Educational - Ozean Publications

European Journal of Educational Studies 2(2), 2010members or others see the organization or the general impression an organization forms in people‟sminds.Kazoleas, Kim and Moffit (2001) state that there are multiple changing images within each individual andthese images are affected by certain factors. The formation of corporate image is defined as acomprehensive and multi-stakeholder process (Gray & Balmer, 1998) and factors such as communicationsources, terminology, branding, logos and emblems, relations with media and customers, buildingarchitecture are effective in image formation. Besides, the relations with customers and the actions andstatements of top managers simultaneously affect organizational identity and image (Hatch & Schultz,1997).An organization‟s image is affected by this organization‟s accoutrements, attitudes and communicationstyle. An organization‟s future image is shaped by the communication between management, employeesand external audiences (Amon, 2004). Strong communicative facors such as the brand name, logo,advertisement and public relations can help create a good and strong image (Gray & Balmer, 1998).It has been observed that the organizations which are capable of attracting the talented to the organization,developing and keeping them have positive images. Additionally, variables such as social andenvironmental responsibility, financial credibility, innovativeness, marketing, communication,management, product and service quality are efective in image formation (Lemmink, Schuijf &Streukens, 2003).When education institutions are concerned, the experiences in application period, advertising, public andsocial relations, recruitment activities are highly effective in creating both a first impression and imageand this perception affects the decision-making process on which school to apply (Collins & Stevens,2001). Another factors that determine the image of education institutions are name awareness, academicproperties, sports and social facilities, physical environment (Arpan, Arthur & Zivnuska, 2003), personaland organizational environment, demographic features, environmental features, admission criteria, sportsfacilities, campus size, academic programmes, library facilities (Kazoleas, Kim & Moffit, 2001),academic staff and relations with students, stories about the school (Paden & Stell, 2006).In their study, Arpan, Arthur and Zivnuska (2003) researched the criteria used in image assessment andhow perceived image differs between different groups and they found that factors such as nameawareness, academic properties, sports and social facilities, physical environment are important forstudents when forming an image.Some researchers (Hatch & Schultz, 2002; Dutton, Dukerich & Harquail, 1994), consider corporate imageto have two dimensions. External image reflects how people outside the organization perceives theorganization. Internal image, on the other hand, reflects how organization members see the organization.External image is composed of impressions of, for example, suppliers. However, organization membersbelong to the external group at the same time, because they are also consumers of the products andoutcomes produced by the organization and they follow the news about the organization on the media.Corporate image has a united form. The interaction of organization members and external factors and theimpressions of other groups are effective in image formation (Hatch & Schultz, 2002).The factors that constitute external image are customer satisfaction, product quality, concrete image,advertising, sponsorship, relations with media, social responsibility. Customer satisfaction is aboutmeeting the demands and expectations of the consumers. When the demands of the consumers are met, apositive image about the organization is formed and the organization gains a competitive advantage. Theproduct quality, namely its features, its correspondence to standarts and its credibility are effective in theformation of an organization‟s external image. When consumer expectations about the product are met, asense of social responsibility is improved and the organizational continuity is maintaned. External imageis formed by sponsorship and media relations. Besides, caring about social demands from theorganization and carrying out social responsibilities are effective in creating a positive external image(Bolat, 2006).An organization‟s image can be positive, negative or neutral, varying in effect. A negative experiencewith a product or a bad advertisement about the organization can change the previously formed goodimage and create a negative image (Taslak & Akın, 2005 ). Oganizations strive for creating a positiveimage among its target audience (Gray & Balmer, 1998). Organizations may have an illusion that theyhave a positive image, however, organizations need to evaluate their image frequently. Because, corporateimage is essential for an organization‟s permanence (Peltekoğlu, 2004).66