Image as the organization’s communicated meaning and attribute

Alicja Waszkiewicz

English version of the article

Various types of complex organizations, with complicated motives and heterogeneous structures are present in different spheres of public life. These public institutional phenomena, tied in a network of relations systems and heading toward a specific goal, are broadcasters in the process of communication. It is said that organizations have image but it is not only their attribute, it is the meaning they communicate, the broadcast which may regard various aspects of the institution’s functioning and which can reflexively influence those aspects. The article discusses the difference between the terms organization identity and organization image, including definition spheres of the latter. Moreover, it analyses the ontological status of the term image, its components and structure. The organization’s “mental image” is described, one that often becomes that target of those who manage institutions, as an unexploited so far sphere of communication influence.

KEYWORDS

organization image, organization identity, public relations, internal communication