search query: @author Taylor, S. / total: 28
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| Author: | Bell, E. Taylor, S. Thorpe, R. |
| Title: | Organizational differentiation through badging: Investors in people and the value of the sign |
| Journal: | Journal of Management Studies
2002 : DEC, VOL. 39:8, p. 1071-1085 |
| Index terms: | Organizations Government Agencies Training Corporate culture Quality United Kingdom Europe |
| Freeterms: | Deconstruction |
| Language: | eng |
| Abstract: | This paper explores the meaning of the state-sponsored initiative for people management, Investors in People (IiP), through deconstruction of the signifiers that represent its articulation. Semiotic analysis is employed to consider the sign-value associated with IiP and to explore the symbolic meaning of cultural artifacts featuring in the experience of managers and employees in 6 case study organizations. It is suggested that organizations are subject to a process of image production and consumption. This process requires them to seek differentiation from other organizations by acquiring quality initiatives that constitute a system of objects. In particular, the meaning IiP signifiers as emblems of achievement is explored and the extent to which these become simulacra is considered. It is argued that there is a significant gap between writerly intentions as to what quality initiatives ought to signify and their organizations, context-bound, indeterminate meanings. The paper outlines the way that badge acquisition develops over time through processes of accumulation and adaptation. |
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