Workplace Artifacts Report – The Role of Cultural Artifacts in IKEA

Workplace Artifacts Report – The Role of Cultural Artifacts in IKEA

Organizational culture can be disseminated and grown through the infusion of artifacts as a representation of organizational structures, the workplace setting, and the work process. Kemp et al. (2015) define artifacts as both the physical environment and material to which the members of the organization ascribe meaning. Therefore, artifacts are the underlying norms, patterns, activities, informational objects, values, and assumptions that form organizational culture. In light of these statements, this report seeks to discuss the significant roles artifacts such as newsletters and uniforms have played in shaping IKEA’s culture.

Overview of Organization

IKEA is a company that is well recognized for its use of artifacts such as newsletters and uniforms in achieving and reflecting the embedded assumptions and values of the organization. IKEA is a world leader in furniture retailing based in Sweden, with unique and rich pillars of motivation, rewards, and culture management (Ericsson, 2018). Artifacts have played a critical role in shaping perception, behavior, and values in IKEA.

Relevance of Artifact Analysis to Workplace Culture

When people visit the organization, the first thing they see is an artifact, which includes the company’s interior design, such as the type of art mounted on the wall, furniture, how employees dress, the company’s logo, or buildings. Higgins et al. (2006) concur that understanding the role of artifacts enables a company to know the major changes needed to create an improved working environment. Therefore, artifacts are critical tools for capturing substantial changes the organization needs in the real sense. While an organization’s culture involves many components, artifacts act as viable pieces that community members use to recognize the organization. For instance, different universities have a variety of artifacts that make it easier for members of the public to recognize them; Boise State University has a blue football field, the University of Pennsylvania has the statue of Ben Franklin, Notre Dame has the Golden Dome, while New York University has purple banners. As Schnugg and Lehner (2016) insist, such artifacts represent the assumptions and values held by these organizations.

Role of Artifact Analysis in Understanding Culture

Analyzing artifacts is important because the analysis can be used unintentionally or intentionally to communicate messages about the culture of our organization to the community. According to Schnugg and Lehner (2016), researchers have pointed out the challenge of understanding institutional culture for different organizations over the past years because such culture is not visible to other members of the community. For instance, my institution could encourage using more artifacts to allow student researchers from other regions to explore our culture. This is because most researchers will find it easier to familiarize themselves with the artifacts together with their messages.

Description of Chosen Artifacts

One of the artifacts commonly used by IKEA is the newsletter, which plays a critical role in communicating the company’s values to the employees and the outside community. For instance, IKEA’s top management, such as the late Ingvar Kamprad, developed a value system of using newsletters as artifacts for communicating inspirational stories and quotes, which promoted top-down cultural development in the company (Ericsson, 2018). This made IKEA’s strategy of using artifacts to communicate organizational values apparent to employees. For instance, new employees could be issued newsletters highlighting Kampard’s ‘commandments’ on their expected values. Therefore, IKEA has been using newsletters that outline its basic assumptions and values to represent the base of the organization’s physical part.

Image showing IKEA’s use of newsletter as an artifact (Source: Ericsson, 2019).

Another artifact that IKEA uses in communicating organizational culture is the uniform worn by its employees. The uniforms IKEA’s employees wear contain yellow and blue colors, which happen to be similar to those of the Swedish flag (Landen & Riltoft, 2018). Remarkably, all employees in IKEA wear the same uniform regardless of the differences in rank, hence promoting the organization’s egalitarian mission of promoting ‘togetherness.’ This is a unique and simple strategy that the company has used to increase the exposure of its philosophy among its employees. Ericsson (2018) concurs that using low-tech methods such as standard uniforms and newsletters has been an effective strategy for creating IKEA’s cultural awareness. There is a need for other companies to adopt IKEA’s strategy of using low costs to promote organizational culture, hence ensuring more economic gains in the process of enhancing corporate culture.

IKEA employees in their uniforms (Source: Landen & Riltoft, 2018).

Purpose of Chosen Artifacts

The use of the newsletter as an artifact for communicating the organization’s culture makes it easier for IKEA’s top management to communicate the values of the company on a daily basis. Findings from research conducted by Landen and Riltoft (2018) revealed that while in their changing or break rooms, many employees mention Kamprad’s quotes and eight ‘commandments.’ For instance, “Only while sleeping one makes no mistake” is a quote that is often mentioned by employees and reminds employees of the expected values, hence encouraging them to put such values into practice (Landen & Riltoft, 2018). Therefore, using such artifacts as newsletters to communicate organizational culture to employees further creates a workplace environment where creativity is promoted while encouraging the development of unconventional solutions and ideas.

Further, using the same uniform for all employees is an artifact that promotes a positive view of the company as a unique employer among community members. Ericsson (2018) concurs that by allowing all employees to wear a similar uniform regardless of the differences in ranks, IKEA promotes a ‘family-like’ and ‘non-prestigious’ working climate. Employees could find such a working environment ‘relaxed’ and ‘easy-going’, encouraging even other members of society to be proud of the company and its values. Additionally, using the artifact of a common uniform encourages team spirit, and such aspects contribute to the company’s success. Better still, communicating the company’s values using simple methods such as common uniforms makes the employees and managers of IKEA be viewed as representatives of the organization and the company’s entire value system.

How Artifacts Reflect IKEA’s Norms, Beliefs, and Values

IKEA’s vision is stated as “To create better everyday life for many people,” and it motivates its employees to improve the livelihoods of surrounding communities (IKEA, 2021). This aligns with the company’s mission of creating positive change for the planet and people (IKEA, 2021). Therefore, using artifacts such as standard uniforms and communication through newsletters, IKEA focuses on using a unique culture that combines willpower, togetherness, and enthusiasm.  In the long run, this brings its employees and other community members together by creating a pleasant working environment that encourages people to take responsibility, express their ideas, and take the initiative. Additionally, by using standard uniforms to encourage togetherness, IKEA believes that the company can perform better when people combine their efforts towards a common goal or objective. As Ericsson (2018) points out, this culture of togetherness has enhanced IKEA’s core values of openness as people can freely come together to address various challenges that face the company and further boost the potential for growth and business opportunities in both international and local markets.

IKEA has used newsletters and common uniforms as effective artifacts for establishing a ‘stable, extensive, and deep’ organizational culture, increasing both external and internal awareness of its values. First, the use of these artifacts has resulted in more positive perceptions of the company, not only in communicating its ideals but also as a unique employer (Ericsson, 2018). Consequently, this motivates employees to advance within IKEA or keep working for the company while increasing the desire of employees from other companies to be part of this unique culture. Second, IKEA presents a perfect example of an organization deeply rooted in its culture and traditions, increasing its stability (Ericsson, 2018). In fact, findings revealed that the company had made more profits from its sales by attracting more customers because IKEA’s strong organizational culture has made shopping in this entity a tradition. By considering artifacts of newsletters and standard uniforms, IKEA has placed its values and basic assumptions at the core of the company’s culture. Considering IKEA’s global reach, some of the new entrants might not be lucky to get such market share as the one currently held by the company if they do not develop creative measures for promoting organizational culture.

References

Ericsson, A. (2018). Organizational Culture and Employee Loyalty: The Case of IKEA.

Higgins, J. M., McAllister, C., Certo, S. C., & Gilbert, J. P. (2006). Using cultural artifacts to change and perpetuate strategy. Journal of Change Management, 6(4), 397-415.

IKEA. (2021). People and Planet. Available at: https://www.ikea.com/ms/en_JP/this-is-ikea/people-and-planet/

Kemp, L. J., Angell, L., & McLoughlin, L. (2015). The symbolic meaning of artifacts for the workplace identity of women in academia. Gender in Management: An International Journal, 30(5), 379-396.

Landén, M., & Riltoft, M. (2018). Perceptions of Organizational Culture among Retail Workers A qualitative study of the corporate culture at IKEA.

Schnugg, C., & Lehner, J. (2016). Communicating identity or status? A media analysis of artworks visible in photographic portraits of business executives. International Journal of Arts Management, 63-74.

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For this project, you will analyze artifacts—physical objects made by societies for use by the people who live in them—and describe how they relate to your workplace culture. Then, you will present your findings in a report.

Workplace Artifacts Report – The Role of Cultural Artifacts in IKEA

Competency
In this project, you will demonstrate your mastery of the following competency:

Analyze the relationship between cultural artifacts and societal norms
Scenario
In this project, you will choose objects used in a workplace and look at them as cultural artifacts. These objects can be from your workplace, one you are familiar with, or one where you might like to work in the future. You will analyze how well these artifacts reflect the workplace culture from which they come and write a report on your findings.

Directions
Your task is to describe and analyze workplace artifacts to show the importance of aligning them with company culture. Artifacts are real, physical objects made by people that embody the ideas of the creators, users, and the culture in which they were made.

Choose two objects that fit the description of artifacts above. Examples of artifacts include training materials, equipment, a decoration, a business card, a newsletter, or something else.

Analyze the artifacts. Use the questions in the Artifact Analysis Guide to help you do this.

Write a report. In your report:
Identify the type of organization or workplace you used.

Briefly explain why artifact analysis is relevant to workplace culture.

Explain the importance of analyzing artifacts to understand the culture.
Based on the results of the analysis, provide specific examples of ways your workplace could improve its culture.

Describe your chosen artifacts in detail.
If possible, include a picture of them.
Be sure to identify who created them and who uses them.

Explain the purpose of your chosen artifacts.
State whether you think the creator(s) achieved that purpose.
How do different people interact with the artifacts?

Discuss how the artifacts reflect the organizational culture’s norms, beliefs, and values.
To do this, compare your artifacts with specific workplace culture statements. These might include a mission statement, motto, vision document, slogan, etc. Do the artifacts reflect the workplace culture in which they are found?

Your report can be in the format you consider most appropriate. You could create a visual presentation (slides) or a written report. If you create a presentation, you should provide comprehensive speaker notes. Remember to cite any sources you use.