Discerning Organizational Boundaries Through Physical Artifacts

The boundaries that separate an organization from its environment are amorphous and difficult to identify since organizations are open systems, with constant interface with their environment (Katz and Kahn 1978). Yet, scholars and laypersons continue to view organizations as integrated entities. Schneider (1987) assumes that management defines the organizational boundary and claims that boundary management is essential for differentiation and integration within and between organizational systems. But can management really define the boundaries of an organization and the people within them? Rafaeli (1996) illustrates the difficulties of such definitions, arguing that the same individual can be a member of multiple groups of constituents. For example, employees are defined as members, but when employees are on strike, or on holiday, are they still members? What about when on leave without pay? And what about volunteers? Are they members? Or customers, who are not paid by the organization, but hold a financial contract and maintain a physical presence in the organization? As Scott and Lane (2000) argue, organizations have multiple stakeholders, and only integration of their appraisals and perspectives can provide a complete picture of organizational identity. There are multiple ways in which membership can be construed, and multiple ways of positioning constituents as either “inside” or “outside” the boundaries of an organization (Rafaeli 1996).