Abstract

Establishing an organization’s identity and letting that identity permeate its culture is something that is incredibly valuable to an organization to create a lasting atmosphere and sustainable environment that best suits its members and advocacies. Two of the most important aspects to learn in order to build up this identity are the VMOS and the dynamics of identity. Looking at VMOS, an acronym that stands for Vision, Mission, Objectives, and Strategies, are components of a practical planning process that help build the foundation and direction of an organization’s short-term goals while keeping sight of its long-term vision. On the other hand, the dynamics of identity talks about the connections and impact the identity, the image, and the culture of an organization has on itself. We will learn these aspects as well as the relationships between one another while also understanding how to develop and curate the identity we want for our organizations.

There are two main frameworks

you can use to craft your organization identity:

VMOS Framework

The VMOS Framework centralizes on formulating and assessing an organization’s Vision, Mission, Objectives, and Strategies. These four components, according to Jenette Nagy and Stephen Fawcett, are a strategic planning process that can be used by an organization or group to “help provide a blueprint for moving from dreams to actions to positive outcomes.” Having said this, the VMOS framework not only helps build a sense of direction but also helps craft the identity of an organization.

Each component of this framework has its merit in building the ‘blueprint’ of an organization.

The Four Components

Vision

Consists of three parts: what you do, how you do it, and why you do it.
Understood and shared by members of the community

Broad enough to encompass a variety of local perspectives
Inspiring and uplifting to everyone involved in your effort
Easy to communicate – for example, they should be short enough to fit on a T-shirt

A vision statement outlines the company's long-term goals and aspirations for the future in terms of its long-term growth and impact on the world.

Example (IKEA): “To create a better everyday life for the many people.”

Mission

An organization’s mission statement should include one or two strong, well-written sentences that talk about why a company exists, the value it brings to its customers, the core beliefs that drive its work, and what sets it apart from other companies doing similar work.

Example (IKEA): “to offer a wide range of well-designed, functional home furnishing products at prices so low that as many people as possible will be able to afford them.”

Objectives

Objectives refer to specific measurable results for the initiative’s broad goals. An organization’s objectives generally lay out how much of what will be accomplished by when.

Strategies

Strategies explain how the initiative will reach its objectives.

Generally, organizations will have a wide variety of strategies that include people from all the different parts, or sectors, of the community. These strategies range from the very broad, which encompasses people and resources from many different parts of the community to the very specific, which aims at carefully defined areas.

Dynamics of Organization Identity

This framework by Hatch and Schultz (1997, 2000), depicts the relationships between the culture, identity, and image of an organization as well as the four processes that connect each.

The dynamics of an organization's identity centralizes on the idea that an organization’s identity is formed in the interactions it has with its members and others, grounding itself on how culture and image help form an organization’s identity. This is done through an organization’s identity as both the expression of one’s culture and the reflection of the images one has of the organization.

This then gets fleshed out in a circular process of continuous feedback as identity, which in turn then further deepens the resulting culture and outward image through the identity embedding itself in the culture and having the identity leave more impressions of the said image upon others.

The framework then challenges us to build off these processes that unite them towards creating and sustaining the organizational identity we want to achieve.

Guide Questions

What culture forms your organization's identity now?

What images does your organization identify with?

How do we feel about the culture and image your organization has now that results in your identity?

Learn More!

Hatch, M. J., & Schultz, M. (2002). The dynamics of organizational identity. Human Relations, 55(8), 989-1018. https://doi.org/10.1177/0018726702055008610

Hoy, T. (2023, January 19). What Is a Vision Statement and Why Is it Important? | BoardEffect. BoardEffect. https://www.boardeffect.com/blog/what-vision-statement-why-important/