The influence of cultural selection on strategic
communication
A thesis submitted in accordance with the requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
at the
Queensland University of Technology
by
Kim Amanda Johnston
Master of Business (Communication) (Queensland University of Technology)
Bachelor of Nursing (Northern Territory University)
Certificate General Nursing (Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney)
Agents Representative Certificate (Darwin Institute of Technology)
School of Advertising, Marketing and Public Relations
QUT Business School
Queensland University of Technology
Brisbane, Australia
II
Keywords
Public relations, strategic communication, organizing, organizational culture,
cultural selection, organizational ethnography, organizational communication
progressive contextualisation.
III
Abstract
Strategic communication is held to be a key process by which organisations
respond to environmental uncertainty. In the received view articulated in the
literatures of organisational communication and public relations, strategic
communication results from collaborative efforts by organisational members to
create shared understanding about environmental uncertainty and, as a result of this
collective understanding, formulate appropriate communication responses.
In this study, I explore how such collaborative efforts towards the
development of strategic communication are derived from, and bounded by,
culturally shared values and assumptions. Study of the influences of an
organisation‟s culture on the formulation of strategic communication is a
fundamental conceptual challenge for public relations and, to date, a largely
unaddressed area of research.
This thesis responds to this challenge by describing a key property of
organisational culture – the action of cultural selection (Durham, 1992). I integrate
this property of cultural selection to extend and refine the descriptive range of
Weick‟s (1969, 1979) classic sociocultural model of organizing. From this
integration I propose a new model, the Cultural Selection of Strategic
Communication (CSSC). Underpinning the CSSC model is the central proposition
that because of the action of cultural selection during organizing processes, the
inherently conservative properties of an organisation‟s culture constrain development
of effective strategic communication in ways that may be unrelated to the outcomes
of “environmental scanning” and other monitoring functions heralded by the public
relations literature as central to organisational adaptation. Thus, by examining the
development of strategic communication, I describe a central conservative influence
on the social ecology of organisations. This research also responds to Butschi and
Steyn‟s (2006) call for the development of theory focusing on strategic
communication as well as Grunig (2006) and Sriramesh‟s (2007) call for research to
further understand the role of culture in public relations practice.
In keeping with the explorative and descriptive goals of this study, I employ
organisational ethnography to examine the influence of cultural selection on the
IV
development of strategic communication. In this methodological approach, I use the
technique of progressive contextualisation to compare data from two related but
distinct cultural settings. This approach provides a range of descriptive opportunities
to permit a deeper understanding of the work of cultural selection.
Findings of this study propose that culture, operating as a system of shared
and socially transmitted social knowledge, acts through the property of cultural
selection to influence decision making, and decrease conceptual variation within a
group. The findings support the view that strategic communication, as a cultural
product derived from the influence of cultural selection, is an essential feature to
understand the social ecology of an organisation.
V
Contents Keywords ..................................................................................................................... 2
Abstract ........................................................................................................................ 3
List of Figures ........................................................................................................ 10
List of Tables.......................................................................................................... 11
List of Abbreviations.............................................................................................. 12
Statement of original authorship ............................................................................ 13
Chapter 1 .................................................................................................................... 15
Focus of Thesis and Theoretical Framework ......................................................... 15
Social Ecology and Systems theory ................................................................... 16
The Culture Concept .......................................................................................... 17
Public Relations and Organisational Communication ....................................... 17
Justification and contributions ........................................................................... 18
Research Problem and Questions ........................................................................... 20
The Research Setting: Red Cross Queensland ....................................................... 21
Methodology .......................................................................................................... 22
Outline of the Thesis .............................................................................................. 23
Summary ................................................................................................................ 25
Chapter 2 .................................................................................................................... 26
Review of the Literature............................................................................................. 26
Organisations: Responsive to Social Environments .............................................. 27
Cultural Ecology ................................................................................................ 29
The Culture Concept .............................................................................................. 31
Ideational Theory of Culture .............................................................................. 32
Organisational Culture as a System of Social Knowledge................................. 34
Cultural Knowledge Structures and Schema...................................................... 36
Cultural Selection ............................................................................................... 37
Sociocultural Model of Organizing ........................................................................ 43
Ecological Change ............................................................................................. 46
Enactment ........................................................................................................... 46
Selection ............................................................................................................. 47
Retention ............................................................................................................ 48
Public Relations Theory: Adaptation and Adjustment........................................... 49
Strategic Communication ....................................................................................... 51
Defining Strategic Communication.................................................................... 52
VI
Formulation of Strategic Communication ......................................................... 53
Importance of Organisational Culture in Strategic Communication ................. 54
Research Problem and Research Questions ........................................................... 56
Cultural Selection of Strategic Communication Model ......................................... 57
Research Propositions ........................................................................................ 58
Propositions........................................................................................................ 59
Summary ................................................................................................................ 60
Chapter 3 .................................................................................................................... 61
Methodology .............................................................................................................. 61
Theoretical Perspective and Ontological Considerations ...................................... 62
Research Design: An Ethnography ........................................................................ 64
Organisational Ethnography .............................................................................. 65
The Research Setting: Red Cross Queensland ................................................... 66
Boundaries of Progressive Contextualisation .................................................... 68
Presentation of the Ethnographic Account ........................................................ 72
Researcher Perspective ...................................................................................... 73
Relationship Building ........................................................................................ 76
Access to Red Cross Queensland ....................................................................... 77
Sampling ............................................................................................................ 78
Data Sources ...................................................................................................... 80
Ethnoecology: Data Analysis ................................................................................. 88
Reducing Data: Memoing and Coding .............................................................. 90
Quality of the Approach......................................................................................... 94
Ethical Considerations ....................................................................................... 97
Limitations and Key Assumptions ..................................................................... 98
Summary ................................................................................................................ 98
Chapter 4 .................................................................................................................. 100
Description of Setting .............................................................................................. 100
Red Cross Overview ............................................................................................ 102
Historical Foundations ..................................................................................... 102
Service Profile .................................................................................................. 103
Funding ............................................................................................................ 104
Mission, Vision, Values and Principles ........................................................... 105
Red Cross Structure and Governance .................................................................. 106
The Council ...................................................................................................... 106
VII
The Board ......................................................................................................... 107
Leadership ........................................................................................................ 107
National Office and States ............................................................................... 108
Red Cross Reform ................................................................................................ 109
Marketing, Fundraising and Communication Reform ..................................... 110
Rebranding of Red Cross ................................................................................. 111
National Communication Directorate .................................................................. 112
Policy and Procedures ...................................................................................... 115
The Social Environment of Red Cross ................................................................. 116
Regulatory Environment .................................................................................. 117
Stakeholders of Red Cross ............................................................................... 117
Partnering with Red Cross ............................................................................... 118
The Opinion Environment of Red Cross .......................................................... 120
The Bali Incident .............................................................................................. 121
Red Cross State Divisions .................................................................................... 122
Red Cross Queensland ......................................................................................... 122
Marketing, Fundraising and Communication .................................................. 128
Strategic Communication and Planning ........................................................... 134
Red Cross South Australia ................................................................................... 139
Marketing, Fundraising and Communication .................................................. 141
Strategic Communication and Planning ........................................................... 145
Summary .............................................................................................................. 146
Chapter 5 .................................................................................................................. 148
Ethnography ............................................................................................................. 148
Researcher Perspective......................................................................................... 150
Establishing trust and gaining entry ................................................................. 156
Red Cross Queensland ......................................................................................... 157
Encounter with the setting ................................................................................ 158
The Marketing, Fundraising, and Communication Unit .................................. 160
Strategic Communication ................................................................................. 190
Moving out from the MFC unit ........................................................................ 195
Executive team in Red Cross Queensland ....................................................... 196
Decision Making and Power in Red Cross Queensland .................................. 205
Knowledge Structures in Red Cross Queensland................................................. 216
Schema: Conceptualisations of Red Cross ....................................................... 219
VIII
Schema: Red Cross is a crisis organisation...................................................... 220
Schema: Working in Red Cross Queensland ................................................... 221
Summary: Contextualising Red Cross Queensland knowledge structures ...... 221
Contextualising Case: National Communication Directorate .............................. 222
Ways of Working ............................................................................................. 230
Change in Red Cross ........................................................................................ 241
Contextualising Case: Red Cross South Australia ............................................... 246
Entry to Red Cross South Australia ................................................................. 247
Strategic Communication in Red Cross South Australia ................................. 265
Summary .............................................................................................................. 268
Chapter 6 .................................................................................................................. 270
Cultural Selection and Strategic Communication .................................................... 270
Research Question 1: Cultural Systems and Cultural Selection .......................... 272
Research Question 2: Cultural Selection in Organizing ...................................... 275
Research question 3: Cultural Selection Criteria Operating in Red Cross
Queensland ........................................................................................................... 278
Cultural Criteria: “Avoid blame” ..................................................................... 279
Cultural Criteria: “Tolerance” .......................................................................... 282
Cultural Criteria: “Internal is More Important” ............................................... 284
Cultural Criteria: “We are Red Cross”............................................................. 286
Cultural Criteria: “Flexible and Fluid” ............................................................ 289
Research question 4: Cultural Selection and Strategic Communication ............. 291
The Influence of Cultural Selection Criteria “Avoiding Blame” on Strategic
Communication ................................................................................................ 292
The Influence of Cultural Selection Criteria “Tolerance” on Strategic
Communication ................................................................................................ 294
The Influence of Cultural Selection Criteria “Internal Focus” on Strategic
Communication ................................................................................................ 295
The Influence of Cultural Selection Criteria “We Are Red Cross” on Strategic
Communication ................................................................................................ 296
The Influence of Cultural Selection Criteria “Flexible and Fluid” on Strategic
Communication ................................................................................................ 298
Research question 5: Culturally Derived Strategic Communication ................... 299
Summary .............................................................................................................. 302
Chapter 7 .................................................................................................................. 304
Discussion and Implications .................................................................................... 304
Overview of the Study ......................................................................................... 304
IX
Contributions and Implications ............................................................................ 307
Understanding Influences on Strategic Communication.................................. 307
The Role of Public Relations in the Social Ecology of an Organisation ......... 308
Significance of Organisational Culture to Public Relations ............................ 311
The Use of Progressive Contextualisation and Organisational Ethnography in
Public Relations Research ................................................................................ 313
Philosophical Bearings: Reflections on Doing Ethnography ............................... 313
Limitations of the Research ................................................................................. 317
Opportunities for Future Research ....................................................................... 318
Summary .............................................................................................................. 319
Postscript .............................................................................................................. 321
References ................................................................................................................ 322
Appendices ........................................................................................................... 339
Appendix A – Domestic Activations of RC ..................................................... 339
Appendix B – Fieldwork protocol, Interview and observation guide .............. 340
Appendix C – Red Cross Organisational Chart ............................................... 345
Appendix D – Fundamental Principles ........................................................... 346
Appendix E – Coding nodes (NVivo 7/8/9) ..................................................... 348
Appendix F – Participant information and consent form ................................. 369
X
List of Figures
Figure 1: Theoretical map of major concepts that organise the study ....................... 16
Figure 2: Organisation of Chapter 2 .......................................................................... 27 Figure 3: Cultural Selection (Durham, 1991) ............................................................ 42 Figure 4: Weick‟s (1969, 1979) sociocultural model of organizing .......................... 44 Figure 5: Cultural selection of strategic communication (CSSC) model .................. 58 Figure 6: Organisation of Chapter 3 .......................................................................... 62
Figure 7: Progressive contextualisation of strategic communication in RCQ ........... 70 Figure 8: Overview of analysis showing linkages to display .................................... 91 Figure 9: Organisation of Chapter 4 ........................................................................ 101
Figure 10: NCD - MFC organisational structure (February, 2008) ......................... 114 Figure 11: Excerpt from email update reporting on national MFC activities .......... 115 Figure 12: Red Cross Stakeholder map ................................................................... 118 Figure 13: Logos of 2009 sponsors featured on the Red Cross website .................. 119
Figure 14: Australian media reporting on Red Cross 1 Jan 2003 to 30 Dec 2009 .. 120 Figure 15: Red Cross Queensland headquarters in Park Road, Milton ................... 123 Figure 16: Employment and training services in Bowen Hills ................................ 124 Figure 17: Organisational chart of Red Cross Queensland ...................................... 127
Figure 18: Office layout MFC area Red Cross Queensland .................................... 128 Figure 19: Seating plan on entry to Red Cross Queensland, Jan 2008 .................... 129 Figure 20: Organisational chart of the MFC unit - Red Cross Queensland ............. 130
Figure 21: Red Cross South Australia Headquarters in Wakefield St, Adelaide ..... 139
Figure 22: Organisational chart of Red Cross South Australia‟s MFC unit ............ 142 Figure 23: Collateral produced by MFC unit in Red Cross South Australia ........... 144 Figure 24: Organisation of Chapter 5 ...................................................................... 149
Figure 25: Progressive contextualisation of Red Cross Queensland: Stage 1 of
analysis ..................................................................................................................... 150
Figure 26: Red Cross Queensland web of knowledge structures ............................ 217 Figure 27: Stage 2 level of analysis in the context of the study in Red Cross ......... 222 Figure 28: Stage 3 level of analysis in the context of the study in Red Cross ......... 246
Figure 29: Organisation of Chapter 6 ...................................................................... 271 Figure 30: The action of cultural selection operating in Weick‟s (1969, 1979)
sociocultural model of organizing ........................................................................... 277
Figure 31: Cultural schemas operating at Red Cross Queensland ........................... 279
Figure 32: Avoid Blame Schema ............................................................................. 280 Figure 33: Tolerance Schema .................................................................................. 282 Figure 34: Internal Focus Schema ........................................................................... 285 Figure 35: We are Red Cross Schema ..................................................................... 287 Figure 36: Flexible and Fluid Schema ..................................................................... 289
Figure 37: Ecological relationships: Culturally derived strategic communication .. 301 Figure 38: Key contributions and implications presented in Chapter 7 ................... 307
XI
List of Tables
Table 1: Summary of access timeline ........................................................................ 77
Table 2: Entry periods and summary of activities in settings .................................... 79 Table 3: Case Construct and Data Sources ................................................................ 81 Table 4: Summary of settings for observation and data collection ............................ 84 Table 5: Field notes – observation framework (Sanday, 1979) ................................. 85 Table 6: Examples of topic codes relating to key research questions ........................ 93
Table 7: RCQ‟s Retail Operations ........................................................................... 124 Table 8: Example of output reporting for media releases in March and April 2008137 Table 9: Time periods .............................................................................................. 151
Table 10: Emergent schemas operating in Red Cross Queensland .......................... 218 Table 11: Seniority of staff accessed in the national office ..................................... 224
XII
List of Abbreviations
ABS Australian Bureau of Statistics
CEO Chief Executive Officer
CSSC Cultural Selection of Strategic Communication
ED Executive director
EMT Executive Management Team
FHS First aid, health and safety
ICRC International Committee of the Red Cross
IFRC International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
IHL International Humanitarian Law
MFC Marketing, fundraising and communication (unit)
NCD National Communication Directorate
NMT National Management Team
Organizing Refers to Weick‟s (1969, 1979) sociocultural model of organizing
RC Australian Red Cross
RCQ Red Cross Queensland
RCSA Red Cross South Australia
SAM Save-a-Mate
XIII
Statement of original authorship
The work contained in this thesis has not been previously submitted to meet
requirements for an award at this or any other higher education institution.
To the best of my knowledge and belief, the thesis contains no material previously
published or written by another person except where due reference is made.
Signature
Date
XIV
Acknowledgements
This thesis represents a seven-year journey. Like many journeys, there have been
people who have inspired me, supported me, and sustained me during this time. I would
like to acknowledge just some of those people (because there have been many)...
First, this journey would never have started, and certainly would not have
finished if it weren‟t for my patient and inspiring supervisor Professor James Everett.
His constructive and considered feedback, his faith in my ability, and his tolerance of
„my way‟ of working, were the foundations of this effort. My respect for your amazing
mind and kindness will stay with me forever.
To my associate supervisors, Professor Lisa Bradley and Dr Karen Becker - your
guidance, unwavering support and feedback was very much appreciated. You are both
inspirational role models and I am grateful for the opportunity to learn from you.
To my loving husband David and my two beautiful children, Taylah and Thomas
- you sustained me and I recognise you sacrificed part of your life experience because of
my journey. I am sorry that you had to experience this with me – I promise I will make it
up to you.
To my Head of School, Associate Professor Robina Xavier - your generosity and
consideration was integral to me being able to complete my thesis. I sincerely thank you.
To my wonderful PR colleagues – Anne, Ingrid, Elizabeth, Amisha and Jennifer
and other AMPR staff, including Dr Amanda Beatson, Ass Prof Gayle Kerr, Dr Steve
Pike, Dr Kerrie-Anne Kuhn, Professor Judy Drennan, Dr Connie Bianchi, and Dr Maria
van Dessel. You all contributed in different ways and your ongoing interest and support
was always comforting.
To my dear friends- Kerrie Mackey Smith, Lynda Ugarte, and Julie Rannard;
Thank you for listening and being interested.
Finally, my thanks and appreciation to the people (past and present) at Red Cross
Queensland and South Australia for your generosity in sharing your world with me.
I have found this journey a tough one but I am so very grateful for the
opportunity to do something I never thought achievable. My mother, Judith Sarah,
always said I could do anything if I put the work in. She was right!
Chapter 1 15
Chapter 1
Strategic communication is a central device used by organisations to respond
to environmental uncertainty. The inherent nature of the strategic response is
premised on two key internal activities. The first requires management to monitor
and interpret environmental conditions. The second requires the formulation of an
appropriate response to that interpretation. Both are open to influences from features
operating within the internal organisational environment.
Strategy development scholars have recognised the need to take a cultural
school of thought (Volberda & Elfring, 2001) and understand the internal
organisational processes and influences on decision making (Craig-Lees, 2001;
Weick, 2001). Little progress has been made to explore these both from a strategic
management (George, Chattopadhyay, Sitkin, & Barden, 2006) and a public relations
perspective (Sriramesh, 2007).
A cultural perspective on strategy formulation incorporates a view of an
organisation‟s culture as a system of social knowledge that is shared among
organisational members and transmitted by members across time (Durham, 1991;
Everett, 1985, 1990; Schein, 1984). In these terms, strategy formulation requires a
collaborative effort by organisational members to identify, interpret, interact and
subsequently make a decision that builds shared meaning about a complex situation
in the effort to reduce uncertainty (Selsky, Goes, & Baburoglu, 2007). Unpacking
this collaborative effort to explore how frames of reference derived from culturally
shared values and assumptions influence that process, is a central conceptual
challenge in strategy formulation (Bailey & Johnson, 2001). The focus of this thesis,
therefore, is to explore how organisational culture influences the development of
strategic communication as an organisational response to environmental uncertainty.
Focus of Thesis and Theoretical Framework
To explore and understand cultural influences on the development of
strategic communication, this research draws on three key bodies of theory (see
Figure 1). The first draws on the literatures of social ecology and systems theory to
understand the nature of, and imperatives for, organisational adaptive responses to
environments. The second draws on the concept of culture in the literatures of
Chapter 1 16
anthropology and management to construct a defensible concept of organisational
culture. Finally, the literatures of public relations and organisational communication
are used to identify cultural influences on strategic communication in the shaping of
adaptive environmental responses by organisations. The following section introduces
these bodies of theory.
Figure 1: Theoretical map of major concepts that organise the study
Social Ecology and Systems theory
Successful organisations are responsive to their environments (Hambrick,
1981; Scott, 2003). The increasing complexity and uncertainty of organisational
environments highlights the importance of understanding organisational approaches
to respond to these changing demands (Scott, 2003). An ecological perspective
integrated with a concept of culture provides a framework to describe adaptive
efforts (Everett, 1994, 1996; Steward, 1977).
Viewing organisations from a systems perspective highlights the causal
relationships between the parts of a system as resulting from the selective exchange
of energy and matter to maintain or attain stability (Scott, 2003; von Bertalanffy,
1969). Social ecology provides a conceptual foundation for identifying relationships
between the social rather than physical parts of a system and reflects the needs of
organisations in their efforts to develop viable and sustainable adaptive responses to
a changing social environment (Emery & Trist, 1973). This may include shifts in
public opinion about organisational issues, media treatment of organisational
Chapter 1 17
policies and special interest groups‟ efforts to influence organisational policies and
imperatives of shareholder preferences. The need to be responsive to the
organisation‟s social environment is therefore central to understanding and
describing essential adaptive imperatives that exist for organisations over time
(Everett, 2001). Situating strategic communication in an ecological theoretical
framework allows development of a perspective on strategic communication as a
function that can influence the state of adaptation to a social environment (Hallahan,
Holtshausen, van Ruler, Vercic, & Sriramesh, 2007; Steyn, 2003b).
The Culture Concept
This study argues that the development of strategic communication results
from collective efforts by organisational members to attend to their environment and
interpret environmental information. Therefore, the second body of theory drawn on
for this study is anthropological theoretical traditions of culture, variously
incorporated in management and organisational behaviour literature.
Anthropological theory traditionally conceptualises culture as a system of
social knowledge learned through human interaction (Goodenough, 2003). Operating
as a resource of information and prescriptive of behaviour, culture acts to influence
decision and prescribe behaviour (Durham, 1991). The action of culture acting as a
pool of information to influence decisions is addressed by Durham‟s (1991) theory
of cultural selection. Cultural selection describes how cultural units of information
are selectively transmitted by members through comparative evaluation (Durham,
1990). In this study, I examine the proposition that culture acts as a mediating force
to influence organisational responses to its social environment, conceptualised
through strategic communication. Mediation in this sense is an influence of strategy
development in the form of cognitive criteria to constrain or endorse behaviours
related to environmental variables (Dil, 1980; Durham, 1991; Everett, 1990; Milton,
1996).
Public Relations and Organisational Communication
The perspective of strategic communication as an organisational response to
reduce environmental uncertainty justifies the incorporation of the third cluster of
research traditions including public relations, corporate and organisational
Chapter 1 18
communication literature to this study (Botan, 2006; Cornelissen, 2008; Cutlip,
Center, & Broom, 2006; Everett, 2001; J. E. Grunig, 1992a; Heath & Vasquez, 2001;
Kreps, 2006; Lattimore, Baskin, Heiman, Toth, & Van Leuven, 2004; Newsom,
Turk, & Kruckeberg, 2004; Steyn, 2007; Tench & Yeomans, 2006; Toth, 2007).
These literatures situate organisational adjustment and adaptation as core
responsibilities of strategic communication (Cutlip, et al., 2006; Steyn & Puth,
2000). Strategic communication emerges from identifying key strategic issues to
facilitate adaptation to environmental change or uncertainty (Cutlip, et al., 2006;
Everett, 2001).
Weick‟s (1969, 1979) concept of organizing as an adaptive response to
environmental equivocality frames the basic terms of this study. It is premised on the
concept that organisations seek to reduce environmental equivocality by acting on an
implicit or explicit consensus of environmental meanings (Kreps, 1990; Littlejohn,
1999; Weick, 1969). Weick (1969, 1979) contends managerial worldviews influence
how managers interpret the environmental equivocality and subsequent
organisational responses to manage their relationship with the environment. This
perspective places the formulation of strategic communication in a cultural
framework and focuses the need to understand how a group‟s shared and socially
transmitted beliefs and values (i.e. its culture) shape understanding and actions
toward their environment (Dil, 1980; Milton, 1996). As a relational model, Weick‟s
model provides a foundation from which to explore these processes as they interact
to produce organisational strategic communication.
Based on synthesis of these bodies of work a new model, the Cultural
Selection of Strategic Communication (CSSC) model, is proposed as a framework
for this study and a foundation for future research. The CSSC model provides a
unique way of exploring interlocked influences within the organizing processes on
outcomes to the interaction of environmental equivocality, organisational adaptation,
and the development of strategic communication. This model will be detailed in
Chapter 2.
Justification and contributions
This research responds to Butschi and Steyn‟s (2006) call for the
development of theory on the development of strategic corporate communication and
Chapter 1 19
Grunig (2006) and Sriramesh‟s (2007) call for research to further understand the role
of culture in public relations practice. Scant empirical information exists about how
the public relations function (in concert with organisational management system)
actually attends to the environment and how that attention results in strategic
communication responses. Understanding the influence of organisational culture on
the development of strategic communication remains an unaddressed area of
research in public relations and organisational communications (Everett, 2002;
Sriramesh, 2007).
Gower (2006) calls for research to explore how public relations is really
practised and to incorporate new theories from other disciplines to understand
influences on practice. Over two decades ago, Everett (1985) articulated the need
and value of exploring anthropological traditions in ecology and ethnography to
develop public relations theory. More recently this call is repeated by key discipline
literature (Daymon & Holloway, 2011; L'Etang, Hodges, & Pieczka, 2010). Everett
(1990) argues that both public relations theory and practice will be enriched through
deeper understanding of the interplay between organisational ecology and
organisational culture. The implications of such a framework for the practice of
public relations centre on the need to systematically describe and manage the
relationship between organisational culture and organisational ecology.
An ecological approach to public relations describes how public relations
facilitates organisational environment adaptation (Cutlip et al., 2006). The
assumptions that drive public relations practice commonly relate to how
organisations respond to their environments. This view positions organisations as
reactive receptors (Weick, 1979) and gives internal influences little consideration.
The proposed Cultural Selection of Strategic Communication (CSSC) model
utilises Weick‟s foundational sociocultural model of organizing (Weick, 1969, 1979)
in the discipline of organisational communication and extends its descriptive power
within strategic communication theory with the incorporation of the concept of
cultural selection. By exploring the role of cultural selection in the development of
strategic communication through the application of Weick‟s (1969, 1979)
sociocultural model of organizing, this study addresses that gap specifically by
examining the relationships between organisational culture and strategic
communication. More specifically, by building a case study to examine how a key
Chapter 1 20
attribute of organisational culture, the property of cultural selection, operates in the
selection process of Weick‟s model, this study contributes to the key problem arena
of public relations theory and practice. This is achieved by building an understanding
of how strategic communication results from the dynamic interplay of the organizing
processes and the influence of cultural selection on that interplay.
Research Problem and Questions
The central focus of this study is to describe how organisational culture
influences the formulation of strategic communication. Informed by the contexts
introduced above, the central research problem of this study is:
to explore how culture, acting through the property of cultural selection
in the selection process of organizing identified by Weick’s sociocultural
model of organizing (1969, 1979), influences a key feature of the social
ecology of organisations – organisational strategic communication.
This research problem reflects a core theoretical proposition that strategic
communication emerges not as a direct, rational response by organisational members
to objectively given environmental factors, but as an outcome of the influence of
cultural selection on not only what organisational members‟ view as challenges in
their social environment, but also in their decision making about what to do about
those challenges. The following research questions guide the work of this study:
RQ 1: When culture is a system of social knowledge, what is the role of
cultural selection in the development and maintenance of that system?
RQ 2: How does cultural selection operate in organizing?
RQ 3: How does cultural selection operate in Red Cross Queensland?
RQ 4: How does cultural selection operate in the development of strategic
communication in RCQ?
RQ 5: What is the role of culturally derived strategic communication in the
social ecology of organisations?
Chapter 1 21
The Research Setting: Red Cross Queensland
The setting for this study is Red Cross Queensland (RCQ), a division of
Australian Red Cross (RC). Two other Red Cross organisation cases are also built to
provide greater depth through progressive contextualisation (Vayda, 1983) of the
data at RCQ. The two contextualising cases are Red Cross South Australia (RCSA),
and the National Communication Directorate (NCD). RCQ has a statewide
responsibility to meet national organisational goals, budgets and geographically
defined obligations. RC and its divisions were established in Australia in 1914. The
organisation has a clearly articulated mission, vision, principles, and goals, and is
challenged to respond to a complex social and regulatory environment featuring
changing demographics, increasing rates of disaster, an increasing complexity of
humanitarian aid and challenges for funding (Tickner, 2007a).
The study accommodates the complexity of the internal organisational
environment of RC including strength of the fundamental principles guiding the
organisation, the history, and the requirements for transparency and accountability to
manage social expectation and organisational reputation. The criteria for selecting
these organisations include their potential to replicate or extend the emergent
theoretical apparatus (Eisenhardt, 1989) of the proposed CSSC model through
analytical inference (Dubois & Gadde, 2002). In addition, they possess a common
organisational form (Scott, 2003). Each organisation has similar organisational
structures, staff with similar roles and responsibilities, and operating environments
that provide suitable settings to study strategic communication as an empirical entity.
The appropriateness of the cases to provide a rich source of data to respond to the
research problem to explore the action of cultural selection on the formulation of
strategic communication is based on three key assumptions:
1) The national office is responsible for setting communication policy,
making organisational strategy decisions, and interpreting key
environmental events. The national office also identifies key events
deemed worthy of state-based responses;
2) The organisation has clear and distinct operations of a national and state
structure, which provides an opportunity to observe distinct cultural
influences;
Chapter 1 22
3) The state divisions have local autonomy to interpret and respond uniquely
through communication actions to national policy and local
environmental events.
The case organisations provide a suitable setting to explore cultural
influences on strategic communication. The following section outlines the
methodology used to explore the case organisations.
Methodology
The aim of organisational research is to “speculate, discover, and document,
as well as to provisionally order, explain, and predict, (presumably) observable
social processes and structures that characterise behaviour in and of organisations”
(van Maanen, Sorensen, & Mitchell, 2007, p. 1145). The central research question
guiding this study is to explore and describe the role of organisational culture in the
formulation of strategic communication as a response to environmental uncertainty.
An interpretivist epistemology informs this thesis acknowledging the broad
traditions of anthropological ethnographic studies and approaches to social science
exploring the social influences of how people construct meaning in natural settings
(Hammersley, 1990; Neuman, 2003).
Ethnographic enquiry seeks to discover meanings and perceptions of people
in a social collective and interpret their understandings in the context of their
worldview (Crotty, 1998). The term ethnography encompasses a set of methods that
involve a researcher (ethnographer) participating in people‟s lives for an extended
period with the aim to make sense of their world (Hammersley & Atkinson, 2007).
According to Rabinow (1977) exploring culture is an interpretive act. As this study
is attentive to issues of interpretation, ethnography is well suited to efforts to
understand the process by which actors construct meaning out of collective
experiences (Hammersley & Atkinson, 2007).
An organisational ethnography is a participant focused study of organisations
and their organising processes built from perceptions of organisational members
(Ybema, Yanow, Wels, & Kamsteeg, 2009). Organisational ethnography is an
appropriate methodology for this study as it captures organisational reality from the
perspective of the organisational members and provides contextual insights to social
and collective processes (Glaser, 1998). The identification and description of culture
Chapter 1 23
is a primary goal to allow its role in the development of strategic communication to
be explored and understood (Hammersley & Atkinson, 1995; Mitchell, 2007). As a
basic form of social research, ethnography offers social researchers the opportunity
to study small scale settings focusing on participants in everyday contexts and
involves data from a range of sources (Hammersley, 1990).
The organisational ethnography of RCQ was undertaken with a comparative
study of RCSA and data collected from the NCD for policy and triangulation
(Richards, 2005). Data from 51 individual depth interviews, 18 months of
intermittent observation and field notes, and supplementary organisational
documents allow the exploration of the role of culture in the development of
strategic communication.
The exploratory nature of this study offered flexibility to move beyond
research questions and extant literature to discover new ideas and issues and provide
direction, ideas or techniques for future research (Neuman, 2003). Exploratory
research is suited to the need to understand the internal and cultural processes
undertaken by organisations in their effort to respond to environmental equivocality
through the development of strategic communication. An essential quality for an
exploratory study is to understand the complex and unique influence of
organisational culture and search for dimensions of experience not identified by
existing theory (Ezzy, 2002).
Outline of the Thesis
This chapter introduces the thesis and establishes the background to the development
of the central research question to explore the organisational cultural influences on
the development of strategic communication. It introduces the core requirements of
strategic communication as an organisational response to environmental uncertainty
and the role of organisational culture as social knowledge. Using Weick‟s
sociocultural model of organizing (1969, 1979), this study applies what Everett
(2002) identified as being a core component to ecological public relations and seeks
to understand how culture influences the development of organisational strategic
communication.
Chapter 2 presents the literature that encompasses the bodies of research
surrounding the research question. The chapter starts with key literature on the
Chapter 1 24
nature of strategic communication and the collective nature of input into the process
and introduces the context for examining cultural structures as social knowledge and
cognition, establishing the nature of these influences on the interaction between
enactment and the cultural elements operating on the selection process. The review
documents the thesis of Weick‟s sociocultural model of organizing (1969, 1979) as a
key theoretical apparatus for organisational communication. The review then builds
a more detailed description of the relationship of environmental enactment to critical
subsystems of organisational culture acting in the selection process of organizing. A
new model, the CSSC model, is proposed that captures the assumptions of Weick‟s
sociocultural model of organizing (1969, 1979). The model responds to the need to
understand the origins and nature of cultural influences on the formulation of
strategic communication, by building on the action of selection in Weick‟s
sociocultural model of organizing by incorporating Durham‟s (1991) theory of
cultural selection.
Chapter 3 details organisational ethnography as the methodological approach
undertaken to investigate the key research questions and subsequent propositions. A
justification for the exploratory and inductive approach of ethnographic study is
provided and identification of the stages of data reduction and data analysis within
and across cases. A review of methodological issues associated with previous studies
is detailed. The quality of the data analysis is established.
Chapter 4 details the description of the setting of RCQ and introduces RCSA
and NCD as comparative sites to contextualise and deepen understanding of the
primary site. Chapter 5 details the ethnography of RCQ and describes participants‟
views gained during observation and interviews. To contextualise these views,
participants from the other study sites of the NCD and then RCSA are detailed, to
provide deeper understanding of the participant‟s views in RCQ. Chapter 6 presents
the interpretation of the ethnography and addresses the study‟s five research
questions. Chapter 7 presents contributions to theory, with implications for
continuing inquiry, theory, policy, and practice. By returning to the core problem, I
discuss the relevance of the new model and conclude with outlining the limitations
of the study and propose a number of areas of future research.
Chapter 1 25
Summary
This chapter has introduced the key research problem and questions this
thesis seeks to address. The chapter first identified the influence of organisational
culture on the key social ecology of organisation as the key problem then described a
broad outline of the key theoretical areas on which it draws including organisational
culture, cultural ecology, Weick‟s (1969, 1979) sociocultural model of organizing,
and strategic communication as a key domain of public relations. This chapter also
outlined the key areas of knowledge that this study will contribute. The key
contributions of this study to the literature of organisational communication and
public relations are: (1) to build a greater understanding of the action of cultural
selection on the development of organisational strategic communication, and (2) as a
consequence of this influence, to understand the role of cultural selection on the
social ecology of an organisation.
Chapter 2 reviews the core theoretical domains informing this study
including strategic communication, ecological public relations, culture and cultural
selection and organizing. Within these contexts, research gaps are identified as they
relate to the theoretical arena that circumscribes this study- the role of culture in the
development of strategic communication.
Chapter 2: Literature Review 26
Chapter 2
Review of the Literature
Chapter 2 introduces the literature that informs this study with the aim to
document influences on the development of strategic communication as a response
to change in environmental features of organisations. Chapter 1 outlined the
background to the development of this study‟s core research problem.
This chapter draws on three key theoretical domains to extend understanding
of the processes acting on the development of strategic communication. The first
domain is founded on anthropological approaches to the concepts of culture,
ecology, and cultural selection. The second domain draws on the key theoretical
apparatus for organisational communication; Weick‟s (1969, 1979) sociocultural
model of organizing. The third domain draws on strategic management and strategic
communication literature. This chapter is structured to respond to and integrate these
conceptual precedents.
To achieve this goal, first, I establish the context for organisations being
responsive to the social environment. I then establish the rationale for examining
cultural structures as systems of social knowledge and cognition. Weick‟s
sociocultural model of organizing (1969, 1979) is then introduced as a theoretical
apparatus to explore organisational responses to environmental change. Following
this, and based on Weick‟s model as the precedent, I build a more detailed
description of the relationship of the subsystems of organisational culture acting in
the selection process of organizing.
Finally a new model is introduced that builds on Weick‟s (1969, 1979)
sociocultural model of organizing, and is informed by Durham‟s (1992) cultural
selection theory. The Cultural Selection of Strategic Communication (CSSC) model
is proposed to respond to the research problem and the need to build an
understanding of the origins and nature of cultural influences on the development of
organisational strategic communication. The chapter concludes by summarising the
key points and establishing the context for the methodology to respond to the key
research problem in Chapter 3. The major sections presented in this chapter are
illustrated in Figure 2.
Chapter 2: Literature Review 27
Figure 2: Organisation of Chapter 2
Organisations: Responsive to Social Environments
The role of strategic communication as an adaptive response to assist in
managing organisational-environment relationships reflects an ecological framework
(Cutlip, et al., 2006; Everett, 2001). The development of strategic communication
emerges from identifying key strategic issues internally and externally to facilitate
adaptation to environmental or ecological change (Cutlip, et al., 2006; Everett,
2001). The ability to identify and differentiate key strategic issues in the
organisation's environment is one of the key contributing abilities in the effort to
develop organisational strategic communication (Steyn, 2003a).
Organisational environments are defined as everything outside the
organisation‟s boundaries. Organisation-environment boundaries can be fluid, as
boundaries can shift, disappear or can be “arbitrarily drawn” (Weick, 1979, p. 132).
Organisational members‟ ability to identify, differentiate, interpret, and prioritise
Chapter 2: Literature Review 28
environmental issues is a critical skill in the development of organisational strategic
communication (Clampitt, DeKoch, & Cashman, 2000; Cummings & Wilson, 2003;
Murphy, 2007; Porter, 1996; Steyn, 2003b; Whittington, 1993). Bourgeois (1980)
argues the perception of environmental uncertainty is conceptually and empirically
more relevant to studies of strategy making than studies of an organisation‟s external
environment.
Scott (2003) argues that while a number of flows may connect a system, the
flow of information is one of the most important as it places demands on
organisational participants to process information. How information is gleaned from
the environment can potentially influence an organisation‟s success (Daft & Weick,
1984). The purpose of environmental scanning in public relations is to guide
organisational decision making for organisational-environment adaptation (Cutlip, et
al., 2006), providing the “first link in the chain of perceptions and actions that permit
adaptation to the environment” (Saxby, Parker, Nitse, & Dishman, 2002, p. 29).
Environmental understanding underpins the creation of strategic
communication as a response by management to meet organisational goals
(Clampitt, et al., 2000; Cutlip, et al., 2006; Thomas, Clark, & Gioia, 1993). As
Emery and Trist (1973) suggest “the future will be largely shaped by the choices
men [sic] make, or fail to make, and it will not be moulded simply by technical
forces…” (p. 38). Daft and Weick (1984) describe organisational efforts for
gathering environmental information as a filtering and interpretive process to
facilitate decision making. While interpretation is often used as a synonym for
understanding, Weick (1995) differentiates interpretation as a component of
sensemaking and suggests “sensemaking is about the ways people generate what
they interpret” (p. 13).
Robbins and Barnwell (2006) note variations of an organisation‟s
environment may exist reflecting management‟s understanding of the “actual”
environment and the “perceived” environment. The creation of the environment by
management highlights the difference between observable and perceived
environments (Doty, Bhattacharya, Wheatley, & Sutcliffe, 2006). This
differentiation is addressed by Lenz and Engledow (1986) who argue the
organisation‟s actual definition of an environment can be constrained by their own
perception of its environmental reality. Berger and Luckman (2004) suggest reality is
Chapter 2: Literature Review 29
relative. From an interpretive perspective, Aldrich (1999) argues environmental
understanding occurs as organisational members socially construct and negotiate
meanings about the organisational reality rather than accept it as given. The
negotiated interpretation of the organisational environment is therefore taken for
granted as the reality of the organisation.
Weick (1969, 1979) argues that the organisation creates (enacts) the
environment that in turn exists for the organisation. He contends “environments are
created by organisations out of puzzling surrounds and that these meaningful
environments emerge quite late in organizing processes” (Weick, 1979, p. 132). The
organisational environment is therefore “selectively perceived, rearranged
cognitively, and negotiated interpersonally” (Weick, 1979, p. 164). Organisational
members‟ assumptions of environmental reality shape what they value “through the
processes of proactive manifestation through which assumptions provide
expectations that influence perceptions, thoughts, and feelings, are then experienced
as reflecting the world and the organisation” (p. 662). Shaping, interpretation, and
environmental understanding, all occur through internal processes to refine
environmental information. The environmental “reality as perceived by the members
becomes more the source of selection within the organisation” (Weick, 1979, p.
125).
This section established the importance of understanding environmental
information as the basis of the strategic response. The next section addresses the
concept of cultural ecology as a context for exploring the role of culture in shaping
organisational responses to the environment, and ultimately, the significance for
strategic communication.
Cultural Ecology
Cultural ecology describes adaptation through cultural means (Steward,
1977; Sutton & Anderson, 2010). More specifically, cultural ecology studies the
ways people use culture to adapt to their environment (Frake, 1962; Sutton &
Anderson, 2010), or how culture mediates how a group experiences its environment
(Winthrop, 1991).
Situating the study of strategic communication specifically in a cultural
ecology framework recognises the potential for culture to mediate or play a key role
Chapter 2: Literature Review 30
in the development of strategic communication as the organisational adaptive
response to its environment. This perspective places strategic communication in a
cultural framework and focuses the need to understand the role of culture in shaping
understanding and actions toward their environment (Dil, 1980; Milton, 1996).
The central role of strategic communication places it within the ecological
context of an organisation managing its relationship with its social environment
(Cutlip, et al., 2006; Everett, 2001). Everett (1996) identifies strategic
communication as “the device that couples the cultural and the social in
organisations, mediates the effects of the organisational environment on the
organisations as well as organisational action toward the environment” (p. 182).
Culture operates as a complex and continuous process through which organisational
members create, maintain, and change the organisation in response to these effects
(Keyton, 2005).
Everett (1990) links an ecological model of public relations with a
sociocultural perspective arguing that taking a cultural perspective transcends the
importance of individual perceptions as secondary “to understanding and describing
how these perceptions are linked into collective representations and action” (Everett,
1990, p. 249). The linking, he argues, takes place over time through the
organisation‟s socially transmitted cultural framework.
Organisations exist as social collectives responsive to an environment
through exchanges of information and energy (Everett, 1994). Organisations can be
defined as “a dynamic system of organisational members, influenced by external
stakeholders, who communicate within and across organizational structures in a
purposeful and ordered way to achieve a superordinate goal” (Keyton, 2005, p. 11).
This dynamic system is best understood as a sociocultural system (Everett, 1990).
Organisations operate as a system of shared beliefs and knowledge structures
that collectively work to direct managers‟ attention to salient aspects of the
environment (Aldrich, 1999). The following section explores the culture concept as a
foundational framework for its potential to influence the formulation of strategic
communication in organisations.
Chapter 2: Literature Review 31
The Culture Concept
This section introduces the culture concept by first offering a definition based
on culture as a set of control mechanisms or recipes, rules and instructions (Geertz,
1973). Building on this definition, an ideational theory of culture is introduced as a
way of organising and understanding the nature of culture employed in this study
and how this concept of culture accounts for the transmission of cultural units of
information. Given this foundation, culture as a system of social knowledge is
introduced, recognising an ideational view of culture focuses on socially transmitted
social knowledge over time. This social knowledge manifests as knowledge
structures or schemas of cultural knowledge, which is discussed in the final part of
this section.
Keesing (1981) considers the concept of culture as “one of the most
important and influential ideas in twentieth century thought” (p. 67). This may be
attributed to culture‟s potential to explain the nature of human societies (Steward,
1977). As Durham (1991) argues:
the idea that much of the patterned variation in human behaviour can be
explained by variation in the ideas and beliefs in people‟s minds, that is, from
component elements of their culture. In such arguments, culture is viewed as
a source of information that gives specific form to human action and renders
it both meaningful to the actors and intelligible to outside observers. (p. 74)
Culture is defined as a system of shared meaning, values or beliefs, socially
transmitted over time among a particular social group (Bates, 2001; Durham, 1991;
Geertz, 1973; Keesing, 1981; Keyton, 2005). While many definitions of culture have
been offered (Chick, 1997) and applications of central concepts differ (Sackmann,
1992), a general consensus by anthropologists views culture as a mental
phenomenon (D'Andrade, 2001). As Geertz (1973) suggests:
Culture is best seen not as complexes of concrete behaviour patterns –
customs, usages, traditions, habit clusters – as has, by and large, been the
case up to now, but as a set of control mechanisms – plans, recipes, rules,
Chapter 2: Literature Review 32
instructions (what computer engineers call programs) for the governing of
behaviour. (p. 44)
The historical and socially transmitted nature of cultural knowledge is
highlighted by Geertz (1973) arguing the pattern of meanings, symbols and inherited
conceptions is a means by which members “communicate, perpetuate, and develop
their knowledge about and attitudes towards life” (p. 89). Anthropological theory
has traditionally viewed culture as a mediating influence on human action and an
information source that shapes action and meaning for members of a specific group
and gives direction to organising their lives (Dil, 1980; Durham, 1991; Milton, 1996;
Norlin, Chess, Dale, & Smith, 2003). Culture acts as a grounding and orientating
force for interpretation that underpins human understanding, definitions, and actions
towards the environment (Hatch, 1993; Milton, 1996). Culture therefore functions to
give meaning and influence how events are viewed and interpreted (Bates, 2001).
Geertz (1973) compares culture to Weber‟s reference to man suspended in webs of
significance he himself has spun. Geertz views “culture to be those webs, and the
analysis of it to be therefore not an experimental science in search of law but an
interpretive one in search of meaning” (p. 5).
Key challenges remain in using culture as an organising concept. First, the
elusive nature of culture in practise is difficult to distinguish (Bates, 2001). Second,
the existing conceptual diversity surrounding the concept of culture makes it difficult
to operationalise (Sackmann, 1992). Adopting an ideational approach focuses the
anthropological treatment of culture and offers “a more explicit and more analytic
conceptualisation of culture” (Durham, 1991, p. 3). This approach will be discussed
in the next section.
Ideational Theory of Culture
An ideational view of culture focuses on socially transmitted social
knowledge, over time, where learning occurs in a distinctly social way (Durham,
1991). An ideational conceptualisation of culture is defined as “information acquired
by imitating or learning from other individual‟s phenotype, usually behaviour”
(Boyd & Richerson, 1985, p. 430). Durham (1991) argues that applying a cultural
ideational theory allows cultural units of transmission to be operationalised, in that
Chapter 2: Literature Review 33
“culture is handed down through time and space in units that are conceptual, socially
conveyed, symbolically coded, parts of a system, and so on” (p. 9).
Placing an ideational theory of culture into an organisational context
recognises organisations as communication collectives (Weick, 1979) or as a
“system for facilitating human interaction” (Tourish & Hargie, 2004, p. 142).
Durham (1991) identifies the five key cultural properties of an ideational theory of
culture that represent a consensus in the literature and are important to the study of
human diversity. The five cultural properties are:
1. Conceptual reality - Geertz (1973) argues culture should be viewed as a
set of control mechanisms to govern behaviour. He cautions against
considering culture as an outcome of human thought and action rather than its
source. Durham (1991) argues for culture to not be equated with behaviour.
As the first property of culture, Durham (1991) states:
.. it is misleading to say that culture is behaviour transmitted from one
individual to another by learning and teaching. Behaviours may
certainly be culturally variable in the sense that if the guiding ideas,
values or beliefs of a population change, then associated behaviours
will also change. But to include the behaviours as culture imposes a
futile nature/nurture categorisation…. In short, culture should be
thought of not as behaviours but as part of the information that
specifies its form. (p. 4)
2. The social transmission or sharing of cultural units of information is the
next key property identified by Durham (1991). He argues this information
must be learned through learning or teaching. Culture in this frame refers to
what humans learn (Keesing, 1981). A key distinction Durham (1991) makes
is that this learning process is uniquely social; “the point is not simply that
culture is learned information but that it is learned in a distinctive social way
through modelling” (Durham, 1991, p. 5).
3. Symbolic encoding of information increases accuracy and the
effectiveness of transmission (Durham, 1991). As the third key property of
culture, Durham (1991) argues there is added significance of the symbols to
Chapter 2: Literature Review 34
the cultural systems making the information more meaningful. Geertz (1973)
states “to aid us in gaining access to the conceptual world in which our
subjects live so that we can, in some extended sense of the term, converse
with them” (p. 24).
4. Systemic organisation as a property of culture relates to the structuring
and organisation of culture within a system of knowledge. Geertz (1973)
notes “cultural systems must have a minimal degree of coherence, else we
would not call them systems” (p. 17). Durham (1991) reflects both its
hierarchy (noting a prioritisation of importance of information) and
coherency (noting linkages within a whole) as a system.
5. Durham (1991) argues that the historical nature of the shared ideas,
values, and beliefs have been handed down over time.
As an ideational theory, culture comprises “systems of shared ideas, systems
of concepts and rules and meanings that underlie and are „expressed‟ in the ways that
humans live” (Keesing, 1981, p. 69). In the following section, I explore culture as a
system of social knowledge as a foundational framework for its potential to influence
the formulation of organisational strategic communication.
Organisational Culture as a System of Social Knowledge
The view of culture as a system of social knowledge captures the role of
culture in relating communities to their ecological settings (Keesing, 1974). Durham
(1991) views culture as “systems of symbolically encoded conceptual phenomena
that are socially and historically transmitted within and between populations” (p. 9).
Culture operating as a learned system of shared knowledge assists members of a
society to relate and cope with their environment (Bates, 2001). As a sociocultural
system, it represents the “social realizations or enactments of ideational designs-for-
living in particular environments” (Keesing, 1974, p. 82).
Culture operates as a system to provide coherency and guide, or rationalise,
behaviour (Hahn, 1995). A cultural system is defined as “a coherent set of
interdependent values related together as a way of evaluation and choice, including
Chapter 2: Literature Review 35
the means of their expression and communication, and possibly including a means
for the challenge, the establishment and the disestablishment of values” (Soho, 2000,
p. 362). In an organisational context, culture manifests as social knowledge learned
through human interaction over time (Durham, 1991; Everett, 1990; Keesing, 1974;
Rambo & Gillogly, 1991). In a social setting, people learn how to respond
appropriately through the social transmission of culture (Goodenough, 2003).
While a lack of definitional consensus about organisational culture is noted in
the literature (Ashkanasy, 2003; van Maanen, 1987), there is some coherence around
the concept of culture being a pattern. Schein (2009) defines organisational culture in
terms of a pattern of assumptions developed by a group as a way of coping with
adaptation and integration. Zammuto and Krakower (1991) define organisational
culture as “patterns of values and ideas in organisations that shape human behaviour
and its artifacts” (p. 85) while Gordon and Di Tomaso (1992) share this definition of
patterns highlighting its development over time. A holistic perspective is taken by
Ashkanasy and Jackson (2001) who define organisational culture as “a consistent set
of attitudes and values held by organizational members, and the practices that result
from these attitudes and values” (p. 398). This approach is shared by Grunig, Grunig,
and Dozier (2002) who define organisational culture as the “sum total of shared
values, symbols, meanings, beliefs, assumptions, and expectations that organize and
integrate a group of people who work together” (p. 591). Based on this synthesis,
organisational culture is conceptualised as an organisation‟s system of social
knowledge that is shared among organisational members and transmitted by
members across time.
Organisational culture acts to both confine and facilitate what organisational
members see, how they interpret their world, and manifests itself as a social reality
tied to organisational traditions (Keyton, 2005). Weick and Quinn (1999) refer to this
as a recipe for handling situations that often become routine or embedded in
organisational assumptions and form schemas which drive action. In this way,
organisational culture acts to mediate the organisation-environment relationship
(Everett, 1990). Organisational culture is manifested and maintained by individual
sensemaking efforts facilitated through the development of “dynamic cognitive
knowledge structures” or schemas (Harris, 1994, p. 310). The cognitive properties or
ways of thinking provides schemas so organisational members can make sense of
Chapter 2: Literature Review 36
events and know how to respond (Bates, 2001). Cognitive properties of knowledge
structures and schemas will be addressed in the following section.
Cultural Knowledge Structures and Schema
Culture is conceived as the outcome of the interaction of collective
knowledge and judgement (Sackmann, 1991). Cultural knowledge focuses on the
“organised knowledge” of sensemaking such as “ideas, concepts, blue prints beliefs,
values or norms” as the core of culture (Sackmann, 1991, p. 21). Knowledge is
conceptualised as “a progressive, hierarchical construction of models of reality
where, step by step, the furniture of experience is moulded inside knowledge
structures by the ordering activity carried out by the knowing subject" (Guidano &
Liotti, 1985, p. 102). Shared knowledge operates “as general expectations that
provide possible responses to a situation, responses that reflect and embody cultural
values” (Hatch, 1993, p. 664). Shared knowledge structures are used by
organisational members to understand and attribute meaning to events (Sackmann,
1991).
Collective knowledge structures differ from personal knowledge structures
because they are socially constructed and rely on consensus (Lyles & Schwenk,
1992). A number of cultural knowledge structure typologies are offered in the
literature. Sackmann‟s (1991) structures of cultural knowledge include dictionary,
directory, recipe, and axiomatic, reflecting the “what”, “how”, “should” and “why”
of cultural cognition. Everett (1990) offers three types of cultural knowledge
structures described as cognitive premises, cultural propositions and cultural frames.
Cognitive premises are individual knowledge structures, while cultural propositions
and cultural frames are the collective cultural structures that build understanding of
how individual knowledge is transformed by cultural structures or criteria (Everett,
2003). Cultural frames give “meaning and coherence to all the cultural propositions
which collectively operate as a selection system within the selection process of
organizing” (Everett, 2003, p. 10). As Everett (1994) concludes, cultural frames give
structure to other cultural propositions and are conceptually equivalent to cultural
schema. In this study, the concept of cultural schema is applied to capture the actions
of collective knowledge structures.
Chapter 2: Literature Review 37
Cultural Schema
Schemes of interpretation operate as frameworks for people to make sense
and understand events, actions and situations in unique ways allowing meaning or a
reality to be constructed (Chan, 2003). Weick (1979) argues schema direct action
and have an effect of mediating or “bracketing portions of experience” (p. 154).
Schema operate at an individual level as a framework for understanding the
organisation way of life, or put more simply, “schemas influence individual
interpretations, assumptions and expectations regarding organisational events
(Scroggins, 2006, p. 86). This follows Pace (1988) who argues schemas “consist of
hypotheses or expectations about incoming information, which then provide plans
for gathering, interpreting, and using this information” (p. 149). Lyles and Schwenk
(1992) suggest schema held by organisational decision makers have an important
influence on how environmental information is interpreted, framed and processed.
This perspective is summarised by Chan (2003):
The structures of action, as systems with emergent patterns or “culture”
become codified into a shared social system of understandings and rules that
become accessible to and understood by actors of a social collective. The
membership of a collectivity is determined through a shared culture, and the
actors display their possession of such a common culture. In turn, this culture
is itself the defining characteristic of the system as a whole. (p. 361)
Schemas for interpretation aligns with Geertz‟s (1973) view that culture acts
as a set of control mechanisms “plans, recipes, rules, instructions – for the governing
of behaviour” (Geertz, 1973, p. 44).Weick (1979) describes a schema as “an
abridged, generalised, corrigible organisation of experience that serves as an initial
frame of reference for action and perception” (p. 154). For organisational members,
schemas act to simplify cognition and act as “mechanisms by which culture shapes
and biases thought” (Di Maggio, 1997, p. 269).
Cultural Selection
Cultural selection describes the capacity of the organisation‟s cultural system
to influence the nature of its own evolution (Durham, 1991). Cultural selection is
Chapter 2: Literature Review 38
defined as “the differential social transmission of cultural variants through human
decision making” or simply as “preservation by preference” (Durham, 1991, p.199).
Cultural selection preserves cultural variation between different groups by
reinforcing the differences over time. Cultural selection predicts that human decision
making systems promote general patterns of fitness (i.e. desirability) and sustains
many of the differences in that group (Durham, 1992). It is during the social process
where cultural material is influential in the selection process (Everett, 2002),
supporting Weick‟s (1979) notion that selection pressures in organisations are the
outcome of “schemes of interpretation and specific interpretations” (p. 131).
To facilitate the functional transmission of culture among members, Durham
(1991) refers to cultural units of information as “memes” to represent actual units of
socially transmitted information, which are symbolically coded and transmitted over
space and time. Cultural units of information are socially learned from other people
in the group (Durham, 1991). Durham believes this information is not simply
“learned”, but is “socially learned” through modelling. Units of culture, he argues:
1) consist of information that actually or potentially guides behaviour
2) accommodate highly variable kinds, quantities, and ways of organizing
information (that is, with variable amounts of hierarchy and integration) and
3) demarcate bodies of information that are, in fact, differentially transmitted
as coherent, functional units. (p. 188)
Durham (1991) argues the transmission of cultural units among members
involves “comparative evaluation of variants according to their consequences” (p.
199). Members select for both the potential, and actual, consequence. This highlights
the role of human decision making in the transmission of cultural information
(Durham, 1991).
The instructional role of culture acts as criteria to categorise and assist in
decision making and action (Goodenough, 2003). The social nature of culture as an
information resource indicates it is both public and prescriptive of actual or potential
behaviour (Durham, 1991). Cultural values can be expected to bias decisions to
ensure that those decisions are congruent with the existing organisational values and
belief systems (Durham, 1991). The mediating action of culture on environmental
Chapter 2: Literature Review 39
information acts as a force or criteria to constrain or endorse behaviours related to
environmental variables (Dil, 1980; Durham, 1991; Everett, 1996; Milton, 1996).
Culture acting as criteria provides insight into diversity of human behavioural
customs (Durham, 1991). This is clearly articulated by Goodenough (1963, cited in
2003). He states:
Culture consists of i) criteria for categorizing phenomena as meaningful
stimuli, ii) criteria for deciding what can be, iii) criteria for deciding how one
feels about things (preferences and values), iv) criteria for deciding what to
do about things, v) criteria for deciding how to go about doing things, and iv)
the skills needed to perform acceptably. (p. 6)
Cultural selection offers a way for the cultural knowledge system of a group
or organisation to maintain and sustain itself. While cultural systems are created,
shaped and constrained by individual minds, it is the shared, collective knowledge
system and the resulting partially contingent behaviours of the group that dictate the
sustainability of that system in its social environment (Keesing, 1974). Variations in
information are filtered through members‟ perceptions and incorporated into their
interpretations and understandings of their world (Aldrich, 1999). Cultural variants
act to bias change toward their environment so that the change “fits” within the
“existing web of local meanings” (Durham, 1992, p. 204). It is through cultural
selection that members can be “situated in” and interact with their environment
through negotiated meanings (Milton, 1996). It is this key theoretical claim that sets
the foundation for the exploration of this study. Understanding how people
conceptualise, interpret, and perceive their world is foundational to understanding
the decision-making process (Milton, 1997).
Variations in environmental information are filtered by member‟s perceptions
and then changed through selection processes before being incorporated into
organisational belief systems (Aldrich, 1999). Filtering implicates the action of
culture to mediate the relationship between humans and their environment (Milton,
1996). In an organisational setting, “selection processes operate by affecting the
information and resources available to people, workgroups, organisations, and
populations” (Aldrich, 1999, p. 29). The need to understand managerial mindsets is a
Chapter 2: Literature Review 40
core requirement for understanding strategic thinking (Lundberg, 2005). The
knowledge required to make decisions as the organisational response to key
environmental change suggests organisational members have interdependent
relationships sharing knowledge, beliefs, and values; learning occurs during
communication processes; and subsequent institutionalisation of the new knowledge
(Aldrich, 1999). Exploring how “frames of reference” derived from shared values
and assumptions influence organisational action remains a key focus in management
literature (Bailey & Johnson, 2001). This is a central question for this study.
Self-selection in cultural selection reflects the capability of the cultural
system to influence the nature of its own evolution through decision making
(Durham, 1991) specifically involving making a choice between various options
(Adair, 2010).
Decision making or human action that results from choice is generally
characterised as a rule-following behaviour (March, 2002; Zhou, 2002), however
more recent literatures question the rationality of this as a process (March, 2002).
Strategic decision making in an organisation is better placed as social practice as it
represents the outcome of interaction between organisational members (Nutt &
Wilson, 2010a). The interaction occurs in the recognised steps followed in decision
making including problem definition, decision objectives, alternative generation,
anticipated outcomes, tradeoffs between alternatives and outcomes, assessment of
uncertainty, risk tolerance and impact on related decision (Hammond, 1999, cited in
Franz & Kramer, 2010). The influence of organisational culture on this decision
making process is described more generally as „organisational characteristics‟ (Franz
& Kramer, 2010) and influential in the context of local preferences and accepted
social rules (March, 1994).
While organisational culture has been shown in studies to influence decision
making style (Carr, 2005), implementation of strategic decisions (Miller, Weilson, &
Hickson, 2004), specific research to understand how the internal organisational
environment influences decision making has been overlooked (Nutt & Wilson, 2010;
Papadakis, Thanos, & Barwise, 2010). The concept of cultural selection fills this
gap.
Chapter 2: Literature Review 41
In self-selection, a group‟s belief systems are preserved through the action of
cultural selection (Durham, 1992). Selection acts directly on “observable
manifestations of culture, as represented by traits, local communities, or whole
cultures” (Rambo, 1991, p. 82). Durham (1991) uses the term self-selection to
describe the selective influence of cultural elements on the human decision-making
system. This selective transmission indicates that members actively select
information by choice or imposition (Durham, 1991).
Choice and imposition
Durham (1991) identifies two modes of cultural selection decision making
that accommodate power structures and suggests these “...can be thought of as the
idealized poles of a decision continuum” (p. 198). He states:
At the relatively less constrained end is “selection by choice” or simply
“choice”, the preservation of allomemes through election or free decision
making by individuals or groups (free that is within the cultural constraints of
mental habit and existing technology). At the other end is “selection by
imposition” or simple “imposition”; the preservation of allomemes by
compliance with the decisions of others. (p. 198)
Imposition compliance is enforced by four forms of power structures
described as coercion, force, manipulation or authority (Durham, 1991). These align
with hierarchical structures and power forms commonly found in organisations
(Robbins & Barnwell, 2006).
Durham (1991) notes that regardless of choice or imposition, a comparative
evaluation by members of possible variants is undertaken as part of cultural selection
during a social process. Cultural units of information, or memes, are selected by
carriers based on their assessment of perceived or actual consequences, based on
actual experience or experimentation (Durham, 1991). The opportunity to make
decisions based on actual experience offers an assessment of consequences from the
different options. This allows a cross matrix of association with consequences from
similar types of decisions. The second way is experimentation or pretesting of
Chapter 2: Literature Review 42
anticipated consequences. Cultural selection therefore is a response to consequences
as an outcome of the decision (See Figure 3):
In both cases, the system assesses consequences – those expected or those
actually experienced, according to one or more decision criteria, and then
searches for the optimal decision, that is for the alternatives within the best
overall evaluation (Durham, 1991, p. 200).
Figure 3: Cultural Selection (Durham, 1991)
Transmission or communication of a meme may be continuous and from
many sources (Durham, 1991). A meme that is considered disadvantageous or
undesirable has the potential to be eliminated through judgement about its effects
(Durham, 1991). Cultural selection can also operate at both a conscious and
subconscious level, according to how individuals recognise these effects. Durham
argues cultural selection occurs more rapidly at a conscious level, while at a
subconscious level it is slowed due to reinforcement being unrecognised or not
causally associated. Cultural selection influences the capacity for change within the
cultural system through self-selection (Durham, 1991).
In summary, the role of cultural selection in the development and
maintenance of a cultural system of social knowledge can be understood through
identifying the instructional role of cultural selection in shaping the cultural system.
Chapter 2: Literature Review 43
Cultural selection is premised on people within a group making decisions based on
comparing and choosing among options and basing their evaluations on estimates of
the consequences and alternatives of those decisions. Within a group, decision
making governed by cultural values – or the relative appeal to persons in a position
to choose or impose these – should be considered as a prime (but not exclusive)
means of evolutionary change among groups in a population. It is during this social
or collective process where cultural material is influential in the selection process
(Everett, 2002) supporting Weick‟s (1979) notion that selection pressures in
organisations are the outcome of “schemes of interpretation and specific
interpretations” (Weick, 1979, p. 131). That is, given what is postulated about the
influence of cultural selection on the cultural knowledge system of groups, we
expect to see greater variation between groups in a population over time as a result
of the action of cultural selection within groups. The influence of culture acting on
selection in a system of social knowledge frames the first research question and leads
discussion into exploring further the nature of cultural criteria acting in this process:
RQ1: When culture is a system of social knowledge, what is the role of cultural
selection in the development and maintenance of that system?
The significance of the cultural units that informants create through social
interaction is an important part of understanding organisational members lived
experiences (Schwartzman, 1993). The next section will introduce Weick‟s (1969,
1979) sociocultural model of organizing as a framework to explore this interaction,
or the processes undertaken by organisational members to reduce environmental
equivocality. I will then focus on exploring the process of selection and the potential
to identify cultural units acting in the selection processes in organizing.
Sociocultural Model of Organizing
Weick‟s (1969, 1979) sociocultural model of organizing is a relational model
premised on the concept that organisational members seek to reduce environmental
equivocality and achieve a consensus of environmental meaning (Kreps, 1990;
Littlejohn, 1999; Weick, 1969). Equivocality is defined as the choice by
organisational members of more than one possible meaning from the environmental
information presented (Bantz, 1989; Weick, 1979). Weick (1979) defines organizing
Chapter 2: Literature Review 44
as “a consensually validated grammar for reducing equivocality by means of sensible
interlocked behaviours” (Weick, 1979, p. 3). Figure 4 represents Weick‟s model.
Figure 4: Weick’s (1969, 1979) sociocultural model of organizing
The aim of organizing is to have action in a sequence in order to have a
sensible outcome (Weick, 1979). The shared nature of building these recipes for
action (about agreement of what is out there) has implications for the role of cultural
selection i.e. Organizing provides order to social behaviours and actions of members
through rules, processes, and procedures (Weick, 1979).
Organizing has more recently been discussed in the context of sensemaking
(Weick, 2001). While Weick identifies the close relationship between sensemaking
and organizing, he notes sensemaking “remains a subtle, elusive phenomenon” (p.
95).
Weick frames the organisational environment as a communication construct
or information source to which members encounter and react (Kreps, 1990).
Organizing (Weick, 1969, 1979) represents the communication processes used by
organisational members to respond to equivocality in environmental information.
Communication is central to sense making and organizing processes (Kreps, 2006;
Weick, Sutcliffe, & Obstfeld, 2005). When applied to organisations, the focus is on
human interaction and communication as the key phenomenon of organizing (Kreps,
1990; Littlejohn, 1999).
Organizing is theoretically important as a framework to this study because it
represents a set of collective activities that act as recipes for action. This is
significant for the development of strategic communication as it is through these
collective processes that communication responses are defined and developed.
Organizing has a foundation of agreement “concerning what is real and illusory” that
is built upon by the social process of organizing (Weick, 1979, p. 3). Organizing also
Chapter 2: Literature Review 45
responds to Keesing‟s (1974) view of ideational cultural systems as a system of
knowledge “shaped and constrained by the way the human brain acquires, organizes
and processes information and creates “internal models of reality” (1974, p. 89,
citing Gregory, 1969). These processes, he argues, closely resemble those associated
with natural selection.
Weick‟s (1969, 1979) sociocultural model of organizing has a prominent
theoretical presence in the organisational communication literature and has been
used extensively to explore a variety of contexts and organisational levels in
organisational studies (Bantz, 1989; Everett, 1996, 2002; Kreps, 1990; Littlejohn,
1999). The central rationale for the incorporation of Weick‟s sociocultural model of
organizing in this study is the significance of reduction of environmental
equivocality and the organizing processes organisational members undertake to
transform equivocal environmental information into organisational action and
communication messages (Kreps, 2006). Weick‟s model is built from the perspective
that the core of organizing is the problem of adapting to environments enacted by
organisational members (Everett, 2002). Under the terms of this model,
organisations create, construct, or invent their environments and then select those
aspects of the environment to respond. The model represents how organisational
members enact environmental information and the communication processes used to
develop meaning and reduce environmental uncertainty (Kreps, 1990).
A context for exploring the role of culture as a key influence in shaping the
collective processes of selecting environmental information is also informed by other
perspectives on how organisations seek to develop knowledge in response to their
environment. The interpretive approach emphasises a socially constructed
organisational reality achieved through the negotiation of actions and meanings and
on how individuals, groups and organisations notice and interpret information and
use it to alter their fit with their environments (Aldrich 1999). The adaptive learning
perspective suggests organisations learn from experience by repeating successful
behaviours and discarding unsuccessful ones (Aldrich, 1999). The knowledge
development perspective suggests organisational members have interdependent
relationships sharing knowledge, beliefs, and values; learning occurs during
communication processes and subsequent institutionalisation of the new knowledge
(Aldrich 1999). These models and perspectives highlight the role organisational
Chapter 2: Literature Review 46
culture has in influencing the collective processes described in Weick‟s sociocultural
model of organizing. Weick identifies that a “scheme of interpretation” is important
in these processes, identifying a proposition of this study that this is actually set by
cultural elements within the organisation acting during the selection process. The
interlocking processes represented in Weick‟s model are described in the following
section.
Ecological Change
Ecological change reflects Weick‟s (1979) view that organisational members
do not actively notice environmental monotony or regularity. He argues members
only become aware of their environment when a change or irregularity occurs.
Change, according to Weick, can create uncertainty or equivocality. These changes
provide the raw materials for members to enact in their effort to reduce the
environmental equivocality (Weick, 1979). Reducing environmental equivocality is a
central premise of Weick‟s sociocultural model of organizing (Kreps, 2006).
Exploring equivocality within a framework of strategic communication addresses the
challenges faced by organisational members in the formulation of an appropriate
communication response.
Enactment
Weick (1969, 1979) conceives environmental enactment as a cognitive
process where organisational members actively attend to and construct their
environment to reduce equivocality. Enactment allows organisational members to
constitute their own environment (Everett, 2002; Kreps, 1990; Weick, 1969, 1979).
Members selectively perceive “their reality” of the organisational environment, then
rearrange and negotiate it; it is the action of the individuals that ultimately defines
the meaning of what they see (Weick 1979). The distinction of an enacted, rather
than an external, environment preserves the process of the environment being created
by organisational members, which then in turn imposes on the organisation (Weick,
1969, 1979).
Organisational members act to understand what they have done and the
creation of meaning for organisational members is retrospective, influenced by both
the past and the present (Weick, 1969, 1979). It is the conceptual clarity or
Chapter 2: Literature Review 47
understanding that Scott (2003) equates enactment with an “active process by which
individuals, in interaction, construct a picture of their world, their environment, their
situation (Scott, 2003, p. 98). Members, through social interaction, transform
equivocal information into unequivocal and familiar information to allow acceptance
of the version of change or event (Weick, 1979). Organisational members‟ own
perceptual constructs direct their interpretations and understanding of information
taken in from the organisational environment (Aldrich, 1999).
From a communication management perspective, enactment characterises
environmental interaction at the boundary of the organisation shaping the
organisational reality of what constitutes what is “out there” (Everett, 1985). As a
bracketing activity, managers actively “construct, rearrange, single out, and demolish
many „objective‟ features of their surroundings” (Weick, 1979, p. 164). This activity
highlights the active role organisational members‟ play in creating their reality of the
organisational environment (Weick, 1969).
The decoding effect of enactment produces unique “displays” (Weick, 1979)
and allows managers to construct a mental picture of their environment in the
context of their organisation. Therefore enactment is influenced by what members
already know and have already experienced, signifying the potential role of
organisational culture within this process. Weick‟s model stipulates through its
“sociocultural” nature during selection, processes of social cognition operates on the
output of environmental enactment.
Selection
Selection is the most significant process at the organisational level of analysis
in Weick‟s sociocultural model of organizing (Everett, 2002; Weick, 1979). During
selection, organisational members actively select or dismiss equivocal raw material
(data) and impose meaning on the selected data to produce a meaningful
(unequivocal) enacted environment (Kreps, 2006; Weick, 1969). The selection
activity accounts for how the collective experience of the organisation shapes the
display from enactment through processes of selection. The individual statements in
the enactment pool are translated by passing through a filtering of the selection
criteria.
Chapter 2: Literature Review 48
During the process of selection, criteria are developed and sustained
collectively by organisational members (Weick 1969). Meaning for the group is
negotiated and subsequently “reinforced, refined or replaced through the continuing
interaction of group members” and contingent on the development of consensus or
rules that guide behaviour and group norms (Everett, 1985, p. 75). Once these have
been sorted for acceptability by the selection criteria, they then constitute an
important set of criteria that drive the selection process in organizing.
Weick (1979) refers to the creation of causal maps from past organisational
experiences that act as templates to guide interpretations of equivocal information.
The action of selection processes filter information through members‟ perceptions
that alter information that people act on (Aldrich, 1999). Organisational members
collectively apply rules and cycles as schemas of interpretation to attempt to reduce
equivocality (Kreps, 1990; Weick, 1979). Weick (1979) recognises schema‟s direct
action and effect of mediating or “bracketing portions of experience” (p. 154).
Weick (1969) argues that the most stubborn problem with selection criteria is
that social systems use two types of criteria: “Criteria relevant to the internal
functioning of the system, and criteria relevant to the external functioning of the
system; and it is entirely possible that internal criteria are applied more frequently
than are external criteria” (p. 58). Criteria evolve out of cultural knowledge
structures active in the selection process that act to produce enacted environments
(Everett, 2003). The focus of this study considers the context of organisational
culture as criteria acting on the process of selection (Everett, 2001, 2002; Schein,
1984). Cultural frames or schema operate to organise other cultural propositions into
a coherent selection system, and therefore are fundamental to identifying a cultural
selection system operating in the selection process (Everett, 2003).
Retention
The outcome of selection processes results in the retention of sense making
of enacted environments that is a version of a previously equivocal display of
meaning (Weick, 1979). At this stage of Weick‟s model, the organisation retains the
products of enacted or meaningful interpretations in forms suitable for future
reference (Choo, 2001; Weick, 1979). The products of retention “affect subsequent
Chapter 2: Literature Review 49
actions; they are frequently edited; they are protected in elaborate ways that may
conflict with variation and selection” (Weick, 1979, p. 126).
As retention results in products that are continually referenced and act to
perpetuate retained enactments, strategic communication is conceptualised to
represent the outcome of enactment and selection processes in Weick‟s (1969, 1979)
sociocultural model of organizing. Orton (1996) notes the importance of the
feedback loop from retention to enactment in the organizing model and emphasises
the influence of past structures on constraining action, particularly for current
enactment. Retention is conceptualised in this study as the output of strategic
communication in the forms of actions and messages both observed and recorded in
documents and artifacts relating to communication activity.
This section outlined Weick‟s (1969, 1979) sociocultural model of
organizing and detailed Durham‟s (1991) theory of cultural selection. Most
importantly, these two key concepts in the literature lead to the second and third
research questions in this study:
RQ2: How does cultural selection operate in organizing?, and more specifically
in an organisational setting
RQ 3: How does cultural selection operate in Red Cross Queensland?
In the next section, I further refine the focus of this study to explore how
organisations respond to environmental change or uncertainty through strategic
communication within the theoretical domain of adaptation and adjustment in public
relations theory.
Public Relations Theory: Adaptation and Adjustment
The foundations of public relations theory are drawn from systems theory,
rhetorical theory and critical studies (Heath, 2009). While many influences on
public relations theory are noted, systems theory remains the dominant contributing
framework to public relations theory (Chia & Synnott, 2009).
Systems theory provides a coherent set of explanations of how systems
operate (Miller & Miller, 1991). Von Bertalanffy (1969) first observed that the
nature of the system and its relationship to the environment was open for the
selective exchange of energy and matter in order to maintain or achieve stability.
While Heath (2009) criticizes systems theory for its inability to detect the role of
Chapter 2: Literature Review 50
meaning in the process of adjusting through communication, other scholars suggest a
systems approach to public relations offers researchers a way to explore not only
relationships with external stakeholders but also insights into understanding internal
public relations functions of an organization (Cutlip, et al., 2006; Lattimore, et al.,
2004; Mackey, 2004). Therefore taking a systems or ecological approach in public
relations emphasizes the interdependence of organisations with their social
environments (Grunig, Grunig & Dozier, Broom, 2009; 2002; Treadwell &
Treadwell, 2005).
An open system model of public relations is described by the theory of
adaptation and adjustment where public relations takes a role to support the
organisation to adjust and adapt to changes in their environment (Broom, 2009).
Everett (1993) argues the imperatives of public relations as a management function
responsible for relationships between an organisation and the publics of its social
environment constitute an ecological paradigm based on a model of organisational
adaptation:
... this model and its derivatives are ecological in that they posit public
relations as a boundary function that mediates the organization/environment
relationships. In this approach, organizations are held to adapt to
environmental requirements through the establishment and management of
mutually beneficial relationships. (p. 180)
An ecological approach describes the interdependence of organisations with
social actors in their environment (Broom, 2009). Environmental uncertainty
provides the context for public relations practice (Okura, Dozier, Sha, & Hofstetter,
2009).
Public relations is described as paradigmatic example of strategic
communication (Botan, 1997) as in practice, public relations plays an important role
in helping organisations adjust and adapt to change in their social environment
through strategic communication (Broom, 2009; Everett, 1993). The social
environment is conceptualised as the social, relational and opinion systems operating
in an organisation‟s environment, or what Broom (2009) describes as the social
setting. In this context, public relations is recognised as a mediator of the
organisational-environment relationship (Lauzen & Dozier, 1992), and it is in this
Chapter 2: Literature Review 51
boundary spanning role that public relations contributes to strategically managing
organisation-environment responsibilities (Chia & Synnott, 2009).
The contribution of public relations to organisational responses is through
devising action and communication strategies to manage relationships with key
publics and around issues (Dutton, 1993). Environmental scanning and interpretation
are key strategic activities enabling the organisation to anticipate and identify issues
(Grunig, 2000). Analysis and associated communication responses result from
efforts by organisational members to formulate strategic communication in response
to environmental change (Cutlip, et al., 2006; Everett, 2001).
Strategic Communication
Strategic communication is a central organising concept for this study as it
describes the organisation‟s efforts, through communication, to adapt and respond to
its social ecology (Everett, 2001). Weick (1987) emphasises the idea of strategy as a
means by which organisations seek to manage their relationship with the
environment. The reduction of environmental uncertainty and the collective
processing of information by organisational members to produce organisational
responses provide the context on which this study is founded. Weick (1987)
describes it as a cognitive map held by managers that provides a worldview to colour
how they interpret the changes an organisation faces and the responses they adopt.
Zerfass (2009) acknowledges the embedded nature of strategic
communication function within organisational social structures acquired through
shared interpretations and routines. Manifestation processes and their associated
expectations play a significant role in strategy formulation and analysis undertaken
by organisational members (Weick, 1987). Organisational decision makers therefore
intervene between the environment, moderating environmental effects inside the
organisation (Weick, 1979). The role of strategic communication in helping the
organisation respond to environmental uncertainty is well established in the literature
(Argenti, 2007; Cornelissen, 2008; Grunig, 1992a; Murphy, 2007; Steyn, 2007).
While strategic communication is recognised as a multidisciplinary endeavour,
(Sandhu, 2009), it remains central to the practice of public relations (Chia & Synnott,
2009) and aligns with the management of communication on behalf of an
organisation (Heath, 2005).
Chapter 2: Literature Review 52
Defining Strategic Communication
Strategic communication is operationalised in this study as deliberate
communication practices on behalf of the organisation and encapsulates the
intentional activities of its leaders, staff, and communication practitioners to respond
to environmental change. This conceptualisation is founded on descriptions of
strategic communication as a goal focused or purposeful communication effort
combining knowledge based decision making and action. Hallahan et al. (2007)
define strategic communication as “the purposeful use of communication by an
organization to fulfil its mission” (Hallahan et al., 2007, p. 3). As an organisational
effort, strategic communication is an outcome of transactional social activity within
the organisation (Shockley-Zalabak, 2002). Argenti et al. (2005) argue strategic
communication is “communication aligned with the company‟s overall strategy to
enhance its strategic positioning” (p. 83). Murphy (2009) describes strategic
communication in behavioural terms, or “the orchestration of actions, words and
images to create cognitive information effects” (p. 105). Clampitt et al. (2000)
describe strategic communication as “the macro-level choices and tradeoffs
executives make, based on their organizational goals and judgements about others‟
reactions, which serve as a basis for action” (p. 41), while Vasquez and Taylor
(2000) describe it as communication between an organisation and its publics.
More generally, strategic communication is viewed as a deliberate
communication effort to achieve an organisational goal and respond to a broader
social environment. Steyn‟s (2003b) aligns strategic communication with
management decision making to highlight organisational adaptation to its social
environment as a key focus of communication strategy. She states:
Corporate communication strategy is based on a definition of corporate
communication/public relations as a strategic management function. It assists
the organisation to adapt to its environment by achieving a balance between
commercial imperatives and socially acceptable behaviour; identifying and
managing stakeholders and issues, as well as the publics/activists that emerge
around issues; and building relationships through communication with those
Chapter 2: Literature Review 53
on whom the organisation depends to meet its economic and socio-political
goals. (p. 178)
The terms „strategic communication‟ and „communication strategy‟ are also
commonly interchanged in the literature (see for example, Argenti, 1998; Botan,
1997; Clampitt, et al., 2000; Cornelissen, 2008; Cutlip, et al., 2006; Moss &
Warnaby, 1998; Steyn, 2007; Steyn & Puth, 2000; Tibble, 1997). These terms
generally reflect decision making in communication activities driven by corporate
strategy (Argenti, et al., 2005). A key function of strategic communication therefore
is to inform or achieve mutual understanding with stakeholder groups (Argenti,
1998; Calantone & Schatzel, 2000). The next section addresses the focal context of
this study; the formulation of strategic communication in an organisational setting.
Formulation of Strategic Communication
Strategy formulation concerns the relationship of an organisation to its
environment and is a critical component in the strategic management process (David,
2007; Hunger & Wheelen, 2007; Steyn & Puth, 2000). Bourgeois (1980) describes
the strategy formulation process as “how managers engage in the intellectual and
political processes of determining the basic character of a firm and what business it
is” (p. 26). Johnson, Scholes and Whittington (2008) identify two approaches to
strategy development; intended and emergent. Rational choice theory suggests
people make decisions and decide how to achieve their goals based on consideration
of all available information concluding that behaviour is rationally chosen (Sutton &
Anderson, 2010). If this were the case, much less variation would be evident,
particularly in the context of how organisations respond to environments.
The formulation of strategic communication is viewed as a core skill public
relations contributes to organisations (Broom, 2009; Grunig, 1992a). Strategic
communication results from both planned and emergent processes (Cornelissen,
2004). The interpretive approach to strategy formulation is based on a social contract
view of strategy, portraying the organisation as “a collection of cooperative
agreements entered into by individuals with free will” (Chaffee, 1985, p. 93). While
other perspectives of strategic communication formulation are offered, the dominant
Chapter 2: Literature Review 54
paradigm is a rational, functional efficiency-oriented perspective (Sandhu, 2009).
Similarly public relations and organisational communication literature often describe
the formulation of strategic communication as a rational, linear and traditional
process with a focus on the planning and tactical implementation of communication
campaigns (Chia & Synnott, 2009; Seitel, 2007; Shockley-Zalabak, 2002; Steyn,
2003a; Stroh, 2007).
A cultural perspective of strategy formulation requires organisational
members to interpret environmental information and respond appropriately (Ansoff
& Sullivan, 1993; Bourgeois, 1980; Hambrick, 1981; Mintzberg & Quinn, 2003).
The effectiveness of the response relies on the ability of organisational members to
interpret, understand, or translate equivocal environmental information (Beer,
Voelpel, Leibold, & Tekie, 2005; Everett, 1993; O'Shannassy, 2003; Weick, 1988,
2001). The next section further explores the importance of collective influence,
conceptualised as organisational culture, towards this effort.
Importance of Organisational Culture in Strategic Communication
Organisational culture is an important influence in strategy formulation
(Alvesson, 2002; Haeckel, 1999; Johnson, et al., 2008; Mintzberg & Quinn, 2003;
Rughase, 2006; Strickland & Thompson, 1998). The theoretical importance of
organisational culture in public relations theory and communication management has
been articulated for nearly two decades with little advancement (Sriramesh, 2007).
While the need to conceptually link corporate culture with public relations has been
cited by leading public relations scholars including Sriramesh (2007), Grunig (2006)
and Everett (1990, 1993, 1996, 2001), empirical research on organisational culture
and public relations has primarily focused on establishing its influence on
practitioner roles and practice contexts. For example, Rhee and Moon (2009) found
organisational culture alters public relations practice in Korea and called for further
research in this area. Bowen (2004) found aspects of an organisational culture
supported ethical decision making and noted a consistency or fit between personal
and organisational values related to ethics. Diaz, Abratt, Clarke and Bendixen (2009)
found a correlation of the influence of a specific type of organisational culture
(organic) on the public relations practitioners‟ role, level of preparedness and success
with international assignments. Kerston (2005) explored the role organisational
Chapter 2: Literature Review 55
culture played in producing crisis and argued to challenge assumed singular
rationalities that exist in organisations. Frohlich and Peters (2007) explored gender
stereotypes in a German public relations consultancy and found organisational
culture was a key influencer. Sriramesh, Grunig, and Buffington (1992) hypothesised
that public relations practice both influences and is influenced by organisational
culture and external culture, while Grunig (1992a, 1992b) identified authoritarian
and participative culture as the two key influencing concepts in organisational
culture and power important for public relations practice. Grunig argued these
variables directly affected both the communication function of the organisation and
the success in achieving organisational outcomes. The consensus from these studies
is that organisational culture is important and has the potential to promote greater
understanding of public relations activities in organisations (Sriramesh, Grunig, &
Dozier, 1996).
Ristino (2008) more recently proposed a sociocultural model of public
relations based on a Vygotskian model from a critical cultural perspective, arguing
that public relations‟ primary role is as an active agent and mediator of an
organisation‟s culture. Cameron and McCollum‟s (1993) study of the relationship
between organisational culture and the producers of communication (public relations
staff) highlighted the importance of alignment of beliefs (shared reality) about the
organisation by all levels of staff. Vasquez and Taylor (1999) extended Hofstede‟s
cultural dimensions to Grunig‟s models of public relations to explore the links of
societal to organisational culture in the setting of US public relations practice. The
study found that while two-way models emerged as being most valued, the actual
practice was dominated by one-way models. Overall, research exploring
organisational culture in public relations practice has recognised that meaning and
interpretation are central processes of public relations activities (Leichty & Warner,
2001, p. 61). These activities are conditioned by a cultural discourse and are not fully
understood (Leichty & Warner, 2001).
Public relations activities occur primarily in culturally bound organisations
(Grunig, 2006). Everett (1996) rejects the notion that organisations can be viewed as
cultures and notes an ecological view differentiates culture as social knowledge.
Everett (1990) argues:
Chapter 2: Literature Review 56
the organization/environment relationship focus of public relations is, in part,
a culturally constructed system. A view of organizations as sociocultural
systems necessarily shifts descriptive and explanatory efforts from the
individual to the cultural level of analysis. (p. 244)
Understanding the relationship between organisational ecology and
organisational culture is crucial to the development of public relations theory and
practice (Everett, 1990), as the concept of adaptation “sets the central task for public
relations management as the effort to maximise the degree of adaptation between the
organisation and its social environment” (Everett, 2001, p. 313). Within the
ecological perspective on public relations, strategic communication is used to
respond to equivocality present in the organisational environment (Everett, 2001).
This perspective places organisational strategic communication in a cultural
framework. This framework focuses the need to understand the role of culture as part
of an ecosystem and how a group‟s shared and socially transmitted beliefs and
values (i.e. its culture) shape understanding of, and actions toward, their environment
(Dil, 1980; Milton, 1996). This leads to the final two research questions for this
study:
RQ4: How does cultural selection operate in the development of strategic
communication in RCQ? and
RQ5: What is the role of culturally derived strategic communication in the social
ecology of organisations?
Research Problem and Research Questions
Informed by these contexts, the central research problem of this study is to
explore how culture, operating as a system of social knowledge, influences the
development of organisational strategic communication. This central research
problem reflects a core proposition that strategic communication emerges not as a
direct, rational response by organisational members to objectively given
environmental factors but as an outcome of the influence of cultural criteria (cultural
selection) acting on the enacted environment. To summarise, based on the literature
reviewed, the research questions guiding this study are:
Chapter 2: Literature Review 57
RQ 1: When culture is a system of social knowledge, what is the role of cultural
selection in the development and maintenance of that system?
RQ 2: How does cultural selection operate in organizing?
RQ 3: How does cultural selection operate in Red Cross Queensland?
RQ 4: How does cultural selection operate in the development of strategic
communication in Red Cross Queensland?
RQ 5: What is the role of culturally derived strategic communication in the social
ecology of organisations?
The next section proposes a model that builds on the ontological categories
of organizing and represent the influences on the process of the development of
strategic communication, specifically the action of cultural criteria (cultural
selection) acting on selection processes in Weick‟s sociocultural model of organizing
(1969, 1979). In order to study the conceptual apparatus and processual elements
these propositions are described below and illustrated in Figure 5 in the CSSC
model.
Cultural Selection of Strategic Communication Model
The effort to integrate Weick‟s sociocultural model of organizing and
culture‟s role in the development of strategic communication, specifically the action
of self-selection as a central property of cultural systems (cultural selection), can be
explored within the terms of the proposed model of Cultural Selection of Strategic
Communication (CSSC model - see Figure 5). This model provides the foundation
for the central claim of this study – that strategic communication should be expected
to be as much as a result of the action of cultural selection within an organisation,
than as a reflection of variation in the conditions of the social environment.
Chapter 2: Literature Review 58
Figure 5: Cultural selection of strategic communication (CSSC) model
Research Propositions
The research questions provoke a set of broad propositions that emerge from
employing Weick‟s sociocultural model of organizing as a conceptual framework
with the integration of an explicit concept of culture. While the research questions
establish the need and rationale to develop the CSSC model, propositions establish
claims that can be derived from the model. The propositions thus serve as
checkpoints for qualitative data. These checkpoints help to examine the descriptive
adequacy of the model not as deductive tests but as interpretive understandings that
would be expected when model and data interact. So for example, the propositions
help guide examination of the CSSC model to focus on the biased transformation of
cognitive material as it moves through selection in the formation of strategic
communication and offer interpretations of relationships and conditional statements
of analysis implications. In keeping with ethnographic traditions of participant focus,
the propositions build an understanding of the research participants‟ actions and
setting.
Chapter 2: Literature Review 59
Propositions
P1 – Organisational culture acting as a system of social knowledge is a key
influence in the selection process of organizing.
P2 – The property of “self selection” within the cultural system acts to form a
key set of selection criteria in the selection process of organizing.
P3- Cultural criteria acting as a subsystem in the selection process of organizing
will mediate the nature of strategic communication and are key influences in the
development of strategic communication.
The key contribution to the literature of organisational communication and
public relations is a greater understanding of the action of cultural selection in the
selection process of organizing and its consequent impact on strategic
communication. The relevance of this work relates to development of strategic
communication as an interaction among key organisational members during
sensemaking to reduce environmental equivocality. Specifically the study proposes
that a significant aspect of what is created as the organisation‟s strategic
communication results from the interaction of the two processes of enactment and
selection in Weick‟s sociocultural model of organizing. The development of strategic
communication is proposed as an outcome to this interaction as much as it is a
response to variation in environmental conditions. The CSSC model is situated at
exactly this intersection of:
1) Individual interpretations of environmental factors described by the process
of enactment;
2) Culturally organised social knowledge present in the selection process of the
model;
3) Collective organisational action in the form of strategic communication.
The CSSC model proposes the relationships around which the study is
organised and which drive the ethnographic component of this work. The basic
premise of the model is that the origins and nature of strategic communication, as an
organisational response to environmental variation, can be understood by examining
cultural selection and its influence on what Weick (1969, 1979) identifies as
Chapter 2: Literature Review 60
environmental enactment. Strategic communication therefore emerges as an outcome
of the action of cultural selection acting on variation present in the enactment
process.
The ontological categories of organizing proposed in Weick‟s model - i.e.
enactment, selection, and retention – are used as a theoretical backdrop to this effort
to understand the sources of strategic communication. The role of culture in
organizing, specifically the action of cultural criteria acting within selection
processes under the terms of Weick‟s model, can be explored in the context of
strategic communication development. In this context, values and assumptions are an
integral part of organizing and are a key to understanding their role in shaping
criteria in the selection process specified by Weick‟s model. The model provides a
means to describe how strategic communication develops as a collective response to
environmental equivocality and identifies the role of cultural selection in providing
criteria to shape selection processes.
Summary
This chapter reviewed the body of literature on the concepts of culture,
ecology, and cultural selection, strategic communication, to establish the context for
examining cultural structures as systems of social knowledge and cognition on the
formulation of strategic communication and the collective nature of internal
organisational influences on this process. Weick‟s sociocultural model of organizing
was introduced as the foundational framework of communication theory to explore
the role of cultural selection in the formulation of strategic communication.
The review established that culture acting as a system of social knowledge
provides a foundation for the exploration of cultural criteria in the formulation of
strategic communication. A new model was proposed – the Cultural Selection of
Strategic Communication (CSSC) model – to respond to the research problem and
the need to build an understanding of the origins and nature of cultural influences on
the development of organisational strategic communication. Chapter 3 will employ
organisational ethnography as a method to explore the adequacy of the CSSC model
to investigate this cultural phenomenon.
Chapter 4: Setting 61
Chapter 3
Methodology
This chapter describes the methodology underpinning this study and provides
a rationale for employing the method of ethnography to explore and analyse the role
of organisational culture in the development of strategic communication.
Ethnographic research traditionally attempts to understand the lived worlds of
participants and the context of their views and actions (Snape & Spencer, 2003).
Because of this over-arching rationale, ethnography was adopted to build an in-depth
case study of the primary site of RCQ, with two comparative studies to contextualise
data and deepen understanding (Platt, 2007).
The central research goal organising this study is to explore and describe the
role of organisational culture in the development of strategic communication. Using
a seminal model in organisational communication, Weick‟s sociocultural model of
organizing (1969, 1979), this study explores and describes the interaction of two
central features of that model- enactment and selection to understand how cultural
elements influence selection of enacted environments. This interaction of the two
central features of the organizing model represents a phenomenon where little
previous knowledge exists (Babbie, 2001; Marshall & Rossman, 1999) and therefore
an exploratory study is suited to this phenomena (Cavana, Delahaye, & Sekaran,
2000).
This chapter is structured following Crotty‟s (1998) four key elements of a
research study. First, epistemological foundations and theoretical perspectives are
presented. Second, the research design of organisational ethnography employing
progressive contextualisation is presented as a suitable design for this study. Third,
the research setting and approaches to data sources are detailed, identifying
analytical processes and contextualisation of data. Finally, the quality of the
approach is outlined including ethical considerations and limitations of the method.
Figure 6 outlines the organisation of Chapter 3.
Chapter 4: Setting 62
Figure 6: Organisation of Chapter 3
Theoretical Perspective and Ontological Considerations
An interpretive perspective provides context for the research design of this
study and the use of ethnography as its central method (Crotty, 1998). An
interpretive approach to understanding and investigating the social world provides a
conceptual framework in which reality is known to the researcher through socially
constructed meanings (Snape & Spencer, 2003). In interpretive research, meaning is
disclosed, discovered, and experienced (Denzin & Lincoln, 1998). The meanings are
grounded in subjective, socially constructed contexts informed by the social world of
the participant. An interpretivist orientation acknowledges the traditions of
Chapter 4: Setting 63
anthropological studies and approaches common to exploring the social influences of
how people construct meaning in natural settings (Neuman, 2003). The task for an
ethnographer then “is not to determine the truth but to reveal the multiple truths
apparent in others lives” (Emerson, Fretz, & Shaw, 1995, p. 3).
Epistemology is concerned with ways of knowing and learning about social
worlds and the basis of truth in those worlds (Grbich, 2007; Willis, 2007) . The
relation between epistemology and philosophy is that epistemology concerns the
“general conditions under which it is possible to speak of understanding” while
philosophy is concerned more with forms and context in which this occurs (Winch,
1990, p. 41). The epistemological perspective taken in this study recognises the
socially constructed nature of the “reality” of data and influence of the researcher‟s
worldviews and known pre-existing theories.
The context of this research is set within the social world of RCQ. This social
world is studied through immersion in their organisation with the aim to produce a
detailed description of how a system of shared knowledge, expressed as
organisational culture, influences the processes undertaken by organisational
members to formulate strategic communication.
Acknowledging methodological assumptions is an important aspect of a
social science research process to maximise learning (Crotty, 1998; Grbich, 2007;
Hammersley, 1990). This study follows the tenants of realism whereby reality exists
independent of our beliefs and understanding (Ritchie & Lewis, 2003).
Consequently, ontological assumptions underpinning this study are common to many
qualitative research projects and include naturalism, understanding, and discovery
(Hammersley, 1990).
Naturalism aims to capture natural behaviours in natural settings through
direct contact with participants and contextualises data to its natural setting
(Hammersley, 1990). In this study the aim to describe the cultural units impacting on
the development of strategic communication emphasises the importance of context as
a core part of the research narrative (Hammersley, 1990). Understanding is the
second assumption as the researcher seeks to genuinely understand human responses
and the underlying cultural perspectives on which they are based (Hammersley,
1990). Discovery is the third assumption as qualitative data are concerned with
process induction (Snape & Spencer, 2003). Using an inductive method provides for
Chapter 4: Setting 64
theory to be built from data and allows researchers to conceptualise and
operationalise concepts simultaneously (Johnson, 2003; Neuman, 2003).
Research Design: An Ethnography
Ethnographic enquiry seeks to discover meanings and perceptions of people
in a social collective and interpret their understandings in the context of their world
view (Crotty, 1998). An ethnographic account details selected aspects of a culture in
written form (van Maanen, 1978). As a basic form of social research, ethnography
offers social researchers the opportunity to study small-scale settings focusing on
participants in everyday contexts and involves data from a range of sources
(Hammersley, 1990). Mitchell (2007) highlights the importance of context in
ethnography:
A major part of the legitimacy for this induction process is careful attention
within ethnographic work to the context of events, since it is assumed that
events seen out of context might be misunderstood. Indeed so central is
context that it is not merely a precondition for the development of general
theory out of a particular event; rather, context when well described is the
development of theory. (p. 55)
Ethnography features “up-close involvement of the researcher in some form
of participative role in the natural everyday setting to be studied” (Stewart, 1998, p.
6). The researcher is the instrument, who, coupled with the experiences of
participants, seeks to synthesise “disparate observations to create a holistic construct
of „culture‟ or „society‟” (Stewart, 1998, p. 6). This is an appropriate approach for
this study as identification and description of culture is a primary goal (Hammersley
& Atkinson, 1995; Mitchell, 2007) and will allow its role in the development of
strategic communication to be explored and understood.
An “ethnography” encompasses a set of methods that involve a researcher
(ethnographer) participating in people‟s lives for an extended period with the aim to
make sense of their world (Hammersley & Atkinson, 1995). This interpretive study
follows what Geertz (1973) describes as a semiotic or meaning approach, as the aim
is thick description providing context to observed processes. Geertz (1973) notes
Chapter 4: Setting 65
description needs to move beyond attribution to culture as the cause, and he argues,
“culture is not a power, something to which social events, behaviours, institutions, or
processes can be causally attributed: it is a context, something within which they can
be intelligibly – that is thickly – described (Geertz, 1973, p. 14).
Organisational Ethnography
An organisational ethnography is employed in this study to allow for deeper
understanding and accommodate multiple perspectives of organisational processes
(Fine, Morrill, & Surianarain, 2009). An organisational ethnography is defined as an
ethnographic study of an organisation and their organising processes (Ybema, et al.,
2009). It differs from traditional ethnography as people in a setting are organised
around prescriptive goals and formalised rules governing status, relationships and
behaviours within the context of the setting (Rosen, 1991).
Organisations can be conceptualised as “hermetically sealed worlds” (Rosen,
1991, p. 4) in terms of being a specific group or social setting. The organisational
space demands that members suspend their social awareness and adopt
organisational relatedness (Rosen, 1991 citing Spooner, 1983). This differs from a
normal “social community” as organisations have formalised roles defined by the
organisation – member roles, functions, and status that act independently of the
social environment. Relationships within an organisation are therefore somewhat
artificial, organised around the purpose of the firm (Rosen, 1991).
Organisational ethnographies are designed to discover, explain, and give
some order to observable phenomena and social processes that characterise
organisational behaviours (van Maanen, et al., 2007). An ethnography requires a
researcher to account for patterns of organisational member activities through
knowledge of the organisational culture (van Maanen, 2002). Ybema et al (2009)
identified seven distinguishing properties of interpretive organisational ethnography.
These are firsthand accounts using combined fieldwork methods, the uncovering of
complex dimensions of power and emotion, context sensitive actor centred analysis,
meaning making, multivocality and reflexivity and positionality.
Organisational ethnographies have been used in researching a variety of
organisational settings and contexts including development of programs (Bartle,
Couchonnal, Canda, & Staker, 2002) accessing health services (Bruni, 2006),
Chapter 4: Setting 66
doctors without borders in the Congo (Cooren, Brummans, & Charrieras, 2008) and
shadowing non humans (Bruni, 2005). Within the strategy literature, ethnographies
are more commonly employed as an approach for researching strategists-at-work
(Samra-Fredericks, 2003). However there is continuing scholarly support for
organisational ethnographies as a suitable methodology to explore organisational
contexts (see for example, Cunliffe, 2010), and this call is echoed more recently in
the public relations literature (L'Etang, et al., 2010).
The value of ethnography as a method in public relations centres on the
ability to gain critical insights into the value of practice and discourse surrounding
public relations practice and its contribution to new theoretical directions (Daymon
& Hodges, 2009; Sriramesh, 1992b). Everett (1990) argues that organisational
ethnography is suitable for theory building in public relations “given models of
reciprocal change and effects in organization-environment relationships” (p. 242).
L‟Etang (2006) furthers the call for public relations researchers to engage with
ethnography to deepen understanding of practice.
Acknowledging ethnography has not been widely embraced in public
relations, public relations studies using ethnography has been tentative (Daymon &
Holloway, 2011). Studies have employed ethnographic approaches to explore
different contexts, practices and concepts. These include Daymon and Hodges
(2009) who explored public relations practice in Mexico City, while Sriramesh
(1992a, 1992b, 1996) explored and analysed public relations activities in Indian
organisations. Palenchar, Heath, and Dunn (2005) undertook an ethnography to
investigate risk communication while Moffitt (1992) used ethnography to
conceptualise a public and challenge the institutional paradigm of public relations to
gain insights into notions of meaning and audience. Everett (1990) integrated
organisational ethnography with ecological public relations with a study of a non
profit organisation. The need for public relations to embrace ethnography as a
research tool to understand public relations practice
The Research Setting: Red Cross Queensland
The primary setting for this research is RCQ. To contextualise this setting of
RCQ, the national organisation of RC and the divisional operating structure within
which RCQ sits is first introduced. Following this, progressive contextualisation will
Chapter 4: Setting 67
be detailed as an appropriate technique to capture and build knowledge of the
cultural meanings within the setting.
RC has a long tradition in Australia. Established in 1914 as part of the First
World War effort, RC has evolved to become one of Australia‟s leading
humanitarian and disaster response organisations. Employing 1862 staff nationally
(Australian Red Cross, 2008a), the organisation commenced a major rebranding
project in October 2007 with the goal to nationalise RC and integrate corporate
communications under a single positioning statement and simplified messaging. In
concert with these changes, reviews of program viability, reporting and structural
responsibilities commenced with the aim to provide efficiencies across the
organisation and refine the focus of program service delivery.
Structurally, RC has a national policy directorate leadership function
designated by a Chief Executive Officer (CEO) located in Sydney, with the national
office headquarters located in Melbourne. The national office coordinates national
programs, represents the organisation nationally and internationally, and provides a
policy and procedure service as specified by the organisation (Scott, 2003). The
structure of RC consists of three levels: the Council, the Board and the CEO.
The RC Board delegates day-to-day management of the affairs of RC to the
Divisions and the CEO (Robert Tickner). The RC Board delegates the CEO a broad
range of society-wide and international responsibilities. The CEO manages these
delegations through his senior managers consisting of the Director of Operations,
Chief Financial Officer and Director of Marketing Fundraising and Communication,
and through the National Management Team. The CEO is accountable to the Board
for implementation of the Strategic Plan and for oversight of operational
management according to the policy and systems. In addition to the national office,
RC has nine operating divisions that comprise the Red Cross Blood Service and
eight state and territory divisions.
The selection of RCQ as the primary case site and RCSA and NCD as
contextualising case sites reflected the structure of the organisation. NCD was
selected as a case site as it is responsible for organisational strategy decisions and
interpreting key environmental events. The national office also identifies key events
deemed worthy of state-based responses.
Chapter 4: Setting 68
RCQ and RCSA possess a common organisational form (Scott, 2003) and
each state division has complex organisational structures, staff, and operating
environments that provide suitable comparative settings to study strategic
communication as an empirical entity. These provide the adequate similarities in
process and structure that Vogt (2002) considers are crucial for multicase or
comparative studies. Each state division has an Executive Director (ED) and a local
management team responsible for responding to national policy and establishing
local initiatives to meet operational budgets and goals. The state divisions are
responsible for service delivery, membership, and fundraising (including funding of
programs through state grants) within their own geographical boundaries. Their
structures are generally mirrored across each division, with some differences in
position titles and program delivery responding to local geographical demand.
Boundaries of Progressive Contextualisation
Traditionally ethnography is confined to a single-site for an extended period
of 12 months or more (Fetterman, 1998; Platt, 2007). However, contemporary
ethnographic practice reflects technological and globalization influences that blur
traditional boundaries and territories and require the need to consider broader
influences on a local geographical unit (Mitchell, 2007; Platt, 2007; van Maanen,
2006). While defining the specific nature and boundary of the organisational
environment is required for research and analysis (Hall, 1992; Scott, 2003),
Hammersley and Atkinson (1995) argue a case may go outside its natural boundaries
of the setting to allow information to be collected to inform a deeper understanding
or perspective of the case. Like many contemporary organisations, the natural
boundaries of RCQ were not clearly defined. As the corporate structure of RC
reflected a hierarchical, bureaucratic organisation with a decentralised structure
(Robbins & Barnwell, 2006), a multi-sited research design was conceptualised to
respond to this structure and what Marcus (1995) articulates as the “argument of
ethnography” (p. 105); that is a multi-sited study logically designed around paths,
processes and physical locations of associations. Vayda (1983) cautions researchers
not to make assumptions about the stability and boundaries of the unit of study, or
“components or expressions of some previously defined system” (p. 267), and as
Chapter 4: Setting 69
such, this study is bound by the role of activity rather than a defined geographical
setting.
Falzone (2009) describes the essence of multi sited ethnographies as
following “people, connections, associations, and relationships across space” (p. 2).
Mitchell (2007) describes this as a shift in ethnographic research, as multisite
ethnographies follow “processes in motion” (p. 64), and this depends on the creative
ability of the ethnographer to establish links and commonalities of a phenomenon
(Marcus, 1998). Marcus (1998) supports ethnographic research designs examining
“the circulation of cultural meanings, objects and identities in diffuse time-space” (p.
80). Vayda‟s (1983) progressive contextualisation provides a similar holistic
approach by focusing on people performing activities and following the relationships
of interaction rather than being bounded by a previously defined system. Vayda
(1983) provides this rational for progressive contextualisation:
They started by focusing on specific activities... performed by specific
people in specific places at specific times. Then they traced the causes and
effects of these activities outwards. In doing so, they remained committed to
the holistic premise that adequate understanding of problems can be gained
only if they are seen as part of a complex of interacting causes and effects.
But the investigators avoided a priori definitions to the boundaries of such
complexes... (p. 266)
As represented in Figure 7, data collected followed the emergent themes first
introduced in RCQ then contextualised out to the NCD and RCSA. As a researcher
and instrument, I identified cultural influences in the processes undertaken to
respond to environmental or ecological change and formulate strategic
communication as a response to that change. Vayda (1983) argues progressively
contextualising the knowledge of the data observed provides the researcher with a
deeper understanding of situations and allows for surprise and unexpected results to
emerge rather than relying on fitting with preconceived notions of the setting or
disciplinary norms.
Chapter 4: Setting 70
Figure 7: Progressive contextualisation of strategic communication in RCQ
One critical and foundational consideration in this study is the argument
presented by Hammersley and Atkinson (1995) that ethnographic research design is
a continuous process requiring constant monitoring of the alignment of research
problem and case selection. The achievement of methodological fit defined by the
elements of a research project‟s internal consistency is a learning process that can
require modification during the course of the research (Edmondson & McManus,
2007). While the design of this study originally proposed three RC divisions for a
multisite ethnography (New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland), approval was
only granted for RCSA and RCQ, with interviews only in the NCD. As the focus of
the study was on exploring cultural influences on strategic communication combined
with the logistical reality that the researcher could spend much more time in RCQ,
and less time in RCSA, the research design had to be revised. While the RCQ and
RCSA cases were similar in structure, strategy and environment, if claims by
Durham (1991) were correct, then they would be two different organisations.
Therefore, the research design was revised to allow the comparative sites to inform
and strengthen understanding of the primary setting.
The design of this research identifies RCQ as the primary site and RCSA as
the secondary site within contributing data from the NCD to contextualise RCQ
Chapter 4: Setting 71
knowledge. The use of primary and secondary sites provides context within the
system and opportunity to uncover systematic relationships among the phenomena
observed (Wolcott, 1994). The sites of RCSA and the NCD provide a depth of
knowledge of the strategy making influences and processes in the primary site of
RCQ. The focus on policy and the broad national responsibility and reach of national
office authority dictates an “imposition” role as a cultural influence on local decision
making (Durham, 1991, p. 192). In this context, it imposes authority and limits
“unbridled local discretion” (Durham, 1991, p. 192) of the state office staff. The
three cases chosen provide a rich source of data to respond to the research questions.
This is based on three key assumptions:
Red Cross has a clear and distinct operation of a national and state
structure which provides an opportunity to observe distinct cultural
influences;
The state divisions have local autonomy to interpret and respond uniquely
through communication actions to national policy and local
environmental events;
National office is responsible for organisational strategy decisions and
interpreting key environmental events and identifies (selects) key events
deemed worthy of state-based responses.
The progressive contextualisation design of this study is supported by Platt
(2007) who argues the multi-site ethnography is not a comparative method. This
approach fits with Vayda‟s (1983) conceptualisation of progressive
contextualisation. Progressive contextualisation places the case studied in a wider
context to thereby, also understand the wider context, not simply to compare (Platt,
2007).
The notion of within case comparison has been raised by Vogt (2002) who
alerts researchers to the criticisms of case comparison in ethnographic studies with
the inability to compare the same datasets. While concerns have been raised that
multisite approaches have a potential to present a fragmented and plural approach to
ethnography (Mitchell, 2007), leading to potential loss of quality (Marcus, 1998),
support for multisite ethnographies continues to be evidenced in research across a
wide variety of contexts and settings (Bettany & Daly, 2008; Bletzer & Weatherby,
Chapter 4: Setting 72
2009; Calaff, 2007; DeBerry-Spence, 2008; see for example, Formoso, 2009; Hall,
2004; Johnson, 2007; Molina, 2008; O'Connor, 2002; Roth, 2009; Smyth, 2003;
Sorensen, 2008; Vallas, 2003; Warner, 2000; Weine, Bahromov, & Mirzoev, 2008;
Weis & Dimitriadis, 2008; Wood, 2000).
Presentation of the Ethnographic Account
This study will adopt a commonly used approach in ethnographic account
presentation that includes naturalistic and legitimatory writing (Hammersley, 1990).
Realism or naturalism seeks to achieve a level of description that allows the reader to
be immersed in the scene, while legitimatory writing responds to the needs of more
formalised research reporting such as found in dissertations and has a framework
with headings and conclusions designed to reassure the reader of its importance and
objectivity (Hammersley, 1990). Van Maanen (2006) refers to this as “a
predicament” that dissertation students face when having to construct what he calls a
career making project. This construction or selective description varies and
negotiates through a number of genres of ethnographic accounts to achieve this (van
Maanen, 2006).
The central goal of ethnography is to provide “analytic, thick or theoretical
description” (Hammersley, 1990, p. 19). The account therefore will aim to move
beyond the reality of RCQ in an interpretive act. This act of interpretation results
from a complex process of interpretation, social interaction, and immersion.
Hammersley (1990) notes, “it is never a simple reflection of what exists” (p. 23).
The account will focus on rescuing the flow of social discourse to inscribe or secure
the moment in perusable form (Geertz, 1973). Hammersley (1990) cautions writers
to be aware of the assumptions informing the claims of the account and the
plausibility of the arguments. He signals the need for an explicit “indication of how
the description was produced, for what purpose, and what alternative descriptions
have been or could reasonably have been considered” (Hammersley, 1990, p. 22). In
response, this research attempts to portray multiple accounts of phenomena with
accompanying criteria for identifying these accounts. Van Maanen (2002) argues
that there needs to be a separation between first and second order concepts. To
facilitate this approach, Chapter 4 describes the setting and Chapter 5 describes what
van Maanen refers to as first order concepts; that is, participants‟ views of
Chapter 4: Setting 73
phenomenon to produce emergent concepts. Second order concepts follow in
Chapter 6. Second order concepts are “those notions used by the fieldworker to
explain the patterning of the first order data” (p. 104) and presents the researcher‟s
interpretation organised by the key research questions. The next section details my
role as researcher in undertaking the research.
Researcher Perspective
Entry to the field in RCQ commenced with my introduction to staff as „a
university researcher who was interested in how RC‟s marketing and communication
area worked‟. The framing of my research role as a known investigator followed
what Lofland, Snow, Anderson, and Lofland (2006) term an “outsider” participant
researcher. The explicit nature of my role as a researcher allowed staff to
simultaneously know of my presence and thus allowed me to be a “neutral” observer.
The role as known investigator also facilitated the researcher as the instrument,
where “fieldworkers learn to use themselves as the principal and most reliable
instrument of observation, selection, coordination and interpretation” (Sanday, 1979,
p. 528).
Reflexivity and context remain central to the researcher‟s perspective. The
researcher being able to understand, interpret and describe organisational situations
are founded in both the researcher‟s perspective existing with the multiple realities
that exist in any research project. As Rabinow (1977) states:
Culture is interpretation. The “facts” of anthropology, the material which the
anthropologist has gone to the field to find, are already themselves
interpretations. The baseline data is already culturally mediated by the people
whose culture, we, as anthropologists, have come to explore. (p. 150)
An emic or insider‟s perspective to reality gives insight into behaviours and
attitudes of people and helps understand maladaptive behaviours (Fetterman, 1998).
An etic or outsider‟s perspective provides a scientific framework around the account
to facilitate description and analysis (Fetterman, 1998). These perspectives are
applied in this research in a continuum and shift from an emic to an etic perspective
through the description and analysis phases. While a non-judgemental, non-
Chapter 4: Setting 74
evaluative orientation was adopted, I would like to acknowledge this was a challenge
at times due to scenes witnessed and actions taken.
Reflexivity encroaches on the research design at every stage (Hammersley,
1995). The nature of ethnographic research suggests a flexible interplay of
knowledge and research response that is not linear. Van Maanen et al., (2007)
acknowledge, “practicing organisational researchers know both from experience and
readily available collegial critique that any narrative suggesting an orderly, standard
model of the research process is rather misleading” (p. 1146). In a sense the
researcher was entering a corporate environment familiar yet new. It is familiar in
the sense that it was located in a metropolitan office block that had familiar
partitioned desks with computers – an environment familiar to the author from 20
years‟ work experience in a corporate world. Yet it was new in the fact that the
researcher had never stepped inside this building or had any contact previously with
RC (except to negotiate entry to the organisation for the purpose of this study).
Schwartzman (1993) argues it can be a significant phase for a researcher working
within one‟s own society.
The whole purpose of an ethnography is to capture culture or what
Hammersley (1990) describes as a native view of reality, “…we have no access to an
independent reality: all we have are interpretations, and the ethnographers account is
just as much an interpretation as are those of the people that he or she is studying”
(p. 14). Geertz (1973) identifies this as anthropological absorption to capture
meaning, hence “the degree to which its meaning varies according to the pattern of
life by which it is informed” (p. 14). Geertz (1973) articulates this process of
capturing social discourses:
The ethnographer “inscribes” social discourse; he [sic] writes it down. In
doing so, he [sic] turns it from a passing event, which exists only in its own
moment of occurrence, into an account, which exists in its inscriptions and
can be consulted. (p. 19)
Rabinow (1977) suggests that because both the researcher and the informants
live in a culturally mediated world, they are both immersed in self created “webs of
signification” (citing Jameson, 1972) they themselves have spun (p. 151). He argues,
Chapter 4: Setting 75
“there is no privileged position, no absolute perspective, and no valid way to
eliminate consciousness from our activities or those of others” (Rabinow, 1977, p.
151). As a researcher I was mindful that a non-judgmental orientation assists
researchers to explore new directions, increase data validity and avoids data
contamination (Fetterman, 1998). Acknowledging personal beliefs and being explicit
in noting these in field notes identified personal biases. This follows Fetterman
(1998) who suggests, “making them explicit and ...trying to view another culture‟s
practices impartially” (p. 23). Rabinow (1977) puts this more succinctly, when he
reflects on the experiences shared in the field:
As time wears on, anthropologist and informant share a stock of experiences
upon which they hope to rely with less self-reflection in the future. The
common understanding they construct is fragile and thin, but it is upon this
shaky ground that anthropological inquiry proceeds. (p. 39)
The concept of reflexivity acknowledges the influence backgrounds,
orientations and interests play in shaping the research output from the study and the
researcher‟s awareness of her role in the study (Hammersley & Atkinson, 1995). It is
an awareness and acknowledgement of self as researcher and the influence of the
social context of the position of the researcher in the setting. This position rejects the
claim that social research can be carried out in isolation of both researcher biography
and society, acknowledging instead the influences these characteristics have on the
findings (Hammersley & Atkinson, 1995).
The acknowledgement of my previous roles (as a communication consultant
with 14 years‟ experience and as a public relations teacher), my motivations to
conduct the study in RC (to undertake the study in an interesting and legitimate
organisation) and the effect of this on the social phenomena being witnessed,
required constant reflection and awareness. My natural instinct was to be reactive
and solve problems quickly rather than describe and not participate in what I was
observing.
Chapter 4: Setting 76
Relationship Building
In many ethnographic studies, the researcher develops special types of
relationships with the group being studied as part of the ongoing negotiations of
access (Fetterman, 1998). It is also not uncommon to find organisational
ethnographies studying people similar to the researcher that presents challenges for
the researcher (Rosen, 1991). In familiar situations Hammersley (1990) argues that
the risk of misunderstanding increases due to assumptions made based on pre-
existing ideas, as “we cannot assume that we already know others perspectives even
in our worn society because particular groups and individuals develop distinctive
world views” (p.8). A number of underlying assumptions were made by the
researcher subconsciously prior to going into the organisation. For example, that the
organisation was appropriately structured in terms of reporting lines and divisional
structures, line managers were rightfully empowered to make decisions, and staff
were suitably selected, qualified and experienced. Acknowledging these phenomena
explicitly allowed me to be alert to the influence of these assumptions (Hammersley
& Atkinson, 1995).
Entry to RCQ was facilitated through an existing relationship. This person
became the first of two key informants in my study. The key informants acted as
individuals who could “open doors otherwise locked to outsiders” (Fetterman, 2010,
p. 36). The key informants facilitated my introductions with senior people in the
RCQ and the NCD, and confirmed my role and research purpose as both credible
and legitimate. While both key informants came from different backgrounds and had
different roles in RCQ, common interests and outcomes were shared. These included
university linkages and familiarity with academic processes providing an important
endorsement and gateway into the organisation.
I also had another pre-existing relationship with a member in RCQ‟s
marketing, fundraising and communication (MFC) unit. I had previously undertaken
some consulting work for this member and a professional relationship was formed.
While contact had not been maintained since completing this work, the previous
relationship removed the need to establish trust in the formation of the relationship.
This person already knew who I was, where I worked, and the general purpose of my
study. This relationship was important because it provided access to organisational
Chapter 4: Setting 77
documents. While access was sanctioned by senior management, identifying and
finding the documentation was made a lot easier by a facilitated approach.
Fetterman (2010) cautions researchers of the need to establish independence
in the field. Mindful of this need, I kept key informants and pre-existing
relationships within the context of my role as a researcher and worked to maintain
this distance during the study.
Access to Red Cross Queensland
Access to RC was negotiated over a 12-month period. Initial contact was
made via email in December 2006 to the RCQ MFC manager to investigate the
„research culture‟ that existed at RC. The email was forwarded to the RCQ group
manager of research and policy who requested a meeting on 25 January 2007 where I
verbally outlined my research proposal as background to the study. The director,
who was also undertaking a PhD, became the sponsor of the research and assisted in
negotiating formal access through the organisation. Table 1 summarises the access
timeline and associated activities undertaken to gain entry into the organisation:
Table 1: Summary of access timeline
Period Activity
18 December
2006
Expression of interest to key contact
25 January 2007 Meeting with group manager Research and Policy
20 April 2007 Presentation to ED RCQ – Access granted pending
approval National Director Communication
9 July 2007 Meeting with RC National Director of
Communication – Access granted pending approval
of individual state EDs
9 August 2007 Approval from ED RCSA
19 September
2007
Ethics approval received (researcher institution)
8 January 2008
30 June 2009
Data collection (ethnography) formally commenced
Data collection formally concluded
Chapter 4: Setting 78
Sampling
According to Hammersley and Atkinson (1995), sampling within cases
occurs along the major dimensions of time, people and context. This responds to the
need to understand the complexities of the empirical social world (Jeffrey &
Troman, 2004). Each of these areas will be addressed in the following sections.
Time
While an ideal time to spend in the field has not been clearly established
(Jeffrey & Troman, 2004), many authors describe a period from three months to two
years depending on the research design (Fetterman, 1998; Hammersley & Atkinson,
2007; Wolcott, 1994).The time mode undertaken in this study is characterised as a
selective intermittent time mode where a flexible approach to site visit frequency
(Jeffrey & Troman, 2004) in RCQ was taken over an 18-month period from 8
January 2008 to 30 June 2009. This approach allowed for a progressive narrowing of
phenomena and opportunity to increase the depth and richness of data by capturing
both the routine of daily organisational life and periods of intense organisational
activity, and special events and rituals (Hammersley & Atkinson, 1995; Jeffrey &
Troman, 2004). In this context, time spent in the field was intensive from January
2008 to July 2008 followed by intermittent periods from July 2008 to June 2009,
undertaken until theoretical saturation was achieved (Strauss & Corbin, 1990).
Member checking continued until February 2010. This more selective approach also
allowed for periods of recording and reflection to improve quality of data
(Hammersley & Atkinson, 1995). It also reflected the realities of the researcher
balancing family, work and study commitments (Fetterman, 1998).
The time spent in RC required the witnessing of processes undertaken to
interpret and respond to environmental change. By their very nature, these processes
are iterative and require negotiated meanings that range from a brief question and
answer interaction between two organisational members, to a meeting where
meanings are negotiated or imposed. Therefore the researcher spent the first month
in observation-familiarisation mode. In this period, observations were made of
meetings of the team and the management group and incidental meetings between
team members and dialogue capturing events. Table 2 summarises periods of entry,
time calculated by hours, and associated data collection activities.
Chapter 4: Setting 79
Table 2: Entry periods and summary of activities in settings
Period Time spent Activity
Jan – Oct 2007 Negotiating access
Jan – March 2008 296 hrs Observation and interviews - RCQ
April 2008 96 hrs Observation and interviews - RCSA
May –July 7 2008 278 hrs Observation and interviews - RCQ
July 7-9 2008 25 hrs Interviews - NCD (Sydney and Melbourne)
10 July – Dec 2008 63 hrs Observation (intermittent) and interviews
(checking and confirming) RCQ
Jan – June 2009 20 Intermittent observation (event based) and
interviews RCQ
Oct 2009 4 Member checking RCQ/ RCSA
May and July 2010 5 Member checking RCQ
People
The selection of people reflected their contribution in the development of
strategic communication. Organisations by nature are formalised in terms of role,
position, power and authority (Robbins & Barnwell, 2006). Organisational members
who were delegated by formalised role or position or by membership of a key
department were sought. Categories related directly to formal positions and included
senior management roles including EDs, group managers (sometimes referred to as
general managers), team leaders, and general members of a department deemed
responsible for communication functions in the organisation (such as the marketing,
fundraising and communication unit) as identified on published organisational charts
(see Appendix C). This follows what Hammersley and Atkinson (1998) identify as
demographic criteria where persons were sampled by categories or judgement
sampling (Fetterman, 1998) where researchers rely on their knowledge of the
organisation and positions to select the most appropriate people.
People were also member-identified (Hammersley & Atkinson, 1998) where
people in senior management positions would say, for example, “Oh, you need to
speak with (this person)” (Exec 4, Qld). Finally, people were selected by opportunity
(Fetterman, 1998) where the researcher was in a setting and discovered a person in a
Chapter 4: Setting 80
role contributing to the formation of strategic communication that was not
immediately obvious from organisational documents.
Context
An organisational ethnography provides for specific events, encounters,
meanings and experiences to be contextualised within the specific social
environment of RC (Tedlock, 2003). Theory emerges out of descriptions of events in
a context bound by the setting (Mitchell, 2007). Sampling context in this study
reflected settings where communication planning and decision making related to
strategic communication naturally occurred. Setting awareness related to identifying
meetings, groupings and being present for discussions where this would occur.
Contextualising events also required looking backwards into background
information or previous discussions that took place prior to the meetings to allow the
researcher to interpret the construction of the complex processes shaped by systems
of meaning, and gain a holistic picture of the group.
Data Sources
The prime sources of data focussed on the words, paragraphs and actions of
the members of RC organised around direct experience, social action, talk and
supplementary data (Lofland, et al., 2006). To achieve this, qualitative tradition
offers three major approaches for data collection: “participant observation
(experiencing), interviewing (enquiring) and studying materials prepared by others
(examining)” (Wolcott, 1994, p.10). Table 3 summarises key data sources identified
in RC to enable the research questions to be answered.
Chapter 4: Setting 81
Table 3: Case Construct and Data Sources
Construct Data Sources Participant group
Enactment
(individual level)
Depth interviews (individual)
Observation of interactions, tasks, settings,
timing, outputs, anything unique
Organisational documents (annual reports,
corporate plan, communication plans, media
releases etc.)
Memoing (comparison)
Key state-based
management team
Marketing and
communication staff
Culture Observation of rituals, symbols, group
interactions, tasks, settings, timing, outputs,
anything unique
Memoing
Organisational documents (annual reports,
corporate plan, communication plans, media
releases)
Observation
management
meetings
communication
meetings
Operation of cultural
self-selection in
Selection process
(organisational level)
Observation of group: their interactions, tasks,
settings, timing, outputs, unique events or actions
Organisational documents (annual reports,
corporate plan, communication plans, media
releases)
State-based
management team
group interview
Observation
State-based
communication
meetings
Strategic
communication
Interviews, field notes and observation.
Organisational documents (including
communication planning materials; meeting
minutes or reports; Strategy 2010 documents;
humanitarian magazine; Annual Reports and Year
in Reviews 2006-2009; brochures; internal
newsletters; media releases; speeches; campaign
materials; internal staff broadcast emails)
Interpretation of data
case
Memoing, constant comparison
Interpretation of data case
Chapter 4: Setting 82
Fieldwork Protocol
A fieldwork protocol developed prior to entry was revised after entry to the
setting to accommodate and reflect the reality of the setting. The protocol (see
Appendix B) guided ongoing data collection in the primary site around established
conceptual domains in the comparative sites in RCSA and the national office.
Following data collection in the comparative sites, the protocol was again revised for
re-entry into RCQ to allow the researcher to be alert to missing data and look for
disconfirming evidence and to deepen emerging conceptual understanding.
Participant observation – experiencing the group setting
Observation as a source of data assumed the observed were an expression of
cultural systems within the organisation (Fetterman, 1998; Schein, 1984). Social
actions and flows of behaviour were attended to as articulations of cultural forms
(Geertz, 1973). Capturing social action requires researchers to immerse in a setting
to facilitate understanding of culture (Lofland, et al., 2006; Sanday, 1979). Ybema et
al. (2009) note successful observation requires close attention to detail at events and
interactions, and provides contextualisation (Elliott & Jankel-Elliott, 2003).
Observation provides a detailed, non-judgemental and concrete description of
observed organisational actions, events, objects and phenomenon (Marshall &
Rossman, 1999). In seeking cultural information within organisations, “observations
of manifestations such as artifacts and behaviours can therefore be used as sources of
data to „triangulate‟ with information obtained about cognitive components”
(Sackmann, 1992, p. 140).
In this study the researcher took an “outsider” participant role to conduct the
observation (Lofland et al, 2006). While Rabinow (1977) argues thematic
observation is difficult due to the ubiquitous nature of phenomena and the lack of
clear boundaries to limit and define a cultural performance, the observation strategy
in this study was to initially try to capture everything, with a view that over time
observation would become more focused. This approach is supported by Fetterman
(1998) who suggests observation, incidental, opportunistic or routine, “begins with a
panoramic view of the community, closes in to a microscopic focus on details, and
then pans out to the larger picture again – but this time with new insight into minute
Chapter 4: Setting 83
details (Fetterman, 1998, p. 37). Using this approach, I maintained a passive
presence, being unobtrusive and generally non-interacting with actors in the setting
during an observed activity (Marshall & Rossman, 1999).
Settings selected for observation were guided by the research question and
evolved through theoretical sampling (Glaser, 1998). Settings included scenes where
the researcher anticipated that decision and sense-making would occur (Hammersley
& Atkinson, 1995). These settings included unit and senior management meetings,
team leader and staff meetings, and workshops or meetings attended by external
staff. When in the presence of new people, the researcher revealed her identity and
purpose of her being present at a meeting or setting. The open plan office spaces also
allowed opportunistic observations of informal staff interactions and conversations.
Data collection could be undertaken while being unobtrusive within the setting.
Meetings
Strategising is often undertaken in group settings or communities of practice
(Balogun, Huff, & Johnson, 2003). In this study, meetings were conceptualised as
this community. The frequency, ritualisation and consistency of meetings held as a
communicative event at RC provided a rich source of data to observe collective
strategic communication development and sensemaking processes. Schwartzman
(1993) conceptualises meetings as “communication events that must be examined
because they are embedded within a sociocultural setting (an organisation, a
community, a society) as a constitutive social form” (p. 39). She acknowledges that
meetings appear as routines and gathering of actors however argues meetings
contribute to the production and reproduction of organising structures. “Meetings are
responsible for the construction of both order and disorder in social systems, and so
they must be conceptualised as occasions with both conservative (as sense makers
and social and cultural validators) and transformative capacities” (Schwartzman,
1993, p. 40).
Shadowing
Shadowing (Hammersley & Atkinson, 2007) of key positions was undertaken
in both RCQ and RCSA. The timing of observation occurred within the first three-
month period in the organisation period in RCQ (five work days) and two work days
Chapter 4: Setting 84
in RCSA. Table 4 provides a summary of observational settings and Table 5
summarises observation framework (Cunningham, 1993).
Table 4: Summary of settings for observation and data collection
Activity Setting
Familiarisation / Discussion/
interaction – individual and
group
Individual offices and open plan
office spaces or cubicles
Group meetings – formal and
informal
Board rooms and meeting rooms
Interviews and member
checking
Offices/ meeting room/ local coffee
shops
Events
Key events were sought as a way to provide insight into a culture or offer a
lens to view a culture (Fetterman, 1998, p. 99). Events also bound the context of
participation, observation and analysis in fieldwork. In RC, key events were used as
a way to gain an understanding of the social group in different contexts. Key events
included activation (during times of a crisis), project special events and meetings
(such as Red Cross Calling launch and meetings, youth centre meetings), and unique
activities in the office environment including reprimands.
Field notes and concept maps
Lofland et al., (2006) insightfully notes humans tend to forget much of what
has occurred quite quickly. Therefore field notes formed a major part of this study
and explicitly recorded references to participant roles, interactions, routines,
temporal elements, interpretations and the social organisation in the settings, from
broad to specific observation (Adler & Adler, 1998). These adopt categories of
behaviours and action (Sanday, 1979) and are summarised in Table 5.
Chapter 4: Setting 85
Table 5: Field notes – observation framework (Sanday, 1979)
Observational data Settings observed
Tasks Functions of individuals
Functions of key groups
Relationships of members in different settings
Actions/ behaviours of key members in different settings
Evidence of legitimate and illegitimate roles
Settings Descriptions of settings (evidence of cultural artifacts –
power, roles)
Behaviours and
consequences
Behaviours and rituals during meetings
Behaviours relating to subculture vs. corporate culture
Behaviours relating to cultural beliefs
Timing and
sequencing
Frequencies of actions and events
Identifying time patterns of behaviours
Unique events,
actions, outcomes
Any item that is unique, out of the ordinary as identified by
actors or researcher
Field notes of observations and memos to assist in analysis and theory
building (Glaser, 1992) played an important role in writing the ethnographic account.
A series of concept maps was developed as I identified associative and co-relational
relationships. The concept maps were initially drawn roughly by hand and then more
formally drawn using NVivo 7/8. As the depth and complexity of my interaction
with the organisation increased, the concept maps assisted in providing context and
tracking concepts to reflect the growing depth of understanding of the setting and
how it was shifting. During the course of the research, formal concept maps were
developed for the following themes:
Key initial concepts about the setting;
How RC sat in its social environment (conceptualisations of how
actors saw RC in its social environment;
Conceptualisations of relationships of National office to RCQ and
RCSA
Chapter 4: Setting 86
Extensive field notes ranged from documenting what people said during a
meeting (noting that I was observing everything from where people sat to how it
progressed, topics and how people said things) to interactions. After three months in
the setting, observing interactions and movements during normal office hours,
observations shifted to selecting events such as meetings and undertaking interviews
with key identified personnel in the organisation whose role was involved in
strategic communication formulation. Participant familiarisation with my role and
purpose afforded me greater flexibility to attend, select and identify occasions for
observation. This follows Jeffrey and Troman (2004) who argue intermittent access
requires both compliance and trust of the members.
Recorded observations and field notes were entered in a hard copy journal.
As the researcher was known in the organisation and the nature of working in an
office meant that having a notebook and taking notes was not foreign to workers, the
researcher managed to capture most instances immediately – making dot points and
fully expanding these as a reflection of the culminated experience within 12 hours of
the observed activity. In addition, notes were made as jotted entries (Lofland, et al.,
2006) following a period of reflection or consideration. I also used a notepad to
capture these mental notes and these were added to the hardcopy journal at various
times during the research process (Lofland, et al., 2006).
Attention was given to components of observed scenes including concrete
sensory details of talk and action; general impressions and feelings; memories; and
objective, not evaluative assertions (Lofland, et al., 2006). Sanday (1979) notes that
participant observation is often supplemented by other data collection tools such as
depth interviews to enable cross checking of data.
Depth interviews
Interviews were gained with all personnel identified and approached by the
researcher to interview. It was interesting to note no member of staff declined to be
interviewed even though one of the key themes to emerge later in analysis was a
declared shortage of time and a sense of an overwhelming amount of work. However
two members failed to confirm an interview time (or changed the time set a number
of times) resulting in two staff not being interviewed.
Chapter 4: Setting 87
A total of 51 interviews were conducted during the study. Interviews
commenced after four weeks in the setting. This allowed a relationship of trust to be
built and allowed time for participants to understand the nature of the researcher‟s
presence in the organisation. Interview situations followed what Neuman (2003)
describes as a form of social relationship between the interviewee and interviewer in
the context of a short term interaction to get accurate information in a context. The
aim of the interviews was to produce rich and complex data, suited for exploratory
and descriptive research (Cavana, et al., 2000). An ethnographic approach using non-
directive questions or semi structured questions was used to stimulate the
interviewee talking about a particular area (Hammersley & Atkinson, 1995). This
approach can be classified as an informal interview (Bouchard, 1983) and aims to
uncover the participant‟s perspectives and understand their meanings of their daily
activities (Marshall & Rossman, 1999). A semi-structured framework in the form of
an interview guide provided for an orderly approach but with flexibility to probe
beyond standardised answers (Berg, 2004). The interview guide (see Appendix B)
consisted of key areas and was developed as dot points relating to the key construct
areas of enactment and selection. This was to ensure key areas were covered,
particularly in the initial interviews (King, 2004). The interview guide went through
a number of iterations as the researcher became more familiar in the setting and
incorporated new understandings and provided for emergent dialogue to arise
(Patton, 1990). A hermeneutic approach was also adopted to allow questions to be
added as the researcher‟s knowledge increased with each interview (Nichter et al.,
2004). Although this type of interview yielded much irrelevant extraneous data,
Cavana et al., (2000) suggests this approach is advantaged by its lack of bias and true
reflection of the situation of study.
A range of questioning techniques was applied in the interviews included
funnelling, paraphrasing, probing (Cavana, et al., 2000) and informal talk
(Fetterman, 1998). Interview questions followed an informal format with key
constructs informing the questions, but as opportunities arose, questions were asked
in context of the interviewee. Ybema et al. (2009) suggest this is a more appropriate
approach to allow for the researcher‟s knowledge of the organisation to be applied.
Interviews commenced with the outlining of information and consent as
required by the ethics committee. Interviews participants were provided with a
Chapter 4: Setting 88
participant information sheet and signed a consent form prior to the formal interview
being conducted (see Appendix F). Participants were also advised that the interview
was being taped. One participant expressed nervousness in being interviewed and
was offered the opportunity to withdraw. She declined and said she was happy to
continue. Several participants made a comment following the interviews that they
felt that they had just had a counselling session and felt better for it.
Interviews were generally conducted on site in private meeting rooms or
respondent‟s offices (when available). Four interviews were conducted at local
coffee shops at the request of the participants. Most interviews were between one
hour and 1.5 hours. All interviews were digitally recorded except for one researcher-
caused failure of the recording device. In this case, extensive notes were made
immediately after the interview and checked by the participant for accuracy. Digital
voice files were downloaded on to the researcher‟s computer and transcribed
focusing on words, sentences and paragraphs. Although Lofland et al (2006) argue
that no standard convention exists for transcription, interviews were transcribed in
their entirety ignoring “filler” type expressions such as “ums and ahs”. After
interviews, field notes were made noting any unusual body language or mannerisms.
Fifteen interviews were transcribed by the researcher and 36 were transcribed
by an independent transcription organisation. These were checked for accuracy by
the researcher on coding through listening to the taped interview again and
comparing against the record.
Ethnoecology: Data Analysis
Ethnoecology is the study of what local people know, classify, and how they
use the knowledge of their environment (Sutton & Anderson, 2010). Everett (1990)
argues that when organisations are viewed as sociocultural systems, the discipline of
public relations focuses on the relationship of an organisation‟s culture to its social
ecology, then this relationship is best explored by using the theoretical features and
methodological tools of ethnoecology” (p. 248). Focusing on relationships between
an organisation and its environment, ethnoecology “seeks to provide an
understanding of the systems of knowledge that local people have” (Gragson &
Blount, 1999, p. ix). Ethnoecology is therefore concerned with understanding the
conceptual worlds of participants. Milton (1997) states ethnoecology is about:
Chapter 4: Setting 89
understanding people‟s own perceptions and interpretations of the world,
partly in their own right, as diverse cultures, and partly because they form the
appropriate context in which to analyse people‟s actions and decision making
processes.... the focus on people‟s own conceptual models of the world. (p.
484)
Frake (1962) notes the aim of ethnoecological research is to understand how
people perceive their environment and how they organise these perceptions.
Understanding local or Indigenous knowledge structures is theoretically crucial to
understanding ecological relations (Ellen, 1982). The analytical approach of the
study is based on the concept of ethnoecology as a means of identifying cultural
units operating in the selection process.
The central focus of an ethnoecological perspective can be conceived as
understanding the relationship of decision making and a cognitive process involving
the employment of schemas, models, and contingencies (Gragson & Blount, 1999)
by culture members. Ethnoecological research seeks to uncover this process,
specifically what a culture knows and how it classifies this knowledge (Sutton &
Anderson, 2010; Toledo, 1992).
Ethnographic data analysis provides meaning and context to organisational
action (Rosen, 1991). Analysis following an interpretive approach aims to sort out
the structures of signification and build relationships between the data (Geertz, 1973,
p. 9). Wolcott (1994) argues analysis requires a “careful, systematic way to identify
key factors and relationships among them” (p.10). Description identifies actions
through observation. Interpretation follows analysis to make sense of the setting and
actions, to reach understanding, and address questions of meaning and context
(Wolcott, 1994).
Iterative coupling of data collection, analysis and theory generation was
applied to an inductive analysis of the data to generate an exploratory theory and
explore the origins and nature of strategic communication as an organisational
response to Enacted environments (Marshall & Rossman, 1999; Patton, 1990;
Strauss & Corbin, 1998). Examining the property of cultural selection in this
process, the researcher aimed for „theoretical sensitivity‟ in analysis and coding
Chapter 4: Setting 90
(Glaser, 1992). Theoretical sensitivity refers to the researcher‟s insight and their
ability to give meaning, understand and prioritise relevant data (Strauss & Corbin,
1990). The fieldworker must be able to discern phenomena by identifying patterns,
ranges and variation in data (Geertz, 1973). The progressive contextualisation of the
case setting of RCQ and the comparative site of RCSA and the NCD are designed to
shed light on phenomenon and to “look for systematic relationships among diverse
phenomena, not for substantive identities among similar ones (Geertz, 1973, p. 9).
Data reduction is not a linear process in ethnographic enquiry but rather it follows
the iterative stages of transforming data through description, analysis and
interpretation (Wolcott, 1994, 2009). These processes will be detailed in the
following sections.
Reducing Data: Memoing and Coding
In the first stage of description, fieldwork observations data were
documented in journals and all recorded interviews were transcribed. Observations
were further reduced by memo writing, in the field after directly witnessing an event,
after a series of observations, and at the end of each observation day. Concept maps
were also developed and refined as themes emerged and shifted with more data. The
process of data reduction, analysis and display is illustrated in Figure 8.
Chapter 4: Setting 91
Figure 8: Overview of analysis showing linkages to display
Memo writing
Memo writing is a crucial step between coding and brings analytic focus to
data collection and researchers‟ ideas (Charmaz & Mitchell, 2002). Memos were
used as a theorising write-up of ideas about emergent ideas or codes generated from
interviewing, observing, and reviewing organisational documents and the theoretical
relationships that emerged during this process (Glaser, 1998).Writing memos
allowed the conceptualisation of data so I could critically reflect to explore process,
assumptions and actions (Charmaz, 2000) and as a core device to bridge the scope
from collecting, coding, analysing, and sampling of data (Glaser, 1998). Memos
were in the form of written documents and graphical illustrations or conceptual
maps.
Memoing can be a source of idea generation while at the same time acting as
a device to manage and respond to the theory development process (Glaser, 1998). I
used memos to respond to the nature of the data rather than forcing a structure on the
Chapter 4: Setting 92
memo (Glaser 1998). Memoing also assisted when grappling with ideas, refining
categories and exploring data relationships within the setting (Charmaz, 2002).
Memo and data sorting (reducing) were guided by the data‟s key emergent
properties (Glaser, 1998), with an analytical goal to allow the unique patterns of the
case to emerge (Denzin, 2002). The first stage of enactment occurred at the
individual level, therefore categories, themes and patterns were identified to describe
enacted events at the individual level and presented as cultural knowledge structures
in Chapter 5. The individual Enacted environment represented what was going on
that impacted on the organisation and capturing this variation through analysis.
The role of culture at the collective group level was described as memes that
represented patterns in the selection (i.e. cultural data). Schemas representing
collective cultural material or patterns of how collective beliefs of organisational
members operated as cultural criteria. The analytical goal for this stage was to
identify concepts that represent the cultural subsystems acting as collective selection
biases on enacted materials.
Data coding
Coding began analysis (Charmaz & Mitchell, 2002) and transformed data in
ways to guide evolving concepts (van Maanen, et al., 2007). Analysis began by
reading and categorising into codes suggested by the data, rather than being imposed
from the literature (Lansisalmi, Peiro, & Kivimake, 2004). Coding was applied at
three levels – line by line, sentences or paragraphs and entire documents (Charmaz,
2000; Glaser, 1992). Coding was operationalised as nodes, managed and stored by
computed assisted qualitative data analysis software NVivo 7/8/9. I started coding by
creating free and tree nodes to map relationships that emerged from the data
(Bryman, 2004). (A full list of nodes identified is available in Appendix E).
Richards‟ (2005) three stage coding process aligns with Wolcott‟s (1994)
three stages of transforming data (description, analysis and interpretation). Richards
(2005) argues coding by description, topic and analytical coding assists researchers
differentiate the purposes of each coding stage.
Descriptive coding was the first level of analysis that identified the cases and
attributes of the data including position, department, location, gender, age,
qualifications, and length of time working at RC . Dil (1980) notes codes “must also
Chapter 4: Setting 93
describe the environment as the people themselves construe it according to the
categories of their ethno science” (p. 20).
Topic coding initially labelled expressions, sentences, and paragraphs into
topics. This approach allowed the identification of topics that were being discussed
or themes and categories that emerged from the data (Richards, 2002). Topic coding
aligns with Glaser‟s (1998) substantive codes that were generated to build
conceptual theory and clarify relationships. These relationships were driven by the
research questions. Examples are provided in Table 6.
Table 6: Examples of topic codes relating to key research questions
Social Ecology and
environment
What‟s „out there‟ – who and what /How does it all
work out there/What all the major elements are out
there/Who‟s important in the environment/How
does the organisation perform in this environment?
Culture and Organisational
Culture
Values and beliefs in the organisation/What‟s
important here/What's acceptable behaviour/How
does it work here/How does the ED fit/Decision
making/What's the culture/What happens to
people‟s ideas about (enactment) things in the
organisation and pressures from the operating
environment?
Strategic communication Communication programs and practices/ research/
action/ programming/ communication/ evaluation
Reputation/ mission/ vision/ strategic goals of
organisation
Stakeholder conceptualisations and prioritisation.
Pratt (1994) identifies the importance of classificatory schemas derived from
observations rather than preordained models. The use of knowledge structures and
schemas representing participants‟ shared cultural knowledge in RCQ provided a
conceptual foundation to explore the role of the cultural subsystem in the selection
process on the development of strategic communication. This was achieved by
Chapter 4: Setting 94
examining participant‟s cultural knowledge structures through contextualising
comparative data from RCSA and NCD.
Quality of the Approach
Marshall and Rossman (1999) contend qualitative researchers face
challenges concerning clarity, consistency, and coherence when conducting research.
Denzin (2009) notes constructivism as an interpretive style founded on trustworthy
triangulated empirical data. Trustworthiness of the account is judged based on the
criteria of credibility, transferability, dependability, and confirmability, which are
equivalents of validity, reliability and objectivity (Lincoln & Guba, 1985).
The quality of this study‟s approach responded to these concerns through the
research design aiming for a trustworthy account highlighting validity and reliability
within the context of an ethnographic method.
Ethnographic research claims validity as a major strength due to the
researcher being in the setting, informant interviewing and participant observations
offering a closeness to setting, categories and participants‟ empirical reality
(LeCompte & Goetz, 1982). Maxwell (2002) refers to validity as not inherent to a
particular method, but to the data, accounts and conclusions reached by using the
method. Naturalism assumes validity can be ensured by close contact.
Hammersley (1990) relates credibility to establishing legitimatory writing,
and argues the general practise in ethnographic studies “is concerned with
establishing that the ethnographer has been to the place and seen what is described
which is dependent on their ability to convince us they have penetrated another
community” (p. 23). However Lofland et al. (2006) argues while the naturalistic
investigation has fewer problems with validity than studies that rely on indirect
observation, “the naturalistic researcher must critically assess the truth and meaning
of every piece of information collected” (p. 90). They note truth corresponds to “an
accurate, factual depiction of the observed events and behaviours, both verbal and
nonverbal” (Lofland et al, 2006, p. 90). Trustworthiness was managed in this
research by using multiple sources of evidence to address discover and confirm
constructs as they emerged from the setting.
Internal validity is concerned with the sharing of conceptual categories for
mutual meaning among observer and participants and is challenged by history and
Chapter 4: Setting 95
maturation, observer effects, selection and regression, mortality and spurious
conclusions (LeCompte & Goetz, 1982). These were addressed through identifying
the influence of time on the stability of concepts by maintaining contact with the
setting over an 18 month period. I was mindful of observer effects and potential
symbiotic relationships from being an observer in the organisation and was alert to
problems of entanglement, distortions from participant mistruths and credibility
(Lofland, et al., 2006; Walford, 2002). Independent sources and triangulation of data
were sought to clarify data and emergent themes to control these distortions
(LeCompte & Goetz, 1982). Triangulation involved the use of different methods and
sources to check the integrity of, or extend, inferences drawn from the data (Snape &
Spencer, 2003). Declaring my perspectives as a researcher was also used as a
technique to manage potential effects of researcher bias, claims of morality and
conclusions. Maxwell (2002) also delineates between descriptive validity (accuracy
of account in records, and secondary descriptive validity, being accuracy of
inference). These were addressed by having interview transcripts professionally
transcribed and case reports having a clear chain of evidence and detailed record
keeping. Member checking of accounts was undertaken with two key participants in
the study – one from RCQ and one from RCSA. The participants read the descriptive
accounts of their areas to check for accuracy of description.
Threats to external validity include those that reduce a study‟s “comparability
and translatability” (LeCompte & Goetz, 1982, p. 51). External validity relies on
sound description of the characteristics of salient phenomena. While qualitative
studies are not designed to allow systematic generalization to some wider population,
concerns have been raised by leading authors about the substitution of the traditional
observation based single site ethnographic study with a fragmented multisite study as
this has the potential to dilute the quality of the ethnography ( see for example,
Mitchell, 2007; Marcus, 1998). LeCompte and Goetz (1982) suggest a multisite
ethnography contributes to strengthening external validity through comparison with
other sites. While Wolcott‟s (1994) concern about multiple sites is related to the
superficial understanding gained of many sites and a lack of depth of any one site,
Marcus (1998) argues a multisite study nurtures the translation of meaning. While
Mitchell (2007) argues that holism is lost, Marcus (1995) concludes:
Chapter 4: Setting 96
Although multi-sited ethnography is an exercise in mapping terrain; its goal
is not holistic representation, an ethnographic portrayal of the world system
as a totality. Rather, it claims that any ethnography of a cultural formation in
the world system is also an ethnography of the system, and therefore cannot
be understood only in terms of the conventional single-site mise-en-scene of
ethnographic research, assuming indeed it is the cultural formation, produced
in several different locales, rather than the conditions of a particular set of
subjects that is the object of study. (p. 99)
Reliability requires resolution of internal and external research design
problems to provide for external reliability (other researchers discovering the same
phenomena) and internal reliability (other researchers matching generated constructs
in the same way) (LeCompte & Goetz, 1982). While a general definition of
reliability is the quality of the study that allows it to be repeated with the same
results (Yin, 2003), ethnographic research is complicated by a lack of standardised
controls common to other types of research as it focuses on participant observation
in natural settings with the purpose of exploring unique phenomena that may not be
able to be replicated (LeCompte & Goetz, 1982). Constraints relating to external
reliability were addressed following Le Compte and Goetz (1982) through
responding explicitly to the five major problems of reliability: Recognising research
status, informant choices, social situations and conditions, analytic constructs and
premises and methods of data collection and analysis. Five strategies are offered to
address internal reliability: low-inference descriptors, multiple researchers,
participant researchers, peer examination and mechanically recorded data. While
only one researcher was involved in this study, the researcher was alert to description
versus interpretation and separation of chapters four, five and six reflect this
distinction.
Jeffery and Troman (2004) note two methodological issues that arise in
ethnographic modalities where time is an issue. These include compensating for a
lack of extensive time in the field and how to resist familiarity in intermittent modes
characterising this research. They argue the reduction of time can lead to a reduction
in ethnographic principles and a focus on the micro level of interactions. This was
addressed by focusing on broader theories and other influencing factors such as
Chapter 4: Setting 97
relevant political, institutional, structural and cultural discourses in analysis to
sensitise the data (Jeffrey & Troman, 2004).
Ethical Considerations
Ethical issues in ethnographic research extend to every stage of the research
program (Fetterman, 1998). Fetterman (1998) argues that because ethnographers
delve into participants‟ secrets, rituals, and frustrations, ethics to an ethnographer
must preserve “the participants‟ rights, facilitates communication in the field and
leaves the door open for further research” (p. 129). Ethics approval was received at
the level one, low risk category and conducted to meet ethical guidelines set by the
researcher‟s University Human Research Ethics Committee (UHREC).
In conducting the research, I was aware that full participant consent was
required implicating voluntary involvement with withdrawal at any time by
participants. Full consent was obtained from all participants, and permission for
organisational access and use of organisational documents. Data collected from
interviews and observations required confidentiality based on non-identifying
individual and observational notes accessible only by the researcher. Specific content
and individual sources of organisational information and documents were not
disclosed, with group reporting at the organisational level.
Lofland et al. (2006) argue researchers are challenged by feelings of
deception and disclosure. These challenges are essentially ethical ones as they relate
to managing the relationship of observer-participant. Making explicit my researcher
role was one step to address this, however being witness to very personal situations
in the workplace continued to prove challenging when writing the account and
needing to balance the truthfulness of the observation with the researcher‟s
commitment to privacy of participants as such descriptions “can jeopardise
individuals” (Fetterman, 1998, p. 142). Fetterman also highlights feelings of
discomfort that arise from issues of disclosure. He states, “ethnographic descriptions
are usually detailed and revealing. They probe beyond the façade of normal human
interaction” (p. 142). This was encountered in this study, however data not relevant
to the study was not used.
Chapter 4: Setting 98
Limitations and Key Assumptions
A number of key assumptions underpinned this research design. A challenge
on entering the field was the inconsistency of data sets afforded by the three sites.
The research design made assumptions that divisional sites would afford equal
access to data and opportunities to observe. However limitations relating to
geographical distance affected the nature and quality of the data collected and the
closeness of relationships with participants in RCSA and NCD.
The second assumption related to accessing events, meetings and documents.
RCQ was amenable to this and the more time I spent in the organisation correlated
with increasing invitations and opportunities to attend meetings. The situation
experienced in RCSA was more limiting due to lack of researcher familiarity to
identify meetings, events and documents. The consequence was far more data was
gathered in the primary site. While this was acceptable within the terms of the
research design, it provided a limitation on the scope of contextualising knowledge
in the primary site.
A third and important assumption was made that an appropriate structure and
function existed in RC divisions (RCQ and RCSA). This included reporting lines and
divisional structures. This assumption was found to be weak when confronted with
the reality of the settings. Ezzy (2002) suggests researchers should not deny or hide
the influence of preconceptions generated by reviewing existing literature but
formally state them and embrace an iterative process of simultaneous deduction and
induction of theory building, testing and rebuilding.
Summary
This chapter outlined the ethnographic method and research design
appropriate for this exploratory study. Through undertaking an ethnography and
employing progressive contextualisation, the research design placed the setting of
RCQ in its wider context (Platt, 2007) to build a depth of understanding of the
discovered phenomena. More specifically, the research design responds to the core
research problem of understanding the influence of organisational culture in the
development of strategic communication through building a depth case study of
RCQ with comparative sites of RCSA and the NCD. This chapter also described the
Chapter 4: Setting 99
study design‟s adaptation that followed a continuous process of monitoring to align
the research problem and case selection (Hammersley & Atkinson, 1995).
This chapter addressed the epistemological foundations and theoretical
perspectives and presented the rationale for selection of the research setting. Data
sources and analytical processes were also detailed.
Chapter 4 details the setting of the study sites to provide context and to
familiarise the reader with the cast of characters and their lived world. Chapter 5
then presents the ethnographic account of these settings and Chapter 6 presents the
analysis of cultural units.
Chapter 4: Setting 100
Chapter 4
Description of Setting
Chapter 3 detailed the methodology of organisational ethnography and the
suitability of this method to examine the influence of cultural selection on the
formulation of strategic communication in RCQ. This chapter aims to provide the
context of the setting as sites of interaction, causes and effects of RCQ members as
they connect through the organisation (Vayda, 1983) and respond to environmental
change. Thick or detailed descriptions of settings, events, activities, interactions,
persons and language allow readers of ethnographies to understand the lived
experiences of the people studied (Geertz, 1973; Schwartz-Shea & Yanow, 2009),
and the wider world system that the participants experience (Platt, 2007).
To achieve this outcome, this chapter is structured in the following way.
First, RC and the NCD are introduced as this provides the policy, structure,
governance and social ecology that influence the operation of RCQ. Next, the focal
organisation of RCQ is introduced as the setting of the study, with a focus on the
marketing, fundraising and communication (MFC) unit as this site exists to
formulate the organisation‟s strategic communication. Finally, RCSA is described as
the setting used to contextualise knowledge of the strategy making influences and
processes in the primary site of RCQ. Figure 9 illustrates this approach.
Chapter 4: Setting 102
Red Cross Overview
RC is part of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent
Societies (IFRC). Globally this is the largest humanitarian network in the world with
186 member national societies (www.ifrc.com) which RC claims is close to
universal representation (Tickner, 2007a). Globally this network includes the
national RC and Red Crescent Societies, the International Federation and the
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). ICRC humanitarian work has
increased both in scope and complexity as the organisation responds to an increase in
natural disasters and conflict and the need to work collaboratively with other national
RC Societies to deploy services. Worldwide, the movement has approximately 71.9
million members and 11.5 million volunteers – although the movement recognises
that a lack of formal recording among societies makes it difficult to have an accurate
picture of this (IFRC, 2007). RC employs nearly 2000 staff nationally and provides
over 70 community services delivered by over 30,000 volunteers and 35,000
members1 across 863 branches (as at April 2008).
Historical Foundations
Red Cross International and Red Crescent societies began late in the 19th
century as a response to the human casualties of war. The movement was founded in
1863 by Swiss banker Henry Dunant in response to his experiences witnessing the
aftermath of the 1859 Battle of Solferino. Dunant established a committee that
became the first international relief effort for the wounded of war, and began what is
now known as the International Federation of Red Cross (Australian Red Cross,
2009b).
RC was established in Australia in August 1914 as a branch of the British RC
at the outbreak of the First World War with the primary aim of supporting sick and
wounded soldiers. While never legally a federation, RC adopted a federated model of
practice giving autonomy to state and territory based RC organisations and was
incorporated by the Royal Charter in 1941 to become the RC Society. This
autonomy provided power to EDs of state-based RC organisations to develop and
1 Volunteers and members are listed separately in figures published by RC . The distinction of a
financial member who is a volunteer is not made.
Chapter 4: Setting 103
deliver programs, manage finances and administrative resources, generate revenue
and managed governance (Australian Red Cross, 2007d).
This model remains unchanged today2 with each state having an ED, a
divisional council or board, and a management team. The divisional state
management has power to make decisions about programs, resources, revenue
generation, and governance for their RC division. Each state has programs and
service models that reflect national RC policy, however state management teams
interpret local and policy requirements and makes local decisions to reflect local
interpretations (Tickner, 2007a).
Service Profile
RC delivers a range of health and social welfare services both domestically
and internationally. The services undertaken by the organisation are described
generally as blood services, community services, disaster and emergency services,
first aid, international humanitarian law (IHL), and programs supporting Indigenous
communities, and migrant support services (Australian Red Cross, 2008a, 2009a).
Overall the society delivers more than 70 community services including
transport and accommodation cosmetics and hands on care, telecross, holiday
programs, personal support services and several other unique state-based services,
for example the night cafe (RCQ), and cosmetic care (RCSA). While some services
are long-standing, nationally managed and coordinated programs, including IHL,
tracing and asylum seekers services, RC management is actively trying to centralise
other services including good start breakfast club, save-a-mate (SAMS) and telecross
(Australian Red Cross, 2007d).
Recipients or „clients‟ of RC services are described as Indigenous people,
young people, families, aged people, people with disabilities or mental health issues,
asylum seekers and refugees, disadvantaged people and victims of natural disasters,
including communities located in the Australasia region (Australian Red Cross,
2007d).
RC identifies three goals for their services:
2 Upon entering the organisation, RC was undergoing a review of services with the aim to move to a
national management structure
Chapter 4: Setting 104
1. Champion humanitarian values for the protection of life, health and human
dignity through promotion, education and advocacy;
2. Assist and empower vulnerable people, especially those most in need in
Australia and in Asia-Pacific region, in their everyday lives and in times of
crisis;
3. Forge a unified, inclusive and sustainable movement, soundly managed and
financially secure, which reflects our country‟s diversity (Australian Red
Cross, 2006a, p. 4).
Funding
As a not-for-profit organisation, RC relies on income from external donors,
government grants and commercial activities. In the period from 2007 to 2009, RC
has experienced an increase in revenue. For example in 2009 RC reported a record
income of $1.027 billion (Australian Red Cross, 2009a) attributed to an increase
from local donations to the Victorian bushfire appeal (a crisis event) and increase in
government funding for blood services (note the RC Blood Service is now fully
funded by the Australian government). This increase in revenue follows an $11
million increase in funds from 2007 to 2008. In public financial reports RC indicates
that the society has experienced an increase in costs, consistent with increased
demands on services i.e.: an increase of $29.5 million from 2007 to 2008 (Australian
Red Cross, 2008b)
RC states 91% of funding is spent on helping to support vulnerable people.
This includes 55% spent on programs and most recently in 2008, the Victorian
bushfire relief effort. Nine percent of funding is spent on administration, fundraising
and retail activities. Services (excluding blood) distributed in the Australia-Pacific
region include 74% spent on Australian programs, 8% on Asian programs and 18%
on other international programs (Australian Red Cross, 2008b).
There is a high level of scrutiny on spending of donated funds by not for
profits in Australia, particularly RC, instigated from media reporting by 60 Minutes
(Channel 9) in 2003 questioning the distribution of fundraising money for the
victims of the 2001 Bali bombing. This is addressed in more detail later in this
chapter in the public opinion environment section. Governance and transparency of
administrative reporting remains an important concern for RC as represented by the
Chapter 4: Setting 105
focus and highlighting of governance structures and accountability in a number of
documents and public speeches (Tickner, 2007a, 2007b, 2008a). The organisation
also produces annual and financial reports, describing services and achievements,
and a separate full financial report detailing revenue and expenditure.
Mission, Vision, Values and Principles
Hallahan, et al., (2007) define strategic communication as “the purposeful
use of communication by an organisation to fulfil its mission” (p.3). RC publicly
notes seven fundamental principles of the RC and Red Crescent Movement underpin
all the activities of the organisation (see for example, Year in Review 2008-2009,
The Humanitarian). Exploring the nature of the principles, the mission, and values
statements of RC are important for this study given the significance and influence of
these on organisational members‟ values and belief systems (Alvesson, 2002).
The seven fundamental principles are humanity, impartiality, neutrality,
independence, voluntary service, unity, and universality (see Appendix D for
definitions of the key principles). These are espoused as guiding organisational
behaviours and decision making. The induction manual for employees states the
following about the principles:
In order to carry out its unique mission and to foster consistent and effective
action across a complex organisation such as ours, seven Fundamental
Principles provide a universal standard of reference, a set of guidelines and a
common goal for all members… As a Red Cross employee, you (and Red
Cross members and volunteers) are the embodiment of the organisation and
represent the Fundamental Principles in action. No matter what position you
hold, these Principles should be respected, adhered to and used to guide your
work. (Australian Red Cross, 2007a, p. 3)
The CEO of RC in his inaugural speech (2005) referred to these as “non-
negotiable core principles” and hallmarks of the global RC organisation and noted
“fundamentally RC is about 'people' and the alleviation of human suffering”
(Tickner, 2005, p. 1). In addition to the seven fundamental principles, mission,
Chapter 4: Setting 106
vision and goal statements are published in the 2007 Red Cross Induction Manual
for Employees. The RC vision, mission and goal statements are as follows:
Our Vision: To improve the lives of vulnerable people in Australia and
internationally by mobilising the power of humanity
Our Mission: To be a leading humanitarian organisation in Australia,
improving the lives of vulnerable people through services delivered and
promotion of humanitarian laws and values
Our Goals:
Champion humanitarian values for the protection of life, health and
human dignity through promotion, education and advocacy
Assist and empower vulnerable people, especially those in most need
in Australia, and in the Asia Pacific region, in their everyday lives and
in times of crisis
Forge a unified, inclusive and sustainable movement soundly
managed and financially secure, which reflects our country‟s diversity
(Australian Red Cross, 2007a, p. 7).
Additional behaviours including compliance, understanding, personal
growth, effective communication and contribution and support of volunteers are also
listed as generic statements in position descriptions for advertised positions vacant in
the organisation (see for example, Australian Red Cross, 2006b, 2006c, 2007c).
Red Cross Structure and Governance
RC governance operates at three structural levels: The Council, the Board
and the Chief Executive Officer (CEO). National, state and territory functions are
principally governed by the Board under delegations of the Council of the Society
(see Appendix C for RC organisational chart). The RC Board delegates day-to-day
management of the affairs of RC to the state and operational divisions and the CEO.
The Council
Membership of the council of the society comprises up to 35 members
elected from the society. This includes the president of the society and 28 voting
members comprising the chairman; the vice chairman; the chairman of the audit and
risk management committee; the chairman of each of the eight state and territory
Chapter 4: Setting 107
divisional boards; 16 representatives taken from the states and territories, and a
youth representative; up to seven non-voting members - the president and up to six
vice presidents. (www.arc.org.au accessed 16 March 2010).
The responsibilities of the Council are limited to the appointment of members
and auditors, receiving corporate documents and financial reports, and power to
amend the Royal Charter and rules (equivalent to a Constitution). The Council of the
society meets once per year.
The Board
The RC Board consists of 12 people including four elected office bearers and
a representative appointed from each of the divisions and two additional board only
members. This comprises the chairman, vice-chairman, chairman of the Audit and
Risk Management Committee (ARMC), eight divisional chairmen (sic), a youth
representative and up to two additional RC board members (RC organisational chart,
January, 2007). All board and council members are volunteers selected for their
professional or personal experience and standing in the community. The Board meets
between four and ten times a year.
The board delegates a broad range of society-wide and international
responsibilities to the CEO i.e. national functions with all other domestic services
and operations not within the national function being the responsibility of the state
and territory divisions of the society. The CEO manages these delegations through
his senior managers consisting of the director of operations, chief financial officer,
and director of marketing fundraising and communications, and through the national
management team.
Leadership
The CEO of RC was appointed in February 2005 to the position of the
Secretary General, more commonly referred to as the CEO. Prior to this role,
positions held include the CEO of an employment company. In previous roles, the
CEO was a Labor Government Federal Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander Affairs from 1990-1996 and also served as a law and business lecturer at an
Australian university, and as a local Councillor at Sydney City Council from 1977 to
1984. Academically the CEO holds a Bachelor of Laws, Master of Laws (Hons) and
Chapter 4: Setting 108
Bachelor of Economics degrees, and is currently undertaking an Executive MBA
(http://www.redcross.org.au/aboutus_keypeople_default.htm#RTickner).
The CEO is accountable to the Board for implementation of the strategic plan
and for oversight of operational management according to the policy and systems,
which it establishes. The national management team (NMT) is chosen by the CEO to
provide high-level advice on operational matters and implementation of decisions
(www.redcross.org.au). The NMT comprises the CEO and EDs from each state and
territory (ACT, NSW, NT, QLD, SA, TAS, VIC, WA), and functional roles such as
the national directors of MFC, operations, finance, information, human resources,
legal, domestic operations, international operations, and business strategy. At the
time of the researcher entering the organisation, the NMT consisted of 18 people in
key roles, however during the course of the study, the NMT changed due to changes
in strategic direction (Menon, 2008). Changes to this team included the inclusion of
new roles including a head of Indigenous strategy, and a director of information
technology. The positions of general manager legal and chief information officer
were removed.
The backgrounds and qualifications of the NMT are listed on the RC website
that includes information about their experience and working backgrounds,
qualifications, area of responsibility and length of time with Australian RC. The
NMT consisted of seven females and 10 males. Four had been with the organisation
for approximately one year or less, nine had been in the organisation for up to five
years and four had been in the organisation between five and nine years.
Academically, one holds a PhD, five hold Masters Degrees, three hold postgraduate
qualifications not specified, and two hold bachelor degrees. Six staff had no stated
qualifications. The NMT were geographically based in their states with a
concentration of other senior positions in Sydney and Melbourne.
National Office and States
The national office of RC is in Melbourne and oversees national programs
and represents the organisation nationally and internationally. RC employs
approximately 1862 staff nationally (Australian Red Cross, 2008b). In addition to the
national office, RC has nine operating divisions that comprise the RC Blood Service
and eight state and territory divisions – New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia,
Chapter 4: Setting 109
RCQ, Western Australia, Australian Capital Territory, Northern Territory and
Tasmania. While the CEO is responsible for the management of RC nationally, local
services and operations are the responsibility of state divisions.
Each state division has an ED and a local senior management team
responsible for responding to national policy and establishing local initiatives to
meet operational budgets and goals. The state divisions are responsible for service
delivery, membership, fundraising, and policy formulation and delivery within their
own geographical boundaries.
Volunteers
Volunteers play an important part in the delivery of RC services and
programs (Australian Red Cross, 2007a). In 2008, RC had approximately 30,258
volunteers engaged in programs and activities across the organisation. Only 16% of
RC volunteers are aged between 18-45, and only 1% are aged below18 (Menon,
2008). The CEO has publicly noted the aging volunteer base and announced that
strategies to focus on improving retention and attracting younger volunteers to the
organisation would be introduced (Australian Red Cross, 2007e; Tickner, 2007b).
These reforms are part of an organisation wide reform process, which is discussed in
the following section.
Red Cross Reform
At the time of entering the organisation in January 2008, RC was embarking
on a series of reviews of its strategic direction, service profile, and brand positioning.
The reviews included administrative, operational and services, which incorporated
marketing, fundraising, and communication functions. The need for change was first
noted by the board in 2005 and formalised in the RC strategy document RC 2010
published on 26 May 2005. RC 2010 identified the strategic directions of RC and
noted “we will be Australia‟s most effective community-based, humanitarian
movement known for our compassion, our action and the impact of our work with
vulnerable people” (Australian Red Cross, 2005, p. 3). A strategic implementation
plan was also developed to “identify the steps or actions that will be taken to achieve
the strategies identified in the Strategy 2010 document” (Australian Red Cross,
Chapter 4: Setting 110
2007e, p. ii). This operationalised the strategic document for the business units in
Australian RC.
In July 2006 the board approved a recommendation of the audit and risk
management committee (ARMC) to establish terms of reference of a review of
services effectively narrowing the strategic focus for RC activities to emergency
services, international aid and development, International humanitarian law,
migration impacts and work in Indigenous communities, addressing disadvantage
and programs to connect marginalised people back to their communities. These
changes required that some services currently provided by RC would be transitioned
out, and some would be significantly changed.
The terms of reference of the service review recognised the profile of
services in each state division developed as a result of varying influences. This
included factors such as local orientation and perception of emerging needs to
varying government responses at a state and federal level. The terms of reference
also recognised that states often responded to local opportunities for service delivery,
and this included resource availability such as expertise and volunteers, funding, the
presence of other community service providers, and logistical elements such as
geography. Finally the review noted the influence of individuals and lobby groups as
a key influence in developing services.
In his 2008 annual address to the board, the CEO noted reform was a key
priority as the organisation had become a “Jack of all trades and a master of none”
(Tickner, 2008a, p. 2). He recognised the organisation “had allowed a proliferation
of diverse services (totalling over 130) to spread ourselves too thinly and we were
failing to give priority to some of our core areas” (Tickner, 2008a, p. 2).The review
of administrative operational and service activities of the RC aimed to assist in a
change program that would provide a major driver of change to the next stage of the
society-wide reform process review aimed to address what was identified as “a
significant tension between a number of the wider aims and objectives contained
within the strategy” (Australian Red Cross, 2007d, p. 2).
Marketing, Fundraising and Communication Reform
In addition to the organisational reviews discussed above, a full review was
being planned for all national and state MFC functions at RC with the aim to review
Chapter 4: Setting 111
current practices and capacity for communicating. The review commenced in late
2008 and was positioned as a key step to nationalise all communication activities,
standardise communication staff skill sets and integrate its brand communications. In
a staff-wide email broadcast on 9 April 2009, the CEO highlighted the MFC function
to be restructured to a national reporting framework as providing a number of
benefits. These included a way to improve costs of fundraising; gain a better focus
on income generation and reduction of associated costs; greater alignment of MFC
with the changes being implemented as a result of the services review; and a more
integrated, consistent and coordinated approach to communication and reputational
support in RC. The effect of this change saw all state-based communication
functions nationalised on 1 July 2009 and centralised under the leadership of the
national director of communication. As part of this change, all positions in MFC
were made redundant, with state staff encouraged to apply for the national positions.
The geographic location of some national MFC positions was not fixed, allowing
QLD or SA staff to apply and remain in their state. In addition, the CEO highlighted
more clarity in roles and accountability, and a greater shift to focus on online and
new media tools for RC.
When the change was finally implemented on 1 July, 2009, the national
director of communication highlighted the shift from state focused activities to
national based activities to be delivered through five key areas titled marketing,
fundraising, communication and brand, media and projects, business improvement
and benchmarking. This event signalled the close of the cases in terms of this
research study.
Rebranding of Red Cross
In addition to the organisational, administrative and service reviews, the
Board approved a rebranding exercise for RC in October 2007, which introduced a
number of changes to how the organisation was presented. The rebranding aimed to
present a more holistic brand (logo, images, look and feel) style across all
communication materials, and adopt a single positioning statement “the power of
humanity”. Changes also incorporated the application of a clustering to services
under the titles of “Crisis”, “Care”, and “Commitment”. In this context crisis
equalled responsiveness in emergencies and disasters, care equalled connections with
Chapter 4: Setting 112
local community work, and commitment equalled long term, humanitarian values. In
addition, photographs used in promotional materials such as brochures and
advertising were changed to a more beneficiary focus and incorporated both local
and international images. The language choice used by RC also changed to more
plain English language. Finally, there was a directive to remove state or national
based titles for the organisation, with reference to Red Cross, rather than
“Australian” Red Cross, or divisionally for example, as Red Cross “Queensland”. A
style guide was also produced to provide regulations around the use of the logo,
corporate colours and messaging.
The rationale behind the re-branding was stated as a response to
inconsistencies in the brand and message when being compared to local and
international competitors in Australia. The aim of the rebranding was stated as
“creating a stronger, more relevant and successful communication platform”
(Campbell, 2007, p. 1). The internal focus of historical communication was also
given as a rationale as noted in an all staff email broadcast on 20 December 2007:
Without realising it, we often focus on ourselves rather than our beneficiaries
and our communication lacks the urgency needed to convert people‟s
considerable respect for our brand into action. This affects our ability to
attract support from the community and ultimately, our ability to help the
many people that rely on our service every day (Campbell, 2007, p. 1).
The rebranding was “soft launched” to internal staff on 26 February 2008
followed by a public “soft launch” on 17 May 2008 which included television and
radio commercials, online and media publicity. There was no public launch
ceremony or event conducted.
National Communication Directorate
The communication function in RC was state-based with direct line reporting
to the EDs of each state. While the policy and direction was overseen by the NCD,
interpretation, implementation and accountability of the enactment of these was held
at the state level. The NCD had 37 staff of which 16 had the title “manager” or
“director”, and seven had the term “national” in their title. The organisational chart
Chapter 4: Setting 113
detailed in Figure 10, shows the structure of the unit was organised as silos of
disciplines divided into donor relations, business partnerships, media, and
communications. Donor relations incorporated marketing fundraising, campaigns,
and regular. Business partnerships incorporated account and project management,
while communication activities were divided into domestic, incorporated the
intranet, and international, incorporated major disasters responses (such as the 2004
tsunami). The national media advisor reported directly to the CEO.
The staff employed in the national directorate were generally more qualified
and had greater experience than those employed in the states. They were also on
much higher incomes when compared to their state counterparts (National 2). The
national director of MFC had been with the RC since 2004. Previous roles included
senior corporate communication management positions in national and international
corporations in the legal, finance and insurance industries. The national director of
MFC also held Masters qualifications in commerce and communication. The
national media advisor joined RC in May 2007 and has more than 25 years of
experience as a journalist. Roles prior to this (2003 – 2004), included director of
media and communications for leaders of the federal opposition, hosting Insight, a
current affairs program on multicultural television station SBS for six years, and
hosting the breakfast program on ABC radio national.
Chapter 4: Setting 114
Figure 10: NCD - MFC organisational structure (February, 2008)
The positions were not all centrally located (see Figure 10). Staff were
located across Sydney (17) and Melbourne (19), with one in Perth and one in
Brisbane. The NCD was based in Melbourne with the national director of MFC,
national media advisor, and general manager of donor relations based in Sydney
(where the CEO is primarily based).
Reporting on national MFC activities was facilitated formally through the
national director of MFC direct to the CEO and the board. MFC activities were also
reported in financial and annual reports organised by detailing income generated and
expenses of fundraising activities. At the time of the research, there was no other
evidence of formal evaluation being undertaken at other MFC programming levels.
Chapter 4: Setting 115
Communication with states and territories was facilitated through a monthly
national teleconference chaired by the national director of communication. All state
MFC managers would dial in to discuss MFC state-based activities and campaigns.
Communication of MFC national activities to key internal stakeholders was
facilitated through a monthly email update issued by the national director of MFC.
This email distribution noted highlights, updates and achievements of the unit. The
following (Figure 11) is an excerpt of topics covered in the January 2008
distribution:
Figure 11: Excerpt from email update reporting on national MFC activities
Policy and Procedures
At the time of entering the organisation, the RC NCD was reviewing and
developing a number of policies and procedures relating to marketing, fundraising
and communication that State RC divisions were required to follow. These included
national media protocols (April 2008), and business partnership policy providing
guidelines for client approaches by states for fundraising. This reflects the pending
changes that the organisation was undertaking to shift from a decentralised, federated
model of management to a centralised model, particularly for the MFC function. The
aim for the protocols and guidelines reflected common approaches to managing
media contact and client contact in nationally structured organisations. National
media protocols are aimed to enable effective cooperative and appropriate media
management, and formalise delegated authorities of staff authorised to speak with
the media and lines of contact to be followed when the media called.
Chapter 4: Setting 116
The national corporate relations policy aimed to coordinate organisational
contacts. Under this policy, organisational contact points for nationally defined
organisations fall under the responsibility or delegation of the national corporate
relations manager. The goal of this policy was to reduce multiple contacts from RC
personnel and to provide a more coordinated and consistent approach to managing
corporate-client relationships. For example, national organisations were only allowed
to be contacted by national corporate relations staff, while RCQ based organisations
were allowed to be contacted by RCQ corporate relations staff.
This section established the setting of NCD as a policy setting authority in
the environment of RCQ. This is important as it provides both the policy frameworks
and procedural hierarchies that RCQ members need to respond. The next section
introduces the external environment of RC.
The Social Environment of Red Cross
Social ecology highlights the interdependent relationship of the social
environment and the organisation as it plays out in the organisation‟s efforts to be
responsive to its environment (Gupta & Govindarajan, 2000). Social ecology
recognises the reciprocal influences among people, social organisations and physical
environments (Abu-Lughod, 1966). By exploring the social environment within
which RC operates, an ecological perspective is gained as a framework to describe
organisational adaptive efforts in response to environmental demands (Steward,
1977). Building on the conceptualisation of an organisational environment by Scott
(2003), the social environment recognises the extent that relational, public opinion,
and institutional frameworks converge from the standpoint of the focal organisation.
It is this environment that members of RC enact (Weick, 1979).
RC is one of many not-for-profits operating in Australia. The Australian
Bureau of Statistics (ABS) notes in June 2007 there were 41,008 registered not-for-
profit organisations in Australia attracting more than $76b in income. The industry
employs nearly 890,000 people and attracts more than 2 million volunteers.
According to the ABS (2007) the main sources of income for Australian not-for-
profit organisations were funding from federal, state and local government (33.5%).
Over two-thirds (69.2%) of total government funding to not-for-profit organisations
was volume based funding (for example, granted on a per-student or a per-client
Chapter 4: Setting 117
basis). Income from services accounted for 29.9%. Donations, sponsorship and
fundraising accounted for 9.5% of total income and sales of goods 8.9% (ABS,
2007).
RC is one of the largest not-for-profit organisations in Australia. Its direct
competitors are World Vision, Mission Australia, the Salvation Army, St Vincent de
Paul and The Smith Family. The CEO in his 2008 annual report to the board noted
RC faced significant challenges to improve efficiency and effectiveness in their
MFC efforts, and that reputationally, the organisation was at risk:
We need to face the fact that organisations like the Salvation Army, World
Vision and Oxfam are far more effective in their fundraising than we are
because they focus on such strategies and regular giving, bequests and
corporate partnerships, which deliver far more revenue at much reduced costs
than many of our traditional methods of fundraising. There is a reputational
risk here unless I ensure our Fundraising Marketing and Communications
team have the authority and resources they need to improve our fundraising. I
will be addressing this issue in the immediate period ahead. (Tickner, 2008a,
p. 18)
Regulatory Environment
The regulatory environment of RC includes approximately 15
Commonwealth and 163 State and Territory Acts which guide the practice as a not-
for-profit entity or charitable body (Tickner, 2008b). In a report to the Senate
committee investigating disclosure for not-for-profit organisations regulations
around not-for-profit organisations, seven disparate sets of federal fundraising
legislation that govern or affect RC activities were identified. (Tickner, 2008b).
These were noted as being additional to the current state-based legislation.
Stakeholders of Red Cross
RC‟s stakeholder map is intricate due to the complexity of their services,
propriety areas, unit performance indicators, and the funding model under which
they operate. Stakeholders are defined as “any group or individual who can affect or
are affected by the achievement of the organization's objectives” (Freeman, 1984, p.
Chapter 4: Setting 118
46). While there were no documents identifying and prioritising stakeholders and
publics, internal business plans drafted by RCQ MFC unit generally identified
external stakeholders as clients, service partners, government (local, state and
federal) both in terms of service partnership and funding sources, corporate partners
(funding) and sponsors, volunteers and members, media groups, and youth. Internal
stakeholders include board members, RC service or program areas, employees and
“permanent” volunteers. A stakeholder map developed by the researcher is
represented by Figure 12.
Figure 12: Red Cross Stakeholder map
Partnering with Red Cross
RC actively seeks to partner with organisations, corporations, trusts and
foundations to increase fundraising opportunities. Publically RC describes these as
long-term, strategic and mutually beneficial relationships (www.redcross.org.au).
Describing approaches RC takes to partner with external groups is important
to this study as it gives insights into how the organisation identifies and prioritises
these relationships. There are two types of partnerships described by RC. The first is
a corporate relationship where RC offers a variety of ways for organisations to be
Chapter 4: Setting 119
involved including financial contributions, provision of pro bono professional
services, staff volunteering, information dissemination and fundraising activities. RC
offers four levels of corporate partnerships that govern how the partnership is
publicised by each partner. The levels are titled: humanity, community, loyalty, and
major sponsor. Figure 13 is an excerpt from the RC website in 2009 showing logos
of sponsors partnering with RC.
RC positions their approach in corporate partnering as one that does not
adopt “an „open-palm‟ philosophy” but rather one that focuses on involvement and
commitment, and one that does not compromise their fundamental principles
(Tickner, 2007b). RC has been successful in partnering with a number of large high-
profile Australian organisations and recognizes these organisations on their web site.
The second type of partnership is one that the CEO describes as having an
effect on increasing RC ‟s sphere of influence, potential capacity and effectiveness
(Tickner, 2008b). Delivering on this intent, RC has partnered with leading
psychological associations such as the Australian Psychological Society, mental
health organisations such as Beyond Blue, and civic institutions and authorities such
as the UN High Commissioner, to develop or raise awareness of issues and services
(Tickner, 2007b).
Figure 13: Logos of 2009 sponsors featured on the Red Cross website
Chapter 4: Setting 120
The Opinion Environment of Red Cross
RC features significantly in Australian print media coverage across a number
of areas. To gain a clearer understanding of the nature, tone and topics of reporting, a
content analysis of articles mentioning RC (excluding articles mentioning blood
collection points and local community fundraising efforts) was undertaken by the
researcher as shown in Figure 14. This graph illustrates reporting on RC by major
Australian news publications (Factiva) produced a total of 8996 articles in the period
1 Jan 2003 to 30 Dec 2009
The sampling included all Australian newspapers from 1 January 2003 to 31
December 2009 on media database Factiva. The results produced 8,996 articles
mentioning RC in this period. A thematic analysis of 210 articles selected from this
sample was undertaken to establish the key themes and opinions expressed in the
coverage. The major themes determined by their frequency in the reporting are
summarised as follows:
Transparency of donated funds/ governance – key claims were raised in the
media questioning the management of the Bali appeal funds that questioned
RC‟s management and distribution of these funds;
Reputation as a charity, blood, volunteer, fundraising and aid agency;
Competitors include World Vision, The Smith Family, Doctors without
Borders, Salvation Army and St Vincent de Paul;
International relief and disaster work;
Falling donations/ increasing demand with the Global Financial Crisis;
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
Figure 14: Australian media reporting on Red Cross 1 Jan 2003 to 30 Dec 2009
Chapter 4: Setting 121
Falling volunteers/ aging volunteers;
Resources – including need for information technology to manage donations
etc;
Corporate partners.
Topics and themes in media reporting are important to understand as they
reflect the current tone and nature of public opinions (Ferguson, 2000) that exist in
the social environment of RC. Two dominant public opinion themes were present to
exert pressure on RC; accountability and transparency. These themes are key
challenges in the opinion environment as they converge on RC to deliver services to
a diverse range of stakeholders affected by disasters. RC identify these as people,
governments, international community, public and private donors (Tickner, 2007).
Themes of accountability and transparency also played a key feature in a
reputational crisis event that affected RC in 2003. Narratives recounting past events
and legends play an important role in ethnography as they deepen researcher
understanding of how members make sense of events in their world (Cortazzi, 2007).
Within RC, an event singled out as being a “watershed” moment or catalyst of
transformational organisational change was the Bali crisis. While this crisis was an
historical event, for current RC members, this was a major event raised by
participants as being relevant to the current setting and an important part of RC
legends and stories. The following section summarises this event.
The Bali Incident
Following the 2001 Bali bombing, RC was the lead not-for-profit agency
responsible for collecting and distributing the $14 million funds raised in Australia.
Mr Richard Carlton, a reporter from the current affair television show 60 Minutes
(www.sixtyminutes.ninemsn.com.au), interviewed the then Secretary General of RC,
Ms Martine Letts, and made allegations of misuse or misappropriation of donations
for the Bali tragedy. On Sunday 1 June, 2003, a story called “Double Cross” was
aired on 60 Minutes. The story was promoted as follows:
In the days immediately after the Bali bombing, Australians, as you would
expect, opened their hearts and their wallets. They donated more than $14
million to the victims and their families. The world‟s most high profile
Chapter 4: Setting 122
charity, the Red Cross, offered to collect donations and promised the money
would go directly to the victims of the terror attack. But that's not what
happened. That‟s not where all your millions went. Instead, much of that
money has been channelled into other projects that have little to do with the
Bali victims. The good reputation of the Red Cross has been tarnished. And
they should have known better, because they've been caught out before.
(http://sixtyminutes.ninemsn.com.au/article/259042/double-cross)
This was considered a watershed for the organisation as for many staff that
were present at this time (or retelling the legend of this event) recount it was
shocking for RC as it was the first time in their history that their intentions or
motives were challenged. The media reporting and subsequent impact on RC‟s
reputation in Australia caused the resignation of the Secretary General and the
creation of a senior communication role, a national director of communication, in the
organisation and a focus on transparency of administrative cost reporting and
reporting of tied program funding.
Red Cross State Divisions
At the time of this study, the state divisions of RC operated as independent
organisations. Each state‟s executive management team had responsibility to
interpret national policy requirements and make local decisions to reflect the
requirements of that state. The state divisions of the society are; New South Wales,
Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia, Australian Capital Territory, Northern
Territory, Tasmania and Queensland. The EDs of each state operated with two
reporting lines. They reported directly to the CEO of RC on national functions and to
the divisional council or boards on other local matters. The next section will describe
the settings of the key study site, RCQ and the comparative site of RCSA.
Red Cross Queensland
The primary site of this organisational ethnography is RCQ. RCQ is a
regional division of RC and operates as an incorporated authority. It has a chair, an
executive management team, and a board, who have delegated authority for local
income generation, finance and administration, membership, volunteers and services
Chapter 4: Setting 123
across the state of Queensland. RCQ manages regional services through a regional
management structure, including far north Queensland, North Queensland, central
Queensland, and southern Queensland. Each region has a regional manager and they
report directly to the ED of RCQ.
Describing the physical office environment of RCQ contributes to building a
deep understanding of the working world of participants, specifically the physical
symbols and resources that help to facilitate their ways of working (Fine, et al.,
2009). This next section describes the location, internal office layout, management
and reporting in RCQ.
Figure 15: Red Cross Queensland headquarters in Park Road, Milton
The headquarters of RCQ is in Park Road, Milton; a popular inner-city fringe
business district located close to public transport and well serviced by a local cafe
precinct (see Figure 15). RCQ occupies level 1, 3 and an annex of a three level,
highly visible 2550m2 building with a lift and undercover parking for 57 cars. The
building has views of the Brisbane River from some offices. RCQ subleases office
space on the ground level and level 2 to professional businesses such as AECOM, a
provider of professional and technical support services, and an accounting software
firm. RC purchased the Park Road, Milton site for $6.8 million and moved in on 3
October 2005 after previously occupying a prime inner-city Adelaide Street location
for 58 years.
Chapter 4: Setting 124
In addition to the headquarters, RC operates its employment and training
services from 16 Hamilton Place, Bowen Hills (see Figure 16). The staff here are
dedicated to employment and training, a specialised division of RCQ‟s services.
RCQ‟s regional offices are located in Cairns, Townsville, Rockhampton, and the
Gold Coast. RCQ operates 48 retail stores across Queensland as shown in Table 7:
Table 7: RCQ‟s Retail Operations
Region Stores
Southern Beaudesert, Gatton, Ipswich, Toowoomba, Warwick.
Central Alderley, Fortitude Valley, Geebung, Kallangur, Logan
Central, Redcliffe, Runcorn, Sherwood, Sunnybank,
Surfers Paradise, Wynnum.
North Blackbutt, Caloundra, Capricorn Coast, Dalby,
Deception Bay, Gympie, Hervey Bay, Imbil,
Kilcoy, Kingaroy, Nerang, Pomona, Roma, Richmond,
St George, Toogoolawah, Yarraman.
Far North Atherton, Bowen, Bundaberg, Cairns,
Mackay, Marlin Coast, Raintree,
Rockhampton, Rockhampton Central,
Sunlands (Thuringowa Central),
Townsville, Treetops.
Figure 16: Employment and training services in Bowen Hills
Chapter 4: Setting 125
The internal office organisation of RCQ headquarters is open plan with
senior manager offices scattered around the windows of the building. The mid level
petitioning divides the space into individual computer cubicles. The colour scheme
reflects the corporate colours i.e. red colour coordinated chairs and coloured feature
walls with messages that reflect inspirational messages such as respect.
Each desk was furnished as expected with a computer, telephone, lockable
drawers, and a small bookshelf area for storage. Each computer was networked to
the intranet and Internet, e-mail and printing networks. Individual technology offered
for each employee could be considered inferior to contemporary organisations. For
example RCQ employees do not have individual hard drives and therefore cannot
access external files without going to a dedicated computer elsewhere on the floor.
There was one computer located in the marketing fundraising and communication
area in RCQ that has its own hard drive, allowing staff to read CDs and USB sticks.
Management
Governance and management in RCQ exists at three levels: The divisional
council, the executive management advisory committee, and the executive
management team. The state and territory divisional councils and board, along with
the EDs of each state and territory, jointly report to the CEO (Australian Red Cross,
2007b).
The divisional council of RCQ is led by a chair and a deputy chair, and has
12 elected members and co-opted members (6 females, 2 males elected/ 2m, 2f co-
opted). The council meets 10-12 times a year. Traditionally the RCQ council has
been responsible for the strategic alignment of RCQ activities with the national and
international effort. However with the increasing focus on nationalisation and
centralised management of strategy and programs for RC, divisional council powers
were in the process of being limited to an advisory role.
The executive management advisory committee includes the chair and deputy
chair of the divisional council, the ED (and his assistant) and all group managers and
directors. The advisory committee meets once a month and acts as a key
communication tool of operational issues between the divisional council and the
management team.
Chapter 4: Setting 126
The executive management team consists of the eight general and business
unit managers in RCQ, each responsible for a core area of service delivery. This
includes the ED and group managers of community services, business training and
employment services, regional and corporate services, Indigenous strategy and
programs, people and learning, and emergency services.
The background of the senior management team in RCQ varies as they have
a range of qualifications and experiences relevant to their roles. The ED of RCQ
joined RC in 2000, and had worked for 15 years in leadership roles in government
and the private sector. The ED maintains strong connections and relationships with
key political figures and business leaders and said he was highly skilled in
understanding and responding to the needs of the media having had significant
experience with key local Queensland media groups.
The group manager of business operations joined RCQ in 2006, coming from
senior consulting and project management roles in a number of large organisations.
The marketing, fundraising and communication unit fell under the responsibility of
business operations. The group manager of community services joined RCQ in 2005
from a senior local government role, also having worked as a policy adviser to a
previous Lord Mayor of Brisbane. This manager also had experience in business,
public relations and marketing and has worked in Brisbane, Melbourne and London.
The group manager - business, training and employment services joined RCQ three
years ago, from a policy development background in Canberra. The group manager -
regional and corporate services has been with RCQ since 2000, holds a Bachelor of
Business (Accounting) and is a Certified Practising Accountant and has corporate
experience in transport, retail, and manufacturing sectors. Head of Indigenous
strategy and programs joined RCQ in 2007 coming from similar leadership roles in
high profile Indigenous organisations. The director of emergency services joined
RCQ in 1989 and has an MBA. The people and learning manager joined RCQ in
March 2008, coming from a background of consulting to the not-for-profit sector and
generalist human resource management within the banking and hospitality sector,
and the recruitment industry.
The titles of RCQ senior managers were “group managers” with the
exception of the head of policy and research who is called “Director”. These titles
were not consistent with titles in national office or other states. The title of the ED
Chapter 4: Setting 127
was consistent with other state-based executives. The title of manager was found to
be consistent with the NCD, however team leader was more common in other states.
The structural organisation relating to program delivery was consistent with other
states, with the ED being the most senior authority in the state organisation.
Group managers are responsible for day-to-day operations of their business
units. Group managers meet as an executive team generally once a fortnight to
discuss issues relating to services, human resources, policy, and to gain feedback on
matters of concern. This meeting is led by the ED, who states the aim is to openly
discuss and give feedback. These meetings were not recorded formally with minutes,
but the executive assistant to the ED takes notes. Staff meetings are held every
Monday in the board room, where items of interest are discussed and staff are given
an opportunity to raise matters or, on occasions, share an achievement or some other
event that is happening in their private life. Figure 17 details the organisational
structure in RCQ:
Figure 17: Organisational chart of Red Cross Queensland
Staff, Retention and Volunteers
The staff profile of RCQ is predominately female and totals approximately
420 staff, or 319.31 full time equivalent positions in RCQ. The staff profile includes
Chapter 4: Setting 128
full time, part time and casual position. These are detailed as 147 female and 53 male
full time staff, 103 female and 91 male part time staff, and 44 female and 41 male
casual staff. Turnover of staff was noted in the ED‟s reports to Divisional Council
and ranged from 2.7 to 2.92% equating to approximately 14 staff leaving RCQ each
month (Goebel, 2008a, 2008b). There are nearly 3,900 active volunteers in RCQ
providing services in community services, emergency services, First Aid and retail
services.
Marketing, Fundraising and Communication
The MFC unit in RCQ is the focal setting of this study. The goal of this
section is to build on the knowledge of the parent organisation, RC, and its social
environment and provide a detailed description of the RCQ unit as a context for this
study. This section is structured in the following way. Firstly a description of the unit
structure is provided, detailing authority, position and reporting. Next, profiles of
MFC staff are outlined, giving insights into background influences, qualifications
and motivations for working at RC. Then, focusing on the marketing, public
relations and communication functions, there is a description of key responsibilities,
activities and processes. Ways of working and meetings in the unit are described,
followed by planning components of environmental scanning, planning and approval
processes and reporting of MFC activities.
The unit was the responsibility of the group manager of business operations
(responsible for MFC, first aid and retail operations). The manager of the MFC unit
Figure 18: Office layout MFC area Red Cross
Queensland
Chapter 4: Setting 129
directly reports to this position. MFC staff were located in the headquarters offices in
Milton with the exception of two planned giving coordinators located on the Gold
Coast. Ten staff occupied floor space and offices in the south-western corner of the
building. The ED‟s office was located in the north-eastern corner of the building.
MFC shared the floor with finance and corporate services. All MFC middle and
lower level staff had cubicle desks, while the group manager and the manager of
MFC had an office with half-glass partitioned walls and a lockable door (see Figure
18). The group manager‟s office was in close proximity to the MFC unit (see Figure
19).
The group manager of business operations was supported by a personal
assistant who also undertook various other roles within the office, but offered little
administrative support to the MFC manager unless directed by the group manager.
The administrative assistant (titled MFC assistant on organisational charts) acted as
the gatekeeper for information also undertaking marketing and communication
activities when required. The following organisational chart (Figure 20) illustrates
the reporting relationships:
Assistant Marketing
PR/ Com Jnr and **
PR/ Com Snr (** No allocated space until March 2008)
Corporate Relations Mgr
RCC coord
FR coord
Mgr Planned Giving *
MFC Mgr
Grp Mgr Bus Ops
Finance position
* Planned Giving coords x 2 off site in Gold Coast but under line management of Planned Giving Manager
National position
Figure 19: Seating plan on entry to Red Cross Queensland, Jan 2008
Chapter 4: Setting 130
RCQ MFC staff held varying levels of qualifications in marketing
communication and had varying levels of relevant experience prior to working with
RC. While the group manager of business operations had no formal qualifications,
their background and experience was significant due to their having held similar
senior roles and consulted to a number of large organisations. While all the middle
level managers within the unit held tertiary qualifications (with the exception of the
planned giving manager), not all qualifications were directly relevant. For example,
the senior marketing officer held a diploma of music and was formerly a lead
violinist in a youth orchestra. While formally undertaking a Masters of Management
degree this person had no qualifications in marketing or communications. There
were claims by this role that a number of marketing units were included in the
Masters course. The newly appointed fundraising coordinator had a degree from
Oxford University in music history, while the manager of corporate relations had an
arts degree in arts history and politics.
The manager of the MFC unit held a Masters in Public Relations and had
previously held senior consulting and middle level management roles in the
corporate, arts and not-for-profit sectors. The senior public relations and
Executive Director
QLD
Group Manager Business Operations
MFC Assistant
Manager MFC
Manager Planned Giving
RCC Coordinato
r
Coordinator Planned
Giving
Coordinator Planned
Giving
Corporate Relations Manager
Fundraising Coord
Snr M&C Officer
Snr PR & C officer
Pr &C officer
Figure 20: Organisational chart of the MFC unit - Red Cross Queensland
Chapter 4: Setting 131
communication officer held a Bachelor of Journalism and had relocated from
Canberra in November 2007 after working in another RC division for a year and
previously working in recruitment roles. The marketing communications officer held
a Bachelor of Arts in public relations, but was a recent graduate.
The fundraising staff did not hold relevant tertiary qualifications however had
demonstrated relevant working experience. The manager of planned giving had
previously held a senior role in hospital administration of a small regional hospital.
The responsibilities and activities of each member fell within their discipline silo
with some blurring of roles and responsibility between the senior marketing
communication and the senior public relations and communication officers.
Responsibilities
The MFC unit was described as providing expertise spanning the media,
marketing communication, advertising, corporate relationships, fundraising and
donor management, and all aspects of corporate communication. A key aspect was
stakeholder relationship management facilitating a liaison role with RC volunteers
and members, government agencies, corporate sponsors and programs for various
projects, events and campaigns.
Specifically the responsibilities of the unit were described as:
Media – generating publicity through researching, writing media releases,
creating media opportunities and responding to media enquiries for all
aspects of RC programs, fundraising and community events (MFC, 2008b);
Marketing communication / advertising – researching and writing / design
and produce (place) collateral and advertising relating to programs and
campaigns including corporate brochures, magazines, newsletters, direct
mail, advertising and other promotional materials;
Corporate communication – researching, writing and editing copy for
corporate materials including annual reports and year in reviews, contribute
to reporting to national board and divisional councils, managing content in
relevant parts of national website, volunteer and member newsletters, staff
communication.
While the unit‟s title reflected marketing, fundraising and communication,
the roles more accurately reflected marketing, fundraising and public relations. The
Chapter 4: Setting 132
manager of the MFC unit reported to the group manager of business operations and
was the central coordinating point for all tasks. The MFC manager had responsibility
for project prioritisation and delegation and sign off on project outputs by staff.
Formally, the responsibilities of the manager of the MFC unit were described in the
role‟s position description as actively contributing to, and value-adding to the
broader strategic planning process; taking a lead role in the design, development,
implementation and evaluation of an integrated strategic marketing and fundraising
plans; actively contributing to the design and planning of marketing and fundraising
strategies, programs (corporate sponsorship, bequests etc.), appeals and activities at
the national, state, regional, branch and local level; developing effective
organisational performance measurements in consultation with the group manager
business operations; monitoring and reporting on performance against organisational
goals; and finally taking a leadership role in the development of the MFC budget
(Australian Red Cross, 2006b).
Communication within and between the silo disciplines in the MFC unit was
done both formally and informally. Formally, regular staff meetings in the unit were
held to discuss workloads, issues and any information relayed from senior
management, including the group manager. While meetings were diarised to be held
every week, meetings were generally held every fortnight. Informally, staff would
discuss projects and workloads within the staff area. However it should be noted that
staff relations in the unit were strained. While the exact nature of these strained
relations was confidential, an external facilitator had been engaged in the period
prior to site entry to resolve the internal conflicts.
Work delegation in the unit was facilitated through the MFC manager. A
process had been implemented four months earlier by the MFC manager to curb the
volume and nature of ad hoc requests coming into the unit. The manager developed a
formal request brief system that requested program and service managers to detail
the nature, timing and budget allocation for the requested job. The form was then
submitted to the MFC manager for delegation and prioritisation. A description of the
roles and responsibilities of each discipline silo follows:
Chapter 4: Setting 133
Public Relations
Key responsibilities of the senior public relations officer role noted in the
position description (Australian Red Cross, 2007c) included: contributing to strategic
planning processes and the design; development and implementation of strategic
media communication; and public relations plans and strategies at a national, state,
regional, branch and local level. Accountability, evaluation, issues management and
contribution to performance and budgets were also listed as key areas of
responsibility. However in practice, media and the role of the media in the
organisation were clearly the highest priority as observed in the unit, with daily
actions attributed to publicity, events, and stakeholder relationships activities.
Key activities listed in the business plan for the role focused on media
outputs including relationships, processes and protocols, and identifying proactive
media opportunities including engaging with local celebrities; monitoring media
coverage; developing project plans; and working collaboratively with the RC Blood
Service.
Marketing
While the public relations role focused on media, in practice the marketing
role focused on the production of collateral. Key responsibilities of the senior
marketing and communication role noted in the incumbent‟s position description
(Australian Red Cross, 2006c) highlighted the strategic nature of the role.
Specifically this was described as contributing to the broader strategic planning
process, and to the design, development, implementation and evaluation of strategic
marketing, media and communication strategies, programs, activities and plans at all
levels of the organisation. This responsibility also included contributing to the design
and planning of business plans and budgets.
Key activities listed in the business plan for the marketing role (MFC, 2008a)
focused on developing and managing collateral including the development of a job
request system, maintenance of a marketing database and an events calendar,
production of materials to support program activities. For example, volunteer or
donor recruitment, development and contribution to corporate publications including
The Humanitarian and Year in Reviews, and a focus on youth targeted programming
including researching current levels of youth engagement, drafting of “test options”
Chapter 4: Setting 134
for marketing youth involvement and implementing youth campaigns, and
development of key messages for youth.
Fundraising
Fundraising staff worked across marketing and public relations area with a
focus on raising funds for the work of RC. Positions in the area included a
fundraising coordinator, a planned giving manager, a planned giving coordinator,
and manager of corporate relations. Key responsibilities for fundraising staff noted in
the various position descriptions ranged from responsibility for identifying and
developing planned giving initiatives and opportunities in RCQ, cultivating
relationships with prospective and current donors. The roles also included a focus on
identifying and securing corporate sponsorships, and to manage various donor or
fundraising activities such as Wills Days, art unions, direct mail, and regular giving.
The team were also responsible for liaising with national counterparts for national
fundraising campaigns such as Red Cross Calling and World Red Cross Day.
Strategic Communication and Planning
The focus of the study is on the influence of organisational culture on the
development of strategic communication. The MFC unit was a natural locus to
explore specialised communication activities to support strategic goals (Argenti, et
al., 2005) articulated through environmental scanning, research and communication
planning (Cutlip, et al., 2006; Ferguson, 1999; Steyn, 2003b, 2007).
MFC member efforts to understand their organisational environment was
undertaken in a number of ways. Environmental scanning was undertaken informally
in the MFC unit. This included staff reading and listening to daily news and
reviewing the daily media clipping services. A media report clipping service was
undertaken commercially by a national clipping service organisation (Media
Monitors) that provided clippings of all mentions of RC and issues identified as
important by the organisation that appeared in local and national media. The
monitoring was limited to a clipping service only and no trend analysis was
undertaken. At the senior executive level, environmental scanning was undertaken as
a personal function and there was no formal process to capture or document this
intelligence as a process or trending forecast to incorporate it into planning.
Chapter 4: Setting 135
There was no formal research undertaken by the unit relating to
communication activities. As previously noted, the NCD provided research data to
state divisions relating to specific areas such as donor activities and funds raised.
MFC members relied on information provided by program area to formulate
communication activities.
Two levels of planning occurred in RCQ MFC. The first aligned with the
broader business planning cycles of RC requiring communication functions to
respond to the corporate goals articulated as a series of actions. The second appeared
to be more ad hoc and less formalised responding to projects and communication
campaigns. For example, in some projects, the strategic communication activities
would simply be a one-page list of tactics, actions and milestones to be achieved. For
other projects, there would be an attempt to do more formalised planning, but in
most cases, these were not formally documented or implemented and did not appear
to incorporate or align with other functions (such as marketing or fundraising)
present in the unit.
According to the business plan (2007/2008), the MFC unit goal included
“actively managing the marketing, communications and media relations across the
full spectrum of RC activities to lift the impact of our fundraising, recruitment,
public profile, reputation and authenticity” (Australian Red Cross / PR Business plan
2007/2008). This goal was designed to align with Goal 3 of the RC strategic plan
which was: Over the next five years RC will forge a unified, inclusive and
sustainable movement, soundly managed and financially secure, which reflects our
country‟s diversity (Australian Red Cross, 2005). To achieve this, each discipline
identified a series of actions to be undertaken to achieve this goal. For example,
public relations and media articulated four actions and 23 tactics that included
relationship management, issues management, improved internal communication,
professional development, and proactive campaign planning. Marketing articulated
six actions and 25 tactics that focused on developing current and relevant collateral,
maintenance of contact records and distribution lists, and targeting specific
demographics (youth) for a focused marketing campaign, working with the blood
service, and maintaining or policing corporate signage and presence. Fundraising and
corporate development focused on building a diverse and sustainable financial base
articulating six actions and 44 tactics. These included identifying external funding
Chapter 4: Setting 136
opportunities, relationship building in key areas, ensuring fundraising activities have
high net returns, contributing to national fundraising efforts, and focusing on issue-
based events.
Approval processes
Approval processes for media and marketing communication collateral
requests were facilitated through request forms and approval sheets but there was a
lack of consistency in how these were used or applied as criteria to manage work
quality or workflow. The official approval process required all requests for media
releases, community service announcements, and media photo opportunities and
marketing collateral, such as brochures or posters, was to be given to the manager of
the MFC unit. A marketing request form was to be completed with as much
information as possible. If the job was accepted a job envelope was raised with the
marketing request form attached to the front of it – in effect creating a job bag.
However informal requests were created, typically generated by phone contact by
service areas, or via direct requests from the ED or group manager. The ED of RCQ
had given a directive that the MFC unit had no authority to refuse a program or
service. This meant that if a program had the funds to spend on a piece of collateral
such as a brochure, then MFC staff were not authorised to refuse the brochure as it
was considered the program responsibility to determine the need for the brochure.
MFC staff were permitted to counsel or advise (but not refuse) program staff if they
believed the collateral piece was not appropriate or required.
The policy of work approvals followed a hierarchical line of authority. For
example, media releases would be approved by the MFC manager who would
forward them to the group manager for approval, who would forward to the ED for
final approval. The NCD approval was not required for local issues. National media
personnel were advised of the release for information only. For approvals of
marketing and other types of collateral, a similar approval process was undertaken.
In practice however, work approvals did not always follow policy. After a media
release was drafted it was forwarded straight to the ED to make changes and taken
back to the communications officer to be distributed to the media. Regional or
service managers were advised of the release if their service area was involved.
Chapter 4: Setting 137
Identification and approval of events was undertaken by MFC staff in
collaboration with national or program areas. Approval for large events was
facilitated through the development of a business case for the event given to the
group manager and then to the ED. Smaller events such as Wills Days had
preapproved templates, and did not follow the same processes.
Reporting on MFC Activities
MFC activities were reported through the group manager to the RCQ
executive team meeting. MFC activities were also summarised in an outcome/
achievement form in a monthly report published by the ED to the QLD divisional
council. These reports focused on the activities or outputs of the unit rather than the
impacts or outcomes of the MFC activities. For example, the number of media
releases issued, the percentage of success reflected how many of the media releases
were picked up by the media. The percentage of “hits” reflected the publication of
the release, and number of interviews reflected a RCQ spokesperson being quoted.
This is illustrated in the following excerpt from the April 2008 report (Goebel,
2008a) (Table 8).
Table 8: Example of output reporting for media releases in March and April 2008
Press Releases 2008 March April
Releases Issued 20 12
% success 55% 92%
Hits - 57
Interviews 11 16
RCQ also noted that it was coming second in the number of hits for Red
Cross Calling (in comparison to other states). Reporting for marketing activities in
this forum included output figures, listing for example, how many publications were
produced.
The RCQ MFC manager participated once a month in a national MFC team
teleconference where activities and achievements were verbally reported from each
state and territory. The purpose of the teleconferences was information sharing
between states rather than reporting and evaluation of communication activities.
Chapter 4: Setting 138
Comparison with other states in terms of impact of marketing and communication
efforts was reported in fundraising dollars.
Summary
This section concludes the description of the setting and context of the study
in RCQ. The next section will introduce the comparative site of RCSA, a comparable
site in both size and role to RCQ. This setting is important to the study as it provides
comparable insights to inform the setting of RCQ.
Chapter 4: Setting 139
Red Cross South Australia
RCSA headquarters is located in Wakefield Street, Adelaide, a fringe central
business district on a major road, well serviced by public transport (see Figure 21).
The two-level building is similar in external design and appearance to the RCQ
building. RCSA moved to this site in September 2003 from a North Adelaide
location to improve accessibility, visibility and to reduce maintenance and
overheads.
Like RCQ, office space is designed so senior member offices are located
around the windows of the open plan building, while middle to lower level staff
occupied petitioned office cubicles internally. Each cubicle was furnished with an
operational computer, phone and office equipment. Also like RCQ, the standards of
technology were commensurate with a not-for-profit setting. There are also a number
of meeting rooms throughout the building as common spaces for staff to book for
meetings.
Management
Similar to RCQ, RCSA is managed by a senior management team, consisting
of an ED and four group or senior managers who are responsible for services,
corporate and business development, finance administration, and people and
learning. The management team comes to RC from a variety of backgrounds,
Figure 21: Red Cross South Australia Headquarters in Wakefield St, Adelaide
Chapter 4: Setting 140
qualifications and experience. The length of time with RC also varies from recently
employed to having 15 years‟ experience. There is also an equal mix of genders on
the management team.
The ED has held the role since April 2004 and has qualifications in social
work with a strong background in human and community service, welfare and
disability background. The general manager of services has also been with RC in
2004 and has a background in psychology, following positions held in State
Government with Disability Services. The ED also has tertiary qualifications in
psychology. The general manager corporate and business development has no formal
qualifications but has been with RC for more than five years and has previously held
management roles in other not-for-profit organisations. The senior manager, finance
and administration is a chartered accountant and joined RC in 2006 after spending
over 20 years in the financial services industry including several years as financial
controller for the Australian branch of an American bank. The manager of people
and learning joined RC in early 2008 and has a Diploma of Education. Previous roles
prior to joining RC included human resource management positions in government
departments and a research institute.
The RCSA Board at the time of the study period had 11 members and,
similar to RCQ, was led by a chair and a deputy chair. The Board also featured four
high-profile patrons. Backgrounds of the Board members includes business, health,
education and finance.
Structures and reporting responsibilities were similar to RCQ. Each general
manager (known as group managers in RCQ) was responsible for a portfolio of
services and reported directly to the ED. General managers were responsible for day-
to-day operations of their business units. Like RCQ, general managers in South
Australia met as an executive team generally once a fortnight to discuss issues
relating to services, human resources, policy, and to gain feedback on matters of
concern. Unlike RCQ, executives shared the chairing role. Staff meetings were held
regularly however were not as frequent as in RCQ.
Chapter 4: Setting 141
Staff, retention and volunteers
RCSA has approximately 173 staff and 4102 volunteers and members. RCSA
manages services centrally with regional areas operating as hubs. This includes Eyre
Peninsula, northern, South East, North and far West, each having managers with
geographically located offices. RCSA also operates 19 retail family stores selling
second hand goods, homewares and fashion and two super safety stores that sell and
hire infant restraints. Staff turnover figures were not acquired for RCSA, however
staff reported a sense of similar levels of turnover as experienced in other states.
Marketing, Fundraising and Communication
The MFC function in RCSA was managed by the general manager of
business and corporate development. There were 25 staff in the unit (see Figure 22
for an organisational chart) and while this appeared to be a much larger unit than
RCQ, the unit incorporated the retail and the first aid, health and safety (FHS)
functions not incorporated in the RCQ MFC unit structure. There were 15 staff
undertaking roles similar to the RCQ site and comparable in number of staff. This
included responsibility for marketing, media and publicity, advertising (local
programs and HR recruitment), retail, events, corporate partnerships and fund-raising
activities, membership and branch coordination, first aid and safety training courses.
The structure of this unit varied slightly to RCQ in that this unit also had
responsibility for branch and member communication with a dedicated, titled
position. While the MFC unit was also structured in silos, the structure was based on
area of responsibility rather than discipline.
Chapter 4: Setting 142
Figure 22: Organisational chart of Red Cross South Australia’s MFC unit
Unlike RCQ, the marketing and communication function was combined,
having two staff responsible for all media including editorials in publications and the
generation of media releases and publicity, advertising, marketing communication
and collateral. The team leader of the marketing and communication function had
held the position for several years. His background included strong journalistic and
management skills, having previously supervised staff in two radio newsrooms in
Canada, later serving as Director of Communications and Creative Services for a
Canadian provincial government. The junior team member had completed tertiary
qualifications in communication but had limited working experience.
The community and corporate relations manager joined RCSA in March
2008 only weeks prior to the researcher entering the site. Prior to this role this
manager held a senior corporate account management and development roles in a
Chapter 4: Setting 143
large multinational organisation. The community and corporate relations manager
was a newly created position in the team responsible for managing all fundraising
activities. The position was also responsible for liaising with the national corporate
relations manager.
When the general manager of business and corporate development went on
leave, the manager of FHS acted in this role. However there was no clear delegated
seniority shown on the organisational chart for this role. The other team leader or
manager roles (e.g.: team leader of marketing and communication, team leader of
fundraising, community and corporate relationship manager, and manager of FHS)
were all mapped on the chart as senior roles in the unit and reporting to the general
manager. This was unique to South Australia as there was a mediation role of the
manager of MFC in RCQ with a corporate relations function operating as a separate
function with no direct reports.
Responsibilities
Similar to RCQ, the MFC unit in RCSA was described as providing expertise
spanning the media, marketing communication, advertising, and for corporate
relationships within the fundraising area. No documentation was found that outlined
the key responsibilities of the unit. Unlike RCQ, the structure of the unit was focused
more on fundraising than on marketing and public relations (communication)
activities. One more senior staff member (team leader) was responsible for
outputting all communication materials (marketing and public relations) and one
junior staff member was responsible for technician based advertising roles.
Work allocation in the marketing and communication unit was generally
managed reactively. Work requests often would come via the general manager, the
ED or program area manager, requesting media publicity, a need for a brochure,
advertising for volunteers or marketing communication collateral. The team leader
would document the request, the deadline, and the resources needed to complete the
task. The team leader was responsible for prioritising workloads for marketing and
communication.
Chapter 4: Setting 144
Marketing and public relations
Unlike RCQ key responsibilities of the team leader were not documented in a
formal position description. Verbally, the role reported contributing to strategic
planning processes and the design, development and implementation of strategic
media and communication at a national, state and local level. Key activities for the
role focused on media outputs including identifying proactive media opportunities
including monitoring media coverage, developing project plans, and working
collaboratively with program areas.
This role was also responsible for the production of collateral and advertising
materials (see Figure 23). Key activities included development and contribution to
corporate publications including The Humanitarian and Year in Reviews and
volunteer or recruitment advertising.
Fundraising
Fundraising staff were focused on events. With the recent addition of a
corporate relations manager, the focus of the unit was shifting to more corporate
development activities. Key responsibilities included a focus on identifying and
securing corporate sponsorships, and to manage various donor or fundraising events
such as “Boys Day Out” and other branch-based activities. The team were also
responsible for liaising with national counterparts for national fundraising campaigns
such as Red Cross Calling and World Red Cross Day.
Figure 23: Collateral produced by MFC unit in Red Cross
South Australia
Chapter 4: Setting 145
Strategic Communication and Planning
Similar to RCQ, middle level management and team leader positions had the
opportunity to provide strategic input into communication decision making. The
team leader of marketing and communication and the manager of business and
corporate development had responsibility for the development and contribution of
strategic communication plans and actions in addition often providing South
Australian detail, information and perspectives to complement National Office
programs, plans and projects. Environmental scanning was undertaken informally by
the team leader reading and listening to daily news and reviewing the daily media
clipping services. The monitoring was limited to a clipping service that was often
distributed to other senior managers. A monthly marketing and communications
report was prepared for the general manager by the team leader marketing and
communications. This covered major activities, milestones, number of media
“mentions”, brand reach and frequency by particular media. A précis of this
marketing and communications report was included in the reports prepared for the
Board issued via the RCSA ED. No detailed longer-term trend analysis was
undertaken or interpretation of public opinion. At the senior management level,
environmental scanning was undertaken as a personal function and there was no
formal process to capture or document this intelligence as a process or trending
forecast.
Planning for communication in RCSA followed two streams. The first stream
responded to state-based needs using an event calendar. This planning was
undertaken by the team leader of marketing and communication who would use an
events calendar template to capture yearly milestones and opportunities in media and
marketing. Input for this calendar was solicited from the senior management team,
services program managers and line staff. The content of this tool was also then
coordinated with head office for national input and the marketing and
communications activities of the other states.
Other communication planning in RCSA was done at a program level on a
“needs” basis. Depending on the nature, complexity and goals of the project,
separate briefs, plans or key messages would be prepared and executed as required.
One example of this was for a local retail shop opening. A media plan would be
developed and implemented to generate media and publicity to support the opening.
Chapter 4: Setting 146
The second stream of planning responded to the NCD needs. Planning for
major national programs such as Red Cross Calling was coordinated by the NCD
with committee membership, input and support from the states for the required
media, fundraising and corporate communications activities.
Approval processes
Approvals on marketing and communication activities were facilitated
through the general manager of the unit, and the ED depending on the nature of the
activity. Media releases were taken by the team leader for approval by the ED (after
GM and services management review) and/or to National Office depending on their
nature or content.
The standard policy for all information materials was approval and signoff by
the ED of RCSA. Compared to RCQ, the middle levels of management (group
manager and MFC manager) either passed this step of approval or a similar position
did not exist in RCSA. Similar to RCQ, the RCSA ED had responsibility to inform
the local RCSA board members about public information activities.
Reporting on MFC activities
Similar to RCQ, reporting on MFC activities in RCSA was done both
formally and informally. Formally, activities were reported to board and national
levels via reporting. Informally, activities were reported verbally at the general staff
level, middle management level, and executive level in RCSA.
Summary
The state divisions of RCQ and RCSA were similar in overall structure,
reporting, and provision of services. Both organisations were subject to the same
policy and regulatory environments imposed both by RC and the external
environment. Differences were found in approvals and reporting, delegated
authorities of MFC staff, MFC activities and staff roles in the MFC unit, with RCQ
having more MFC staff but more levels of approval to negotiate.
RCQ and RCSA were similar in their approaches to planning with both
following a more reactive, adhoc approach to prioritising communication activities.
Chapter 4: Setting 147
A key difference was the focus of activities between the two settings. While both
organisations had a similar number of staff dedicated to MFC activities, RCQ was
more focused on marketing and public relations, particular regional and metropolitan
news media in Queensland. RCSA was more focused on fundraising event activities
and also producing news stories for internal and external RC publications
coordinated by NCD.
RCSA MFC unit was more autonomous in developing strategic
communication actions, while in RCQ, the locus of this activity found in the
executive member level with MFC staff playing a technician role. RCQ staff were
also required more tightly controlled in terms of approval systems, and were required
to follow several steps for approvals of materials produced. RCSA staff were
required to only follow one step. RCQ also had more staff dedicated to marketing
and public relations activities, while RCSA had more fundraising staff. The retail
management and first aid health and safety areas were also more visible in RCSA as
part of the unit which was not present in RCQ.
While both organisations did not demonstrate a planning approach to
activities, both had developed ways to identify future events. For example, RCSA
used a calendar as a way to map future events for planning. The calendar relied on
members completing the calendar both at a local and national level, however this
was not always completed. RCQ had formal business plans that identified a higher
level of planning, however, the translation to strategies and tactics was not
undertaken.
This chapter has detailed the research setting of RCQ, focusing on the
marketing, fundraising and communication unit as the locus for the development of
strategic communication in the organisation. This chapter also detailed the social
ecology of the setting, by describing the relationships within the organisations and
the relevant structure, policy and framework of RC. The comparative sites of RCSA
and the NCD were detailed to establish the context for Chapter 5 – the ethnography
exploring systems of shared knowledge expressed as organisational culture.
Chapter 5: Ethnography 148
Chapter 5
Ethnography
Chapter 5 details the ethnography of RCQ. Presented as narrative detailing
emergent themes over three studies (settings of RCQ, the NCD, and RCSA), the
ethnographic account seeks to discover and understand meanings and perceptions of
people in their social world (Crotty, 1998). Given this imperative, the aim of this
ethnography is to describe and understand the focal organisation, RCQ MFC and
executive staff perceptions, in their role as developers of strategic communication
and their views of their organisation and environment in their natural setting. The
focus is on members in RCQ MFC unit as the natural locus of communication
activity. The discussion progressively contextualises these activities, first within the
boundaries of RCQ, and then extends to the NCD . The ethnography then moves to
the divisional setting of RCSA to enrich understanding of member views in RCQ
and provide a comparative base to establish the value and beliefs systems operating
in RCQ (see Figure 24 for chapter organisation). This follows Vayda‟s (1983) and
Marcus‟s (1995) call for ethnographers identified in Chapter 3, that is not to be
constrained by predetermined boundaries but to focus on activities and trace the
causes and effects as they engage in the situation confronting them. Chapter 4
presented the setting of RCQ, the NCD as the national regulators and policy setting
authority for the national organisation and detailed the comparative setting of the
divisional state office of RCSA.
Stewart (1998) highlights the role of the researcher as the instrument in
ethnographic enquiry. This chapter therefore commences with my perspective as the
researcher and a disclosure of my consciousness of influences, assumptions, and
fears in my journey of discovery in writing the ethnographic account. Fetterman
(1998) argues that a researcher‟s effort to view another‟s culture impartially can be
enhanced by acknowledging personal beliefs and biases. The ethnographic account is
then introduced at the first stage of analysis by describing the setting of the MFC
unit in RCQ. The interactions of the MFC group with the executive team is described
to provide a more detailed context of the setting, work, and people. I then provide the
emergent knowledge structures representing shared views of their world as they
Chapter 5: Ethnography 149
contribute to their understanding (Sackmann, 1991) as it influences the development
of strategic communication.
Next, to progressively contextualise the knowledge structures of RCQ
participants, the second stage of analysis is undertaken by exploring the views of
staff in the NCD within these structures. The chapter concludes with the third stage
of analysis, within the setting of RCSA as a comparative perspective to deepen
understanding of the primary site. Vayda (1983) suggests ethnographers explore “the
contexts in which apparently similar interactions take place elsewhere” (p. 273) to
Figure 24: Organisation of Chapter 5
Chapter 5: Ethnography 150
develop deeper understanding of the interactions and concerns into context. Figure
25 represents this contextualisation of the setting of RCQ.
Figure 25: Progressive contextualisation of Red Cross Queensland: Stage 1 of analysis
Researcher Perspective
My role as researcher in RC was as a known investigator (Lofland et al.,
2006). I was visible and interactive, but not participatory. I came equipped with
connections (knowing key people in the organisation), accounts (being able to
articulate in one sentence about what and why I was researching), knowledge (being
able to position myself as a non participatory observer) and courtesy. Having spent
many years in industry, I was respectful of members‟ time and participation
(Lofland, et al., 2006). However, Fine and Shulman (2009) argue organisational
ethnographers can benefit from greater self awareness and recognise that their work
reflects a series of choices they make about how they go about their work. This claim
is further supported by Hatch (1996)who suggests ethnographers reflect on their
purpose and practice, as the ethnography really represents a researcher‟s own
cultural biases. This reflexivity “implies that the orientations of researchers will be
shaped by their socio-historical locations, including the values and interests that
these locations confer upon them (Hammersley & Atkinson, 1995, p. 16). While
Chapter 5: Ethnography 151
ontologically, I believed reality is socially constructed, epistemologically I came
with a constructionist, interpretivist view in which the researcher and the social
world influence each other (Ritchie & Lewis, 2003). In this case, while objectivism
or “attaining the objective truth and meaning” (Crotty, 1998, p. 6) was my aim, I
understood that reality was subjective, or existed within the consciousness and
experience of the members of RC. As Rabinow (1977) states:
...the anthropologist and his informants live in a culturally mediated
world, caught up in “webs of signification” (citing Jameson, 1972) they
themselves have spun. This is the ground of anthropology; there is no
privileged position, no absolute perspective, and no valid way to eliminate
consciousness from our activities or those of others. (p. 151)
In this section I detail explicitly my consciousness, or as Stewart (1998)
suggests, I describe and explore the cultural biases that live within the focal research
instrument – me. It is organised according to the following time periods (see Table
9):
Table 9: Time periods
Period Date
Early days
Jan 08- June 08
Middle days June 08- Dec 08
Closing days Jan 09- June 09
Checking and confirming June 09-Dec 09
Early days
I entered RC with assumptions of which I was aware but had not specifically
documented nor clarified. I assumed that RC would have a level of sophistication in
their communication management given their size, age and history, and global status.
I also assumed that I could keep focused on my key research questions, gathering
data to inform my understanding of how cultural selection operates. Both of these
assumptions were not met. While the selection of my setting met the sampling
criteria needed to respond to my research questions, it was not until I entered the
Chapter 5: Ethnography 152
organisation that I found I had made these assumptions based on the tangible
symbols and outputs of their communication effort. I had assumed that there would
be a structure to the processes, there would be a number of documents representing
the planning process, and that there would be a visible and planned effort in
response. What I found was quite different (which is often the purpose of doing
research), and the finding challenged me on entry as I felt, initially, that I was not
gaining access to the right people. However, after some time I realised that this
structured or “proper” process actually did not exist as I anticipated it would, and I
would have to look to alternative ways in which the organisations approached their
strategic communication activities.
While issues relating to entry were not of any note, challenges surrounding
issues of reciprocity and personal ethics arose. As Fine and Shulman (2009)suggest,
I needed to be precise, observant and passive. However my training as a
communication consultant with 15 years‟ experience challenged this frame as I was
used to solving problems quickly. The critical requirement of not trying to solve a
problem meant I exercised enormous restraint. I likened it to a similar effort of
offering a cigarette to a person trying to quit smoking. I constantly needed to remind
myself not to say anything and to ask questions about why they were taking an
action that, in my experience, I would not have taken. I found at times that I was
challenged to be a “problem solver” versus a “neutral observer”. Over the time in the
field, my instinct to “fix things” lessened and my instinct to question became innate
(which was a relief, for both me and my supervisor).
Finally, as warned by Lofland et al., (2006), I suffered from information
overload in the early days and felt frustrated that there was not an observable
proactive effort or outcome evidenced by documents relating to communication
strategy. I also experienced the dilemma of wanting to capture everything and not
having enough knowledge to determine which event would deliver the richest data.
To resolve this, I selected the scenes and events based on criteria from my
experience. For example, if there was a strategic planning meeting suggesting an
explicit voicing of concerns and solutions versus sitting with the MFC team and
watching them work on their computers, then I chose the meeting because this was
the place where group level discussion would take place – but not really knowing if I
Chapter 5: Ethnography 153
missed something vital in the MFC area. However, I felt comfortable that members
in RCQ had accepted me on face value.
Middle days
The middle stage I describe as a period of time I felt “at ease” in the
organisation. Hammersley and Atkinson (1995) warn about feeling “at home”, as
this encourages a “too cosy a mental attitude” that affords a researcher to lose their
analytical perspective (p. 115). I was certainly “part of the furniture”, staff did not
look at me as if I was a stranger, and often I felt people spoke to me as if I was just
one of their colleagues and confidants. This identification with the organisation and
the members (Lofland et al., 2006) also produced feelings of sympathy, as I held
privileged knowledge of different levels of discourse about the unit, decisions,
personnel and views.
I still had a powerful instinct to help the organisation and step out of my
observation role to “fix” things. I also had an increasing awareness of my sense of
loathing and frustration with many aspects of the organisation, requiring at one point
that I take a leave of absence so I could overcome these and get back to a neutral
observational role. With one staff member in particular, I experienced significant
disdain, a phenomenon not uncommon in fieldwork (Lofland et al., 2006). I reflected
on why I disliked this person and concluded that I thought this person was a bit of a
“player” – I actually called this person a “snake” in my field notes. In my view, this
person was very good at talking “the talk” – using jargon – but did not deliver. I
observed inconsistencies in their professional approach to their work and how they
easily allocated blame to others for inaction or non delivery. I was frustrated because
senior management thought this person was highly capable. However I worked very
hard to ensure that my feelings were not detected by any staff member. This time
also coincided with my trip to South Australia to study the setting there, followed by
interviews in Sydney and Melbourne, allowing valuable down time from the
intensity of the RCQ setting and allowing for the comparative insights from both
RCSA and the NCD to take shape.
In all settings, staff were generally very likable and required little effort to
establish relationships. I incorporated many of the relationship maintenance
strategies that Lofland et al. (2006) identify including establishing a non-threatening
Chapter 5: Ethnography 154
demeanour. I anticipated that many staff would experience discomfort because I was
a PhD researcher and had worked in strategic communication roles in a number of
large organisations. It was not appropriate that I present myself as strategic or
selectively incompetent (see Lofland et al., 2006, p. 68) as this would not fit with my
background nor was necessary given the purpose of the research.
Legitimacy or credibility of perceived role is critical in organisational
ethnographies (Hammersley & Atkinson, 1995). I perceived members in RCQ saw
me as a valuable resource, while members in RCSA saw me simply as a university
student with some research to do. NCD staff viewed me as someone who had been
given permission to interview them and spend some time in their office. These three
interpreted perspectives really reflect the role and time spent in the organisations,
and it did not impact on my ability to move or have access to information.
I adopted exchange strategies as a way to maintain the trust and value of my
presence in their world (Lofland et al., 2006). Given the lack of resources available
to staff, I provided books and resources in the form of providing current or relevant
research articles for them to draw on. I also offered future training, once my PhD
was finished. Later this proved to be a futile offer as the organisational restructure
effected in July 2009 to nationalise the MFC function relocated most communication
roles to other states in Australia.
One core yet not unexpected concern was about confidentiality. A number of
members asked who was going to have access to my notes and interviews, and
viewed me cautiously. In my responses to these questions, I reaffirmed that only I
(and my supervisor) would have access to the notes and any records I collected
would not be identifiable. RC would not have access to my data and I would only
give them a summary report of my findings. This seemed to satisfy all members,
assisted by the fact that the Group Manager of Policy and Research was also doing a
PhD at my institution, and that the parents of another manager were both academics.
A variation on this occurred in RCSA, where one of the staff there asked “Do you
think Red Cross really knows what you are going to do with the data in terms of
publishing?” (Member MFC, SA). This question came out of this member‟s
knowledge of the academic profession, as their partner is an accomplished scholar. I
also didn‟t expect that quite so many staff in the organisation would have left by the
time I exited the setting. Had I asked the staff turnover rate in RCQ MFC before I
Chapter 5: Ethnography 155
started, I would have discovered that the average time in the unit was a year (with
two exceptions). However I knew where many of the staff had gone, so this allowed
me to gain valuable member checks of my interpretations.
As a researcher, I had not really reflected on the moral dilemma of “what if”
what I needed to report was not complimentary (Fine & Shulman, 2009). These
concerns crystallised more as a challenge as I spent more time in the organisation.
Closing days – exiting the setting
As I became more familiar with the setting, and experiencing little in the way
of “new” discoveries, I had an increasing awareness and anxiety about presenting my
ethnographic account. Researchers are warned to avoid addressing partial truths and
self deceptions of the account in the struggle to be respectful to the organisation and
to protect formed relationships (Fine & Shulman, 2009; Lofland, et al., 2006). Fine‟s
ten lies of ethnography (1993, cited in Fine & Shulman, 2009) highlight these
challenges. The struggle was indeed about providing an honest account, but being
respectful to the organisation whose members showed enormous generosity both in
letting me into part of their world and the organisation whose mandate is to help
vulnerable people. While I had fully disclosed my research purpose and intent to
gain access, I questioned if what I was writing would be harmful to the organisation.
Fine and Shulman (2009) warn of the ethical and practical dilemmas involved with
conducting an organisational ethnography, highlighting the challenges and
opportunities for deception in disclosure and reporting. My approach was to write a
truthful account and then reread, being alert to any information that could be
harmful. Two choices were available at this time. The first would be to embargo the
thesis; the second would be to remove those parts that I, and my supervisors,
considered harmful. As I concluded the account, I reviewed it in the light of it having
the potential to cause harm. I excluded parts of four narratives as a result of this
review. These did not weaken the account, but did lessen the intensity. However this
was a compromise I needed to make.
Checking and confirming
Checking and confirming were undertaken formally and informally in three
ways. The first was seeking confirmation through discussion. For example, two of
Chapter 5: Ethnography 156
the RCQ executives attended a function where I broadly identified some of the key
concepts found in the early stages of analysis. The second was through re-entering
the organisation on a number of occasions during write up and discussing some of
the core concepts with key informants. A key obstacle to this approach was that
many of the members of the organisation had left the organisation. So the final
approach was through the maintaining contact with some of the participants who had
formally left the organisation. I informally presented an abridged version of the first
stage of analysis for reflection. I also emailed the setting description to two key
informants, one from RCQ and one from RCSA, for accuracy checking.
My experience during this process echoes warnings made by Lofland et al.
(2006). That is, for some members the initial reaction was, “well, no, that is not my
experience”. When this was the case, I clarified the concept, cited some examples
and my interpretation. In all but one case, the member agreed that my interpretation
was actually accurate or stated, “yes, I can see why you see that” and it was more a
realisation of insight rather than a statement of something new. As Hammersley
(1990) suggests “we have no access to an independent reality: all we have are
interpretations, and the ethnographer‟s account is just as much an interpretation as
are those of the people that he or she is studying” (p. 14). And this is the case here.
What follows is my interpretation presented as an ethnography of RCQ MFC unit in
an effort to understand their views of what they see, do and how they work in their
effort to contribute to strategic communication.
Establishing trust and gaining entry
Stewart (1998) and Ybema et al. (2009) emphasise the importance of
relational ties between the researcher and people in the setting and how the nature of
these relationships contribute to the ethnographic account. Relationships were central
to the knowledge-creation process in this study (Hammersley & Atkinson, 1995).
From the very beginning, access was gained to the setting through a personal
relationship.
My relationship with the MFC manager in RCQ began several years earlier
in 2003 when I was working as a consultant to an organisation she worked for. Over
the next few years I remained in contact with her as she moved to different
organisations and continued to have a professional consultant based relationship. The
Chapter 5: Ethnography 157
first meeting was on 25 January 2007 and was attended by both the MFC manager
and the senior manager for research and policy. The senior manager was also a PhD
student at the same institution as me and we quickly established commonalities in
both approach and methodology.
The senior manager noted one of her key performance indicators was to
enhance links with local universities for research so this helped facilitate the
approval processes within the organisation for access. Subsequent meetings included
presenting to the ED of RCQ, followed by a meeting with the director of the NCD in
Sydney. While the ED of RCQ was supportive of my study, I was advised that I
needed to individually approach the other state‟s EDs to gain access.
Hammersley and Atkinson (1995) suggest a key challenge for researchers is
in managing the expectations of people and their varying levels of knowledge of
research methodology. Given the supportive response to my study received from the
ED of RCQ and the director of NCD, I was surprised when it was reported back to
me that the ED of Tasmania, who was PhD qualified, made a derogatory comment at
a national management team meeting and declared that my methodology was
inappropriate and not suitable. I had previously sent a letter outlining my request
accompanied by two page project brief, written in non-technical language, with very
little information about the epistemology and methodology. Either by coincidence or
influence, RCSA was the only other state apart from RCQ that granted access, with
the NCD granting interviews of only key staff. This follows what Lofland et al.
(2006) suggest in that purposeful sampling in qualitative studies is common,
however Schwartz-Shea and Yanow (2009) warn that choice of setting is often
constrained by availability of access to the site.
Red Cross Queensland
The following ethnographic account is presented to reflect the themes as
encountered as the account moves from the focal setting of the MFC unit to the
executive level in RCQ.
The first part of the ethnography details the physical entry to RCQ and then
moves to the MFC unit to describe the participant‟s world and their approaches to
working in RCQ uncovering themes of business, authority, work allocation and
feeling overworked. This includes member perceptions of MFC work in RCQ, and
Chapter 5: Ethnography 158
motivations for working at RC. The account then moves to member views of RC as a
brand, and explores accepted ways of working at RCQ. The account then describes
member perceptions of environment before moving to themes related to strategic
communication. These sections conclude with the presentation of the knowledge
structures and core schema‟s operating in RCQ.
Encounter with the setting
I stepped into RCQ officially as a PhD researcher on 8 January 2008
following the traditional Christmas and New Year holiday break. I entered the
building via the Park Road entrance, an area well known for its coffee shops and
restaurants. The building was contemporary but tired-looking. To enter the building
referred to as Humanity Place, a visitor would need to go up several flights of stairs
to reach the reception of RCQ – passing by glass doors of other businesses on the
ground level in the same building. The tiled stairs were chipped but clean. There was
a lift, but it was only accessible from the security car park on the lower ground
(parking) floor.
The reception area overlooked Park Road. Three people were waiting while
the receptionist was trying to manage a wave of calls beeping on the switchboard.
She ignored people in the reception and gave priority to the calls (I concluded this
was an accepted practice after being in the organisation for some time). After asking
for my appointment, I was signed in with an official visitor‟s pass. In a week, this
would be replaced with an official security tag with a photograph and title of QUT
researcher. A swipe card was needed to be able to move through the three security
doors on the floor.
The open plan office setting did not appear to be fully staffed as there were a
number of computer cubicles with spare seats. At this point, the office appeared to be
quiet – with little chatter or “noise” from people talking. The cubicles were well lit,
modern in design in terms of colours and style, but overall the office spaces appeared
cluttered and messy. While some were tidy, there appeared to be little policing of
boxes and general office mess, and this was particularly a feature in the MFC unit.
I was met in reception and made to feel very welcome by the senior manager
I had met previously in the coffee shop. There was almost an atmosphere of
Chapter 5: Ethnography 159
excitement generated. This person was to become one of two key informants in my
study, reinforced by her comment “let me know what you need”. Fetterman (2010)
argues selecting an intermediary is valuable, but cautions researchers to establish
independence in the field. While my relationship with my key informant proved to
be a valuable resource during the time spent in the organisation, I was mindful of the
need to establish myself as a trusted and independent researcher seeking knowledge
for my PhD and not for any organisational mandate. As I later learned, the
organisation was undergoing a number of reviews to inform organisational change,
so the need to be seen as independent from these reviews, and trusted, remained an
important concern for me.
My key informant sat across the desk from me in her office and commenced
her briefing on life in RCQ. This included an overview detailing the structure,
history and the way things generally worked. Some time was spent to identify roles,
positions and personalities. She actively tried to anticipate my future needs as a PhD
researcher by suggesting that I obtain copies of various documents and meet with
various people. Her detailed discussion with me was held in her office with a closed
door. She kept getting up and opening and then later closing the door during certain
points in our conversation. She said it was just “in case she said anything politically
incorrect”, although the information she was disclosing appeared quite pedestrian
and I wondered what part of it would be considered sensitive.
Door closing and sensitivity about voicing a view that may not be the
dominant view later emerged as something that was done frequently in this office. I
initially believed the trust of disclosure of sensitive information (her view) early in
our relationship was because she was also doing a PhD in another area at the same
institution so we shared common knowledge of key university personnel and
departments. Her knowledge of what a PhD entailed was helpful as she conveyed
this knowledge as both trust in the process and my institution to other members
across the organisation.
Her role as a senior manager in the RCQ office incorporated responsibility
for advising the executive team on policy, undertaking research, and most
importantly, led the grant application process for the organisation. RCQ was
considered successful in its grant application efforts, and later I found that this model
was going to be replicated at a national level.
Chapter 5: Ethnography 160
My key informant was a respected and trusted member of the senior team,
having the confidence of the ED. She had also been with RC for more than a decade
in a number of roles so her organisational knowledge was very high. Her role in my
research was also important because, although she was not connected with the MFC
function, she would provide an “executive team” interpretation as an alternative way
of looking at things and give me insight from her perspective of why things
happened as they did based on her deep organisational knowledge.
My intention to focus on the MFC unit as the site or setting of strategic
communication was informed both theoretically and organisationally. Theoretically,
Hallahan et al.(2007) argue the development of strategic communication involves
several disciplines including management, marketing, advertising and public
relations. Cornelissen (2008) and Argenti (2007) identify the role of corporate
communication as a strategic management function coordinating the organisation‟s
marketing communications and public relations functions. Organisationally, RCQ
had an established, independent, well-staffed marketing and communication unit
who undertook sophisticated marketing and communication programs and
campaigns. The RCQ marketing, communication and public relations position
descriptions and business plans also documented core activities of developing and
contributing to strategic communication in RC.
The Marketing, Fundraising, and Communication Unit
My introduction to staff in the MFC unit was done opportunistically as they
wandered into the office. The unit was located in the back south-west corner of the
Park Road building. It was diametrically opposite to the ED‟s office – meaning it
was the furthest point away of all offices in the building. For the MFC manager to
see the ED, she had to go through two swipe security doors.
My key informant, who did not belong to the MFC unit, stated she had
organised an office desk for me to work at. She quickly discovered that her previous
effort to organise this had failed. I was told this was because the organisation had
grown so quickly and they were waiting for office space in the annex next door to
become available so they had enough space for their growing staff. Until this
happened, there was no desk available. While my key informant apologised, I was
Chapter 5: Ethnography 161
actually happy with this because it meant that I could pull up a chair at strategic
locations within the office to observe and not be seen to be out of place.
I was shown to the office of the MFC manager who welcomed me to the
organisation and ushered me into her office. She appeared very busy working on
editing a media release in front of her, yet appeared comfortable with my presence in
her office. She was slightly distracted and was complaining about the poor IT
resources, and how something about her computer was not working properly. After
finishing the task, she focused her attention on me and proceeded to outline the unit,
staff and their roles, after which she got up to introduce me to her MFC members
that were in the office. As a group, they all appeared quite young.
I was first introduced to the marketing officer, a man in his late 20s who was
dishevelled in appearance. He greeted me cautiously but was keen to tell me that he
used to be a marketing manager in a high profile arts organisation. His chatter
stopped when he returned to his workspace and he did not appear to engage much
with the other staff in the unit. I was informed by another staff member about the
way he came to be employed by RC. In his previous role, he and the MFC manager
worked in the same organisation but he was her supervisor. Now in RC, the authority
was reversed and she was his supervisor. He had left the arts organisation and was
unemployed doing volunteer work at RC. When the marketing officer position
became available at RC, the MFC manager contacted him to see if he would be
interested because she was aware that he did not have a job. He was also already
working in RC as a volunteer so he came to the unit with some organisational
knowledge. The power relationship between him and the MFC manager was now
reversed and there appeared to be underlying tension in this relationship. Other staff
in the unit later acknowledged this tension.
The two public relations staff were both females in their 20s. The more
senior person held a degree in journalism. She was corporately casual in appearance,
which fitted with the mostly casual standard of dressing by all staff in the office. She
had previously joined the RCQ office from a similar role in another state‟s RC office
for a year. She said she moved to RCQ recently to specifically work with the
manager of MFC because she had great respect for her experience and wanted to
learn from her. The junior public relations person had recently completed her degree
in journalism but had limited experience in public relations or communication roles.
Chapter 5: Ethnography 162
She had worked in RC in employment services before “getting in” to the MFC area –
something she described being reliant more on who you knew rather than what you
knew:
Before, in my old area, we had little to do with MFC. Both of the areas I
worked in (Red Cross) prior was government contract and you don‟t really
have much connection to the rest of Red Cross. Especially MFC – I didn‟t
even know what they did. But I wanted to go into that area because it is my
area of study. People told me the MFC team were very cliquey so there is no
chance of getting into the team unless you know someone. (Member 4,
MFC, Qld)
The fundraising staff appeared to work independently from the other two
areas (marketing and public relations /communication). The corporate relations
manager was from the UK and had been in Australia for two years, travelling here to
be with her boyfriend. She was in her mid 20s, well groomed and held a Bachelor of
Arts in American history and politics. She had work experience in public relations
events and administration in a press office at MG Rover Car Company and at global
corporate Unilever in the UK. Her responsibilities at RC included identifying,
liaising and securing corporate relationships, in the form of short or long term
funding and sponsorships, for the organisation. More recently her role also included
liaising with national office to jointly approach national corporate and also
contributing to the development of national guidelines for management of the
corporate relations effort.
The corporate relations manager had one direct report, a fundraising
coordinator, occupied by a young man in his 20s.. He joined RC when I started my
fieldwork. He had come from working in recruitment in London to work for RCQ,
drawn by the appeal of working for the largest humanitarian organisation in the
world and the fact that he had met the finance manager in Manchester who told him
if he ever came to Australia, she could get a job for him. He had worked for several
weeks at RC with no pay because he was waiting for RC to organise his work visa.
He did not seem concerned about not being paid though. He held a Bachelor of Arts
in music history from Oxford University UK.
Chapter 5: Ethnography 163
The planned-giving manager was a much older man, aged in his mid 60s,
previously retired from an executive administration role in a regional health board
and hospital. He had been with RC since March 2006, joining the organisation in a
volunteer capacity and then moving into a paid position as a planned-giving
coordinator, being titled as manager sometime after that. His view of planned-giving
was that it was part of fundraising and involved “corporate, third parties and art
unions”, including Wills Days3. He viewed planned-giving as being very different to
marketing and communication functions, and actively sought to keep it that way. He
boasted, “we‟ve cocooned the plan-giving area away from the hurly-burly of MF and
C”.
The planned-giving manager had three direct reports, the Red Cross Calling4
coordinator and two planned-giving coordinators that were rarely seen because they
were located on the Gold Coast. The Red Cross Calling Coordinator was a woman in
her late 20s from the UK who had a national diploma in hotel catering and
institutional management. This was her first job in Australia after moving here in
April 2007. She started working for RC 10 months ago as a casual temporary worker
(temp) to provide data entry and administration support to the corporate relations
manager. She had been told RC was going to create a more permanent role for her
and she said she was promised that it was going to be formalised a few months ago.
In the meantime she said she was optimistic that it was just how things happened at
RC – they were very slow on anything to do with paperwork, and it would come
through. She continued to focus on her job responsibility of coordinating Red Cross
Calling – RC‟s major door knock appeal held nationally in March.
A woman, who stood out from the others, was bustling around the office and
moving between the group manager‟s office and her cubicle. She was making more
noise than any of the other staff. The MFC manager identified her as the MFC
assistant, an 18-year-old female who had been with RC for 2.5 years, which made
her the longest serving employee in the MFC unit. I was also told if I needed
anything, she would be the person to ask. The MFC assistant briefly said hello and
3 Wills Days are planned events where members of the public attend an advertised location and have their will and estate
document drawn up by a qualified solicitor for a small fee. The aim of Wills Day is to encourage people to leave a donation from their estate to RC. 4 Red Cross Calling is the annual doorknock fundraising appeal conducted nationally in March. The dates are not consistent
across the country due to differences in state government requirements for fundraising “weeks”.
Chapter 5: Ethnography 164
kept walking. Later the MFC assistant described her role to me as an executive
assistant to the group manager of business operations whose main role (informally)
was as a gatekeeper and central keeper of office gossip. Her responsibilities included
being the group manager‟s personal assistant, assisting the MFC unit, and “doing my
own little events”. This included managing the annual Christmas gift wrap appeal in
shopping centres. She had a close personal relationship with the group manager and
was well liked by executive staff in the organisation. She was well regarded for her
energetic working style and her ability to meet requests quickly. She held no formal
qualifications but was a central figure in the unit and gatekeeper to the group
manager. This included reading (and deleting if she felt it was warranted) all the
group manager‟s emails, managing her diary, and acting to “push back” on people
wanting access to the group manager. Staff in the unit appeared wary of her as one
team member commented, “she has a big influence on the team. When she‟s in a
good mood, it is fantastic... when she‟s having a bad day, it is not so great in here”
(Member MFC, Qld). The MFC assistant was also due to leave the organisation to
go overseas in five weeks time, so her main focus was getting ready for the “new
girl” to take over from her. She said she doubted that a new person could do
everything she did though “because she wouldn‟t cope” (MFC assistant). While
some of her tasks would be delegated to other team members, generally staff were
not concerned she was leaving. There was one more staff member who had MFC
responsibilities, but she was attached to the national office team. She was introduced
to me as we passed her desk, but she did not attempt to engage in any small talk and
declined to be interviewed.
For the first few weeks of my fieldwork, I found that I was doing most of the
talking, responding to questions such as “who are you”, “where are you from”, “what
do you do” “where do you live”, “what are you doing here/ what is your research
about”, “does national office know you are here”, and “why would you want to study
RC?”. These questions were usually embedded in more informal discussions,
involving social activities or general questions about how I was going, how I was
finding RC and if I had “worked out what was wrong with the place yet”. This was
really a “tongue- in-cheek” comment. This time was not wasted as Hammersley and
Atkinson (1995) remind us that “the value of pure sociability should not be
underestimated as a means of building trust” (p. 89).
Chapter 5: Ethnography 165
From these early conversations it was also made clear that I was viewed as an
expert and a “valuable resource” and someone that could help, but at this early stage,
I was not clear on what this actually meant. However some members were quizzical
on the benefits of my research in terms of “what will Red Cross get out of this?”
(Member 3, MFC Qld), but this passed quite quickly. As one member in the unit
expressed:
All of us want to do the most with the least. All of us want the best for the
organisation and the outcomes. Which is why we see you as an additional
resource to help us do that. (Member 10, MFC Qld)
The office setup replicated a typical office setting and featured the expected
symbols reflecting hierarchies of power and position. The MFC manager and the
group manager had a lockable office (an office with a door) while all other MFC
members were spread over two partitioned sections. Each section had four office
cubicles, with staff clustered by discipline, where possible. The senior public
relations person, the most recent recruit did not have a dedicated space and had to
“hot desk” on a daily basis. This was in spite of her being one of the more senior
members of team. She continued to hot desk for two months, until mid-March, when
she was allocated a space due to a resignation of another staff member.
The physical proximity of the group manager‟s office provided opportunities
for team members to bypass formal reporting lines. At times this was an encouraged
practice. The thinness of the wall partitioning the MFC manager and group
manager‟s office also meant discussions and issues in the MFC unit were
inadvertently picked up by the group manager because a conversation or issue was
overheard, thereby bypassing and making redundant the hierarchical authority
identified in the MFC manager‟s position description to manage the unit.
The next section explores ways of working which describes members‟ views
about what they need to do and what is important about working in RCQ. This is
important as it provides the basis of identifying shared knowledge and cultural units.
Chapter 5: Ethnography 166
Ways of working
As I settled in over the following weeks, I observed the organisation and
prioritisation of marketing and communication projects and work was done at a
number of levels. Fundraising was not part of strategic communication prioritisation
as they worked on project-based campaigns including Red Cross Calling.
For the most part, people in the unit seemed very busy – at times almost
frantic. There seemed to be no centralised place to see what people were working on,
or deadlines for what was pending. In terms of marketing and communication work,
there appeared to be little consistency in how work was prioritised. For some
projects, a more senior directive was given. For example, the ED or group manager
gave a directive, and MFC members would say, “[name] wants it done today”. Any
other high priority jobs would be pushed aside. For other cases, prioritisation of
workload followed a less formal approach. The MFC manager had recently
introduced a workload prioritisation system where service staff in the regions could
complete a brief and this document would be forwarded to the MFC manager to
prioritise and allocate it to staff, with the aim of managing workloads:
We have made a lot of progress to rein expectations in and get people to log
jobs. The issue is that I have yet to see a job that has been rejected. It‟s very
hard. How do you reject them? (Member 3, MFC Qld)
There was also a verbal directive given by the group manager that MFC
members do not have the authority to refuse a job, only she did (field notes 11 Feb
2008). However, the group manager expressed she did not want to be involved in the
daily prioritising of allocated work and did not want to be bothered with micro level
detail.
And it doesn‟t help that (name of group manager) is so busy doing her things.
So we are always told, leave (her) alone – ok great – but… (Member 4, MFC
Qld)
Work for the marketing and communication staff was allocated by discipline,
however there was some sharing of tasks. The marketing communication staff
Chapter 5: Ethnography 167
worked primarily on the development of collateral materials and advertising. This
included brochures, posters and information materials required by services, and
advertising for key type events such as volunteer recruitment, and Wills Days. The
marketing team leader stated that the main short and medium term goals of the role
were “to develop a consistent set of collateral pieces”. The marketing business plan
noted other activities identified included the development of RCQ year in reviews,
production (writing) of the chair‟s bulletins, writing and production of newsletters,
maintaining the RCQ website and administrative tasks such as maintaining a
marketing database.
The public relations communication staff worked primarily on media and
publicity activities including drafting media releases for corporate or service needs
(identified as both proactive and reactive) and responding to media enquiries. They
also drafted editorial copy for corporate publications and newsletters. As noted in
their business plans, public relations work also included developing and maintaining
media relationships with local media, maintaining an accurate media distribution list,
monitoring the local media for issues of high priority, identifying and promoting
opportunities across the organisation, and engaging local celebrities for promotional
opportunities. So while a silo approach to the unit work was taken, team members
expressed concern about a lack of communication between the silos. Staff in the unit
felt they worked in isolation or just within their discipline. While relations in the unit
were described as social and chatty (Members 1, 2, 7) with some underlying
competitiveness (Members 2, 6, 9), sharing of tasks and projects was not really done:
Nobody really knows what anybody else does...Well, we just, it is not
encouraged. .... I don‟t really understand. (Member 6, MFC Qld)
The isolation of members in the unit was compounded with the MFC
manager of the unit going on maternity leave, and a decision made in late March by
the group manager not to replace her. The MFC manager was the central
communication point for all disciplines. With the position removed for the period of
leave, the proposed management structure would now be reconfigured with each
discipline reporting directly to the group manager. In a meeting with MFC members
on 8 February 2008 in the Solferino Room, the new team leadership structure was
Chapter 5: Ethnography 168
outlined, but members expressed concern because there was a lack of clarity
operationally about how the unit would actually function, and if this new structure
would compound existing problems in the unit such as having too much to do:
[it is] hit and miss really. It kind of goes through phases where everything‟s
really good and we always know what‟s going on and then... whatever. And
now it‟s potentially going to be more difficult with this new structure... we‟re
going to have to work very hard on it. (Member 7, MFC Qld)
people just feel that a lot is expected and there is confusion over things and
miscommunication – and the teams. And all of this stuff around the structure
of the teams – it has never been right. (Member 4, MFC Qld)
The expression of overwork, or too much work and being busy, emerged
early in the fieldwork, and it was shared across all levels in the MFC team. Often on
entering the setting in the morning, I would ask different members what sort of day
they had planned – this also assisted me in planning my day. Most common
responses included adjectives such as “busy”, “slammed” or simply, “I have sooo
much on today”. The reasons behind shared views of the workload appeared to be
attributed to three key claims: a lack of resources (human and pay related), poor
capacity, and poor management, depending on who you spoke to. The MFC
members viewed the workload problem as being caused by having not enough staff
and the organisation having unrealistic expectations that they can service all of the
program‟s marketing and communication needs:
we‟re slammed. I can vouch for my last year and I can tell you I‟d be lucky to
finish work by 11 or 12 at night. We are busy people, sincerely. We‟ve come
here and taken a pay cut generally. We come here because we believe in what
the organisation does. And generally we leave disenchanted, overworked,
buggered, going to higher paying jobs in the private sector, exhausted by the
organisation and its bureaucracy. (Member 10, MFC Qld)
Chapter 5: Ethnography 169
because we‟re quite under resourced for the amount of work we have to do
and it‟s generally expected that we won‟t perform that well, and we get quite
a few complaints as well as we do because… we don‟t necessarily do it on
time or when it‟s needed. ...Well we are just too frantic – our resources are
too small. (Member 6, MFC Qld)
MFC members knew senior management held a view that the MFC team had
poor capacity and skill to service the needs of the organisation. I was alerted to this
early in my fieldwork when attending a group managers‟ meeting. The executive
team were discussing an impending organisational change program and the need to
have a supporting communication program. One senior manager voiced her concerns
about not having a plan that focused on key messages surrounding the changes. The
ED‟s response was that he didn‟t want “another plan” (field notes, 16 January 2008).
The executive team discussion confirmed executive members generally expressed no
confidence in involving the MFC team in the change process. This extended to an
expressed general lack of confidence in the capacity of the communication staff to
produce quality work (Memo, 16 January 2008, 3.05pm). On exploring this
sentiment with the team at a later time, one member expressed “we're not really seen,
perceived by senior management to be achieving our goals” (Member 3). However
for MFC staff, the perception was not about their skill level, rather it related to a lack
of resources and also a perception by RC staff that MFC members are not working
“hard” enough:
It‟s the perception more than anything. It might give the impression that
we‟re not working very hard or we‟re just messing around or being silly, but
it‟s actually just a part of the way that we work. (Member 7, MFC Qld)
.. they [other RCQ staff] think we are noisy and always on the go. .... I am
not sure they understand how much goes through there or what we really do
in terms of everyday stuff. I am sure they think it is all kind of glossy. I guess
we are quite vocal and we kind of chat... I‟ve never known a team to have so
much focus in an office as our team has. (Member 4, MFC Qld)
Chapter 5: Ethnography 170
While MFC members recognised senior management had no confidence in
their team, they also quietly shared some of these views, and exhibited behaviours
revealing a lack of confidence in other team member‟s capacity and a reluctance to
rely on other members to undertake work to an acceptable standard. Staff would
keep private files limiting access to information by other staff, or hoard information
about projects or work from other members in the unit. This would have a
cumulative effect of increasing individual workloads which, given their concerns
about overwork, was interesting:
.. because you‟ve been let down, you keep the file, you keep the information,
so that you think you‟re on top of it all but you can‟t do everything. And
that‟s when – it‟s only when the shit hits the fan that then you open it up and
say, “I‟ve got the information here,” and then the person says, “Well, I‟ve
never seen that”... (Member 5, MFC Qld)
Other members felt that many of their capacity perception problems stemmed
from the high staff turnover in the unit. While the group manager responsible for the
MFC unit indicated staff turnover in RCQ was similar to other states, a head count
taken from the time I entered RCQ to the conclusion of the study indicated an
exodus of staff. My emerging awareness of the high staff turnover in the MFC unit
had implications for my study as culture requires that people pass on their
knowledge to subsequent “generations”. However I was increasingly aware that
many of the decisions made about strategic communication, campaigns, stakeholder
relations and issues were directed from a more senior level. While staff turnover in
the unit had been an ongoing issue for the organisation for some time, there was no
consensus on specific causes of people leaving. Generally members suggested
people left because of fatigue and frustration, disillusionment or simply that RC was
being used as a stepping stone for inexperienced staff. The appeal of gaining “street
credibility” and experience by working for such a large and global organisation (and
having it on their CV) was also valuable to members as they thought it would give
them a competitive advantage to get a better job in a different organisation:
Chapter 5: Ethnography 171
It is an easy org to get into so they can career build …it is a stepping-stone
for a lot of people; that is a major factor. There is a lot of conflicting
personalities in that team – that play a major part into people trying to get
ahead and pushing other people out of the way in trying to do that. (Member
8, MFC Qld)
All team members expressed frustration at the high level of work and equally
about the poor rates of pay5 offered in RC. These and other elements were used to
explain the high turnover:
... we can‟t seem to keep staff. The reason is that they just get exhausted...we
do have this exceptionally high turnover, we are lucky to keep staff for a year
in this department, exceptionally high turnover. In the year that I have been
here we have lost three. Q:Why?... Burnout, remuneration, frustration with
the lack of structure, frustration with the change of structure… it‟s ...
exceptionally bureaucratic and rigid too… (Member 10, MFC Qld)
The effects from the high staff turnover included loss of intellectual property
from the lack of appropriate documentation and private filing systems or knowledge
systems. This meant that generally staff had to recreate everything from the
beginning, with RC having very limited organisational knowledge or intellectual
property from evaluation of previous communication programs. The recreation of
documentation was done on an “as needed basis”, and was usually done with
whatever resources most closely fitted with the need:
I don‟t know how they‟ve been managing to operate… or the retention meant
that these things have existed, but they‟re gone and they‟ve been reinvented
yearly. That‟s been one of the biggest issues faced by the organisation is the
5 Pay rates in the not-for-profit industry were traditionally below market rates. This was the same for RCQ, with
the MFC positions salaries officially listed as: Manager MFC - $77,000pa (incl. super) ; Senior PR and
communications officer - $53,867 -$56,416pa (incl. super); Senior Marketing and communication officer -
$53,867 -$56,416pa (incl. super); Media and communications officer –$42,321 - $45,767pa (incl. super). (source:
Position Descriptions 12 October 2007)
Chapter 5: Ethnography 172
staff retention impacting on the holding of the knowledge. (Member 10, MFC
Qld)
So when someone leaves the organisation there‟s nothing in place – so the
intellectual property‟s just gone. There‟s no system – we don‟t have a
corporate database. (Member 6, MFC Qld)
The profile of the MFC team could be described as (predominantly) young,
inexperienced and altruistic individuals that expressed fulfilment by working for an
organisation like RC. For many of them, this was their first job, or it was the only
job they could get (because they were new to Australia), or they had retired and
wanted to re-enter the workforce. However they all framed their decision to work at
RC as an altruistic one, transcending any potential financial rewards. Expressions of
goodwill and giving back featured heavily in member‟s expressed motivations for
working for RC. Members felt that the organisation‟s work was very meaningful and
that they play a role in that. They also shared a sense of personal compromise in
terms of pay and expectation because they were working for one of the largest
humanitarian organisations in the world:
It‟s kind of nice to know I‟m doing my bit. (Member 7, MFC Qld)
it really does help to work for an organisation that you can feel proud of
working... that does good stuff. So that‟s probably one of the saving graces of
Red Cross...This is an amazing place. (Member 3, MFC Qld)
the position did not interest me – it was the organisation. (Member 6, MFC
Qld)
The focus on the humanitarian work of RC featured strongly in member
views. Members expressed the motivation for working at RC generally around the
principles. While they all knew what the role of the principles was, when questioned
about the effect on their role in communication, most members simply repeated the
corporate line confirming “RC has seven fundamental principles that represent how
the organisation is supposed to go about its work”. As one of the newer members
Chapter 5: Ethnography 173
said “There‟s seven of them – impartiality, neutrality, empowerment, community,
something else...The one I have an issue with at the moment is the empowerment
one... (Member 6, MFC Qld). I did not correct the member that there was no
empowerment one.
In the next section, member views of RC as an organisation, its history and
values will be discussed. MFC member views of what RC is as an organisation are
important because of the role that mission, vision and value statements play in
building understanding of what the organisation needs strategically for
communication (Argenti, 2007; Cornelissen, 2004; Hatch & Schultz, 1997; Stanley
& Michael, 2002).
MFC member views of Red Cross
The historical foundations of RC were important to MFC members. Members
cited the organisation‟s traditions as strongly contributing to the high reputation that
RC enjoyed. The fact that RC had been established in Australia for nearly 100 years
reassured staff that there was a widespread knowledge and understanding in the
external community about RC as an organisation and about the types of work it
undertook. I overheard several times the comment “everyone knows who RC is”.
There was an expectation that accompanying this familiarity was trust. With this
came a feeling of dependability and a level of prestige because of the nature of
humanitarian work. However the age and history of RC were also viewed as
constraints because staff felt the organisation was stuck in the past, and implied that
RC could not operate in new ways, or respond to a modern environment. Staff felt
that because it was so steeped in traditions, it could not adapt to what contemporary
society needed the organisation to be:
just the way the organisation is … because Red Cross is an organisation that
is so old – it was founded many, many years ago – so the culture is hundreds
and hundreds of years old. Communication strategy, marketing strategy is a
relatively new thing. It wasn‟t around when the RC was established. It is sort
of balancing the originations and trying to adapt the modern themes...
(Member 2, MFC Qld)
Chapter 5: Ethnography 174
The balancing of modern versus traditional RC can be seen in the role that
volunteers and members play in RCQ, and how this is conceptualised by MFC
members. The State divisions of RC were established in 1915 as a result of
governor- general‟s wives wanting to support the soldiers in the war. For the older
staff members, these traditional ties were highly valued and need to be protected. But
the combination of the aging volunteer base and the image that this projects about
the organisation makes this an unsettled and unresolved issue for staff to deal with:
Our volunteer base is dying off, and shrinking... There is starting to be some
bad blood with the organisation as well – the structure of how Red Cross has
related to volunteers... By having to move to a new structure – there‟s some
resentment around and confusion around how to keep and maintain that old
branch structure and transition [away from it] ... basically how to
communicate with those people. (Member 10, MFC Qld)
We don‟t have any young volunteers; all we have are people above 65...
because it‟s such an old organisation... we were predominantly set up for the
war... and people just stick with it and go along with it now… (Member 2 ,
MFC Qld)
The role of the branches in the daily functioning of the changing RC was
challenging for MFC members as they recognised them as necessary and valuable,
but they struggled with how to incorporate them in the new corporate movement of
RC. Branch members were viewed as difficult and time consuming and their
reluctance to shift or change to new ways of doing things caused problems for RC.
MFC members in RCQ had very little contact with volunteers as this was managed
by another department in the organisation. Their only contact was communication
based, for example advertising for more volunteers for a regional area, or following
up on a news story or media release in a region:
You go to the branches, the branches are floundering. Floundering, saying,
“What use are we? No-one needs us anymore. You‟ve taken blood services,
you‟ve taken Red Cross calling, you‟ve taken all these things off us, what
Chapter 5: Ethnography 175
role do we have”... You‟ve got difficult and time-consuming situations in
branches. You can get all consumed by their little problems. (Member 5
MFC, Qld)
We don‟t really have a good relationship with the branches at this stage...
(Member 1, MFC Qld)
RC was viewed by staff as iconic and very important. A well-cited mantra
by staff was about RC being one of the world‟s most recognisable, trusted brands.
“We are up there with McDonalds and Coca Cola” (Member 1, MFC Qld). Staff also
recognised that the RC brand was “worth millions” and this is something that needs
to be cared for and nurtured:
Red Cross is one of those very few iconic, high quality brands in the world...
So it‟s trusted, it‟s recognised and galvanises people into action. (Member 8,
MFC Qld)
you can fall back on the line that we‟ve always been there and we always will
be there. It has cut through... people do know and trust Red Cross. Comments
I get, even just wearing a Red Cross T-shirt, “oh, well done”… “you do a
good job”… “I haven‟t donated blood this…. but I intend to” … (Member 1,
MFC Qld)
MFC members reported RC was viewed by stakeholders as being associated
with three core streams of business: crisis or disasters, blood and international work.
RC being associated with disasters built on member‟s sense of being altruistic,
helping people and being in the “thick” of the action. RC‟s involvement in
international work was regarded as exciting and received most of the public
notoriety. The association with Red Cross Blood Services did not excite MFC
members as they saw this as a different organisation doing different work with a
Chapter 5: Ethnography 176
different funding model6. There was a shared view that RC did so much more that
was not recognised:
public doesn‟t know what we do so they don‟t get that need to be involved.
(Member 4, MFC Qld)
Some people know, lots of people might think they do... the blood thing.
We‟re often confused with blood services. (Member 3, MFC Qld)
The idea that RC for many audiences meant blood was acceptable. There was
a frustration that external audiences did not fully understand the scope and
complexity of what RC really does, and this was a failing of RC in Australia. The
fact that RC‟s work could not be neatly packaged into clear, distinct areas like their
competitors such as World Vision and the Salvation Army meant that there was a
high level of complexity and challenges around communicating for RC:
we‟ve got competition like Starlight Make A Wish and the Cancer
Foundation. They‟ve [Cancer Foundation] got quite sexy...they‟ve got a
cause to attach it to. To a certain extent people already know what they do.
But Red Cross have such diffuse goals under one banner. People might know
about one particular stream but there‟s about 50 other things we do that they
don‟t know about. (Member 6, MFC Qld)
.. people don‟t really understand what we do… and it is an increasingly
complex message to communicate in an increasingly complex not-for-profit
environment. It is an exceptionally complex organisation. (Member 10, MFC
Qld)
With this sentiment came an underlying concern that there is a lack of
maintenance or effort to maintain this positioning, and almost a sense of resting on
their laurels from just being called “Red Cross”:
6 At the time of the research RC Blood Services was a separate organisation. However following the review in July 2009 , the Blood Services were integrated into the main RC organisation
Chapter 5: Ethnography 177
it‟s internationally recognised and people don‟t really ask a lot of questions
when the Red Cross is calling, that they [Red Cross] are riding on that for a
while... they think it is so good that they don‟t need to fix their image.
(Member 2, MFC Qld)
MFC members were aware that RCQ was viewed by national office and other
states as being “different” to other the states. Internally RCQ MFC members viewed
themselves and RCQ as progressive, proactive and generally achieving more which
contrasted to their views of what the rest of the organisation was not doing enough:
I‟d say [we are] progressive, forward thinking, pretty “gung-ho”. [name ] has
a reputation of being a bit of a cowboy. (Member 3, MFC Qld)
.. because it‟s Queensland... “they are cowboys up there. They can handle it
on their own”. ... I just think we are more active in Queensland. (Member 8,
MFC Qld)
there‟s a real underlying creative brilliant team here. It‟s the volume of what
we‟re trying to do with limited resources and Queensland is at the forefront
of a lot of great stuff for Red Cross. (Member 5, MFC Qld)
Many of these views were directly attributed to the influence of the ED. The
influence of leaders and leadership in organisations is well documented in the
literature. Leadership involves contact and interaction between the leader and the
followers (Mumford, Hunter, Freiedrich, & Caughron, 2009). Personal
characteristics of a leader are influenced by their behavioural disposition, personality
and shared vision (Yammarino & Danserau, 2009). Staff in the unit respected the
knowledge and skills of the RCQ ED and viewed their relationship as an opportunity
to learn from the ED‟s experience and skills. However paradoxically, they feared
they would not meet the ED‟s high expectations and felt they were not in a position
to advise or counsel the ED or the executive team on matters of strategic
communication:
Chapter 5: Ethnography 178
He (ED) understands how it works, so it is a bit more ED-led for us as a state
than other states that we‟ve got a very 'hands on' ED. But it‟s actually quite
good that we‟ve got a more hands on ED because it means we do some really
interesting work.... (Member 10, MFC Qld)
The view that the organisation was “personality-based” was shared among
MFC members, as this concept referred to some dominant personalities in the
organisation that needed to be accommodated. For ways of working, this meant their
individual needs were met, rather than needs based on strategic goals, research or
data:
I don‟t think it is clear reporting ... they just base things on personal
relationships as opposed to professional relationships. (Member 2, MFC Qld)
Because it is a personality driven organisation – rather than allowing efficient
people or efficiencies – it is the dominant personality – it doesn‟t run like
other organisations I‟ve been in. It is highly dysfunctional organisationally ...
(Member 10, MFC Qld)
While the MFC team thought they were progressive, and recognised the
strong influence the ED had on the way things were done in RCQ, there was also a
shared view of complacency, or resigned tolerance that emerged from the team in
response to general frustrations from trying to work in RC. These frustrations came
from a number of sources including levels of bureaucracy, slowness of getting things
done or lack of response, and generally poor levels of resources offered by the
organisation:
We have got departments denying responsibility for base functions. It‟s like
working in a third world country... The organisation just doesn‟t care .
(Member 10, MFC Qld)
The framing of the situation was expressed by members as a “Red Cross
way” of doing things (acceptance of a way of working or just how it is) or simply as
Chapter 5: Ethnography 179
a lack of action, focus or strategic intent, founded on a values based rational; that is
being humane and tolerant of poor performance (“because we are Red Cross”), and
not necessarily putting the right effort in the right places. As highlighted by one
member (who asked and answered their own question):
there have been occasions where I‟ve kind of said, “Why did we do that?”...
[the answer is] It is just the way that we do it. (Member 7, MFC Qld)
The “Red Cross way” or “not-for-profit way” included a tolerance for poor
performance, lethargy for action, and a fatigue of trying to respond to a high level of
work with poor infrastructure, poor resources and poor systems. There was a view
that this “way” was the “humanity” part of working at RC. This concept as a whole
emerged quite late in fieldwork, it was articulated by MFC members in RCQ earlier
as an attitude or a way of working:
The Red Cross attitude is a not-for-profit psyche that a lot of people
have...We almost think that we only engage staff that can‟t – more or less,
people that can‟t get a job anywhere else and they used to finish up with not-
for-profits. (Member 5, MFC Qld)
While tolerance and “humanity” were part of the Red Cross mantra, members
reported an underlying intolerance where they felt they had to protect themselves and
reduce personal risk. This required steps to “protect your back” and “not make
waves”. The protection appeared to be in both how they worked, and what they
produced. How they worked meant that they were reluctant to document and avoided
making decisions or taking risks. Team members avoided the production of any
evidence that they could be directly held accountable for. This was expressed as a
way of “covering your back”:
there‟s a culture of ...a lot of people will say “cover your arse” culture.
Everyone is very protective of your own behind – everyone is afraid of
looking bad to the wrong people. ... Covering your arse is similar to nobody
wanting to admit when they‟ve made a mistake. (Member 6, MFC Qld)
Chapter 5: Ethnography 180
An accepted way of working by MFC members was to share the risk of the
pending decision, or the sensemaking leading to the decision through dialogue and
conversations across the organisation – consulting widely to incorporate a diversity
of views in decision making. The need to collaborate, or have a conversation, was a
way of sharing information and communicating in the organisation. This may be an
accepted human services framework of working, or “the Red Cross way”. It is also a
way of legitimately sharing the load or blame. For example, if a lot of people are
involved in the framing of the situation it will be hard for senior management to
pinpoint exactly who is accountable as the outcomes of the dialogue are not
attributed:
there is a need for collaboration to get a decision made here. ... There is also a
slight culture for covering our own back, so making sure that you have done
everything and you have got an email trail of everything you‟ve done so you
can defend yourself. (Member 6, MFC Qld)
It‟ll [the decision will be made on] be a mixture of instinct and input from all
involved, and in particular from the experiences so far of (names) and
whatever as to how people have reacted and what sort of messaging.
(Member 7, MFC Qld)
The reliance on conversations combined with the lack of documentation and
real planning revealed a flexibility and fluidity as a way of working in the MFC
team. For some members this meant it allowed them to work on the priorities of the
day as determined by them, but for others it created a sense of lack of structure and
direction. Some functions at RC had a national structure or framework surrounding it
– for example, Red Cross Calling and corporate relations. Members working in those
areas said they benefited from having a clear structure and direction for their daily
work.
I am not used to this loose end stuff – everyone‟s just flying out doing their
own thing... I am not used to that kind of outer rim – where sometimes you
Chapter 5: Ethnography 181
do what is going on there and sometimes you do your own thing. Some
people like that – some people are for national and some people against. I
find that whole thing very strange... (Member 4, MFC Qld)
For other members, having no overarching structure or framework meant
they could work on their own determined priorities for the day:
It's exceedingly hard to set priorities because anything can become a priority
at any time. So if you have, let's say, 27 tasks... So how do you do that? I
haven't actually got an answer from anyone, so I work on what I think needs
to be done. (Member 8, MFC Qld)
Feelings about national office were expressed in the context of pending
change and review. As identified in Chapter 4, RC had embarked on a series of
organisational reviews, including MFC, in an effort to find efficiencies in
management, structure and reporting. So while some elements of the change and
review process had already commenced, such as the rebranding strategy, other
elements were unknown so MFC staff expressed uncertainty about what the future
might bring. This uncertainly was framed as an excitement and anticipation that the
change will resolve many of their frustrations, and also a fear of what may actually
change. MFC members had viewed the gradual loss of power of their ED as a power
struggle between state and national needs:
Because there‟s been a change of structure ... because of the nationalisation
the EDs have lost quite a bit of power comparatively to how it used to work.
So there‟s still state need versus national need – there‟s still a bit of “us and
them” happening organisationally. (Member 10, MFC Qld)
The balancing of national versus state needs was expressed as a division of
loyalty and sometimes this complexity caused anxiety for MFC members:
Sometimes it is quite complex. Recently we had a situation where we had a
state program ...so on that state level (ED name) should be able to sign up on
Chapter 5: Ethnography 182
that stuff. But I identified (detail of an issue) – so according to my national
policy, the procedure is that if I identify (detail of an issue), it has to go to
(name of senior executive) to sign off on ...Meanwhile we‟ve already
(actioned it locally) … but I kind of felt that I was the one then getting stuck
in it. (Member 4, MFC Qld)
However given the state-based reporting, the local ED authority took
precedent over any national directive and the consequences would then be played out
at executive level not at the local practitioner level:
If the ED wants something done, it‟s done regardless of whatever national
has set as the direction – this is what needs to be done. (Member 10, MFC
Qld)
A fear of getting into trouble and taking steps to protect themselves emerged
as a strong theme for many MFC staff. Rather than thinking about this as a
reluctance to accept responsibility, they framed it as a need to avoid being “blamed”
because they anticipated a consequence and needed to take steps to cover up or
protect themselves in various ways:
We joke about there being a blame mentality, but that‟s not isolated to our
organisation. It‟s just people, human nature, to protect yourself. (Member 1,
MFC Qld)
Every tenth comment was, “It'll be my arse that‟s on the line if it doesn‟t
happen”. Like, everything. This sort of “watch your arses” fear thing... quite
extraordinary. (Member 7, MFC Qld)
When individual team members were asked what they thought they needed to
protect themselves from, in terms of consequences, they were not really sure.
Durham (1991) suggests criteria for decision making is based on members‟
comparative evaluation of the consequences, guided by the actual or perceived
experience with the consequences of different options. While they had no examples
Chapter 5: Ethnography 183
of where people had suffered consequences, some cited the “possibility” of job loss
while others simply said they didn‟t want to experience the wrath of the ED:
The ED likes to stamp his authority by making people jump “now”... he
expects people to be able to read his mind. (Member 3, MFC Qld)
If something goes wrong I don‟t think it is very transparent. For instance,
someone might disappear because they were asked to go on extended leave
and then they don‟t come back. So it‟s not necessarily transparent to
everyone else in the team as to why they are leaving. There might be gossip
on the grapevine to say someone has been put on performance probation.
(Member 5, MFC Qld)
MFC members actively took steps to reduce the possibility of being seen as
not fully competent. MFC members knew not to go to the group manager, or anyone
in national office, until they were sure they had all the facts and “knew what they
were talking about”:
(name) is scared still and said “don‟t, we can‟t go to (group manager) until
we all know what we are doing...” I just find it really strange and it‟s kind of
this feeling that (name of group manager) might see that we are not
prepared… (Member 4 MFC, Qld)
...you don‟t really speak to national unless what you are speaking about.... it
is almost fear of getting into trouble – into trouble of what I don‟t really
know – but because it is “national”. (Member 9, MFC Qld)
Signoff and approval processes by delegated authorities are common
organisational practices to manage risk and control (Robbins & Barnwell, 2006).
Approval systems in the MFC team were by line management. For example,
approval processes for a media release, piece of collateral or business case for a new
project would first be submitted to the MFC manager, then it would go to the group
manager and then it would go to the executive director. Changes would be made at
Chapter 5: Ethnography 184
each level and, depending on the nature of the change (major or minor), the piece
may be sent back at any stage and the process would start again. In addition, on some
matters that involved or affected national policy, the national director of
communication or a delegate would also be involved. MFC members viewed this
process as overly bureaucratic and burdensome. While some members equated this
to the poor efficiency and structure, others attributed it to simply a reluctance to
make a decision:
The efficiency of the place impacts on how you do your job a lot – all the red
tape. It‟s just the organisational structure and how it is built. The chain of
command and things like that. (Member 2, MFC Qld)
At the moment there‟s so many levels of signoffs, approvals, people are
scared of making decisions… there‟s a culture of reluctance to make a
decision or pass a decision. Don‟t sign your name... (Member 10, MFC Qld)
Other members recognised that they needed to be more visible in the
approval process as this was one way for them to build credibility. Bypassing the
approval system was also a way of speeding up the process, with the decision to send
work for approval, or not, left up to the MFC member:
In the approval process here, I go straight to (ED name). I‟m building my
relationship with him and I need to know him, especially if his name‟s on
everything. (Member 1, MFC, Qld)
If I write a letter to a corporate I don‟t get it signed off. I bypass a lot of that.
But I know if we‟ve got an invite to send out, first it would go to (MFC
manager name), then to (group manager name), and then to (ED name). And
you have to manage that. You can‟t give it to (MFC manger name), and say
pass it to (group manager name), or (group manager name) you pass it to (ED
name)… (Member 4, MFC Qld)
Chapter 5: Ethnography 185
This approach by individual members to make decisions about when to
follow formal organisational procedures reflected the claim that there were few
consequences. Also there was a view that senior managers did not enforce following
organisational procedures or processes.
Communication and group sensemaking about strategic issues and concerns
occurred primarily within the senior management team, for example at senior
management meetings. The MFC unit was represented in the senior meetings by
their group manager. Following the executive meeting, there was no observed
reporting back or summarising of key issues or directives by the group manager to
the MFC manager. MFC members knew they were not gaining access to the “right”
information, and had to rely on secondary information to do their job. MFC members
generally received information about work projects from program or service area
briefings provided over the phone or via senior staff. There was a reliance on
program staff by MFC staff to ensure the strategic fit of their communication
request. Once a MFC member created information about a project, they filed the
information under their personal drive in the system. This filing system for
documents had the effect of limiting access by other unit members. While a shared
file system was available for staff to use, it was not used. If a staff member was away
or left RC (as previously discussed), the intellectual property and history about that
project, and the work undertaken was lost. Overall there was no formal system for
managing documentation as a group:
For the next year, we don‟t have this calendar of what is going to happen in
the year. Even that hasn‟t changed very much in the two years I‟ve been here
– we have got better ways of doing things, and we look forward a bit more –
but we still don‟t have that systems stuff. (Member 4, MFC Qld)
Our documentation system has not been that great ... I keep them in my files
that are saved, because now I am used to this. (Member 10, MFC Qld).
One example of this was with a recent youth project. This was a high profile
and important project of RCQ to provide housing, education and training, and
support services for homeless youth. While I had been at other executive meetings
Chapter 5: Ethnography 186
discussing the project in more depth, this was only the second meeting attended by
the MFC team member and she was required to present a publicity strategy (plan)
that was supposed to contain information about stakeholders, timing, deliverables
and key messages. There was no other documentation available on any shared drives
about the project, so she had to rely on the information discussed at the first meeting.
Following this meeting she expressed the following view:
I felt very disadvantaged doing that from one meeting... from not having a
central location of information and not having the Centre even [built] –
there‟s nothing – they are just all ideas at the moment – also being new to
having do a publicity strategy – so I put together this document, which is
kind of gone nowhere and done nothing... (Member 1, MFC Qld)
While this member recognised they did not have adequate information, there
were no steps taken to get this information from other sources. This appeared to be
an accepted way of working in the unit. The lack of documentation and planning
artifacts contributed to the lack of knowledge held by MFC members of previous
communication efforts and evaluation. As previously discussed, this is also linked to
a reluctance to be held accountable for work due to perceived consequences, and a
fear of decision making based on lack of access to the “right” information:
Fear of not having the – what I reckon a lot of people don‟t have the right
information fed through to them, they make decisions which are not based on
all of the facts and then when they do make decisions, they can be criticised
and I‟ve seen it time and time and time again. (Member 5, MFC Qld)
The lack of documentation was a challenge for me as I was actively seeking to
collect evidence (artifacts) of strategic communication for analysis. I widely
communicated to MFC staff that I was looking to collect plans, briefs, working
papers, business plans, or any documents produced by the marketing communication
or public relations staff for my study, however these were either not produced,
hidden in personal files or just not readily available. When I became aware that a
plan existed, I would request a copy or ask if I could see it. Some staff were very
Chapter 5: Ethnography 187
willing to “share” with me their working papers, but these were often work in
progress or incomplete. Other staff indicated they would email me a copy, but it did
not arrive. After a few requests in passing, I stopped asking. Given the lack of
documentation meant that my research design had to change to not focus on the
actual documents as evidence of retention (Weick, 1969).
With the exception of the published business plans, there was no
documentation or evaluation of previous campaigns or projects undertaken in RCQ.
Even the group manager could not locate a previous plan drafted for the Centre for
Young People project done by a staff member who had left the organisation and
emailed me to see if I had been given a copy (Field notes 7 April 2008).
The need to plan, or to be “strategic” appeared to not be purposeful in MFC
RCQ. Strategic communication processes incorporate environmental scanning and
issues management to allow the organisation to be both responsive and proactive in
management of issues (Ferguson, 1999). While Steyn (2003b) highlights
organisational adaptation as a key outcome of strategic communication, Grunig and
Grunig (2000) argue this enables the organisation to identify and anticipate issues,
allowing analysis and response (Cutlip et al., 2006). In RCQ‟s MFC unit,
environmental scanning was inconsistent across the team, and limited externally to
monitoring the media and internally to attending staff meetings, keeping in touch
fortnightly with regional area managers. There did not appear to be any formal
criteria for issues, documentation of findings, or tracking systems in place in the
unit. The monitoring was ad hoc:
We monitor the media to see if our press releases are getting picked up,
what‟s getting picked up, what isn‟t getting picked up... what issues are in the
media. So what‟s being presented in The Courier-Mail, what‟s online...
what‟s in The Australian ...7and what other organisations are saying.
Internally, we have Monday morning meetings where we look around and
share stories or information... we contact the regional managers on the
fortnightly basis. (Member 1, MFC Qld)
7 The Courier-Mail is the state of Queensland‟s daily metropolitan newspaper. The Australian is a
national news broadsheet.
Chapter 5: Ethnography 188
While some members in the unit did not consider environmental scanning as
relevant to their role, others viewed the activity purely as a proactive one, meaning it
is undertaken to identify opportunities that could be used as a media or publicity
opportunity for RC.
It is probably not a scanning role – it is more getting out there and trying to
find the information as well.... (Member 2, MFC Qld)
MFC member perceptions of their environment
MFC member conceptualisations of RC‟s environment is important to
explore given this study is an ecological one focusing on the role of strategic
communication as an adaptive response, and the influence of cultural criteria on
mediating that response. The social environment of RC is conceptualised as the
reputational, relational and public opinions systems operating in the organisation‟s
environment. For MFC members, RC‟s social environment was recognised as
shifting and changing:
[Red Cross] is not current – it‟s got an ageing volunteer base – so our
volunteers are dying off ... we need to focus on getting those bequests in ...
we also need to be focusing on building our support with young generations
and their interests in volunteering. Support or fundraising is completely
different – episodic volunteering… and they don‟t give to the same place
they volunteer... (Member 10, MFC Qld)
There was an increasing awareness expressed by members of the need to be
accountable and transparent in processes required by government and the corporate
sector. This was not fully developed in terms of knowledge in MFC members:
The government is pretty important considering that a lot of our stuff is based
on government funding. Government contacts. .. The corporate sector are
relatively important – gaining their support is important....you want them to
have a favourable impression of you. (Member 2, MFC Qld)
Chapter 5: Ethnography 189
Stakeholders were descriptively identified simply as recipients (users) or
facilitators (helpers/ collaborators) of RC services (Member 8). For example, blood
donors, corporate donors and volunteers. Due to budget constraints limited audience
research was conducted by MFC members. MFC members recognised that national
office conducted market research, but these results were not made available to the
individual MFC staff members. For them, core sources for intelligence included
liaison with service area managers, reading or listening to the daily mass media and
Google. For example, in preparation for a meeting about a major youth project, one
member described her approach for research:
...we monitor the media for homelessness. I was collecting for information
from there in regards to our risk management, who the bigger players are
already in the space, what are they doing …the statistics as well. Did other
research but not actually commissioned anyone – it was more Google to
verify that. Checking out information... (Member 1, MFC Qld)
Formal research was not widely used to clarify external audiences. However
national office purchased corporate lists from Dun and Bradstreet8 that identify
business characteristics and provided these to each state for their corporate relations
activities. National office also commissioned national market research on donor
profiles twice a year. Both of these sources were relied on by MFC members to
profile and target their stakeholders and publics.
An emerging theme shared by all members in the MFC unit was the internal
focus and acknowledgement of senior management or national office as the key
player in their social environment. While other stakeholders, audiences and publics
were identified, observations of work practices revealed that members were more
concerned about meeting the needs of internal audiences more so than external
audiences, specifically senior management:
is it [the communication message or piece] what (ED name) would want you
to say... (Member 1, MFC Qld)
8 Dun and Bradstreet are a company that provide sales and marketing data: see www.dnb.com.au
Chapter 5: Ethnography 190
I have to be aware of what my manager‟s thoughts are on it really. (Member
6, MFC Qld)
This internal focus was recognised by MFC members as not being specific to
their activities, but as an organisational characteristic that suggested RC was not alert
to what was happening outside the organisation. Members related this to a number of
areas such as information technology and office resources, awareness of other ways
of working, or just an acknowledgement that RC was in a place on its own:
.. people don‟t see that. They are in a cocoon... they have never worked
anywhere –they‟ve worked here for 10 years or maybe. (Member 4, MFC
Qld)
...a vacuum and people [here] are unaware of it. (Member 5, MFC Qld)
This section focused on RCQ members‟ perceptions and views about RC,
RCQ and the social environment surrounding the organisation. The next section now
focuses on strategic communication in RCQ, specifically asking members to express
their views on what it is, how it is developed in the organisation, and their role in
contributing to the formulation of strategic communication.
Strategic Communication
Hallahan et al. (2007) define strategic communication as using
communication purposefully to achieve organisational goals. MFC members were
observed to conceptualise strategic communication through both the activities of the
unit and within the key messages they developed. The process undertaken to achieve
this was viewed by members as both ad hoc and a missed opportunity:
...the tail‟s wagging the dog. There‟s no respect of the skill set the marketing
dept might have to offer – you don‟t know the rationale around creating it.
(Member 7, MFC Qld)
Chapter 5: Ethnography 191
By this, members acknowledged they were not playing a credible part in the
strategic side as lack of access to high level information, lack of resources and
volume of work prevented them from “being strategic” (Member 1, 3, 5, 10). Instead
they viewed the work they did as reactive, and that the need to produce quantities
(i.e. 15 media releases a month) was compromising their ability to be effective in
that role:
The organisation should be communicating about less for starters. Rather
than all of its services, choosing the key cause services that we communicate
about – and priorities – and that might only be a few things – and really
pushing those...(Member 10, MFC Qld)
Communicating about the complexity of services and programs offered by
RC was identified as a major challenge by members, both in terms of simplifying the
message for audiences and managing their workloads. MFC members felt there
needed to be a more coherent approach to achieve this simplification but did not feel
they were in a position to do this:
... because there is no consistent communication strategy for all of the service
areas ... because there is such a wide variety of services, there is no clear
distinction. People can‟t tie in with it...we are just all over the place.
(Member 2, MFC Qld)
While analysis of what competitors were doing was rare in the MFC team,
the team acknowledged many of their competitors had an advantage by having just
one core idea or theme to communicate about:
...single purpose organisations obviously have a way easier time
communicating. (Member 6, MFC Qld)
The randomness and lack of consistency of communication activities in RC
was viewed as being solved by the launch of the new brand strategy (rebranding) in
February 2008 (nearly two months after I entered the setting). The new brand
strategy was viewed as a way of providing cohesion and structure to communication
Chapter 5: Ethnography 192
activities that were previously recognised as being without consistency or quality:
.. beforehand the brand was controlled by sausage sizzles, the branches, a
myriad of different collateral, which every time was different ...it‟s a dog‟s
breakfast. What they‟ve [national office] done is got a consistent look and
feel.. having messaging that‟s consistent. What‟s happened [previously] is an
enormous waste of time across the country. (Member 3, MFC Qld)
MFC members also felt the clustering of services around three key areas of
Crisis, Care and Commitment simplified the challenges around packaging the
information, messaging and simplifying from a communication perspective the
complexity of what RC does:
So whenever we communicate we want to tie it back to this message of Red
Cross is Crisis, Care, Commitment. Images should reflect that, it will have a
basic look and feel and there‟ll be specific type of wording that should go and
there is a style guide to go with it. (Member 10, MFC Qld)
There was one communication event, Red Cross Calling, where MFC
members felt that they were part of a national effort. RCQ MFC employed a part
time dedicated Red Cross Calling Coordinator whose responsibility was to
coordinate the resources and development of the campaign at a local level, including
placement of advertising banners, dealing with branches and traditional or non call
centre recruited volunteer collectors. Red Cross Calling was viewed by MFC
members as the major fundraising event in the RC annual calendar with a single
purpose to raise money. More specifically, it was seen as an opportunity to show
other states that RCQ were high performers:
It‟s just our chance to really shine and stand out from the rest. .. it just
reinvigorates – people like I said, they see your T-shirt and pat you on the
back. They know you‟re there, but sometimes they needed a shakeup.
(Member 1, MFC Qld)
Chapter 5: Ethnography 193
There was a lack of agreement by MFC members about the purpose of Red
Cross Calling. While some members felt the campaign promoted local fundraising
for local services, other members expressed concern that there was actually audience
confusion about what they were actually donating for:
...half of them do not know what services Red Cross does so ... they‟re
probably thinking that Red Cross Calling goes to disaster relief, because
that‟s what we are known for but when disaster comes around, you see so
many other appeals that people going to think hold on wait, there‟s an appeal
for this so ... So it comes down to how hard it is to really communicate like if
you give to 40 hour famine, you're going to be feeding starving kids.
(Member 2, MFC Qld)
There was a level of observed fatigue in the unit when discussing Red Cross
Calling. On exploring this with one MFC member, they declared quietly they would
like RC to cancel Red Cross Calling:
We‟d all love to ditch Red Cross Calling. Because it costs a lot of money to
do. It‟s an enormous headache. Getting a collector for every street, we got the
telemarketing which charges the earth, but then what do we replace it with?
(Member 3, MFC Qld)
MFC members questioned the level of resources and effort required to raise
on average $4 million dollars, and the organisational resistance to question the
traditional door knocking appeal:
It‟s worked in the past and so we‟re sticking to something that we know is
working or it‟s just the way it‟s always been done. (Member 7, MFC Qld)
The role of Red Cross Calling as a central campaign strategically was
overshadowed when the topic of crisis and being “activated” in response to the crisis
was raised. The next section explores the central role RC being activated played in
strategic communication efforts in RCQ.
Chapter 5: Ethnography 194
Red Cross is Activated
During the first few weeks of being at RCQ, and then during two other
periods9, RC was activated in response to flooding in Northern Queensland. When a
disaster is declared under The Disaster Management Act 2003 (the Act), a significant
coordinated response by the State or other entities is required to help the community
recover from the disruption. Activation occurs when they are notified of this status
by a delegated authority. RC is part of the non legislated support group and has
agreed responsibilities to provide personnel and administer first aid during
emergencies, for example establishing and operating evacuation centres. Activation
is communicated formally throughout the organisation by phone and email, and a
response team is formed to organise logistics, such as goods and equipment,
transport, personnel and volunteers. During the activation response, volunteers or
nominated marketing and communication staff attend the disaster area to act as
media liaison for the organisation. Normal roles, tasks and duties of the MFC
members change for the duration of the activation. When the response from RC is no
longer required, staff return to their normal work responsibilities. During this time,
there is no back filling of work; staff remaining in the office are expected to do
urgent tasks, and staff across the organisation have an understanding that during
activation, normal requests will not be on hold. Staff viewed responding to
emergencies as RC‟s raison d‟être, “we are a disaster organisation” (Member 10,
MFC Qld).
I came in to the office on 15 February 2008 and noticed there was a sense of
excitement in the office. There was a greater level of activity and almost an energy
being shown by staff. “we have been activated. (Name) has been sent to North
Queensland to manage the media” (Member 2, MFC Qld). Formally, RC had been
advised they were activated and the MFC manager showed me a copy of the media
release issued by the Minister for Emergency Services (Roberts, 2008).
Over the next few days I observed what seemed to be a different MFC unit.
There was vibrancy and a sense of purpose observed in activities as MFC members
went about drafting media materials and information for the victims of the crisis.
9 RCQ was activated for floods in January and February 2008 for Mackay, Nth RCQ and in May 2009 for
flooding in North RCQ. A full list of domestic activations for RC is listed in Appendix A.
Chapter 5: Ethnography 195
Internal communications increased too. Internal email in RCQ was typically
cluttered with requests for car parks, moving cars, recruitment information (positions
vacant in RCQ this week), and notices about people leaving or moving to different
positions or simply going on leave. During activation, emails updating staff on the
current status of the crisis and RC‟s response were more purposeful. Information was
actually informative and interesting. For example, status updates were given on the
crisis and the nature of the RC response. MFC staff also drafted and issued questions
and answers (Q&As) for management and staff on the ground to answer, or if any
staff were asked about what RC was doing. When an appeal was launched, there was
detailed and specific information relating to how to donate, and how the money
would be distributed. There was also information relating to RC administrative costs
(if any were being claimed) to manage the program. It was also during this time that
MFC staff were invited to response meetings and were included in more of the
strategic response formulation. There was more collaboration between the
emergency and disaster staff, the executive team and the MFC unit.
Observing activation in RCQ was important for the study because it revealed
a very different way of working at this time. The changes observed, and the sense of
energy created by the activation juxtaposed the lack of energy or fatigue in previous
periods. It also highlighted that staff could articulate a focus for their activities
previously missing. In terms of strategic communication, MFC staff were cohesive
in both focus and effort towards a single intent – responding to the crisis. This was a
very different organisation to the non activation one previously observed.
Moving out from the MFC unit
A growing realisation from exploring the unit was the sense that decisions
made about strategic communication were not being made in this unit. Moreso, it
was a realisation that environmental scanning, interpretation, analysis and decisions
about responses were being undertaken at a much higher level in the organisation.
The aim of this ethnography is to explore and follow processes in motion (Mitchell,
2007), to gain understanding and insight of the MFC member views of their world as
they see it in influencing strategic communication in RCQ. Observation found that
there were significant differences in information access, demonstrated skill level,
information sharing and communication decision making in the more senior level to
Chapter 5: Ethnography 196
what was discussed or shared at MFC unit level. Following Vayda‟s (1983)
progressive contextualisation, the setting of this study now extends to the next level
in RCQ, the executive team, and follows relationships of interaction, influences, and
effects of strategic communication in RCQ.
Executive team in Red Cross Queensland
The executive team or “group managers” were the senior leadership team at
RCQ responsible for the strategy development, policy implementation and day to
day business decision making. The team of eight was responsible for interpreting and
developing RC policies and programs in RCQ. The ED had been with the
organisation for eight years and came from a strong political background. This meant
he was well connected and was very comfortable, knowledgeable and experienced at
government and stakeholder relations, media relations and communications.
He presented as a confident, assertive leader that appeared to engender both
respect and fear by staff. Staff and colleagues from across the organisation expressed
great respect for his knowledge and skills, his capacity to deliver, and his passion
and commitment to the RC fundamental principles. However he appeared to be
feared in terms of his direct, challenging and impatient style of leadership. He would
challenge staff, sometimes openly encouraging debate. He also responded better, or
appeared to respect more, articulate staff who were able to clarify their point on
demand and defend their positions. Staff considered his motivations pure, although
other executives recognised not all staff responded well to his management style.
The group manager of business operations was the direct line manager for the
MFC unit. She was an articulate woman and appeared confident and assertive in
meetings. She had a reputation for working long hours and managing multiple
projects. She was obviously well regarded by RC national office as she had been
recently selected to be part of the national retail review team. This meant that she
had the additional responsibility of reviewing all national retail outlets and services
in addition to her responsibilities as group manager of retail operations in RCQ. Staff
in the MFC unit said that she was hard to get access to.
The other group managers were of a similar profile; a mix of genders, but all
were confident, articulate and able to communicate their point. One exception was
the group manager of business, training and employment services, who was the
Chapter 5: Ethnography 197
quietest, seemingly reflective one in group management meetings, but this was not a
distraction from his capabilities.
The executive team was an important and powerful influence on strategic
communication as a group because when compared to the MFC unit, their tenure was
between three and 20+ years. The MFC unit members‟ average time at RC was only
a year. The executives as a group therefore provided the historical context and
guidance for decision making about strategic issues.
Communication about strategic issues and concerns occurred primarily at
senior management meetings. These were generally held weekly (but often
rescheduled) following the staff meeting where group managers “can raise issues,
anything from staff problems, to service or program issues, in a confidential and
collegial way” (Exec 6, Qld). These meetings were chaired and led by the ED and
topics were raised by other group managers for discussions:
we have got a senior group that meet regularly – not so much regularly lately
because we are all so busy that everybody‟s so busy we have almost got no
time for meeting – but when we‟re meeting we used to discussing things –
and it would go around the table and everyone would have a view. And
everybody would share their view ... maybe we ought to be doing this, or
why not do that, or have we thought of this. (Exec 7, Qld)
The meetings occurred in the same room as the staff meetings, around a large
board table. Talk here was quite candid, and the members spoke freely about a range
of concerns, however some members of the executive team were more dominant
than others.
The first meeting I attended was on 14 January 2008 in the boardroom,
following the general staff meeting. The topics discussed at this meeting ranged
across all areas of responsibility, including board applications, cultural surveys, key
performance indicators, the retail review and the increasing demands on the team for
project work driven by national office. However there was also a large portion of the
meeting dedicated to communication issues. The discussion moved to the role of
media releases in nurturing relationships with agencies, and the differentiation of
targeted releases to increase efficiency and effectiveness in using the media. This
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meeting also raised the need for a crisis plan as a way of refining the recognition of
audiences and key messages in a crisis, and that RCQ didn‟t have one. While the ED
raised concerns about having “too many plans”, he led the discussion and there was
agreement about the need to have consistent and accurate key messages.
The pending organisational restructure for the branch renewal program was
raised as a concern, with a proposal put forward and supported by a number of the
executives about needing a change communication plan. It was generally agreed that
internal communication was poor in RC and staff needed to have a program of
information professionally delivered. The ED expressed his concern that the MFC
team did not have those skills, and it would need to be sourced elsewhere. One of the
team suggested that a change manager was needed. The website section for RCQ
was also identified as needing to be updated, with a comment from the group
manager from business operations that this role was not resourced. And so the
discussion continued.
At this meeting, a strategy meeting was also called for Wednesday (in two
days‟ time) by the ED, and he requested his team “come to this meeting with a series
of issues to deal with this year”. As requested, two days later the executive team
turned up with a range of issues, although there was no clear structure to how these
were to be presented. One executive started with a PowerPoint presentation titled
“the total future of everything”, revisiting the 2006 report score card, and then linked
key issues of quality, change, staff capability and stakeholders to current (2008) and
future planning. This member of the team obviously had access to significant
historical, reporting, and planning information and research. This presentation then
kick started discussion on a range of topics including a recognition of managing
community expectations and managing self expectations (towards staff), and the
need to evaluate “what doesn‟t get measured, doesn‟t get done” (Exec 3, Qld). There
was also a reflection by the ED of the core mission of RC to “improving the lives of
vulnerable people” and the role of “us” (as in the executive team) to “identify who
we need to talk to ... to deliver... we are all translators”. One member of the team
particularly was “pivotal in the translation and summarising of environmental
conditions and then articulated strategic and business planning implications” (Field
notes, 16 Jan 2008) for the executive team. However as one executive quipped, “Red
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Cross is exceptional at conceptualising and producing frameworks, but not good at
implementation” (Exec 4, Qld).
The absence of the MFC manager from strategic level meetings was
understandable given only the executive team attended meetings, however the lack
of access to this information meant the MFC unit were not operating with the same
level of information about the organisation, decisions and the environment that the
executive team had access to. This was acknowledged by members of the executive
team but there were no steps to rectify this:
I don‟t think they [MFC staff] get the information because they‟re not at
those strategic level meetings so you can‟t be proactive. You‟ve got to be
reactive. You only get half the story. Sometimes, even when you go to the
head of the organisation for a particular piece of information, it‟s not quite
right. (Exec 3, Qld)
The executive team did recognise, however, that there needed to be the
appropriate level (seniority) of staff attending strategic management meetings as the
“right people need to go to the right meetings” (Exec 7, Qld). This concern related to
the senior managements‟ perceptions of staff capacity, particularly relevant for the
MFC area.
Some executives believed these problems were driven by the salaries offered by RC
for these positions as it did not attract the right calibre (in terms of skill and
experience) of staff. “If you pay peanuts, you get monkeys”, (Exec 7, Qld). This was
also expressed as being a compromise, that if you wanted to work at RC, you were
prepared to accept a lower salary:
it‟s not [the] sort of place that someone who is really pursuing the material
rewards would stay long at. That‟s not criticising people who are pursuing a
material career path; it‟s just that they may choose to limit the time they
spend here because of that. You are not going to get rich working at Red
Cross. (Exec 2, Qld)
There were a number of situations observed where the professional
(technical) response by MFC members did not meet expectations of senior staff. One
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example was during a meeting with an executive team member, a media release was
shown and I saw the words “this is crap” written across the top of the release by an
executive (Field notes, 13 June 2008). The poor capacity in the unit became a
reputational issue for the MFC unit generally:
I don‟t think they are skilled at developing a communication strategy – and it
is really a sad admission to say that – but I just don‟t see the current group of
people there having that ability... it is built on a bit of a track record with
their stuff (Exec 7, Qld).
A scene further clarified the perception of MFC staff capacity held by senior
management a month later, (8 February 2008) when during a flood crisis in North
RCQ, a media report in a North RCQ paper stated “the Red Cross has so far
managed to ship 4000 crates of bourbon and coke and cans of paint to the area to
help stricken locals” (Daily Mercury, 7 February 2008). While this story started as a
humorous email rumour, it was picked up as a legitimate story and published in the
local paper in Mackay, the day prior. The MFC manager, the public relations staff,
and media officers in the national office were aware it had been published. I was
sitting in the MFC manager‟s office when the ED came in, obviously angry, and
wanted to know why he wasn‟t made aware of it the day before. He had just been
notified by staff in North RCQ about the media report, and it had obviously taken
him by surprise. There was a heated discussion with some swearing and he left with
a comment “this is totally unacceptable”. These views were elaborated on by another
group manager when relating to skills and knowledge:
Unfortunately they [MFC staff] make the same mistake with [name of the
senior executive] who has a Bachelor in Arts – Journalism. He has the
expectation – he can write a media release – I can write a media release....In
the absence of you doing the job, then he‟s going to do it and get really
shitty. So does he have confidence [in the MFC unit]? No! (Exec 5, Qld)
The acknowledgement and tolerance of poor performance and the lack of
performance management by senior managers was confusing to observe, only
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because they had the legitimate power to do something about it, but no actions were
taken. While senior managers expressed frustration with other managers, there was
an acceptance of lower standards of work with no apparent accountability for the
impact of this. The lack of accountability was internalised as tolerance or a “go
softly” on poor performance and this was seen as an acceptable work ethic, because
RC is a charity organisation that does not have a performance culture:
this is endemic through the organisation. People do not have good
performance management coaching/leadership abilities. (Exec 6, Qld)
the accountability stuff is inconsistent ... part of it is an aversion to conflict
within the organisation. And a kind of cultural expectation that you have to
go softly on some people... it is part of organisational culture or has been and
that‟s a leftover from that. (Exec 7, Qld)
The term “Red Cross way” was also used in the executive team, and captured
similar descriptions of ways of working in RC. For one executive member “The Red
Cross way is having long meeting with lots of time wasted. In future I will not
provide feedback because it is not included” (Field notes, 5 August 2008). So for
some executives, the RC way was accepted as a way of working; for others it was
viewed as a way of avoiding accountability or as an excuse just because they worked
at RC:
I don‟t believe in statements like “the Red Cross way”... people push it and
make it what suits them. So the Red Cross way for people who are conflict
adverse, is doing everything you can to avoid any kind of discomfort. Or the
Red Cross way for some people is just to be lazy or not want any
accountability or whatever. (Exec 3, Qld)
The cultural expectation to go softly and views about the organisation being
adverse to conflict and accountability characterised a way of working at RC. Overall
there was a belief, similar to the motivations found in the MFC unit, that people who
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came to RC were motivated by an overwhelming desire to make a difference. In a
way, other things are not viewed as important:
People are here to make a difference in the world, and that they prioritise
effective action in the community above most other things. They are
intrinsically motivated and they are not heavily extrinsically rewarded, nor do
they look for it. That‟s overwhelmingly a key driver of the culture. (Exec 4,
Qld)
The executive team encouraged flexibility as a way of working at RC as this
characteristic allowed the organisation to respond to what was most important – that
is respond to disasters as they happened. The response is encapsulated under the
event of being activated. A strong and shared view of RC was that it was a crisis and
disaster organisation. For the executive team, flexibility allowed them to fulfil this
role:
...there is a fluidity and a flexibility about the organisation which has its pros
and cons, but certainly in terms of responsiveness, our ability to respond to
disasters is a good one. There‟s a nice dovetailing between people who are
intrinsically motivated to make a difference and an organisation that‟s not
very rigid, so you can – if there‟s a difference to be made, you can act on it
very quickly. (Exec 4, Qld)
the organisation code switches its culture depending on the situation. It is a
crisis response organisation when there is a crisis at hand and the
organisation very quickly changes... So we‟ve got to live up to that
expectation that in a crisis we will actually be there and we will be making a
difference. The organisation actually plateaus until there is a crisis and then it
code switches quickly and goes into that more. (Exec 7, Qld)
The code switching had been observed earlier in the MFC unit, but now it
was articulated by this executive. To observe this was actually like viewing two
different ways of working. One way existed when RC was activated, staff had a
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purpose, direction and nothing else took priority. The other way described as a
plateau was where staff had too many priorities and the flexibility as a way of
working where staff appear to become lost:
people get lost and people who don‟t deal with ambiguity well find it hard.
(Exec 4, Qld)
when the Emerald [crisis] occurred ... everything else was not that important
– they were the most vulnerable group at the time. The rest of the place will
just function. (Exec 7, Qld)
The lack of firm systems, processes and approaches in RC was evidenced
through a lack of planning previously identified in the MFC unit. While this was
specific to communication planning, executives confirmed that this was also relevant
to other areas:
the organisation is not a strong planning organisation – we are getting better
at it, but from an outsider‟s perspective you‟d go, “come on guys”... (Exec 5,
Qld)
The flexibility proved challenging for staff, particularly those more familiar
with working in organisations that provided more structure, more direction and more
controls.
Flexibility also allowed executive members to be creative in their conceptualisation
of solutions (to meet the needs of vulnerable people). There was recognition though
that RC was poor at implementation of solutions:
how they [Red Cross] do things is expectation versus reality. The big gap is
pure frustration. Everything is left to the last minute and therefore the quality
is not good. (Conversation exec and national exec – Field notes, 5 August
2008)
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Flexibility accommodated or encouraged a reliance on internal relationships
as a way of working at RC. The absence of firm organisational processes and
systems meant that executives and their staff needed to negotiate or manage
relationships in the workplace as a way of working:
... they spend a lot of time managing the internal relationships rather than the
external relationships....it‟s not what, but who to a great extent. There is a lot
of that here. (Exec 6, Qld)
Some people coming from large institutions, particularly government
institutions, find the place too organic, very organic, it‟s heavily relationship
based. People who have got low ambiguity tolerance... find it difficult
sometimes and complain that you have got to know the right people to get
something done. (Exec 4, Qld).
Relationships in the executive team depended on individual ability to
vocalise their point of view, or essentially debate a position. This meant they needed
to be able to confidently debate and support their position in group manager
meetings or when interacting with the ED. This was the way they communicated and
interacted as a group and was a valued behaviour. The “debate” also allowed
decisions to be flexible enough to benefit from other perspectives:
people who are able to analyse information and stay ahead of the wave...
People who are articulate.....People who are quieter and more thoughtful have
to work harder to get recognised by [name of ED] ...Someone who doesn‟t
speak up or interrupt as much as the others, is going to be at a disadvantage
in his rating of the world. (Exec 2, Qld)
If you can‟t express yourself in 30 seconds and get the point across in 30
seconds, you‟re dead in the water. (Exec 3, Qld)
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Given the centrality of decision making in cultural selection (Durham, 1991)
the next section will explore the nature of decision making and power in RCQ,
focusing on decisions made in the context of strategic communication.
Decision Making and Power in Red Cross Queensland
Given that cultural selection is an outcome of human decision making,
Durham (1991) notes that regardless of the decision being of free will or imposed,
members will evaluate the possible variants according to their consequences.
Strategic communication is also an outcome of decisions made by organisational
members in response to environmental change. It is important to explore the
dynamics of decision making in RCQ to understand these influences.
Decisions made by the executive team that contributed to strategic
communication were both at an individual level and by group consensus. The ED
viewed himself as a mentor and wanted to assist his leadership team to develop skills
in visioning and management. Other executives viewed that they had power to make
a decision and there was an expectation that they deliver on the decision. The
concept of group consensus emerged, with group meetings being the forum for the
group to voice concerns and move towards a shared view on important items. This is
why the ability to speak out as a personal characteristic of the team was so critical to
the group. While some members were vocal in expressing their concerns at the lack
of research or data-based decisions, others seemed less concerned and expressed they
were comfortable in this approach:
...it‟s an organisation that is largely built on subjective decisions making....
it‟s a cultural thing... come from the top down. We‟ve made some investment
decisions without a level of analysis... (Exec 5, Qld)
Decision making here is characterised as “pushing the envelope” meaning
that there was support for risk taking in RCQ in the context of a risk adverse view by
RC nationally:
Chapter 5: Ethnography 206
[we]...ride the edge of the envelope – that close that the envelope doesn‟t
exist... we are going to go into a 15 million dollar project – yeah, why not...
(Exec 7, Qld)
The view that national office were risk adverse meant that decisions were
made to provide minimal risk to the organisation:
we are at a scale now and a level of sophistication now that we are (a) able to
expose ourselves to risks if we can‟t cover off some of those things in a more
deliberate way and (b) people are getting lost. It‟s getting too big and the
decision making is too fast and there‟s too many communication channels so
people are getting a bit lost. (Exec 4, Qld)
For longer standing executives, the rationale behind this approach was
understandable given this was a legacy of the “Bali incident” 10
that happened in
2002:
Bali was a “watershed” for Red Cross as it was an event that raised the most
amount of money, but also the media turned hostile against Red Cross – this
had not happened before (Exec 2 Field notes, 8 January 2008)
When we went through the Bali crisis, the organisation has had some pivotal
moments and has had the glare of the spotlights... they have not got rid of
that. Senior people in the organisation still suffer the crisis of the Bali 60
Minutes interview...the organisation is driven by crisis and it is become very
risk adverse – this is the dilemma that we will face. (Exec 7, Qld)
There was mindfulness in the executive team of a power struggle between
state and national office. This mindfulness was often expressed during executive
10
The Bali incident or “Bali” was the term used to describe the interview by Australian current affair
program reporter Richard Carlton that aired on Channel 9 on 1 June 2003. After the Bali bombings in
2002, RC was responsible for collecting and distributing funds to the victims of the bombing. More
than $14 million was raised. In the interview, RC was accused of using the money for other purposes
see: http://sixtyminutes.ninemsn.com.au/article/259042/double-cross
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team meetings when discussing items where national office had a “reach” or impact.
For example, for media (of national significance) one senior member recounted to
the team how he put a call into one of the senior national members for a media story,
only to be told “we are busy today” (Field notes, 14 January 2008). Another senior
member recounted how “national office simply do not understand our funding
model” (Field notes, 31 March 2008).
The team was also operating under a shadow of reviews; organisational
change that aimed to shift the power and control back to a centralised, national
model. This provided a shared sense of insecurity about the consequences of the
changes as other levels of staff in RCQ. Historically, the state EDs enjoyed
enormous power in the organisation, as reflected by one senior manager:
[in the past] there was a lot of talk about devolving all of the programs to the
states and reducing the central budget and national staff ... the EDs in the
states held a lot of power and the national management team was the “be-all-
and-end-all” for decision making and the board was a rubber stamp operation
... (Exec 3, Qld).
While the need to change was recognised by executive as a way to move
forward, it was not shared widely in the MFC unit. The executive members
recognised the challenges and questioned if it was possible given the current ways of
working in RCQ:
... They are effectively separate organisations coming together as one, so
eight different cultures, and moving to a scale where ... there is an absolute
imperative for a structuring process. It‟s going to be fascinating to see how
our local flexibility and responsiveness and a high pulse rate and dynamism
responds. (Exec 4, Qld)
Maybe the national changes and the perceived distance between the division
and the national office – difference in understanding of our realities creates
an area – a degree of difficulty that didn‟t previously exist when the change
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might have just been in the department or at the divisional level. (Exec 2,
Qld)
The understanding of the realities of executive members, in terms of their
views of RC, its history, reputation and social environment will be explored in the
next section.
Executive member views of Red Cross
Conceptualisations of the organisation, including its brand or reputation
influence group behaviours. Capturing these conceptualisations deepens
understanding of their realities of their environment (Hatch & Schultz, 1997). Like
the MFC staff, executive members viewed RC as iconic and it gave them an
opportunity to do something meaningful with their careers by giving back to society
and making a difference. “There are not many jobs in the world where you actually
get to make a difference,” (Exec 7, Qld). The history of RC was also viewed as
impacting on their beliefs about the organisation, both in terms of the work done and
the symbolism generated by one of the largest and oldest humanity organisations in
the world:
... that history is significant. [Red Cross is] a universal sign of care and
comfort that you‟re wearing on your chest and you don‟t know where else the
person you‟re talking to has encountered that or what their expectations are
going to be of that emblem and the people working for it. ... you have to live
up to the responsibility of wearing that emblem. You‟ve got all of that history
standing behind you and all of the expectations that come with that. (Exec 3
Qld)
Many of the responsibilities of RC were underpinned by the seven
fundamental principles that were published as guides to activities of volunteers and
staff working in RC.
the organisational principles, those fundamental principles, are the most
effective organisational mission statement principles that I have ever seen.
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People really do refer to them. They are internalised. People are here because
of them. People think about their behaviour in relation to them and it‟s just
something that I have never seen in another organisation of any description,
that those sorts of things are so impactful. (Exec 4, Qld)
They‟re [the principles] great tools to be able to say – in an environment
where you‟re being asked to do something by your family network or by your
elders and the organisation seem so to be telling you to do something else –
rather than just saying “We‟ll just bend the rules and we will do it this way
because that‟s how that community works” you actually use the principles as
your tool. (Exec, 3, Qld)
While some viewed the principles as powerful and instructive, others did not:
No, they don‟t play a role. People are cynical about them. That‟s the other
thing... huge amount of cynicism. (Exec 6, Qld)
The differing views on how these principles informed the work or mindset of
staff in RC came from a view that the principles were misunderstood or
misinterpreted because the language used was misleading, no longer relevant or that
people who worked at RC did not know how to operationalise them:
I don‟t think people understand them. From induction down, we‟re too soft
on the principles. Some people in the organisation wouldn‟t even be able to
tell you what the principles are. The principles are bent out of shape to do
things “the Red Cross way”. (Exec 3, Qld)
There was a cultural expectation that staff knew about the fundamental
principles, but a much weaker expectation on how they were applied. There was
wide consensus that the principles were not appropriately applied (emerged early in
the study), or later, that the principles were often used by others in the organisation
as a way out, an excuse, or simply misinterpreted to suit a situation. One example
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given was that neutrality was applied as a way of excusing inaction or not speaking
out. Some members were very frustrated by this:
One of the spin-offs from that is the impartiality and neutrality which are
such important values to doing the sort of work we do. They‟re interpreted as
meaning, you can‟t speak out. If you are going to be neutral, you can‟t take a
political stand, which is wrong. You can‟t take a party political stand; you
can‟t take a short-sighted partisan view on anything, but if there‟s a public
policy issue, you should argue the public policy issue. (Exec 4, Qld)
Overwhelmingly, RC was considered to be known for disaster, blood and
international work and they had a strong reputation for performance in these areas.
This was a common platform not only among executive members, but for most staff
at RC:
Disaster and blood is usually what they say about what we do, but people‟s
perceptions are of a very capable, large global organisation that can turn up in
the worst circumstances. (Exec 4, Qld)
The lack of clarity around what RC actually did first revealed in MFC was
also shared in the executive team:
Whether you put 20 cents in a tin or you leave us your house, you do it on the
– usually poorly informed understanding of what we actually do and it‟s a
pretty important thing to be explicit about what we do. (Exec 4, Qld)
We have such a strong level of infiltration about the brand recognition, but
we have a low level of recognition about what we actually do. Our challenge
is that everyone knows about us but doesn‟t have a clue what we do. (Exec 5,
Qld)
The lack of knowledge of external audiences was also not concerning to RCQ
executives who were reassured by the very strong reputation and powerful brand of
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RC. There were some concerns though that RC did not leverage the opportunities
offered by the strong brand recognition:
The brand is quite helpful because people who don‟t know anything else are
likely to see Red Cross as a reputable, credible humanitarian organisation
with history. That‟s quite powerful for us. We don‟t have to work on creating
that perception. It‟s out there. We have to make sure we don‟t do anything to
destroy that perception. What we do do needs to enhance that perception.
(Exec 2, Qld)
The discrepancy in the strengths of the RC brand and its direct effect on
fundraising efforts was of some concern to executive members, but this was
expressed more as bewilderment and an outcome of the capacity of the MFC area at
a national level:
If you look at the brand recognition, we are in the 90s. The next best brand in
our sector is the Salvos and they are in the 40s ... So organisations that no-
one has ever heard of out-fundraise us. We are almost twice as recognised as
anyone else in the sector and you look at our fundraising, we come in at
about 30th. So there‟s a huge mismatch between people‟s identification and
recognition and high, it‟s an incredibly prestigious brand and we just do an
epically shit job of asking people for money. (Exec 4 Qld)
The lack of capitalisation on being one of the world‟s most recognisable
brands, yet only being very mediocre in raising money was a consistent view held by
members in RCQ. Equally, the reaction ranged from bewilderment to sheer
frustration. However there was no evidence among the executive group that any
response was needed to investigate or correct this. It appeared that this was accepted
as the current positioning in the not-for-profit landscape.
Hatch and Ruben (2006) highlight the role of organisational brand as social
texts, and the centrality of corporate branding in management decision making. They
suggest “brand communication will increasingly be seen as a primary representation
of corporate values in the context of the ever expanding availability of information”
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(p. 57). Given the importance and recognition of strength of the brand, one of the
biggest risks articulated for RC was anything that impacted or damaged the brand.
RC did not have a dedicated issues management function as described by Heath
(1997). There was a shared view that community expectation played a role in this but
there was little analysis of public opinion sentiment about RC or understanding of
the public expectations. There was a view that RC will be visible and active in any
disaster situation:
the main risk for the organisation and with the sort of public claim and the
public esteem that an organisation like RC has, is that we have to be there
amidst the central challenges in the community. If you have got a brand
profile, like we do ... “Wherever you are, whoever you are, we‟re there to
help. We‟re there to help people with the greatest needs. No matter what the
circumstances, what the barriers are, we will get through. We will help you,”
that sort of brand profile. (Exec 4, Qld)
Other RC executives expressed concern that internal management‟s view of
RC as a brand verged on being elitist and arrogant. But the expression of this was
found to reflect more of an internal or insular perspective rather than being elitist.
For example, the member here was concerned that RC does not look beyond its own
organisation, and this belief was also shared in the MFC unit:
We are very arrogant when we look outside, too. (named people) ... went to a
not-for-profit forum (and) basically said, “We have got some great people
here and we do some great things when you look at who else is out there in
the not-for-profit sector”... I was embarrassed.. there is no humility... We are
elitist. (Exec 6, Qld).
The focus on internal understandings of RC was also raised as a reputational
risk, effectively ignoring key publics in the environment. There were growing
concerns that RC was not aware of its social environment:
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Red Cross needs to pay more attention to its reputation with particular groups
of people. We‟re really arrogant about it. We‟re in for a major kicking. It
might not happen tomorrow or in the next five years but it‟s going to happen
because we‟re fundamentally paying no attention to some people who we
really ought to be and have been for the last five to ten years. We‟ve dropped
the ball. (Exec 3 Qld)
The importance of exploring executive member views of the external social
environment and their perceptions of what exists and its influence on the need to
respond is explored in the next section.
Executive member perceptions of their environment
The RCQ executive team characterised their social environment as being
occupied by clients, corporate, other agencies, government, and regulatory bodies.
Their mindfulness of their presence was observed in meetings and discussions as
they were concerned about the impacts on their social environment and relationships,
consequences and antecedents to policy and decision making. However this was not
a formal process. The scanning, interpretation and prioritising of this information
was done at the individual level, and this ability was perceived by members as
variable in the team, lacking in process and structure:
.. you rely on key people to give you your environmental scans. The ED
actually does a lot of that work ... keeps up with people in government …but
it is kept up there (points to head). There‟s no process for actually sharing
some of that stuff and even the strategic meetings that we‟re supposed to
have to kick around that information are always kicked back off the agenda
so it doesn‟t necessarily happen … so what‟s happening inside is here (points
to head) … there‟s this information coming in and some of it‟s immediately
being thrown out the door ... (Exec 3, Qld).
The competitive landscape of not-for-profits has previously been identified as
being cluttered. Some members expressed a frustration that RC was playing by, or
competing with different rules. In their view, some of their competitors were not
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doing the “right thing” in terms of marketing communications, and that they, for
example, were capitalising on misery. RC uses empowering and respectful images.
Views were shared amongst the executive team that RC, given its reputation and
brand recognition, was not as sophisticated as their competitors in their strategic
communication activities. They considered their competitors use advertising and
other promotions a lot more effectively:
Flashy is not the way that we want to do it. We don‟t want to grandstand. I do
have some discomfort with Oxfam‟s “Close the Gap” campaign. Wonderful
targeting of a key issue, wonderful beating the drum ... I can almost hear
Oxfam headquarters in Sydney rubbing their hands together thinking all the
money they are going to get because it‟s a fashionable issue and I am pretty
certain there is a bit of that dynamic in our future in the community, “Well,
here‟s the biggest one. If we position ourselves as doing something about it,
we will be right?” (Exec 4, Qld)
World Vision raised $50 million, we got $150 million. I saw that as a real
warning shock across our bow. Here‟s an organisation [World Vision] that‟s
come from nowhere and doing one thing in particular to raise $50 million and
being high profile in the public. We should have raised three times the
amount this time [that we actually did]... (Exec 3, Qld)
There was no clear agreement about how RC should be presenting itself in
terms of a view about how it needed to improve. There was a shared recognition they
were competing with other not-for-profits for the same fundraising dollar and many
of them had an advantage either because they had a more simplified product or they
used advertising techniques that, in the executive team‟s view, were not appropriate
for RC to use. The restraint driven by the values is interesting as there was clearly an
emerging tension between a product driven organisation versus a human services or
social values model driven by collaboration and conversations. The tension is that
some members felt RC was becoming product driven and losing the ability to
collaboratively work with a group to provide a service. Other members viewed it as
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losing the visioning or creative process needed to meet the changing needs of its
social environment:
we‟re product driven – rather than being like Oxfam or whatever, who
generally market – what you get the sense of is an approach and a really
respectful approach of people and their issues, you don‟t get that here ... Even
the Red Cross‟s care commitment stuff is really not about an approach. It‟s
about our products. (Exec 3, Qld)
.. in any organisation you have got to have people who are visionary – it is
my role. We have too many product management people – who are wedded
to a product. (Exec 7, Qld).
The tension that was emerging characterised a competing view of a creative
versus a marketing, or product-driven way of working. While these views were
expressed as a concern broadly, views were particularly strong around strategic
communication activities, specifically about RC‟s brand and how it should maintain
its reputation and prioritise its relationships with stakeholders. In this case, it was a
belief that RC does need to get more organised, but there is a fear that it might be
unable to maintain that balance of creative and more formalised ways of working.
This was expressed as one of RC‟s greatest challenges:
That‟s one of the key challenges for an organisation growing, growing
geographically in a dispersed way ... Any national organisation which
operates across the states has got the same challenge. How do you get the
balance right between having likely responsive things plugged into the local
community and do things right on the ground and have some coherence as an
overall agency? That's the balance. (Exec 4, Qld)
This section presented participant views of RCQ. It documents that the locus
of strategic communication in the organisation sits with the executive unit as it
interacts with the MFC unit, then follows processes in motion (Mitchell, 2007)
through exploring cognitive knowledge structures held by members of RCQ with the
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aim of exploring meaning and understanding of their world. The next section
summarises these knowledge structures.
Knowledge Structures in Red Cross Queensland
Knowledge structures are cognitive schemas that act to instruct or bias
individual‟s interpretation and understanding of environmental information (Harris,
1994). The knowledge structures summarised below represent shared knowledge or
classificatory schemas that are derived from observations and interviews (Platt,
2007). Harris (1994) suggests sense making is facilitated through knowledge
structures of schemas. Schemas provide sense making templates for management
that assist to give meaning to environmental information (Walsh, 1995). Schemas are
organised expressions of experience that serve as a frame of reference for action
(Weick, 1979) or act as mechanism to shape and simplify cognition (Di Maggio,
1997). As cognitive structures, Sackmann (1991) suggests people use schemas to
both understand and attribute meaning to events. In RCQ, the emergent knowledge
structures existed in five key areas as illustrated in Table 10 and Figure 26.
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Figure 26: Red Cross Queensland web of knowledge structures
The figure illustrates the cultural propositions as a web of knowledge
structures and their relationships that have emerged from the cognitive premises of
individual members. This represents the collective level representations generated
during enactment (Weick, 1969) about RC, what they believe the organisation to be
and what it is like working there. The red schema relates to belief systems operating
to organise RCQ members‟ views about what RC is, and needs to be, to respond to
the environment that it is operating in. The purple schema exists around how
members perceive they need to operate as a crisis organisation and their beliefs about
being flexible and fluid. The yellow schema relates to how RCQ members operate as
a way of working at RC. The green schema reflects views about stakeholders and
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their relationship with power and structure. The blue schema describes beliefs about
how RC is perceived by external audiences. The schema is shared across the five key
areas as they contribute to building understanding of participant views in RCQ.
Table 10: Emergent schemas operating in Red Cross Queensland
Schema characterised Emergent knowledge structures
Views of RC trying to meet the
needs of outside world (red)
Old and traditional, iconic and respected
7 Principles both enhance and constrain our work
Valuable and recognised brand – I am proud to
work at RC – RC or not-for-profit way
We are a humanitarian organisation (tolerance) and
a volunteer organisation
Helping vulnerable people important
Old ways of working –Tolerance of poor
performance
Complex and not understood –Need to maintain
relevance
Corporate way versus a social values way
Views about being a crisis
organisation (purple)
A crisis organisation – need to be flexible and fluid
Flexible
Reactive, ad hoc and inconsistent
Busy (out of control)
No planning
Decision making based on intuition
Views about how we work at
RCQ (yellow)
Avoid being blamed
Not performance based, poor accountability, Power
and power struggles , need to share risk –
Conversations, we have an internal focus, we don‟t
document, we need to be articulate
Views about stakeholders and Power struggle, nationalisation (support or
Chapter 5: Ethnography 219
their relationship with power
and structure (green)
challenge), need to be articulate, EDs are important
Views about external
perceptions of RC (blue)
Humanitarian organisation, old, volunteer based,
helping people, traditional, recognised and valuable,
complex
Schema: Conceptualisations of Red Cross
The red and blue schema (Figure 26) organise members‟ views of what RC
is, what they think external audiences think about RC, and what it means to work at
RC. This reflects their shared knowledge about what RC needs to strategically
communicate to meet the needs of its social environment.
They view the brand as being highly respected and very valuable, and there is
recognition that they are custodians of the brand. There is some concern that there is
not enough being done to maintain the brand, however it is generally felt the brand is
strong enough to cope with this.
The age and traditions of RC are very important to members as they feel they
contribute to an iconic and respected organisation that is doing amazing and
meaningful work. Traditions were viewed as constraining for RC, as they were being
held back by what was the history of the organisation and by the profile of the
members, volunteers and board members being stuck in the glory of the past and not
keeping pace with current ways. This also included maintaining relevance for the
current society and what that means.
Current ways also encapsulated RC not providing staff with resources and
technology and investing in the organisation to be able to maximise their potential.
Age and tradition were also viewed as benefits. Many staff were frustrated that RC
was not more successful, given their understanding of what the organisation was,
how well known it was, and the remarkable work that it did.
The complexity of services and work RC undertook also provided a source
of frustration for members. This was because it was not simply defined, or simply
communicated to diverse audiences that were targeted by RC. Even with the new
branding, members felt it was still difficult to package.
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While acknowledging the seven fundamental principles are meaningful for
many staff, there was a consensus held by the executive team that they were not fully
understood. There was also a shared view that while the principles were present, they
did little to actually contribute to the work done at RC on a daily basis.
Staff feel exceptionally proud to be associated with working at RC. They
like to tell their friends and colleagues they work for RC and put RC on their work
history. This is also linked to the humanitarian work that RC undertakes and the
public image held about RC work. They view helping vulnerable people to be
extremely important and this overrides some of the other frustrations they experience
at RC.
Working at RC also means staff need to accept the not-for-profit framework
that is associated with being tolerant, or what is often interpreted as being
humanitarian. For staff this means that there is latitude in work standards – or a
tolerance of poor performance. There was also a tension in RCQ as staff recognise
two competing ways of working. One is a creative way that relies on conversations
and collaboration. The other is a marketing driven way, being directed by the
product... this remains unresolved for members.
Schema: Red Cross is a crisis organisation
The purple schema (Figure 26) organise RCQ participant views that RC is a
crisis organisation working in flexible ways to allow them to be responsive to the
sudden nature of a crisis. Flexible and fluid ways are accommodated through
conversations as a way of working in the organisation; recognising relationships with
key staff are a way of getting work outcomes rather than formal processes of
documentation. The ability to converse or debate is highly valued in RCQ.
Documentation is avoided as this would solidify an approach, removing the ability to
be flexible. Therefore, planning is undertaken verbally with feedback given as part of
a conversation. Decisions are achieved through discussion and ultimately consensus.
If agreement cannot be reached, decisions are not made.
Organisational knowledge is reduced because of lack of documentation, so
decisions are made based on the current understanding of a situation. Work therefore
is prioritised by deadline, not necessarily by importance, so staff often have a sense
of being out of control or having no direction. When a crisis does occur, staff have a
Chapter 5: Ethnography 221
sense of relief as a focus for work is delivered within the scope of the crisis, rather
than the complexity of work that comes with normal operations at RC.
Schema: Working in Red Cross Queensland
The green and yellow schemas (Figure 26) organise member‟s views about
working at RCQ. There is a shared view that the organisation operates in a way that
distributes accountability. This includes having conversations to share risk, a lack of
documentation and lack of evaluation or accountability. Staff feel that they will be
blamed and fear consequences, leading them to avoid situations where they perceive
this may occur.
Staff know there is little accountability for outcomes of “other” staff and this
is a source of frustration and confusion. The lack of performance management
nurtures an individualistic way of working that includes a lack of sharing
information and a need to protect individual output.
Power and relationships are important in RCQ, with this sometimes
obscuring external perspectives and audiences, leaving staff more focused on
internal stakeholders. Power resided in key areas and staff needed to make sure those
with power were satisfied. In most cases the power is legitimate, however power
struggles exist for members resulting in the need to identify, manage or “play the
game” to have a better outcome. The need to be able to debate and be articulate is
also a highly valued quality in working at RCQ.
Summary: Contextualising Red Cross Queensland knowledge
structures
The first stage of analysis focused on the MFC unit in RCQ as the setting to
explore the cultural influences on the development of strategic communication. The
setting of the study now shifts out to give context to these knowledge structures. This
knowledge web will now be explored in the context of the national office (analysis
stage two) and then compared with the knowledge structures present in RCSA
(analysis stage three).
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Contextualising Case: National Communication Directorate
Stage two of the analysis now shifts to the next level of influence in the
National Communication Directorate (NCD). The following ethnography aims to
further explore the processes, persons and actions relating to the development of
strategic communication in RCQ and give context and meaning to these findings (see
Figure 27) (Vayda, 1983; Marcus, 1995). The first part of the ethnography details the
physical setting then moves to explore the knowledge structures identified within
RCQ, including motivations for working at RC, member conceptualisations RC‟s
reputation, traditions, services and environment. The account then describes member
perceptions of environment before moving to themes related to strategic
communication.
These views are important as Lundberg (2005) argues “it is the mindset of
the dominant coalition which enables executives to notice, bundle, and give meaning
to solicited as well as available information” (p. 299). It was the role of the NCD to
set strategic direction of RC and policy relating to the organisation‟s strategic
communication. While the regulatory and normative powers of the NCD were
limited due to the federated model that allocated absolute power to the state-based
divisions, it was viewed that the NCD was in a position of authority to influence and
direct interpretations and actions by members in RCQ.
Figure 27: Stage 2 level of analysis in the context of the study in Red Cross
Chapter 5: Ethnography 223
The NCD in RC was responsible for setting policy and direction for the
national organisation of RC. The director of the unit articulated the purpose of the
unit as being for “reputational defence”. Staff in the unit have a perceived senior role
in the organisation and are in a position of authority, however do not have any direct
line reporting between the state-based MFC staff and the national office staff.
Access to RC needed to be endorsed by the national director of
communication. By the time I came to interview the key staff they had moved into a
new building in York Street in Sydney – although not all national office staff were
located there. Of the 37 staff in the NCD, 16 were in Sydney, 19 were in Melbourne,
one was in Brisbane, and one in Perth. There was no clear rationale for this
distribution except for staff preference.
The Sydney office of the NCD was located on level 9 of an eleven storey
office block in the heart of the CBD in Sydney. Offices were secured by glass doors
that could only be entered by swiping a security pass or by buzzing the security
intercom. The internal fit out of the Sydney office was similar to the RCQ and
RCSA premises. Senior staff occupied offices while less senior staff were in open
plan partitioned offices in the centre.
The Melbourne office of the NCD was located in a city fringe in a non
identifiable, two level building in a location behind the Victoria state office building.
There was no RC signage on the external building. The entrance was through a
discrete frosted glass door only accessible by being buzzed in. Inside there was no
reception area. Visitors to the building confronted a small corridor with a stairway
with the national office staff located through another door to the left. Stairs led up to
more offices and a large meeting room with a board type table. The Melbourne
office area appeared cramped and not like the modern Sydney premises or other state
offices. There was little to offer staff working there in terms of outlook. Like the
other locations though, senior staff had offices and junior staff were accommodated
in cubicle partitioned areas.
On entry to the Sydney office, the executive assistant to the director of
communication appeared organised and professional, and presented a diary schedule
of appointments for my interviews. I had not been given permission to observe or
attend meetings, so my time in the office was dedicated only to gaining a one hour
Chapter 5: Ethnography 224
interview with nominated people identified responsible for developing or
contributing to strategic communication in RC. Most interviews extended more than
an hour. While these covered everyone in the unit, I was given access to the most
senior communication roles responsible for marketing and communication activities,
including media, internal communication, international communication, research,
strategy, and donor relations. The level of the staff interviewed (managerial or
operational) is summarised in Table 11.
Entry to the Melbourne office was less formal. While senior staff knew that I
was arriving, there was less formality, acknowledgement or organisation. I was
introduced around to staff sitting at their desks and shown to a desk left vacant for
the day due to someone being on sick leave. There was little opportunity to interact
with the staff. Similar to RCQ, staff were busy in their cubicles with little office
banter witnessed. In both Sydney and Melbourne, interviews were undertaken in
personal offices or in onsite meeting rooms.
Table 11: Seniority of staff accessed in the national office
Seniority level National MFC unit National other
Senior manager 6 2
Operational 5
The age and experience pool of staff in the NCD was older and more
experienced than staff in the MFC state offices. Staff in the more senior roles had
significant working experience in relevant organisations prior to coming to work at
RC. The views expressed by national members about their motivation for working at
RC were similar to RCQ. The length of time that national staff had been with RC
was also significantly longer, ranging from six years to newly appointed, with a
median time of three years. The motivation for working at RC was shared and
expressed as sentiments of doing something they believed was worthwhile and
contributed to society in some way:
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if I am going to be promoting something, it has to be something that I
passionately believe in and not something that‟s just really about putting
dividends back in shareholders‟ pockets. (National 3)
it‟s personally nice to do something that feels right. (National 9)
The uniqueness of RC being in a position “to influence” was also important
to staff in national office, and this was bundled with RC‟s foundation of being a
humanitarian organisation:
when you have worked for the organisation for a while, you come to realise
that there are constraints, but that they are also enormous opportunities. Our
organisation can do stuff simply ... that other organisation‟s don‟t get a
chance to do. (National 3)
There was shared consensus that RC was known for blood, international
work and disasters:
Red Cross is widely known among the public and very highly respected. So
when people think of Red Cross , they think very highly of us. However, they
don‟t really know what we do; certainly within Australia. So the main things
they associate Red Cross with is blood, international work and to a lesser
extent our response to emergencies and disasters. They don‟t really have a
good sense across the board about our various programs for disadvantaged
people in Australia and that‟s something that we want to address... (National
7)
While there was recognition that the complexity and scope of RC services
hindered their ability to let audiences know what they did, there was also a view that
what had been done to date was confusing and led to a view of RC being
misunderstood by the lack of consistency across Australia about what is was doing:
Chapter 5: Ethnography 226
[Red Cross ] has been fairly remedial in terms of communications over the
years.... We‟ve been projecting all these confusing messages about what we
are doing and who we are inappropriately and that‟s what‟s really fractured
our brand generally ... We are actually the one organisation ... trying to be all
things to all people is just information overload. (National 2)
With the recognition that what RC does is complex, also came a shared view
that audiences and stakeholders did not have to know about everything the
organisation did; a view equally held in RCQ:
I don‟t think everybody has to know everything we do. That to a certain
extent we can trade off our reputation for... safety, reliability, trustworthiness,
size, scope in the areas that people already recognise and we can target our
information to people who need to know about certain services...(National 3)
what people understand Red Cross to be is this big, sexy, global, international
brand and that they – it is top of mind for them, number one in respect, and
they don‟t know all the intricacies of what it does. They don‟t need to. They
trust it. (National 2)
There was also awareness that although RC enjoyed a high brand profile,
there was a sense of there being unrealised potential, also expressed as missed
opportunity for the organisation:
It‟s both an awareness of missed opportunity and unrealised potential. It‟s
probably a factor of increased competitiveness within ... and we see a number
of not-for-profits doing those things better than we are doing and we have
said, “Well, if we have got such a fabulous brand, such great recognition,
why aren‟t we matching some of those other organisations?” (National 7)
RC‟s reputation was viewed as being an organisation that was safe,
trustworthy, reliable, and built on tradition. Nurturing, protecting and maintaining
the reputation of RC was very important to national staff and many identified it as
Chapter 5: Ethnography 227
one of their key roles. However for many members, the concept of being safe was
tied to symbols of age and tradition in RC. For many, traditional ways of working
and governance structures were viewed as a constraint for progress and impinged on
their ability to adapt to a more contemporary social environment. The age and
traditions of RC were viewed as something that could constrain the organisation
moving forward. The lack of appeal and loss of relevance to younger audiences was
a priority for many staff who were concerned that RC was so bound up by tradition,
engaging with the older generation in both leadership and policy, that it was
neglecting other audiences or mindsets:
We don‟t need to remind people about how old we are. That‟s what we are
trying to reverse; is look contemporary, not the reverse. (National 2)
It does reflect an old style governance structure that had people who really
weren‟t looking at strategic but they‟re, very much, looking at small details...
(National 5)
Views of roles that traditional members and volunteers played in the
organisation created a tension in terms of recognising that RC needed to do things
differently. While there was a high level of respect for what the ageing volunteers
and members contributed to RC, there was a floundering in terms of what to do with
a group that cannot change. The need to rebrand RC to corporatise it was also seen in
a way as rebranding the types of volunteers they attract. Recognising that RC is not
appealing to the youth was a concern for national staff:
We can‟t have, with the greatest respect in the world, octogenarians running
chook raffles at (name of a town) at a loss, using public relations materials
that are completely off-brand and not synergised because when those people
die nobody is going to do anything because there‟s a perception that we are
old. ....I don‟t think that that, and updating our image, is mutually exclusive.
(National 12)
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These sentiments were reflective of tensions also found in RCQ. In RCQ this
was more about a tension between a product driven versus a social service model,
but here this view was refined to being more about trying to shift the organisation
from a non corporate to a corporate mindset. While national staff were not wedded to
sentimentality or a specific state-based alliance, they argued for recognising that
while values-based decisions have a role, the organisation needs to be far more
accountable for the delivery of corporate outcomes and donor value. This was really
described as a way of working mindset, where decisions were the outcome of
position not impact:
We have shareholders who are the governors and the members, but they‟re
not really. You could be an old lady of 80 who‟s baking lamingtons and you
feel that you‟re a senior member of the society. Well they‟re not. They‟re not
business. I‟m very aware that I can‟t be too value focused ... we don‟t exist
simply to give volunteers something to do... (National 9)
We turn ourselves inside out and become something we are not just to get a
bit of funding. Then we have got traditional boards and Mable comes on
board and her mother was incontinent, so she thinks it would be really good
to set up a linen hire service for people and that happens. So that‟s what‟s
happened over the years. (National 2)
The “bounded by tradition” sentiment was also applied to how the
organisation responded to its competitive environment. Members in national office
felt that they were doing enough. Members at this level revealed they had greater
insights and perspectives into the strategic vision of the organisation, specifically the
diversity and scope of work being undertaken both nationally and internationally by
RC, and this perspective enriched their view of what RC needed to be doing at a
local or state-based level:
It‟s not that those concerns aren‟t getting to the streets. They are, via other
organisations. But we have opportunities to work with people who are the
most vulnerable people in the community, partly because we say, okay, we
Chapter 5: Ethnography 229
will air those concerns privately, not publicly. I am happy knowing that there
are other people that are doing that publicly. But it‟s not as if we are not
doing anything, we are doing lots, arguably more, than making ourselves feel
warm and fuzzy. (National 3)
While acknowledging RC‟s role to help vulnerable people emerged strongly
at the national level, the role of the seven fundamental principles was not so clear.
RC publicly states the seven fundamental principles guide or influence work
undertaken by RC. National members viewed these as a philosophy but not
instrumental in guiding the work done by the NCD. The principles were recognised
as having organisational value as a platform, or as being inherent in brand strategy,
but are ultimately confusing and hard to interpret:
[The use of the principles] Yes it‟s a key positioning platform when you‟re
talking to outside business partners and you can position yourself as a non-
religious organisation that is independent ... Most people don‟t understand
the wordings around the core principles. Some of them are quite
contradictory... People don‟t know what they mean. People look at
universality and you think, so what does that mean? (National 5)
we certainly don‟t live and breathe them. ... they are harder to conceptualise.
I mean, something “neutrality, impartiality, universality”; people probably
don‟t get that bit. (National 7)
Seven fundamental principles written in Old English which they are, in stuffy
sector speak that you never heard ...it‟s ridiculous. ... The language is too
irrelevant. (National 2)
The principles were also recognised as having the potential to be used as an
excuse for inaction or inactivity. While no clear examples were given, these
comments were made being mindful that it could happen and RC needed to take care
that the principles were not applied in this way:
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... you can go too far one way and use neutrality, impartiality, independence,
all of those sorts of things as an excuse for not speaking out... It is crucial too
that we are not seen as politically active .. not only about what we do with
our own government, not only politically sensitive within our own country
but with the knowledge about what we do here has a bearing on what
happens internationally as well. (National 3)
We wanted to do much more advocacy to influence public policy and to get
some public recognition for what we stand for and believe in but a lot of
people say, “Oh, you can‟t possibly have a public view about Indigenous
issues or whatever, immigration issues, because of that neutrality.” So, yeah,
they have certainly hid behind that. (National 7)
While the principles were not viewed as a strong influence on action or ways
of working, other influences were evident. These will now be explored in the next
section.
Ways of Working
National staff views about ways of working at RC shared many similarities
with RCQ. There was a palpable fatigue and frustration in staff that was similar to
the RCQ view, but national office staff felt they had more ability to influence
outcomes. While feelings of overwork and exploitation emerged, there was
awareness that for some staff, they were actively trying to make that a condition for
their subordinates:
staff here are exploited. There is a culture of “you work for a humanitarian
organisation. Therefore, it should have your life”. That‟s unfair and
unrealistic. I try really hard not to do that with the staff that work for me.
(National 3)
(name) expects it all. That‟s part of his culture. Negotiating never happens
successfully. The same thing happens at divisional level where
communications people go, “but I‟ve been asked to take the lead on this
Chapter 5: Ethnography 231
volunteer and membership communication review that‟s due, and you want
me to organise this ball for the ED.” “Do both.” And one of them inevitably
falls in a heap or the person works 24 hours a day for six months and leaves.
That‟s basically what happens all the time. (National 2)
The concept of surviving a bullish way of working emerged, but not in the
same way as in RCQ. In NCD, it was described more as a survival mechanism,
where people who were not strong, articulate and assertive may have a hard time in
RC:
There‟s a bullying culture slightly at the top, too. ... It‟s the louder, the
biggest wheels, the people that talk the loudest...[that get their own way]
(National 3)
The identification of relationships as being central to ways of working was
also shared at the national level, with this theme being articulated as both relational
and also involving power or operating in a political way. The influence of the
relational way of working was acknowledged as being too informal or fluid, and
there was a need to shift this practice:
It‟s an organisation that also needs to formalise things. The relationships and
the ways of working that drove it rather than the structure. (National 5)
Like RCQ, national office recognised a reliance on consultation or having a
conversation as an accepted way of working. However inaction resulted from this
activity with a recognition that consultation was aiming for decision by consensus,
which leads to no decisions being made:
we confuse consultation with consensus. We come from a background of “we
can only make a decision when we have got consensus on something.” So we
get those nine people in the room and very rarely do we get consensus. So we
get really constrained by that. (National 7)
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The expectation that staff consulted to get to a decision was viewed as disruptive,
and stifled NCD‟s staff ability to achieve outcomes. This was also attributed to the
influence of other parties to try to achieve a sense of power or control over the
situation. While power is not explicitly articulated here, it is reflected in the ongoing
battle by states to maintain a level of power:
there‟s just constant interjection. There are people that do step in and micro-
manage and it becomes very interruptive... it creates a completely different
set of circumstances. (National 6)
There was a shared view that some states were out of alignment with the
national direction. This was recognised by national staff as more of a reflection that
state staff did not have access to the visioning and national priorities discussed at the
very senior level:
They are part of Red Cross. Some of the internal stakeholders in states,
particularly who are very state focused, and tend to not always see the whole.
(National 5)
This misalignment also had consequences for the strategic communication
output in RC. National staff viewed the states as having different priorities, but few
national staff made the links to the lack of access to key information. It was just
viewed as a lack of perspective, or an internal focus. A recognition by members that
RC has an inward or internal focus emerged as a very strong theme. This lack of
perspective was viewed as a lack of vision of RC being one organisation instead of
the federated model of nine separate operating divisions:
a lot of the sentiment that comes through of “my state is different” is based
on a very traditional, rural opinion. Which is where their traditional
membership came from. It‟s not necessarily where the other supporters or
where blood donors and even volunteers, increasingly, are actually coming
from. (National 5)
Chapter 5: Ethnography 233
people are just so caught up in their own internal divisions and that happens
with the organisation globally as well. We are just a microcosm of the
movement, really. (National 2)
NCD staff also expressed a view they felt they did not have access to
information needed for them to make the right decisions in their work:
I‟ve said over and over and over, I‟d really love to come to the more senior
meetings and hear what their priorities are, because it really influences what I
do. I‟ve been told it‟s inappropriate [to go to those meetings]. (National 10)
A number of staff highlighted the political nature of RC confirming its internal
nature as just a political organisation with an internal focus:
it is a battle. This is a really political organisation. Not political in a bitchy
sense at all; just everything‟s complicated. Red Cross is its own worst enemy.
Everything is inward focussed. (National 4)
...we are a really long way behind lots of other not-for-profits strategically,
hugely, because of the undue amount of influence of board members and
people like your senior managers are able to inflict on your day-to-day....
micro-management indicates how out of touch we are. (National 2)
For most, the internal focus was directed at things like the principles, where it
was attributed that the “organisation” didn‟t see the folly in their ways – but no
analysis was undertaken that maybe this internal focus was having an impact:
we tend to talk in Red Cross lingo. Forget sector lingo. We have got lingo all
of our own... the principles have organisational value in communicating them
– they are inherent in brand, inherent in imagery... And that is part of Red
Cross wanting to talk its own language all the time and not communicate
with people in a compelling way. (National 2)
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The view of national staff that the organisation tended to have an inward
focus aligned with the emergence of personality being an important or contributing
characteristic in staff and recognition that power and politicking was part of a way of
working at RC. For some members this was described as game playing, for others it
was simply an exercise of power:
... people have been quite shocked by some of the game playing and
machinations and lack of sympathy and empathy internally, that have been in
some cases fairly dirty politics. It takes people by surprise... (National 2)
There‟s varying degrees to which people play the game and RCQ is notorious
for not playing the game compared to South Australia, which is very much
on board and does play the game... (National 7)
The internal focus was held by national members to be particularly applicable
to RCQ. RCQ was noted as being parochial as RCQ staff thought their state was
special and had unique needs and needed unique programs:
The CEO of Queensland Red Cross, CEO of WA Red Cross, and all those
people, are different. That‟s why we have got those different cultures. The
Queensland culture is regarded as a bit of a cowboy; it does its own thing; it
doesn‟t want to be constrained in any way. That‟s been very problematic to
manage... On the other hand, Queensland has also driven performance
improvement and business process improvement... more than some of the
other states. (National 7)
The power structures in the NCD and their relationships with state-based
MFC unit managers and staff were viewed as challenging by most of the national
staff. For some national staff, there was recognition that the current federated model
was not effective and they took personal steps to modify their work practices and
expectations. For other staff, they had alternative views to how the state staff viewed
their practices. For example, RCQ MFC staff viewed they worked well although
their performance was constrained by lack of resources. Alternatively, some national
managers viewed the RCQ MFC unit as “dysfunctional” (National 4) or lacking
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perspective (National 5). For many staff, there was a shared view that the current
system needed to change to alleviate duplication of services and structures regarded
as dysfunctional and inefficient:
change ... it‟s just about being more effective as an organisation, relevant as
an organisation and really effective for our beneficiaries; effective for the
people we serve, effective in terms of responding to disadvantaged. (National
7)
it‟s an absurdity to think of us as eight separate organisations. We have to
work as one organisation. We use donors‟ money so duplicating services and
duplicating functions simply to keep little ... happy. I would get rid of every
single State board. That‟s a complete waste of time. I would get rid of the
EDs, they should be State managers. That‟s an absurdity we have kept the
structure. .... we are over-managed on a senior management level. (National
3)
The view that there needed to be transformational change in the
communication function of the society was very strong. There was a shared
frustration due to national viewing they had the skills and perspective, but no power
to direct change because the EDs held power. The patriarchal internal focus of the
states meant they were viewed as not having the bigger picture. For example, when
talking about a specific state:
They have had their own little fiefdoms... it‟s just incredible. It‟s just
ridiculous. But again it‟s a product of the history. It‟s what has been
inherited. (National 2)
It‟s really tried to keep doing its own thing. So it‟s a state [Queensland] that
tends to operate the most autonomously.... But I do think it‟s a problem for
the Society because it under represents some of the key things that the society
wants to do going forward. (National 5)
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The responsibility for prioritising and deciding action for the society
generally was held with national office. However views about tensions between state
and national power to make these decisions also emerged as a key tension in the unit.
The concept of having a fight or having a battle was common among national staff
when discussing areas where there may not be consensus in the states:
the power that still resides out in the divisions. ... it is a fight. .... it‟s not
going to happen. It‟s always a fight. The whole time I have been here. ...was
prepared to have the fight... (National 4)
if it was easier and you could push it through quicker, you would. But if
you‟re in for a fight... We really had to fight. (National 5)
Planning, or rather a lack of it, was acknowledged by national staff as
something that happens but may not be recognised. There was some attempt at
developing communication plans, but for a number of reasons they did not come to
fruition. A number of examples were given by staff where they attempted to
facilitate a plan through appropriate approval processes only to be told at one point
in that chain of command that it was not approved or acceptable for some reason. For
most of the national staff, reference was made to the strategic plan as being an
artifact of a plan, and their response in terms of actions and tactics was open for
interpretation:
We don‟t have a plan for MFC .. even basically, like a Gantt chart... because
other priorities get injected ... but they are not priorities for us. (National 6)
there‟s no real strategic planning process. Although it‟d be argued there is.
(National 5)
The lack of planning combined with the organisation defining itself as a
crisis organisation meant that being reactive was viewed as a way of working,
primarily attributed to senior level interference inhibiting staff ability to be
proactive:
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in terms of communicating our priorities, I am led by the theme of the day.
The CEO will decide in the middle of the night that we don‟t have enough
information out there about what we are doing with...(shows an example)
...this is a 20-year-old concept that is not relevant anymore and you have to
stop interfering with this kind of strategy ...it makes it very hard to be
proactive and plan. (National 2)
The inability to plan was also found to be associated with a mindset of
having the ability to drop everything when a disaster hits. The role of the RC as a
disaster response organisation is an important part of working at RC and very much
part of its reputation. A very different type of organisation emerged in RCQ during
activation for a disaster (crisis), and this was reflected at the national level. Some
members believe that the conflation of the two roles of RC, one being a disaster
response organisation and the other dealing with the mundane but increasingly
growing needs of the vulnerable has created two distinct or different organisations:
It‟s [crisis response] core business and it gives a sense of urgency that often
people don‟t have at other times. It takes over from all other things. It gives
people [staff] a purpose, a reason for being. (National 5)
It‟s almost like there are two Red Crosses and the Red Cross that works at
disaster level – and I‟ve seen it – it started with tsunami and it‟s been honed
with each disaster. That‟s how our organisation should work. We have an
agreed way to do things. We have people who sit within their appropriate
roles. A set of information and it‟s common information for everybody. And
it works. Step outside of that scenario, it is completely different. And it is – it
can range from at one end, a complete shambles, to the other end where
we‟ve got some very good, very efficient programs out. (National 6)
When the chips down and everybody shoulders to the grindstone ...There‟s a
sense of purpose that is perhaps missing the rest of the time because that‟s
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what we‟re there – everybody has a feeling that that‟s what we are there to
do. (National 3)
The crisis also brought relief to the overwhelming complexity of what RC
does. This was viewed as another reason why staff looked forward to another
disaster:
it‟s more that they are over-worked and in time of crisis people put that
aside.... you have more permission to not get something else done. “It‟s okay
to not get it done now because we all know you‟re working on this thing.”
(National 10)
This difference created demands in both role and approaches to prioritising or
managing work which created tension in terms of focusing on just “one thing” and
also grieving for the excitement and freedom that normally comes with a crisis. The
freedom means that staff need to be fluid and flexible, even in non activation (non
crisis response) times:
When we go away to disaster, there‟s an adrenaline rush associated with it as
well but you are focussed. Whereas the rest of the time it‟s like oh, for God‟s
sake we are doing what? Hiring out car seats in WA .... We are way too
unfocussed and diverse. (National 2)
regrettable in some ways... to a certain extent unavoidable. You don‟t want
[Red Cross] to be drifting and purposeless in the in between times. You don‟t
want to see the extremes... (National 3).
The extremes referred to meant work undertaken during non activation.
During non activation or non crisis times, national staff found ways to approach
daily, non-crisis work with the fluid and unstructured environment. For some this
meant simply doing your own thing; for others, it meant finding support from what
already exists to cope with the lack of structure around daily work:
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I pretty much do my own thing now. I have learnt how the place works. I just
get on and done it. Fortunately, I have got really good relationships with all
the program managers and so I work closely with them. (National 4)
in terms of priorities (work), they are pretty fluid. I mean, honestly, it
depends on what‟s happening. (National 2)
NCD staff recognised that the lack of structure in MFC activities was
exacerbated by low skill levels of MFC members in the divisions. NCD staff shared
a view that capacity of MFC staff generally in the states was a concern, and that the
influence of being state-based was a big part of this:
As a society we‟re probably adequately resourced but it‟s, it sounds arrogant
to say incompetence, but there‟s a lot of stuff I do because I don‟t believe that
other people will do it. (National 9)
There‟s junior people in positions that don‟t have the basic skills to do the
job that‟s required. No implications when they don‟t. No guidance, no
direction and yet when you issue a direction at a national level, it dissipates
as they move back into the State. ... it‟s been a hard slog because all of them
have been delivered through that little [state based] team I have spoken
about. (National 4)
Similar to RCQ, national office staff viewed research as important. The lack
of funding meant staff undertook secondary and desk research to inform action in the
marketing and communication areas. Evaluation was rarely done but was generally
viewed as important. Research was funded for youth programs, and this was viewed
as an emerging market by the board:
Desk stuff and secondary stuff...we rarely have budget to look at it directly.
(National 2)
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...we need to be very clear on what we want and how it‟s going to be
measured and evaluated and all that and we don‟t have that... (National 4)
Accountability, or rather lack of it, was also expressed as a concern by staff
in national office, also being attributed to poor skills levels by MFC staff in the
divisions. The recognition of the underperformance and the poor skills set was
particularly frustrating for national staff as staff in the divisions were employed by
their state EDs, and they had little influence on who was employed:
I‟m feeling quite disillusioned with lack of accountability at the moment. It‟s
been three years. The reporting lines haven‟t changed. The skills levels are
grossly... very, very, very junior; like, very junior. The capacity of the team is
not where it should be. From an accountability perspective... there are no
implications... I just look at things that happen and you just think I can‟t
believe people get away with that. I can‟t believe there‟s no clear decision
making process where things are documented. (National 4)
Similar to RCQ, there is a view held by national that there is no effort by
senior staff in the organisation to manage poor or non performance.
It‟s the governance structure and that people aren‟t accountable as much as
they should be accountable. (National 5)
We don‟t have a performance culture and we don‟t performance manage
people effectively. We have got both some under-achievers and just some
people doing naughty things... (National 7)
While some consider there is a tendance to avoid confrontation, others view
the avoidance of performance management as a consequence of the power battle that
resides in the divisions. The concept of “a battle” between national and the divisions,
and also between different levels of management in the organisation, emerged and
the context of these “battles”, or fights as previously identified, spanned a number of
different types of issues:
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There are no consequences....But for me the bigger problem is that staff here
have never had to conform to guidelines. They have again no consequences
for changing things, creating their own materials in the face of guidelines,
ignoring guidelines and editing their own material. So they just continue to
do it....there aren‟t any consequences. (National 2)
...partly gutlessness. Partly unwillingness to ... I can understand why you
don‟t want to take people on... but everybody is too scared ...You pick your
battles ... (National 3)
The tensions revealed firstly in RCQ and confirmed by NCD staff were
underpinned under an umbrella of pending change of the MFC function in the
organisation. The next section explores their views of change.
Change in Red Cross
The review of the MFC function was being undertaken at the same time as
the other reviews and the shift to nationalisation. Many of the national staff
recognised that this change represented a shift in authority and challenged the
traditional authority of the state EDs. They were comfortable with this challenge and
for many it was something that simply had to happen:
the organisation has been going through a difficult structural time and I don‟t
think all of that is totally bedded down yet... I can understand the difficulties
of people who have had power and have had it taken away. It‟s hard.
(National 3)
the States have run in past years with great autonomy, that shift is very, very
difficult for some. (National 6)
The review of the MFC function in RC was generally supported by national
staff. For some, the challenge was that change was being made in the middle of their
current workload so it was just another thing to do. However there was a shared view
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that change is a slow process and has not been well supported in terms of
communication as well as it should have been:
If you actually look down at grassroots level, this [change] is actually
paralysing, disempowering and disruptive to the organisation... You are still
working with the old systems and working with the new systems. So it‟s not
even a case of working with one ... it‟s like working with eight state systems.
And the scope of the task is enormous. Absolutely enormous. (National 6)
We‟re trying to bring the two organisations together and ... it‟s very slow.
We‟ve had a lot of external reviews and work done. We know that the
government wants to see us as one organisation and so really, you‟ve got an
organisation who‟s still coming to grips with that. (National 5)
Most national staff discussed the changes generally in terms of gaining
control, and giving structure and quality to the marketing and communication area.
Given national staff generally felt that the divisions had different priorities, the
reform for them meant they would all have the same priorities. It was a way for them
to bring the states into line with national ways of working. In one example, a
national manager was reflecting on working with a group of communication staff
from a state to resolve an issue, only to find that when they returned to the state, they
did something completely different to what they agreed on:
They go back at a state level, they end up with their parochial hats back on,
not necessarily that‟s because they how they want to proceed but that‟s the
pressure that‟s being exerted from their managers. (National 4)
Change was viewed as a way to address poor skills level, poor capacity, lack
of accountability and poor planning discussed above:
The biggest part of that review really focuses on realigning the whole who
reports to who, who does what, getting consistency of job function. In all
honesty, it will focus on drastically reducing the head count and changing ...
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not reducing the net but the current head count because what we‟ve got is a
mismatch of skill sets and heads as opposed to where we need them. So it‟s
really focused on: what are the needs of the business, where is the business
currently focused, where are the gaps, what do we need? And in that, getting
change. (National 5)
National staff recognised that many staff in the organisation felt RC Australia
did not do enough to promote itself, when compared to their competitors who were
doing much more:
every one of them wants to see us more out there because they peg us against
World Visions and Oxfams [competitors] and people like that. In fact World
Vision spend $40 million a year on advertising and we spend nothing...
(National 2)
The lack of spending on campaigns was viewed as a budget resource issue.
For most staff in national office they did not have a role in the interaction between
the board and management on budgets negotiation. One example cited included the
board giving an instruction for better promotion of the brand and for a campaign to
be presented, only to have it not approved with no reason given:
So the Board is saying we want to see you out there. We want you to be
pushing the brand out there. Okay, they have said, “Come back to us. In your
budget, put in campaigns.” We have done that. We developed a campaign.
We have got it there. (discussion here outlining details of campaign –
components of campaign provided here removed for confidentiality)... So this
is pretty contemporary and “out there”. There‟s some really great ideas. The
total budget was $250,000.... we put that to the Board. A quarter of a mil
($250,000) for the whole thing and I just heard yesterday it got cut out of the
budget. So this happens all the time. (National 2)
From a strategic communication perspective, national staff viewed the
changes to MFC structures and the rebranding as a way of refining the brand and the
message. The inward focus previously identified was part of the existing approach to
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communication in RC, and this was recognised as needing to be changed to respond
to both the stakeholder and competitive environments:
Our objectives of the day were, and still remain, to be more outward looking
Red Cross, focussing on beneficiaries, people we help, rather than ourselves,
or even volunteers; moving from – we had this really static look and feel, to
something that‟s more dynamic and creating a sense of urgency across our
local brand; contemporising. (National 2)
Views about how RC fits in the competitive landscape were not strongly
expressed. There were shared views reflecting on RC messages, most expressing
concern that they are internal focused and vague or not competing on the same
beneficiary led platforms:
when you have got your competitors, very beneficiary focussed, there‟s
consistency to it, the message is strong; whereas our messages tended to be
about our internal program names and these messages are very strong.
(National 2)
They also shared recognition that the role of the mass media in RC is highly
valued. This is also reflected structurally in the unique position of the national media
director (directly reporting to the CEO and having few direct reports). There was
also recognition that very senior staff and the board measured the effectiveness of
the marketing and communication role based on media success.
like a lot of CEOs, like a lot of senior management, the CEO is very
interested in media and communications and very aware of it. ... it‟s an area
of the organisation that he focuses quite strongly on and he often has very
strong views about stuff... that‟s what most of senior management really
focus on and how they judge you. (National 3)
The only thing that it (senior management) has understood about
communications is media and that‟s the only thing that it typically values....
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although all of them [reference to board and senior management] are fairly
hung up on media as the only kind of form of communication that matters.
(National 2)
For current national staff, the Bali crisis was one media event that not only
gave a warning, but it represented a trigger for major organisational change. The Bali
event was part of the folklore of RC and most staff could retell the story of Richard
Carlton from the 60 Minutes program damaging RC‟s reputation and the residual
effects that were felt by all RC staff, donations and the public – both then and
continuing. Staff viewed this as being the moment when RC realised that it needed to
work as one organisation – not six states and two territories (Member 6, Qld). The
trigger of the Bali event translated into the organisation needing to be “different”.
For RC, this was reported as a need to work differently, be more transparent and to
understand why donations were falling and respond. Members viewed this as the
moment when the organisation reflected on itself and learnt that they needed to be
transparent in how funds are distributed and how administration costs are reported.
The Bali event also represented something that they needed to be forever mindful of:
Bali gave the need for the organisation to work differently because of the
reputational damage and the financial damage. Even up to three years ago,
[and] for a period of three years after it, it was still dropping 30 per cent
every time it did any fundraising activity. (National 5)
... two years after Bali – the negativity was still there. That takes a long time
to wash away. (National 6)
...it also took a great deal of my time on the first day after the tsunami
operation appeal was launched to convince journalists that we were a
trustworthy organisation... (National 12)
In summary this section presented stage two of the analysis which presented
the NCD views on the persons, actions and processes relating to the development of
strategic communication in RCQ. The national office set the policy and regulatory
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environment around RC and this section explored that dominant coalition mindset.
The next section looks at RCSA as a comparative site for the exploration of these
themes to gain greater understanding of the context of strategic communication in
RC.
Contextualising Case: Red Cross South Australia
The following section presents the final case and ethnography of RCSA.
Presented as Stage 3 of the analysis, the ethnography aims to provide a comparative
site for understanding the knowledge structures that emerged in RCQ and give
context and meaning to these findings. The ethnography further explore the
processes, persons and actions relating to the development of strategic
communication in RCQ (see Figure 28) (Vayda, 1983; Marcus, 1995).
The first part of the ethnography details the entry to RCSA, then moves to
exploring the knowledge structures first introduced in RCQ and themes specific to
the participant‟s world of RCSA and their accepted ways to working. Similar to the
other cases, the account then moves to member views of RC as a brand, then
describes member perceptions of environment before moving to themes related to
strategic communication.
Figure 28: Stage 3 level of analysis in the context of the study in Red Cross
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Entry to Red Cross South Australia
My encounter with RCSA commenced with an initial email and follow up
phone call with the ED. While very easy to talk with, relevant questions were asked
and answered, with an outcome of being granted access. Further emails negotiated
dates, duration of stay, and an outline of the types of people and activities I wanted
access to. No other communication prior to entry was undertaken.
I entered RCSA on 14 April 2008. I was surprised how similar the building
looked to the RCQ building. It was also a white, low set (two storey) building with
closed in windows and featured the familiar RC signage on the outside. Also like
RCQ, the building was located on the fringe of the central business district, well
serviced by public transport, and very visible on a main transit strip.
The facade of the building featured glass doors, and if you were peeking
inside, the reception desk was visible from the street. It looked modern, clean and
welcoming. On entering the foyer, the receptionist looked quite calm compared to
the RCQ receptionist. Although she was on the phone, she had background music
playing and the reception area featured a large bowl of fruit. I was greeted with a
smile and waited for her to ask who I was seeking. The phones were quieter than in
RCQ. After a few minutes I was warmly greeted by a woman who introduced herself
as the personal assistant to the ED. She advised me that the ED was away but the
general manager of services would see me. She led me through a security door and
upstairs to the EDs‟ office where I was seated in a comfortable chair by a low level
coffee table.
The general manager of services confidently walked into the office and
welcomed me to the organisation. After some informal chatter, she outlined the
profile of the state division and key staff, wanting to know who I wanted to meet
with and speak to so the executive assistant to the ED could organise appointments.
She also suggested I attend a number of key meetings that were coming up in the
next few days. The general manager of services then led me to the MFC area and
introduced me to the manager of the first aid, health and safety department who was
acting general manager of business and corporate development.
The office layout seemed remarkably similar to RCQ. Open plan office
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cubicles featured in the middle of the floor space, with glass portioned offices for
senior staff scattered near the windows. RCSA occupied the two floors of the
branded building. Upstairs were finance, emergency, the ED, human resources, MFC
and international humanitarian law (IHL). Downstairs were community services,
Telecross, transport, and Save-A-Mate (SAM). The staff tea room was also
downstairs.
The acting manager of business and corporate development was a corporately
dressed woman in her mid 30s. She was acting in the role because the normal
manager was on holidays. This surprised me because I had negotiated with key staff
dates to travel to South Australia to interview and observe the unit and this was the
first time I was made aware he was taking leave during this time. If I had known this
I would have rescheduled. However, the general manager business and corporate
development agreed to be interviewed off site during his holidays.
The acting manger was sitting in the manager‟s office and appeared quite
busy. She had made a diary note of my arrival. She wanted to know what I was
doing and why I wanted to study RC. In response she told me that she was relatively
new to the organisation and normally sits off site in another building away from the
headquarters. Her work history was both corporate and non profit, as she had
previously held senior corporate roles in both the education sector and for another
first aid training organisation. She then introduced me to individual staff in the unit
as a university researcher doing her PhD on RC. As we walked through the office
area, staff appeared cautious and polite. They were not as openly welcoming as RCQ
staff and few tried to engage in additional conversation.
The individual staff included the two marketing communication staff, the
corporate relations manager and fundraising staff, an international humanitarian law
officer and the retail manager. Unlike RCQ, there was no MFC administration
assistant position. I was then shown a desk space that I could occupy. However, this
was located over the other side of the office, quite a distance from the MFC unit.
This was problematic as I could not hear or see what was going on and there was
little space in the unit to sit without staff feeling I was imposing on their personal
space. Later that afternoon, I requested permission to shadow key staff in the unit,
such as the corporate relations manager and the team leader for marketing and
communication. This positioned me in the middle of the unit, and I assumed that
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other staff didn‟t feel like they were being watched.
Ways of working
The structure and responsibility of staff in the MFC unit was configured in a
slightly different way to RCQ. Only the general manager of the unit had an office –
all other staff were accommodated in partitioned cubicles.
The two marketing and communication staff were responsible for all public
relations, media and marketing communications. The senior role was occupied by a
male in his early 50s who had previously held a number of senior journalism based
positions overseas. He viewed himself as “self taught” in the discipline of marketing
communication, as his academic qualifications were in arts-history.
All requests for work came directly to him and he had his own system for
prioritising and pushing back on requests. He also directly liaised with the ED and
other senior managers in the organisation. There were less levels of hierarchy to
negotiate for approvals, and he appeared to have more power and control over his
work. On being introduced I detected from his questions about what I was doing and
needed to achieve during my time in RCSA, that he was familiar with academic
processes and this was later confirmed when I learnt his partner was a highly
accomplished academic in another discipline.
His offsider was a younger female who was a recent graduate. She sat
diagonally opposite him separated by a partition and small walkway. She reported
directly to him and all work was delegated by the team leader. Her main work tasks
were advertising related (mainly HR) with less time spent on marketing
communication collateral.
The corporate relations manager had only recently joined RC. She was
appointed to a newly created position with all of the fundraising team as direct
reports. Her responsibility was to build corporate relationships in RCSA and manage
the fundraising area. A woman in her early 30s, she had come from account
management type roles in a corporate environment. She had a higher tempo of pace
when compared to other staff in the office. She was moving quickly, making phone
calls and shuffling files when I was introduced to her. She welcomed me and said
she was looking forward to speaking with me, and then went back to what she was
doing.
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The fundraising area had a team leader, a coordinator, an officer, and donor
development roles. The fundraising staff primarily worked on events such as “Boys
day out” and “Race Day”. The donor development staff worked on nurturing
relationships for bequests. This included public speaking events about RC for
organisations like the Rotary Club and the Lions Club. Most of the fundraising staff
had been with the RC for a number of years. The creation of a new corporate
relations manager position meant that the fundraising team leader now had another
level of management and was no longer “in charge” of the fundraising area.
There were similar themes of views about motivations for working at RC to
RCQ. These included being value driven to help and make a difference. It was also
expressed as a way of having a unique opportunity to do the type of work that only
RC can provide:
Most people would say it makes them feel good [working here]. They are
giving back to the community, while being paid at the same time. A lot of
people believe in what they do. They enjoy that particular job and in some
ways there‟s not – for some of the jobs that they do here, they are quite
unique; that you can‟t go out and do those in an outside world. (MFC 1, SA)
...definitely it‟s the people who want more than just a job because it kind of –
if you take on not-for-profit, it‟s a bit of a lifestyle as well. Especially in the
areas of marketing and fundraising because it‟s different. (MFC 14, SA)
There was less intensity of activity observed in the MFC unit in RCSA. Staff
were chatting among themselves and there appeared to be a level of camaraderie
among the MFC staff. While public and explicit comments of overwork were not as
common as in RCQ, there was a shared view among the team that they were trying
to respond to high workloads with varying levels of perceived support:
We‟ve have had a huge amount brought on us. They [national] are not giving
us the support that we need so it‟s reached to the point where something has
got to give somewhere. ... we just can‟t continue doing what we are doing.
(Exec 3, SA)
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The run up...nothing else stops ...there‟s only one person here so the wear and
tear on people.... You don‟t do “that” because you‟re so tired, you can‟t.
(MFC 2, SA)
We are spread very thin and it‟s through no fault of ours. We‟ve been
allowed to take on a lot of stuff... to pull them back and say, okay, this is
what we need to do is very difficult, because we‟re just are run off our feet.
(MFC 10, SA)
The marketing communication team leader appeared autonomous and
empowered to move among the executive team responding to their communication
needs. For example, the team leader interacted directly with the ED developing
messaging and drafting media releases and facilitating sign off. The team leader also
met with other senior managers about a variety of communication needs including
developing news stories for internal RC publications, drafting volunteer profiles, and
drafting service area media releases. MFC staff were also included in strategic level
meetings, their counsel was sought for advice on messaging and media management
(Field notes, 15 April 2008).
There were shared views that in the past, RCSA did not necessarily employ
the right people, however members felt this was changing. While there was some
recognition that the poor pay rates offered by RC attract a lower quality of skills,
there were no shared views specifically about the poor capacity of staff in the MFC
unit. There was a shared view however that staff in RCSA take a lot of care in
employing the right people for the right job, and this was a recent shift in
employment practices. For some this was a shift to a more corporate and accountable
way of working:
It‟s been a culture of just employing – shifting people around; not getting the
right person for the right job necessarily. There‟s a shift now. It still happens,
definitely, but there‟s a stronger shift towards getting the right person for the
right job; possibly paying these people more for their job, too, so you are
getting people with more expertise. (MFC 14, SA)
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Staff perceived staff turnover was unusually high in RC. Like RCQ, this
equated to additional stress due to poor systems and process of documentation. The
lack of documentation was recognised as being unusual, however like RCQ, lack of
time was attributed as the main cause. Staff also reflected on the lack of consistency
of processes and procedures in RC:
There is very little written down. I have tried to get procedures and things
started. Everything is in people‟s heads. It‟s something that none of us have
done and I never implemented because there‟s never been the time to sit
there, one, to format the templates and, two, when I started here we had – I
had 16 staff and now I have got five. (MFC 1, SA)
When I first came here years ago I used to drive my boss nuts because there
was absolutely nothing [referring to documentation] and it depended upon
people knowing all the stuff that happened 20 years ago to be able to fit it in.
(MFC 2, SA)
Similar to RCQ views, poor pay, general frustration and disillusionment
were attributed as reasons for staff leaving the organisation. This was seen as an
organisation-wide problem, rather than being specific to one particular state:
Turnover is incredible. Every week there‟s at least somebody‟s job at least
advertised here, Melbourne, Sydney or wherever. I noticed last year every
second email you got was, “Oh, we are saying goodbye to Elizabeth. Mary is
leaving next.” (MFC 3, SA)
Staff recognise that there were two different types of people attracted to
working at RC. Those motivated by the brand and using it as a way to get ahead in
terms of experience. The other type were those who were motivated by the work that
RC did. These people were described as values based and worked for RC even
though they were financially compromised in terms of financial reward. Accepting
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lower pay was viewed as a personality type that is attracted to working for a not-for-
profit like RC:
The pays not very good but you don‟t come here for the pay, you come here
for the greater good. (MFC 9, SA)
The organisation has a very high turnover rate probably due to relatively low
rates of pay. People just using it as a stepping stone. Looks good on a CV...
(MFC 6, SA)
... heart driven because at the end of the day we know that we are not
particularly well remunerated. We know that people are here to a great extent
because they choose to be, they want to be, because of the values. (Exec 4,
SA)
RC don‟t provide high salaries. The reason you have got people here is
because of what they know about the organisation. They are prepared to take
that drop in salary. (MFC 11, SA)
Views about capacity of staff and managing performance in RCSA were
similar to RCQ in terms of accountability, however there were no clear views about
performance management. Executive staff felt they responded effectively to poor
performance, although they recognised it was challenging, but they felt supported in
this role:
most of the executive team are not afraid to performance manage. To sit
down and talk about how they‟re seeing it and how a person‟s seeing it, how
can we help. And setting some performance management goals if you like.
...And if we‟re working around bad behaviour and accepting it, the morale of
the place just drops. And it‟s tough to have the hard conversations but it‟s a
sign of a good leader. ... [there is] support [for] the executive members and
the team leaders to have those conversations. (Exec 2, SA)
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Less senior staff however did not share this view and expressed concern that
staff were allowed to get away with poor performance. Like RCQ they viewed
accountability in the organisation as lacking:
I don‟t think anyone has been held accountable in the past. That‟ what my
team is struggling with because it‟s going to be accountability at all levels...I
feel people are reluctant to being accountable. (MFC 14, SA)
I would say at the present time it‟s [accountability] probably a little lacking
but that‟s about to change because of the national focus that the organisation
has. I believe that there‟s going to be a lot more accountability in the future.
(MFC 6, SA)
Tolerance of errors and concerns about consequences were not viewed by
staff as a concern. Senior staff who had been in the organisation for some time
reflected on what happened in the past, but current practice was described more as
using tolerance and a focus on learning when dealing with staff mistake making.
Less senior staff shared this view as simply a learning opportunity:
In the past, if something had gone wrong, they would have been absolutely
come down on like a tonne of bricks. Whereas my approach is, “what was it
that we tried to achieve?” At the end the day if you make the mistake for the
right reasons or something doesn't work – as long as there‟s nothing
malicious about it. It would be a problem if the same thing happened next
year, but I‟m not going to batter you around. (Exec 3, SA)
There was also a view that RC was an organisation in which it was easy to
get a job. The consequences of this mindset translated to a perception that MFC staff
were of a lower capacity that industry standards. However while there was little
foundation to this in reality, staff who demonstrated high capacity were reported to
get frustrated and leave. It was also suggested that people left RC because their
expectations of what it was like to work there were not met:
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But then we don‟t deliver necessarily what they [young people] expect and
that‟s part of that disconnect brand thing. And then there are those that we
inherit and couldn‟t get a job anywhere else. There are the good people that
come, they are frustrated guys. So what you tend to get left with is the ones
that are quite happy with the status quo and all the rest of it. (Exec 3, SA)
Similar to RCQ and views in national office, lack of planning was
acknowledged as a way of working, and this was attributed to fundamentally a lack
of time and poor skill sets. There was also a view expressed that this was not a
sustainable way of working and needed to change:
I am the first to put my hand up to say, “Yes, it [planning] should have been
done,” but we just didn‟t have the people or the skill set necessarily to be
doing it [planning] ... (Exec 3, SA)
they‟ve got it this far and maybe this is the part of the change.... It‟s like
being in a wind tunnel. You come in some mornings and you feel like you‟ve
been, by two hours later, you‟ve been flattened. Just by sheer volume. By no
planning. By everybody wanting everything. By nobody being able to
prioritise. (MFC 2, SA)
While documentation and planning in RCSA was not highly prioritised, staff
recognised the importance of these types of activities, workloads and other more
immediate priorities were claimed to prevent staff from this:
because people get busy, people get distracted doing other things, people‟s
priorities change, which all relates back to we need to get our strategic intent
right. (Exec 7, SA)
The lack of opportunities to plan meant that staff relied on what was familiar
in their need to be strategic in communication and actions. Views of being strategic
in RC reflected an organisation doing things the same way. Similar to RCQ there
was a shared view that RC tended to be set in its ways, following what was familiar.
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we‟ve done it this way for so long ... (MFC 2, SA)
For some members, this was due to the organisation lacking direction, for
others it was because they knew no other way. The way of working was used to
describe many areas in the organisation, for example, going for grants and changing
services to fit the need of the funding, to changing work priorities to meet the needs
of a branch:
It‟s an embedded practice. It‟s a cultural thing, which has been there for a
while. It‟s just always been there, perhaps we have never been clear on where
we want to put our dollars. So when something goes up, we go for it, grab it,
because our strategic intent hasn‟t been right, haven‟t been clear on that.
(Exec 7, SA)
Evaluation of communication programs in RCSA was viewed as ad hoc and
informally judged. While evaluation was not a strong topic generally discussed or
observed, views that were expressed acknowledged that evaluation needed to
respond to the fluidity or lack of structure of programs and performance:
Success is judged on how many boxes we tick and what was in the plan, not
necessarily whether they are working, and do we need to adjust it, do we
need to change it? (Exec 3, SA)
While collaboration and conversations were identified as a decision-making
process in RCSA, unlike RCQ it was not framed as a way of sharing risk. It was
viewed as a way of being inclusive and following a social services framework. While
this was recognised as a way of working in RCSA, staff also expressed concern that
this may not be the most efficient or effective way of working:
it‟s like the United Nations... See that‟s the problem is that there‟s too much
consultation so nothing gets done. (MFC 2, SA)
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It‟s probably not a culture of quick change. Very much a discuss/debate.
(MFC 13, SA)
Decisions have become more of a consultative process. .... There are times
when there‟s probably too much consultation on some issues before they
reach a decision. (Exec 7, SA)
The need to consult and discuss was also reflected in a need to be flexible
and fluid. Like RCQ, RCSA expressed similar views about fluid or ad hoc ways of
working and a connection to being a crisis organisation:
A lot of the ad hoc nature is because of the heart decision thing, the values
based decision making .... People like crisis. When things settle and become
easier, they need a new crisis. (Exec 4, SA)
The fundamental principles were highly regarded in RCSA, which was a
contrast to shared views about the principles in RCQ and National office. The
principles were viewed as valuable, empowering and instructive for daily work
practices:
They [the principles] are very important. The organisation couldn‟t operate
without them. They help the organisation to do its job, absolutely, otherwise
the organisation wouldn‟t still be here after 140-odd years, if they hadn‟t
been important. (MFC 6, SA)
The seven principles allow me to make a decision, an honest decision, an
unbiased decision and it keeps me out of the community politics. (Exec 6,
SA)
It‟s not how you or I may handle things in our personal life, but when you
represent the organisation ... you have to stick within the fundamental
principles of what‟s right and what‟s wrong. It doesn‟t mean you agree with
everything all the time. (MFC 4, SA)
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While staff viewed the principles as being highly instructive and a valuable
resource when responding to external audiences, they also expressed a view that
other staff in RC use them as an excuse for inaction:
Some can use them as an excuse for not acting. And they hide behind them ...
In some other states at times, “We don‟t go for government money because
of our independence”. Well, that‟s not what independence means. (Exec 2,
SA)
Staff viewed RCSA as a value driven organisation which was unique or
different to other states, particularly RCQ. There was a view that RCQ was laissez-
faire in its management approach, meaning they viewed RCQ as greater risk takers
and more corporate in their approach. RCSA, on the other hand, was primarily
driven by a values framework. They viewed themselves as being more concerned
with the needs of their stakeholders and clients. They viewed their decisions as being
more considerate of their needs, rather than the organisation‟s needs:
the organisation understands that it needs to get more efficient and all of
those sorts of things but it‟s still value driven. It is a heart driven
organisation. So it will always have that interesting tension. (Exec 4, SA)
Views about becoming more corporate as a way of working emerged when
staff reflected on what the organisation “used to be like” or what it was changing to
become. For newer staff it was expressed as a tension over values-based thinking and
decision making versus business like thinking or decision making. In RCQ this was
expressed as a creative versus a product-driven way of working. In national it was
also found as a way of needing to shift or change for more accountability and
efficiency. What is being described here is expressed as the challenge of corporate
versus non corporate as a way of working:
there‟s a mindset, coming from a commercial world into not-for-profit ... It‟s
just a different mindset. (MFC 13, SA)
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Seeing it more as a business, not the fluffy, soft, charity. The savvier ones are
employing the right people, possibly from corporate background, which I
had. You are bringing the contacts and the business sense and understanding
the fundamentals, the sponsorship, marketing and media. (MFC 14, SA)
Similar to RCQ, the role and influence of the ED was observable. The
executive team in RCSA described themselves with teams such as a “cohesive
group” (Exec 7), and having “trusting” relationships (Exec 6). Staff also viewed the
leadership team as approachable, supportive and willing to tolerate risk or error:
what I like... is (they‟ll) listen, and say “Oh, yeah, okay, that‟s good. What do
you think about this?” ... So you get an audience. You get listened to ... so it‟s
that kind of leadership, that‟s what keeps people here. (MFC 2, SA)
I‟ve had a lot of support particularly from the ED (name). Having the support
at that level and having trust of what you‟re doing and being allowed to take
positive risks and know that we‟ll get it wrong from time to time but it‟s
about taking those risks to try and develop a service delivery that‟s going to
meet the needs of the community. (Exec 6, SA)
RCSA viewed the national change as something that was happening and staff
shared a view they were working hard to be compliant to respond to the
nationalisation effort. They acknowledged that change was needed as the changes
aimed to bring much needed efficiencies to RC needed. However like RCQ, RCSA
staff considered South Australia as having unique or special needs:
What we have seen in some areas is very much a one size fits all approach,
which doesn‟t work. It‟s peculiar here. It‟s a very peculiar sort of market. The
areas where we have been given flexibility, that‟s fine. ...When it gets to us,
it‟s very much the square peg trying to fit in a round hole ... (Exec 3, SA)
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The change was heralded as the shift from the old RC to the new RC. For
some this was comforting, knowing the organisation was becoming more
contemporary and more equipped to survive in the modern world:
there‟s change on the way ... huge amount of change. Culturally it‟s not the
same old Red Cross which, frankly, if they‟re going to survive needs to be
...For me it would be remaining relevant because the base is changing. We‟re
not knitting socks for people all the time. We‟re not selling lamingtons.
We‟re not supporting the boys in the war. We‟re trying to find where we‟re
relevant. (MFC 2, SA)
It‟s [change] got to happen because if we are going to focus on what we are
here for we‟ve got to drop the clutter. Give it back to where it belongs. And
that, I have a sense, will give Red Cross a stronger profile. (Exec 2, SA)
How external audiences perceive RC emerged as consistent around themes of
traditional, respected and trusted. Tradition was viewed as an important part of
informing ways of working “.. there‟s an amazing culture of that. Like, “This is the
way it's always been done.” (MFC 14, SA). While used to describe ways of working,
it was also used to describe the climate of RC as being an old fashioned place:
in lots of ways a lot of the people here are kind of old-fashioned. You don‟t
know how to put that another way. I haven‟t really thought it through, I
suppose. Maybe it‟s because we have quite a large core of volunteers and a
lot of our volunteers are older; that they have some old-fashioned notions.
(Exec 4, SA)
There were tensions observed as staff tried to express their views of
balancing the modern new RC that needed to emerge with the old ways of RC, those
ways that represent what RC used to be like. Branches and members were viewed as
being an integral part of the traditions of RC. This was viewed as a way of working
and was also viewed as something that strongly influenced public perceptions of RC.
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However staff also recognised the model that RC has traditionally operated under
has changed, due to changing social environment:
Our membership ... They are a very ageing base of support. Quite
opinionated. They are very much of the old Red Cross. ...They engaged with
the organisation predominantly through times of war. ... The organisation
itself is essentially the same organisation. It‟s just the vulnerable groups that
we are working with has changed... It is a model that worked 50, 40, 30 years
ago when people had more time. (Exec 3 SA)
Staff viewed the brand of RC as being highly respected and trusted, built on
RC being born out of the war and being associated with relief efforts, disasters, and
just simply being in places where people need help:
Respected... a respected organisation, what we do is relevant and done well.
(MFC 11, SA)
There was a level of frustration expressed by staff about the loss of
opportunity for RC. The recognition that RC brand was one of the most recognised,
trusted brands, but RC failed to capitalise on that position. This was viewed as being
an outcome of the age of the organisation as it was constrained by its traditions,
blinded by its age:
We have got one of the most exciting brands in the world, we could do so
much with and I can do nothing, nothing, because I am so restricted with
what I can and can‟t do. (MFC 10, SA)
It‟s supposed to be one of the biggest in the world. People who work within
are not looking to the future. We have this ageing population, as far as our
branches, for a long, long time. A lot of our branch ladies are [in their] 70s
and 80s. (MFC 3, SA)
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A very strong view shared by staff was that RC does valuable work and more
people should know about it. RC was recognised as being known for its blood
services work, and similar to RCQ, staff expressed very strong levels of frustration
that people did not know about the scope and types of other services the organisation
provided. In addition, the association of RC with elderly volunteers and second hand
retail stores was concerning as they felt it undermined the public‟s perceptions of the
nature and scope of work actually done by RC:
The profile of the Red Cross is pretty appalling. We don‟t have, other than
bad media, I don‟t see us being very proactive in getting our messages out
there to highlight to people in South Australia what the Red Cross does
because I don‟t think people know, other than the blood bank and
emergencies internationally. (MFC 10, SA)
We have got a lot of work to do communicating what we do and what are our
core functions. What we do isn‟t well-known. (Exec 7, SA)
Everybody knows about the blood service... the perception would be that we
are an employer that is a pseudo-health medical realm, instead of being a
whole raft of community services... the quality of the information is good.
It‟s just not out there, wide enough. Why not? I don‟t know. (Exec 4, SA)
The lack of capitalisation on the brand was equated to lost opportunities to
leverage fundraising and corporate support:
... when you are up against big charities, who spend millions on corporate, on
advertising and things, and then get the corporates behind them, we are never
going to get that until you spend. To me, you have got to spend a dollar to
make a dollar. Initially, we need to get our message out there and we just
don‟t. (MFC 1, SA)
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the way that Red Cross advertises... it doesn‟t, basically. That was the one
thing that surprised me coming to Red Cross; that it does so many things for
so many people. (MFC 2, SA)
The rationale behind the lack of promotion of RC‟s achievements was
strongly held to be due to views that the organisation was “Red Cross”; that it didn‟t
need to promote what it did as people instinctively knew. This was described as just
the way RC is, attributed to age, arrogance and being out of touch:
We are inclined to pat ourselves on the back, get involved in, slapping
ourselves on the back. But we are not really getting the message out there to
the right sort of people. (Exec 5, SA)
We need to move into the 21st century. We‟re behind the eight ball. .. We
don‟t utilise it. We don‟t shake our own flag. We don‟t promote ourselves.
We don‟t have an advertising campaign.... we don‟t promote ourselves and
when you look at Red Cross‟s history, it‟s about the war. The war was 50
years ago. Those people are old.... I‟ve been told it is the Geneva way. ... it‟s
being humble. But, you see, unfortunately humble doesn‟t cut it these days.
(MFC 3, SA)
Some staff also viewed the principles as being a constraint on strategic
communication opportunities, as a further reinforcement of a way of working at RC.
This meant that relying on the principles and the RC way of doing things meant they
missed opportunities to show external audiences the types of work being undertaken
by RC:
That‟s the culture of just being neutral, staying in the background, not
making a big song and dance. That‟s just an organisational thing. We are
probably not the first to step up onto the stage and wave the flag and say,
“Aren't we fantastic?” ... We are probably not big at letting the world know
what we do. (MFC 13, SA)
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One of the core concerns expressed by staff was about communicating the
level and complexity of the services that are provided. This was balanced with
concerns that it might actually create greater demands on the services and staff.
There was also a shared view that RC was trying to do too much, trying to provide
too many services to too many people, resulting in an organisation that had left itself
spread far too thin:
Unfortunately, we have a plethora of services and it‟s very difficult to go out
to the public, telling them about all of these multitude of services that we
have got, because people can usually only absorb two/three messages at one
time. (MFC 6, SA)
We‟re trying to do too much. We‟re spread so thin and that‟s not just in
South Australia ... You name it, we‟re doing it. That‟s ridiculous. You cannot
spread yourself that thin and do anything particularly well. (Exec 2, SA)
There was also a shared view that RC tends to focus much more on internal
audiences rather than external audiences. While the same power relationships were
not found to exist in RCSA as they did in RCQ, staff found the internal focus
reflected in ways of working and influenced a lack of responsiveness to external
audience needs:
[Red Cross is] absolutely obsessed with itself. I mean that in the nicest
possible way. I love the organisation but if it spent more time looking
outwards. The brand is a classic example of that. ... What we often end up
having to do is make whatever it is we are doing, keep what we have got
rather than say, “What do we need? Let‟s actually develop something.” ....
It‟s internal, purely internal. (Exec 3, SA)
The internal focus also translated to a lack of environmental scanning.
Similar to RCQ, more senior staff facilitated environmental scanning through
memberships to networking groups and participation in government working parties.
Individual staff read newspapers and internalised environmental information.
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Discussion of themes relevant to RCSA was presented informally at senior staff
meetings, but like RCQ, there was no observable systems or tracking of stakeholder
sentiments or concerns:
It‟s very, very difficult to keep looking outside what‟s going on with the day-
to-day. A lot of us try to get out and about as much as we have, but our
ability to actually respond to anything we are seeing is severely limited.
(Exec 3, SA)
Overall there was a reflection by staff that although environmental scanning
was recognised as important, due to the nature of the workload, the lack of resources,
and a lack of value placed on systematising, it was not formally done. The next
section will now explore member views about strategic communication in RCSA,
focusing on their role and contribution to the function.
Strategic Communication in Red Cross South Australia
Views about strategic communication in RCSA varied among members with
shared views expressing concern about the impact of the internal focus of the
organisation on communicating with audiences and the new branding:
The downfall is that we don‟t communicate. We don‟t communicate well
externally. We communicate really well internally. For example, when the
new branding was launched ... We‟re hearing about all this. What about
everybody out there? They don‟t get to see this. We need to communicate
that out there. (Exec 8, SA)
Some staff viewed the organisation as not using communication channels,
like the media, correctly while others viewed the organisation as following an old
way of doing things – or doing marketing and communication the same way as it has
always done:
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the profile of the Red Cross here is pretty appalling. Other than bad media,
we are not in it [the media]. I don't see us being very proactive in getting our
messages out there... and everyone here thinks that is okay. (MFC 6, SA)
Competitors were often held to be doing it better, smarter or with more
effectiveness. Members felt RC was not sophisticated in their communication efforts
and were constantly being compared to organisations that members felt were getting
it right, like World Vision, and the Salvation Army:
Red Cross target seniors and young people, don‟t do a heck of a lot in
between...Salvation Army have got a far longer tradition of giving in that
regard than we have. But they are clever in the fact that they have four core
areas which they ask people for money for and that‟s basically the homeless,
people who are affected by alcohol or drugs and generally the disadvantaged
and the wayward. Most people would think, well, charity begins at home and
they have the same message and that‟s been pumped out since 1932, when
they first started down that path. Whereas Red Cross really haven‟t. (MFC 6,
SA)
RC‟s purposeful communication with its key audiences was viewed as
selective. While most staff recognised two key audiences of youth and seniors as
general demographic groups, there was a shared view that other audiences were not
attended to. Campaigns were viewed as not only a way to reach key audiences, but
as a way to reinvigorate the ageing membership and volunteers, and reposition the
organisation away from being known as an old organisation:
in terms of attracting young people is that we [Red Cross] are not seen to be
... we don‟t engage actively in campaign work. We don‟t join campaigns,
because of our mandate. It‟s a double-edged sword. (MFC 11, SA)
While views were shared around traditions, views expressed about a different
type of tradition, the Bali crisis, were shared in RCSA as a watershed event in RC‟s
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history. Staff in RCSA viewed the Bali crisis as one that significantly damaged RC‟s
reputation and it continues to influence organisational behaviours:
we got really, really damaged through the Bali stuff. Really. And we still hear
about that and we still, we still wear that. We learnt so much from that and,
I‟ve got to say now, that our expertise and capability nationally, that we are
able to draw on, is absolutely sensational. (Exec 2, SA)
For some members, the Bali crisis continues to be used to explain
organisational behaviours, particularly in terms of decision making by national
management:
(name) is frightened of the Martine Letts and Richard Carlton‟s (60 Minutes)
episode [Bali incident] and everybody has been told that there‟s only three
people that can make any communication to the media. .... that‟s fair enough,
but none of them are what I would call charismatic people, who have the
ability to get out there and grab people, in an emotive way. (MFC 6, SA)
Bali was viewed as the cause of organisational change. It remains as a legend
within RC, a moment recalled through storytelling where RC realised it needed to
get serious about managing its reputation and its responses in the media. As a result
of Bali, RC employed more skilled communicators and introduced policy to prevent
the causes of the Bali crisis from happening again. However for MFC members, they
do not wish for another Bali crisis, but they hold a view that approaches to managing
strategic communication does need to change. Familiar ways of working and a
reluctance to do it differently emerged as a shared view of strategic communication
in RC:
We‟ve done [communication] this way for so long. We could achieve so
much more. Things are not linked. The sponsorship is not linked in. the
marketing, the fundraising is not linked. I don‟t know if it‟s inexperience or
just the sheer effort of trying to do everything or not knowing where you‟re
going. Wandering in the desert. Doing what people come in and say “This is
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a good idea. Today‟s good idea is that blah blah.” I would just like to see
[communication as ] strategically driven so that you can say “Do this one, do
that one ... And do that one next year”. (MFC 2, SA)
There was no clear way forward expressed by members to overcome this, just
an acknowledgement that this is what happens.
Summary
The ethnography of RCQ commenced in the focal site of the MFC unit in
RCQ and moved to the executive team to discover their views of the organisation
displayed through the displayed emergent knowledge structures. These structures
worked to influence meaning and understanding in the group.
To deepen understanding of the RCQ site, the analysis then shifted to the
policy framework of the NCD and provided context of the regulatory environment
and the organisational frameworks that RCQ members were required to operate
within. In a final step of analysis, the focus shifted again to a comparative divisional
setting, RCSA, and participants‟ views were provided for both comparative and
contextual understanding of the social ecology of RCQ participants.
Analysis revealed that while common cognitive knowledge structures were
present across the three settings as would be expected in organisational culture, RCQ
presented variation from the other two sites. These three cases and levels of analysis
contribute to building an understanding of their world from which to build an
interpretation for the role of cultural criteria presented in Chapter 6.
Chapter 5 has presented the ethnographic account of RCQ. Following the
tenets of Vayda (1983) and Marcus (1995), the account has followed and explored
the shared cognitive knowledge structures as they have emerged from the group in
RCQ. The narrative has moved through three stages of analysis to follow emergent
member views of their world as it related to strategic communication, and gain
deeper contextual understanding in their role as influencing strategic communication
in the organisation.
The following chapter will identify cultural criteria as in operates in the
selection process and identify the influence of cultural selection on strategic
communication that is the purposeful use of communication by an organisation to
Chapter 5: Ethnography 269
fulfil its mission (Hallahan et al., 2007) in RCQ. I return to the main research
questions driving this study to explore the major processes of developing strategic
communication and identify cultural process that lead to how significant cultural
selection criteria are in influencing the development of strategic communication.
Chapter 6: Cultural Selection 270
Chapter 6
Cultural Selection and Strategic Communication
In this chapter, I systematically link the ethnographic details of Chapter 5
with the primary research problem of this study- to explore the role of cultural
selection in the development of strategic communication. The imperative of this
problem area is driven by the perspective that an organisation‟s strategic
communication is crucial to efforts to adapt to its social environment, including
public and stakeholder opinion systems. These factors situate this study in the social
ecology domain of organisations and will be discussed in relation to the
ethnographic details.
Through using the technique of progressive contextualisation, Chapter 5
presented three cases to build an understanding of basic cultural features of RCQ. In
this chapter, I build on the description of cultural knowledge structures to identify
cultural criteria as they operate in the selection process of organizing (as
characterised by Weick (1969, 1979)) at RCQ. Specifically, this chapter aims to
explore the action of the identified cultural selection criteria in the development of
strategic communication at RCQ.
The goal of this chapter is to provide analysis that moves from the cultural
knowledge structures operating within RCQ set out in Chapter 5, to describe how
such structures eventually act as „cultural selection criteria‟ during the development
of strategic communication at RC. The analysis of the ethnography presented in this
chapter provides a foundation for conclusions about the influence of cultural
selection criteria on the social ecology of organisations presented in the final part of
the chapter.
This chapter is structured to respond to the five research questions guiding
this study:
RQ 1: When culture is a system of social knowledge, what is the role of
cultural selection in the development and maintenance of that system?
RQ 2: How does cultural selection operate in organizing?
Chapter 6: Cultural Selection 271
RQ 3: How does cultural selection operate in RCQ?
RQ 4: How does cultural selection operate in the development of strategic
communication in RCQ?
RQ 5: What is the role of culturally derived strategic communication in the
social ecology of organisations?
To achieve the goals of this chapter, first the literature on cultural selection is
revisited using Durham‟s (1991) cultural properties to identify how cultural
knowledge structures can operate as a series of selection criteria. Then, I identify and
frame the action of selection criteria in RCQ. Next, the influence of individual
selection criteria in the development of aspects of strategic communication at RC is
explored. Finally, I discuss how the selection criteria collectively influence the
development of strategic communication at RCQ (see Figure 29 for overview of
chapter).
Figure 29: Organisation of Chapter 6
Chapter 6: Cultural Selection 272
Research Question 1: Cultural Systems and Cultural
Selection
In this section of the chapter, I address the first research question; when
culture is a system of social knowledge, what is the role of cultural selection in the
development and maintenance of that cultural system? The context for this first
question is provided by revisiting the concept of culture as a system of social
knowledge as this provides a crucial context for understanding more broadly the
research problem of this study.
Culture exists as a system of shared ideas, rules, and meanings, expressed in
the way humans live and socially transmitted over time (Bates, 2001; Durham, 1991;
Geertz, 1973; Keesing, 1981; Keyton, 2005). Following anthropological traditions,
culture was found to shape RCQ group members‟ behaviour and provide direction in
their work (Durham, 1991; Milton, 1996; Norlin, et al., 2003). As a system of social
knowledge, culture offers connectedness and coherence in ideational dimensions of
how they went about doing things (LeVine, 1984). This meant culture organised
internal processes, gave direction to what the group valued, and acted as an
instructional role for the group in their effort to not only see what is in the social
environment, but also gave a rationale for what they did in terms of their behaviours
(Hahn, 1995). Overall, the RCQ cultural system represented the groups‟
conceptualisation of how to operate in their environment.
The transmission, creation and maintenance of cultural information within
RCQ‟s cultural system, emerged out of social interaction among members of the
group. Durham (1991) contends for information to be considered as cultural, it must
be socially learned. The maintenance of the cultural system is dependent on the
group‟s collective efforts to sustain it through the ongoing adoption of the cultural
information that comprised ideational cognitive, structural, and symbolic
components (Keesing, 1974).
Durham (1991) defines cultural selection as the selective social transmission
of cultural units through human decision making. Cultural selection is an outcome of
human decision making and brings the role of human beings as decision makers into
focus (Durham, 1991). Cultural selection offered a way for the cultural system
operating at RCQ to maintain and sustain itself within their overall cultural
Chapter 6: Cultural Selection 273
knowledge system. The units of culture found in RCQ were displayed at the first
level of analysis as knowledge structures operating within the group (see Figure 26)
and at the second level of analysis as collective cultural schemas operating within the
organisation (see Figure 31).
The RCQ cultural system operated as connected cognitive structures or
schemas to help members understand and attribute meaning to events (Sackmann,
1991). Cultural schemas serve as frames of reference for action, understanding, and
perception (Weick, 1979) to simplify cognition (Di Maggio, 1997). Schemas respond
to the complexities of culture and are used as a foundation for identifying and
classifying cultural items (D'Andrade, 2001). The instructional role of culture as
shared knowledge structures acts as criteria for categorizing, decision making,
preferences, action and performance skills (Goodenough, 2003).
Five dominant schema were found to be operating in RCQ and represented
within the knowledge structures described in Chapter 5. Cultural selection allowed
members in RCQ to be “situated in” and interact with their environment through
negotiated meanings (Milton, 1996). It is this key theoretical claim that set the
foundation for the exploration of the interaction through strategic communication.
While cultural systems are created, shaped and constrained by individual minds, it is
the shared, collective knowledge system and the resulting behaviours of the group
that dictate how sustainable the group, and cultural system, is in its social
environment (Keesing, 1974).
Durham (1991) argues cultural selection influences the capacity for change
within the cultural system through self-selection. Self-selection of cultural units or
memes operate at this level of significance because they constrain the amount of
variation that is available to meet adaptive challenges.
Self-selection is a term used to describe the influence of cultural elements on
the human decision-making system that can occur through free choice or imposition
(Durham, 1991). Regardless of choice or imposition, members evaluate the possible
variants according to their consequences (Durham, 1991). Cultural variants act to
bias change toward their environment so that the change “fits” within the “existing
web of local meanings” (Durham, 1992, p. 204). Evaluation of consequences by
members can be based on actual experience from previously applying the criteria,
with the consequences of different options. This allows a cross matrix of association
Chapter 6: Cultural Selection 274
with consequences from similar types of decisions. The second way is
experimentation or pretesting of anticipated consequences. The selection of a
cultural unit or meme, Durham (1991) argues, is dependent on cultural fitness. As
memes are selected by carriers based on their consequences, disadvantageous memes
may be eliminated through judgements about consequences (Durham, 1991).
Subsequently, memes may also be adopted and consequently reinforced at a
subconscious level, cementing their place as an accepted cultural way (Durham,
1991). This condition sets the context of cultural selection preserving the unique
features of the group of RCQ.
This study has addressed the first research question by establishing that the
role of cultural selection in a cultural system can be acknowledged, in part, by
identifying the instructional role of cultural selection on shaping the cultural system.
Given the claim by public relations that strategic communication is a core function
of their role to manage the organisation-environment relationship (i.e. its social
ecology) (Cutlip, et al., 2006; Everett, 2001), the theoretical imperative emerging
from culture as shared social knowledge recognises the centrality of organisational
culture to RCQ‟s efforts to adapt to its social environment with strategic
communication.
Cultural selection is premised on people within a group making decisions
based on comparing and choosing among options and basing their evaluations on
estimates of the consequences and alternatives (Durham, 1991). Within a group,
decision making governed by cultural values, or the relative appeal to persons in a
position to choose or impose choices, can be considered as functioning in a similar
way as forces that act on variation in any evolutionary system whether organisational
or organic (Durham, 1992). In these terms, cultural selection criteria constitute a key
(but not exclusive) means of evolutionary change (Everett, 1994, 2001).
It is during collective (or social) process where cultural material is influential
in the selection process (Everett, 2002) supporting Weick‟s (1979) notion that
selection pressures in organisations are the outcome of “schemes of interpretation
and specific interpretations” (p. 131). That is, given what is postulated about the
influence of cultural selection on the cultural knowledge system of groups, we
expect to see greater variation between groups in a population over time as a result
of the action of cultural selection within groups. Cultural selection‟s role in a system
Chapter 6: Cultural Selection 275
of social knowledge is that it acts to instruct, sustain and maintain the system
through the selection of cultural information that has a tightness of fit and alignment
with the group‟s judgements. This selection is also based on an assessment of
consequences for the group.
Research Question 2: Cultural Selection in Organizing
The second research question asks how cultural selection operates in
organizing. Organizing is theoretically important to this study because it represents a
set of collective activities that act to instruct members for action. Weick (1979) states
“organizing involves shared recipes for building, and it involves arranging processes
to cope with the equivocal nature of streams of experience” (p. 47). Organizing also
responds to Keesing‟s (1974) view of ideational cultural systems as a system of
knowledge “shaped and constrained by the way the human brain acquires, organizes
and processes information and creates „internal models of reality‟” ( p. 89, citing
Gregory, 1969).
Organizing provides order to social behaviours and actions of members
through rules, processes and procedures (Weick, 1979). The aim of organizing is to
reduce equivocality through achieving consensus of meaning by organisational
members. The shared nature of building these recipes for action (about agreement of
what is out there) (Weick, 1979), has implications for the role of cultural selection.
Selection is the most significant process at the organisational level of analysis
in Weick‟s sociocultural model of organizing (Everett, 2002; Weick, 1979). The
focus of this study explored the role of cultural criteria acting on selection processes.
According to Weick (1969), organisational members actively select or dismiss
equivocal raw material (data) during selection and impose meaning on the selected
data to produce a meaningful (unequivocal) enacted environment (Kreps, 2006).
Activity during selection assembles the collective experience of the organisation to
shape the display from enactment. During the process of selection, criteria are
developed and sustained collectively by organisational members (Weick 1969). The
individual statements in the enactment pool are translated by passing through a
filtering of the selection criteria (Weick, 1969). The action of selection processes
filter information through members‟ perceptions that alter information upon which
Chapter 6: Cultural Selection 276
people act (Aldrich, 1999), and collectively organisational members apply rules and
cycles as schemas of interpretation to attempt to reduce equivocality (Kreps, 1990;
Weick, 1979). Weick (1979) recognises schemas direct action and have an effect of
mediating or “bracketing portions of experience” (p. 154). Once sorted for
acceptability by the selection criteria, schemas then constitute an important set of
criteria that drive the selection process in organizing.
Everett (2003) identifies that individual knowledge structures held by
organisational members are expressed as assertions or statements about the
organisation that when joined, form causal maps or cultural schema expressed in the
form of beliefs, values and perceptions. Cultural schema act as frames to give
meaning and coherence to individual knowledge structures (Everett, 1994, 2003;
Spiro, Kilborne, & Langness, 2003), and are fundamental to identifying systems of
cultural selection operating in the selection process (Everett, 2003).
Cultural selection operates when cultural criteria are employed during the
selection process of organizing to act on the variation that is present from enactment
cycles (i.e. the work of environmental interpretation by organisational members).
Within the selection process, cultural criteria acting through shared social knowledge
structures act as cultural selection to influence the choices made by groups according
to the fitness or consequence of the cultural unit. Given that influence within the
RCQ group, over time the action of cultural selection criteria created increasing
variation when compared to other RC organisations such as RCSA. The variation
was evident in how RCQ members viewed, interpreted, understood, and reacted to
environmental equivocality or change. Given the evidence found, cultural selection,
over time, would continue to produce increasingly substantive differences between
the two groups even though they continue to face similar environmental challenges.
So this approach can refine Weick‟s (1979) notion that the creation of causal maps
from past organisational experiences create “templates” to guide interpretations of
equivocal information. In the terms of the CSSC model, the mechanism that creates
these templates is the action of cultural selection in organizing. Figure 30 illustrates
the action of cultural selection operating within the terms of Weick‟s model.
Chapter 6: Cultural Selection 277
Figure 30: The action of cultural selection operating in Weick’s (1969, 1979)
sociocultural model of organizing
Following Everett‟s (2003) claim that a hierarchy of cognitive salience
establishes the significance of the selection system operating in the selection process
of organizing, the contribution of this study is that cultural selection acting in the
organizing process sustains or preserves the group (and its way of working) over
time. This means that this study, in effect, explores organisational culture as an
important inertial force (see Hannan & Freeman, 1989). Decision making based on
the recipe for responding to enacted materials will be strongly influenced by the
cultural values of that group, for example, what is appealing or how appropriate (the
fitness) of the selected values. This means that differences will emerge among
groups over time who face the same environmental challenges based on their
decision making influenced by secondary (cultural) values systems by both choice
(freedom to make a decision) or imposition (the decision is imposed by a higher
authority‟s decision).
Chapter 6: Cultural Selection 278
Research question 3: Cultural Selection Criteria Operating in
Red Cross Queensland
Research question 3 asks how does cultural selection operate in RCQ? I
analyse the action of cultural selection to provide a foundation for understanding the
operation of cultural selection criteria operating on the knowledge structures within
RCQ. Criteria operating at RCQ are presented as cultural knowledge structures to
reflect participant hypothesis or beliefs about the information (Everett, 2003; Pace,
1988). Five schemas were identified to provide structure to the cultural propositions
operating at RCQ. The schema operate to organise criteria into a coherent cultural
system and thus represent tightly coupled knowledge structures that meet Durham‟s
(1991) classification of cultural units, being historically present over time, socially
transmitted, and used in a way to guide behaviours.
Cultural schema depicted in Figure 31 operate to organise other cultural
knowledge structures into a coherent selection system, and therefore are fundamental
to identification of a cultural selection system operating in the selection process
(Everett, 2003). The five schemas were developed to depict core themes of coherent
knowledge systems that were found to collectively act as criteria to guide selection
in the selection process. According to Durham (1991), these units are learned and
shared systems of knowledge and beliefs, and are socially transmitted over time.
These are criteria have been labelled and coloured to illustrate the five
coherent systems: criteria around avoiding blame; criteria around tolerance; criteria
around internal focus; criteria around being iconic, and finally, criteria around being
flexible and fluid. Selection criteria were identified as units that are socially
transmitted, had historical presence, and acted to inform or guide behaviour
(Durham, 1991).The colours correspond to the knowledge structures presented in
Figure 26 and detailed in Table 10.
Chapter 6: Cultural Selection 279
Figure 31: Cultural schemas operating at Red Cross Queensland
Schema operating in RCQ are discussed in the next section specifically
describing how they organised the group and their world view, the relationship
between these and the knowledge structure that exists within this schema and how
these drive the selection process in organizing.
Cultural Criteria: “Avoid blame”
The first cultural criteria was organised around the schema of avoiding blame
(see Figure 32). The schema collectively operated in a way to guide avoidance
behaviours by MFC members that supported a shared belief that action needed to
protect and avoid any risk of being in a situation where they could be “blamed” for
an adverse outcome. The key cultural units acting as criteria in avoiding blame in
selection processes were centralised around reducing this risk.
Chapter 6: Cultural Selection 280
These criteria operated as selection by choice or freewill (Durham, 1991)
with members actively focused on reducing individual and group risk. Risk was
evaluated by the group based on the perceived consequence of the action. Ways of
working to reduce risk included avoiding documentation or not keeping a paper trail
for attributing responsibility that linked them to an outcome. An outcome of this was
that work was stifled and claims of overwork because of low capacity and double
checking meant work was reviewed several times before being released. This was
also compounded by low expectations by self and others of work in the unit.
Paradoxically, confirming or protecting paper trails such as email documentation and
diary notes, were tightly managed just in case they were needed by the members to
defend an action or claim. This was also known as “covering your back” by
members in the organisation. Lack of documentation also translated to no
accountability.
In keeping with the basic claims of the cultural selection model in which
beliefs become more tightly integrated around “acceptable” (i.e. culturally valued)
historical precedents, reducing risk also included following historical precedents of
actions. This meant staff would take similar approaches that had worked previously
in response to an action. This meant what seemed the most appropriate response was
not necessarily taken, but one that was historically (by precedent) safe.
Reducing risk also meant that the group was not proactive in generating tasks
and most work was generated external to the group (directed). This meant they were
not proactive but reactive and doing enough to be perceived as reaching milestones
and undertaking tasks. The verbal claims of overwork were real for the group,
compounded by other cultural schema of internal focus and flexible ways resulting in
a lack of structure.
Figure 32: Avoid Blame Schema
Chapter 6: Cultural Selection 281
The cultural criteria to defer or deflect a decision was also strongly applied
within the group. Strategies to reduce decision-making events included having
meetings to converse about an issue with no discernable outcome resulting from the
meeting. Engaging with dialogue or “consulting” with other parties was also used as
a way of deferring or deflecting a decision.
Conflict and power struggles within the group were also used to reduce risk.
Rambo (1991) argues that selection is often made based on individual implications
leading to selection of cultural units for personal gain. Projects were structured to
protect group members (or individuals) by offering a scapegoat, either internal or
external to the group, as someone to whom to attribute any lack of performance or
outcome.
Conflict was explicit within the group when describing lower than expected
performance with blame attributed to poor capacity rather than organisational
characteristics such as poor resources or structure. The outcome of this was
enveloped with low trust and low morale in the group with some deviant behaviour
such as gossiping, manipulation and attribution of errors to imply it was someone
else‟s fault. Members applying this criterion were making a decision about the level
of risk they would be prepared to take. Historically this criteria supported low levels
of risk taking in all situations by the group.
The action of cultural selection criteria “avoiding blame” in
organizing at Red Cross Queensland
The action of the criteria acting on selection processes in organizing
influenced members in the unit to take what they conceived to be “safe actions”.
Regardless of their actions being self initiated or following policy and procedure,
their selection of action was taken to protect themself or the group and were low risk
in terms of their assessment of being blamed. Overall the collective criteria
enveloped around avoiding blame sustained the need to keep things stable in RCQ
and avoid escalation. Specifically MFC members needed to work hard to meet the
needs and expectations of the senior staff and avoid consequences of not meeting
their individual expectations. This correlated with other cultural frames of an internal
focus with significant staff effort and focus directed to keeping internal audiences
satisfied.
Chapter 6: Cultural Selection 282
The criteria of avoiding blame also resulted in stifled action. Staff worked
from a scenario base of “what if” in their decision making. This had a consequence
of little being undertaken unless it was proven or familiar. Behaviours around
response also resulted in “least action”. This meant that staff members would
provide a just adequate or just in time response to a communication need.
An outcome of this criteria operating within the group was that staff would
get frustrated and potentially the high staff turnover was an outcome of this criteria
in action. This also contributed to increasing organisational risk through the loss of
intellectual property and no evaluation embedded in strategic communication
practice.
This schema was very dominant in RCQ. While there was evidence from
RCSA that coupled with a cultural expectation to be compliant to national office
requests, this was a different set of views to what was found to operate in RCQ. In
RCQ at the MFC level, the focus was on local management and actions. At the
executive level in RCQ compliance with national office was considered with other
competing priorities and not based on avoiding blame.
Cultural Criteria: “Tolerance”
The next cultural criteria were organised around schema relating to
“tolerance” (see Figure 33). These cultural units collectively operated in a way to
guide behaviours to sustain or cope with working in an organisation where
“tolerance” underpinned members‟ world views.
Figure 33: Tolerance Schema
Chapter 6: Cultural Selection 283
A primary driver of this schema was a tolerance of poor performance and a
lack of accountability (or consequence) in delivering outcomes. Also enveloped in
this schema were views that because you worked for RC you tolerated reduced
resources, inadequate technology, and poor pay.
The “tolerance” schema guided beliefs about diversity and humanity and this
was operationalised by members as a level of tolerance that was expected because it
is “Red Cross”. While tolerance of diversity was directly applied to tolerance of poor
performance, humanity was applied to the expectation that RC employed people
based on personality or circumstance, and not on skills, knowledge or experience for
the role.
The action of cultural selection criteria “tolerance” in organizing
at Red Cross Queensland
The “tolerance” criteria operated at a level that instructed, confirmed or
reinforced an accepted way of viewing their world and thinking about behaviours.
As a collective schema, these criteria led to lower standards and lower expectations
of the organisation and of individual and group performance. Capacity of staff being
below or perceived to be below the level required meant there was a belief that the
unit could not deliver on projects or work generally. This resulted in no real value of
the role, advice or relationships with communication staff in the organisation. Staff
therefore were not included in high level meetings where decisions about strategic
communication were made, contributing to conflict, poor morale and frustration. The
impact of this meant that other staff compensated (because they were personally at
risk of being blamed) so they accommodated the lower capacity by finding
alternative ways to accomplish the work, or doing the work themselves and
increasing their own workload. This could be seen to be a direct contribution to high
staff turnover in the MFC area. Staff also limited sharing certain information on
projects because of capacity concerns, and linkages to avoiding blame schema. The
lack of planning (see flexible and fluid schema) meant that outcome based evaluation
(Hendrix, 2004) of communication projects was not undertaken.
“Tolerance” was sustained by an old way of working guided by the traditions
of RC being the largest humanitarian organisation in the world. Staff beliefs about
the organisation guided the routines and process to follow the least line of least
Chapter 6: Cultural Selection 284
resistance, including sticking to what was done last time. This included following
“goat tracks” or doing things the same as they had always been done. This model of
working accommodated the sense of having too much to do and fear of innovation
meant staff will not question why they could, or should, do things differently.
Finally, “tolerance” was sustained institutionally by offering substandard
levels of technology, equipment and resources. Staff members recognised poor
resources as the reality of working in a not-for-profit organisation and accepted the
associated impacts of having poor technology, resources and equipment on their
ability to do their job.
The “tolerance” criteria operated at different levels of analysis in RCQ when
compared to RCSA. In RCSA there was an organisational focus, while in RCQ there
was an individual focus. In RCSA there was less association with capacity at MFC
level primarily due to a more experienced staff member working almost
autonomously with direct reporting to the ED. In RCSA, “tolerance” was more
associated with historical precedents as the fundamental principles were a natural
foundation of tolerance of diversity and humanity as a Red Cross way. In RCQ,
“tolerance” focused more on the tolerance of individuals as this organisation
operated more on a personality or relationship basis. There were increased levels of
frustration in RCQ and increased conflict that was contributed to by “tolerance”.
Cultural Criteria: “Internal is More Important”
The third schema of cultural criteria organised knowledge to prioritise
internal stakeholders above other stakeholders (see Figure 34). This schema
conflated with the schema of avoiding blame and traditions of the Red Cross Way to
organise group views that the internal management of RC was more important as a
stakeholder than other stakeholders.
The pending nationalisation meant that members were often faced with a
choice between meeting national needs or local management needs. Based on this
criteria, and influences from imposition (power mixed), local needs were always
prioritised higher than external publics because the consequences were higher from
internal.
Chapter 6: Cultural Selection 285
Durham (1991) defines four types of imposition: coercion, force,
manipulation and authority. In RCQ, the most dominant was imposition by authority.
The function of nationalisation as a change agent naturally challenged traditional
structures and positions of authority locally. The power struggle that was being
played out within the organisation meant that staff were required to draw on cultural
criteria when responding to situations, only to find senior managers defining the
situation and establishing the boundaries of response.
The action of cultural selection criteria “internal focus” in
organizing at Red Cross Queensland
The “internal focus” criteria drove selection by organising member
prioritisation of stakeholders with internal being the most important. There were
three hierarchies to this frame. The first was the local internal group. Reflecting the
federated model of RC, the internal focus on the local power cohort meant that only
needs of internal local power holders were considered in the allocation and work
done. The dominant role of the RCQ ED and the accompanying leadership style of
controlling or influencing communication activities at all levels also contributed to
this schema by providing an alternative source of power to the emerging struggle
with national office. The second hierarchy was the NCD, whose authority as the
source of national policy on strategic communication, was limited by local
Figure 34: Internal Focus Schema
Chapter 6: Cultural Selection 286
operational reporting lines. The third hierarchy was at the CEO and Board level, with
a focus on RC strategic goals.
The “internal focus” criteria operated at different levels of analysis in RCQ
when compared to RCSA. In RCQ, it was a dominant criteria frequently applied both
by free choice and through imposition (Durham, 1991). RCQ viewed their needs as
unique and as having special needs when compared to other divisions or states.
While nationalisation was pushing for “one RC” that would bring efficiencies to the
organisation, senior management in RCQ viewed national (and nationalisation) as a
rival. RCQ MFC members acknowledged the professional knowledge and needs of
the national hierarchy however were supported to prioritise local needs over national
needs as required. RCSA also held an organisational level of internal focus, but there
was little evidence these criteria were used to influence their world view. RCSA was
more client-focused and had greater awareness of the impact of their relationship
with external publics. Therefore it was found that RCSA prioritised national needs
equally with local organisational needs, which contrasted with shared views in RCQ.
Cultural Criteria: “We are Red Cross”
The next cultural criteria were organised around schema relating to
perceptions of RC. While labelled as “We are Red Cross” (see Figure 35), this
criteria encapsulated staff‟s recognition that RC was globally respected, iconic and
one of the world‟s most well-known brands. These criteria could have also been
labelled arrogance or hubris, the label of “We are Red Cross” was more appropriate
as it encapsulated overwhelming feelings of pride, sentiments that characterised the
importance of the work RC did, and an overwhelming sense that RC was an
important part of the world‟s humanitarian effort. Therefore words such as arrogance
or hubris were not used. Instead this criteria was characterised as “We are Red
Cross” to reflect these views.
These were powerful criteria as staff felt that no matter what they did (in
terms of their communication actions/ strategy), the strength, and iconic nature of
RC would not be affected. The “We are Red Cross” schema enveloped beliefs that
external community members or audiences didn‟t require detail about the actual
services or programs delivered. Although RC delivered a range of complex programs
and services, the schema dictated that RC members evaluated audience or
Chapter 6: Cultural Selection 287
stakeholder strategic communication needs as being satisfied by simply knowing that
RC was in “that space”. This was viewed as being adequate because members felt
that any assessment of quality or type of service was met by the fact that RC was
“there”.
Reflections by staff members about the Bali incident suggests these criteria
may have been influential in 2003 and played a role in influencing RC members‟
perceptions (or lack thereof) of changing expectations by its social environment.
Members recounted the Bali incident with disappointment that it occurred. Although
members revealed organisational learning from this incident since this time
evidenced by organisation-wide structural and policy change, I detected that
members had no awareness that there was any potential that this situation could
happen again.
Staff were very proud to work at RC due to the nature of the work undertaken
by the organisation. While this appeared to be a paradox with the expressed
frustrations by current staff, the overwhelming sentiment of pride remained. Staff
therefore felt other organisations or individuals should also feel very privileged to be
associated with RC.
Figure 35: We are Red Cross Schema
Chapter 6: Cultural Selection 288
The “We are Red Cross” schema also created a tension with what the
organisation was, or has traditionally been known for, and what the organisation
needed to be in the modern or current environment. This tension was present as the
organisation was championing change through reviews and restructures with a shift
toward nationalisation. This tension culminated as a “corporate versus non-
corporate” tension, or what was viewed as new ways challenging the traditions and
foundations of RC. Traditions and the old way of doing things were very powerful
criteria at RC as staff took comfort from the old ways of doing things. These criteria
provided a way of holding on to the old way of working, to the iconic view of RC
and its important place in history as doing important work.
The action of cultural selection criteria “We are Red Cross” in
organizing at Red Cross Queensland
“We are Red Cross” criteria drove selection by creating a sense of security
around the brand and reassured staff that the brand of RC was ubiquitous and
enduring. The belief that the RC brand was iconic and powerful meant that staff
thought they had little effect on influencing stakeholder perceptions of such a strong,
global organisation. There was a sense of complacency around monitoring and
maintaining the brand, and the meaning RC had for the variety of stakeholders
present in its social environment. The criteria also positioned RC as elite in terms of
stakeholder relationships, where association with RC though corporate sponsorship
agreements, service agreements or activities, would benefit the reputation of the
partner more than it would benefit RC.
This schema operated in different ways in RCQ compared to RCSA. In RCQ,
the focus on the iconic nature of the brand meant that there was a sense that “others”
were the brand custodians translating to their views that they are just there to service
the programs rather than nurture the reputation of RC. While similar knowledge
structures were in place in RCSA, the emergence of the national office as the driver
of the MFC reform meant that RCSA also felt “someone else” was responsible for
RC brand maintenance.
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Cultural Criteria: “Flexible and Fluid”
The final criteria were organised around flexible and fluid ways (see Figure
36). While RC members were united in their description of the organisation as a
crisis organisation, this schema was closely associated with their views of how they
needed to be responsive to being activated for a crisis. The need for flexibility also
presented as a strong criteria for not having what would be expected to be traditional
business structures around communication functions (plans, research, and systems).
The lack of organisational processes in place facilitated a more flexible and
responsive way of working during activation but in terms of it being a criterion it
meant that the organisation could not be proactive, but instead relied on a reactive
way of working. The lack of structure also meant a loss of control because the group
were allowed to make their own judgements about projects or responses that were
not tied to any formal reporting or agreed approaches.
The action of cultural selection criteria “flexible and fluid” in
organizing at Red Cross Queensland
These criteria drove selection to value flexibility and ways of working that
were not concrete. The need for flexibility correlated with the need to have a level of
responsiveness required by an organisation activated to respond to a crisis situation.
Figure 36: Flexible and Fluid Schema
Chapter 6: Cultural Selection 290
Working for a “crisis organisation,” members rationalised this as needing to be able
to “drop everything” and reconfigure their work effort to respond to various types of
crisis, whatever type. The consequence of this mindset was their conceptualisation of
non-activation periods as mundane and overwhelming, primarily due to the variety
and complexity of tasks and the competing demands on their time without the
structure to support the demand. Flexibility and fluidity did not translate well in the
complex non-activation environment and resulted in an adhoc or inconsistent
approach to doing things that lacked structure and processes. For some this meant
there was no solid box around what was required, instead it meant the organisation
existed as a fluid and changing entity. The lack of consistent or enforced processes
within RC meant that staff could choose how they responded and this was an
accepted way of working.
A consequence of the fluidity and flexibility was an apparently unstructured
and reactive approach to working. The fluidity and flexibility created a seemingly
uncontrolled work environment leading to feelings of loss of control and
overwhelming work (no ability to prioritise). The lack of structure around planned
responses also resulted in a lack of evaluation. One outcome of this was no local
evaluation therefore no case for demonstrating capacity, resulting in, for example, no
case for budgets so there were no resources for new communication campaigns.
While flexible and fluid could be aligned with innovation and freedom to
think “outside the box”, the lack of innovation or a reluctance to do things differently
was caused by staff expressing comfort in keeping or doing things the same way.
Both being fluid and flexible, and keeping things the same, could be conceived as a
way of coping with the lack of structure and the flexible way.
The “flexible and fluid” schema was dominant in RCQ. Confirming evidence
came when RC was activated during a disaster or crisis (see Appendix A for
activation events). Activation brought structure and order, and members expressed a
sense of purpose normally missing. Activation also provided an opportunity for RCQ
MFC members to reinvent and reposition their role in the crisis. This meant they
were more visible and took a more leading role in strategic communications relating
to the crisis. Activation also made RC as an organisation more visible, bringing
reassurance to staff as they perceived this as an opportunity for external publics to
see and understand what RC does.
Chapter 6: Cultural Selection 291
In RCSA, while a lack of planning relating to organised communication was
also found, flexible and fluid as cultural criteria were not as dominant in organizing.
Structure and processes featured in RCSA, with staff subscribing to these in a
number of ways. This was evidenced in adherence to formal meetings, requests for
information, responses to program and stakeholder communication needs, and most
importantly, prioritisation of communication actions based on local organisational
needs.
This section responded to RQ3 to explore how cultural selection operates in
RCQ. The criteria presented as five schemas of cultural knowledge working to
influence members in decision-making processes. The action of cultural selection
operating as self-selection of cultural criteria demonstrates the influence of the
cultural system in influencing the evolution of that system. In RCQ, members of the
organisation had the ability (consciously or subconsciously) to make a choice based
on an evaluation of the consequences of selecting those criteria (Durham, 1991).
This meant there were other options available in the context of the situation, but over
time, the decision reflected a pattern, and the cultural logic behind that decision was
found to be shared. While it was not surprising to find evidence of some schema
operating in a weaker, less dominant form in RCSA, the strength of the emergent
schema operating in RCQ provides the foundation to refine the application of the
criteria to the formulation of strategic communication.
Research question 4: Cultural Selection and Strategic
Communication
In this section, I address the fourth research question of this study: how does
cultural selection operate in the development of strategic communication in RCQ?
The formulation of strategic communication, as noted in Chapter 2, requires
organisational members to interpret, understand or translate equivocal environmental
information (Beer, et al., 2005; Everett, 1993; O'Shannassy, 2003; Weick, 1979,
1995) and make decisions based on information available (Johnson et al., 2008). For
strategic communication, which Hallahan et al. (2007) describe as being purposeful
communication to fulfil the organisational mission, decision making relates to
communication action, messages and channels. Strategic communication can be
further operationalised as deliberate communication practices on behalf of the
Chapter 6: Cultural Selection 292
organisation and encapsulates the intentional activities of its leaders, staff and
communication practitioners. In RCQ, this was a collective act located in both the
MFC unit and the RCQ executive level.
The role of public relations contributing to the formulation of strategic
communication in response to environmental change is a fundamental historical
perspective recognised in the literature (Broom & Smith, 1979; Grunig & Grunig,
1989; Grunig,1990; Lauzen & Dozier, 1992; Okura, et al., 2009; Steyn, 2007).
Public relations contribution to strategic communication is predicated on rational
decision making and clear lines of authority and power hierarchies within the
organisation (Grunig, 1992b; L'Etang, 2005). Evidence from this study found
cultural selection operated to influence the development of strategic communication
in RCQ. Each of the cultural selection criteria was found to influence strategic
communication and characterised a way of working for the group that determined
current and future responses to the enacted environment. This finding contributes to
understanding the internal organisational environment influences strategic decision
making identified by Nutt and Wilson (2010) and Papadakis et al., 2010) and more
specifically for strategic communication. These influences are explained in the next
section.
The Influence of Cultural Selection Criteria “Avoiding Blame” on
Strategic Communication
The cultural criteria of avoiding blame and reducing risk influenced the
development of strategic communication in a number of ways. Decision making
about external events and communication responses revealed RCQ staff had a
reduced vision of the external environment and this impacted on the interpretation of
events. For example, they did not see or hear the external signals if what they saw
challenged the status quo within the organisation.
The “avoiding blame” criteria were instrumental in influencing the timing of
communication responses. The stifled nature of contemplating communication
actions and time spent on deliberating to get the response “right” to avoid being
blamed meant that work was increased and responses were slowed. Time was spent
on redefining the problem several times. Through consulting and having discussions,
the problem definition was shifting based on these discussions and their ability to
Chapter 6: Cultural Selection 293
keep talking about the nature of the problem also delayed decision making on key
external issues.
Cultural selection influenced the group to work in a way that avoided
evaluation of performance and thus blame. Scanning was avoided as it challenged
status quo. Responses were slowed because of the need to ensure the artifact was
collaboratively endorsed by the group or checked by an individual (because of lack
of trust of the group). Responsiveness was reduced as RCQ struggled with high
levels of bureaucracy in signing off on MFC output. Resources and effort by MFC
members dedicated to collaborating and sharing risk also stifled responsiveness
contributing to the overwhelming sense of pressure expressed by team members and
the lethargy in meeting these created deadlines in RCQ.
Sensitivity to external environment was fractured for members by their
efforts to avoid blame. For example, if the enacted environment challenged the status
quo, members were unlikely to acknowledge the equivocality, or would actively
avoid or ignore equivocality if it conflicted with internal dynamics. The action of
cultural selection focuses on the influence of power-control and the consequences of
this relationship on any formulation or analysis of environmental information. This
is similar to what Okura et al. (2009) found when they explored the influence of
power-control perspective on environmental scanning activities and found the
internal characteristics of the organisation were far more influential on scanning
behaviours.
The criteria of avoiding blame meant that staff sought direction and followed
instructions without necessarily analysing what they were told. This meant the staff
in the MFC area would only ever be filling a technician role. Because of this, they
were not challenging the meaning (imposition) as they had a fear of consequence.
Organisational members followed precedents or scripts of action that had
been historically established as acceptable. Members opted for replicating what was
done, or what they thought was done previously and therefore avoided taking risks.
This meant if the activity was not successful, there was a precedent set by historical
communication actions that were previously recognised as reasonable or accepted by
the group.
Cultural selection influenced the endorsement of a workplace that effectively
avoided documentation of communication programs, activities or actions. This
Chapter 6: Cultural Selection 294
included a lack of planning (written) and evaluation of activities. The confluence of
fluidity in these criteria rationalised the lack of documentation and planning with the
need to be flexible and open to change (because we are a “crisis” organisation). For
strategic communication this meant actions were reserved for reactive or directed
items, leaving opportunities for exploring other options or communication actions
unattended.
Avoiding blame as criteria also influenced member avoidance of challenging
power relations. For RCQ this meant that even if the group felt the interpretation or
action being taken was not correct, they avoided challenging or questioning this to
maintain the status quo. This action was also acceptable to the group being justified
as the way the organisation worked.
The Influence of Cultural Selection Criteria “Tolerance” on
Strategic Communication
The cultural criteria of “tolerance” influenced the development of strategic
communication in a number of ways. The strength of traditions and history in the
organisation combined with the traditions of the federated structure and traditional
roles of boards and community members meant RC was not inclined to embrace
opportunities. The tendency to follow established precedent influenced members to
keep to the routine, keep to the traditional ways of doing things, reduce or avoid
risks and not try anything new. This also translated to other components of strategic
communication including messaging and channel selection. In this case, messaging
and channels were identified in ways that met expectations and satisfied “old ways”
of working. “Old” conceptualisations of communication problems were accepted and
unchallenged. Power hierarchies created by ageing board members‟
conceptualisation of the environment remained unchallenged by more youthful
members as any challenge was considered by these members as both disrespectful
and “not something that was done at RC”.
“Tolerance” criteria were instructionally powerful in influencing expectations
of the group in terms of performance and acceptance. This influence spanned a
continuum meaning that for some members it meant they were willing to accept
lower standards and rationalised this as being the nature of working at RC, while for
Chapter 6: Cultural Selection 295
other members it meant they could not take the opportunities they identified. The
impact of this on the development of strategic communication meant that RC was
not sensitive or responsive to the environment, but was rather risk adverse, wanting
to stay with or “tolerate” what was familiar.
While it is not unexpected to find an organisation risk adverse, collectively
cultural selection affected communicative action. Selection criteria guided actions to
avoid putting the individual or group at risk. As a way of working, this meant little
was capitalised in terms of opportunities, only reactive responses to emergent issues
and a general reluctance to embrace opportunity.
The Influence of Cultural Selection Criteria “Internal Focus” on
Strategic Communication
Cultural selection acted to influence a dominant internal focus for attention
and response. First, external environmental information, including identification,
analysis and prioritisation was not viewed as important by organisational members.
Cultural selection in the selection process acted to instruct the group to prioritise the
internal audience needs over other audiences. Rambo (1991) identifies that activities
are selected to sustain what is considered as working for the group. This is in
contrast to other more rational approaches that argue strategic communication is
formulated to respond to the external environments. This is also applied to external
publics and stakeholders who are prioritised by selection criteria that sustain or
nurture internal views, that those stakeholders deemed important by internal
members rather than by research. Instead they relied on power-holders in the
organisation to identify and interpret ecological change for meaning. The reliance on
power-holders to define the environment delegated middle and lower staff to a
technician role. This reduced risk for team members through allowing power holders
to define strategic communication problems and identify communication responses.
Second, members‟ high prioritisation of internal relationships and low
prioritization of external issues and external publics, created a lack of perspective of
any influence or consequences caused by organisational actions on external publics.
The dominance of power relationships in the organisation meant for members it was
not a safe environment to take risks to challenge the internal focus. The implications
of the internal focus meant while free choice (Durham, 1991) influenced members to
Chapter 6: Cultural Selection 296
make decisions based on their cultural values, imposition (Durham, 1991) describes
the role of power or a decision imposed on a group to meet the needs of the more
powerful. For the MFC group in RCQ, this meant that there were often conflicting
directives from the different hierarchies at times.
Third, the internal focus created missed strategic communication
opportunities for the organisation. This, coupled with the avoiding blame criteria,
meant the organisation was not proactive, but remained reactive to issues. The
criteria were working to sustain the group view and this also interfaced with the role
of power in the organisation, working through imposition (Durham, 1991).
Weick (1979) argues that organisations create their own environments. In the
case of cultural selection‟s influence on strategic communication, RCQ members,
through cultural selection, sustain an environment that suits them. This may very
well mean the internal environment found in RCQ is closed to external influences. It
can also mean that members‟ views of the environment are filtered through selection
criteria. This would mean that RCQ member‟s conceptualisation of the environment
is not correct or their view is biased or tainted by the influence of cultural selection.
The Influence of Cultural Selection Criteria “We Are Red Cross”
on Strategic Communication
The cultural criteria “We are Red Cross” were influential in the development
of strategic communication at RCQ. Schultz, Hatch and Larsen (2002) argue
behaviours that support a corporate reputation need to be deeply rooted,
acknowledging that “increasingly organizations compete based on their ability to
express who they are and what they stand for” (p. 1). Conceptualisations of the
internal brand and reputation of RC by MFC staff therefore needed to be consistent
with the organisational mission vision and values statements 11
(2005, 2008a,
2009a). The influence of the “We are Red Cross” criteria on strategic
communication created the potential for haughtiness or a sense of organisational
superiority particularly when exploring potential sponsorships or corporate
partnerships. The linkages of being an iconic, large, globally important humanitarian
organisation meant potential relationships were assessed on criteria of being worthy
11 RC Vision is: To improve the lives of vulnerable people in Australia and internationally by mobilising the
power of humanity. RC Mission is: To be a leading humanitarian organisation in Australia, improving the lives
of vulnerable people through services delivered and promotion of humanitarian laws and values.
Chapter 6: Cultural Selection 297
or deserved of partnering with RC rather than on other financial based criteria, such
as return on investment or tangible strategic communication outcomes.
The complexity and scope of services undertaken by RC presented challenges
for members as they felt this was difficult to translate into any strategic
communication effort. This criteria influenced strategic communication to not detail
the nature or specifics of the programs as this was beyond audience comprehension
(or also need to know) of audiences. Members viewed the brand of RC (we are Red
Cross) as being the vehicle for communication premised on audience awareness that
RC did important work.
MFC staff beliefs about RC as iconic and highly recognised influenced a
shared view that existing stakeholder perceptions of such a strong organisation could
not be affected by smaller or campaign-based communication programs. More
importantly, because MFC staff believed they had little effect on the reputation of
RC, they lacked concern about the impact or effectiveness of their groups‟ actions
locally. This was evident through the lack of planning, research, and evaluation in
programming. Their views expressed that nothing they did would affect this, so
therefore they were not too concerned about the affect of their current activity,
culminated with an overwhelming sense that RC will be okay anyway because they
are RC.
The schema was also instrumental in directing a tendency to conceptualise
communication problems historically, based on previous experiences. For example,
because there was a cultural expectation that RC was an iconic humanitarian
organisation held in high regard by stakeholders, staff viewed that local marketing,
communication or public relations efforts were ineffectual. For them this meant that
their actions had little effect on influencing the reputation of RC. In addition, old or
traditional ways of working meant existing practices were left unchallenged or were
accepted as the way of approaching stakeholder communication.
A key example of the old way being left unchecked was the Red Cross
Calling door-knock fundraising campaign conducted annually in March. Staff
recognised, when prompted, that there were alternative ways to undertake this type
of campaign. They also recognised the campaign perpetuated an outdated message
about RC and contributed to maintaining old ways of doing things within RC (both
in a positive and negative way). There remained, however, a strong cultural
Chapter 6: Cultural Selection 298
expectation that this campaign was undertaken in the same way every year 12
and
benchmarked in comparison to previous years rather than other potential success
measures. This tendency to not challenge existing systems of social knowledge about
the current status and form of Red Cross Calling as a campaign, showed that
members sought comfort in what was familiar or historically acceptable. This, in
effect, sustained imposition (Durham, 1991) as a form of cultural selection decision
making. Over time, choices for operational strategic communication are limited
through decision making about strategic communication being premised on historical
activities. RCQ members recognised this as a shared or acceptable view of doing
things the same way. Durham (1991) refers to this as cultural fitness of memes.
Durham (1991) regards this as the action of cultural selection sustaining the values
and belief systems of internal members. Therefore, it is not a determined response by
members to either environmental change or externally generated demands by
audiences in the social environment.
The Influence of Cultural Selection Criteria “Flexible and Fluid” on
Strategic Communication
The cultural criteria of flexible and fluid encouraged a less structured
approach to communication in the organisation evidenced through minimal planning
and documentation. This had four key influences on strategic communication.
First, the flexible criteria influenced fluidity in decision-making processes
around strategic communication resulting in little or no formal planning processes
being developed around key programs or projects. The outcome of this meant there
was little to no resource allocation for projects, and more critically, no evaluation of
any communication outcomes. Parallel to this was lack of evidence by the marketing
communication effort of their value or contribution to the organisation. This valuing
was not simply a calculation of generated fundraising dollars by a specific
fundraising campaign, but in its contribution to the other strategic goals of the
organisation.
12 In 2009 the Red Cross Calling campaign was not undertaken. On 13 February 2009, the CEO advised staff via
email. The decision not to proceed with Red Cross Calling was “due to the unprecedented requirements of
supporting Australia‟s largest natural disaster” (the 2009 Victorian bushfires) and the associated fundraising
appeal. The February 2009 appeal raised an unprecedented $379 million. RC was the lead agency to collect and
distribute funds raised.
Chapter 6: Cultural Selection 299
Second, while some members claimed they planned, they didn‟t document
the process. The “flexible and fluid” criteria encouraged members to be variable in
their approaches to communication tasks and functions. For some members this
allowed them to work with little structure, resulting in a more reactive approach to
prioritising communication actions. For example, there was little prioritisation of
stakeholder or communication needs beyond a crisis, so all demands for
communication activity, including collateral, media materials and program meetings
were viewed as being the same level of need or priority. The consequence of these
criteria on the group meant that workloads could not be managed and there was an
overwhelming sense of being overworked. The criteria of flexible and fluid also
provided little support for members to push back on projects due to a lack of
documentation of program priorities and goals.
Third, being flexible and fluid also hindered the progression of any
developing campaigns as staff felt they needed to attend to other priorities. For some
members, this meant they were just ‟treading water until the next crisis” meaning it
was acceptable for programs to be left in a state of “limbo”.
Finally, the criteria of flexible and fluid, created additional pressure or stress
as there was a lack of performance benchmarks or structures around milestones to be
achieved. In response to these criteria, members would revert to old ways of doing
things driven by a sense of security that comes from following historical precedents
and reassurance from providing something to senior management that was familiar.
This section presented an analysis of the role of cultural criteria drawn from
the five identified collective schema acting in the selection process to influence
strategic communication in RCQ. Each of the cultural selection criteria was found to
influence strategic communication and were shown to be present both during free
choice and imposition based decision making as members negotiated meanings and
actions in their efforts to respond to environmental equivocality.
Research question 5: Culturally Derived Strategic
Communication
This final section of the chapter now moves to a broader context beyond the
setting of RCQ, to address the final research question; what is the role of culturally
derived strategic communication in the social ecology of organisations? This
Chapter 6: Cultural Selection 300
question responds to a higher level of analysis which this work informs and more
specifically, to understand the role of strategic communication in the social ecology
of organisations.
Social ecology describes the relationships between parts of a system and
reflects organisational needs in responding, through adaptation, to a changing social
environment (Emery & Trist, 1973). While ecology recognises the interaction of the
system, social ecology highlights the interdependent relationship of the social
environment and the organisation. Strategic communication traditionally represents
the organisational response to the social elements of an organisation‟s operating
environment (including factors such as public opinion, the actions of stakeholder and
special interest groups) (Broom, 2009; Everett, 1993). Set in this ecological context,
Everett (2001) argues that based on the discipline‟s historical claim of building and
maintaining social relationships between an organisation and its social environment,
the task of organisational adaptation to its social environment is a central organising
problem for the discipline of public relations (Everett, 2001).
A major claim by public relations is responsibility for monitoring the
environment and making decisions about programs that facilitate adaptation or
change (Everett, 2001). While environmental uncertainty provides the context for
public relations practice (Okura, et al., 2009), the central task of strategic
communication is to assist the organisation in responding to that uncertainty,
ultimately helping the organisation achieve its needs for adaptation (Argenti, et al.,
2005; Hallahan, et al., 2007; Steyn, 2003b). Clampitt et al. (2000) highlight the role
of choice by management based on judgement. Culturally derived strategic
communication reflects the influence of cultural selection on management
judgements in their effort to formulate an adaptive response to the environment as
illustrated in Figure 37. Culturally derived strategic communication, through the
action of cultural criteria and cultural selection, is centrally placed in the ecological
relationship of an organisation and its efforts to adapt to its social environment. The
centrality of cultural criteria at the collective group level is found to conservatively
influence the core roles and functions undertaken by members to formulate strategic
communication.
Environmental scanning, traditionally captured through the boundary
spanning role of public relations, and subsequent interpretation or the judgement
Chapter 6: Cultural Selection 301
about environmental equivocality follows Alvesson‟s (2002) cultural view of
strategy, highlighting the reality of the external environment as a social construction
by the group. He argues, “the consequences of the environment for the organization
and the actions of organizational participants are revealed in the interpretations,
frames of reference, perceptions and forms of understanding which characterize the
strategic actors as a collective” (p. 77). He cautions the need to understand how the
group collectively attributed meaning and content to the environment. This
understanding is provided through examining knowledge structures in organisations,
and identifying cultural criteria operating in selection processes. Culturally derived
strategic communication will therefore reflect the internal imperatives of the
organisation as much as the external. Therefore the stronger the organisational
culture (Geertz, 1973), the more likely that culture, rather than environmental
variables, will be the dominant influence in the development of strategic
communication.
The outcome of this influence will eventually produce substantive differences
between organisational groups, even though they may face similar environmental
challenges. These implications are further addressed in Chapter 7.
Figure 37: Ecological relationships: Culturally derived strategic communication
Chapter 6: Cultural Selection 302
In this study I have explored culture as a system of social knowledge and the
fundamentally conservative role of cultural selection within that cultural system to
maintain that system. Cultural selection acts to sustain a cultural system through a
selective bias toward information that supports or “fits” with the existing cultural
knowledge structures. The outcome of cultural selection is that given a similar start,
and in the face of similar environmental pressures acting on organisations in a
population, over time there will be an increasing divergence of the cultural
knowledge systems within a population, thereby creating substantially different
approaches to those environmental factors. In RCQ we see an organisation that has
unique sets of knowledge structures at play. Sackmann (1991) argues “cultural
beliefs influence the formulation of strategic intentions, that they shape the
realisation of strategic intentions, and that they influence the maintenance process of
realised strategic intentions as well as their reshaping” (p. 155). The findings from
this study support Durham‟s (1992) claim that cultural influences may be more
important for understanding social ecology than environmental factors.
Summary
In this chapter, I have addressed the research questions of this study. The first
research question explored the challenge set by the theoretical precedents among
cultural anthropologists who have organised their research programs around the view
of culture as a system of shared, socially transmitted knowledge (e.g. Durham, 1992;
Everett, 1996; Keesing, 1981; Rambo, 1991). When culture is held to be a system of
social knowledge, a key problem addressed by this study is to further explore in an
organisational context Durham‟s (1992) theory concerning the role of cultural
selection in the development and maintenance of that system. This study provides
evidence that when culture is operating as a system of social knowledge, cultural
selection acts to influence decision making within a group. This study suggests that
the nature of that influence is a tendency to preserve inertial forces identified by
Hannan and Freeman (1989) by limiting the amount of variation in the cultural
knowledge system. Such an effect will likely add to the amount of variation between
groups (say, RCQ versus RCSA) over time as a result of the action of cultural
selection. The group‟s cultural belief systems are sustained or preserved through the
Chapter 6: Cultural Selection 303
action of cultural selection as decision-making systems (based on cultural criteria)
promote a bias for the tightness of fit between “new” ideas and existing beliefs.
The second research question explored how cultural selection operates in
organizing. The study employed the perspective proposed by Weick and others that
organizing is viewed as a set of collective processes for reducing equivocality by
increasing consensus around meaning shared among organisational members about
what is “out there” and what to do about it. Based on that theoretical apparatus, the
study suggests that culture acting through selection criteria operates to increase that
consensus within a group, and, consequently, over time creates increasing
differences between groups in how such groups look at, understand, and react to
environmental features. This effect will eventually produce substantive differences
between groups even though they face similar environmental challenges.
The third research question explored how cultural selection operated in RCQ,
and then more specifically in the fourth research question, as an influence in the
formulation of strategic communication in RCQ. The study found that cultural
selection operated by instructing or guiding group beliefs and behaviours that are
unique to the group. The action of cultural selection preserved the unique features of
the group over time. Differences emerged in RCQ because of the action of cultural
selection. And finally the fifth research question asked what is the role of culturally
derived strategic communication in the social ecology of organisations. This
highlighted that culturally derived strategic communication reflects the influence of
cultural selection and highlighted that the external reality of the group is a reflection
of the social construction rather than the imperatives of the environment the
organisation operates.
The final chapter will present the conclusion of the thesis, identifying the
overall implications and contributions to the discipline of public relations, and future
research directions.
Chapter 7: Discussion and implications 304
Chapter 7
Discussion and Implications
In this chapter, I present conclusions and the implications of the study to
respond to the central research problem: How culture, acting through cultural
selection in the selection processes of organizing, influences the development of
strategic communication in organisations. Through these implications, this central
research problem is set in the larger analytical context of the effort to build and
manage relationships within the social environment in which organisations operate.
To accomplish the goals for this chapter, I first provide a synopsis of the
major findings and conclusions about the research problem. Next I present
conclusions and implications for the CSSC model and implications for theory and
methodology in public relations and organisational communication. I then provide a
summary of the key theoretical findings and contributions of the research to the
discipline literature of public relations and the implications for practice. I conclude
the chapter with identification of limitations and future research opportunities.
Overview of the Study
The purpose of this study was to explore how culture, acting through cultural
selection in the selection process identified in Weick‟s seminal sociocultural model
of organizing (Weick, 1969, 1979), influences a key feature of the social ecology of
organisations – organisational strategic communication. I argue that this research
problem is embedded in the core theoretical proposition that strategic
communication emerges not as a direct, rational response by organisational members
to objectively given environmental factors as commonly portrayed in the public
relations textbook tradition. Instead, I argue that strategic communication emerges as
an outcome to the influence of cultural selection at work on the collective
sensemaking processes of the organisation. The consequence of this proposition is
the view that it is this work of cultural selection that influences not only what
organisational members view as challenges in their social environment, but also what
they elect to do about those challenges as they contemplate the development of
Chapter 7: Discussion and implications 305
strategic communication. Such a proposition runs directly counter to much of the
prescriptive literature and textbook tradition (see Kuhn, 1996) of the discipline of
public relations. That tradition is organised around the perspective that
“environmental monitoring” and consequent decision making is the primary driver to
strategic communication.
To organise exploration of the central research problem of this study, I
employed the CSSC model based on Weick‟s (1969, 1979) sociocultural model of
organizing. The CSSC model is used to develop a series of theoretical propositions
to guide the exploration of the study. The importance of these propositions in this
exploratory study is that they provide a basis for assessing the descriptive adequacy
of the CSSC model; that is, they are a guide to gauging the model‟s capacity to help
organise a meaningful picture of the world it seeks to explore. The propositions are
logically warranted and serially drawn claims derived from the elements of the
model. Thus, in a qualitative study, propositions act as a way to ground descriptive
detail to serve the researcher and participants‟ needs for understanding (Lofland, et
al., 2006). Unlike empirical hypotheses drawn from a theoretical model in
experimental science that seek quantifiable tests of that model, qualitative
propositions of the sort employed in this study are guides to explore the descriptive
adequacy of a model.
The first proposition (P1) and largest descriptive lens of the CSSC model is
built from culture theory in anthropology and the management disciplines. It sets the
study‟s principle perspective that culture is a system of shared and socially
transmitted ideas, concepts, rules and meanings (see for example, Keesing, 1981).
Based on such a perspective, the study explores how an organisation‟s cultural
system working as a system of social knowledge is evidenced by emergent
knowledge structures and displayed as schema which organise members‟ shared
views. The study observed that these schema offered members a coherent set of
related values in decision making about enacted environmental data.
P1 is set in the theoretical envelope of the process of selection described in
Weick‟s organizing model (Weick, 1969, 1979). As a process, selection occurs when
organisational members actively select or dismiss equivocal raw material (data) and
impose meaning on the displays of enactment (Kreps, 2006; Weick, 1969). Schema
operating during the process of selection pull together the collective experience of
Chapter 7: Discussion and implications 306
the group by shaping the display presented during enactment and influencing its
“movement” through the subsequent process of selection. The recognition of
collective experience acting through a system of social knowledge recognises the
centrality of organisational culture to an organisation‟s efforts to adapt to its social
environment.
To isolate the cultural mechanism at work in the selection process of
organizing in Weick‟s model, the second proposition (P2) asserts that the property of
“self selection” (identified by Durham, 1992) within an organisation‟s cultural
system forms a key set of selection criteria that filter the variation provided by
enactment and shape the nature of what the group holds as acceptable. This
proposition of the CSSC model also allows insights into how the cultural system acts
to maintain and sustain existing knowledge structures working in the organisation.
The study identifies five core schemas acting as selection criteria in selection. Weick
(1979) recognises schema to have a mediating or bracketing effect on experience.
The schema were an outcome of the collective system of social knowledge operating
in RCQ and emerged from the knowledge structures. The schema provided structure
to organise cultural knowledge structures collectively acting as criteria to guide
selection in the selection processes as part of the decision-making process. The
schema formed criteria that acted on the display of the enacted environment, or in
other words, the work of environmental interpretation by organisational members.
Thus, “self-selection” or the property of a cultural system to assess the value of an
idea based on its proximity to existing ideas, operated when cultural criteria were
employed as decision-making criteria (labelled cultural criteria) during the selection
in organizing.
Finally, the third and most specific proposition (P3) of the CSSC model
asserts that cultural criteria, acting as a subsystem in the selection process of
organizing, mediates the nature of strategic communication for an organisation. This
proposition also was helpful in describing and understanding variation in the set of
conditions for development of strategic communication in RCQ when compared to
RCSA. Different cultural criteria acted to influence the divergent nature of the
actions and messaging of strategic communication between the organisations in spite
of the similarities in their social environments, particularly their relationship to the
national office of RC.
Chapter 7: Discussion and implications 307
Contributions and Implications
Four contributions arise from the theoretical apparatus and methodological
commitments of this dissertation (Figure 38). The first is the central claim that an
organisation‟s culture is a significant feature in the development of an organisation‟s
strategic communication. As noted, this claim and its support from this study is an
important counter to the view in the discipline of public relations that systematic
monitoring of an organisation‟s external environmental is a key feature to ensure
organisational adaptation.
The second theoretical contribution of this study relates to the role of public
relations in the social ecology of an organisation. The third contribution relates to the
significance of organisational culture to public relations practice, and finally, the
contribution to public relations applying the methodology of progressive
contextualisation in organisational ethnography. In the following section, I discuss
these contributions and their implications.
Figure 38: Key contributions and implications presented in Chapter 7
Understanding Influences on Strategic Communication
Most fundamentally, this study explored the research problem of the role of
an organisation‟s culture on the formulation of strategic communication. I argue that
the action of cultural selection criteria operating on the collective knowledge system
(culture) of an organisation mediates strategic communication. I provide evidence
Chapter 7: Discussion and implications 308
that when an organisation‟s culture is seen as a constellation of collective knowledge
structures including beliefs and values, the guiding influence of cultural selection
criteria on that knowledge system can create a significant influence on the
communicative actions and messages (strategic communication) developed by the
organisation. The identification of the influence of these cultural selection criteria
supports criticism of the pervasive view in public relations that holds that strategic
communication is principally driven by responses to external drivers in the social
environment of the organisation. Counter to this long-lived maxim, this study
provides a view that strategic communication may reflect outcomes to the action of
cultural selection in the culture of an organisation as much as it reflects imperatives
of the external social environment. In this study, I demonstrate that the culture of an
organisation should be recognised as a potentially significant influence on the
development of strategic communication by an organisation. Underpinning this
central claim and a key theoretical perspective in this study is Weick‟s classic
perspective that organisations are first and foremost sociocultural systems. This leads
to the second key contribution of this study: a contribution to understanding the role
of public relations in the social ecology of an organisation.
The Role of Public Relations in the Social Ecology of an
Organisation
In 1952, Cutlip and Center first articulated an ecological perspective for
building public relations theory to understand efforts by organisations to meet
adaptive requirements in their social environments (Cutlip, Center, & Broom, 2000).
An ecological perspective views public relations‟ contribution to strategic
communication as emerging from its boundary spanning function as mediator of the
organisation-environment relationship (see for example, Lauzen & Dozier, 1992; van
Woerkum & Aarts, 2008). This study contributes to understanding the significance
of the cultural ecology of organizing by its identification and description of the role
of culture and cultural selection in mediating organisation-environment relationship
and the influence of organisational culture on decision makers in their responses to
environmental change.
Chapter 7: Discussion and implications 309
Astley and Fombrun (1983) emphasise the importance of “collective” forms
of organisational adaptation to the environment. Efforts towards organisational
adaptation is a key claim in the public relations literature, which is dominated by a
view that the nature of the organisational environment influences the role of public
relations in the organisation. For example, if the environment is turbulent, the role
of public relations in the organisation is more strategic or more powerful (see Lauzen
& Dozier, 1992). Traditional conceptualisations of the organisation-environment
relationship reinforce the dominant role the environment has on choices made for
organisational action (Astley & Fombrun, 1983).
Historically, public relations practitioners were trained in the task of
environmental scanning and analysis. However, a key imperative drawn from this
study is that practitioners should be trained in the analysis and description of an
organisation‟s culture to understand an essential context for the development of
strategic communication. Rational approaches to strategic communication
formulation remain a dominant approach in the literature (Steyn, 2007). In practice
this perspective reflects a technical and tactical approach (Stroh, 2007). While
Mintzberg and Lampel (1999) argue that strategy formulation is intuitive and
judgemental, this approach is not reflected in the public relations textbook tradition
(Steyn, 2007; Stroh, 2007). The work of this study suggests that a fundamental need
for the successful practice of the discipline of public relations is education and
training that is more explicit in cultural analysis for practitioners. Clearly
practitioners would be more equipped for the task of understanding and describing
how their work is influenced by an organisation‟s culture and reinforce the
significance of cultural selection to the development of strategic communication.
Senior management play a key role in providing stewardship in strategy
formulation while the leader (or in this case CEO), provides the discipline and
perspective for strategy (Porter, 1996). Lauzen and Dozier (1992) have previously
highlighted the role of power relationships and organisational hierarchy in executing
strategic communication, but this has not been explicitly described. With important
resonances to this study, these researchers observe:
Public relations programs will be driven by what was done in the past and
shaped by institutionalized commitments and budgets, rather than being
Chapter 7: Discussion and implications 310
responsive to environmental demands. Under such conditions, the more
challenging the environment, the more rigid the organization, driven by its
history rather than by its anticipation of the future. (p. 216)
van Woerkum and Aarts (2008) argue it is the role of public relations to
guide interactions with the organisation and its environment. In doing so, they
highlight the role of the unconscious mind in the orientation process:
Our assumption is that the unconscious mind has a significant impact on
one‟s orientation ...and that, by accepting this phenomenon, raises serious
questions about how those in public relations deal in practice with the outside
world. (p. 182)
Initial work on the challenges of integrating the perspective of organisations
as sociocultural systems and the theoretical implications of organisational culture as
an evolving system of social knowledge were carried out by Everett (1985, 1990).
This study extends Everett‟s perspective by identifying cultural selection operating
on selection in organizing as a key driver to understanding the social ecology of
organisations. This study extends Weick‟s (1979) notion that the creation of causal
maps from past organisational experiences create “templates” to guide
interpretations of equivocal information. In the terms of the cultural selection model,
the mechanism that creates these templates is the action of cultural selection in
organizing.
One essential outcome of this study is set in the context of understanding the
role of cultural selection in organizing processes. This outcome is captured in the
notion that we should expect that over time the action of cultural selection criteria
would create increasing variation between local groups in a population in how they
look at, understand, and react to environmental features. This process will eventually
produce substantive differences between groups even though they face similar
environmental challenges. This is a key contribution to the public relations open
systems theory of adaptation and adjustment (Broom, 2009). In public relations,
organisational adaptation develops under the classic “monitoring” function of public
relations and is combined with significant factors related to collective knowledge
Chapter 7: Discussion and implications 311
structures present in the cultural system of an organisation. We should expect that
the more tightly integrated the cultural system of an organisation (Geertz, 1973
refers to this concept as “strong cultures”) the more likely that culture, rather than
environmental variables, will be the dominant factor in the development of strategic
communication. This leads to the third contribution of the study discussed in the next
section.
Significance of Organisational Culture to Public Relations
The theoretical importance of organisational culture to public relations theory
broadly has been articulated for nearly two decades with little advancement
(Sriramesh, 2007). The importance of the concept of culture and its potential to
mediate strategy is commonplace among researchers (Everett, 1990, 2001; Grunig,
2006; Steyn, 2007; Stroh, 2007). However, there has been little advancement to
identify explicitly how such influence might actually take place. This arena is an
important part of the work of this thesis.
The collective nature of strategy development is well recognised (Andersen,
2000; Bonn, 2005). Dozier and Broom (2006) acknowledge the role of
understanding internal influences stating, „„environmental pressures matter to
strategic decision making only when the decision makers regard those pressures as
important‟‟ (p. 148). Grunig (2006) has argued that culture has potential to mediate
strategy while Bonn (2005) has called for research to go beyond exploration of the
individual and examine the group context and influences. In keeping with the view
that “normative theories based on functional models of practice do not capture the
dynamic characteristics of relationships and discursive nature of meaning, which
form the core of public relations practice” (Curtin & Gaither, 2005, p. 91), this
research contributes to understanding how culture mediates strategy through
exploring group influences of culturally mediated strategic communication. While
Everett (1985) identified the action of cultural selection in selection, this study
extends this understanding to operationalise units of cultural information by
employing Durham‟s theory of cultural selection. Thus, this study supports a view
postulated by Daft and Weick (1984) that a key aspect of organisational
communication is the “interpretive system” of an organisation. When the work of
public relations is a part of that interpretive system, it can be a mediating feature in
Chapter 7: Discussion and implications 312
the social ecology of an organisation. To this end, this study explored significant
influences on that interpretive system and, in turn, the social ecology of an
organisation; cultural selection criteria acting in the selection process of organizing.
The contribution of this study to this domain adds the requirement for public
relations to not only understand the organisational and social issues, but to look at
the cultural criteria operating within the organisation to determine what role these are
playing in the current organisational response. More importantly, the study
contributes to understanding how organisational members are being influenced by
these criteria operating on the sociocultural knowledge structures within
organisations. Berger and Luckman (2004) contend that reality is socially
constructed so for public relations, the social construction of essential knowledge,
which is understanding the social environment so the organisation can respond and
adapt, is the cornerstone of practice. Organisations as a sociocultural system (system
of knowledge), when linked to models of public relations, inform our understanding
of the interplay between culture (Everett, 1993, 1996) and “underscores the
importance of understanding the system of meaning and values through which
people interpret the world and guide their actions” (Durham, 1991, p. 417).
As a prelude to the work of this study, Brown and Starkey (1994) argue
understanding culture enhances understanding of the management of information
and communication in organisations. They state “one needs to understand the culture
of an organization to make sense of that organization‟s way of managing its
communication and their information outcomes” (p. 807). While the extant
literatures in public relations tend to argue the organisational environment strongly
influences communication decision making as the organisation attempts to adapt to
its environment (Broom, 2009; Dozier & Broom, 2006; Grunig, 1992a; Grunig,
Grunig & Dozier, 2002; Lauzen, 1995; Lauzen & Dozier, 1992), Okura et al. (2009)
argue the internal characteristics of an organisation play a significant role in
influencing public relations practitioners processes of environmental scanning and
contribution to organisational decision making, and this study has furthered this
argument. The importance of understanding group influences on strategy
development, and group processes in public relations leads to the final
methodological contribution of this study; the use of progressive contextualisation
and organisational ethnography in public relations research.
Chapter 7: Discussion and implications 313
The Use of Progressive Contextualisation and Organisational
Ethnography in Public Relations Research
This study documents that use of the technique of “progressive
contextualisation” in organisational ethnographic studies can enhance description
and understanding of the influence of knowledge systems and structures on that
social ecology. The use of multi-sited ethnographic studies is not a new phenomenon
in organisational research (see for example, Ybema, et al., 2009). While ethnography
is not widely used in public relations research (Daymon & Holloway, 2011; L'Etang,
et al., 2010; Sriramesh, 2007), there have been growing calls for differentiation in
methodology (Ihlen & van Ruler, 2009). Employing the technique of progressive
contextualisation facilitates the study of the social ecology of organisations because
it permits, in its design, the exploration of adaptive efforts across different analytical
layers – from individuals, through small groups, to the larger setting of the
organisation itself. These analytical opportunities must be aligned to the well
described problems of crossing different levels of analysis in a research study.
However, continued development of the analytical technique will contribute to
refinement of the method. This study is a contribution to those methodological
refinements.
Philosophical Bearings: Reflections on Doing Ethnography
Denzin and Lincoln (2008) refer to a qualitative researcher as a “bricoleur”
(p. 5) and provide an analogy of the researcher as quilt maker who assembles images
into montages. Like a bricoleur, I was trying to capture the complexity of social life
at RCQ to assemble, then interpret, the cultural elements influence on the
development of RCQ‟s strategic communication. To achieve this, I used an
interpretive framework to understand social reality (Bhattacharya, 2008).
I earlier stated that my challenge as an ethnographer was “not to determine
the truth but to reveal the multiple truths apparent in others lives” (Emerson, et al.,
1995, p. 3). These truths, according to Denzin and Lincoln (1998), can be displayed
in many forms. This also creates potential for tensions to be raised in the thesis about
what is known as “truths” known from a positivist perspective versus what was
Chapter 7: Discussion and implications 314
“discovered and socially negotiated”. An important question to ask is if any of these
tensions existed in my bricolage.
The positivist-interpretivist debate “revolves around ways human behaviour
should be conceptualised and studied” (Prus, 1996, p. 4) . A positivist orientation
emphasises ordering observations in manners amenable to quantification and
mathematical modelling and attempts to explicate causal relations (Prus, 1996).
While positivist paradigms focus on causes and effects, constructivists focus on
emergent understandings and socially constructed reality (Denzin, 2009).
Interpretivists envision human group life as interactive and socially constituted
(Prus, 1996). So I questioned, did my mapping of knowledge structures and cultural
criteria emphasise the only truth as order and subscribe to a positivist approach?
Hammersley (2002) argues the way people in a group construct their social
world is central to an ethnographers approach. Interpretivists understand that the
human experience is rooted in people‟s meanings, interpretations, activities, and
interactions” (Prus, 1996, p. 9). So while the mapping of the knowledge structures
may be perceived as an ordered, stable and quantifiable modelling of RCQ‟s cultural
knowledge, the intention (or tension) is to represent the socially negotiated meanings
that organise group life at RCQ. Denzin (1989) notes steps to interpretation include
deconstruction, capture, bracketing, construction, contextualisation (p. 27). The
mapping represents part of this process.
One of the most singular and significant attributes of cultural knowledge is
that it operates as shared social knowledge, or knowledge that is socially negotiated
and accepted. To understand this attribute, Durham (1992) requires that the
ethnographer undertake both immersion in the organisation and a researcher‟s
perspective to be able to identify cultural knowledge when it is encountered.
I found I was questioning whether my ethnography had fallen into a category that
Denzin (1997) claims organises current ethnographic assumptions, arguing “the
modernist ethnographic text presumes a stable external social reality that can be
recorded by a stable, objective, scientific observer...(p. 31). Following this, Denzin
(2009) notes reality is only known within the context it is situated.
The writer presents a particular and unique self in the text: ... However the
rules for presenting this self are no longer clear. Krieger comments: „The
challenge lies in what each of us chooses to do when we represent our
Chapter 7: Discussion and implications 315
experiences. Whose rules do we follow? Do we make our own? Do we...
have the guts to say, „You may not like it, but here I am‟(1991: 244) (p. 89).
Traditionally in interpretive research meaning is disclosed, discovered, and
experienced (Denzin & Lincoln, 1998). In my ethnographic account, I became
increasingly aware of the words I used to express what I found were aligned with my
philosophical bearings. The importance of using correct linguistic expression that is
aligned with the researcher‟s philosophical traditions is highlighted by Winch (1990)
who argues that “the elucidation of a concept, is, to a large extent, the clearing up of
linguistic confusions” (p. 11). Fine et al., (2009) recognise different traditions inform
ethnography in sociology and management, with management focused more on
explicit applied links. Recognising this difference, and my discipline‟s foundations
in business, made me more aware of my choices in language, and in some sections,
required changes with the intention to resolve these tensions.
Other challenges emerged around “doing ethnography”. The speed at which I
felt immersed in the organisation presented unanticipated challenges. The first
challenge was to overcome feelings of being overwhelmed with data (I discovered
that in an examination of culture, everything could serve as some form of cultural
data). To mitigate this problem, it was essential for me to learn to remain focused on
the core organising concepts of my research. While Hammersley (1990) encourages
this to explore areas previously unanticipated or unknown, the reality was that I
needed to maintain a focus around my central research problem and the discipline
required for this.
The second challenge was managing the varying levels of personal
relationships I had with participants. Being part of their working world challenged
the relationship roles I initially established between myself as a researcher and their
realities as employees of RC in my research. As the organisation was undergoing a
reform process, the data was sometimes weighted by these change processes.
The third challenge I had to confront was to meet the dual expectations of
generating a research report worthy of a PhD thesis and reporting truthfully without
harm to the generous and hard working people in RC. This latter imperative quickly
shaped how I thought about my ethnographic data and how I related to it.
Chapter 7: Discussion and implications 316
For me as a ethnographer, the experience of “doing” ethnography highlighted
the importance of specific skills and knowledge documented in classic texts (see for
example, Fetterman, 2010; Hammersley & Atkinson, 2007). However these texts
rarely reported on a post ethnography period in which there were examples of the
sorts of learning that accompanied the ethnographic enterprise. My learnings from
doing ethnography included, first, the importance of strong interpersonal skills to
build trust in participant relationships. I achieved this level of success in establishing
productive, meaningful, and appropriate relationships. Second, taking a non-
participative stance was challenging initially but in the end, it was the right decision.
Non-participation allowed me to maintain perspective by not having to invest in any
outcome of the participation for the organisation. While professionally at times I
could easily see a solution, it was more important that I maintained the sanctity of
my role to move between etic and emic perspectives (Hammersley & Atkinson,
2007).
Perhaps one of the most important points of recognition about doing
organisational ethnography was understanding that observed life in an organisation
moves quickly, and by its nature, generates enormous amounts of data. The capacity
to manage and analyse this data required I develop a high level of intellectual
stamina and personal discipline to maintain records, continuously reflect and
document conceptualisations of meaning in memoing, and remain alert to something
new or different within the setting after time.
In reflection, I have found that the use of ethnography as a method to explore
cultural phenomena and the actions and beliefs of individuals who are situated in that
culture was a crucial methodological choice for me. I learned to understand both the
struggle as well as the importance of the ethnographic enterprise in organisations as
a way to understand such settings. Only after reflecting on the study as a process can
I articulate what I would do differently. First, I would interview much later in the
journey because only after time was I more deeply aware of some of the
complexities of the setting. By interviewing early, I missed the opportunity to ask all
participants about these observations. Second, I would spend more time on thinking
about my questions so I could ask better questions. In my fieldwork, opportunities to
gain deeper understanding of a situation where not fully realised because I simply
didn‟t ask the right questions. Third, I would allow more time for participant
Chapter 7: Discussion and implications 317
reflections about my discoveries in their setting. While I did do this in my study with
some participants, allowing more time to this with the whole group could have
provided deeper insights.
Finally, one of the most important points of integration for my theoretical
model and the ethnographic approach I employed was the reinforcement for a central
provision of Weick‟s (1969, 1979) sociocultural model of organizing – the notion
that sense making is done retrospectively. This notion was borne out both in terms of
my participants‟ views about their organisation, but also by the extended reflections
on the ethnographic data that my analysis required. These sorts of experiences
suggest that my learnings from this experience will shadow and shape any future
ethnographic adventures.
Limitations of the Research
A number of limitations of this research are recognised. The first relates to
the constraints on the claims that can be made from the use of organisational
ethnography to explore the quality of a theory. This study‟s descriptive goals were
limited by the temporal nature of the ethnographic enterprise. An organisational
ethnography is a portrait set in a particular time with particular players. These
attributes limit the range of the epistemological claims that are possible and
meaningful across other settings no matter the similarities. However, based on the
ethnographic goal of rich description, and following the lengthy intellectual history
of the practice of ethnology, the ethnographic enterprise does serve as a means of
building foundations for comparative analysis, which can inform the quality of
thought about other settings. Thus, the power of ethnography in the exploration of
theory is not captured by its ability to falsify or verify such theory, but rather by its
ability to provide a thick description, which by itself, may help inform other, similar
descriptive enterprises.
The use of ethnography to answer the key research problem of exploring the
influence of cultural selection on strategic communication provides a limitation in
the context of established discipline approaches to exploring strategic
communication. The length of time available to the researcher accessing the
organisation were generated by the limitations of the researcher to spend unlimited
amounts of time particularly in RCSA, which is geographically remote from the
Chapter 7: Discussion and implications 318
researcher‟s home (more than 2000 kilometres). The distance also meant limited
ability to revisit RCSA. This geographical constraint meant that the depth of
organisational data could only be used to enrich understanding of the RCQ setting
rather than allow it to stand alone as a site.
The third limitation relates to the researcher as an instrument and the multiple
realities that exist within a setting. While it has been well documented that
ethnography is interpretation, (Hammersley & Atkinson, 2007; Rabinow, 1977; van
Maanen, 2006), the limitation of the researcher interpreting and retelling the account
presents one account of events. While ethnographers address these concerns through
making their assumptions explicit, it remains a factor that can bias data collected
(Hammersley & Atkinson, 2007; Lofland, et al., 2006).
Finally, while the selection of the three organisational settings reflected a
choice made to best meet the needs of the study, the discovery of the high turnover
in the MFC unit in RCQ had implications for the strength of the cultural units acting
in the organisation.
Opportunities for Future Research
This research offers important implications for future research. Cultural
studies of public relations practice promise to yield greater understanding of
ecological practices of public relations and offer five clear research opportunities
from this perspective. First, cultural studies exploring the role of cultural selection in
contexts of practice where external consultancies are called in to organisations to
take an expert prescriber role (Broom, 1982). The action of cultural selection would
then not be applied to enactment of environmental change, but of the display from
the consultant.
Second, further research would also afford an opportunity to explore the
interaction of organisational and the consulting organisation‟s cultural criteria in the
formulation and adoption of strategic advice. This would extend understanding of
cultural influences into processes and influences on strategic communication. In the
context of strategic communication, a core domain of public relations practice
(Vasquez & Taylor, 2000), the dominant theme of empirical research focuses on
rational, planning approaches in practice. More focus on a social systems perspective
of public relations founded on an ecological approach is needed to identify, for
Chapter 7: Discussion and implications 319
example, interdependencies of organisations and others (such as consultants, other
agents, and the media) in their environments (Broom, 2009).
Third, while this research developed depth cases of autonomous divisional
settings of one organisation, further research is needed to more fully understand the
role of cultural criteria across different organisations to investigate such things as
cultural isomorphism across industry populations.
Forth, for strategy development, an ethnographic study focusing on senior
public relations practitioners in sense making of environmental conditions and
internal decision-making processes would yield greater understanding of this
dynamic and little understood phenomenon. The use of ethnography employing
progressive contextualisation, offers organisational researchers the opportunity to
follow public relations practitioners to identify and follow processes and influences
on the formulation of strategic communication, beyond the cultural influences
identified in this study.
Finally, while this study focused on RCQ from January 2008 to June 2009,
the study also documented RC‟s intention to reform. Returning to RCQ following
the establishment and embedding of these reforms to explore if the knowledge
structures uncovered in the first study remain, would provide valuable understanding
of the strength and durability of these cultural criteria operating as social knowledge
over time.
Summary
McKie (2001) lamented nearly a decade ago that public relations theory
remains isolated in its body of knowledge, networks and associations, particularly
noting a lack of contribution from social sciences, including cultural anthropology.
This study has responded to McKie‟s challenge by drawing on social science,
particularly cultural anthropology, to contribute to building discipline knowledge of
the role of cultural criteria in one of the public relations discipline‟s core domains of
practice; strategic communication.
Understanding the role of culture in the practice of public relations has been
recognised as important but scarcely studied. This study has contributed to
understanding cultural influences on the formulation of strategic communication that
result from the dynamic collective interplay of organisational members and cultural
Chapter 7: Discussion and implications 320
selection in an organisational context. The guiding influence of cultural selection on
the beliefs and values that constitute an organisation‟s culture found strategic
communication reflects the action of the process of cultural selection as much as it
reflects perceived imperatives in the organisation‟s social environment
The implications of this study reinforce the value of a sociocultural
perspective in which an understanding of organisational culture generally, and the
action of related cultural selection criteria specifically, is fundamental to any effort
to describe and influence the social ecology of organisations. The study also
contributes to understanding the role of internal organisational factors that shape
communication with stakeholders (Seeger, Sellnow, & Ulmer, 2001).
With additional research in this area, we may well find that the historical
emphasis on scanning and monitoring of environmental factors is a less essential
task for effective public relations practice than the practitioner‟s competency in the
analysis of cultural processes within an organisation.
Chapter 7: Discussion and implications 321
Postscript
In keeping with the limitations to the ethnographic enterprise I discussed, the
RC in 2010 is a very different RC to the one I entered in January 2008. Some may
say that if cultural selection was acting within the organisation, it would not be
different. However the reforms that were part of folklore when I entered the
organisation (“they want to change, but nothing will really change” Member 6, Qld),
were implemented ahead of the published schedule by the national management
team. The reform was imposed and can be classified as transformational change
(Cohen, 1999). State-based MFC roles were nationalised with reporting being
removed from the state divisional management. This occurred formally in July 2009.
The MFC function nationally was restructured and all state-based positions in MFC
were made redundant and staff were encouraged to reapply for new national defined
positions. New reporting lines, newly defined areas of responsibility and new
strategic directions were part of the new way of doing things. While I officially
ceased collecting data when the change was implemented, I continued my interest in
RC. I noted a difference in both internal communication (via email from the national
leadership team) and as a response to climate surveys. It would be interesting to re-
enter the organisation to see if change had created new cultural criteria. That,
however, is another study.
References 322
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Appendices 339
Appendices
Appendix A – Domestic Activations of RC
Activation of RC (source: CEO Report to AGM November 2008).
Domestic (Australia only) (yellow is QLD RC )
Activation 2008
January 2008
WA Bushfires
Tropical Cyclone Helen (NT): (between Port Keats and Darwin.
NSW North Coast Floods: Kyogle area / Cabbage Tree Island.
Jan/ Feb 2008
Mackay/ Emerald/ Charleville Flooding (Qld):
Flooding in Gold Coast, Beaudesert, Townsville, Mackay, Charleville,
Emerald, several small central western towns and Rockhampton.
February 2008
Tropical Cyclone Nicholas (Western Australia) (stood down)
September 2008
Woollahra Fire - Woollahra NSW - exclusion zone due to Hazardous
materials
Methane leak, Cranbourne Victoria
Brisbane Storms – November 2008
Activation 2009 - (source: CEO Report to AGM November 2009).
February
Victorian Bushfires
SA heatwave
April
Mid north coast NSW floods
May South East Qld flooding
May-June NSW Northern River Floods
April-June H1N1 Influenza coordinated response
Appendices 340
Appendix B – Fieldwork protocol, Interview and observation guide
1. Interviews
The interview guide follows King (2004) and Charmaz (2007) and will be semi
structured, facilitated by the researcher to initially focus/ prompt on key events
identified from individual interviews, or previously identified by the researcher from
population intelligence. For each event, similar questions will be probed.
1. Your role – what do you do here?
2. What are your role responsibilities?
3. Describe how you think your role impacts on the organisation?
Probe: how does your job make the organisation more or less successful?
4. In your organisation‟s external operating environment, what factors does the
organisation need to pay attention to? (note, if several factors noted by
interviewee, each will be explored separately)
5. Why is this factor important?
Probe: Important to you
Probe: Important to the organisation?
6. How does the organisation monitor this factor?
7. Did you play a role in monitoring, analysing, or responding to this?
Probe: If yes, why. If no, why?
8. Can you describe the steps you took in this?
9. Can you describe what influenced these steps
10. What is important to you (values and beliefs) about your job?
11. Can you describe the organisational culture here?
Probe: can you describe some examples of these elements
12. What are the values, beliefs or behaviours that this organisation rewards?
13. What about the ones they don‟t reward?
14. What are the hidden values that the organisation nurtures but doesn‟t
necessarily want to put out there?
15. Recently this event occurred, what actually happened here?
16. How did the organisational respond?
17. Why did/didn‟t the organisation respond – what influenced this process – do
you think the culture we spoke about before influenced this process (get
detail here)?
18. Ok, now I want you to think about this event, what happened here?
19. How did the organisational respond?
20. Why did/didn‟t the organisation respond – what influenced this process – do
you think the culture we spoke about before influenced this process (get
detail here)?
Appendices 341
2. Observation
Observation will focus on studying the process or phenomenon (Charmaz, 2007)
of meetings and interactions in situations where communication decision making and
environmental analysis is taking place. Observation records will be explicit,
containing reference to participant roles, interactions, routines, temporal elements,
interpretations and the social organisation and may shift from broad to specific or
selected observations (Adler & Adler, 1998). The observation strategy will be to
maintain a passive presence, being unobtrusive and non interacting with actors in the
setting (Marshall & Rossman, 1999) to minimise any distortion. The researcher will
reveal her identity and overall purpose of research to all participants. The researcher
acknowledges the legal and ethical responsibilities associated with observation and
recognises the confidential nature of some interactions. This will be responded to in
more detail in the ethics section of this report.
Observation settings will include scenes where decision and sense making occur,
or opportunistic settings (Adler & Adler, 1998) as the situation arises for the
researcher when present in the organisation. Observation will be conducted by
attending meetings, in situ decision making and sitting with the executive. These
have initially been identified as settings with the communication manager, meetings
such as executive, business unit and communication staff meetings, briefings and
other strategy meetings or occasions. The timing and frequency of observation will
occur over a one-month period in each organisation, however will be guided by the
data generated and theoretical sampling. For example, if new observation data
generate theoretical saturation, then observations will cease (Glaser, 1992).
A proforma or tick sheet has been developed after initial observations to facilitate
accurate capture of observational data. Adler and Adler (1998) suggest observation
produces great rigor when combined with other methods. Validity will be enhanced
through testing and triangulating data with other data collected, seeking evidence of
disconfirming cases (Adler & Adler, 1998). Table 3 provides a summary of
observational data and examples of the types of observations anticipated
(Cunningham, 1993). Table 5 provides an example of a field observation template:
Observational
data
Example
Tasks Functions of the individuals
Functions of key groups
Relationships of members in different settings
Actions/ behaviours of key members in different
settings
Evidence of legitimate and illegitimate roles
Settings Descriptions of settings (evidence of cultural
artifacts – power, roles)
Behaviours and
consequences
Behaviours and rituals during meetings
Behaviours relating to subculture vs. corporate
culture
Behaviours relating to cultural beliefs
Timing and
sequencing
Frequencies of actions and events
Identifying time patterns of behaviours
Unique events, Any item that is unique, out of the ordinary as
Appendices 342
actions, outcomes identified by actors or researcher
3. FIELD OBSERVATION PROFORMA (initial anticipated)
DATE: TIME:
SETTING:
PARTICIPANTS:
Tasks : Individual /
groups
Relationships
Actions/ behaviours
Roles
Settings
Behaviours /
consequences
Behaviours / rituals
Timing and
sequencing
Frequency
Identifying time
patterns of
behaviours
Unique
Other
Appendices 344
4. FIELD OBSERVATION NOTES
DATE: TIME: SETTING:
PARTICIPANTS:
OBSERVATION / Activity/ Event Reflection/ Memo
Appendices 346
Appendix D – Fundamental Principles
Red Cross as a branch of the British Red Cross at the outbreak of the First World
War with the primary aim of supporting sick and wounded soldiers. It is part of the
largest humanitarian network in the world- an international network of the 186 RC
and Red Crescent societies which began in the 19th century. The National Societies
have established a federation based in Geneva and Australia is represented on its
Governing Board. Globally, national RC and Red Crescent Societies, the
International Federation and the ICRC are the most significant non-governmental
actors in the health and social welfare sector, during conflicts, disasters and at other
times.
RC provide over 70 community services ranging from blood services; school
breakfast programs; support programs for people with mental illness; and disaster
support. Voluntary service is one of the fundamental principles on which RC and the
global RC Red Crescent Movement is based. RC employs approximately 1000 staff
and services are delivered by over 30,000 volunteers. Worldwide the Movement has
in the order of 97 million volunteers (RC , 2008).
Fundamental Principles
Humanity
The International RC and Red Crescent Movement, born of a desire to bring
assistance without discrimination to the wounded on the battlefield, endeavours, in
its international and national capacity, to prevent and alleviate human suffering
wherever it may be found. Its purpose is to protect life and health and ensure respect
for the human being. It promotes mutual understanding, friendship, co-operation and
lasting peace amongst all people.
Impartiality
It makes no discrimination as to nationality, race, religious beliefs, class or
political opinions. It endeavours to relieve the suffering of individuals, being guided
solely by their needs, and to give priority to the most urgent cases of distress.
Neutrality
In order to continue to enjoy the confidence of all, the Movement may not
take sides in hostilities or engage at any time in controversies of a political, racial,
religious or ideological nature.
Independence
The Movement is independent. The National Societies, while auxiliaries in
the humanitarian services of their governments and subject to the laws of their
respective countries, must always maintain their autonomy so that they may be able
at all times to act in accordance with the principles of the Movement.
Voluntary Service
It is a voluntary relief movement not prompted in any manner by desire for
gain.
Unity
There can be only one RC or Red Crescent Society in any one country. It
must be open to all. It must carry on its humanitarian work throughout its territory.
Universality
Appendices 347
The International RC and Red Crescent Movement, in which all Societies
have equal status and share equal responsibilities and duties in helping each other, is
worldwide. (Red Cross Strategy 2010)
Appendices 348
Appendix E – Coding nodes (NVivo 7/8/9)
Crisis
A crisis brings structure and tighter controls A crisis gives you an excuse not to get other stuff done
A crisis provides an opportunity for RC to reinvent _ reposition_
re establish itself
Crisis brings a sense of purpose and energy normally missing
In a crisis the organisation is actively involved at all levels
In a crisis the purpose of the organisation comes into focus In a crisis, it doesn‟t matter if I am exhausted
In a crisis, there is only one thing to think about
It is soulless in a crisis what happens in a crisis is different we have to protect
You need to do things differently in a crisis
Change and reviews
Bottom up change _it should come from the staff Change has been poorly managed_is a mess
get flogged if you go in to hard (change) It is too big a task
No communication about change
filter down from top
heard a rumour
Nothing will really change and nothing will
not get what they want
rushing to change
a quick fix
we are victims in major organisational turmoil Change to control or manage power
Change structure to change way of doing things New systems to cope with change
paraphrasing, disempowering and disruptive to the org
States are not really involved in the reviews States won‟t be able to do what they want anymore
change will be a challenge to implement
Change will be bad
Before we changed it was better
Confronting Derailed by those people
Fear of change
Halted _Unsure_ uncertainity resistance to change
tensions with change
Change will be good
change will improve the way we do things
Excited about change
expectations go with change It has got to happen
How long do we have to wait for it to change
slow and gentle
Still have a long way to go to change
If we don‟t get on board with new technology we are doomed Influence the outcome (of change)
is an excuse
Our original instruction for brand change People recruited to deliberately change way things are done
RC is still trying to come to grips with the change
Restructuring and reviews Take people with you on your journey
Trying to do it different or change
Appendices 349
Church_like
working in a church
Communication
and planning
Adhoc communication
Advocacy campaigns audiences need to connect with beneficiary image in collateral
based on what we did historically
Beneficiary focus of messages biggest number of hits of any charity
Board want campaigns but cut the budget
Business plan Campaign based work
campaigns not working_not reaching stakeholders
Comm strategy explicit Communication actions
Communication disciplines at RC are not the right mix
community versus product driven complexity around communication with s_holders
coms not marketing based
driven by executive team Events make no money
Information overload for people
didn‟t buy into the plan Local messages confuse people
Making website user-friendly
Red Cross doesn‟t know what it wants from the website
The web highlighted the flaws in RC states vs. national Messaging
Missed opportunity
National are not as effective as states New projects require new ways_not always easy
No budget to do things properly
Not or need to be strategic in coms People think we are quite sophisticated in comms but we are not
Red Cross Calling
A PR positioning exercise
Doesn‟t let people know what we do at RC
Is our main engagement with volunteers Makes people want to leave because they know it‟s
coming and it is too hard
Not serving its purpose_out of date as a fundraising activity
Reinforces an old, outdated image
spending too much money saving money around communication
Sponsors and partners
Talk to people about what the org does targets
seniors young people
we have improved in the quality of our coms
we need to get out there We need to package collateral to speak to donors
we need to talk about more than just crisis and international
we sort of form ourselves around the business Complexity of
organisation
Diversity of services costs too much and dilutes the brand
We don‟t really know what we are
CULTURE - expressions of
9 different cultures A blame culture
A taskforce of people without right focus
Accuracy is rewarded
Appendices 350
Ad Hoc_ fluid Organic_ inefficient
Mechanistic and not organic
ambiguity and inconsistent
Analogy - Sinking ship_ bus_ switchboard etc anchored - bedded down
Anglo Saxon white workforce - mainstream
inspirational assumption that everyone knows how it works
aversion to conflict
Avoid documenting become disengaged (working here)
Become more serious _ cannot be silly anymore
Being articulate - able to argue a point being careful because of consequences
blame and bullying culture are different
Blame mentality Bully culture
can do culture
cancel meetings cant collaborate
Can‟t speak out or make waves
closed-door Collaborative work_consultation _conversation
Competitive
Complacency complicated and difficult relationship
Confuse collaboration with consensus Covering our own back, justifying
CRAP
defend yourself detail - RC can‟t deal with detail
dirty politics
discrimination doesn‟t like people who are parochial
doesn‟t like small thinkers
Don‟t learn from our experiences_no documenting don‟t say anything strong enough or controversial enough
Don‟t talk about things publically
double standards exploits vulnerability
fast paced
Fear and conflict and bad stuff
aversion to conflict
Avoid documenting being careful because of consequences
blame and bullying culture are different
Blame mentality Bully culture
Can‟t speak out or make waves
Competitive complicated and difficult relationship
conflict and infighting
Covering our own back, justifying defend yourself
dirty politics
dislike double standards
exploits vulnerability
Fear of game playing
Getting into trouble
got away with it (performance accountability) governance
Hiding weakness
intolerance It not a comfortable place to work.
Lenient work ethics
looking bad mediocrity
Mistakes
Nasty behaviour
Appendices 351
Not happy
Poor judgement Punish you for challenging CEO
Punitive - deal with bad behaviour
Quiet people are weak routine and process_least resistant
take a stand on this fight
tension to scared to say no
Under mining authority power etc
Use it as ammunition Fear of
game playing
Gender Getting into trouble
got away with it (performance accountability)
governance growth - organic and accidental
Hiding weakness
honesty identified as a problem
Ignoring warning
Innovation - or not Internal problems our biggest hurdle
intolerance
Intuition It not a comfortable place to work.
Knowing - how to do things or what people do Knowing or not knowing where you stand
knowledge
assumption that everyone knows how it works
Knowing - how to do things or what people do
Knowing or not knowing where you stand Listen- don‟t want to
not sharing knowledge_keep it to yourself
Lenient work ethics Listen- don‟t want to
looking bad
Mechanistic and not organic mediocrity
mediocrity and concession
MFC is working ok Mistakes
Nasty behaviour
No red cross way of doing things not an INTERNAL service culture
Not happy
not sharing knowledge_keep it to yourself open, encouraging respected
passion and a belief in the organisation
People are shocked working here Personal opinions and views
Poor dress code
poor internal culture generally Poor judgement
Punish you for challenging CEO
Punitive - deal with bad behaviour putting up a smoke screen
Quiet people are weak
Risk We are very careful
routine and process_least resistant
Self-imposition~ Sophistication - low level of...
subcultures
take a stand on this fight Tall poppy syndrome of RC
tension
to scared to say no Trust or not
Under mining authority power etc
Use it as ammunition
Appendices 352
Views about culture (ways of doing things around here)
Waffly we need to modernise but keep our history
We need to work outside the square_ break the rules at times
we see ourselves a little differently Documenting gives structure and takes off pressure
efficient and well run organisation
Environment
Branches don‟t follow the 7 principles
Chaotic or changing environment Competitors are clearer in what they do
Competitors
Competitors are clearer in what they do
Don‟t take the light from other organisations
we have greater potential to achieve more we need to be out there like the competitors
We operate in a highly competitive environment
counts only from the media criteria for environmental scanning
Doesn‟t pay attention to global environment
Donors
Donors do not vary by state - they are the same
Donors have some engagement with us already Donors vary regional vs. metropolitan
don‟t really have the analytical skills Don‟t take the light from other organisations
Env scanning
counts only from the media
criteria for environmental scanning
Doesn‟t pay attention to global environment don‟t really have the analytical skills
formal process
haven‟t got one that works It is hard to get this information
It is national responsibility
Media issues Not formally
relationships with key people
secondary research of environmental information
Media issues relationships with key people
secondary research
twice a year research Fundraising
Donors
Donors do not vary by state - they are the same
Donors have some engagement with us already Donors vary regional vs. metropolitan
Donors do not vary by state - they are the same
Donors have some engagement with us already Donors vary regional vs. metropolitan
New ways of fundraising
Transactional view of stakeholders Evaluation_
Performance
A sense of relief that no one complains
EDs don‟t like being held accountable
no accountability_Evaluation_not outcomes performance or deliverable focused
Not paid to evaluate, paid to deliver
Our competitors evaluate better Poor performance is rewarded
The need for accountability and transparency with stakeholders is
scary
Appendices 353
we need to be clear and transparent and we cant
Will be doing research nationally evolved to...
Feel like one
red cross
cultural and system change for one red cross
The reality of One Red Cross is different Fragile
organisation
Fundraising
Admin cost of fundraising
cant publicise some services because people won‟t donate to them Corporate fundraising National is organised
Corporate fundraising needs to be flexible
Hard to get corporate dollars Hate Planned giving people_ Street walkers
Org twists itself to meet the funding
People don‟t want to donate to things they don‟t understand RC fundraising needs a complete overhaul
They won‟t listen_ Old ways still make money
get our house in order and then
they will come
Global organisation
_impacts on all Red Cross
brand
ICRC huge, cumbersome and not flexible In a powerful position to influence
Does too
much_ Red Cross
ambitious
Avoids associated with bad news Goal or trying to be
Govt knows we won‟t take concerns to the street
Govt wants to see us as one organisation haven‟t got one that works
How I feel about working in RC
A great organisation to work for
A lot of things we do are groovy Attractive (Red Cross is...)
Does important or amazing work
Humane organisation to work for I feel supported and protected in what I do
Love my job
Part of the team RC is a good place to work
Red Cross is solid, reliable, reputable, credible, held in
high esteem This is what I thought Red Cross was going to be like
A lot of things we do are groovy
A Negative comments_ to work for Business valued over staff
challenge working here
colleagues bitching - not a humanitarian way disorganised
Fractured and no team work
Get disillusioned I didn‟t feel supported in that situation
I feel anonymous because of the hierarchy
just want to do the job and go home Need to justify why they are here
no connection between looking after staff and what we
do NO PD or training
nobody wants to support anybody of anything_not my
job
Appendices 354
People criticise others
People desperately want to be loyal but can't personality driven organisation_who you know not
what_who you are
Poor staff morale PPR tokenistic
Working at Red Cross is a challenge_ many obstacles
You have to be patient_ tolerant_ resilient to work at RC
capacity not fixed when people leave
Easy org to get a job in Holding back_not using my skills and knowledge
No respect
People ride on my coat tails poor or negative comments about capacity
positive or good comments about capacity
While dysfunctional, there is a lot of professionalism Attractive (Red Cross is...)
Believe in what we do despite the issues we face
burnt out Business valued over staff
Cannot keep good people
capacity not fixed when people leave challenge working here
colleagues bitching - not a humanitarian way
come to get a foot in the door Cost of staff
credibility and capacity
disorganised
Does important or amazing work Don't have the right people (See capacity)
Don‟t look after staff_exploit or not value
Don‟t need so many hands on deck now Don‟t want to add extra stress
driven by...
Easy org to get a job in exhausted so let it go...
expectations of staff not met
Fractured and no team work Get disillusioned
get frustrated and leave
Get no or little rewards or recognition Get recognised at the highest level
Getting it done relies on personal motivation not
process Hard to keep good staff with poor pay
harness for good not evil_keep spirits up
high staff turnover Holding back_not using my skills and knowledge
Humane organisation to work for
I didn‟t feel supported in that situation I feel anonymous because of the hierarchy
I feel supported and protected in what I do
I need to respect other workers workload Inexperience
Internal culture doesn‟t support staff
Issues It is isolating as a role
job insecurity
join RC because you care about Social Justice issues just pile more work on top
just want to do the job and go home
Lack of confidentiality, lack of fairness and equitability. Lack re to defend ourselves
Lethargy in doing normal business
likes people who are pragmatic, resourceful and work hard
looks good on a cv that you worked at RC
Loss of intellectual property Loss of sharpness
Love BUT...
Appendices 355
Believe in what we do despite the issues we face
Not in a position to be heard Love my job
making a difference motivation for working at RC
Media team is working the best Motivated by helping people_not loyalty to Red Cross
as a brand
Motivation for working here My knowledge is claimed by someone else_I am not
visible
My longevity at RC helps me to survive My staff do not perpetuate a blame culture
My state is different
Need to do more Need to justify why they are here
Need to pull people together to make them see this is
one org New staff influence
No career path in RC
no connection between looking after staff and what we do
NO PD or training
No respect nobody wants to support anybody of anything_not my
job
Not doable Not in a position to be heard
Not investing in staff not a priority Not tapping into talent
Not upset anyone here at RC
organisational capacity Overworked slammed heavy workload
exhausted so let it go... just pile more work on top
Loss of sharpness
Not doable too much to do_I am busy
Part of the team
People criticise others People desperately want to be loyal but can't
People don‟t understand what MFC does in QLD
People in RC talk from an uninformed position People ride on my coat tails
People work here because they expect a little bit more
personality driven organisation_who you know not what_who you are
poor or negative comments about capacity
People who are needy work for red cross
Poor pay discussions
Salaries are arbitary_not skill responsibility based
Poor re limits what we can do in terms of Comms
Poor staff morale positive or good comments about capacity
PPR tokenistic
Privileged position Proud
RC are trustworthy_let us get on with our work_do
question us_we are RC RC doesn‟t care and is not concerned about people here
RC is a good place to work
RC makes it difficult to have a relationship with other staff
Really don‟t want to leave
Red Cross is solid, reliable, reputable, credible, held in high esteem
Red Cross people
Reporting and achievement Resourcing
Lack re to defend ourselves
Appendices 356
Not investing in staff not a priority
organisational capacity Poor re limits what we can do in terms of Comms
Reporting and achievement
Retention
burnt out
Cannot keep good people come to get a foot in the door
Cost of staff
Don't have the right people (See capacity) Don‟t look after staff_exploit or not value
get frustrated and leave
Hard to keep good staff with poor pay high staff turnover
Internal culture doesn‟t support staff
job insecurity looks good on a cv that you worked at RC
Loss of intellectual property
New staff influence No career path in RC
RC doesn‟t care and is not concerned about people here
Really don‟t want to leave staff are pulled in lots of different directions
Staff retention is a national issue - not a SA issue
try to keep staff works too hard
You are not important _happy to let you leave Reward and recognition
Get no or little rewards or recognition Get recognised at the highest level
Need to do more
Self esteem and praise self-preservation
You have to show success before it is supported
Role and working
driven by...
exhausted so let it go... expectations of staff not met
Inexperience
Issues join RC because you care about Social Justice issues
just pile more work on top
Loss of sharpness making a difference motivation for working at RC
Not doable
Overworked slammed heavy workload
People work here because they expect a little bit more
Privileged position Proud
Some people could not cope with the lack of...
Staff focus is too narrow Staffing
too much to do_I am busy
unique of jobs done Way to survive
we work to do the best we can
When you work at Red Cross, you need to put your own views aside
Working style
Salaries are arbitary_not skill responsibility based Self esteem and praise
self-preservation
Some people could not cope with the lack of... staff are pulled in lots of different directions
Staff focus is too narrow
Staff retention is a national issue - not a SA issue Staffing
This is what I thought Red Cross was going to be like
too much to do_I am busy
Appendices 357
try to keep staff
unique of jobs done Way to survive
we work to do the best we can
When you work at Red Cross, you need to put your own views aside
While dysfunctional, there is a lot of professionalism
Working at Red Cross is a challenge_ many obstacles Working style
works too hard
You are not important _happy to let you leave You have to be patient_ tolerant_ resilient to work at
RC
You have to show success before it is supported I need to work at keeping the AusAid relationship good
I think the competition are disingenuous and I can‟t stand them
Indigenous and mental health It is hard to get this information
It is national responsibility
Media issues New ways of fundraising
People have little understanding of RC values
People often misunderstand what RC is doing but we always have an answer
people think we are Christian charity
People think we are disorganised people think we are government
People want to bring red cross down Peoples experience of red cross varies
Public opinion
RC doesn‟t capitalise on vulnerability to sell its message RC doesn‟t get it right all the time
RC has obligations to do certain things
RC is a long way behind other NFPs RC is brave
RC is going in the right direction_impatient
RC steps in where others don‟t_ Red Cross can do things other orgs cant
Red Cross has done and should be doing
Red Cross is like working in a third world country Red Cross_NFP attitude or way
Geneva way Red Cross language or lingo
relationships with key people
Rural donors support domestic activities Sees itself as fundraisers and not in a competitive business world'
Stakeholders
academically defined
Are a risk_governance
Are not valued Are old
Blood service
Branches - a dying model Branches - A huge risk to reputation
Branches work hard
Branches don‟t understand why we changed cant _ don‟t engage with young people
change will impact on volunteers and branches
cracks starting to show_Old member base defined by age
defined by position description
defined by service user Don‟t agree or view the same way
Expectations of branches not met by RC
First for Red Cross Give us money
Government
In the past Indigenous program
First for Red Cross
Indigenous person to lead is important
Appendices 358
Indigenous person to lead is important
Interfere with RC work or direction Membership profile is changing to reflect society
Not compliant
Not paying attention to s/holders old turf wars
people who need to respect us for international work
RC attitudes to branches is changing or has changed RC changed the way they serviced branches
RC doesn‟t care about branches they want them to all
leave Some volunteers join for social not work reasons and
this is a problem
Some volunteers think we are a basket case staff
stakeholders are old, english, white Australian
traditional stakeholders are the same in all states but some react
more conservatively
treat as individuals not households unsophisticated analysis
views of s/holders based on personal experiences
Vols don‟t understand where we are going volunteer based organisation and volunteer board
Volunteers can help in daily work load
Volunteers members and Branches
Are a risk_governance Are not valued
Are old
Branches - a dying model Branches - A huge risk to reputation
Branches work hard
Branches don‟t understand why we changed change will impact on volunteers and branches
cracks starting to show_Old member base
Don‟t agree or view the same way Expectations of branches not met by RC
In the past
Interfere with RC work or direction Membership profile is changing to reflect society
Not compliant
RC attitudes to branches is changing or has changed RC changed the way they serviced branches
RC doesn‟t care about branches they want them to all
leave Some volunteers join for social not work reasons and
this is a problem
Some volunteers think we are a basket case Vols don‟t understand where we are going
volunteer based organisation and volunteer board
Volunteers can help in daily work load Volunteers translate their idea of what RC is for them
we are not here to give volunteers a place to meet
will create problems with sign off if they are not happy Won't change the way they do things
Volunteers translate their idea of what RC is for them
we are not here to give volunteers a place to meet where are the young people
who are your stakeholders
academically defined Blood service
cant _ don‟t engage with young people
defined by age defined by service user
Give us money
Government people who need to respect us for international work
will create problems with sign off if they are not happy
Won't change the way they do things
Appendices 359
Young people
cant _ don‟t engage with young people
where are the young people
Supporting Vulnerable is a bit of a cliché Things never get finished
to disrespect old members goes against what RC is
Transactional view of stakeholders twice a year research
Two red crosses
We make it difficult for people to engage with us What they think and feel about others (doing seeing)
internal
communication
Building or not building trust
Cannot be heard_dont listen communicate well internally
Disconnected _dont share
Don‟t communicate well internally hard to get people to work together and communicate
idea or aspirational
Internal expectations is different from external many kinds of walls
Osmosis
Poorly managed Up and down versus horizontal comms
What we do internally is different Media - use of
are a risk Dealing with media
Don‟t say anything strong enough or controversial enough
Huge pressure to get exposure in the old days RC was respected in the media and everything was
published
is one area in the org working the best Mass media are more interested in entertainment than humanity
stories
Media interests media is the only understood and VALUED comm channel in RC
Messages - in media
Need to bignote ourselves to try to get coverage no buy in of calendar items
Not using media
Profile in the media is poor RC needs to be more strategic in using the media
RC needs to lobby govt thru media
Role of media and publicity Snr mgmt very interested in it
some are anti red cross
Used as criteria for judgement We dilute our messages by sending out too much
We need to be different to other NFP in the media to gain respect
by journalist
Mission, vision,
values and
principles
Being Neutral
constraining action Creates a constant tension in the organisation
don‟t inform what we do really
Embody what the organisation is everybody working at RC should know
Impact enormously
lack relevance_ are from a different era MY own vision is
No one really understands our 7 principles
Not religious or political people need to be educated to see how they are used
Principles enhance our work
Principles guide what I do
Appendices 360
Principles need to be translated into modern day language
Principles take a back seat Staff are cynical about the principles
National office
A big hole
A national office decision
Bali Building an ivory tower
Can‟t wait for national
Centralised means we can evaluate disorganised
dysfunctional national arrangements
Expensive way to have a head office somewhere good great organised
Is a big flagship to lead the fleet
just another layer of bureaucracy Less democratic less tolerant
National are short sighted
National recognition of competing priorities National underestimate what is happening in the states
National way of doing things
National will do it like it or not Nationalisation
Nationalisation - the only way to get people to work together
Nationalisation is the right path Not supporting nationalisation
provide extra support and re Sending grenades over the fence
silent protests against national
Staff WILL want to work like this State attitudes are not correct
State offices
State vs. national interests States do not see the big picture
States interface with members not donors - this influences their
views
supportive of going national
trying to get all legs walking in the one direction
Used to be state... now national focus will crash _it will not work
Will deliver efficiencies
Nobody knows what we do_no
profile
Lack of promotion or support
Need to present the holistic picture of RC - local and internat
People dont need to know everything we do People know what they want to know
Sending out confusing messages
Old, tradition
Carrying baggage from the past
Dont remind people how old we are Given our age, we should be better
legacy of federation of states
Maintaining relevance Obsolescence, not relevant, not contemporary
Old means bad constrained etc
Old means good values OLD text search
Old way of thinking vs. new ways of thinking
paternalistic and militaristic Trying to reverse the old image and be more contemporary
Power,
managing and reporting
Apathetic
Autocratic or dictator autonomous
Bad or poor leadership
Being politically correct
Appendices 361
Board dont support
Board Board have an undue amount of influence
Board make decisions based on lobbying not research
Board not used to doing business this way Bureaucratic, hierarchy _heavy
Frustrations I earn more I am more senior
cannot control or not your job to control
Cannot fight or battle for it anymore Compliance is rewarded
confused
Control Controls put in place over states governance needed
Delegates or decentralised
Different styles of EDs Do all of this just for board approval
Doesn‟t support NCD D_
Done in isolation Dont get it
Dont take any actions
Dont want to upset _cause more problems ED Driven
ED is face of RC at state level get out of my way...
Pulling levers ED or executive
Get rid of EDs and State boards _ A waste of time
Huge egos inflate self importance build empires
just plain obstructive
SA Ed Not a mover_Laid back_doesnt know
supportive of Indigenous
KPIs Management are of an older generation
Open door policy
Power taken away from EDs SA - good leadership
set the tone
shiny white stallion Used to be of limited imagination
Wanted to keep things the same and not change
EDs are misled that they have power and authority EDs not involved in strategic ideas for communication
Eds now less active since disempowerment
Eds will do anything to keep control empower to do
Everything is a battle or a fight
Expects you to just do it Frustrations
Gatekeeper
Get rid of EDs and State boards _ A waste of time Qld ED
A crash through Can get away with anything
god like qualities father confessor
allowed to do whatever he wants in command of this
is different _ he does get involved in strategic coms
is strategic - others are not thinks outside the box_ strategically_ but others dont
values articulate people, not quiet people
inspirational leader Instant response to
Is difficult
Is proactive It is not his fault so many people leave
People are scared to say no to
shiny white stallion
Appendices 362
is different _ he does get involved in strategic coms
thinks outside the box_strategically_but others dont Huge egos
I earn more I am more senior
If you dont have manager in your title you are not invited illegitimate power exists to influence
inflate self importance_build empires
Is out of date or out of touch is very focused on international
It is good power is going back to national
NCD D_ is not a people manager - she does her own thing NCD D_ wont take on that fight
Just a difference in style
just plain obstructive SA Ed
Not a mover_Laid back_doesnt know supportive of Indigenous
key performance indicators dont really exist at RC
KPIs leadership
Bad or poor leadership NCD D_ is not a people manager - she does her own
thing
NCD D_ wont take on that fight Just a difference in style
Mircomanage not accessible
SA - good leadership
strong leadership linkage function
Losing their power means they are not willing to do stuff
Lost or losing power_empires Management are of an older generation
Managing poor or good performance or behaviour
People dont like others getting recognition
Managing the organisation
Control
can not control or not your job to control No sign offs_no formal policy
No structure or controls or processes
putting controls in place_going forward rules
There are procedures
we do what we want _no control We have no standardised systems across the org
Done in isolation
Dont want to upset NCD D__cause her more problems EDs not involved in strategic ideas for communication
Eds now less active since disempowerment
is different _ he does get involved in strategic coms thinks outside the box_strategically_but others dont
Managing poor or good performance or behaviour
People dont like others getting recognition
No records are kept_no intellectual property recorded
Not the right management team Poorly managed_mismanaged_no thought goes into
mging
Silos Square peg round hole
Managing with values AND head_balance
Matrix management Micromanage
Mircomanage
National reigning in control Need to convince CEO_not clear logic
network and contacts
nine boards how ridiculous
Appendices 363
No records are kept_no intellectual property recorded
No sign offs_no formal policy No structure or controls or processes
not accessible
not sharing - protecting the patch Not the right mangement team
old style of governance reflected in RC
Open door policy Over managed
People dont like others getting recognition
People in power manipulate others politics or tokenistic
Poorly managed_mis managed_no thought goes into mging
Power position to influence power struggle
Wont do what they are told
Power taken away from EDs
EDs are misled that they have power and authority
Lost or losing power_empires
putting controls in place_going forward RC has a complex governance structure
RC is lead by people who are out of touch
CEO is only one person and all national orgs face this CEO
Doesnt support NCD D_
Expects you to just do it
Is out of date or out of touch is very focused on international
Micromanage
CEO is only one person and all national orgs face this wont listen or take advice
rules
SA - good leadership set the tone
shiny white stallion
Silos Snr mgmt are in the Old boys club
Square peg round hole
strong leadership symbols of power ie offices
take people on (fight for it)
The board are picking at small details There are procedures
Mention
Try to get them to cooperate Used to be of limited imagination
Wanted to keep things the same and not change
we do what we want _no control We have no standardised systems across the org
Wont do what they are told
wont listen or take advice Reputation,
brand, branding
and logo
a lot invested in it - too late to change
Arrogance_ Not as good as we think we are
Complacent or Sitting on our laurels
No humility in Red Cross Australia Red Cross is different to International red Cross
Blood Service
Problems in the blood service
Brand changes the solve all for org problems
a lot invested in it - too late to change
Brand galvanises people into action
Branding to help decision making for services
Appendices 364
hasnt been rolled out externally
Militant about our brand but not about our messages New brand helps us get it together internally
New brand will get us out there
No consultation about it Poorly executed_missed opportunity
Reviews will fit into the new brand
we change it but really it should stay the same Brand galvanises people into action
Brand worth millions
Brand_reputation needs to be carefully managed_looked after Branding to help decision making for services
Clustering services and positioning
Complacent or Sitting on our laurels crisis care commitment
Clustering services and positioning Reluctant to cluster under Crisis care commitment
Used as a positioning device for services
disaster, emergency or crisis organisation Diversity of services costs too much and dilutes the brand
hasnt been rolled out externally
Humanitarian Iconic, powerful well known and high quality - trusted
Brand worth millions Most important humanitarian organisation in the world
Perceived as not a needy charity International
Just a logo
Militant about our brand but not about our messages Most important humanitarian organisation in the world
Mother nature will take care of us because we are RC
New brand helps us get it together internally New brand will get us out there
New logo aligns with Global red cross - is that a bad thing
No consultation about it No humility in Red Cross
No one service wants to be aligned to one word
Not a lot was or is going to change old, fuddy duddy
Part of the furniture, always there in disasters
Perceived as not a needy charity Poorly executed_missed opportunity
Problems in the blood service
RC is not well understood Rebranding is about showing our impact
Red Cross Day - self congratualtory
Red Cross has many symbols Reluctant to cluster under Crisis care commitment
Reputation
Reviews will fit into the new brand Sell the org around a key concept
Service club based organisation
Sexy and global Silence can damage our reputation
Used as a positioning device for services
War organisation We are elitist.
we change it but really it should stay the same
When RC speaks it should be printed RESEARCH
intuitive not
formal
Avoiding doing research...
Research into Red Cross Services - how
we develop or
do
Strategic
A closed box
Appendices 365
AAAAREstrategic
contribute to strategy formation
Keep budgets and event plans
Narrow the focus being strategic National strategy
AAARE NOT strategic themes
Can not decide on our priorities _ changes daily
Confused - from influence of national
Doesnt understand or know strategy or direction Doing their own thing
ED has to join the dots _ others should be but cant
Focus on events of dubious return Fragmented or not consistent
Holding back _fluffing aroundwhen we should be doing
something No fundraising strategy
Not a planning organisation
One size fits all states Only Qld ED is strategic
outputs not outcomes
Restrictive strategy runs on heart
short term vs long term perspective
strategically delinquent struggle between values based and corporate based
Based on area on responsibility only based on personality not policy
Because management say so
being COMPLIANT (risk compliance) Blood out of a stone
Bugger the consequences
Can not decide on our priorities _ changes daily Can not make a decision
Cant promote because we havent got enough funding
Capable competing influences in
Compromised decision because of lack of support
Concerned about public opinion Confused - from influence of national
consensus decision making
contribute to strategy formation cost of strategy
Courier Mail Test
Crisis response organisaiton Decision making
Based on area on responsibility only based on personality not policy
Because management say so
Bugger the consequences Can not make a decision
competing influences in
Concerned about public opinion consensus decision making
Courier Mail Test
Decision making - VALUES based Decision making criteria coms staff
decision making head based
Decisions not thought through properly defer to snr mgmt
I make my own mind up
Made a decision not based on research or analysis
Not empowered to make decisions Not willing to make hard decisions
There is no logic_ad hoc
too late_too much already invested Wont make a decision incase it goes wrong
Decision making - VALUES based
Decision making criteria coms staff
Appendices 366
decision making head based
Decisions not thought through properly defer to snr mgmt
Documentation of non essential stuff is a luxury
Doesnt really document_ not linked to decisions Doesnt understand or know strategy or direction
Doing their own thing
Don't care_not engaged Dont try to do things differently
ED has to join the dots _ others should be but cant
Flexibility and responsiveness Focus on events of dubious return
Fragmented or not consistent
funding gaining clarity
Getting derailed
goat tracks _ground hog day_ embedded practice Hard to be proactive when everything is just dismissed
have to do it differently
Heavy handed_personal focus on programs Holding back _fluffing aroundwhen we should be doing
something
I make my own mind up ideal or should be communicating and are not
Inaction is misinterpreted
Indecision Individual performance is not linked to strategic goals
Intuition Keep budgets and event plans
Like a corporate
looking over the horizon to the future lost or losing knowledge or Intellectual property
Made a decision not based on research or analysis
Reactive decision making
Mindset focused on internal not external_not
strategic_Cocoon_vacuum
A closed box
Moving or not moving forward Narrow the focus being strategic
National strategy
need more documentation and boundaries here Need to drive things for it to be successful
No fundraising strategy
No protocoles in place - I am astonished Not a learning organisation
Not a planning organisation
Not empowered to make decisions Not willing to make hard decisions
Octopus with legs detached
One size fits all states Only Qld ED is strategic
Org needs to get its act together before we can do things
Our business model doesnt allow us to compete out of the box strategy
outputs not outcomes
Passively... doing it passively Plan with no response
program focused.
Reactive decision making Red Cross is dysfunctional
Response - reactive or proactive
Capable
Crisis response organisaiton
Don't care_not engaged Dont try to do things differently
Flexibility and responsiveness
goat tracks _ground hog day_ embedded practice Indecision
Intuition
Passively... doing it passively
Appendices 367
Reactive decision making
Risk adverse organisaiton So busy dealing with problems, can not be proactive
Struggling or limited by...
tail wagging the dog_tactical not strategic Restrictive strategy
Risk adverse organisaiton
runs on heart setting priorities or not
short term vs long term perspective
So busy dealing with problems, can not be proactive strategically delinquent
struggle between values based and corporate based
Struggling or limited by... tail wagging the dog_tactical not strategic
There is no logic_ad hoc
too late_too much already invested Use heads not hearts
We are disorganised_we evolve to fit the situation
We have to do things differently because we dont have normal re We need to fix this before it goes wrong
We value process or following procedures
we work backwards what I do a lot is putting out fires
What we do here has the potential to impact internationally
Wont make a decision incase it goes wrong Structure
A crazy way to structure national communications
Autonomous regional team structure
Cohesive and proactive confusing
cowboys of the north
hard to manage has driven performance_set the standards
How national deals with QLD
Incorrect lines cause problems Internal division is damaging our brand
It is a fight with QLD
Lack of infrastructure hinders our performance linkage function
MFC in QLD is dysfunctional
No systems previously in place Not conducive to what we need to do
Not what I thought it was going to be
Our department is unique, special own state office staff
Personal relationships or not
Position in organisation - Actual Position in organisation - perceived
QLD doesnt get the big picture
QLD is not serving the interests of the Society QLD is unique - bigger better
Qld likes to do things differently_for themselves
Queensland is more active Queensland reluctant to come on board and needs to cover
themselves
Queensland wants to do it now but you have to think about it first RC is structured for International disasters
Reporting relationships
separate teams Silos
Silos stiffle thinking
Some states are proactive and some are not South Australia Red Cross
SA focused and proactive and client focussed
SA is compliant SA is trying to look holistically
South Australia, increasingly no. Because they actively support – because they‟ve got a new head in South Australia and because
they actively support some of the key Australia-wide service
platforms and have actually driven those for the rest of the socie
Appendices 368
spread out no consistency
State reluctant to share stories nationally cowboys of the north
hard to manage
has driven performance _set the standards How national deals with QLD
It is a fight with QLD
MFC in QLD is dysfunctional Not what I thought it was going to be
own state office staff
QLD doesn‟t get the big picture QLD is not serving the interests of the Society
QLD is unique - bigger better
Qld likes to do things differently _for themselves Queensland is more active
Queensland Red Cross
Queensland reluctant to come on board and needs to cover themselves
Queensland wants to do it now but you have to think
about it first Queensland wants to do it now but you
Some states are proactive and some are not
State reluctant to share stories nationally
States do have unique needs sometimes states doing it differently
States dont care about what national cares about States think they are different
States wont follow what we do for sharing knowledge
The argument of my state is different comes from traditional views
there are no State boundaries online
Traditional donors are different to newer donors upstairs and downstairs
we are not like that
What works for QLD doesnt work for us Systems and
processes
Systems are sub standard
The cross is
confused with Christian
symbols
Time
A lot of pressure to get things done
All talk and no action Always held up by org issues
Disorganised _meetings rescheduled
Don't even bring it up with her because she hasn't got time Things go nowhere
Time - start or taken
Time or deadlines are my criteria Time or hours spent at work culture
Vulnerability
Appendices 369
Appendix F – Participant information and consent form
Researcher Contact : Ms Kim Johnston, Phone Mobile: 0421311163; QUT Office: 3138 4089 Email: [email protected] Description Dear staff member of Red Cross You have been approached to participate in a research project being undertaken by Kim Johnston, a PhD research student at Queensland University of Technology. The working title of the project is “The Influence of Cultural Selection on Organisational Communication Strategy”. The purpose of this project is to explore the processes organisational members undertake to develop communication strategy or communication responses to events or changes in the organisation’s environment. The researcher requests your assistance because you’ve been identified as a person who assists the organisation to do this. Therefore, your assistance in this research project is both valuable and important. The benefits of the research include advancing knowledge and understanding of the internal processes undertaken in organisations to develop responses to environmental changes, specifically communication responses. For Australian Red Cross, the benefits will also include an understanding of how Red Cross identifies, prioritises and processes information about its environment. Participation Your participation in this project is voluntary. If you do agree to participate, you can withdraw from participation during the interview, or on the same working day, without comment or penalty. Your decision to participate will in no way impact upon your current or future relationship with QUT. As the data collected during interviews or observations is not personally identifiable after collection, it is not possible to withdraw after the data has been collected and analysed. Your participation will involve two parts: 1. An interview consisting of several open questions relating to the research project. The interview will take
approximately 40 minutes and will be conducted on site at RC offices in a room that provides confidentiality and is comfortable.
2. Being observed by the researcher. This involves the researcher playing a non participatory role in observing you in interaction with other RC staff members or representatives, in situations where communication responses are identified or developed.
Expected benefits It is expected that this project will not benefit you personally. However for Australian Red Cross , the benefits may include an understanding of how Red Cross identifies, prioritises and processes information about its environment. Other benefits of the research include advancing knowledge and understanding of the internal processes undertaken in organisations to develop responses to environmental changes, specifically communication responses. Risks The potential risks associated with this project may include
Discomfort – due to the potential feelings from disclosing individual work practices.
Inconvenience – due to the time requested to participate in the interview.
PARTICIPANT INFORMATION for QUT RESEARCH
PROJECT
Appendices 370
Confidentiality All comments and responses are anonymous and will be treated confidentially. The names of individual persons will not be identifiable and all data collected will be identified by a number only and will be pooled for analysis. The results will be reported at an organisational level. Interviews will be audio recorded for accuracy and data collection purposes and will be transcribed word for word by the researcher. The transcription document will be identified by a number and not a name, so the participant will not be identified. No other people will have access to the recording or the transcription. The records will be held by the researcher in a locked facility at QUT and will not be used for any other purpose. The data will be held for seven years as required by academic protocols. It is possible to participate in the interview without being recorded. Consent to Participate You are requested to sign the attached consent form as an indication of your consent to participate in this project. Questions / further information about the project Please contact the researcher named above if you have any questions or if you require further information about the project. Concerns / complaints regarding the conduct of the project QUT is committed to researcher integrity and the ethical conduct of research projects. However, if you do have any concerns or complaints about the ethical conduct of the project you may contact the QUT Research Ethics Officer on 3138 2340 or [email protected]. The Research Ethics Officer is not connected with the research project and can facilitate a resolution to your concern in an impartial manner.
Appendices 371
CONSENT FORM for QUT RESEARCH PROJECT
“The Influence of Cultural Selection on Organisational Communication
Strategy”
Statement of consent
By signing below, you are indicating that you:
have read and understood the information document regarding this project
have had any questions answered to your satisfaction
understand that if you have any additional questions you can contact the researcher
understand that you are free to withdraw at any time, without comment or penalty
understand that you can contact the Research Ethics Officer on 3138 2340 or [email protected] if you have concerns about the ethical conduct of the project
agree to participate in the project
understand that the project will include audio recording
Name
Signature
Date / /