SPEAKER: Artifacts refer to the objectsthat employees can see, touch, or hear.This provides them with the initial impressionof the workplace culture.They can be grouped into four categories-- symbolic, role,interactive, and contextual.Symbolic artifacts center on how the workplace useslanguage and non-verbal codes to represent

SPEAKER [continued]: the values of the organization.For example, Southwest Airlines urges flight attendantsto sing or tell jokes over the intercom.And their uniforms are casual polo shirts and shorts.Role artifacts focus on specific cultural rolescoworkers play within the workplace.The most influential is the hero role,

SPEAKER [continued]: which embodies the workplace cultureand challenges the employees to be creative and innovative.Former Apple CEO Steve Jobs epitomized this quality.Other cultural roles are the outlaw,who fails to follow the workplace rulesbut is allowed to because he or she has the organization's bestinterests at heart.The high priest is an employee who

SPEAKER [continued]: protects the company values.The whisperer has the power to effect changewithin the workplace but is not the formal leader.And, finally, the cabal employee is interested solelyin his or her self promotion.There are also interactive elements within the workplace.At Zappos, the online shoe company,

SPEAKER [continued]: employees are encouraged to decorate their workspacesand break rooms have mini fridges with free snacks.Finally, contextual elements referto the parameters surrounding the existence of the workplace,such as its location or history.For some organizations, this is a vital pieceof the workplace culture.For example, superstore Walmart has

SPEAKER [continued]: remained headquartered in Rogers, Arkansassince it began in 1962.Every workplace develops its own set of values.These values act as strategies, goals, and the philosophythat molds the cultural workplace guidelines.