13.5 Communicating Identity

In Cheney et al., p. 109 they discuss the essence and continuity of corporate identity. According to the book, "in order to endure in a turbulent marketplace, organizational identities need to be flexible." Over the last few weeks we've seen the domestic auto makers of the U.S. embroiled in an identity dilemma. All three car companies are being perceived as lacking in vision. Their lack of investment in fuel efficient cars has left them seemingly behind the curve.

My own perception has been quite limited. I've been viewing commercials and taking a look at their web sites (Chrysler, Ford, GMC, Honda, Nissan, and Toyota). I found that only Ford, Honda, & Toyota made fuel economy a main focus of their sites. The TV commercials for GMC and Ford only spoke of purchasing issues like: "Red Tag Sale" (GMC) and "You pay what we pay" (Ford). GMC touts two Hybrid vehicles while Ford is featuring one Hybrid. Toyota features three while Hybrids while Honda features three (one Hybrid and 2 other alternative fuel options). Chrysler, Nissan, don't offer any realistic alterations right now. It will be interesting to see how flexible their identities will become over the next few years.

13.4 Lack of Vision? Again...

In chapter 7, Leadership Old and New, Cheney et al., p.184, they discuss "Visions" of the Leadership in Recent History. The books states that, "Vision is an important part of our contemporary understanding of leadership -- so much so that many of today's leaders are criticized for lacking a broad vision." Over the last couple of weeks we've seen the CEO's of Chrysler, Ford, and GMC, sitting in front of congressional committees essentially asking for $25 billion in loans. According to the reports, they need this morning in order to survive the next year. Some reports have said that if they don't receive this money, GMC may file for bankruptcy.

This past year has not been kind to our "white collar" workers. These highly educated, business-savvy individuals have made a mess of banking, the mortgage business, and now the auto industry. I am making an "essentialist assumption" (Grint's Classification of Leadership Theories, box 7.5, p.186) about the lack of "leadership" these men and women have taken.

I can understand the lack of empathy by most Americans for these CEO's from Detroit. They see the problem as not looking forward and making the necessary investments to offer alternatives --like more fuel efficient automobiles. And some of us ask, why haven't these 'great minds' collaborated with the fuel producers and looked to the future and begin creating alternative fuel sources? Maybe we have too many car companies that have the same old vision (With all due respect to the many thousands of people that may lose their jobs). Maybe we need one or two car companies that make it a priority to develop a transportation vehicle that would be dependent on sources that can be regulated and would be in abundant supply.

13.3 Managing Change and some Transparency

In chapter 11, Cheney et al, discuss the management of change. They talk about the Adaptive Approach to creating change in an organization. Scholar Michael Beer and his colleagues recommended five steps to effective change in management: 1. Mobilize a commitment to change; 2. Develop a shared vision; 3. Spread revitalization to all departments; 4. Institutionalize revitalization through formal policies; and 5. Monitor and adjust strategies.

President-Elect Obama and his transition team have carefully orchestrated an impressive example of Beers five steps to effective change in the current economic crisis:
1. He was elected into office with 'change' as the motto of his campaign
2. He has repeatedly stated that his concern is for 'main street' and that the middle class need help
3. He has swiftly mobilized an impressive team of economic advisors and cabinet members to focus on the economic crisis
4. He has either proposed or commented on policies that will or should be enacted in the near future
5. He has stated many times that he is in constant communications with the current administration and that he and his team will be ready to act when he begins his presidency in January

Another aspect to this presidency that I have come to admire is the appearance of transparency. In my project for this course I wrote about the transparency of organizations. The Obama team has been utilizing the web not only for garnering millions of dollars in donations, but they have interacted with their constituents by asking them to make phone calls and coordinate informational meetings in their neighborhoods (before the election). I still receive emails from the campaign and visited the web site today. It was a call to action for me to view the latest press conference by President-Elect Obama. What was interesting about this link was not this particular video, but the other videos that were available for me to view. I spent another 15 minutes watching at least three other video clips. One of them showed a meeting of advisors from the transition team discussing issues of energy and the environment. The ability to listen to this person and hear the philosophies of the team leaders was very impressive. Take a look at the video here.

13.2 Hegemony

In chapter 9, Cheney et al., p. 260, they discuss the process of hegemony, whereby a specific way of doings things becomes all encompassing to a group or a people. I was listening to NPR (KQED, 88.5FM) this morning about a story of a female gang wearing Pink sari's in India. They were organized to stand-up to the corruption of the local government. For many years the status quo of bribery and lack of action by the government has left many victims and poor people without services and justice. In Cheney et al., they talk about "who determines particular ways of...determining how things are -- and how it becomes entrenched." The Pink Sari Gang, lead by a 40 year old woman named Sampot has had enough with the corruption and the hegemony of oppression. She and her gang of pink ladies have begun to challenge the establishment and, along with their pink sticks, have slowly begun to make a "change" in their society. Take a listen, you'll find the story very interesting:
Click here to listen to the story at NPR.org

13.1 Resistance to Power

In chapter 9, p. 266, Cheney et al. they write about resistance and how it is used to stand up to power and control. Earlier in the week (Friday, November 21, 2008) I told you about Chief Johnson of the Palo Alto Police Department. She made comments at a news conference weeks earlier and was chastised by community groups and the NAACP for casting the directives given to officers as 'racial-profiling'. She later apologized and then apologized again. But the demonstrations and public outcry for her removal was too strong. Their (community) show a resistance to the authority of the chief. The book describes resistance as an "identifiable counter-pressure to the locus of power or control." She resigned as chief on Friday.