Every organization, to remain in the business world, must foresee possible changes or transformations through a dynamic organization-environment balance.
This integration is observed in the image that the medium has on the organization, which will be positive or negative depending on the quality with which the organization responds to the demands of that medium. This response capacity is strongly determined by the characteristics of the existing Organizational Culture.
What is the organizational culture?
“A set of basic beliefs or assumptions and values manifested in norms, attitudes, behaviors that guide the behavior of members and allow them to perceive, judge, feel and act in different situations and relationships in a stable and coherent way within an organizational environment ”.
The two basic approaches in the approach to the phenomenon of organizational culture (culture as something that the organization has and the organization as a culture) imply two different positions regarding cultural change.
The authors agree with the second approach where change is seen as a much slower process, since it is difficult to change values, beliefs, behaviors, expectations and behavior patterns. This process takes a long time (approximately 5 to 10 years).
All cultural change, to be carried out successfully, requires, first of all, that the organization has made an adequate assessment of itself based on the objectives of achieving effectiveness in its relationship with the environment. Organizations that strive for excellence develop successful cultures to respond efficiently to the demands of the environment.
This means that, it will never be possible to affirm that the culture of an organization is successful, if it is not contrasted with the image that exists about it outside the organization.
The interest in image has its origins in the field of marketing linked initially to the product and its brands, as his theory is firmly rooted in the notion that service and performance are only as good as the customer thinks they are. That is why listening to customers is the golden rule of marketing.
Subsequently, the interest in the image extends to the organizational world in which it takes on special connotation due to the recognition of the impact it has on the behavior assumed by clients (internal and external) towards the organization.
Currently, companies recognize its significant importance due to its influence on the trust, permanence and loyalty of the market and are aware that knowledge of the behavior of this phenomenon in their organization determines their future, favoring the materialization of the business strategy, guiding them in the unstable world of the market and preparing them to face the constant changes that happen.
When analyzing the definitions, it can be seen that the image has a subjective and global character. Subjective, that is to say intangible, because it can be seen as a receiving, emitting concept or as a product of the comparisons that people make between expectations and experiences. Global because it synthesizes the idea that exists about the organization, which will be transmitted to individuals, who will be able to establish evaluations and judgments about it.
In our opinion, the organizational image constitutes the qualitative assessment that a certain public makes about the culture of an organization and its different elements.
In order to respond to the demands of the environment, it is very important that the organization has an internal image or image of itself, that is, of its cultural characteristics, adequate, which will allow it to change or put them in function of the most effective response to the external situation.
As Salvador García states, in every organizational culture there are two levels:
- "Nuclear or implicit level: made up of the basic beliefs or assumptions and, above all, the essential values. Explicit or observable level, called the level of" cultural artifacts ", which is in turn composed of two other levels:
- The level of what the company does: procedures, behaviors, organizational charts, rituals, technologies, etc. The most superficial level of what the company appears to be at the level of physical aspects and external image in general: logos, buildings, location area, etc."
Therefore, when we talk about organizational image, we refer in this work to all those elements of the organization's culture that are visible to its different audiences:
- Internal Public: People who are part of the organization External Public: People who are not part of the organization, but are closely linked to it.
A form of study that perfectly adapts to the vision that is defined in this work on the image of the organization is that proposed by Justo Villafañe, who states that the image of the organization is composed of three dimensions:
- Internal Image or Self Image External Image Intentional Image
The following is our conception about the indicators from which these dimensions should be studied and the way in which the integrated analysis of these categories should be carried out.
The Self-Image (Internal Image) of the organization consists of the shared representations about the qualities and potential of the organization, that is, of its cultural characteristics.
Two indicators participate in the organizational self-image:
- Consistency level; It is conditioned by the number of traits, characteristics in which the members of the organization agree more frequently when evaluating it.
Those aspects of the organization in which people do not agree are part of the person's image of the organization but not of the organization's self-image. In the event that the representations on certain aspects of the organization are opposite, according to the criteria of different groups of people, these will constitute points of internal conflict in the organization.
- Quality of the match: positive or negative assessment made of the content, which will depend on whether those qualities, considered by the members of the organization, allow the satisfaction of the needs of the members, the fulfillment of the objectives of organization and adequate response to the demands of the environment.
A developed self-image of the organization implies high levels of coherence in terms of quality, since this will allow or not there to be unity for action.
The quality of consistency can be of two types:
- Negative: that is, the majority of the members of the organization value certain qualities that it possesses as negative.
The attitudes derived from this can be of two types:
- Conformity, apathy, disinterest. Recognition of difficulties and mistakes and acting trying to overcome them.
- Positive: that is, the majority of the members of the organization value certain qualities that it possesses as positive.
The derived attitudes can also be of two types:
- Conformist: the organization can fall in love with its product or service, with the qualities it possesses and stagnate in its development because it stops responding to market needs Optimist: they see these qualities as strengths and take advantage of them to continue improving their response to needs From the market.
Organizational self-image can be adequate or inadequate. In the event that it is inadequate, it may be so by excess or by default.
It will be classified in one case or another depending on whether the organization evaluates its cultural traits based on how much they respond to the needs of the market.
An adequate organizational self-image would imply that the organization believes it is what it truly is for the market.
An inappropriate organizational self-image could be diagnosed in one of the following classifications:
- The organization is undervalued: that is, it has many better qualities than it recognizes and values. The organization is overvalued: that is, it believes that it has better qualities or at higher levels of expression than those it actually has.
As can be seen, the adequacy or inadequacy of the organizational self-image can only be established from the definition of what it is for the different audiences that are not part of it: clients, distributors, suppliers, etc.
We call this image that external audiences have about the organization External Image.
The external image is all those characteristics of the organization that are identified and evaluated (positively or negatively) in a similar way by the external public (whether or not these images are shared).
The qualities identified and evaluated by the public outside the organization may belong to the explicit or implicit level of the culture, although those of the explicit level predominate.
This image is a product of the interaction between the ideal image that a certain public has of an organization or service of this type (which is closely related to the needs of that public) and the characteristics that it perceives of the organization or service that make it more or less capable of satisfying these needs and therefore, they bring them closer to or away from that ideal.
Also the external image of an organization is a product of the comparison that reflects the public of the level in which the organization, product or service satisfies its needs in comparison with the level in which other organizations that offer the same product or service satisfy them.
It can be concluded that the most important indicators when evaluating the external image would be:
- Level of knowledge that the public has about the organization and its product or service. Level of agreement between the ideal and real image that the public has about the organization and its product or service. Comparative image.
Relations between Public and Internal Images
The organization must ensure that these two types of image are closely related. It is important to clarify that the interconnection between these two types of images is a result of systematic and conscious efforts on the part of the organization and that it does not occur outside and independent of its will, in the manner of the laws or regularities..
For this, the organization can use the Intentional Image which is the projection offered of the company and the product through doing and saying. This must be transmitted through all media as a single message repeatedly. This unique message must be expressed with symbols, through written and audiovisual media, in the atmosphere, at social events and by the staff themselves.
It is done through the following means of communication:
- Symbols: They are those that cause recognition of the company or the brand, they must be designed for instant recognition Written and audiovisual media: The chosen symbols must be introduced in the advertising that communicates the personality of the company or the brand through the history, must be used repeatedly and must reflect the image tone that the company wishes to communicate Atmosphere: Use of the physical space in which the company produces and delivers its products or services to communicate the characteristics of the product or service it offers (design of their buildings, colors, materials and furniture). Events: Through the sponsorship of various events.
The intentional image must fulfill a guiding role, informing the external public of the qualities that the organization and its product have that could make it more attractive to that public that seeks to satisfy specific needs and inform the internal public of the image that the organization and the product in the external public.
This relationship between the internal and external images can manifest itself in four different ways, which are expressed in the following matrix:
External and Internal Image
Fig. 1: Internal Image Matrix - External Image.
According to the matrix, the following four situations can occur, for each of which different actions are recommended according to the specific case:
Quadrant 1: Low Internal Image - High External Image (IIB-IEA).
It manifests itself when there is a low coherence between the criteria of managers and subordinates, that is, there are contradictory criteria when evaluating cultural elements. However, the image that the public has about the products or services of the organization is good.
It could occur in recently created organizations or those that have introduced a new product or service that meets market needs that have not been satisfied so far.
Therefore, these organizations must quickly do a lot of internal work to achieve consistency in recognizing their problems and move to Quadrant 4 or they would move to Quadrant 2.
Quadrant 2: Low Internal Image - Low External Image (IIB-IEB).
It manifests itself when there is low coherence between the criteria of managers and subordinates, that is, there are contradictory criteria when evaluating the cultural elements and the Image that the public has about the products or services of the organization is bad.
Therefore, the company must first achieve coherence among all the members of the organization, in terms of the recognition of the negative aspects of the Culture that prevent it from serving and adequately solving the needs of the clients, in order to move on to Quadrant 3 and then be able to go to 4.
Quadrant 3: High Internal Image - Low External Image (IIA-IEB).
In this Quadrant there can be 3 situations:
- There is unity of criteria in managers and workers, both stating that the Organizational Culture has very good qualities (High Coherence with Good Quality) and the External Image is low.
This can occur in organizations that, although they work very well internally, have neglected to work with their intentional image, which has resulted in a low external Image, due to the little knowledge that exists in the public about their product or service. These organizations will have to dedicate themselves to carrying out an intense work on their intentional image through the allocation of resources and efforts to communication aimed at making known the qualities of their product or service that are appreciated by their consumer public.
It can also happen that the organization is evaluated very well internally without taking into account the criteria of its consumer public, for which the product or service offered by said company does not have the qualities that it would like to find. In this case, the organization must readjust its Internal Image based on what its audience raises and try to incorporate the qualities that it wants into its product or service.
2 and 3. The two remaining situations occur when Coherence is High with Regular and Bad Quality, that is, when there is a high level of coincidence in the recognition, by managers and subordinates of the problems that exist. Therefore, firstly, the organization must address how they affect the satisfaction of consumer needs and work to solve problems and then begin to communicate to the consumer the benefits that could be found in the company's product or service, thus passing to Quadrant 4.
Quadrant 4: High Internal Image - High External Image (IIA-IEA)
As in the previous Quadrant, three situations can occur:
- Ideal State: There is a High Coherence between managers and workers, considering that the cultural qualities and the Internal Image are very good. However, the organization must work to maintain and improve its Internal and External Image, always taking the External Image as a fundamental criterion to make the necessary adjustments.
2 and 3. In the other two cases, there is a high coincidence between managers and subordinates, considering that there are internal problems and the External Image is good.
This can occur in organizations that despite facing some internal problems have a well-established positive image in their public. This will imply that the organization must reflect on how its internal problems could affect the External Image and establish actions to solve them and in this way prevent the organization from going back to Quadrant 3.
High or Low Internal Image - Medium External Image (IIA or B-IEM):
In the case that the Coherence is Medium (Internal Image), the location of the organization could be observed between Quadrants 2 and 3 or 1 and 4.
When there is a Medium Coherence, regardless of its quality, the task would be to do a strong internal work to increase it and thus move to Quadrant 3 or 4. Once this is achieved, you must carry out the actions indicated for each of them.
Medium Internal Image- High or Low External Image (IIM-IEA or B):
When the External Image is Medium, the location of the organization could be observed between Quadrants 1 and 2 or 3 and 4. In the first case, the most appropriate actions would be the same as those defined for the organizations that are in Quadrant 2. In the second case, the actions to be carried out would be those indicated for Quadrant 3.
We can affirm from all that is exposed in the present work that there is an indissoluble relationship between the image projected by the organization and the culture that sustains it because its cultural qualities determine whether or not it is oriented to the market.
Ideally, the public or external image should be the focus of the internal image. It must be achieved that, internally, the organization and the products or services are evaluated, taking into account the level at which they satisfy the expectations of the public. The internal image must be oriented towards what is most valued by the public about the product, the service and the organization, so that internal actions are directed to promote these qualities in the product and in the organization. It must be taken into account that the staff is decisive in the formation of the image of the product, the service or the company since, the values and the actions that it lives, are projected with convincing actions to the different recipients of the institution.
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INTERNAL IMAGE - EXTERNAL IMAGE RELATIONSHIP: AN INSTRUMENT FOR CULTURAL TRANSFORMATION.
Contributed by: MSc. Mirlandia Valdés Florat, Assistant Professor, Lic. Elizabeth Iglesias Huerta, Instructor Professor and MSc. Vivian Gaviero Gutiérrez, Assistant Professor. Center for Business and Territorial Management Studies, Faculty of Economics, University of Camagüey. - [email protected]
Celia González and Maydé Oramas. Relationship between Culture and the Organizational Image of the Coppelia de Camagüey Ice Cream Factory. Camagüey, Bachelor's Thesis, 2003, p. 24.
Salvador Garcia. The Management for Values. Ciudad de la Habana, s / n, s / a, p. 33.
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