Office Artifacts

Organizational culture can be briefly defined as a set of cultural elements that make an organization different or unique. Its characteristics can be examined by taking miscellaneous notions into account, such as artifacts, beliefs, and values as well as basic assumptions. Analyzing the level of artifacts, office artifacts are the objects present in the place where professional (e.g., business, administrative) activities are conducted, and they comprise the objects that are directly or indirectly connected with organizational performance. In the group of office artifacts one can find, among other things, the examples of corporate architecture, the types of professional clothing, or the business titles on letterheads. Office artifacts vary in size; they can be treated as the entire office space or office location, and they include small items such as business cards or small corporate toys.

Office artifacts can be classified according to their portability and instrumentality. Portability denotes that an artifact can be transported; some office artifacts have a stable and fixed place within the office space, whereas others can be moved freely, depending on the user's need. Instrumentality reflects the usefulness of an artifact; thus, office artifacts can be divided into those used strictly for office purposes (e.g., preparing correspondence, sorting documents, organizing meetings) and those utilized for other purposes (e.g., relaxation, aesthetics).

Office artifacts may be also categorized by taking into account their permanence and durability. Some office artifacts are relatively stable and are not modified with the passing of time, whereas others undergo constant alterations to meet the changing needs of workers and stakeholders. The place that office artifacts occupy is the juxtaposition of safety regulations and ergonomics as well as company identity and individual preferences. Moreover, their order is supposed to enhance individual effectiveness and company image by, for example, strengthening office routine and ensuring high predictability of organizational activities. The other characteristic feature of office artifacts is that they belong to the easily noticed and observed aspects of corporate life, but they may be difficult to comprehend properly. Since artifacts are seen, touched, heard, and felt, they involve various [Page 645]senses and their perception is culture-specific, taking into account different individual and social aspects. The way they are perceived and understood depends on one's individual characteristics as well as on several group factors.

As far as their purposes are concerned, office artifacts serve the role they have been ascribed, that is, in most cases, connected with making organizational life more efficient. Additionally, many office artifacts serve various functions at the same time, such as the objectives associated with the company, the position on a hierarchy ladder (identification with the organization, status marker), one's personal preferences, and their basic office function. Thus, they provide information on the company as well as on its workers. Taking into account the individual, they can be associated with the type of job one performs and, consequently, serve as status markers. Even such dimensions as the height or length of a given artifact can determine one's prestige. To add, office artifacts, being physical symbols, help communicate relationships between people by drawing one's attention to similarities or differences.

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