Organizational Culture and Symbols

1
Organizational Culture and Symbols

• Chapter 12

2
Value of Symbols

• Cope with trauma
• 9/11 Patriotic
• Flags
• Sing on Capitol steps
• Share Interest/Loyalty
• HOGs (Harley Owners)
• Apparel of every kind
• What are symbols associated with your
  organizations?

3
Symbolic Frame Assumptions

• What is most important is not what happens but
  what it means
• Activity and meaning are loosely coupled events
  have multiple meanings because people interpret
  experience differently
• In the face of widespread uncertainty and
  ambiguity, people create symbols to resolve
  confusion, increase predictability, find
  direction, and anchor hope and faith
• Many events and processes are more important for
  what is expressed than what is produced.
• Culture is the glue that holds and organization
  together and unites people around shared values
  and beliefs.

4
Views Through The Symbolic Framework

• Life is more serendipitous than linear
• Symbols embody culture
• Is culture a product or process?
• Do leaders shape culture, or are they shaped by
  it?

5
What Are the Cultural Symbols?

• Nordstrom Department Stores
• Volvo Automobiles
• Continental Airlines
• What cultural symbols are used by your
  organizations?

6
Symbols are

• Myths
• Originate in the founding of the organization
• What myths surrounds Southwest Airlines?
• What myths surround your organizations?

7
Symbols are

• Values
• Define what the organization stands for
• How do values and goals differ?
• What are Southwests core values?
• What are the core values of your organization?

8
Symbols are

• Vision
• Sense of purpose an image of what the future
  might become
• What was E-bay founders vision?
• Henry Ford had a vision that horses would
  disappear from streets and a car would be in
  every yard
• What was Martin Luther Kings vision?
• What is your organizations vision?
• What was the myth surrounding e-bay?
• Why are myths perpetuated?

9
Symbols are

• Heroes and Heroines
• Who does the organization recognize?
• Who does the organization admire?
• Home Depot recognized who?
• Who are the heroes and heroines in our society
  today?
• Who does the Bible teach are heroes?

10
Symbols are

• Stories and Fairy Tales
• More than entertainment
• More than moral instruction
• Medium for communicating corporate myths
• Offer comfort, reassurance, direction, hope

11
Story Telling Serves to

• Pass along corporate traditions
• Train employees
• Empower people
• Recognize accomplishments

• Spread the word
• Have fun
• Recruit and hire the right people
• Make sales
• Develop better managers

12
Symbols are

• Rituals and ceremony
• What is the difference between ritual and
  ceremony?
• Create order, clarity, and predictability - can
  soften grief, celebrate
• What are examples of personal rituals?
• What are examples of corporate rituals?

13
Symbols are

• Ceremony
• Stabilize, convey messages to external
  stakeholders
• What are some religious ceremonies?
• What are their purposes?
• What are some academic ceremonies?
• What are their purposes?
• What ceremonies do your organizations create?
• What are their purposes?

14
Symbols are

• Metaphor, Humor, and Play
• Indirect ways to grapple with issues too complex,
  mysterious, or threatening to approach head-on.
• Make the strange familiar
• What are some Biblical metaphors?
• What are metaphors we teach children?
• What are your organizational metaphors?