COMMUNICATING ARTIFACTS: AN ANALYSIS OF HOW MUSEUMS COMMUNICATE ORGANIZATIONAL IDENTITY DURING TIMES OF CONTROVERSY AND FINANCIAL STRAIN

Museums face challenging obstacles in modern society to stay relevant, educational and innovative. As more individuals are seeking ways to explore the world around them and the ever-changing landscape of their culture, museums are pressured to fill this void. Yet, when controversy arises in the form of a cultural, social, political, religions, sexual, or financial matter, museums must navigate ways to stay sensitive while still maintaining organizational identity and anonymity. If a museum seeks to please all individuals, it is at risk of hyper-adaptation. Concurrently, it the organization does not address their employees, board members, and museum guests effectively they may be labeled as having high narcissism. In order to address such tensions, these organizations must find ways to successfully communicate such controversial issues in order to preserve their identity and continue to delight and educate visitors.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Arts (MA)

Grantor dc:publisher

University of Montana

Year

2012

Author dc:creator

• Cornuke, Amanda Renee

• Controversy
• Financial Strain
• Hyper-adaptation
• Image
• Museum
• Narcissism
• Organizational Communication
• Organizational Identity

Repository record dc:identifier

https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd/213

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:scholarworks.umt.edu:etd-1232