Social and Organizational Identities

Asian Women in Corporate America - Advances in Human Resources Management and Organizational Development ◽

10.4018/978-1-7998-4384-9.ch006 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 128-166

Keyword(s):

Asian American ◽

Sense Of Self ◽

Social Identities ◽

Asian American Women ◽

Organizational Settings ◽

Racial Identities ◽

Model Minority Stereotype ◽

Organizational Identities ◽

The Social ◽

Sense Of Identity

Identity refers to a sense of self. It is a complex notion that influences an individual's values, attitudes, and behaviors and can change over an individual's life span. In organizational settings, identity is a powerful force driving employees' motivations, decisions, and actions. Organizations recognize that employees have identities arising from personal and private parts of their lives. At the same time, organizations encourage their employees to develop a (strong) sense of identity as organizational members. Workplaces are thus intriguing environments in which individuals are required to manage and negotiate various identities, both social (personal) and organizational. In this chapter, the authors discuss theories that explain how individuals develop a sense of identity. They then discuss identities that are relevant to Asian American women in work environments. The social identities pertinent in this context include ethnic and racial identities and the model minority stereotype. Work identities, in contrast, include professional and organizational identities.

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Our Sense of Self

Shared Reality ◽

10.1093/oso/9780190948054.003.0008 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 159-178

Author(s):

E. Tory Higgins

Keyword(s):

Sense Of Self ◽

Significant Others ◽

Self Esteem ◽

Social Identities ◽

Shared Reality ◽

Shared Beliefs ◽

Political Group ◽

The Social ◽

The World ◽

What Matters

Of all the objects you know and have beliefs about, you are the object you pay most attention to and want to know best. And, when it comes to sharing beliefs and opinions about the world with others, you are the object in the world that you most want your significant others to share your beliefs and opinions about who you are. How do individuals learn to know who they are? It begins with children learning what it is about themselves and what they do that determines how others respond to them as an object in the world (shared social contingent self). They share with others what is relevant about them, what matters. They share what to expect of themselves in terms of their skills and abilities (shared expectant self). They share with others what goals they should pursue and what standards they should use to evaluate themselves (shared monitored self). Depending on whether their shared goals and standards are promotion or prevention, people inflate or deflate their self-esteem to maintain their eagerness or vigilance, respectively. And they are motivated to verify the truth of shared beliefs about themselves for both positive and negative self-attributes. And a big part of our sense of self are the social identities that we embrace. Individuals create a shared reality we with groups that is so powerful that they will die for it. Like a “band of brothers,” there can be a social fusion with a political group that has the power of family.

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