Organizational Culture Theory in The Devil Wears Prada

After learning about Organizational Culture Theory on Tuesday the first example that popped into my head was the movie The Devil Wears Prada. It is an over the top example of the theory so I am not surprised that another student thought of it as well. I chose another scene from the movie that demonstrates almost all of the communicative performances involved in Organizational Culture Theory.
In the first scene of the clip there is an enculturation performance between Andy (Anne Hathaway) and Nigel (Stanley Tucci). Stanley is making it perfectly clear that to be an acceptable employee at Runway Andy has to lose weight and wear designer clothes. Physical symbols that represent Runway (and its employees) are designer brands and trendy appearances. He makes a comment about how he will never find anything in the Runway closet to fit a size six, and that Hathaway’s character is in desperate need of Gucci and Chanel. To be an employee of Runway she must be thin, fashionable and pretty.
In the second scene the two female employees are participating in a political performance by gossiping about Hathaway’s character. Emily (Emily Blunt) is telling a coworker the story of when she first met Andy, and how she knew by her appearance that she would be an “utter disaster” at Runway. There is also an example of social performance in the second scene. When Hathaway enters the room the three girls participate in a polite, but tense, exchange. Polite comments are exchanged even though all three girls are aware that they do not get along.
Finally in the last scene there is an example of ritual performance when Andy performs a task ritual. She enters her boss Miranda’s (Meryl Streep) office and places a glass of water on her desk and magazines (something that she must do every morning before Miranda arrives). You can also see in the background that Miranda throws her coat and bag on Andy’s desk before she enters her office (a ritual shown in the clip above that happens every single morning).