Unveiling Organizational Culture- Stories, Subcultures, and Symbolic Power

Unveiling Organizational Culture- Stories, Subcultures, and Symbolic Power

Stories and symbols are what moved many employees in my previous workplace. According to Payne (n.d.), symbolic power constructs reality as guidance to people to understand their place within the hierarchy of an organization. For instance, in my previous work as a part-time employee, we had team leaders for every floor who responded to all inquiries and complaints regarding work and scheduling. They altogether reported to the floor manager and quality assessment managers.

Moreover, during refresher courses and induction, a previous employee who had earned a higher position would be referenced for her excellent customer service when she effectively managed an irate client’s complaints, thus negatively affecting her target for the day. She did this on the day before Christmas day. However, she compensated for her hours over the weekend. All agents knew this story and were motivated to attend to customers and the trainers called this the Christmas niche.

Schein (2010) acknowledges a special subculture where culture arises via common experiences of certain organizational hierarchy levels. In my previous employment, the existent subculture included the inbound agents, outbound agents, technicians, and technical agents who collaborated to ensure the customers’ interests were met. The conflict that mainly arose among the subcultures was when an agent of another line within the subculture failed to attend to a customer effectively, and a different agent was called to attend to them all over again. This made some customers more irate.

The organization head could use this story to motivate new agents to attend to customers’ needs and avoid conflicts. Organizational leaders can use ceremonies and metaphors to encourage employees to pursue a certain course. Griswold (2012) gave an example of a physical thing, such as a green manure fertilizer, which meant different things to different cultures. To the West, the fertilizer meant a single shot fired in a Third World agriculture revolution, and to Gram Sevaks, it meant low-cost organic, meaning that farmers would work harder (Griswold, 2012). Similarly, the organization heads find the things that thrill people, like Christmas. To some, it means to rest, while others perceive it as a day to give and serve, so they serve as many customers as possible.

References

Griswold, W. (2012). Cultures and societies in a changing world, Fourth Edition. Los Angeles: Sage Publications.

Payne, W. (n.d). Human Behavior and the Social Environment II. Fayetteville, AR: University of Arkansas Libraries.

Schein, E.H. (2010). Organizational Culture and Leadership, Fourth Edition. San Francisco: John Wiley & Sons.

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Describe an organization’s culture where you have worked, volunteered, or attended school. Answer the following questions:

1)What stories and symbols do everyone who works, volunteers, or attends there know?

Unveiling Organizational Culture- Stories, Subcultures, and Symbolic Power

2)What subculture groups exist within the organization, and what forms of conflict take place between units or classifications?
3How do the heads of the organization use symbolic power to motivate people?

Remember to attach a resource page if you use any outside sources within your paper.

Chapters 2 and 3 of the textbook are the reading.