Artifacts and Levels of Organizational Culture

Culture is constantly created and changed as groups of people socially interact with one another, and allow cohesion between two (2) or more people (i.e., two [2] companies, or customer and service provider) from distinct organizations, working as a connecting factor. This cohesion is known as inter-organizational culture. Likewise, the higher the frequency and degree of communication in the relationships, the higher the probability of cultural integration; the more cultural comprehension among the partners, the more relationship quality. Relationships are not chosen; they are built (Larentis, Antonello, & Slongo, 2019). Inter-organizational relationships, and organizational cultures rely on trust, commitment, communication, learning, ways to perceive and cope with reality, and shared meanings and symbols. Therefore, organizational cultures involved can be changed through specific systems of meanings and symbols because of inter- organizational relationships. Nonetheless, cultural changes do not necessarily include a redefinition of the organization’s core values and meanings.

Heroes

such as founders Steve Jobs of Apple, Sam Walton of Walmart, Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook, Elon Musk of Tesla, and others who have made outstanding contributions to their organizations

Stories

often about founders and others who have made extraordinary efforts. These include —- about Sam Walton visiting every Walmart store yearly, or someone driving through a blizzard to deliver a product or service. Public statements and speeches can also be considered stories.

Slogans

 such as at McDonald’s Q, S, C, V (or quality, service, cleanliness, and value).

Symbols

 such as plaques, pens, jackets, or a pink Cadillac at the cosmetics firm Mary Kay.

    Ceremonies

 such as recognition or awards night for employees, brands, and Jollibee Food Corporation branches.

Level 1: Behavior

 —- includes the observable things that people do and say, or the actions employees take. —— result from —— and include written and spoken language, dress, material objects, and the organization’s physical layout. Heroes, stories, slogans, symbols, and ceremonies are all part of the behavior-level culture. The behavior level is also called the visible level. Values, beliefs, and assumptions are considered the invisible level, as you cannot observe them.

 Level 2: Values and beliefs.

—- represent how people believe they ought to behave, and —- represent “if, then” statements like “If I do X, then Y will happen.” Values and beliefs provide the operating principles that guide decision making and shape the behaviors that result in level-1 culture. Values and beliefs cannot be observed directly; we can only infer what they value and believe in people’s behavior.

Although organizations use heroes, stories, symbols, and ceremonies to convey important values and beliefs, slogans are critical to level-2 culture. A slogan expresses key values. Slogans are part of organizational mission statements, while a philosophy (e.g., FedEx’s philosophy of people-service-profit) is a formal statement of values and beliefs.

  Assumptions

 —— are values and beliefs that are so deeply ingrained that they are considered unquestionably true. Because assumptions are shared, they are rarely discussed. They serve as an automatic pilot to guide behavior. People often feel threatened when assumptions are challenged. If you question employees about why they do something or suggest a change, they often respond with statements like, “That’s the way it’s always been done.” Assumptions are often the most stable and enduring part of the culture and are difficult to change.

  Shared symbols

refer to any physical phenomenon to which people assign a name, meaning, or value. Shared symbols and meanings are those common cultural elements on which relationships start developing. They ease contact, improve interaction quality, and expand the sharing of ideas, as service providers and customers have, to some degree, similar perspectives to understand the world and the businesses.

  Openness to new ideas

 increases the chance to better understand the counterpart, despite different values between the service providers and customers, because humbleness and interest in learning with the other are present. Hence, it allows more openness to diversity because members from different organizations realize the richness of solutions when interactions occur between them and the importance of being open to different perspectives and interpretations of the world.

  Frequency and quality of interactions

 allow deeper knowledge of the counterpart, and understand that values, world visions, and means to solve problems are similar and different. When combined with shared meanings and symbols, the frequency becomes more effective and more valued by their counterparts. Once articulated with openness to new ideas, we will have more chances to deal with constructive conflict because the focus is on solving the problem and satisfying market needs. In this case, quality on how people interact and solve problems together enables better means to give attention to others, because of reliability in actions increases. Problems are solved more collaboratively once people know how the counterpart can help, which allows the existence of a network of symbols and meanings across organizational boundaries.

To establish trust

 a proper environment is needed. —- serves as the core element for both organizations building on an inter-organizational culture or relationship. The existence of —- assumes one’s belief about one’s counterpart’s honesty and benevolence; it increases the disposition to share information and the safeness to invest in the relationship and decreases opportunism.

Trust has been related to information given, actions executed, and people involved in the relationship.

Commitment

is about the company’s permanent will to continue the relationship with another, without measuring efforts to maintain it. There is a commitment related to actions, results, and people beyond conflicts and delivering promises.

Concerning learning

we have identified —- processes and —- results. Informal learning processes prevailed, related to experiences, collective activities, and search for better performance. both customers’ and service providers’ members learn from one another, mainly about market practices and consumer behavior. Another relevant aspect is learning about management systems and concepts, which depend on time and members’ experience, due to their level of complexity. This is particularly useful in today’s business world, where e-commerce is already becoming a necessity.

Cooperation

is the result of trust and commitment. Cooperation is evident with those involved in the relationship assembled to discuss and solve problems. They cooperate to cope with situations that require help from both parties or solve problems in ways that consider both the service provider and customer.

Need for change

 must be expected for the organization to continuously grow and improve. It allows better problem-solving across organizations because conversations and discussions inside organizations occur under a different atmosphere and perspective than external ones from partners or contacts.