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UNIVERSITY OF INNSBRUCK
Master Thesis
Employee Branding
How do brands affect employees?
Master Program:
Organizational Studies
Author:
Luisiana Garza Jordn
0817703
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Acknowledgements
I would like to thank the University of Innsbruck for the education it has providedme for the past two years. During this program I have had the opportunity to grow
professionally and personally.
To my colleagues for sharing knowledge and experiences
Recognition should also go out to Evalueserve, the company I worked with during
my research; for the time and access to the organization in order to complete this thesis.
Dr. Iain Munro, my professor and advisor, for the time, input, proofreading and
recommendations. This thesis would not have been the same without his support.
Ich mchte mich auch besonders bei meiner langjhrigen Freundin Sigrid
Granitzer bedanken, die bei Evalueserve angestellt ist. Sie war nicht nur mein
Hauptkontakt zur Firma, sondern auch eine besondere Person in meinem Leben, die mich
die ganzen zwei Jahre meines Studiums in sterreich begleitet hat.Fr ihre Hilfe, Zuspruch und Untersttzung...
Esta tesis esta dedicada especialmente a las personas ms importantes de mi vida;
mi familia, Pap, Mam, Any, y Jos. Ustedes son mi apoyo, motivacin, inspiracin, y
ejemplo a seguir. Esta es slo una meta ms que logramos como equipo. Sin ustedes no
hubiera sido posible.
Pap, papelito habla y este es el mo. Los quiero
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Declaration in Lieu of Oath
I hereby declare, under oath, that this master thesis has been my independent work and
has not been aided with any prohibited means. I declare, to the best of my knowledge andbelief, that all passages taken from published and unpublished sources or documents have
been reproduced whether as original, slightly changed or in thought, have been mentioned
as such at the corresponding places of the thesis, by citation, where the extent of the
original quotes is indicated.
The paper has not been submitted for evaluation to another examination authority or has
been published in this form or another.
____________________
Luisiana Garza Jordn
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Contents
I. INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................... 1
II. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ............................................................................ 2
II.I.BRANDS...................................................................................................................... 2
II.II.BRANDS AS A CORPORATE CATALYST....................................................................... 9
II.II.I. Organizational Culture: Employees ................................................................ 12
II.II.I.A. Culture ...................................................................................................... 13
II.II.I.B. Identity .................................................................................................... 15
II.III.EMPLOYEE BRANDING........................................................................................... 18
II.III.I. Artain and Schumanns thirteen points on employee branding ................... 19
II.III.II. Miles and Mangolds six steps process to employee branding ..................... 23
II.IV.SOUTHWEST........................................................................................................... 26
II.IV.I. Analysis of Southwests employee branding through Artain and Schumann . 28
II.IV.II Analysis of Southwests employee branding through Miles and Mangold..... 35
III. JUSTIFICATION AND PURPOSE OF THE RESEARCH ................................ 38
IV. METHODOLOGY ................................................................................................... 40
V. HYPOTHESIS .......................................................................................................... 44
VI. RESULTS .................................................................................................................. 45
VI.ISURVEY RESULTS.................................................................................................... 45
VII. DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATIONS .............................................. 47
VII.I.ANALYSIS OF EVALUESERVES EMPLOYEE BRANDING THROUGH CULTURE........... 47
VII.II.ANALYSIS OF EVALUESERVES EMPLOYEE BRANDING THROUGH IDENTITY.......... 52
VII.III.ANALYSIS OF EVALUESERVES EMPLOYEE BRANDING THROUGH ARTAIN AND
SCHUMANN...................................................................................................................... 54
VII.IV.ANALYSIS OF EVALUESERVES EMPLOYEE BRANDING THROUGH MILES AND
MANGOLD....................................................................................................................... 69
VIII. DISCUSSION ........................................................................................................ 76
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Contents
IX. LIMITATIONS & FURTHER RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES ...................... 79
X. CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................ 80
XI. REFERENCES ........................................................................................................... 81
XI.I.ONLINE REFERENCES.............................................................................................. 83
XII. APPENDIX............................................................................................................. 84
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I. IntroductionBrands are enacted in the behavior of organizational members(they) become the
way we do things around here(Kornberger, 2010, p.87)In todays world brands not only influence consumers but also company members.
With this research I want to explore, analyze and bring to light how organizations are
using their brands to affect its employees.
The beginning of this thesis, the theoretical framework, gives a brief description of
how brands have evolved. Referring to the 1920s as a starting point, I will illustrate how
consumers needs have been changing from generation to generation, forcing brands to do
the same. This will be followed by an explanation of how companies became not only
interested in using brands to attract consumers attention, but staff members as well. The
theoretical framework gives details, justification, and analysis of Artain and Schumann
(2006), and Miles and Mangolds (2004) theories on employee branding; Scheins (1985)
description of culture, and Hatch and Schultzs (2000) theory of brands as a corporate
catalyst, complimented with their definition of identity. I will then finish off this section
with a study of Southwest Airlines (considered a success on employee branding) based on
the previous mentioned authors.
To continue this paper, a justification and purpose of the research will be provided.
These will be addressed with arguments and advantages for implementing employee
branding supported by authors like, Kornberger, Arnott, Artain and Schumann.
A description of Evalueserve, the company I evaluate in this research, is the
introduction to the methodology segment. The rest of the content is based on the book
The Survey Kit 2: How to Ask Survey Questions (2003) by Arlene Fink. I state how it
supplied the necessary tools to decide, construct, and, apply a survey to Evalueserves
workforce.
Subsequently, I will expose my hypothesis: Evalueserves employees are branded.
Leading to the ending, the analysis of the results from the survey, along with a study
of Evalueserve based on Artain, Schumann, Miles, Mangold, Schein, Hatch, and Schultz;
it will provide data for a comparison, accompanied by conclusions, between Southwest
and Evalueserve.
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II. Theoretical FrameworkThis section is provides a brief history of how brands have been evolving, some of the
different authors, theories, events, examples and concepts that have emerged in regards tothis subject through the years. In addition, I will describe, explain, analyze and assess
Artain and Schumann (2006), and Miles and Mangolds (2004) theories on employee
branding; Scheins (1985) description of culture, and Hatch and Schultzs (2000) theory
of brands as corporate catalysts accompanied by their definition of identity.
There are several definitions of brands; it was hard to choose one as a guide for this
research. In 1970 Wally Olins defined brands as a wholly connected creation that is
devised solely to help sell and it has no life of its own.(Olins, 2000, p.52), in 2000, he
redefined a successful brand as one that can compress and express simple, complex, and
subtle emotions. They can make those emotions immediately accessible, in many cases
overriding mountainous barriers such as ethnicity, religion, and language. They have an
immense emotional content and inspire loyalty beyond reason(Olins, 2000, p.63). In 30
years, the definition and concept of the word brand has evolved, changed, and
transformed into a complex set of explanations of what it stands for. Walter Landor,
founder of Landor Associates defines brands as Products are created in the factory.
Brands are created in the mind(Cited in Wheeler, 2006, p. 5). Marty Neumeier from
the Gap states that Brand is not what you say it is. It is what they say it is (Cited in
Wheeler, 2006, p. 4).Wally Olins also provides another definition of brands as In the
world that is bewildering in terms of competitive clamor, in which rational choice has
become almost impossible, brands represent clarity, reassurance, consistency, status,
membership-everything that enables human beings to help define themselves. Brandsrepresent identity (Cited in Wheeler, 2006, p. 5). Alina Wheeler gives two different
meanings in her book Designing Brand Identity (2006) Brand is the promise, the big
idea, and the expectations that reside in each customers mind about a product, service,
or company. People fall in love with brands, trust them, and believe in their superiority.
II.I. Brands
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II.I. Brands
The brand is shorthand. It stands for something.As well as Brand is the nucleus of
sales and marketing activities, generating increased awareness and loyalty when
managed strategically(Wheeler, 2006, p. 4-5). In his book, Brand Society How Brands
Transform Management and Lifestyle, Martin Kornberger, referring to brands, he
explains that truth does not reside somehow inside of things but in the knowledge we
harbor about those things (Kornberger, 2010, p.3). People, consumers, management,
and employees are giving the meaning to the brand. The significance is not on the article
people are buying, but in the connotation people give to the brand they are acquiring.
For a word that impacts almost, if not all human beings, and that is in everything, it is
hard to understand why there are multiple and vague concepts about it, stating that brandsare what people want them to be, or that they are created in peoples minds, or they
represent an identity, or knowledge, or that they just stand for something. What is that
something, that identity, that knowledge, those thoughts inside peoples minds?
There is a dichotomy in the way brands are interpreted, in the definitions previously
mentioned, some state that brands are what people want them to be, and others argue that
they are what the company wants them to be. The question is do consumers give the
brands the meaning or is the meaning given by the company?
The fact that brands are everywhere in products and services, that they are not
physical, they attract peoples attention, they have great economic value, people recognize
them, they have followers, produce emotions, people identify with them, creates the word
broad and hard to define. Everyone knows what a brand is; but no one really seems to be
able to come up with a definition that covers all that a brand represents.
Brands have come a long way; their definition, influence and functionality have
changed throughout the years. Between 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, a decade before the IT
Revolution, and during the revolution, brands started to focus not only on consumers but
also on employees; they transformed themselves and became a center part of everyday
life. Since the 1920s, their beginnings, brands have been in a continuous evolution, they
started out targeting housewives with every day domestic products; the importance lied in
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II.I. Brands
the advertising and packaging. There were few mediums to get the brands known, press
and posters, and TV and radio. The formula of how to advertise a brand was also simple,
there were three steps to follow, and it was named Unique Selling Proposition (USP).
1. - The product had to explain why it was better than the rest; it had to have a special
ingredient that differentiated it from the rest.
2. - The product would make the home better, life simpler, glamorous, and beautiful.
3. - Using it would make the job so fast that the housewife would have more time to spend
with her family (Olins, 2000).
There are numerous examples of brands using USP, for instance, Persil an
amazing Oxygen wash discovered by scientific experts Palmolive sting of harsh soapis a sign of bad complexion to comeOvaltine the home beverage of health (Olins,
2000, p. 53).
After World War I, Edward Bernays, transformed the way product marketing was
done, before marketers were suppose to expose its functionalities and ingredients. 1928
marked the year when this evolution came to life; Bernays develop marketing into brands
that could stimulate desires. Cigarette manufacturer Hill asked Bernays to make socially
acceptable for women to smoke, through the transformation of the meaning of cigarettes
and smoking. On the New York City Easter Day Parade, Bernays, strapped cigarettes on
womens legs, at his signal, they were supposed to light them and start smoking in public.
His intention was to relate female smokers to an act of rebellion and freedom. Bernays
contacted the press and pretended to leak the story. The next day, April 1 st1928, the head
line of the New York Times read: Group of Girls Puff at Cigarettes as a Gesture of
Freedom(Cited in Kornberger, 2000, p. 5). From then on, it was socially acceptable for
women to smoke in public. To be able to accomplish this task, Bernays, used a Freudian
philosophy, guiding people through unconscious and deep irrational forces (Korneberger,
2000). With the simple achievement of hiring girls and asking them to smoke in public,
without being ashamed of the act, it provoked other women to feel comfortable to smoke
in public, others were doing it for freedom why could they not as well?
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II.I. Brands
After Bernays, Ernest Ditcher claimed that brands had values, symbols and desires. He
created The Focus Group to be able to understand peoples feeling, desires, what they
wanted, expected and thought about products. Ditcher was hired by Betty Crocker, a
company that sells easy-to-make meals (Betty Crocker, 2010). In those times, their cake
mix was new, and the product was not selling, Ditcher was suppose to find out what the
problem was. He discovered that the mix made it too easy for women to bake a cake; they
did not really feel that they were working for their families. Ditcher decided that women
should add one egg to the mix, given them the feeling that they were doing something to
bake the cake; and to unconsciously make women feel that through that action, they were
actually giving their eggs to their husbands. Betty Crockers sales increaseddramatically with this action (Kornberger, 2000).
Since the 1970s and throughout the IT revolution, in the 80s and 90s, brands have
begun to distance themselves from the products, the manufactured goods have passed to
second importance and the brand is the element in which top management is concentrating
on, they are focusing on the image of the company. On August 4 th1994, the Financial
Times, reported that Ford to outsource important parts of a car assembly(Financial
Times, 1994) Ford executives claimed in the article that The Manufacture of cars will be
a declining part of Fords business. They will concentrate in the future on design,
branding, marketing, sales and service operations(Financial Times, 1994). Ford wanted
to start concentrating on the image that it gave to its clients, not the product that it
traditionally sold. Another example of product not being the center of the organization is
Virgin, it is a corporation composed of different companies, it has an airline, a cola-
maker, an insurer, and a train company, among many (Virgin, 2010), its not only the
products and services they provide as a company, its the way they do things. The
different companies are managing to give profits of $25 billion dollars per year (Virgin,
2009); the different organizations have nothing in common with each other except the
brand Virgin. Many of the businesses are joint ventures, meaning that Virgin is only there
to give name to the organizations (Kornberger, 2010). Its all about their company identity
(Hatch, Schultz, 2000). This phenomena, has to do with the IT Revolution, where there is
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II.I. Brands
satellite TV, countless radio stations, specialized magazines and newspapers, internet with
Email, multimedia, direct response, multiple sites, network pages, etc; it has diversified
the way consumers are targeted. Guiding consumers needs to also change; they are now
looking for individuality, self fulfillments, and self-expression (Olins, 2000, p. 55).
Wally Olins, summarizes these changes in three important points:
1. - Consumer brands are no longer associated with products
2. - Brands are now promoted in a much more varied, various, and complex fashion than
before.
3. - Globalization is leading to the growth of major worldwide brands and
sophistication in the use of brands(Olins, 2000, p.55-56).Consumers values and environment have been changing from generation to generation. I
will next provide a brief description and the important events that have shaped each age
group; these will help understand how and why peoples needs have been constantly
shifting throughout the years.
The Depression GenerationBorn between the years 1912-1921, Dr. Dave Arnett, professor and author at the Dallas
Baptist University, catalogued this generation as Frugality (Arnott, 1999, p. 20),
economical, thrifty. This generation went through the strongest sociocultural
environment to affect modern history(Arnott, 1999, p. 20). They are a generation that
thinks in a similar way, because there were no credit cards, and the economic situation in
which they lived was not the best, they had to take care of money, value it, and save it. In
the work place, managers could forecast how groups of people would act and react,
because society had similar thoughts about life (Arnott, 1999).
World War II GenerationThis generation went through World War II; they have two core beliefs, patriotism and
collectivity. Born between 1922 and 1945, people saw how countries worked together and
managed a positive outcome, they were proud of belonging to their country and working
for the better good of it. President John F. Kennedys words marks this generation of
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II.I. Brands
patriotism and collectivity with his statement Ask not what your country can do for you,
ask what you can do for your country(cited in Arnott, 1999, p. 21)
The difference between this age group and the Depression generation is that WWII
has two core values instead of one. People experienced and coped with the war and post
war times in different ways, the diversity of values started expanding and changing as a
reaction to those singular experiences.
Baby BoomersThey were born between 1946 and 1964. This generation has been marked by civil right
movements, no blind trust on government, a constant search for ones self, free thinkers.
Hence they had not to focus on how to survive economic crises, or world wars, they couldfocus on themselves, what they wanted to be and achieve (Arnott, 1999). This created
more values and interest for this age group than the generations before.
Generation XThis generation is pluralistic; there is no one event that truly marks them as a society, no
world wars, no big economic depression, and no human right movement. Born form 1965
to 1978, they have adopted different ways of living, short term commitments, spontaneity,
experiments; they have no central values (Arnott, 1999). Some might assume that this
generation has been marked by the technology, mainly Internet, if it is so, then this
phenomena has only open the doors to a wider set of values, the ability for people to learn
more from different places and different lifestyles. This generation is hard to define,
describe and catalogue, because of their numerous preferences.
Generation YFrom 1978 on wards, this generation is going to have even more variety of values, making
it harder to define and classify. Generation Y is composed of more than 60 million people.
They are more rationally diverse, one in three is not Caucasian, one in four live in a
single-parent household, three in four have working mothers (Businessweek, 1999).
They have grown up and lived in a completely different lifestyle than previous
generations. The result of this change has caused for their values, believes, needs, desires,
attractions, to change and multiply at the same time (Arnott, 1999).
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II.I. Brands
As described above, each age groups needs has been changing with time and
historical events, branding has had to be able to adapt to this varying trend; with every
generation brands have evolved and transformed themselves into an important element in
their lives. Customers needs have changed with time, but also workers needs, since the
consumers are also employees, the needs in their working places have been evolving as
well.
In the mid 1990s, brand studies, divided into two branches, the second wave of
branding began, and it was named corporate branding. Studies on brands were no longer
going to be concentrated only on society and consumption, through signs and media, asthe level of analysis; the studies were now focusing on a corporate level, brands inside the
company.
The second wave of branding, corporate branding concentrates on organization and
production as a level of analysis; this branch at the same time, divides into two different
perspectives, brands as management tools and brands as a corporate catalyst.
Brands as management tools, concentrates on the level of the individual organization and
on its products and services, it uses management to guide the brand. The main author for
this perspective is David Aaker, E.T. Grether, Professor of Marketing and Public Policy at
Berkeley (Kornberger, 2010).
The second branch of the wave is brands as a corporate catalyst. In this perspective,
the brands become the central and most important function that organizes the entire
corporation. Majken Schultz and Mary Jo Hatch, two Copenhagen Business School
Professors are the two authors concentrating on this perspective. (Kornberger, 2010)
For this research, I will concentrate on brands as a corporate catalyst; I argue it is
important to analyze how managers are being influenced by brands, and how their
interpretation of the company brands flows down to all the employees. In the next section
I will go into detail in this theory.
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Brands as a corporate catalyst is a theory developed by Mary Jo Hatch and Majken
Schultz, they describe the shift to the second wave of branding, corporate branding.
Corporate branding represents the idea that the organization and everything it stands
for is mobilized to interact with the stakeholders the organization wants to reach and
engage them in dialogue(Hatch & Schultz, 2000, p. 27).
II.II. Brands as a Corporate Catalyst
This theory is a catalyst for corporate branding, inside out, valuing the brand from
employers to the out side. Through its workers, customers are suppose to see what the
company stands for, what they represent and what they want to tell the stakeholders about
the organization.
Corporate branding is made up of four different elements:
1. - Strategic vision: Top managements aspiration for the organization
2.- Organizational culture: Employees, and how they enact values, beliefs and basic
assumptions.
3. - Stakeholders: Outside environment
4. - The three elements mentioned above combined
Hatch and Schultz argue that brand identity emerges as a reflection of how the
organization perceives itself(Hatch & Schultz, 2000 p.32). How employees perceive the
brand, how they feel about it, and if they identify themselves with it, is how workers willreflect it on customers. They emphasize on the fact that corporate branding allows the
integration of strategy, organization and marketing; that brands are a key strategic
principle that organizes the corporation; and that it also allows corporations to change
inside out. (Hatch & Schultz, 2000)
To change from inside out, means that, the corporate culture, and identity, first
transforms the corporation, and that alteration will in the future reflect in the employees
behavior with the customers, the outside.
Customers are important to Hatch and Schultz because the brand is symbolically
created throughout the population of the stakeholder who keeps it alive by producing,
reproducing and sometimes changing its social and cultural meaning(Hatch & Schultz,
2000, p. 28).
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II.II. Brands as a Corporate Catalyst
Corporate branding has an interdisciplinary nature, because it uses all the elements in
an organization, management, employees, consumers, and the three elements before
mentioned combined, grounding it in all the functions and business areas of a company.
They are placing the brand as the strategic key that organizes the corporation.
(Hatch & Schultz, 2000)
There are two key aspects of brands as a corporate catalyst:
1. - There is a relevance and importance of branding on a corporate level, top level
managers realized how important brands are. It is not about a particular product, its more
about the internal structuring of the organization.
2. - Branding includes a strong focus on the internal effect of branding. Managers are theones that structure, determine and shape frames, norms, and values for the rest of the staff
to follow (Hatch & Schultz, 2000).
Employees, must feel comfortable being part of the brand, they should identify with
and live it. The effect that brands have on employees will impact directly on customer
experience.
Corporate branding has three main critiques, for starters, it does not take into account
how customers make sense of the brand, how they interpret it in their minds. The theory is
aware that it is done, but it does not acknowledge how this process takes place. The
second critique, the approach is too top-down and there is too much focus on the
corporate level(Kornberger, 2010, p.39). Managers are the ones that regulate the brand,
they control what the brand means, what it should represent, how employees are suppose
to dress, act and talk. Supervisors set the pattern of what the brand is. Hatch and Schultz
take brands as something that can be created and taught, sometimes even imposed as a
prerequisite to be part of a company. Directors have the power to enforce a certain
behavior on employees. (Kornberger, 2010)
The third critique wonders how workers interpret the brand. Staff members also make
sense of it, what role does their interpretation play inside the theory?
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II.II. Brands as a Corporate Catalyst
Due to time and length constraints to conclude this thesis, I will be focusing mainly on
the second element that composes brands as a corporate catalyst, the organizational
culture level; I will concentrate on the employees. I am interested in discovering how the
brand is embedded on employees, how they transform themselves as they start identifying
with the brand, as they start feeling part of the organization, become familiarized and
adjust, taking it in, and understanding the organizations culture, identity, mission, values,
strategy, and vision.
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II.II.I. Organizational Culture: Employees
The second element of brands as a corporate catalyst, is organizational culture. I
decided to add identity as well to this point. Culture and identity are concepts that are
similar and interrelated. I consider them together to be essential components to an
organizations employee branding. An organizations identity is the aspect of culturally
embedded sense-making that is self-focused. It defines who we are in relation to the
larger social system to which we belong (Hatch & Schultz, 2000, p. 25). In this sense I
was not able to only explain and research organizational culture, without mentioning
identity and the interrelated and complicated relationship these two concepts share, since I
can dare say that one complements the other. According to Kornberger, referring to
identity, brands are identities-in-action that allow stability to be maintained while
simultaneously enabling change (Kornberger, 2010, p.87). In regards to culture, he
argues that, culture takes as its point of departure the idea that brands are enacted in the
behavior of organizational members (Korneberger, 2010, p.87). Culture is visible and
audible behavior, norms, the way things are done inside a company, identity, on the other
hand, refers to what the company stands for, mission, vision, name, logo, and how the
company wants to be represented. Culture is deeper; its the behavior that after a few
weeks, months, or years of being inside a company, employees do not reflect upon.
Culture and identity are different concepts, but at the same time they are interconnectedand share commonalities, they are both essential to the company brand and they help
define what the organization is and what it stands for.
The next part of this study discusses in further the definitions of culture and identity,
and how they help in the process of employee branding.
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II.II.I.A. Culture
Chart I
(Schein, 1985, p. 14)
Culture has also been defined by several authors, (e.g. Clark 2006, Chandler 1998,
Barry 2000, Kornberger 2010), in a much concrete and simple manner, the way things
are done here. This definition, directly states that each company does things differently
and operates in a unique way, and that the employees are expected to learn and behave
inside the organization according to the stipulated written/unwritten terms of each
company.
As mentioned previously, I added identity to the second level of brands as a corporate
catalyst, because culture and identity are concepts that go hand-in-hand. Organizational
culture provides local context for addressing the central question of organizationalidentity (who are we?) and contributes a great deal of symbolic material to its
construction(Hatch & Schultz, 2000, p.24). I argue that adding identity to this research
will enrich the concept, analysis and conclusions.
The next section of the research will focus on the concept of identity, through Mari Jo
Hatch and Majken Schultzs the definition.
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II.II.I.B. Identity
Identity consists of various intricate parts; Mary Jo Hatch and Majken Schultz,
recognized two different types of identity, there is corporate identity and organizational
identity, both definitions relate to each other but they aim at different elements in a
company. Corporate identity relates to the consultancy practice, how an organization
expresses and differentiates itself in relation to its stakeholders.(Hatch & Schultz, 2000,
p.13). It answers the question, how does the outside perceive the organization? Corporate
identity uses a business relevance and economic arguments, offering a corporate value
that attaches not only to the share price of a publicly traded firm but also to a firms
product in the form of premium prices and enhances sales volumes(Hatch & Schultz,
2000, p.13). It is looking for the economic gain and advantage clients will provide,
through the purchase of products or services, which are backed up by a strong corporate
image or corporate brand. Inside corporate identity there are different views targeting the
concept. Balmer (1995), Hatch (2000) and Schultz (2000), analyze the visual schoolthat
studies the company name, logo, color, house style, trademarks, buildings, corporate
architecture, design, decoration, product design, packaging, and other elements that
compose the visual part of an organizations identity. The other school inside the
corporate identity, is the strategic school, authors like, Olins (2000), van Riel (1999),
Argenti (2001), Cheney (1997), Collins and Porras (2000), describe it as the vision,mission and philosophy of the organization, company strategy, image, reputation. At the
strategic school, Olins (2000), van Riel (1999), Aaker (1980), and Mollerup (1993)
discuss three types of identity structure, 1) monolithic identity, using one name for people
to recognize the company, 2) endorsed identity, where there are multiple products from
the same company in the market, and customers are aware that the different products are
all under the umbrella of one organization, and 3) brand identity, where the company has
numerous products in the market but customers might not be aware that they all come
from a single company (Hatch & Schultz, 2000).
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II.II.I.B. Identity
As mentioned above, there is also an organizational identity, this concept refers to
how organizational members perceive and understand who we are and /or what we
stand for as an organization (Hatch & Schultz, 2000, p.15) Organizational identity,
refers to the people working every day in a corporation and identifying with the values,
culture, artifacts, codes, rules, procedures, all the internal aspects of the organization. It is
what it means for the individual to be part of an organization. Whetten (1998) and
Godfrey (1995) make a differentiation inside organizational identity, identification with
and identification of (Hatch & Schultz, 2000). Identification with refers to how
employees see and relate to the organizations values with his/her own values as a person.
Identification of, refers to the commitment the employee has with the corporation, andthe sense of responsibility the company has towards its employee.
Hatch and Schultz simplify the two concepts, organizational identity, and corporate
identity in table I:
Table I
(Hatch & Schultz, 2000, p.17)
According to Hatch and Schultz, corporate identity, is created by managers, by the
companys leaders. Their actions are directed and impact the end consumers through all
sorts of advertisement. Organizational identity is inside the company, it is shaped by the
members of the corporation. These actions target the employees through communication
inside the corporation, small talk, meetings, Emails, and all the tools used by the
employees to communication between them.
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II.II.I.B. Identity
What I will try to convey through this study is how corporate identity affects
organizational identity. How managers decision of what should be the corporate identity
and culture inside an organization impacts employees.
Brands as a corporate catalyst explains how the brand can change an organization
from the inside out. It starts with the managers, they decide what the brand is, what the
corporate culture should be and then, pass it down to its employees. In the next section, I
will talk about employee branding, how the company brands its employees, hoping that
this action in the future can provide a good consumer experience.
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Employee branding is defined as the process by which employees internalize the
desired brand image and are motivated to project the image to customers and other
organizational constituents(Miles & Mangold, 2004, p. 68).
II.III. Employee Branding
In order for a business to be successful, the brand should connect with the employees
and then they are responsible for creating a bond with its customers. Workers should
know, understand, and believe in what the company stands for. Being part, contributing
and engaging in a company are daily commitments that employees make. Employee
branding is the emotional connection that people make with their company, its the
motivation to deliver to customers what the business promises. Its a useful tool to reflect
to the outside what the organization stands for. The workforce influence the brand even if
they do not come in direct contact with the customer, their every day work should reflect
what the company stands for, what the brand wants to demonstrate, when the product or
service comes in contact with the customer. Proud, engaged, and content people can lead
to a successful customer experience, bringing more consumers in, and at the end of the
day more profits for the organization.
This section is dedicated to two different employee branding theories. The first is
Libby Artain and Mark Schumanns description contained in their book Brand from theInside (2006), of thirteen important things to know about employee branding. The
second, Miles and Mangolds six steps process to a successful employee branding.
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II.III.I. Artain and Schumanns thirteen points on employee branding
Artain and Schumann came up with thirteen points as an answer to employee
questions like Am I getting what the brand promises? Whats in it for me to choose to
work here? Why should I choose to engage? Any employer brand must answer these
questions, to simplify the choices employees make-so they in turn serve customers
(Artain & Schumann, 2006, p. 21). They argue that employees need to connect with the
brand in order to be able to bond with the customer and sell the product or service, with
the companys desired image.
1. - The brand must articulate the companys promise to their employees
It has to explain what their experience in the company is about. What they will get in
return for being part of the company. It has to provide a motivation to keep the workers in
tone with the organization. It is what the business promises to deliver inside.
2. - The brand must support the business strategy
Employees must understand and believe what the company does. They should also be
aware of where the company is and where it wants to be. What the organizations goals
are, what its doing to reach them, and what the business needs from its workers to
achieve those goals.
3. - The brand must define employees the companys customer experience
They should know how the organization wants its customers to be treated: It should not
only be on paper, it should be done. Managers should act the way they want employees to
act, pass down the behavior code, not only say what it should be but actually live it inside
the company.
4. - The brand must define what the organization needs from the employees
Employees make the corporation brand happen. They should clearly know what is
expected
from them, what they need to deliver in order for the brand to come alive and be able to
transmit it to the customers.
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II.III.I. Artain and Schumanns thirteen points on employee branding
For this to happen there are two elements that must be considered:
A) Employees must understand what the brand is all about
A.I) What the brand stands for
A.II) What personality the brand projects
A.III) What heritage the brand celebrates
A.IV) What customers expect
B) Employees must believe how the brand differentiates from what else is
available on the market
B.I) How the brand is aspirational
B.II) How the brand is inspirationalB.III) How the brand is emotional
B.IV) How the brand is functional (Artain & Schumann)
5. - The brand must define on-brand behavior
This is the relationship between the companys promised behavior to the customer, and
how the employees act when they interact with the client. Their contact with the customer
must equal to what the organization assured the consumer they would receive.
6. - The brand must connect what happens outside to what happens inside
The brand must be able to connect the outside market, the end consumer with the
organization. Employee branding frames the experience the organization creates for the
workers so that in return they can deliver the brand promise to the customer. The
workforce should be aware of the companys mission, vision, and values in order to
deliver the brand to the customer.
7. - The brand must focus on employee choice
Customers like employees interpret brands. The organization has to be open enough to
realize how the workers make sense the brand. They have to take into account their points
of view, because they will ultimately influence the consumer through their work. The
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II.III.I. Artain and Schumanns thirteen points on employee branding
company has to be aware that employees also have choices like consumers and that there
are also different options for the personnel where they can work. Employees choose to be
part of an organization, to interpret the brand and to stay loyal to it or look for something
else. Brands not only attract customers, they can also appeal to qualified personnel to
want to work in the company.
8. - The brand must define Whats in it for me? for the employees
Organizations staff has to be aware of the benefits they are in title to by being part of the
corporation. Employees like customers, have needs; the company has to be ready to fulfill
workers desires.
9. - The brand must define the business as a place to work
Workers have to be aware what their tasks are, what is expected from them, what are the
opportunities they have in the workplace, the rewards for good performances, what they
can aspire in their professional life with the company.
10. - The brand must articulate the companys desired reputation as a place to work
The people that work in a company are a reflection of the brand, they represent the
company. Their behavior and satisfaction of their work should be able to attract other
people to be part of the organization. The brand should not only draw customers but also
talented people to work in it.
11. - The brand must define what the organization believes in
Employee branding is a useful tool to express to the customer what the organization
offers, what it believes in and what it stands for. If the employees know, believe, and
relate to it, they will be able to transmit it to the customer. Personnel need to believe in
their work, trust the organization and have a purpose to be part of the business. When
employees have faith in the organization, consumers will be more likely to believe in the
product/service they are purchasing from the corporation.
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II.III.I. Artain and Schumanns thirteen points on employee branding
12. - The brand must define the desired emotional connection between the company
and employees
The brand should describe the emotional connection between the organization and the
employee; the brand is supposed to inspire a link among these two. Workers ought to feel
comfortable and proud of belonging to the organization, to come to work every morning
and do a good job.
13. - The brand can help the organization recruit employees
A brand is not only attractive for consumers; it is also appealing for future employees. If a
company treats its employees with respect, offers growing opportunities, good reputation,there will be satisfied and proud employees. They will not only appeal to consumers,
people will also want to be part of it by working in the organization.
(Artain & Schumann, 2006)
These 13 elements give base for employee branding, it gives insight to what a
corporation must take into account in order for employees to take the brand in, live it and
eventually transmitting it to the end user. With employee branding, they are able to
engage the client in a gratifying consumer experience, and stimulate the purchaser to want
to come back and be loyal to a brand.
Continuing in section II.III.II. an explanation of Miles and Mangolds six step process
to employee branding is provided.
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II.III.II. Miles and Mangolds six steps process to employee branding
In 2004 Miles and Mangold created a theory of employee branding, its a process that
provides organizations with the knowledge of the different elements that should come
together for an effective employee branding. What they intent to do with their model is to
solidify the brand on employees mind. They argue that it is easier to transmit the brands
message to consumers through its workforce, and this can only be achieved through a
successful employee branding. (Miles & Mangold, 2004)
Workers have to be the first people to believe and be loyal to the brand, if members of
the staff do not trust the brand or identify with it, how are customers suppose to engage
and want to buy the brand?
Chart II illustrates the process.
Chart II
(Miles & Mangold, 2004 p. 71)
The first step for a successful employee branding, according to Miles and Mangold, is
a well defined mission and vision. Employees are supposed to know the vision and
mission and should see that the organization lives from end to end according to those
values. It should not only be written on paper, they should be able to recognize that all the
employees are aligned with them and that their work reflects the companys believes. The
organization ought to work every day to fulfill the mission; employees have to be able to
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II.III.II. Miles and Mangolds six steps process to employee branding
see that their every day work is guided towards that. After mission and values are clear
and employees are aware of them, the organization has to define what the desired brand
image is, what they want to transmit with it, employees should know how the company
wants to present itself. Miles and Mangold, refer to the importance of constant reminder
of the mission, vision and desired brand image through different techniques, inside the
company in a formal manner, through HR management systems, PR systems. In an
informal mode by culture/coworker influence, employees that have been long with the
company can show new workers how things are done in the corporation, they know how
the organization works and what is expected from them, they have the tools needed to
teach new incomers. Managers also have the ability to demonstrate what the expectedbehavior and culture is, through their actions and interaction, they give evidence of the
expected communication ways inside the company, with peers and later with the outside,
customers. There should also be a reminder to the exterior of what the brand stands for,
the mission and the vision, in a formal style, advertising the brand and using PR to let
people know about the brand. The next step is to assure that employees know what the
brand is, and that members of the staff are committed to it, that they identify with it and
are able to live it enabling them to reflect the desired brand image through their work or
interaction with the end user. The employee has to be willing and capable to project the
brand to the outside in order for clients to know that they will be receiving the type of
service or product that the organization promises. This process has different positive
outcomes, customers have knowledge of the brand, they know about the company as
another option in the market, economical turnover, better profit, employee and customer
satisfaction, consumer loyalty, and favorable reputation, among others. The key of this
process is the constant feedback in all its stages; every step has to have a response to
ensure the organization that they are working. (Miles & Mangold, 2004).
Artain and Schumann propose a series of elements that a brand should supply to its
employees. With these employees are able to connect with the brand, and in the future for
them to be able to pass the meaning of the brand to the end consumers. These components
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II.III.II. Miles and Mangolds six steps process to employee branding
offer tools to connect employees and the brand, create loyalty, followers, identity, and
culture, that will be reflected every day in their work.
Miles and Mangold on the other hand, propose six steps with feedback, which
companies should follow to create employee branding. These two models were created
differently, Artain and Schumann are statements, Miles and Mangold are steps but they
both take into account similar concepts. Mission, vision, values, desired image, and
desired psychological connection to the brand from the employees. I will use these two
theories, Scheins concept of culture, Hatch and Schultzs concept of identity, and Hatch
and Schultzs theory of brands as corporate catalysts to structure an employee branding
survey.
In the next section, I will introduce an example of employee branding. I will analyze
Southwest, an American airline company, through both Artain and Schumann and Miles
and Mangolds theories.
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Southwest Airlines opened for business in 1971. It started flying in three cities in
Texas; Dallas, Houston and San Antonio. 40 years later, it operates in 68 different cities in
various states inside the United States. It has nearly 35,000 employees, 537 aircrafts, and
provides 3,200 flights per day (Southwest, 2010). Since 1988, Southwest has two
missions, one targets its customers and the other is directed to its employees.
II.IV. Southwest
Mission directed to its customers:The mission of Southwest Airlines is dedication to the highest quality of Customer
Service delivered with a sense of warmth, friendliness, individual pride, and Company
Spirit(Southwest, 2010).
Mission that targets its employees:We are committed to provide our Employees a stable work environment with equal
opportunity for learning and personal growth. Creativity and innovation are encouraged
for improving the effectiveness of Southwest Airlines. Above all, Employees will be
provided the same concern, respect, and caring attitude within the organization that they
are expected to share externally with every Southwest Customer (Southwest 2010).
These are some of Southwests awards:
In December 2009, Southwest Airlines topped the list of the 50 best U.S. places towork by Glassdoor.com
In April 2009, Southwest Airlines received the American Brand Excellence Awardfor Travel, and was recognized as the 2009 Grand Award Winner in the City
Business Journal Networks Brand Excellence Awards.
In April 2009, Southwest Airlines was included in BusinessWeeks ranking of the 50Most Innovative Companies in the World.
Southwest Airlines was named the seventh most admired Company in FORTUNEmagazines ranking of the 50 Most Admired Companies in the World.
In a 2008 TIME.com survey of the friendliest and stingiest airlines, SouthwestAirlines ranked no.1 for being the Friendliest Airlines.
Institutional Investor magazine recognized Southwest Airlines as one of the TopShareholder Friendly Companies in 2008 (Southwest 2010).
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II.IV. Southwest
These awards are a reflection of the employees work. Members of the staff believe in
the corporation and transmit all its values in their every day work, and with direct contact
or not with its customers. The mission provides the cornerstones that indicates employees
what is expected from them. Both Miles and Mangold and Artain and Schumann state that
the brand must indicate what the company wants from its employees, the brand must
provide its workers with the image the company wants to portray to the consumers. The
mission clearly states that members of the staff will be treated with the same concern,
respect and caring attitude within the organization and this behavior is expected to be
imitated with Southwests customers. The research will now continue with an analysis of
Southwest through Artain and Schumanns employee branding theory.
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II.IV.I. Analysis of Southwests employee branding through Artain and
Schumann
Southwests mission itself covers eleven out of thirteen points from Artain and
Schumanns list. This section describes how these elements are fulfilled and thejustification to why Southwest does not cover the remaining two components.
1. - It articulates the companies promise to their employees
We are committed to provide our Employees a stable work environment with equal
opportunity for learning and personal growth. Creativity and innovation are
encouraged Employees will be provided (with) concern, respect, and caring attitude
within the organization(Southwest, 2010). Southwest promises employees a stable work
environment, equal opportunities to learn and personal growth, creativity and innovation
are accepted, and they will be treated with concern, respect and a caring attitude. It has a
mission dedicated solely to its employees. The corporation makes perfectly clear that it
does have a promise to its staff.
2. - It defines employees the companys customer experience
The mission of Southwest Airlines is dedication to the highest quality of Customer
Service delivered with a sense of warmth, friendliness, individual pride, and CompanySpirit concern, respect, and caring attitude are expected to (be)share(d)externally
with every Southwest Customer (Southwest 2010). The mission clearly explains what
Southwest expects its customers to have, the company spirit delivered with the highest
quality of customer service, warmth, friendliness, individual pride, concern, respect and a
caring attitude.
3. - It states what the organization needs from the employees
learning and personal growth Creativity and innovation for improving the
effectiveness of Southwest Airlinesconcern, respect, and caring attitude within the
organization (that is also) expected to (be) share(d) externally with every Southwest
Customer (Southwest, 2010). Southwest needs for its employees to constantly learn,
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II.IV.I Analysis of Southwests employee branding through Artain and Schumann
personal development, creativity and innovation, concern, respect, and a caring attitude in
order for Southwest to improve and be effective.
4. - The brand must define on-brand behavior
In Southwests mission its stated that Employees will (provide)concern, respect, and
caring attitudeexpected to (be) share(d) externally with every Southwest Customer
the highest quality of Customer Service (will be) delivered with a sense of warmth,
friendliness, individual pride, and Company Spirit(Southwest 2010). Employees know
exactly what their behavior is supposed to be on company time. They know what their
feelings should be, what they are suppose to transmit with their work and contact withcustomers and fellow colleagues. It is a clear and straight forward statement that guides its
employees to the companys desired ways.
5. - The brand must connect what happens inside to what happens outside
Employees will be provided the same concern, respect, and caring attitude within the
organization that they are expected to share externally with every Southwest Customer
the highest quality of Customer Service delivered with a sense of warmth, friendliness,
individual pride, and Company Spirit (Southwest 2010). Employees should act in the
same respectful way with their colleges, inside the company and with the customers, the
outside; the expected behavior is the connection between the outside, its clients, and the
inside, fellow workers.
6. - It must define Whats in it for me? for the employees
We are committed to provide our Employees a stable work environment with equal
opportunity for learning and personal growth. Creativity and innovationEmployees will
be provided (with) concern, respect, and caring attitude within the
organization(Southwest, 2010). According to Southwest, when working in the
company, employees will be working in a stable environment, where they have the
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II.IV.I Analysis of Southwests employee branding through Artain and Schumann
opportunity to learn and grow personally, develop their creativity and innovation, and will
be treated with concern, respect and a caring attitude.
7. - The brand must define what the organization believes in
highest quality of Customer Service delivered with a sense of warmth, friendliness,
individual pride, and Company Spiritstable work environment effectiveness of
Southwest Airlines concern, respect, and caring attitude within the organization
(and) share(d) externally with every Southwest Customer (Southwest 2010). The
airline company believes in the highest quality of customer service, warmth, friendliness,
individual pride, stable work environment, effectiveness, concern, respect and a caringattitude inside and outside the company, all these elements put together, create the
company spirit.
8. - The brand must define the desired emotional connection between the company
and employees:
warmth, friendliness, individual pride, and Company Spiritconcern, respect, and
caring attitude (Southwest, 2010). Southwest expects employees to be warm, friendly,
have individual pride, concern, respect, and a caring attitude that shapes the company
spirit, both inside the company and outside it.
9. - It must articulate the companys desired reputation as a place to work:
We are committed to provide our Employees a stable work environment with equal
opportunity for learning and personal growth. Creativity and innovation are
encouraged Above all, Employees will be provided the same concern, respect, and
caring attitude within the organization(Southwest 2010). Southwest wants to be
referred as a provider of a stable working environment that offers equal opportunities; its
open to creativity and innovation, and treats its employees with concern, respect, and a
caring attitude. A Culture committee appointed by the leaders met four times a year to
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II.IV.I Analysis of Southwests employee branding through Artain and Schumann
determine proper and improper conduct(Arnott, 1999, p.2). According to Arnott, in his
book Corporate Cults (1999) leaders meet to evaluate correct behaviors in the work
place, in order to provide a pleasant environment for the staff.
10. - The brand must define the business as a place to work:
Creativity and innovation are encouraged for improving the effectiveness of Southwest
Airlines concern, respect, and caring attitude are expected to (be) share(d)
externally with every Southwest Customer (Southwest, 2010). The organization is
concerned with its effectiveness and asks its employees to be creative and innovative in
order to achieve that, it also reminds staff members that it is a working place because itconstantly refers to its customers, and the companys expectations to provide a good
customer experience.
11. - The brand can help the organization recruit employees
We are committed to provide our Employees a stable work environment with equal
opportunity for learning and personal growth. Creativity and innovation are encouraged
Employees will be provided (with) concern, respect, and caring attitude within the
organization (Southwest, 2010). Having this attitude toward its employees, taking care
of them and providing stability, opportunity to grow, learn, create, and innovate in a work
place, attracts people to want to work in Southwest. The company received 90,043
resumes and hired 831 new Employees in 2009 (Southwest, 2010). According to these
figures, people do feel attracted to work for Southwest.
There are two points missing from Artain and Schumman in Southwests brand, they
are not written in their mission, but I argue that they can be assumed or understood
through the companys history and culture.
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II.IV.I Analysis of Southwests employee branding through Artain and Schumann
1. - The brand must support the business strategy
Reading the companys history, one can predict that Southwests strategy is to grow, they
started in 1971 with three flights, and 40 years later they operate in 68 different cities and
has 3,200 daily flights. One can assume that Southwest wants to keep growing and
continue to be effective.
2. - The brand must focus on employee choice
Artain and Schumann argue in this point that the company has to be aware of how its
employees interpret the brand, the organization also has to realize that employees have
different workplace opportunities. Southwest is not the only airline company in the UnitedStates or the world. Of course Southwest chooses its staff, but also people decide to work
for Southwest; every day its workers come to work because they want to. When applying
for a job through Southwests webpage, in the career section, there is a section of culture,
and the company defines culture as: the development, improvement, and refinement of
the originality, individuality, identity, and personality of a given person Southwests
culture is divided in three core values:
Warrior Spirit:Work hard, desire to be the best, be courageous, display a sense ofurgency, persevere, and innovate.
Servants Heart: follow the golden rule, adhere to the basic principle, treat otherswith respect, put others first, be egalitarian, demonstrate proactive customer service,
and embrace the SWA (Southwest Airlines)family.
Fun-LUVing attitude: have FUN, dont take yourself too seriously, maintainperspective (balance), celebrate successes, enjoy your work, be a passionate team
player (Southwest, 2010).
I argue that there is no real room for employee choice, since Southwests culture is to
develop, improve and refine the originality, individuality and personality of a person. It can
also be interpreted as changing an employees personality to fit into the Southwest culture.
It is also contradicting to improve, refine and develop a persons individuality, is
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II.IV.I Analysis of Southwests employee branding through Artain and Schumann
imply that what the company is striving to do is change employees individuality,
personality, originality, and identity. According to Websters dictionary, the word refine
means: To purify by removing unwanted substances or material; to improve(Websters
Dictionary, 1991, p.275). Wordreference, an online dictionary, states that the word refine
means: to improve or perfect by pruning or purifying(Wordreference, 2010). Cambridge
online Dictionary defines refine as: to make something pure or improve, especially by
removing unwanted material (Cambridge online Dictionary, 2010). According to these
definitions, Southwest through its culture will attempt to remove unwanted material from
its personnels identity, originality, personally and individuality. After this analysis one can
conclude that there is no space in Southwest for employee choice. The companys culturewill strive to change workers unique features.
The research will now continue with the study of Southwests employee branding
through Miles and Mangolds six steps to a successful branding.
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II.IV.II Analysis of Southwests employee branding through Miles and
Mangold
The first elements to take into account when analyzing a brand through Miles and
Mangold is the companys mission and values.
Mission and valuesSouthwest wants to be able to provide a stable working environment complimented with
concern, respect, and caring attitude that will reflect when employees interact with
customers or fulfill their jobs. As mentioned previously, Southwests values are inside its
culture, through it, employees are encouraged to have fun during office time but at the
same time to work hard, to treat everyone with respect, to celebrate achievements; through
their values, it does not seem like a strict place to be working for.
Desired brand imageSouthwest wants to be regarded as a company that gives the highest quality of Customer
Service delivered with a sense of warmth, friendliness, individual pride, and Company
Spirit provide our Employees a stable work environment Creativity and innovation
are encouraged Employees will be provided the same concern, respect, and caring
attitude within the organization that they are expected to share externally with everySouthwest Customer (Southwest, 2010). Southwest calls itself a family, so they want
people to feel like being with family, inside and outside the company, if they work for the
company or if they are customers. Southwest wants to be viewed as a very relaxed, happy,
and fun place to work for, or to fly with.
Sources/Modes of messagesBecause I am concentrating on the internal branding of the company, I will not
analyze the formal and informal external modes of messages; I will only concentrate on
the formal and informal internal modes.
The first training session for new employees is done on company time; the remaining
courses are taken on the workers own time (Artain, 1999, p.1). Southwest has training
sessions to reinforce the brand image it wants to portray, even if they are on employees
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II.IV.II Analysis of Southwests employee branding through Miles and Mangold
own personal time, the company constantly reminds its employees of its values, mission
and desired brand image through:
Formal Internal Sources: Human resources constantly communicate to itsemployees the values, mission and desired brand image. The real transmitting point
of the messages starts when hiring; future employees personalities have to match
the companys. In this way, it is easier for the workers to align, understand, and
adopt the expected behavior of the desired brand image.
Informal Internal Sources: In order for the informal internal sources to work,Southwest has to rely on its culture, Scheins basic assumptions mentioned
previously in section II.II.I.A. These assumptions are passed down from employeesthat have been with the company for a long time to new employees, through team
work and coaching. A Culture committee appointed by the leaders met four
times a year to determine proper and improper conduct (Arnott, 1999, p. 2). Basic
assumptions are extremely important to Southwest in its informal internal sources;
this is why the committee meets to decide which behaviors have to be encouraged
and which must be avoided, to be able to continue with the corporate culture, and
embed the desired conduct on employees. Proper interaction starts with managers, if
they behave in the correct Southwest way, the rest of the employees will imitate that
conduct with the rest of the members of the corporation.
The Psychological ContractSouthwests psychological contract begins in its mission when it promises its employees
a stable work environment with equal opportunity for learning and personal growth
Employees will be provided (with) concern, respect, and caring attitude within the
organization (Southwest, 2010). Workers are aware of what the company is going to
give them in return. In the mission, the organization also states what they want from the
employees, Above all, Employees will be provided the same concern, respect, and caring
attitude within the organization that they are expected to share externally with every
Southwest Customer The mission of Southwest Airlines is dedication to the highest
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II.IV.II Analysis of Southwests employee branding through Miles and Mangold
quality of Customer Service delivered with a sense of warmth, friendliness, individual
pride, and Company Spirit(Southwest, 2010). Employees are aware of the compromise
they must assume, and what that commitment means, what the organization is expecting
from them; but, they are also aware of what the company will provide in return for their
engagement.
Employee Brand ImageBy this stage, employees are aware what it means to be part of the company, how they are
suppose to behave and interact inside the organization and outside with the clients. They
also know what the organization expects from them, that their work, even if not in directcontact with the client should always reflect the brand. At Southwest employees know
that they are supposed to do their jobs, and treat outsiders and insiders with concern,
respect and a caring attitude. They must have the company spirit; deliver their jobs with a
sense of warmth, friendliness and individual pride.
OutcomesEmployees are branded; they deliver the image the company wants to portray. Southwest
has been able to provide its customers with a satisfying customer experience; through this
their business has grown in the last 40 years from flying to three cities to operating in 68.
Miles and Mangold do not take into consideration employees interpretation of the
brand. Through their chart, they are expecting that members of the staff to adopt, behave,
and even engage in a psychological contract with the company. No where in their diagram
does it have a step where the workers way of thinking of the brand is taken into
consideration.
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III. Justification and Purpose of the ResearchBrands have developed a dichotomy, they dont only target customers; they now also
strive to attract employeesattention, and loyalty. Top management is now interested onhow they can use the company brand to influence employees. It has become a central part
of an organization, through its influence and power inside out.
Companies like Deloitte, ING, Virgin, UPS, Microsoft, Wal-Mart, among numerous
organizations, are changing to corporate branding, because they are starting to understand
that in todays world, its not all about a certain product or service, its how the staff
internalizes the brand and interacts with the clients that count. The image that employees
give to the outside world about the company is what matters. Branding commands an
influence across all organizational units(Kornberger, 2010, p.34). Organizations must
establish a brand nurturing structure, culture and identity. Employees become the means
with which the organizations transmit their meaning and identity to the outside.
(Kornberger, 2010)
Arnott explains that in todays world there are three elements that will add competitive
advantage to a company: The first is to cross-train workers, which is collinear with the
old organizational model that mixes task and people qualification. The second is to
invest in collection of specialists (hiring people that have compatible personalities
with the organizations culture and identity), the third is to create and manage a strong
company culture (Arnott, (1999), p. 39). He also argues that Nonfinancial factors like
employee motivation have a direct effect on customer satisfaction and ultimately stock
prices (Arnott, (1999), p. 90).
Employee branding is an important element inside a corporation and should be
analyzed and taken into consideration, it can bring competitive advantages and profits. It
provides a strategic competitive advantage; it supplies the company with the ability to
have a positioning tool in the market place. Employee branding allows the corporation to
constantly give the customer the brand, what it stands for and what is behind that brand.
Employees internalize the brand. (Arnott, 1999)
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III. Justification and Purpose of the Research
End users are a vital element of a brand, since they also interpret it, influence it, talk
about it, and ultimately consume it. Artain and Schumann in 2006 developed five
important stages that customers go through when they get to know a brand.
1. - Notice: the moment when people first hear about, or see the brand. Its the first
impression. The moment the customer realizes that the brand exists.
2. - Observe:People see employees wearing the logo on their shirt; they read about a
certain brand, this is when the customer realizes what the brand stands for.
3. - Hear:When people start talking about the brand, and the potential future consumer is
already aware of its existence. It listens to the positive and negative comments people
have to say about the organization. This is when the person decides whether to be aconsumer or look for another brand. Its the review of the brand.
4. - Experience:When the consumer decides to purchase the product or service, when
they choose to consume the brand.
5. - Talk: The consumers go ahead and give their own review of the brand to other
people, they comment on their experience. (Artain & Schumann, 2006)
Table II, demonstrates the five previously mentioned steps that a consumer goes
through, when they get to know a brad.
Table II
(Artain & Schumann, 2006, p. 29)
Table II, explains how customers get in contact with a brand, employees actions can
influence each and every one of these five stages through small details, a behavior, their
work, a simple smile, the way they express themselves, any contact can impact on acustomers point of view of the brand.
This thesis concentrates on employee branding, the research was not meant to measure
consumer effect. Employee branding may or may not influence Artain and Schumanns
five stages that customers go through when getting to know a trademark. Hence, its intent
is to ultimately be able to attract and retain the end user.
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IV. MethodologyThroughout this thesis, I will be working with Evalueserve, a company founded in
2000, based in India, with world wide operation centers, including, Austria, Germany,Chile, China, Singapore, and the USA, just to name a few. It has more than 2000
employees and it works in 50 different languages. Evalueserve is a knowledge processing
outsourcing company, its services include financial and investment research, business
research, market research, intellectual property, supply chain support services, and legal
support services(Evalueserve, 2009).
I will apply a 30 questions attitude survey on Evalueserves employees, the questions
are based on the theory brands as corporate catalyst, Edgar Scheins concept of culture,
Mary Jo Hatch and Majken Schultzs definition of identity, complimented with Miles and
Mangold, and Artain and Schumanns theories of employee branding.
I came to the conclusion that for this thesis, a survey would be the best option. I had in
mind that I wanted a company that was in different parts of the world, which had a
multinational workforce, offered different services, and worked with numerous languages.
Because of these elements that I required for my study, it was going to be hard to be able
to interview different people around the world; an Email survey allows me to ask
numerous reliable questions.
To decide what type of survey I was going to conduct, I used Arlene Finks book The
Survey Kit 2: How to Ask Survey Questions (2003), she provides a Checklist for
Deciding Between Open and Closed Questions
Table III presents Finks checklist.
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IV. Methodology
Table III
(Fink, 2003, p. 34)
After carefully evaluating the options, closed questions would serve better the purpose
of the study. I want to be able to report numerical data, and rank the answers. Fink also
acknowledges, in regards to closed question surveys that because the respondents
expectations are more clearly spelled out, the answers have a better chance of being more
reliable or consistent over time respondents prefer closed questions because they are
either unwilling or unable to express themselves while being surveyed (Fink, 2003, p.
33). I had to consider that the survey was going to be done during working time, that there
was the possibility that employees might not have enough time to think about theiranswers.
I wanted them to be able to respond as accurately as possible without having to reflect too
long and take too much of their time from their work. Closed questions provide the option
that I needed to obtain my responses.
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IV. Methodology
complimented by Miles and Mangolds theory as they state that the most important
components are the employees knowledge of values, mission, vision, the constant
reminder of these, and desired companys brand image.Questions 6 through 19, 11, 15,
17, and 20 discuss the mission, vision, values, training programs, loyalty, valued
employees, dress code, belief in the organization and companys efforts to remind its staff
about these elements.
The 30 question survey will be emailed worldwide throughout the company, and
conducted the first two weeks of March 2010. It will be optional and anonymous. The
survey can be found in the appendix segment, section X, as appendix I.
After the survey has been conducted I will analyze the data acquired and compare it
with a highly successful, employee branding example, Southwest Airlines. I will contrast
the answers with the American airline company.
I will take into consideration the sources of bias when conducting the survey; the
weak point in my surveys will be that I am not going to be able to do them in person. I am
going to have to depend only on the employees answers without being able to talk to
them face-to-face. Another factor I have to take into account is the fact that the surveys
will be done during work time, workers might not be fully concentrated on answering the
questions, and it is possible that they will not have time to think about the questions. Since
the survey is
going to be, optional, I hope people are encouraged to respond so that I can be able to
obtain a suitable number of answered surveys to capture a real picture of Evalueserves
employee branding.
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V. HypothesisEvalueserves employees are branded.
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VI. ResultsThe survey was open for two weeks, to randomly chosen staff members world
wide. The aim was for 200 employees to answer. During those weeks, there were tworeminders sent via Email about the existence of the questionnaire. I was also in constant
contact with Evalueserves HR department, they regularly sent updates, and provided
more Email addresses to try to reach the target. At the end, in total, 138 employees
answered the questionnaire.
Continuing this research; the results of the survey will be explained, through
percentages, numbers, graphs, and comparisons. To view individual data from each
question please refer to the appendix section, under Appendix II.
The first five questions of the survey are meant to get to know the employee; it is
general information; age, gender, location, nationality, and seniority.
VI. I Survey results
As graphs I-V show, there are ten different nationalities, most are male indians, that reside
in the same country between 25 and 30 years old, and have been with the company for 1-5
years. The second biggest age group, is between 20-24, demonstrating that 82.5% of
Evalueserves members are in their 20s.
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VII.Data Analysis and InterpretationsThis section of the thesis aims to examine the surveys results, through Edgar Scheins
concept of culture, and Hatch and Schultzs description of identity; Artain and Schumann,and Miles and Mangolds theories on employee branding. The conclusions reached will
also be compared with Southwests previous analysis made in section II.VI.I. and II.IV.II.
Fifteen questions were based on Scheins theory of what culture is; basic assumptions
that are taken for granted. In order to bring those to light, queries 6, 11 through 14, 17, 19,
and 22 through 30 will be analyzed through Scheins concept. They target hidden
behaviors such as employees attitude towards work, relationship with peers, superior,
subordinates and family; loyalty, personal satisfaction with work, level of comfort in the
organization, tools and equipment, amount of time spent at work, leisure time, and
knowledge about what the organizations desired image is.
VII.I. Analysis of Evalueserves employee branding through Culture
In total, 138 people answered the survey, from those, 107 argued to have received a
training program when entering the company. 102 employees stated to be part of the
company for 1-5 years. 47 people agree or strongly agree that Evalueserve has good
working facilities. 43 agree or strongly agree to have an overall satisfaction with their
work. 66 have or probably have a sense of loyalty to Evalueserve. 44 are conformable in
their workplace. 72 people spend 1 to 10 hours at work daily. This data will be correlated
with other questions, relationships with superiors, peers, subordinates and family, leisure
time, willingness to spend the rest of their career with the organization, knowledge on
mission, vision, and values.
This correlation will help identify the existence of Evalueserves culture inside
employees. The following graphs exemplify the relation between the training programsand the organizations mission, vision, and values. The second relates employee longevity
with the organizations mission, vision, and values. The third aims to find out if workers
that have been the longest in the organization, know about the companys behavior code.
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Graph VI Received Training: mission, vision and values
Graph VII 1-5 years: mission, vision and values
Graph VIII Behavior code
VII.I. Analysis of Evalueserves employee branding through Culture
Since training, and longevity are