Temporal Dimensions of Symbolic Community

The preceding chapter examined the form and function of the sister tutelage system and other supervisory relations as well as interrelationships occurring within groupings of workers organized by year of entry. In the picture that emerged, we witnessed the complex landscape of emotions and linguistic practices contrary to the discourse of harmony so vital to organizations. In other words, we located the discrepancy between the subject’s experience of vertical and horizontal relationships and the ideals by which they should function. Equally, we saw how some workers perceived relations to be based on genuine friendship, which was also useful in helping each other in a work-related context. The question that concerns us is this: if harmony is not an intrinsic characteristic of the workplace, nor endemic to vertical and horizontal relations, then what countermeasures operate to ensure the continuance of a community resembling its ideal form? To continue our critical enquiry, in this chapter, we examine how the management constructs an image of community and enforces ideals through symbolic means and repeated acts.