weekly parties, giving employees the opportunity to chat informally over pizza and drinks. Company picnics, golf outings, softball games and holiday parties can also serve as rites of integration.
Rituals
A rite that is repeated on a regular basis becomes a ritual. A ritual is a ceremonial event that continually reinforces key norms and values. The morning coffee break is a ritual that strengthens important workplace relationships. So too, is the annual stockholder meeting held by management to convey cultural norms and values to company shareholders. Just as routine coffee breaks enable coworkers to gossip among themselves and reaffirm important interpersonal relationships, annual stockholder meetings give the company the opportunity to strengthen connections between itself and people who would otherwise have little more than a limited financial interest in its continued well-being.
Stories
Stories are accounts of past events that serve as reminders of cultural values. Often, the stories are familiar to all employees. As organization members tell stories and think about the messages the stories convey, the concrete examples facilitate their later recall of the concepts presented. Stories provide information about/historical events in the development of a company that can improve employees understanding of the present.
In one organization, employees tell a story about how the company avoided a mass lay off when almost every other company in the industry felt forced to lay off employees n large numbers. The company manged to avoid a layoff of 10 percent of their employees by having everyone in the company take a 10 percent cut in salary and come to work in only nine out of ten days. This company experience is called "The 9 Day Fortnight."
The story of The 9 Day Fortnight vividly captures the cultural value that looking after employees' well-being is the right thing to do. Presumably, employees continue to tell the story among themselves as a reminder that their company will avoid layoffs as much as possible during economic downturns.
Myths
A myth is a special kind of story that provides a fictional but likely explanation for an event or thing that might otherwise seem puzzling or mysterious. Ancient civilizations created myths about Gods and other supernatural forces to explain natural occurrences such as the rising and setting of the sun, the phases of the moon and the formation of thunderstorms. Similarly, the members of an organization sometimes develop fictionalized accounts of the company's founders origins or historical development to provide a framework for explaining current activities in their firm.
Heroes
Heroes are people who embody the values of an organization and its culture. Richard A. Drew was a banjo- playing college dropout working in 3M's research lab during the 1920s. He helped some colleagues solve a problem with masking tape. Soon thereafter DuPont came out with cellophane. Drew decided he could do better than DuPont and coated the cellophane with a colorless adhesive to bind things together - and Scotch Tape was born. In the 3M tradition, Drew carried the ball himself by managing the development and initial production of his invention. Moving up through the ranks, he went on to become technical director of the company and showed other employees how they could succeed in similar fashion at 3M. Heroes, such as Drew, are concrete examples that make the guiding norms and values of a company readily apparent.
Symbols
Symbols are actions, objects or events to which people have assigned special meanings. Company logos, flags and trade names are symbols. The golden arches of McDonald's is a good example. Symbols represent a conscious or unconscious association with some wider, usually more abstract, concept or meaning. In organizations, symbols may also include official titles such as chief operating officer, or special eating facilities. Official automobiles or airplanes may be given symbolic status. Sometimes even the size of an employees office, or its placements or furnishings have special symbolic value.
Symbols mean more than might seem immediately apparent. Despite the fact that a parking space is just a few square feet of asphalt, it may symbolize its holder's superior hierarchical status or clout. It is the ability to convey a complex message in an efficient economical manner that makes symbols so useful and important.
Language too, is a means for sharing cultural ideas and understandings. In many organizations, the language members use is itself a reflection of the organizations particular culture. For example, at many tech companies, a language of "tech-speak" has developed largely because of the technical background of the people who work in this industry. Whatever the source of a common vocabulary, the fact that such a vocabulary exists attests to the presence and acceptance of a shared set of norms and values.
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