Manifestation (external expressions) of corporate culture
Corporate culture manifests (externalizes) itself in numerous external manifestations. These manifestations can be structurally divided into two groups: 1) personal and communicative forms of corporate culture (culture of behavior and communication, etiquette, language of communication, etc.); 2) overall corporate forms of corporate culture: symbols and corporate identity (trademark, emblem, corporate color, distinctive product design features, the exterior appearance of buildings and interior design, corporate attire, elements of office administration, etc.), flag, anthem, rituals and holidays, history, myths, heroes, physical culture, etc.
Let’s take a brief look at some elements of the external manifestations (forms) of corporate culture.
Personal and communicative forms of corporate culture
An important characteristic of corporate culture is the culture of behavior and communication among an organization’s employees, which serves as an external manifestation of their level of ethical and psychological culture and reflects the organization’s business principles, motives, and the ethical and psychological foundations of its operations. To characterize the culture of behavior and communication in the business sphere, the concept of “etiquette” is used.
As we have already noted, etiquette does not always align with moral principles. In many cases, etiquette is used to conceal the true intentions behind one’s actions and to manipulate others. Therefore, the task of corporate culture management is to foster a unity of etiquette and morality among employees.
An important element of communication culture is the culture of interaction and speech.
General corporate manifestations of corporate culture
Of particular importance are symbols.
Symbols are an integral part of corporate culture. They preserve the irrational depth and continuity of cultural phenomena and, in a concentrated form, embody people’s perceptions of the organization’s mission, ideology, capabilities, and distinctive features. Therefore, it is essential to give priority to creating the organization’s flag and anthem, as well as to the use of its own language of symbols and colors.
A symbol (from the Greek symbolon—a conventional sign) is an image that concisely represents other images, meanings, and relationships—including unknown ones that can only be anticipated or sensed.
Symbols can be graphic, musical, and more.
A graphic symbol is a concentrated, conventional, abstract form of representing and recording a person’s scientific or religious knowledge, as well as the unconscious parts of their psyche, using a stylized sign. Symbols represent high-level abstract concepts and values that are difficult to describe concisely and impossible to describe exhaustively in words (Figs. 4.3, 4.4).
In practice, the terms “symbol,” “emblem,” and “sign” are often used as synonyms, although they differ in essence and, especially, in the scope of their meaning.
Unlike a symbol, a sign is concrete and unambiguous—it is a means of conveying information. It often takes the form of a stylized outline of an object, its contours. In the mythological and religious spheres, and later in the field of emblematics, simple geometric shapes and lines, as well as three-dimensional forms, were used for symbols.
Nowadays, the concept of a symbol is taking on an ever-broader meaning, extending to signs from various spheres of human activity: mathematical, computer, chemical, astrological, cartographic, meteorological, musical, and dance symbols.
There have been and continue to be symbols of power as well.
There are symbols associated with a very specific visual image that exists not in the abstract but in practical reality. These are “symbolic images.” Examples: the Statue of Liberty symbolizes America, the Eiffel Tower symbolizes Paris, the Spasskaya Tower of the Kremlin symbolizes Moscow, and so on.
An important aspect of analyzing corporate culture is that a symbol, as an archaic abstraction, is a value-based category that reflects the most general categories of good and evil.
The ability of symbols to influence the mind is often used to create emblems, logos, pictograms, etc.
A type of symbol can be an attribute, a specific object closely associated with the life and activities of a mythological or iconographic figure. For example, Poseidon’s attribute is the trident (Fig. 4.5), Themis’s is the scales (Fig. 4.6), Dionysus’s is the grapevine, Apollo’s is the lyre, Jesus Christ’s is the lamb, and so on.
Another example of a symbol is the concept “emblem.” An emblem (from the Greek emblema—ornament) is a meaningful (semantic) composition. Symbols and emblems differ from one another in form, because a symbol is an abstract sign, while an emblem is a depiction of specific figures and objects (Fig. 4.7). Symbols of symbols are mysticism; they are signs of the spirit and philosophy, whereas emblems represent historical concreteness.
The symbolic role of color plays an important part in corporate culture. For example, red symbolizes passionate love, power, fire, and courage (in ancient cultures, a symbol of life); orange symbolizes joy, celebration, generosity, and nobility (in ancient cultures, a symbol of the sun); yellow symbolizes movement and vitality. Intelligence (in ancient cultures, a symbol of the sun and the world, as well as a symbol of power and gold); blue symbolizes valor and nobility (in ancient cultures, a symbol of the sky and clear water); blue – the universe, outer space (in Christianity – piety, sincerity, prudence); purple – wisdom, maturity, higher intellect (the embodiment of mystical forces).
The use of color is inextricably linked to other elements of interior and exterior design composition, as well as to the development of corporate identity logos and other elements of the physical environment.
Corporate culture assumes that a given company has its own primary color.