Trice and Beyer (1984) were academics who concentrated on the idea of there being symbols within a business. They divided these into, first, high-level symbols, which are the more obvious ones such as company buildings and logos, and, second, low-level symbols.
They suggested four categories of low-level symbols:
practices
communications
physical forms
a common language
Practices - These are the rites, rituals and ceremonies of the business.
These can take many forms, and would include the annual office party, employee awards and inter-site competitions.
Communications - These are the stories, myths and slogans that are circulated in the business.
Stories about notable events in the past tend to become part of the culture of the business and can influence behaviour. How the business started, for example, or a period of particular success, can say something about preferred ways of performing and goals to aim for.
Physical forms - These include location, open plan or individual offices, types of eating areas, business suits or casual attire, flipcharts or whiteboards, and office furniture.
For an interesting example go to the Google website (www.google.com) and look at ‘Inside Google’ and ‘Culture’ in the 'Jobs at Google' section of the ‘About Google’ area to see images of the culture and workplace at Google. Also interesting are the ‘Top 10 reasons to work at Google’.
Common language - Jargon is common to many businesses. It is a convenient shorthand form of communication, but it also affects behaviour.
For example, Disney employees are ‘cast members’, while McDonald's employees are ‘crew members’.