Ritualization
Employee uniforms ritualize individual behavior into company representation, making signals unambiguous and increasing accountability.
Ritualization is evolution's way of reducing ambiguity.
Many visual displays evolved through ritualization - the evolutionary process where functional behaviors become exaggerated, stereotyped, and used primarily for communication rather than their original function. Threat displays often derive from attack movements. Dogs bare teeth before biting; over evolutionary time, tooth-baring becomes a threat signal that often prevents actual fighting. Similarly, courtship displays often ritualize behaviors originally functional for mating. Male ducks' elaborate head-bobbing and wing-stretching displays evolved from preening and stretching movements. Ritualization is evolution's way of reducing ambiguity.
Business Application of Ritualization
Employee uniforms ritualize individual behavior into company representation, making signals unambiguous and increasing accountability. FedEx drivers in branded uniforms transform from individuals into company representatives.