I have seen new logo contests in multiple work environments over the years. There is a flurry of activity and enthusiasm surrounding the creation and the choosing of the new logo. After the new logo is chosen there is an official release and ‘unveiling’. Everyone seems excited to produce and use the new logo and for awhile it is effectively plastered all over everything with great pride and emphasis. The new logos I have personally witnessed seemed to be viewed as band aids that would cure all ills. Unfortunately, they slowly become a standard addition to letterhead and websites that are ignored by everyone just like their predecessors.
Not as much planning and consideration seem to go into the new logo’s long term use or its potential influence on future branding as was concentrated on its development and current representation of management’s perception of the organization, i.e. corporate identity. Possibly, the continued promotion of the logo’s rationale for being chosen would help it not become just another meaningless symbol. Organizational (corporate) advertising depicting a positive image reflecting the new logo should continue as long as the logo is utilized. The scenario reminds me of a parent’s reaction to a newly acquired activity of their child’s. At first a huge fuss is made, whether the child is actually good or not, and then eventually it is just another activity to be fit into the to do list.
Having personally observed the above scenario more than once, I would definitely agree with the book that an organization’s vision should be represented by all aspects such as logos, mottos and employee behavior. Employees can have a negative or positive effect on branding and reputation. If employees continue to remember the logo’s positive message; the meaning will be passed on to other existing constituencies as well as future ones. Identity, image and reputation must all be considered for successful advertising outcomes to occur – singling out one will not be productive in the long run.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Chapter 4: Identity, Image, and Reputation
In my personal experience of working with a small but highly profitable Indian outsourcing firm, I had the opportunity to witness its merger with IBM. Being a global behemoth in terms of its diverse businesses across the world and being a well-known corporate brand, IBM was not new to managing mergers and acquisitions; and transcending its universal corporate culture and philosophy across its various entities.
Prior to the deal being announced in the media, all employees were informed about the merger through an elaborate e-mail from our CEO highlighting the reasons and logic behind the move to merge with IBM. He also provided the specific Human Resources contact information to address any concerns or questions that we may have and encouraged us to personally write to him if our concerns were not fully addressed.
The next few days saw a flurry of activities at our workplace with our senior managers meeting their respective production teams and formally announcing the merger in person in presence of HR executives and senior IBM officers. The CEO intricately explained to all the employees by video-conference as to how our existing mission, vision and values were in sync with the IBM values and that there would not be a monumental change in our day to day operations. There would be no job losses, transfers or role changes within the next six months.
I witnessed regular communications from our Corporate Human Resources team that kept us abreast with the changes in terms of the new aesthetics of the facility, our identities and attire in line with IBM corporate culture. Also, a new logo and a new name were announced. This gave us a very professional outlook that boosted our self-confidence and made us feel proud to be a part of a global corporation. The employee turnover was very low post the merger as the identity of IBM as a corporation was well-known. Also, all employees had a very high regard for IBM being a leader in our industry and were well aware of its reputation in the corporate world. Hence, IBM's image and identity played an important role in reinforcing its reputation and corporate values among our staff.
IBM and our top management worked tirelessly to interact with our suppliers and customers in updating them about our new corporate identity and our brand. The existing communication media vehicles were used to the maximum (courtesy of IBM) to communicate the merger and reinforce the IBM brand and our new identity in the marketplace.
In my opinion, IBM and our senior management handled the merger in a very smooth and efficient manner.
Prior to the deal being announced in the media, all employees were informed about the merger through an elaborate e-mail from our CEO highlighting the reasons and logic behind the move to merge with IBM. He also provided the specific Human Resources contact information to address any concerns or questions that we may have and encouraged us to personally write to him if our concerns were not fully addressed.
The next few days saw a flurry of activities at our workplace with our senior managers meeting their respective production teams and formally announcing the merger in person in presence of HR executives and senior IBM officers. The CEO intricately explained to all the employees by video-conference as to how our existing mission, vision and values were in sync with the IBM values and that there would not be a monumental change in our day to day operations. There would be no job losses, transfers or role changes within the next six months.
I witnessed regular communications from our Corporate Human Resources team that kept us abreast with the changes in terms of the new aesthetics of the facility, our identities and attire in line with IBM corporate culture. Also, a new logo and a new name were announced. This gave us a very professional outlook that boosted our self-confidence and made us feel proud to be a part of a global corporation. The employee turnover was very low post the merger as the identity of IBM as a corporation was well-known. Also, all employees had a very high regard for IBM being a leader in our industry and were well aware of its reputation in the corporate world. Hence, IBM's image and identity played an important role in reinforcing its reputation and corporate values among our staff.
IBM and our top management worked tirelessly to interact with our suppliers and customers in updating them about our new corporate identity and our brand. The existing communication media vehicles were used to the maximum (courtesy of IBM) to communicate the merger and reinforce the IBM brand and our new identity in the marketplace.
In my opinion, IBM and our senior management handled the merger in a very smooth and efficient manner.
Chapter 4: Identity, Image, and Reputation – Ryan Kirsch
I worked for an engineering and consulting firm for 5 years prior to starting my MBA. The company is consistently ranked high among other engineering/design, and environmental firms (Engineering News Record – 2010). On the outside the company’s image and reputation is very appealing to customers, clients, etc. However, from my experience the company’s internal reputation (i.e. employee perspective) is the opposite.
The firm had gone through many mergers and acquisitions over the years prior to my arrival; and it has been struggling with an internal identity ever since. The firm has approximately 100 offices with 3,000+ employees across the U.S., and each office has “battled” to keep their own identity and reputation. I have to give credit to the new CEO who has been trying to fix this problem since taking over in the past couple years. She has been realigning the firm’s divisions, offices, and personnel to better suit their client/customer’s needs, and requiring offices to comply with corporate policies.
Another area the firm is struggling with is employee retention. I don’t know the statistics, but it seems to me that the offices I’ve worked for had a relatively high employee turnover rate. Management has consistently failed to retain highly qualified individuals. Part of this is due to economic factors (furloughs, layoffs, etc.), but the majority of employees often see working for the company as just a stepping stone onto something else. There never appeared to be any loyalty among management and employees. Unless the firm changes its internal reputation, I do see some office divisions suffering. In many cases, I’ve seen projects sitting at a standstill because of employee turnover, and failed recruitment attempts at hiring new employees. “Word gets around and travels fast…”
The firm had gone through many mergers and acquisitions over the years prior to my arrival; and it has been struggling with an internal identity ever since. The firm has approximately 100 offices with 3,000+ employees across the U.S., and each office has “battled” to keep their own identity and reputation. I have to give credit to the new CEO who has been trying to fix this problem since taking over in the past couple years. She has been realigning the firm’s divisions, offices, and personnel to better suit their client/customer’s needs, and requiring offices to comply with corporate policies.
Another area the firm is struggling with is employee retention. I don’t know the statistics, but it seems to me that the offices I’ve worked for had a relatively high employee turnover rate. Management has consistently failed to retain highly qualified individuals. Part of this is due to economic factors (furloughs, layoffs, etc.), but the majority of employees often see working for the company as just a stepping stone onto something else. There never appeared to be any loyalty among management and employees. Unless the firm changes its internal reputation, I do see some office divisions suffering. In many cases, I’ve seen projects sitting at a standstill because of employee turnover, and failed recruitment attempts at hiring new employees. “Word gets around and travels fast…”
Friday, September 24, 2010
Chapter 4 Identity Image & Reputation- Terry Smith
Identity, image, and reputation are what defines firms and how people portray them. I work for IUP's Intramurals program. It basically defines student recreation within the university. I will use this workplace to discuss how I see these three terms.
Identity defined is: the actual manifestation of the company's reality as conveyed through many things. In my workplace people just think it's about refereeing games and organizing schedules. It is way larger than that, my colleagues and I have to set an example. We must prove to the university that we are the best at what we do. Our staff is great but we must show it in many ways. We have to create an identity for Intramurals, this means presentation (demeanor, uniforms, actions, performance). The most important piece is our logo which represents the university and organization.
Image defined is: a reflection of an organization's identity. In my workplace as an intramural worker our image is what our boss stresses to us the most. Before I started working intramurals I heard the program was sloppy and almost got removed from the university completely. People felt as though it was a waste and needed to be cut. In my opinion this could only be because the previous boss and staff didn't take the job seriously. There were many problems with the last boss and staff. This is why our boss stressed to us now that this is the most important key to our jobs. We must prove to the university that we are a great program and the students need us. Since I have been working with intramurals our boss has praised us because of our great jobs. Now he cannot hear enough good things that people talk about our program. Our image is restored and we can only hope it stays that way. We got this way from our presentation and performance towards the students.
Reputation defined: differs from image because it is built up over time and is not simply a perception at a given point in time. It differs from identity because it is a product of both internal and external constituencies. Reputation is how other people and companies look at your company. Our reputation at IUP intramurals is that we provide the students with fun, exciting, and wonderful sporting experiences. Our staff works at our best to provide these great experiences for anybody participating in our different sporting events. My staff and I have created this reputation by our image and identity and our overall performance to please the students.
Identity defined is: the actual manifestation of the company's reality as conveyed through many things. In my workplace people just think it's about refereeing games and organizing schedules. It is way larger than that, my colleagues and I have to set an example. We must prove to the university that we are the best at what we do. Our staff is great but we must show it in many ways. We have to create an identity for Intramurals, this means presentation (demeanor, uniforms, actions, performance). The most important piece is our logo which represents the university and organization.
Image defined is: a reflection of an organization's identity. In my workplace as an intramural worker our image is what our boss stresses to us the most. Before I started working intramurals I heard the program was sloppy and almost got removed from the university completely. People felt as though it was a waste and needed to be cut. In my opinion this could only be because the previous boss and staff didn't take the job seriously. There were many problems with the last boss and staff. This is why our boss stressed to us now that this is the most important key to our jobs. We must prove to the university that we are a great program and the students need us. Since I have been working with intramurals our boss has praised us because of our great jobs. Now he cannot hear enough good things that people talk about our program. Our image is restored and we can only hope it stays that way. We got this way from our presentation and performance towards the students.
Reputation defined: differs from image because it is built up over time and is not simply a perception at a given point in time. It differs from identity because it is a product of both internal and external constituencies. Reputation is how other people and companies look at your company. Our reputation at IUP intramurals is that we provide the students with fun, exciting, and wonderful sporting experiences. Our staff works at our best to provide these great experiences for anybody participating in our different sporting events. My staff and I have created this reputation by our image and identity and our overall performance to please the students.
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