SESSION 07 | INDIVIDUAL IDENTITY WITHIN ORGANIZATIONS
Does information define the individual in the organization, or do symbols and artifacts serve that purpose?
Do any of these quotes resonate with you?
Air of danger | Robert Macfarlane
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But what is Flight to Arras?
I have been up there to seek once more the proof of my good faith, in the skies over Arras. I have committed my flesh to that endeavour. All my flesh. I committed it when loss seemed certain. I gave everything I could to the rules of the game ... In other words, the right to participate. To be bonded. To commune. To receive and to give. To be more than myself. To accede to that sense of fullness which is growing so strongly within me. To experience the love that I am experiencing towards my comrades, that love which does not come surging from somewhere outside, which does not seek expression - ever - except, to be truthful, at farewell dinners ... My love for the Squadron has no need of words. It is formed only of bonds. It is my very substance. I am one with the Squadron. That is all there is to it.
Does the above speak to you. if you want more, glance over Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Also read Paul Fussell's ruminations on uniforms.
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You don't have to read these unless you wish to, but we might touch upon them in conversation
-
Timmons, S., & East, L. (November 01, 2011).
Uniforms, status and professional boundaries in hospital.
Sociology of Health and Illness, 33, 7, 1035-1049.
PDF -
Chapter 2, Uncovering the levels of culture, pages 16-27
in Schein, E. H. (1985). Organizational culture and leadership. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.
PDF.
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things we'll talk about
- how do artifacts, espoused values, and basic underlying assumptions change how individuals feel about their organization?
- let's have some examples from you all
- do different individuals perceive the same organization differently?
- how do our interactions with elements of UNC's culture affect the way we feel about it?
- how do personal, visible identifiers like uniforms impact an individual's sense of belonging in an organization?
If the session will include an in-class exercise, it will be noted here.
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something to take away
senegal fast food
Amadou and Mariam, and their place in Last.fm, plus Manu Chao and his place in Last.fm, with some comments about them from their Wikipedia entries
Amadou & Mariam are a musical duo from Mali, composed of the couple Amadou Bagayoko (guitar and vocals) (born in Bamako 24 October 1954) and Mariam Doumbia (vocals) (born in Bamako 15 April 1958). The pair, known as "the blind couple from Mali" met at Mali's Institute for the Young Blind, and found they shared an interest in music.
Manu Chao (born José-Manuel Thomas Arthur Chao on June 21, 1961), is a French singer of Spanish origin (Basque and Galician). He sings in French, Spanish, English, Galician, Arabic and Portuguese and occasionally in other languages.
Amadou & Mariam - Senegal Fast Food by Tchefari