Organizational Culture with Examples from the Film The Devil Wears Prada - Essay Example

A critical discussion of organisational culture and motivation with examples from the film, The Devil Wears Prada Introduction Organizations are physical ‘structures’ where employees from different background will do their allocated work under the direction and supervision of a leader, for the organization’s benefit as well as for their own benefit. These workers like the five different fingers in human’s hand will be different from one another as most of them will have different characteristics, different attitudes, different education, etc, etc. Uniting these different humans and making them work under a common organizational culture will always be a difficult proposition because their differences will mostly lead to singular or different working culture. In that scenario, the success of the organization will be minimal or even null. Thus, if a common, feasible and effective corporate working culture is ‘operationalised’ through out the organization, the organization can achieve maximum unity, productivity and success. The one person who can formulate, actualize and operationalize an effective organizational culture will have to be an effective leader. From time immemorial, the success or failure of an organization or any other human activity depends on the role, the leader plays. The leadership traits should be visible and should be put to effective use when the leader, as a ‘builder’ builds a group and as a ‘founder’ launches an organization. So, this paper will focus on how an effective leader should create an optimal organizational culture and incorporate motivation optimization strategies for the success of an organization, thus discussing the ineffective leadership role played by the Miranda character in the film The Devil Wears Prada in culture creation and motivation by following Schein’s iceberg model of culture (three levels of culture). Culture creation One of the important first tasks of a leader in an organization (both in a new organization or in a existing organization) is the creation of a Culture. That is, the task of the leader is to create a working culture, embed the working culture in the working group and environment, sustain it and also rectify it, when faults occur. According to Schein (2004, p. 17) “The culture of a group can now be defined as a pattern of shared basic assumptions that was learned by a group as it solved its problems of external adaptation and internal integration, that has worked well enough to be considered valid, therefore, to be taught to new members as the correct way to perceive, think, and feel in relation to those problems”. Normally, Culture is created by shared experience of the group working, but it is the leader who initiates this process by imposing his or her beliefs, values, and assumptions at the outset. That is, instead of restating the existing organizational culture or modifying the existing culture or copying another organizational culture, it would be better and optimum if the leader creates, his/her own according to the needs of the organization and importantly employees. “Organizational cultural interventions involve more than simply restating values, beliefs, or norms and communicating them to individuals. Cultural changes involve a complex process of replacing an existing paradigm or way of thinking with another.” (DeSimone, Werner & Harris 2002, p. 594). It should start with the leader imposing his/hers assumptions and ideas as a form of culture. This occupies the key level of Schein’s iceberg model of culture. That is, according to Schein’s iceberg model and three levels of culture, imposition of leader’s basic assumptions and values, though are difficult to determine as it exist at a largely unconscious level, only provides the employees guidelines on how to carry themselves in the organization. This way only an organizational culture is developed by the leader as well as embedded. Imposition of Leader’s assumptions and values as form of healthy culture and then embedding it As leaders are the men/women in lead, they usually have a major impact on how the group initially defines and sets into an organization. According to Schein’s iceberg model, the leaders have strong assumptions about the nature of the world, the role that organizations play in that world, the characteristics that make up human nature and relationships, how truth is arrived at, and how to manage time and space (Schein, 2004, p. 46). They will, therefore, be quite comfortable in imposing those views and personal cultures, on their partners and employees as the organization copes with challenges and targets. This initial stage imposition of founder’s assumptions, as a form of good culture is one of the good leadership traits, because as the workers’ mind will be fresh in their new organizational setup, they will be motivated to adopt that new culture. “A highly motivated employee is likely to be both happier and also more productive. He or she will therefore be both easier to manage.” (Roberts 2007, p. 42). This new culture will consist of many rules, regulations, policies, rituals, etc and the leader will impose those things for the betterment of the organization. However, in some cases, those rules and rituals will border on the negative side, with the leader creating it mainly for personal issues like superiority complex, suppressing the employees, etc and not for organization’s success. In those situations, the challenge will come in the form of workers who will have difficulty in adjusting to this new culture. That is, some workers will enter the organization with some preconceived notions and if the culture is opposite to their notions, they will struggle to adapt losing motivation. Importantly, if the culture created by the leader is extreme or challenging, then will also the newly recruited employees will struggle. This exactly happens with Andrea "Andy" Sachs, protagonist in the film The Devil Wears Prada, as she finds it difficult to adapt to the extreme or challenging organizational culture created by the leader or editor-in-chief Miranda Priestly. In the film, Miranda’s character as part of organizational or Runway’s culture creates certain negative rules or rituals mainly for personal issues like subordination of all the employees and to show them she is the boss. For example, Miranda orders her assistants including Andy to perform a task ritual of placing a glass of water and magazines on her desk every morning before she arrives. Although, this ritual cannot be taken that negatively because placing water and magazines for the boss does not seem to be that suppressive. However, quite contrary to Schein’s iceberg model of discerningly imposing assumptions and values, Miranda’s act of imbibing and forcing her assistants to do this duty shows that she wants to dominate the employees and they have to do these types of works, which is unrelated to their nature of job, as part of organizational culture. Along with this, her act of throwing her coat and bag on Andy’s desk as she enters her office and expecting Andy to place it appropriately is also sign of dominative leader and her culture, not fulfilling a key level in the three levels. Thus, Miranda was setting up a challenge to Andy and every employee to conform to her standards and organizational culture and if they fail to do so, they could be fired! (James 2006). This type of forcing the employees to adapt the organizational culture, which could be opposite to their preconceived notions, will be a challenge to the employees as well as leader. This will de-motivate the employees as they will struggle to adapt to this ‘extreme’ organizational culture. Although, the extreme nature of the organizational culture will appear negative from one perspective, that culture will be created by the leader taking into consideration the needs of the organization and also based on the industry in which the organization operates. For example, in the film, Andy struggles to adapt to the organizational culture of being highly fashionable and thinks it is a tough organizational culture. That is, in the initial stages of film, Andy appears in her unkempt hair, shapeless argyle blend polyester sweaters, frumpy plaid skirts, and clumpy clogs, thus appearing to be quite odd in a very fashion conscious work setting and culture created by Miranda (James 2006). Miranda incorporated fashion consciousness as part of her organizational culture because her magazine operates in the fashion industry, where physical looks particularly what a person wear matters more than their mental abilities. So, in this case, Miranda’s insistence of being highly fashionable as part of her organizational culture, appears to be valid and not extreme. Here, Andy was at fault for not adapting to the set and positive organizational culture. “She thought her brains were what really counted, not the surface decoration. Showing up for work in outfits that look like she rescued them from a thrift store was akin to waving a red flag in front of a bull.” (James 2006). So, when it comes to creation of organizational culture and its initial imposition, both the main characters was at fault in the film. Miranda negatively imposed her personal streaks like domination as part of the culture de-motivating Andy, while Andy does not fit into the appropriate and the needed organizational culture of being fashionable. Embedding of the Culture When the organization attains some success or great success, the leader’s assumptions or his/hers work culture will become shared, and the embedding of those assumptions, can then be thought of more as a process of socializing new members to the group. This embedding of culture, which is a second step or continuous process of Schein’s iceberg model of imposing assumptions, cannot be done in a single day. It is a slow process with each value and rule taking own time to be absorbed. However, the process can be quickened when there is success and importantly when the employee has no other option than adapting to culture. In those scenarios, the employees will be optimally motivated to adapt to that culture. The role of the leader as well as the management team is to hold on to the culture and make it work, so the workers have no other choice but to follow it. “He had to seduce the employees into a situation in which they had no choice but to rethink their identity.” (Schein 2004, p. 306). In the film, this scenario replicates with Miranda and particularly Nigel, Art Director, embedding Andy the Runways’ organizational culture of being highly fashionable. In an enculturation scene, Nigel makes it perfectly clear that to be an acceptable employee at Runway, she has to lose weight and wear designer clothes. (Ruane, 2008). With Runway and its employees representing clear physical symbols of designer brands and trendy appearances as part of their organizational culture, Andy has to be motivated to slim down, become pretty and wear stylish clothes. This embedding of the organizational culture as the second step of Iceberg theory had a positive effect and importantly motivated Andy, with her becoming quite fashionable in the immediate course of the movie. Thus, if the leader or even the management team performs the embedding of culture in a constructive manner immediately following culture creation as part of Schein’s Iceberg theory, then the employee will become motivated to adapt the culture and its rituals. Getting involved in all the process Another effective leadership trait that leader should show as part of actualizing an effective organizational culture is, getting involved in all the processes that will take place in the organization. This trait comes under the Schein’s Iceberg theory occupying the second level. That is, in the second level, Schein talks about Espoused Values, which are conscious targets, strategies and philosophies formulated and implemented by the leader as part of culture strengthening. Apart from creating an organizational culture by restating the old culture or creating a new one, the leader should become an integral part of all the processes that takes place in the organization. "…culture is seen to represent some kind of shared commitment to particular ways of relating to the organization to superiors to colleagues and to role" (Brewis 2007, p. 344). His / hers ‘touch’ both mental wise and physical wise should be found in all aspects of an organization including goal, strategy and philosophy formulation. He/she should not shy away from his/her responsibility of providing correct guidance and setting personal example because apart from having a de-motivating the employees, it would also be a sure recipe for the failure of the organization. The role of the leader is to motivate his/her subordinates through his/her action and through proper guidance. However in The Devil Wears Prada, Miranda without fully integrating herself into the organizational culture and without espousing correct values and giving proper guidance wanted her employees including Andy to complete various tasks. In many scenes, Miranda gave a long list of tasks to complete to her employees, without any clear instructions and guidance, and even did not allow any questions from the employees. Without these necessary prerequisites, she expected the employees to know the details of each task and complete it successfully, thus remaining aloof and not integrating with the organizational culture. This set bad example for the employees and thus affected their motivation levels severely. She sent Andy on multiple errands including getting unreleased copies of Harry Potter for her twin daughters, without clear instructions, and an impossibly short time-frame under threat of being fired if she did not deliver. (James 2006). So, only if the leader involves himself/herself and importantly guides the workers towards the target by espousing values, the culture will get strengthened as more success ‘pours’ in, however that was not the case with Miranda in the film Constructive anger A leader of the present day needs to be a perfectionist in rendering his service. It therefore calls for sincerity, devotion and strict discipline towards his organization. Strict discipline in the sense, leader should exhibit anger as a tool of mass and positive change. Some or many people will get angry even at a slightest pretext, however effective leader should get angry, only when the situation necessitates it. An effective leader must learn to control his/her emotions which makes a major impact upon the employees. Leaders often get carried away and lose control of their emotions, engaging in conflicts and disagreements. This not only be a setback for the leader, but can strongly impact productivity, organizational culture and importantly motivational levels. So, as part of the level of espousing good values in the Schein’s Iceberg theory, leaders have to subdue their anger, when it will result in further conflicts, and use only when it can have a positive impact on the workers. However, in the film, Miranda does not imbibe this key leadership trait in her functioning, showing her anger and abusing her employees including Andy in front of other employees and even customers. “No one likes to be ‘dressed-down’, especially in public. Miranda routinely demeaned Andy in front of the other employees by calling her insulting names, mocking her style of dress, her level of intelligence, and her ability to handle the job.” (James 2006). This form of negative leadership and not part of Schein’s Iceberg theory will surely lower the motivational levels and could even lead to the exit of the employees from the organization. Although, Andy did not take that decision of exiting, she felt de-motivated, only getting her motivation because of the support given by Nigel. Senior employees’ de-motivating role When a new employee enters an organization, along with the leaders, it is the senior employees (who will be leaders in their own right) who should take the initiative. They should espouse good values as part of Schein’s Iceberg theory, thereby guiding the employees with apt communication traits as part of the optimal organizational culture. Espousing good values includes providing good guidance when the employees need it and thereby incorporating that as part of organizational culture. Employee because of the lack of skill and knowledge about the organizational process could struggle during the work, and it is up to the senior employees to guide them with encouraging and suggestive communication. However in the film, the senior employees lacked this vital communicative trait and do not espouse good values. As soon as, Andy enters the office, employee after employee at Runway express their own negative, scary and intimidating tales about Miranda and her actions, none of which consisted and resulted in any motivation. With the senior employees de-motivating Andy with negative communication, she gets de-motivated and even frightened about Miranda, thus making it difficult for her to adapt the organizational culture. Incorporating ethics as part of organizational culture and also as an motivational tool The primary focus of any leader should be to give a clean management based on preset ethics by incorporating correct ethics and espousing good values as part of the organizational culture. “More often than not, discussions about ethics in organizations reflect only the "individualistic approach" to moral responsibility.” (Brown, 1989). Importantly as part of ethics, the leader should not do harm or even backstab his/her employees for their own personal gains, as it will de-motivate not only the concerned employee but also other employees. In the film, The Devil Wears Prada, Miranda as part of unethical and de-motivating organizational culture and bad values, backstabs Nigel for her personal stability. That is, in the climax of the movie, when Miranda becomes aware of a threat to remove her from the editor-in-chief position of Runway, she checkmates that move through various options, including the removal of Nigel. “An unlucky pawn caught in the crossfire is Nigel, Miranda’s loyal design assistant. His ambitions get decimated, prompting Andy to virtuously claim that she could never backstab someone like that.” (James 2006). So, Miranda by not incorporating ethics and not espousing good values forces Nigel out of the office, thereby fully de-motivating Andy and forcing her to quit the job. That is, Miranda points out to Andy that she herself acted unethically by grabbing the chance to go to Paris from another character, Emily. “Oh, but you already have. You did it to Emily.” (McKenna et al, 2006). Although, Andy’s reason for quitting is self-realization on her part, Miranda’s bad values in contrast to Schein’s Iceberg theory caused her motivation to lower and hastened the self-realization process. Providing an equitable physical working environment as part of the organizational culture promotes motivation Leader should actualize an organizational culture and related rituals or rules, which enables more interaction between the leader and the employees. This should be done by actualizing status free Artifacts. That is, in Schein’s Iceberg theory, another level deals with the issue of "artifacts" and how those artifacts could play both aiding and impeding role in the actualization of organizational culture and the related motivation. The creation of an organizational culture is a complex process in which the organisations’ personalities, identities and images should play a major role (Hatch & Schultz, 1997). That is, minimization in the use of status symbols or negative artifacts on the part of leader is a key thing, which can make the employees shed inhibitions and make them motivated to interact with the leaders for constructive purposes. Physical status symbols like private offices, special dining rooms for executives, and personal parking spaces should be curbed down. “…a firm understands its environment and fashions a response to that environment at the macro level” (Boyacigiller, Goodman, Phillips, 2003, p. 321). This environment will make the workers stay, at office, an enjoyable experience at the same time motivating experience. However, in the film, Miranda developed many artifacts exhibiting it as status symbols to establish her role as the ‘Master’, who can influence and intimidate her ‘Slave’ employees. For example, she made the elevator as the status symbol in the Runaway’s physical environment and thus prevented any employees from riding with her in the elevator. Minimization of the status symbols is one of the important needs because it will give even the lower staff, a motivation filled feeling that all are treated equal, irrespective of the salary, experience, etc. However, in the above discussed scenario in the film, the workers mental thought process will be filled with negative attitude about their leader and her organizational culture, leading to drop in their motivational levels. Conclusion Any organization and also its leader should not stagnate and saturate, and should continue to develop further. Schein (2004, p.418) pushes forward this idea by stating “that the leader of the future must be a perpetual learner”. Perpetual learner in the sense, the leader should learn new levels of perception and acquire lot of insights for running an organization. Unison of workers into teams, with an urge to usher an organization into top echelons will be successful, if the leader creates a perfect organizational culture. And, if a perfect organizational culture is created, the organization would have a ubiquitous presence all over the world. References Boyacigiller. NA., Goodman. RA. and Phillips. ME. (2003). Crossing Cultures: Insights from Master Teachers. London: Routledge. 2003 Brewis, J. (2007). ‘Culture’ in Knights, D. and H. Willmott (eds.) Organizational Behaviour and Management. London: Thomson. Brown, M. (1989). Ethics in Organizations. Issues in Ethics. 2 (1). DeSimone, R.L., Werner, J. H., &Harris, D. M. (2002). Human resource development. Orlando: Harcourt College Publishers. James, F. (2006). Office-Politics lessons from "The Devil Wears Prada". Retrieved November 26 from http://www.officepolitics.com/ethics/ethics_prada.php McKenna, AB (Writer), Frankel, D (Director) and Finerman, W (Producer). (2006). The Devil Wears Prada. 20th Century Fox. Roberts, J. (2007) ‘Motivation and the Self’, in Knights, D. and H. Willmott (eds.) Introducing Organizational Behaviour & Management. London: Thomson Ruane, S. (2008). Organizational Culture Theory in The Devil Wears Prada. Retrieved November 26 from http://hu-tcnjcom103sp08.blogspot.com/2008/02/organizational-culture-theory-in-devil.html Schein, EH. (2004). Organizational Culture and Leadership. 3rd Ed. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Read More