Symbols as an Organizational Unifying Force
Organizational culture is based on shared beliefs and values of company leaders and employees. At times, leaders establish their desired culture, communicate it to their employees, and enforce it in various ways. This shapes the employees’ perceptions and behavior, and ultimately the organization’s performance (Belak, Milfelner, & Duh, 2016). Common behavior unites an organization, enhances the accomplishment of goals, and gives the organization a competitive advantage. Some companies use symbols that represent them and to communicate their beliefs and culture to the public. Examples of common elements in symbols include the national flag or its colors to show loyalty to the country, a crescent moon to signify new beginnings, a cross for spirituality, and a dove to show peace.
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is an example of an organization that uses physical symbols to demonstrate its culture. It was established to safeguard national security by collecting, assessing, and distributing essential information on economic, military, scientific, and political developments. Its operations are not restricted to the United States alone; the CIA operates in all countries around the world. The symbol of the CIA is its seal whose main elements are its colors, an eagle, and a compass placed on a shield (Central Intelligence Agency, 2016).
The CIA Seal
The colors of the seal are similar to those on the country’s flag; red, white, and blue. The colors of the flag are designed to induce pride and patriotism in the organization’s workers and the nation’s citizens in general. The employees are united by the need to, and the joy that comes with serving their country.
Secondly, the bald eagle on the seal denotes strength and alertness. These are important qualities for the CIA since the entire organization has to be alert to collect all vital information within and without the country’s borders.
Third, the compass on a shield has 16 points that stand for all countries in the world, while the shield stands for defense. The organization workers can rely on this symbol for unity as they are all responsible for an entire nation’s safety. Also, working in different regions of the world, the employees need to have a functional work relationship to avail information, assess for relationships between information from different places, and determine the value of collected data.
Although the CIA does not necessarily have competition in its line of work, the physical symbolism of its culture can serve as an inspiration to other national agencies serving the country. The symbols directly establish the organization’s commitment to serving its country efficiently and proudly. However, the seal is just an indicator of the operations of the CIA. The outcomes of the organizations have to be separately tangible and to amplify the seal. Bolman and Deal (2013) state that focusing on the outward symbol more than the actual operations gives rise to cynicism, reduces public confidence in the organization, and drains employees of their morale to make a difference (213). The CIA, therefore, has to ensure the internal organizational culture aligns with that depicted by the seal to ensure organizational unity and to enhance the achievement of desired objectives. The seal symbolism should be viewed as a constant reminder of their service to the nation and should allow for hopeful interpretation of the organizational culture while the management and employees work towards the creation of a work environment as displayed by the seal.
References
Belak, J., Milfelner, B., & Duh, M. (2016). The importance of culture for enterprise dynamics: the role of type and strength of culture. Research-Ekonomska Istraživanja.
Bolman, L. G., & Deal, T. E. (2013). Reframing Organizations. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Central Intelligence Agency. (2016). The CIA Seal. Retrieved from cia.gov.
Katzenbach, J., Oelschlegel, C., & James, T. (2016). 10 Principles of Organizational Culture. Strategy Business.
Lile, S. (2017). 40 Visual Symbols Every Communicator Needs to Know. VISME.