Identity: the Quintessence of an Organization

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Lecture 3

• Identity the Quintessence of an Organization

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Objectives

• Identity why its a problematic but powerful
  concept
• Introducing nine streams of inquiry relating to
  identity
• Why identity is necessary and not contingent
• Identity through the lense of graphic design,
  organizational behavior and multidisciplinary
  perspectives
• Model of the moment Model of the corporate
  identity-corporate communications management
  process (Balmer and Gray, 1999) page. 132

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Identity powerful but problematic i

• Identity studies (in relation to organizations)
  attempt to address to profoundly important, but
  problematic, questions.WHO ARE WE ? (a
  particular concern of organizational behaviorists
  who focus on organizational identification) and
• WHAT ARE WE ? (a particular concern of
  marketers and communicators)

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Identity powerful but problematic ii

• Identity is powerful because the questions
  themselves are of such magnitude moreover..
• The identity concept is applicable to industries,
  entire corporations, subsidiaries,countries,
  cities, professions etc in addition
• The discussion of corporate brands, corporate
  communications, corporate reputation etc because
  difficult unless reference is made to the
  identity concept in other words it is important
  to ascertain..
• Who we are and what we are.

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Identity powerful but problematic iii

• The identity concept is problematic because of
  its rich disciplinary and philosophical
  underpinnings.
• However, many perceive identity through a single
  disciplinary lens (graphic design, organizational
  behaviour, corporate communications etc)

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Identity powerful but problematic iv

• As such identity means different things to
  different people. Some consider identity simply
  in terms of company logos, others in terms of
  staff affinity with the organization whilst,
  others in terms of creating favourable images via
  controlled corporate communications whilst others
  see it as broad umbrella construct subsuming all
  the above and is more akin to a new philosophical
  approach in revealing an organization. (see
  Balmers schools of thought page 35)

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Identity An aperture of nine

• The identity concept (in relation to
  organizations) has been examined in terms of
• Disciplinary and national roots
• Schools of thought
• Philosophical Underpinnings
• Components
• Characteristics
• Management
• Analysis
• Structure and Hierarchy and its
• Relationship with other corporate-level concepts

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Identity An aperture of nine Example (b)
Schools of Thought p.35

• In the mid 1990s seven schools of thought
  relating to identity were identified. These
  reflected the strategic, behavioral,
  communications and graphic design perspectives
  relating to identity. (the graphic design
  perspective comprised four distinct schools of
  thought which is indicative of the importance
  accorded to graphic design at the time)

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Identity An aperture of nine Example (b)
Schools of Thought p.35

• It was concluded that the different emphasis
• Mirrored the different disciplinary roots
• Was indicative of the different types of identity
  issues that confront organizations at different
  times which range from addressing fundamental
  identity questions such as Who are we? and
  What are we? and, at the other extreme, Is our
  logo fashionable?
• Moreover, it was concluded that identity studies
  was analogous to a mosaic that the individual
  approaches were part of a much larger whole.

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Identity An aperture of nine Example (d)
Components p.38

• In Europe there has been interest in identifying
  the key components that constitute an identity
  the identity mix
• Birkigt and Stadlers identity mix comprises
• Behavior, Communication and Symbolism
• Whilst influential, this mix has been criticised
  for being too narrow in scope. It has also been
  argued that a clear distinction needs to be made
  between the mix of elements constituting an
  identity and the additional mix of elements that
  require orchestration in terms of its management.
  The latter has given rise to the identity
  management mix.

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Identity necessary not contingent

• Necessary because it is concerned with an
  organizations raison detre.
• Necessary because it relates to a organism that
  is constantly shifting and is embryonic.
• Identity issues often come to the fore in
  extremis when organizations confront a strategic
  fork in the road (merger, acquisition etc)

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Identity through a graphic design lenses i

• The most pervasive of all identity perspectives.
• Enduring legacy consider 19th century railroad
  companies.
• Pioneering work of Bahrens (AEG) Olivetti
  (Olivetti) and Parkin and Johnston (London
  Underground) led to a realization that
• Corporate communications should be consistent and
  should be managed and that

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Identity through a graphic design lenses ii

• Visual identification is the most easily
  controlled and most pervasive forms of
  communication, moreover
• the aim of many changes of visual identity is to
• Distil the essence of the organization in a
  single logotype.
• Originally referred to House Style use is
  frequently made to corporate identity which has
  caused immense confusion with the
  multidisciplinary approaches to the area.
• Walter Margulies (US) is credited with coining
  the phrase corporate identity and this
  eclipsed the use of house style in Europe.

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Identity through an organizational behavior
perspective

• In truth there are numerous perspectives,
  however, a dominant concern is in addressing the
  question, Who are we ?.
• The emphasis is firmly on organizational members
  and the degree to which they do/or do not
  identify with the corporation (identification).
• Reference is rarely made to corporate identity
  but, rather, to organizational identity.
• The originators of this distinct approach to
  identity studies are Albert and Whetten.
• This perspective has enjoyed wide hegemony in
  scholarly circles.

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Identity through a multidisciplinary perspective

• This perspective has been apparent in the
  marketing literature from the British
  Commonwealth for some time. It is also to be
  found in the work of organizational behaviorists.
  Main proponents of this approach among academics
  have been Balmer, Hatch and Schultz whilst Wally
  Olins, coming from the world of practise has also
  advocated this approach.
• For the main BOTH identity questions are
  addressed, namely, Who are we? and What are
  we?
• The preferred concept is that of Corporate
  Identity (see Olinss lecture of 1977 to Londons
  Royal Society of Arts, Manufacturers and Trades.

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Identity Schools of Thought
FOCUS THEORGANIZATIONSINTERNAL
ANDEXTERNALSTAKEHOLDERS
STRATEGICFOCUS
CULTURALFOCUS
FASHIONABILITYFOCUS
COMMUNICATIONSFOCUS
5. The Corporate-CommunicationsSchoolCommunicat
ing the organizationsmission and philosophy
through formal corporate communications policies
3. The Behavioral SchoolNurturing a distinct
organizational cultural mix
1. The Strategic SchoolArticulation of
corporate mission and philosophy
Feedback
2. The Strategic-Visual SchoolEffecting
strategic changethrough visual means
6. The Visual-CommunicationsSchoolCommunicating
the organizationsmission and philosophy
visually
4. The Visual-Behavioral SchoolCommunicating
visually the organizations distinct culture
7. The Design-as-Fashion SchoolKeeping visual
elementsfashionable
Integrative Diagram of the Hierarchy of Schools
of Thought in Strategic Corporate-Identity
ManagementAdapted from Balmer (1995) 54 (Based
on an analysis of the literature)
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.model of the moment

• See Balmer and Grays model of the corporate
  identity/corporate communciations management
  process p. 132
• Consider the components, inflences and effects of
  an organizations identity.
• Why or why not would you alter the model. Explain
  what you would alter.

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.model of the moment
A new model of the corporate identity - corporate
communications process
Exogenous Factors
Creates
STAKEHOLDERS
Primary Communication
CORPORATE IDENTITY
through
CORPORATE IMAGE AND CORPORATE REPUTATION
Can lead to
Tertiary Communication
COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE
Secondary Communication
STAKEHOLDERS
Creates
Feedback
Feedback
POLITICAL,
ECONOMIC,
ETHICAL,
SOCIAL TECHNICAL,
ENVIRONMENTAL FORCES
Corporate Identity (i) Values Purposes (ii)
Corporate Strategy (iii) Organisational
Culture (iv) Organisational Structure Environme
ntal Forces The five environmental categories
have an impact on all parts of the
process articulated above
Primary Communication (i) Products
Services (ii) Market behavior (iii) behavior
towards Employees (iv) Employee behavior to
Other Stakeholders (v) Non-Market
behavior Secondary Communication (i) Formal,
Corporate Communications (Advertising,
PR, Graphic Design, Sales Promotions,
etc). (ii) Visual Identification Systems
Tertiary Communications (i) Word-of-mouth (ii)
Media Interpretation and spin (iii) Competitors -
Communication and spin Stakeholders (i)
Individuals (increasingly are seen to belong
to multiple stakeholder groups both within
and outwith the organisation.
Traditionally, stakeholders are categories
as belonging to one stakeholder group) (ii)
Customers (iii) Distributors and retailers (iv)
Suppliers (v) Joint-venture partners (vi)
Financial Institutions and analysis (vii)
Shareholders (viii) Government Regulatory
Agencies (ix) Social Action Organisations (x)
General Public (xi) Employees
Corporate Image (i) The immediate mental
picture that individuals or individual
stakeholder groups have of an
organisation Corporate Reputation (i) Evolves
over time as a result of consistent
performance reinforced by the three types
of communication shown above
Competitive Advantage (i) The reputation of the
company in the eyes of individuals and
stakeholder groups will influence their
willingness to either provide or withhold
support for the company Exogenous
Factors Perceptions of the organisation
and therefore the strength of competitive advantag
e can be influenced by a number of factors
including (i) Country of Origin, Image and
Reputation (ii) Industry Image and
Reputation (iii) Image Regulations of
Alliances and Partnerships etc.
Balmer Gray (1999)
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Summary

• Identity is important albeit problematic in
  nature.
• However, it can be classified as being
  necessary rather than contingent
• The identity concept has been explored from
  numerous perspective
• There are a variety of approaches to identity
  studies with the graphic design, organizational
  behaviour and multidisciplinary approaches being
  of particular significance.
• Balmer and Grays model (1999) attempts to
  illustrate the components, influences, and
  importance of corporate identity to contemporary
  organizations.

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Therefore, it should come as no surprise that the
concept of identity, which is so germane to
conceiving what it means to be human, also is
central to the conceptualization of one of the
most complex and fascinating of human creations,
the work organization.

• Dennis A. Gioia