In his new book, Lionel Wee approaches organizations as linguistic actors that cultivate semiotic resources in order to construct identities, manage relationships and project styles which reflect the norms of their institutional environments. Because the influence of organizations is so pervasive in modern society, the author suggests that we pay closer attention to how enterprises constitute themselves, what identities they seek to project, what relationships they attempt to cultivate, and what semiotic resources they marshal towards such ends (p. 1). The book comprises eight chapters.
In chapter 1, the author shows how, in order to survive and compete, organizations adapt semiotically to normative pressures from political, religious, educational and other social institutions, from communities, and from within the organizations themselves.
In chapter 2, Wee discusses how the styling of organizations differs from that of persons and argues that the discourse of persons within an organization is not indicative of the discourse of the enterprise as a linguistic actor.
Chapter 3 examines how the normative pressures of institutional environments shape ethical regimes which condition organizational structures and procedures. Because organizations typically are committed to multiple ethical regimes, Wee suggests that the enterprising qualities which organizations project are indicative of an overall strategy or master ethical regime.
In chapter 4, the author analyzes semiotic differences between small and big businesses. In one case study, the author compares the semiotics of a small laundry business, which enjoys a high degree of reciprocity with its local community, to that of a national enterprise whose non-porous semiotic boundaries require that it marshal a different set of resources in order to establish legitimacy and localize its relationship to the community.
Chapter 5 studies how organizations engage in various kinds of emotional labor in their efforts to demonstrate commitment to ethical regimes. While behaviors that support the organization's desired image find their way into narratives of success, contrary behaviors elicit distancing or even dissociation. And, to ensure that their employees conform to ethical regimes, organizations use scripting—styled routines—that describe how one is expected to act in specific circumstances.
Chapter 6 explains how organizations continually restyle their identities in order to adapt to rapidly-changing audiences and environments. When styling practices go wrong, a public apology or organizational ‘makeover’ may be required in order to ensure continued success.
In chapter 7, Wee investigates how organizational styling may involve the inclusion of semiotic elements that belong not to the organization itself, but to an industrial other. Driven by competitive pressures, newer ‘industrial others’ may imitate the ethical regimes and styles of established organizations, often resulting in legal disputes over trademark infringement.
In the final chapter, the author addresses the ontological nature and structural stability of language as a semiotic resource that can be manipulated, constrained, or mixed across language boundaries, and argues that individual and organizational agency are separate and operate on different temporal scales.
This interdisciplinary book will be of great interest to students, teachers and researchers in sociolinguistics, and to anyone interested in sociology, communication and business studies.
