From Enterprise Design with EDGY

Enterprise Design Facets

Identity

The values and beliefs enterprises exhibit through their messages and actions.

Description

Identity is a combination of characteristics that uniquely defines a person or enterprise for everyone they interact with. People refer to that identity to explain past and present actions ("an enterprise donated to charity because they are a socially responsible company" or "an enterprise donated to charity to improve their public image") as well as predict future actions ("this enterprise will soon switch to sustainable energy because they care about the environment"). The designed aspects of an enterprise's identity are usually explicit statements about what the enterprise wants to be seen to believe, value and care about.

Identity and culture are deeply intertwined. People use the enterprise's identity to inform and shape their enterprise culture as collectively held values, beliefs and assumptions, which guide their behaviours and communications. The stronger the identity influences the enterprise's culture, the more it becomes the mechanism that promotes a uniform and consistent display of the enterprise's identity by its people. Whilst enterprises can design many aspects of their identity, they cannot directly design their culture; only influence and nudge it in the desired direction.

Examples

An enterprise...

  • is a socially responsible organisation that cares about the environment, its employees and its customers.
  • is a very profitable company, selling products at the lowest price possible by focusing on large scale, low quality and mass markets.
  • is a pioneer in sustainability and environmentally responsible products.
  • is a public institution with excellent work conditions, empowered employees and transparent, servant leadership.

Use

  • Socialise a set of values that describe the organisation's identity in terms of its core beliefs.
  • Monitor what people say about an organisation that shows how they perceive its identity.
  • Explain and predict the actions of people and enterprises based on their public identity.
  • Influence the perceived identity of an organisation by deliberately changing certain actions and communications.
  • Design a brand that strengthens the identity the organisation wants people to perceive.
  • Design an organisational structure that encourages the kind of behaviours that align with the desired identity.

Elements

Variants

  • Personal Identity
  • Corporate Culture
  • Brand Identity