This clip, a seven minute excerpt from the Mike Judge comedy "Office Space," shows Organizational Culture Theory through the eyes of Peter, Michael and Samir, software developers at a company called Initech.
Several different aspects of the Communicative Performance are shown. First, Samir and Michael show a social performance, acting politely to the woman delivering memos, even though she stumbles over Samir's name and fixates on Michael's last name -- Bolton. Michael then displays a passion performance, when he tells the others that he could program a computer virus that could cripple the company. Peter then suggests a social ritual performance in getting out of the office and going to Chotchkey's for coffee.
Here, the waiter repeats what the woman delivering memos said -- "Sounds like someones got a case of the Mondays" -- a verbal symbol shared by both the office workers and the nearby restaurant that they frequent. After exiting the restaurant, the three encounter a co-worker ranting and raving about downsizing, in a passion performance. The staff meeting he mentions ends up being an enculturation performance, familiarizing the workers with two efficiency experts.
All of these performances show the overall culture at Initech, the spider web that the workers all weave. It's a depressed, nervous, paranoid atmosphere, and this is reflected in the low morale of the workers.
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This clip from "Office Space" is actually a really funny example of Organizaional Culture Theory. There are a lot of symbols in the clip. The men's appearance is a physical symbol of the place where they work (they have office jobs so they must dress in button down shirts and ties). The staff meeting mentioned is a behavioral symbol of the company (it is obviously something that takes place quite often and which all are required to attend). Finally the phrase "Case of the Mondays" seems to be a verbal symbol because the people that work at the office are used to hearing it (because they are all usually miserable).
There is also a good amount of social ritual in this clip. The three men seem to have a routine together. They hang around each other's cubicles, complain, and go get coffee at the same restaurant each day. There interactions with each other are a social ritual involved with their job.
This clip from the hilarious Mike Judge "Office Space" really captures the essence of "The Communicative Performance". All five of the performances included the Organizational Culture Theory are displayed throughout this movie. This clip in particular provides examples that poke fun of the mundane and ritualistic atmosphere of many corporations.
Much to Peter's dismay, he finds he is a slave to social rituals. His interactions with each of his co-workers are superficial and similar in nature. His conversations with them are a good example of how social rituals (ritual performances) and enculturation performances may sometimes overlap.
The phrase "Case of the Mondays" is a verbal symbol that extends beyond Initech. It is a phrase that unites the entire working class.
Initech represents a typical corporation, and Mike Judge portrays it as a breeding ground for social performances and other rituals.
Your examples of the Passion performance and the verbal symbol are humorous. The situation that the characters are thrust in actually perpetuate these aspects of Organizational Culture theory, so it can be said that OCT is neverending. Despite the despair that is beheld by the workers, they create a plan to lash out against the organization. In a way, this is also an argument against the degree of capability of the benefits of a set organizational culture. Arguments for this statement can be found in the multiple examples of characters feeling dissatisfaction with their jobs.
I happen to love this post because when I read the chapter about the Organizational Cultural Theory I automatically thought of Office Space. Office Space is a social satire of everything that deals with an organization. The film uses every stereotype about an office and as such, it is a perfect example of the rituals that exist in an organization. The staff meeting is a prime example of a ritual performance that occurs in an office setting. It is also a very good example of an organizational ritual because it deals with the entire staff rather than just a few employees. The conversations between the employees are also perfect examples of social rituals because they are interactions which build relationships between the employees. Honestly, I can not think of a part of this clip that does not apply to the theory in some way and I feel that it is a shame that the entire movie could not have been posted.
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