Cultural constructs form a foundation of what we are, and our relationship with other people as well as our overall communication and interaction within the society. Cultural constructs are always at our fingertips and cannot be forgotten. In our lives, we have come across a lot of information that we have overlooked in the process, because we are engaged in constant pursuit and search of information in our daily lives (Sparrow et al., 2011). Though information gained can be lost, culture and ideological beliefs cannot be disposed of, forgotten, or recycled. These cultures prevail in the most inner cores of the social organizations that we have in our societies. Organizational cultures act as the main factors that boost growth and success professionally and economically. Organizations reap the benefits of professional growth by engaging in cooperative business endeavors. Organizations adopt various cultures which help them to maintain relationships with one another and hence achieve success. As an employee of PG&E Company, a utility company which is located in California to distribute electricity and natural gas in the state, evaluating their culture is helpful in understanding symbols of culture and factors that influence organizational success.
The PG&E Company has a pretty and unique logo. The logo is designed in such a way that it reads PG&E written in white letters with a light blue background. This logo is available in all of their trucks and is distinctive in such a way that someone can note them from a distance. This logo acts as a prestige for the employees that they can be able to associate themselves with the company. Also, the company covers a vast territory such that it has its offices implanted everywhere. It is, therefore, normal to see the company's employees carrying out a specific task or taking care of a particular business in the state.
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On the other hand, the organization has a set of espoused values that govern the overall activities of the organization. One of the main features of the organization is its set of strategies aimed at reducing accidents and becoming the safest utility in the country. These strategies include a continuous checking and validation of the pipelines to ensure that they are at the right pressure. Also, the organization has efficient control systems and emergency procedures which are used to handle emergency cases. Further, the company believes in hiring and training as many employees as possible who will help in the implementation of new changes in the company. These strategies had enabled the company to move from dark times, such as a terrible accident that occurred in 2010, when a transmission pipeline in San Bruno exploded. Therefore some of these values and strategies are aimed at minimizing such cases and ensuring that the company becomes one of the safest in the country.
Another essential aspect of PG&E Company is the fact that it has clearly defined requirements for each department. These stipulations help the company to attain its goals as well as make as many changes as possible to their normal activities ( Baack, 2012) . As a result of the San Bruno incident, the company has been under a lot of pressure from regulating agencies, which include the California Public Utility Commission (CPUC) and the Pipeline and Hazardous Material Safety Administration (PHMSA). These agencies have kept the company on toes in ensuring that it has invested in ensuring the safety of its employees as well as the safety of the general public. As a result, the company has developed a safety culture that is characterized by regular safety meetings and learning workshops. In these meetings, employees are provided with a safety message which raises awareness on personal and professional levels.
Further, the departments in the organization have various safety targets. An example of this is the fact that in our department, which consists of 600 employees, we are required to take part in a driving course. This impacts the employees with various skills enabling them to avoid some mistakes that are common with drivers such as driving and texting, among others. A lot of emphases is laid on education, and PG&E invests a lot of money in ensuring that there is enough training and educating its employees. Also, the company partners with the department of education in the country where it has opened windows for students to engage in some engineering courses ( Mittelsteadt, 2013) .
In the construction sector, whenever something is deemed dangerous or likely to cause harm to someone, in work in progress, someone is supposed to stop the work. When the work is stopped, the work is inspected, and the issues raised are solved before the work starts again. In PG&E, they have adopted a culture of safety and are aimed at ensuring success by doing the right thing. The management of the company is involved in continuous fundamental analysis of the company status. This enables them to make various changes that are essential in elevating the state of the company and will allow it to become the safest utility in the whole country.
References
Baack, D. (2012). Organizational behavior . San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.
Mittelsteadt, S. (2013). New Energy Career Academies: a bright idea powered by PG&E. Techniques , 88(4), 52.
Sparrow, B., Liu, J., & Wegner, D. M. (2011). Google effects on memory: Cognitive consequences of having information at our fingertips. Science, 333(6043), 476-478. DOI:10.1126/science.1207745
