SACRALIZATION AND RITUALIZATION OF CORPORATE CULTURE

Abstract

The article touches upon the problem of sacralisation and ritualization of corporate culture. The author stresses that corporate culture has cultural and anthropological links with its historical past and analyses symbols, myths, emblems, colour and rituals as a symbolic block of corporate culture.

Corporate culture has proved to be an integral part of human life. That is why, exploring the multiplicity of representations and practices of corporate culture, it is necessary to make the main emphasis on the person.

The author highlights that symbolic block of corporate culture contains rituals, symbols, myths, legends, heroic personality of the organization, which in rather figurative and concise form reflect the most powerful, significant aspects of the company’s culture and its most important directions.

Modern corporate culture clearly demonstrates its cultural and anthropological links to historical prototypes. That is why, it is relevant to analyse the mechanisms of its self-preservation.

The objective of the research is to analyse the general tendencies of sacralisation and ritualization of corporate culture, which have anthropological roots and form its intact nucleus.

The author proves that desired behaviour patterns, the requirement for predictability, inherent in homo oeconomicus, are embodied in the ritual practices of corporate culture, which have their sacred cyclical chronosophy.

The processes of sacralisation of corporate culture coexist with the tendencies of its deserialization, where the anthropological significance of trust grows.

The author points out that symbols play an important role and influence people’s behaviour. Symbol is treated as an image that reflects other (usually very diverse) images, contents and attitudes in a concise form, including unknown ones, which can only be foreseen or felt.

A graphic symbol is defined as a concentrated conditional abstract form of reflection and fixation of the scientific or religious knowledge of man, as well as of the unconscious part of his psyche through its stylized sign. The symbols represent high abstract concepts, values which are difficult to summarize and can not be fully described by words.

Myths are analysed in terms of positive influence on the formation of general corporate values, motivation of employees and expression of corporate identity. By providing a strong emotional impact on employees, they provide the necessary benchmarks for behaviour, ethical behaviour patterns, types and norms of achievement. Characters of corporate myths are always an example to follow.

To raise the prestige of the enterprise, to unite the employees and their families, the author finds it necessary to pay attention to the organization of a family holiday or as it is called today «family day». These measures allow creating a ground for «succession of generations», which contribute to the emergence of a favourable psychological climate in the team.

Thus, the ambivalent internal logic of corporate culture has been justified, which is determined by the interaction between the logic of sacralisation and the logic of deserialization, where the first dominates the world of work, and the other the field of leisure.

The author concludes that models of behaviour are fixed in ritual practices of corporate culture. They have their sacral cyclic chronosophy and form a peculiar hidden esoteric plan of corporate culture. The processes of sacralisation of corporate culture coexist with the tendencies of its deserialization, where the anthropological significance of trust grows.