Introduction

We now turn to an examination of the core relationship between what Ed Schein (1985) described as the external adaptation/ internal integration problem. This relationship is at the heart of our model linking HR, reputations and corporate branding; it also presents organizations seeking to create new identities and images with enormous challenges. Consider an advertisement placed by GE, one of the world's largest companies, in The Economist during September 2005. In this advertisement, they portrayed an image of the company as an ecologically friendly and innovative organization, summed up in the strapline, 'ecomagination at work', and pointed out how they could produce quieter and more energy-efficient aircraft engines, energy-efficient wind turbines, advanced water desalination, advanced plastics for cars, which reduce the needs for paint, and energy-efficient light bulbs (see Chapter 9 for a further discussion of this case).

Recapping on our basic storyline in Chapter 1, there are four key processes at work that have to be addressed in meeting such challenges, which the GE example illustrates well (see Figure 3.1). First, organizational image is what senior people in the company want different groups of stakeholders to believe and feel about it in terms of its most enduring and distinctive features, e.g. a traditional engineering conglomerate wishes to project a socially responsible and technically professional image. Second, whether GE can secure a reputation for ecomagination will depend on what different people and groups expect from, perceive and value about its image, e.g. do they expect to see this...