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More about Rituals...
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Business Rituals – Why are
they important? |
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You will probably know why
culture is important. Culture is that what keeps people together within an
organization. Culture is like a glue for the organization.
But if you then ask, what is the
culture of our company, you will notice that this simple question is hard to
answer. if that is the situation, the focus on business rituals could help
you. |
| But first,
what are they? those rituals? |
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To understand rituals, you
should think about the division between the concepts of sacred and profane
that has brought religious thought. Sacred are those things that were set
apart from society, because of whatever reason. Sacred is derived from the
Latin word "sacer" which meant restricted or limited. Those activities or
persons that were sacred were extraordinary or unique. This brings contract
with the profane which is all that is ordinary (not extra-ordinary) and
normal (not unique). This division is important, but explains only a part of
the meaning of a ritual.
A ritual is also something like
a habit or a custom. Yet, in line with the reasoning above, the rituals
distinguishes itself from a habit in the sense that the habit is -- again --
sacred; it is not just any habit, no it is something that you value is
really important.
A third aspect of a ritual
and why it is important, is to do with its function. The function of a
ritual is to canalize emotions that are concerned with these (sacred)
activities. Here again, the difference with normal habits and customs is
that these are normal and are not surrounded with important emotions that
need a special care... |
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Important |
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Business or organizational rituals are important for
your organization for various reasons. Think
about that you are getting married. And then imagine that there is no party,
no event at all. It is just a non-issue. You take your husband out for a
dinner and that's it. The next day is "business" as usual. This would be
very hard to imagine. No celebration, just a normal day. Or take another
example, your birthday ... no friends, no family visits. Graduation from
school... just another day.
We celebrate those special event because they mean
something (special) to us. A wedding is not just that two people get
married, not it is about two lives that pass a gate an get united. You are
going to wear a symbolic ring, it all means something. |
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... for your business |
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For an organization, a ritual is a visual expression of
values. What is really important for your business and why. Every business
is unique and will have an own culture. But what is it that makes this
business unique? If you are a sales manager you want to give something extra
to the employee which had the best performance of the month. You value this
achievement, because of the way he or she used all the available resources
and "tricks" to get clients convinced. If that is the case, a bonus at the
end of the year will not be enough. It is not visible, it's a too long a
period to be helpful as an incentive... But besides that, if you do
celebrate this "salesperson of the month" with a special event, you are
showing to the whole team (an organization) that this is the way to go! You
are serious about this. People celebrate
events openly because they are confident and serious about they way they
want it. And it is for this specific and unique way (style) that you should
find the adequate rituals. Those that express what are valued by the
company, not only by you. |
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Rituals
give a face to your organization. |
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Rituals express part of the identity of a company.
Business rituals are easy to recognize. We are all familiar with the
habitual meetings (Monday morning), Celebration of project success or maybe
the previous discussed " employee of the month" ritual.
As they are recognizable, they will give color to your organization. They
identify the face behind the rational organization. And if your organization
is identifiable, people can feel committed to the organization. They are
also a way to diagnose in more detail the style of your organization and
with that a way to adapt the style to demands of the time. Most important
about rituals (and style) is that you can adjust and control it on a daily
basis without having to construct project. |
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... and provide new energy |
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Ritual activity provides new power.
Think about the graduation. If you are the graduate, you will receive a lot of
attention, which energizes you, it's the acknowledgement for what you have
achieved, and this is made unique because of the celebration. For the attendees
of the party, the ritual provides energy by recalling forgotten times, or for
another group that is still to graduate, they will know that they will receive
this attention too. |
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Some examples |
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In your organization there are
many rituals. for example: |
- The Monday morning
meeting
- The casual Friday
- Celebration of the
employee that is 12½ years in office
- A paintball event
- The company magazine with an
personal story about the special hobby of an employee
- The celebration of a new
product
- The kick-off meeting for a new
project
- ...
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The casual Friday could be seen as
the exception of the rule. Companies with a casual Friday in fact acknowledge
that they value formality up to a certain extent and this formal way is
celebrated by a day in which you can be different. Giving you new energy for the
next week. |
| New and old Rituals |
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Rituals are also influenced by time
and open to change. During the "new economy," people were confident that the
wine-and-dine- day's were over. Everything would be different because of the
internet. Also the ritual
of the senior and experience employee that is with the company for more than
twenty years, is an event this is less openly celebrated. Some manager doubt,
"should I still celebrate this," although the company strategy and style has
already changed. The nine-to-five schedule is also less prominent, because of
new working methods facilitated by new the possibilities of new communication
media.
Larger organizations now often
face the problem of flexible working hours. Mobility has become a new trend
where people are able to work from their home (office). "It's John home-working
day," is a new behavior. And what should a manager do; manage special ad hoc
meetings or arrange a Wednesday - office day, making sure that the whole team
can meet at least once a week, without vacancies...
Project evaluations is also a new
ritual. The learning organization is often an issue, and without a ritual that
supports this concept the learning approach will not be accepted, and adopted.
Credibility is at stake. Client events are amongst the new rituals in which the
client relation ship management is supported... al different ways in which a
company can express its (new) culture or style. |
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Some pitfalls |
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Rituals could become an end on its
own. If you just focus on rituals without the underlying goal you want to serve
you will not succeed. Also ritual behavior can become rigid and make an
organization inflexible. it is the way you have always done things, those sacred
style that is untouchable, but also out-of-date. Perhaps.
Some rituals are old customs of which the meaning has been lost. Those might
need a revision.
Organizational rituals should be credible so people can adhere to them. They
will be accepted when they are authentic and when they fit your style. Don't try
to ritualize an event that is not special. It requires also discipline to adhere
to the rituals. And the managers and leaders should set the example. If they do
not match the profile of your organization, they could become counterproductive.
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How we can help you on this specific topic |
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Focusing on rituals will help you
strengthen your cultural effort to match the strategy of your company. The
assessment of your company rituals help to identify your company style and we
can show you the strength of this. |
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