Box 6.4 discusses how organizations have different label such as employees, customers, team, colleague, etc. to describe people. These labels are intended to create a certain feeling for or within that person. These labels also bring to attention the person's relationship, and maybe even importance, to the organization. I have noticed that many retailers now label their customers as "guests." This label indicates that those employees are to treat customers with even more hospitality and care. But whether these labels are really useful in making a difference is another story. I wonder if making the change from calling someone a "guest" as oppose to "customer" changes the service they receive. So although it may be valuable to make these types of changes, organizations actually need to do more than just re-labeling to enforce the idea.
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When I was an undergraduate I worked in hospitals to put myself through school. First I worked as a transport, wheeling patients to and from places like radiology and physical therapy. Then I was a unit clerk, the person who's the receptionist, secretary, and pretty much the office manager for the unit. At one hospital, the organization decided to change the name of the housekeeping department to environmental services. At first, it seemed sort of silly. But for my friends in that department, the new titles did make a different. They felt like they were more on par with other departments, especially when they were classified as technicians. But you're right that it has to be more than just re-labeling. Actions (such as pay raises for the people in Environmental Services) have to go along with words.
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