Post on 21-Apr-2023
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Does Architectural Design Matters on
Organizational Cultures?
“The most creative spaces are those which hurl us together. It is the human friction
that makes the sparks (Lehrer 5)”. From this point of view, while the world is changing, new
companies and their identities desire to be creative by their people source. Their architectural
design values tried to alter the relations in the organizations to have more innovative cultures.
In the book “Management across Cultures”, the authors declared that change is everywehere
(Steers et.al. 15). This changing process has layers through the climate of the organization,
indeed in companies and their values. Moreover, the safest place where changing has always
keeps going is the personal relationships in this new world (15). If we are looking deep to the
organizational culture, it exactly defines the human side. This culture is considered in the
everyday working lives over the interests.
The literature on cultures has concentrated principally on theories which are based in
organizations. Cultural approach to organizations theory by Geertz and Pacanowsky has
relations with the change in organizations coming up the idea of architectural insights for the
organizations. On the other hand, the group communication theories’ literature regards the
teams, groups of this new worls. Functional perspective on group decision making theory by
Hirokowa and Gouran clarify groups’ deciding process by interacting with the new era
organizations. Understanding these two theories by questioning architectural design is open to
new discussions for the organizations of today. Leach examines the relations of
communication and the design part (14). He tries to understand an organizational culture,
interpersonal communication and architectural design over the relations. These relations
define the minimum needs of the culture or it adapts itself with culture for changing days (15).
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The understanding of relations with the theories and the architectural design is the key
commitment of this paper. For searching the meaning to this relations and interactions to be
hold by the theories, Leach indicates “Architecture is not the autonomous art it is often hold
out to be. Buildings are designed and contructed within a complex web of social and political
concerns” (14).
The aim of this paper is to demonstrate that organizational cultures are altering or taking
directions from the architecture, especially in new era’s technology companies. Having
analyzed the literature on culture and organizations, I will go on to discuss these alterations by
the group communication theories mentioning groups and their decision making process. The
main question is what constitutes the relation between the organizational culture and the new
age’s technological companies and their design of spaces? For achieving this goal, this paper
analyzes the questioning of organizational cultures are altering or taking directions from the
architecture of new era’s technology companies. In order to explore this idea in the level of
people, the group decisions have clear effect to understand the communication in the process
of decision. These two theories are tried to be applied for the new era’s organizations,
especially for the technology companies. By using assumptions and disciplinary approaches,
this investigation relates the cultural approach and the group communication. In this
perspective, the most striking concept is the culture. It is the main issue for this paper
searching the relations between the theories and the topic. Besides, the theories help to
conceptualize the new companies, their ecosystem, all their design ideas and the cultural
values of organizations. The paper try to use and extend the concepts of values in architecture
and design based on organizational culture and group decisions. This aspect of relating the
culture, organizations, communication and the new era has not been given so much attention.
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Leach identifies that architecture is not analysed as an art of autonmy (14). The buildings are
designed within a complex net of social and political issues (14).
CULTURAL APPROACH
Offices and corparate campus designs are products of organizations that define and delimit
their space for their culture. These spaces provide culture for daily routines of the
organizations. In the article Designing Space to Support Knowledge Work, authors argue that
impact of design goes beyond the interaction; it is becoming a framework for all the
knowledge of relations (Peponis et.al. 815). Therefore, the structure of designing space idea is
the factor of organizational culture (815). The fact that office design is one of the layer of
culture is that it is coming from the idea of getting together. Organizational communication
theories have been considered to demonstrate the concept idea of new businesses in the
context of design and architecture. If Cultural approach to organizations theory by Geertz and
Pacanowsky is one of the areas to understand the topic, the corporate culture needs to be
defined both physically and socially.
Organizational Communication Theory. In the Griffin’s book he examines Geert’s thoughts
about culture in these words “Geertz writes that man is an animal suspended in webs of
siginificance that he himself has spun” (261). While defining culture as those webs and for the
travelling on the web, an outsider has to discover and learn shared interpretations that holding
web as a web. The main ideation of culture is sharing of meaning, understanding and
sensemaking by Geertz (262). Moreover, the web of organizational culture has the relation
with the employee performances that is the actions of the organizations for Pacanowksy. He
added members constitute a culture beyond their job roles with their process, beyond the
web’s spinning (262). Innovating new ideas in the organizations needs both pragmatic
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features like functions and layout, construction and meaning. Therefore, it is necessary to
develop an understanding of those contextually defined factors implicated in the layout, not
only individuals.
Beyond Organizations. It is very well known that workplaces have different types of people
considering their skills, backgrounds, educations, ages and so on (Steers et.al. 279). In this
new era of technology, corporate culture points out different places of views for different
people, Griffin discussed (264). It is considered a freedom of actions in the organization or
quality of the organization. Indeed, Pacanowsky believes culture is more than a figurative
variable in organizations; it is the big picture of the organization itself (265). He argues the
organizations as not only doing jobs, but also the employees have personal needs like picnics,
talking, hating or loving. This theory basis coming to the idea that culture in organization has
a big relation with the spaces that people living in the organization (Griffin 265). One of the
reasons that understanding the space design through this theory is the culture value. Moreover
culture is becoming readable with the physical needs of the organizations. According to the
history of Larkin Company Building, the owner of the company invites the famous architect
Frank Lloyd Wright for designing their new office building (Duffy 2). He especially wanted a
building that helps to cultivate the culture of their organization.and supporting a commercial
strategy for accommodating innovative work processes. In this 100 years old history, the
employees’ spaces are the key points besides their values (2). The organizational
communication defines not only the social aspects but also the design of the spaces by
physical identities that organizations can live and show their continuity. So on, it can be
discussed that organizational approach tries to live with the groups. If we consider a firm from
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the technology part of the organizaitons like Cisco, it is easy to adapt organizations and their
culture approaches for their design ideas for workplaces. In their home page, it is analysed
that employees participate this kind of creative and innovative sector needs meetings and
workgroup discussions. This discussion through groups will be considered in the second part
of the paper with the functional perspective on group decision theory. Cisco Company argues
that they designed their office spaces considering the individual works spaces called cubicles
and they saw the cubicles are 65 percent vacant because of the mobility of employees with the
regular work hours. So that, they transform floor plans’ logic provides spaces for both
planned and spontaneous meetings. These kind of places they use technologies like audio and
videoconferencing, interactive white boards, instant messaging, e-mail, and voice mail. By
considering the Cabe’s article about the office design ans business performance, there exist an
important connection. The more common this idea came into place; the office design has to be
changed in the process of organization cultures. Duffy tells that the designs of the corporate
organizations have been changing especially in Europe as communication systems are
changing (6). Moreover, where as in 1960s the offices seem like open floorplanning for work
space, in 1970s the offices began to seem as social engagement platforms for the development
of the structure. On the other hand, the idea of opening floorplans was changing with respect
to individual, personalized rooms is important (Duffy 2). In 1980s computers take theirplace
on the desks answering the new office design frames would be announced. This quickly
changing new guideline for design is the main idea that organizations link everytime culture
of the organization and teamwork (3). Brynjolfsson made analysis to learn the new
technology of the spaces and works produced with the human relation (Lohr 8).
As this research continues, he finds teamworking, floorplan design are high relation to
organizational culture and workplace design. Therefore they are affecting employees and their
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relation with the company culture. He adds spatial configurations having chance to transform
spaces for more commucative spaces. It is an important view that called space communication
resembles the individuals’ relation to company (8). “Space communicates, as well as
providing space for individuals to communicate with one another” Lohr siginifies (9). The
culture of organizations understood by valued espressions (Lohr 51). Moreover, the space can
be considered as an encouraging role of culture to hange. So that space continues to transform
the culture of the organization. The process of meanings of office space and their functional
modes by Gottschalk is the schema of the history and office spaces in Europe (Lohr 52) (see
table 1.)
Table 1
Development of Office philosophies and Office concepts in Europe
Source: Lohr 52
Where group works thought to be most important elements of the tasks, sometimes the design
of the space supports the activity groups (Wineman and Adhya 2). They argue the workspaces
enhance the quality of the culture in terms of participants’ view for the organization and the
facilities in the organization (3). This view is related with the cultural aspects of the
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organizations. Dufy argues “organizational culture has two sides autonomy that is placed its
value on individual or group decision making and the interaction side that’s placed its value
on interactivity” (2).
Geertz suggests in his introduction to The Interpretation of Cultures, “because most of what
we need to comprehend a particular event, ritual, custom, idea, or whatever is insinuated as
background information before the thing itself is directly examined” (9). These observations
help organizations construct their cultures whereas they need physical constructions to turn
their views to the new era. Zakout perceives this physical contsructions are near to modern
society (21). He defines social processes with relation to architecturl design and architecture
understandings. The interesting thing is that, he claims as an architect, modern world design
has some properties. These are sometimes lack in the highly technological firms and they
need to be assisted by other technology. Apple Company can be a good case study for
thinking these ideas. Wanhemert declares Apple is one of the iconic brands that wants its own
headquarter in the form of campus (1). Looking through the Apple’s point of view to their
new campus design, we can see that their office named places change into campus like the
case of Google (Wanhemert 3). In the design manifesto, Apple Campus is beyond a simple
great building. The main idea is a new, unified, secure apple campus. The company’s floor
plan is the reflection of collaborative space. The idea is allowing employees to circulate the
ring floor plan side by side offices. They wanted employess walk, and called this building
walkable building that’s why yhey designed in a circle form (see fig.1).
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Figure 1
Apple’s New Campus Design Renderings
Source: Wired. Web
These new tech companies are thought to be searching for the new cultures and their
innovation capabilities. This is another issue of Silicon Valley and its environment. In his
article, Jakobsson and Stiernstedt claims that closely placed to the Stanford University, the
Silicon Valley have grown rapidly with the high density of genious immigrants (12). Valley
can be considered as the birthplace of U.S.computer industry. In this perspective, 47,000
square meter Google Campus called Googleplax was built in 2004 covering offices,
laboratory and playground. The Googleplax’s architect explains the idea of the campus like an
average American city and it has variety of people and they need to be come together
(Jakobsson and Stiernstedt 118). These interactions make their teamworking capacity and
creativity. Interestingly, Clive Wilkinson, the architect has the idea that communication and
interaction solve the problem of innovation climate if design allows it (120). He designed the
center of Googleplex as a small pavilion land with monumental spaces or stairways by using
the idea of openness and transparency. The building also features a central spine, or in the
words of the architect, a “main street,” around which “neighborhoods” of activity are
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clustered (120). Furthermore, all design ciriterias can be interpreted as Silicon Valley’s
special technology and effects of the climate that been there already. The common desire of
the building is reinventing and communicating with the values of Google. This idea has good
ties with the culture and architecture relation. In Google Company’s homepage, the offices
and their designs encourage this interaction of culture in the organization itself. The
employees have teams and their conversations besides their plays. This new technological
companies, becoming a Google model or not, have the understanding of new era specialities.
Martin declares “Some of top executives have sought to create a culture cast in their own
image, to perpetuate an organizational culture reflecting their own personal values, thereby
attempting to achieve an organizational form of immortality” (Martin 3). It is the perception
of the culture and the groups together with the values of the design.
GROUP COMMUNICATION
According to a survey holded by Oxford Properties, the main concept is connecting the people
and their environments with the idea of collaboration (4). Workspaces are places of
knowledge sharing, that the company assumes. Beyond this, they all want to create an
environment that all groups have the high engagaments and have the power good decisions.
This belief of teamwork or collaborative spaces has the relation with the group
communication. Hirokowa and Gouran originated the functional perspective on group
decision making is a communication theory that deals with the decisions made by groups. As
Griffin suggests, the theory focuses on how a group can increase the likelihood of making a
good decision (233).
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Group Decision Making. The idea is to create a synergy within the group so that the result is
greater than that of the individual members (233). The variated perspectives of the members
bring them to look at the issue from a wide variety of views and thus would be able to
generate a far wider list of alternative possible solutions. In the Encyclopedia of
Communication Theory, the functional perspective of effective group decision comments that
the decision level is based on not only the production of assortive acts of person but also,
requirements for the task (Salazar 3). Interestingly, when we want to consider the virtual
terms in the decision making in groups, technology has brought new dimensions to teamwork
according to the medium of communication (Nordbäck 13) . She argues that team members
have a chance to be located different offices and communicate with each other by virtuality
(13). However they haven’t got the physical space, they need a space for communication and
experience the culture of the organization. In group decisions, most of the scholars think that
discussion between group members has apositive effect on the decision’s quality (Griffin
240). In the thought of medium is the talk, conversations take place between participants in
the traditional way of thinking. Moreover, Hirokowa wasn’t faced with the idea of this
traditional wisdom, he credited the communication has more with the decisions (240). So that,
he suggested that group discussion is a tool for craeting social reality called descisions (240).
As groups discussed in the manner of decision, it is important to set the advantages of group
deicision also. Hirokowa argues that groups have the advantage of more information than the
individual. Therefore, conditions for making decision have more alternatives, creativity and
innovation. When people join into the conversation, they usually evaluates all choices and
then share the most suitable way. In another words, communication between the indiviuals for
aiming the right decision, rewarding and satisfying process when people more involved.
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Beyond Decisions and Groups. A Consideration is that all group members are quite intelligent
for making a challenging decision. If so, the task will be more cleverly thinking, more factual
and more creative (Griffin 233). Hirokowa and Gouran, the theorists are establishing that
group interaction has an actual effect on decision (233). To link this ideas for the climate of
the decision making, the group is important as the place of the members are coming together
is important. Team members want to create the appropriate environment for deciding even
they feel some uncomfort for deciding with the group (Bellamy & McNeill 2). It is the
paradigm of group decision has to do with the enviroment a lot. In new technological firms,
the idea of producing an enviroment is another challange for teamworks. For example, Google
focuses attention on group decisions in their own cultural way by using their own tools: the
campus and the bicycle. Google Company declares its vision by the employees it has. The
people they hire are smart, determined and experienced their visions in their home pages
explaine. It is an issue of even the company has the goals and the vision, it is good to diverse
it with all other minds, languages, global thoughts. In their working culture, enviroment
defined by ranging from cycling to beekeeping. As Bellamy and McNeill discuss the
environment of the decision is important for the quality, Google conference bike for the
meetings is a good example to understand how environment of groups can change through
design (see fig.2).
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Figure 2
Google Conferance Bike
Source: Google Home Page, Web
Crowley mentioned that by Google’s genourous definitions to their work, we all estimate the
Google is a company of having a phenomenal success, not their idea of culture (30). Besides,
over the years, especially in the media, Google is extremely space oriented views like bowling
alleys, endless pools, people getting free haricuts during workhours, free gym membershipss.
Using a similarly approach, Steelcase firm’s CEO Jim Hackett assume that workspaces that
are coming the idea of organizational charts and hierarchy, now in the information age, there
is more flexibility in workspace design (Bradt 10). Hackett explained this new workplace is
the transition between I space to We space as the space has the power of enabling the
information (10). People are focused in collaborative and teamworks both open and closed
environments. They are deciding by group in the different varieties of space designs. Bradt
reminds that organizations adapt themselves. Physical enviroments of workspaces are
changing day by day from private offices to open plan workspaces Swick adds (1).
Companies desire to increase the collabrative enviroment also they want their spaces has
access to natural light. This physical enviroment cases support the idea of new organizational
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communites. In the Impact Magazine, new transitions to creative addicted companies, they are
forming an enviroment both helping their employees and their physical space (Swick 2).
MIXING THE SPACE, CULTURE AND GROUPS
According to La Guardia, organizational culture is more open to change and is more flexible
than our personal cultures (12). The reason is that she adds, the organizational cultures are
interpretive, like bank headquarters. The design of a bank headquarter has the effect of luxury,
needs artworks in design and distinctive furniture for a purpose. The company wants to tells
its culture with its physical impressions. Not only for employees but also customers have
cahnge tu see this culture view. Agin and Gibson decleres that innovation occurs when there
ara young and energetic workforce (45). This is the culture of meaning that every employee
has beter ideas to sahre with the all organization through open communication. The
workspace design increasing the capabilities of group interaction so that the individuals
become collectively more creative and cognitively effective (Peponis et. al. 816). Duffy
clarified that any organizational expression effected by the architectural and spatial design of
the organization (818). Furthermore, Roethlisberger and Dickson clarifies the employee
satisfaction and morale by the well recognized management in the potential work enviroment
(827). Indeed, Allen discuss the open office layout with one level further, interactions beyond
their assigned workgroups or new patterns of the organizations (819). These patterns make a
idea box for the organizational issues especially in creativity and flexibility. It is the other
perspective of these group decision in the place of the organizations where their key point is
their architecture. Moreover, the culture change essentially begins with the idea of
organizational culture Schein argues (240). He noted the cgangesin organizational culture
where the teaching process is always continue. It is the requirement of organization’s
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preferred values, beliefs, expectations, and behaviors (240). It is interesting that Novartis
Company located in Basel defines their office design for fostering the collabrative enviroment
(241). They use the argument “common workspaces, sofas, soft lighting and cappuccino
machines to encourage people to talk, share ideas and build relationships” (Schein 241).
CONCLUSION
“When a group is forming and growing, the culture is a“glue” – a sorce of identity and
strength. In other words, young founder-dominated companies need their cultures as a way of
holding together their organizations” (Schein 14). I have attempted to construct relations of
organizational culture and the teams’ decision process through altering the modes of design.
The definition of design highlights the new era companies architectural design principles in
order to have ultimate organizational cultures and good decisions. Cultural approach to
organizations theory by Geertz and Pacanowsky and Functional perspective on group decision
making theory by Hirokowa and Gouran are the theories helped identifying the process of
new cultures, new designs and new era organizations. If, new companies try to alter their
culture by using architectura design, architecture should offer an influence on the employees.
It is possible to say an organization has chance to enrich its culture by uising architecture.
This paper has begun to explore how on some specific aspects of the broader theme. As
organizational culture has taking on more layers, the layers effect is bigger than before. To
this end, following the main aim of the paper, demonstrating organizational cultures is a way
of showing the today’s world. While new era’s technology companies are altering through
architectural design or taking directions from the architecture, it is a place to shape the
organizational culture and their groups.
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This paper was designed to enrich the literature of the relations between the ideas of the
organizations and their physical spaces. As looking through the theories and the main
examples, these findings are consistent with the organizational life. It could be that the
employees of the organizations have more comments to this issue of culture. It has to be
emphasized that the paper was exploratory to the two theories selected. Clearly, if paradigms
like group decisions and the organizational cultures will relate the design and the creativity as
I argue in this paper, it will be easy to make changes that are suitable fort he new era
companies. In sum, the understanding of organizations through the methodology of design
would become a process.
The workplace and its relation with the era, the workplace is not only thought as a pace to
conduct business; it is a multi-functional enviroment that responding and adapting the
changing paradigms of business, its employeers and community (Oxford Company 20). As
Schein mentioned in his article “Coming to a New Awareness of Organizational Culture” that
organizational culture analyzed with different variables (3). Interestingly, he offers artifacts
that are the constructed enviroment of the organization and its architecture, technology, office
layout is open to intrepretation to understand the culture. Nonetheless, these parameters are in
the reseacrh of the main question. Besides, the group thinking in culture is another key factor.
“Culture is embedded in groups, hence the creating group must always be clearly identified”
(Schein 5).
Noticeably, the more questions can be asked to understand the relation of space design and
the culture of organizations and teamwork. As Tharp sharpens “The critical effort of
workspace design lies in aligning the various and sometimes competing needs of the group
with the physical environment” (4). The designing with the concern of organizational culture
requires both group thinking and the culture itself (4). This organizational cultural
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implications will have the power on design and teamworking. These assesments seem in the
new era companies especially in technological ones as work of companies are changing. This
is the way of thinking integrated with architecture and social sciences together.
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