Corporate Ideologies: a Linguistic and Semiotic Analysis of Manifestos and Logos of Cellular Networks in Pakistan
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CORPORATE IDEOLOGIES: A LINGUISTIC AND SEMIOTIC ANALYSIS OF MANIFESTOS AND LOGOS OF CELLULAR NETWORKS IN PAKISTAN By IFFAT SARDAR NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF MODERN LANGUAGES ISLAMABAD April 2018 Corporate Ideologies: A Linguistic and Semiotic Analysis of Manifestos and Logos of Cellular Networks in Pakistan By IFFAT SARDAR M. A., Fatima Jinnah Women University Rawalpindi, 2009 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF PHILOSOPHY In English (Linguistics) To FACULTY OF LANGUAGES National University of Modern Languages, Islamabad © Iffat Sardar, 2018 iii THESIS AND DEFENSE APPROVAL FORM The undersigned certify that they have read the following thesis, examined the defense, are satisfied with the overall exam performance, and recommend the thesis to the Faculty of Languages for acceptance: Thesis Title: Corporate Ideologies: A Linguistic and Semiotic Analysis of Manifestos and Logos of Cellular Networks in Pakistan Submitted By: Iffat Sardar Registration #: 1061- MPhil/ Eng/ F15 Master of Philosophy Degree name in full English Linguistics Name of Discipline Dr. Ansa Hameed __________________________ Name of Research Supervisor Signature of Research Supervisor Prof. Dr. Muhammad Safeer Awan __________________________ Name of Dean Signature of Dean Brig. Muhammad Ibrahim __________________________ Name of Director General Signature of Director General ___________________________ Date iv AUTHOR’S DECLARATION I Iffat Sardar Daughter of Allah Ditta Registration # 1061- MPhil/ Eng/ F15 Discipline English Linguistics Candidate of Master of Philosophy at the National University of Modern Languages do hereby declare that the thesis Corporate Ideologies: A Linguistic and Semiotic Analysis of Manifestos and Logos of Cellular Networks in Pakistan submitted by me in partial fulfillment of MPhil degree, is my original work, and has not been submitted or published earlier. I also solemnly declare that it shall not, in future, be submitted by me for obtaining any other degree from this or any other university or institution. I also understand that if evidence of plagiarism is found in my thesis/dissertation at any stage, even after the award of a degree, the work may be cancelled and the degree revoked. ________________________ Signature of Candidate ________________ Date Iffat Sardar _________ Name of Candidate v ABSTRACT Thesis Title: Corporate Ideologies: A Linguistic and Semiotic Analysis of Manifestos and Logos of Cellular Networks in Pakistan This study aims to explore ideologies in written and visual corporate discourses of cellular corporations operating in Pakistan. These companies include Mobilink, Telenor, Ufone, Warid and Zong. It is a qualitative research that employs thematic content analysis of written discourse and semiotic analysis of visual discourse. Manifestos (vision, mission statement and values) and extracts of CSR(Corporate Social Responsibility) reports on social developments have been analyzed using FDM (Foundational Document Model) approach proposed by Holland (2014). Logos have been studied using semiotic framework of Penn (2000). FDM is a semantic grammatical model that identifies ideologies using its six distinct categories which are roles, folklores, utopias, ethics, motivations and strategies. It involves intertextual analysis and categorizes text into these distinct social strands. In first round coding, selected four categories namely strategies, utopias, ethics and roles have been identified in text. In second round coding, categories are tabulated into subcategories to observe dominant themes. Narrative fidelity has been explored by comparing ideologies in manifestos with those in CSR texts to check if CSR texts are truthful to ideologies presented in manifestos. Penn‟s (2000) denotational and connotational inventories as well as Goethe‟s (1982) theory of colors are used for semiotic analysis of logos. The online software Fount is used to determine the typeface and font of texts in logos. The ideologies in logos have been uncovered using cultural knowledge. To study flow of ideologies, the ideologies embedded in logs and manifestos have been compared. The results of analysis show that four ideological strands of FDM have been identified in both manifestos and CSR texts. Visual and linguistic elements of logos convey embedded ideologies. Narrative fidelity is evident in strategies, ethics and roles of all corporations except Warid where narrative fidelity is absent in strategies of CSR text. Utopian ideas in CSR texts display no faithfulness to manifestos. The ideologies in logos are thematically similar to dominant ideologies in manifestos. Recommendations for future are given at the end. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Pages THESIS AND DEFENSE APPROVAL FORM ………………………………….ii AUTHOR’S DECLARATION …………………………………………………...iii ABSTRACT ………………………………………………………………………..iv TABLE OF CONTENTS …………………………………………………………..v LIST OF TABLES …………………………………………………………………x LIST OF FIGURES ……………………………………………………………...xiii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS …………………………………………………...xiv ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ………………………………………………………..xv DEDICATION ……………………………………………………………………xvi 1. INTRODUCTION ……………………………………………………………….1 1.1. Thesis Statement…..……………………………………………………...3 1.2 Significance of the Study ..…………………..……………………………4 1.3 Delimitation ………………………..……………………………………...5 1.4 Objectives of the Study…………………………………..………………..6 1.5 Research Questions …………..…………………………………………...6 1.6 Operational Definitions of Key Terms..…………………………………...6 1.7 A Short Profile of Selected Cellular Corporations………..……………….8 1.7.1 Mobilink …………..…………………………………………………….8 1.7.2 Telenor …………………………………………………………………9 1.7.3 Ufone….…………………………………………………………………9 1.7.4 Warid….……………………………….……………………………….10 1.7.5 Zong…..…………………………………………….………………….10 1.8 Organization of the Study……..……………………………...………….10 2. LITERATURE REVIEW ……………….……………….…………………… 13 2.1 Discourse……………………..…………………….…………………… 13 2.1.1 Types of Discourse…………………………………………………..…15 2.1.2 Discourse versus Text………………..…………………………….…..16 vii 2.2 Corporations and Corporate Manifestos.………………………....….…...18 2.3 Ideology…..………………………………...………………………….…22 2.3.1 Organizational Discourse and Ideologies……...…………………….....23 2.3.2 Ideology as Source of Manipulation……...……………………………26 2.4 Critical Discourse Analysis…………………………………...……….....28 2.4.1 Approaches to CDA…………...…………………………………….....29 2.5 Foundational Documents………………………………………………....33 2.5.1 Narrative Fidelity…………...………………………………………….34 2.6 Corporate Logos……………………………………...…………………..35 2.6.1Types of Logos…………………………...……………………………..36 2.7 Brand Identity and Corporate Logos…………...………………………...37 2.8 Semiotics, Visuals and Logos…………...……………………………….38 2.8.1 Colors and Shapes in Logo Designs…..………………………………..40 2.9 Previous Works…………………...……………………………………...42 3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY……………………………………………..46 3.1 Theoretical Framework…………………………...……………………...46 3.1.1 Holland‟s Foundational Document Model………..…………………....46 3.1.2 Penn‟s Semiotic Framework……………………...…………………....50 3.2 Research Design………………………………...…………………….….51 3.3 Research Method……………………………...………………………….51 3.3.1 Sampling………………………………………………………………..52 3.3.1.1 Collection of Samples…………………...…………………………...53 3.3.2 Coding Techniques……………………...……………………………...53 3.3.3 Analysis Procedures……….…………..…………………………….…54 3.4 Ethical Considerations ……….………...…………………………….…..54 4. DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS…………………………………….…...55 4.1 Ideological Strands in Written Corporate Discourses...…………….……55 4.1.1 Analysis of Manifesto (Mission, Vision and Values) ……...……..…...56 4.1.1.1 Mobilink………………………………………………...…………....56 viii 4.1.1.2Telenor …………………………………………………...………..…58 4.1.1.3 Ufone……………………………………………………………..…..62 4.1.1.4 Warid…………………………………………………………..……..64 4.1.1.5 Zong……………………...………………………..…………………66 4.1.2 Analysis of CSR Text………………..……………..…………………..68 4.1.2.1 Mobilink………………………………...…...…...…………………..68 4.1.2 .2 Telenor…………………………………………….….……………..81 4.1.2.3 Ufone…………………………...…………………………………….92 4.1.2.4 Warid…………………………………………………..…………....108 4.1.2.5 Zong……….…………..………………………………………..…..115 4.2 Semiotic Analysis of Visual corporate Discourse………………………126 4.2.1 Mobilink…………………………………...………………………….126 4.2.2 Telenor……………………………………...……………………...…129 4.2.3 Ufone………………………………………………………….……....131 4.2.4 Warid……...…………………………………………………………..133 4.2.5 Zong……………...………………………………………….……..…135 4.3 Comparison of Ideologies……………...…………………………….....137 4.3.1 Manifestoes versus CSR Text: Narrative Fidelity ………….………...137 4.3.1.1 Mobilink…………………………………………………...……..…138 4.3.1.2 Telenor…………...……………………………………………..…..139 4.3.1.3 Ufone……...…………………………………………………..…….140 4.3.1.4 Warid…………...…………………………………………..……….141 4.3.1.5 Zong…...…………………………………………………..………..142 4.3.2 Logos versus Manifesto: Flow of Ideologies………………….……...143 4.3.2.1 Mobilink………………………………………………..……...……143 4.3.2.2 Telenor……………………………………………………...……....145 4.3.1.3 Ufone………...…………………………………………………..….146 4.3.2.4 Warid………...………………………………………………..…….147 4.3.2.5 Zong……...…………………………………………………..……..148 ix 4.3.3 Comparison among Ideologies of Pakistani Cellular Corporations.….149 4.4 Conclusion……………………………………………………..………..153 5. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION……...………………………………....154 5.1 An Overview of Findings…......…………...………………………..…..154 5.2 Discussion………………..………………………………………..…....157 5.3 Conclusion……….……………………………………………..………159 5.4 Suggestions…….……………………………………………..………..160 5.5 Recommendations for Future Research……...………………………...160 5.6 Final Words……….………………………………………..…………..161 REFERENCES…………………………………………………..…………….163 APPENDIX……………………………………………………..……………...xvi x