Discuss about the Symbols and Corporate Culture for Postmodern Perspectives.
Symbols are a mark or character used as a representation of an object, or a process or a function. Symbols are materialistic in nature and they represent a material object to determine something abstract. These physical items communicate an insight about the corporation’s belief and approach. Symbols can be textual, colourful or graphical in nature or arrangements of a particular asset like furniture, its colour and placement. All these symbols are used by previous leaders of the organisation and enable to create a sense of connection that has a direct relationship with what happens in the workplace. Often we find the symbols at the main door of an organisation or at the reception and sometimes in the main office or conference room of the organisation. These symbols give a sense of oneness to the employees who are working in the organisation and also provide an identity to the organisation which is unique from the other similar corporations (Antonakis & Day, 2017).
Having discussed in brief about the symbols and its presence in the organisation there are certain important factors which describes the significance of the symbols in the corporate culture. These symbols are essential for both the insiders and outsiders. It helps in understanding what it actually means to the group. Further, there are certain corporations which use slogans along with the symbols. Slogans are also a vital part in enhancing the market. It is the sole reason as to why the organisations are tinkering with the symbols and slogans. The new concept of having large space and brand value equals to a position in the market. At times it also happens as the leaders themselves become a symbolic aspect for others and acts as a guiding factor. Henceforth, symbols became an important aspect of any corporation (Waters, 2017).
Regardless of the culture of the company, the values shared, the functioning and the relationships, symbolic view can explain a culture of corporate world in a better manner. Under the leadership theory the communication is considered as a primal step to define the Symbols are used to bring a radical change in the organisation and to break down the original rationale. The symbols often give a sense of achievement. Symbols are extremely powerful and enable people to perform tasks and give meaning to their actions (Gerrad, 2018). For example in the U.S. military young people are willing to put their lives on risk for little lumps of metal and ribbon. At times it becomes difficult to understand things and concepts verbally and symbols play a pivotal role in exchange of ideas among co-employees. Symbols are also creation of human therefore to understand the meaning and concept of the symbols it shall be shared socially. The eye catchy symbols, slogans or stories drive a sense of accomplishments among the people associated with that organisation in one way or other (Mohnot & Shaw, 2017).
After understanding the brief about the symbols and slogans how a leader implements these in the organisation it is necessary to grasp the meaning of the leadership through culture web. Leadership is the web of beliefs, patterns and practices that self-reinforces the behaviour of the individual in the organisation (Gagliardi, 2017). It depicts the way of how the people interact in an organisation, make decisions and attract others. There are different types of leadership and here the analysis of symbolic leadership is done in detail. In symbolic leadership sometimes an individual may act as a figure or an idol because of whom the conscious of a person believes that he/she can change for his own betterment (Bolman & Deal, 2017). The individual gets a direction and motivation to set his own goals and spearhead it. For example, in prison Nelson Mandela was known to be a great example of a leader of symbolic nature. His actions were not in abundance but his power and influence lead him start a mass movement. From there onwards the leadership skills were highlighted Like Mahatma Gandhi who became a role model for other while India was fighting for the freedom. This legendary human acted as a leader and a guide in making India free from British army (Linder, 2017).
Traditional leadership follows the archetypes that often count upon the ideas of strength and hierarchy. This type of leadership draws an idea of collaboration and cooperation which talk about speaking less about the individual goals and working on common goals cumulatively. These methods set as an example and symbols for other organisations in the industry. There are certain types of symbols under leadership theory which can be described as follows. Firstly it becomes impossible and paradoxical to lead the organisation by serving. The symbol of a leader as a servant is of robust transformation in which leader is not in the front seat but rather takes a back seat (Klapp, 2017). This kind of leadership focuses on empowering the employees rather than working on a pre-determined plan. The leader himself may get things done smoothly but this would not allow the employees to test themselves. To give them a steering of responsibilities and improve the decision making ability, encourages innovation, boosts the morale and develop the skills with creativity these approach is necessary and mandatory (Crane, 2017). This instils confidence among the employees and the environment of autonomous working leads to success and make a pathway for on-going learning.
Secondly the next approach could be that of the builder leader. Under this strategy of leadership few of the leaders form a cluster and set themselves up in predetermined systems and run them accordingly. These builders bring humility in organisation and in their processes. These leaders mould themselves in such a way that they are ready to face all the nuts and bolts of the problems. They set themselves up as an institution that solves all the problems through sorting the different alternatives. Further, they bring out the best solution by improving the structure of the foundation. Thirdly the approach of being in the shoes of the sportsman or a coach to run the organisation builds the skills of the workers in terms of an individual as well as a team member (Briggs & Janakiraman, 2017). The coach tries to bring out the best among each member of the team. The responsibility of the coach is to analyse the individual skills and strengths and weaknesses. Thoughtful coaching is used to decipher the individual qualities and traits in appropriate situations, where challenges are imposed to expand the level of comfort of each individual and build new capacities and capabilities. These activities give a platform to the employees to work in the new areas and departments of the company. The employees gain training on how to perform in difficult situations (Helms Mills & Mills, 2017).
Leadership is a creative source and it is a medium that nourishes the staff member’s personality and talents to devise greater skills rather than sum of its parts. Here, leader acts as an artist where it keeps a vision and mission. This kind of perspective is not easy to understand at first especially for the workers but becomes easy as and when the leader communicates the same information over the time through collaboration of both the leaders as well as employees. Just like an artist makes a landscape and draws a connection between different sections of the painting and yet is successful in presenting and aligning the thoughts in a unique way, a leader of an organisation can align his vision and policies of how to handle a team, how to direct and motivate them, how to make sure that they work with full confidence and enthusiasm. A leader can be considered as a leader only when he can fulfil his position with utmost trust and responsibility (Crane, 2017).
Organisation culture can be managed by focusing the attention of the employees towards the heroes, slogans and stories of the past. But here the question arises as to do stories, heroes, slogans and ceremonies have symbolic value? Leaders try to reinforce the culture through the use of all these symbols and ceremonies (Buck, 2018). Herb Kelleher is often considered as a greatest example in the category of a symbolic leader. These leaders can change and merge the culture of the organisation. This new culture generates excitement among the employees which gives them a sense of confidence and ultimately the productivity will increase. The leaders must continuously give the public statements and speeches regarding the slogans and symbols and ceremonies to reinforce the implementation (Hatch, 2018). For example the culture of the amazon company is involved in a seriously friendly environment. It is obsessed with the range of customers and self-improvement in terms of social media and websites. Amazon strives to maintain a merged culture that allows the talented people to generate innovative solutions in the critical situation and on the soot challenges. Amazon also celebrates its success at times through seminars and ceremonies including trips and picnics. Jeff Bezos is the hero who narrated the story of this company. Therefore, it can be concluded that symbols and ceremonies are those attributes which illustrates the corporate culture of the organisation which include stories from the other organisations and the existing company takes a lesson of improvement of the weaker areas (Hatch, 2017). For the organisation to be effective corporation culture shall be aligned with the strategies and needs that bets fit the resources of the organisation.
After analysing the concept of the symbols and stories and ceremonies and their relevant individual importance this research shows that there are always different methods to deal with in an organisation. It always depends upon the work culture of the organisation. It is recommended to follow this approach as it creates a sense of willingness to work after hearing the stories of personalities who went thought the same path and achieved the success. The employees feel motivated and it gives immense pleasure that they are being considered as a part of the organisation. It is also recommended to decorate the walls with motivational slogans, to infuse colours on the wall to bring positive vibes in the environment of the corporate culture. The implementation of this type of leadership and strategies can stand out differently from the rest of the organisation and create s abase or pillar for future success (Gordon, 2017). To be able to sustain for a longer period of time it is also suggested to involve the employees in the decision making process. At times it can happen that the employees are having key knowledge in the filed as they are working on the project continuously. Their ideas can be retrieved and can be applied as and when required. This also helps in developing the individual personality of the employees develops the organisational culture overall and helps in solving the tacit complexities through new and various other methods easily (Hambrick & Lovelace, 2018). A good leader is one who listens to every worker and based on that takes a cumulative decision rather than supporting personal biasness. It is the responsibility of the leader at times to act as a follower.
Therefore it can be concluded from the above discussion that the symbols, slogans and motivational stories can often influence the way one organisation behaves and functions. The symbols do play a role in reforming the structure of the organisation. The dedication is implanted among the employees by hearing the stories of qualitative personalities. The slogans give a surprise as well as motivation when the saturation point of an individual is hit on. It is the easiest way to analyse “how we do things near us”. Henceforth, after achieving the success the ceremonies held gives a sense of accomplishment and confidence to try themselves into new challenging situations.
Antonakis, J., & Day, D. V. (Eds.). (2017). The nature of leadership. New York: Sage publications.
Bolman, L. G., & Deal, T. E. (2017). Reframing organizations: Artistry, choice, and leadership. United States: John Wiley & Sons.
Briggs, E., & Janakiraman, N. (2017). Slogan recall effects on marketplace behaviors: The roles of external search and brand assessment. Journal of Business Research, 80(2), 98-105.
Buck, A. (2018). The Corporate Networks and Symbolic Capital of British Business Leaders. Journal of Sociological Perspectives, 7(2), 54-68.
Crane, A. (2017). Rhetoric and reality in the greening of organisational culture. In Greening the Boardroom (pp. 129-144). California: Routledge.
Gagliardi, P. (2017). Symbols and artifacts: Views of the corporate landscape. California: Routledge.
Gerrad, C.M. (2018). The Oxford Handbook of Later Medieval Archaeology in Britain, London: Oxford University Press.
Gordon, G. (2017). Guiding Organizational Culture. In Leadership through Trust, Boston: Palgrave Macmillan.
Hambrick, D. C., & Lovelace, J. B. (2018). The Role of Executive Symbolism in Advancing New Strategic Themes in Organizations: A Social Influence Perspective. Academy of Management Review, 43(1), 110-131.
Hatch, M. J. (2017). The symbolics of office design: an empirical exploration. In Symbols and artifacts, 4(2), 129-146.
Hatch, M. J. (2018). Organization theory: Modern, symbolic, and postmodern perspectives. London: Oxford university press.
Helms Mills, J. C., & Mills, A. J. (2017). Rules, Sensemaking, Formative Contexts, and Discourse in the Gendering of Organizational Culture. In Insights and Research on the Study of Gender and Intersectionality in International Airline Cultures 12(3) pp. 49-69.
Klapp, O. E. (2017). Symbolic leaders: Public dramas and public men. California: Routledge.
Linder, C. (2017). Symbolic Leadership in a Transnational Context: An Investigation on Leaders’ Adjustment and Acceptance. In The Palgrave Handbook of Leadership in Transforming Asia (pp. 317-331). Palgrave Macmillan, London.
Mohnot, H., & Shaw, T. (2017). The study of academic leadership preparedness and leadership style in higher education. International Journal of Education and Management Studies, 7(3), 408-416.
Waters, A. M. (2017). Race, class, and political symbols: Rastafari and reggae in Jamaican politics. California: Routledge.
Essay Writing Service Features
Our Experience
No matter how complex your assignment is, we can find the right professional for your specific task. Contact Essay is an essay writing company that hires only the smartest minds to help you with your projects. Our expertise allows us to provide students with high-quality academic writing, editing & proofreading services.
Free Features
Free revision policy
$10Free bibliography & reference
$8Free title page
$8Free formatting
$8How Our Essay Writing Service Works
First, you will need to complete an order form. It's not difficult but, in case there is anything you find not to be clear, you may always call us so that we can guide you through it. On the order form, you will need to include some basic information concerning your order: subject, topic, number of pages, etc. We also encourage our clients to upload any relevant information or sources that will help.
Complete the order form
Once we have all the information and instructions that we need, we select the most suitable writer for your assignment. While everything seems to be clear, the writer, who has complete knowledge of the subject, may need clarification from you. It is at that point that you would receive a call or email from us.
Writer’s assignment
As soon as the writer has finished, it will be delivered both to the website and to your email address so that you will not miss it. If your deadline is close at hand, we will place a call to you to make sure that you receive the paper on time.
Completing the order and download