Organizational identity and control: can the two go together?

Elizabeth GEORGE, Cuili QIAN

Research output: Chapters, Conference Papers, Creative and Literary WorksRGC 12 - Chapter in an edited book (Author)peer-review

10 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Organizational control theorists traditionally have conceptualized control as any process by which organizations or their representatives channel individuals' and groups' efforts toward the attainment of organizationally desired objectives (Eisenhardt,1985; Flamholtz et al., 1985; Jaworski, 1988; Ouchi, 1977, 1979). The underlying assumption in this conceptualization of control is the divergence of interests between the organization and the individual such that individuals are likely to take care of their own interests ahead of those of the organization. These theorists argue that organizations need to control individuals through either formal mechanisms (Blau and Scott, 1962) or by co-opting them into either the culture or values of the organization (Ouchi, 1979). We argue that this conceptualization of control takes into account only a part of the relationship between individuals and organizations, and it offers a limited view on human motivation. Indeed individuals and organizations might not have divergent interests, and organizational members need not forego their own interests in favor of those of the organization in order to retain their membership in these organizations. In fact, the research on organizational identification suggests that individuals can benefit in many ways from their organizational membership (Dutton et al., 1994; Pratt, 1998), and that organizations play a major role in shaping how individuals define themselves (George and Chattopadhyay, 2005). Furthermore, individuals like Cervantes's Don Quixote might be driven by a strong belief in who they are, and their actions might be shaped by their commitment to this identity rather than external rewards or punishments (March and Weil, 2005).
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationOrganizational control
EditorsSim B Sitkin, Laura B Cardinal, Katinka Bijlsma-Frankema
Place of PublicationCambridge;New York
PublisherCambridge University Press
Pages167-190
ISBN (Electronic)9780511777899
ISBN (Print)9780521517447, 0521517443
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Sept 2010

Publication series

NameCambridge companions to management

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