LILA ~ Learning Innovations Laboratory at the Harvard Graduate School of Education

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  1. Using the past to create the future with Davide Ravasi

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    February 6, 2019
    How do organizations use their history to understand and reform identity to support transformation?   Radical change can often be destructive so it is interesting to note how organizations look back to their history to create continuity in org identity while changing. Davide’s more recent research identifies the variety of historical mechanisms that organizations use to shape identity. One way is using collective memory – the shared memories of communities that get passed down, the rituals of remembrance, and symbolic objects and places to embody collective memory. For example, corporate museums are places that give quite a bit of evidence of...
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  2. Who are we as an organization and how did we get there?

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    Comment February 5, 2019
    f organizational identity is a self-reflective relatively mindful answer to the question of who we are as a organization, were does this come from? Davide Ravassi's work into organizational identity has examined various aspects of an org such as the emotional conceptualization, what is central and distinctive, deeply held beliefs, and claims and narratives that are reflective in the commitments. Interestingly, he has found that identity is revealed through conflict – when resources are scarce, when there is urgency, when there is some event that causes disruption. Also, foundational traits are acquired at the beginning of the organization: they are early imprints.
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  3. Who are we? Organizational Identity content and its effect on members’ identification.

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    February 5, 2019
    Shelley Brickson – University of Illinois-Chicago   Shelley shared her work on organizational identity, which is a member shared understanding of what is central to an organizational character, distinct and relatively enduring about the organization. These can be “what we do” and/or “who we are.” The latter is more character-based and describes commitments, values, etc.   How does identity shape patterns of behavior? This is a driving question of her research.   First we should understand, “who is the organization?” This involves identity orientation. I key idea is that people have different senses of self: individualistic, relational, and collectivist.   Shelley’s work...
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Harvard Graduate School of Education