ETHOS AND COOPERATIVE BEHAVIOR : AN EXPLORATION OF THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN AN ORGANIZATION'S IDENTITY AND ITS COLLABORATIVE REVIEW PROCESSES

Abstract

This dissertation explores the ways in which organizational identity actually functions within the day-to-day processes of an organization, showing how organizational identity trickles down into collaborative writing processes and what the effects of this trickle-down are, in terms of the document being produced, the workgroup producing the document, and the organization as a whole. Specifically, the dissertation examines the organizational identity of the Employees Association of the State and discovers how identity traits or characteristics influence the collaborative review process of EAS's newsletter. First I examine the public-sector labor association to discover its organizational identity through the perceptions of its employees. I then examine the review and revise processes of the writing group which produces the organization's member-directed newsletter. Finally, I make visible any connections that exist between the organization's identity and its review processes, focusing especially on the effects on EAS's ethos and on the cooperative behaviors of its employees.