BEM 3030: International Business History

Corporate History - Citigroup

By Luv Kumar Bansal

In the recent years, the historical approaches to organization and management research have
witnessed a significant increase. In this context, both organization researchers and business
historians are seen to involve actively in various types of researches explaining the use of
corporate history in decision making and the creation of organizational culture. Notably, a
new concept which is termed as “uses of the past” is gaining immense popularity among
managers, and various organizations as well as in industries. Accordingly, such perspective
of the corporate history widely used to define how their interpretation of the past lead to the
generation of their experience in the present as well as their expectation in the future. In
other words, it has been noted that corporate history has a significant impact on the culture
creation of the organization (Booth & Rowlinson, 2006; Clark & Rowlinson, 2004). Against
this backdrop, this essay presents a detailed discussion and arguments related to the statement
made by Delahaye et al, 2009, which says that Corporate History is meant for more than just
for future use and there is a cultural imperative behind an organization having a historical
discourse. Besides, the essay also assesses the corporate use of history by analysing the
corporate histories of companies such as the Walt Disney Company, P&G and Citigroup.

Uses of Corporate History

Several authors such as Szczepańska-Woszczyna (2014); Hansen (2012) have noted that it is
difficult to capture and employ the concept of culture. Accordingly, it has been argued that
the definition of culture tends to vary and it usually takes the shapes that largely depend on
the approaches and emphases of the authors. In this regard, one of the most widely used
definitions of culture is propounded by E. Schein. In the view of E. Schein, “culture is the
entire fundamental assumptions that a given group has invented, discovered or developed
while learning to solve problems of adaptation to the environment and internal integration”
(Szczepańska-Woszczyna, 2014). On the other hand, several other authors like Shahzad et al.
(2012) have defined culture “as arrangement of different attributes that express an
organization and differentiate the firm from another one”. Irrespective of the differences in
the definition of culture, the concept, is argued to have a significant impact on shaping the
organizational values and identity (Shahzad et al., 2012).
However, there has been considerable debate as what led to the creation of corporate culture.
In this regard, Hansen (2012); Steen (2003) have firmly claimed that corporate history plays a
vital role in shaping the corporate culture. At the same time, it has been observed that in the
recent years, there has been growing interest among the organizational theorists and
economists about the corporate history and its role in the shaping the corporate culture. In the
words of Clark & Rowlinson (2004), the studies of the organisation have taken ‘historic turn’
which implies that historical analyses are widely applied in the contemporary organization
with the objective of understanding change and formulating the narratives of historical
processes. In the similar context, Hansen (2012) noted that history as historical narratives
serve as an important element of any culture or identity whether it is national or
organizational. Also, it has been claimed that historical narratives are not individual stories
rather it is shared and collective. Historical narratives are further argued to as a vital element
for constructing a collective identity as well as organizational culture. Maclean et al. (2014)
noted that corporate history offers organizations with the base for continuity that can be used
by the various actors in the organization to deal with the challenges and turbulence. Besides,
it has been argued that the narrative history also allows these actors to drive a deeper shift in
the ideology and rhetoric.

At the same time, it has been ascertained that the lessons from the past serve as a power
medium to maintain and preserve the organizational ideology. On further note, it has also
been argued that corporate history has significant impact on addressing the conflicting logics
as well as it aids the actors in the organization to overcome inertia (Maclean et al., 2014)
According to Booth et al. (2007), noted that it is important for the companies to recognize the
present value of corporate history. In this context, it has been reported that corporate history
severs as an essential component that reinforces the corporate culture. Moreover, Booth et al.
(2007) noted corporate history symbolic to the glue that brings together the groups of people
with different ideology and establishes a bond among them towards the accomplishment of
the shared goals and objectives. On a further note, it has been reported that the corporate
history such as old mission statements, documents reflecting the corporate beliefs and
tradition has a significant impact on the success of the organization.
The importance of corporate history in the creation of corporate culture is widely recognized
across different national and multinational companies operating in the diverse international
markets. In this regard, to justify the statement, “Corporate history is more than merely a
repository of memory for future use. There is a cultural imperative for every large business
organization to have a historical discourse...” (Delahaye et al., 2009, p.39), it would be vital
to reflect up on some examples. Analyzing the corporate history of Walt Disney Company,
which is recognized as one of the most popular and leading producer and providers of
entertainment and information, its impact on the corporate culture can be instrumental in
justifying the above statement. It was observed from the analysis of Disney, that the leaders
of the company were extensively engaged in storytelling which was predominately reflected
in their speech, documentary interviews, conversation and work interaction. At the same
time, it has been observed that official story of Walt Disney is used as both commodifications
as well as control devices. In this regard, it is worth mentioning that Walt is one of the
characters of the Disney who represented the character of Mickey Mouse in Disney. More
importantly, the story of Walt Disney is widely viewed as a control device in a sense, that
these stories are strongly embedded in the company’s philosophies and conveys the code of
behavior. Also, the theme parks that were developed by Disney Company were based on the
vision of Walt (Booth & Rowlinson, 2006; Boje, 1997).

In the similar context, the history of P&G which is an America based multinational company
and a leading consumer goods company in the world was analyzed to draw its impact on the
corporate culture of the company. It was observed that the story of P&G is predominately
related to the growth and expansion of modern consumer economy. Notably, the history of
P&G that involves of a set of stories are identified to be frequently revisited by its managers
and are also used to direct the present and future behaviors of those associated with the
company (Maclean, et al., 2014; Coleman, 1987). Besides, the company has developed a
strong culture where its history serves as a guide for all actors within the organization to plan
their future course of action. At the same time, the impact of the ideology of William Cooper
Procter in the form of storytelling is deeply embedded in the organizational values. One can
find the number of stories posted on P&G website. Undoubtedly, these stories of the
company can be observed to have a significant impact on the corporate culture of the
company. These stories on the corporate web page of P&G ascertained to link with the
present and future action which not only used for illuminating the present but are also
employed to shape the values of the firm (Maclean, et al., 2014).
Assessment of the Corporate Use of History by Citi Bank

It is highly topical and intriguing for the contemporary organizations and the business
historians as for how the companies are making use of their corporate history, but the recent
examples where several international business organizations are making use of their
corporate history has offered many organizations and historians with valuable insights
regarding the use of corporate history. The list of these international businesses is indeed very
long, and hence it is not possible to incorporate all these business organizations. Therefore, to
acquire valuable insights and understanding about the use of the corporate history in the
contemporary organization corporate history of Citi Bank is analyzed and evaluated.
Considering the objective of this study, it would be vital to discuss how Citi Bank is engaged
in making use of its corporate culture. In this regard, it is worth to note that founded in the
year 1812, Citi Bank is a global financial service provider that operates under the flagship of
Citigroup. The bank has more than 100 million customers spread across 24 countries
worldwide (Citigroup Inc, 2016). The financial giant uses the timeline to present its history
and the past stories of achievements. At the same time, the slogan of the company that states,
“Progress informed by the past and inspired by the future” clearly defines the way the bank is
involved in making use of its corporate history and memory. It has been noted that Citi Bank
has constantly been engaged in creating memory and leaving some of the memory out of their
narratives. In this context, it is vital to note that company hardly recognize its role in the
financial crisis and several other incidents that have been witnessed by the bank in the past.
Besides, it has been noted that bank has not mentioned the closure of its banking subsidiary
in Japan which is believed to be the outcome of a serious breach of banking rules and
regulation. At the same time, the bank widely believes that in the year of the internet and
social networking, it is very difficult for any international business organization to control
and manage the counter-narrative.
The motto of company “constant care” promoted by Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller that forms an
integral part of the company throughout its long history of ups and downs is further seen to
be strongly embedded in its corporate culture. Moreover, the historical narrative of the bank
is further identified to focus on several quality aspects of the bank that deals with
competitiveness, the capacity to innovate and responsibility. Recently, the newly appointed
Head of Group Relation of Merck Group, Steen Reeslev have come up with the suggestions
to change the historical narrative of the bank with the objective to supplement strong
conservative narrative that would not only view the bank from its motto of ‘constant care’ but
would also represent the bank as an innovative and technologically oriented firm. The major
purpose behind the changes in the historical narrative of the company was to strengthen its
external brand image and perceptions of customers towards the bank. Besides, the bank by
changing its historical narrative also indented to bring changes in its corporate culture.
Notwithstanding, the historical narrative of the bank is also ascertained to use for bringing
changes in the entrepreneurial activity across its broad operations. In this regard, the bank is
extensively engaged using its historical narrative for promoting entrepreneurship and improve
its capacity to innovate. At the same time, the bank is involved in analyzing and evaluating its
historical narrative to acquire better understanding regarding the business phenomenon and
current business environment as well as the changes that have taken place over the years of
its operation. Contextually, the insights gained from the analysis of the historical narrative
are further used by the business strategists and decision makes of the bank to make more
informed decision that would aid the bank to effectively deal with the challenges of the faced
by it in its day to day operations as well as to plan future course of action (Citigroup Inc,
2016b; Hansen, 2012).

Moreover, the historical narrative of the bank offers the leaders and managers in the bank
with an effective tool for motivating and inspiring the people within the organization. In other
words, the corporate history of the bank plays an important role in binding the people within
the organization with a unique identity. Besides, in the current highly dynamic business
environment where every national and international business organisations is posed with the
threat of unethical business practices and governance issue, the bank is identified to heavily
rely on the intellectual standards and ethical values which have been deeply rooted in its
history for crafting formal structure and ensuring tight control over its culture (Hansen, 2012;
Seaman & Smith, 2012).

Notwithstanding, many people would often call it incongruous to dwell in the past, and one
should be concerned about the future rather than dwelling in the past. However, the above
evidence clearly reflects the way how corporate history can be used by the international
businesses such as Citi Bank to shape its corporate culture as well as to drive its future course
of action.
Conclusion

This essay offered an assessment of the corporate use of history by Citi Bank, with an
ongoing discussion and argument about the statement made by Delahaye et al., 2009, which
said that Corporate History is more than just for future use, and is crucial to the creation of
culture in an organization. Through the study of the papers written by Booth, Rowlinson,
Maclean and many others, alongside with the analysis of Walt Disney, P&G and Citigroup, it
was observed that the corporate history has a significant impact on shaping the culture as well
as defining the values and identity of the international business. Corporate history is not only
considered as individual story, rather it represents the shared and collective value of the
company that it has achieved over the years of its operation. Corporate history is recognized
to have the capacity to drive a shift in the ideology and rhetoric that are rooted in the
organization. The analysis of the corporate history and its relationship with corporate culture
in the context of two renowned international companies namely Walt Disney and P&G
further postulated that corporate history of these companies are firmly embedded in their
corporate philosophies and are widely used to determine the code of behavior. Also, the
assessment of the use of corporate history by Citi Bank illustrated that the bank extensively
uses its corporate history to promote entrepreneurship and improve its capacity to innovate.
At the same time, the bank is identified to use its historical narrative to deal with the present
adversity as well as to plan the future course of action. Besides, it was noted that the bank
often analyses and evaluates its corporate history to acquire better insights and understanding
regarding the organizations and change process. Also, the leaders and managers within the
bank are ascertained to use its corporate history to motivate and inspire the people associated
with its operation. Hence, making Corporate History a necessity for an organization, where it
helps pave a way for the future through learning of the past, and also creates an
understanding of the underlying phenomena’s and deeply embedded culture of the
organization.
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