Available Online at http://iassr.org/journal
2014 (c) EJRE published by
International Association of Social Science Research - IASSR
ISSN: 2147-6284
European Journal of Research on Education, 2014, 2(Special Issue), 41- 49
European
Journal of
Research on
Education
Symbols of power in business and how it's represented through
business media: A semiological analysis of top five international
business magazines
Rana NAZLIa *, Jülide KESKEN b
a
Ege University Institute of Social Sciences PhD Candidate on Marketing , Ege University Campus , Izmir 35040, Turkey
b
Ege University Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences , Ege University Campus, Izmir 35100, Turkey
Abstract
Symbols of power have long been important on carrying out many messages concerning one’s grandeur, wealth and socioeconomical rank or status. As Bourdieu argued, economical power might be the ultimate basis of power but this wealth can only
be represented in forms of cultural, social and symbolic capitals. Thus the symbolic capital(s) perceived and processed
symbolically, in a relationship of knowledge or more precisely of misrecognition and recognition (Bourdieu, 2002:289) creates
and urges specific habits of consumption and acts of possession through social expectations. Such power symbols or “meta”
makes those elites or alpha- male(female in some content) with their styles and possessions the objects of desire.
The research aims to explore how some specific symbols of power is demonstrated through fashion and style by the cover men
and women -mostly businessmen/ women and politicians- in 2013’s Top 5 International Business Magazines chosen by
circulation; Bloomberg Businessweek(50 issues per year), The Economist(51 issues per year), Wired(12 issues per year),
Fortune(20 issues per year) and Forbes(26 issues per year). The covers of those magazines and the cover persons – their
physical positioning, clothing, usage of accessories, colors and styling - and the headlines concerning those cover persons will be
analysed by using semiological analysis.
Keywords: First keywords, second keywords, third keywords, forth keywords;
1. Introduction
Oxford Dictionary defines "symbols" in three different ways, first it stresses the representation facility of a
symbol and defines it as "-a mark or character used as a conventional representation of an object, function, or
process, e.g. the letter or letters standing for a chemical element or a character in musical notation-", the other
meaning highlights the importance of symbols representing various organizations or signs of them - "a shape or sign
used to represent something such as an organization, e.g. a red cross or a Star of David"- and the last definition of a
symbol is "a thing that represents or stands for something else, especially a material object representing something
abstract"(Oxford Dictionary). Symbols and the silent language of them -symbolism- throughout the history have
helped people and civilizations beat ambiguity and define specific series of events, objects, idioms, words, signs and
make them understood by ascribed collective meanings.
*E-mail address: ranakesken@hotmail.com
Rana NAZLI, Jülide KESKEN
A more meaningful way of understanding the role of goods as social tools is to regard them as symbols serving as
a means of communication between the individual and his significant references. Defined as "things which stand for
or express something else," symbols should be thought of as unitary characters composed of signs and their
meanings (Warner, 1959:3). All through history men used or made use specific symbols to define themselves, their
social class, identity or economic condition in order to receive social recognition by the meanings of symbols being
used and symbols perceived by the society.
The necessity for any group to develop a common or shared terminology leads to an important consideration; the
direction of activity depends upon the particular way that objects are classified (Strauss, 1959:9). So that people had
to use specific images and symbols to express their stratifications thus they created or consumed the adequate
symbols - whether it's a toga made by lots of layers of silk fabric or a dozen gem stone rings-.
The symbolic aspect of consumption has been long recognized and studied by consumer researchers. Consumers
define themselves and others in terms of possessions which are symbols of personal qualities and interests (Levy,
1982; Solomon, 1983; Fırat and Venkatesh, 1995; Elliott, 1997). Wattansuvan (2005) suggests that consumption
symbolism is negotiable and subject to different interpretations and expectations of the society or group in which we
live. We use these symbolic meanings to locate ourselves in the society as well as for the self- creation and selfexpression (Atik, Şahin, 2011: 5330). This paper aims to discuss the analysis of fashion products, style and
accessories as status symbols used by men and women of power - alpha male and alpha woman- in the 2013 top 5
most read magazines covers.
2. Representation of Status Symbols in Business Media
Status defines a position, rank or a specific role someone of something in a society, organization, group, culture
or sometimes in a country or region. Goffman defines status as a notion which can be ranked on a scale of prestige,
according to the amount of social value that is placed upon it relative to other statuses in the same sector of social
life(Goffman, 2003:294).
As we stated above social status of a person is mostly conspicuously visible by possessions. The rights and
obligations of a status are frequently ill-adapted to the requirements of ordinary communication. Specialized means
of displaying one's position frequently develop. Such sign- vehicles have been called status symbols. They are cues
which select for a person the status that is to be imputed to him and the way in which others are to treat him
(Goffman, 2003:294). Those sign - vehicles or symbols are called status symbols(Spencer, 1974-75 part IV). Status
symbols visibly divide the social world into categories of persons, thereby helping to maintain solidarity within a
category and hostility between different categories ( Gimmel, 1904). According to David(1994) a status symbol is a
perceived visible, external denotation of one's social position and perceived indicator of economic or social status.
Persons in the same social position tend to possess a similar pattern of behaviour. Any item of a person's
behaviour is, therefore a sign of his social position. A sign of position can be status symbol only if it is used with
some regularity as a means of "placing" socially the person who makes it (Goffman, 2003:295). Such as the Popes
only wearing the purple robe or in Ancient Egypt the pharaohs putting on the Nemeas ( stripped headclothes worn
by pharaohs only) or the feather of Maat worn on the top of a pharaoh's head status symbols have always been
distinctive marks.
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Symbols of power in business and how it's represented through business media: a semiological analysis of top five international business
magazines
So It can be argued that an urge to possess goods in high quality or in a specific facility is not a new issue. The
desire to conspicuously consume dates back to tribal times when men possessed women and slaves as trophies of
their status (Veblen 1912). Since that time, although the players and what is consumed have changed, the game of
ostentatious ownership has remained essentially the same, with the winners being awarded status, prestige and
honor. Early in the game, only the aristocratic elite could play. Yet as societies became industrialized, players of
achieved wealth, or the nouveau rich, followed by those of moderate and even negligible success entered the game.
Some argue that flagrant consumptive behavior is the unfortunate result of capitalism (Veblen 1912, Marx 1848
Galbraith 1984, Toynbee 1973, Stanfield and Stanfield 1980), while others note that material ownership helps us to
define who we are (Goffman 1952, Belk 1988, Solomon 1983, McCracken 1987, Levy 1959; Page, 1992: 82).
Status consumption generally involves high-end, expensive luxury products (Heaney et al., 2005) that most people
do not regularly consume on an ongoing basis. Many consumers use these products to satisfy not only material
needs but also social needs. Under status consumption, many consumers try to impress others, including their
superiors in theworkplace, social connections, or possible future spouses (Husic & Cicic, 2009). Status consumption
is suggested to increase brand value for the consumer (Vigneron & Johnson, 1999, 2004).
In his article Salverda states: "How do we recognize elites on appearances alone? From outside, we can't judge if
J.P Morgan's Kamie Dion has a large bank account of if Larry Page and Sergey Brin own shares in Google. Does it
actually matter, though if we can ? Apparently it does. Luxury brands and high- end clothes wouldn't sell so well if
it weren't for the elites. One could argue that the elites' craving for the latest sports car, designer clothes and
diamonds for their wives stems more from pleasure than from purpose, yet a closer look reveals something else
(Salverda, http://www.askmen.com/money/investing_300/382_luxury-products-status-symbols.html, Received:
November, 2013). Thus, consumption of status symbols can be states as a sociological term which vary in terms of,
cultures and sub- cultures, economical structures and subject to change and evolve through time.
3. Research and Results
In our research 5 top read business magazines' according to the famous web page http://www.allyoucanread.com the World Wide Web's massive media directory of 25.000 local and international magazines and newspapers from
all over the world. According to AllYouCanRead.com, most read on-line issues of those business magazines were;
Bloomberg Businessweek, The Economist, Wired, Fortune and Forbes, respectively. The research consists of 49
different cover pages of the top 5 most read business magazines listed above, the cover pages and the cover persons
- cover men & cover women's physical positioning, clothing, usage of accessories, colours and styling - and the
headlines are analysed by using semiological analysis.
During the research, the covers containing only people - businessmen- women, politicians- were taken into
consideration and semiological analysis (since some of the covers contains only headlines, illustrations or
metaphoric designs and the research objective is to analyse the status symbols and possessions help by men and
women of power, those covers were not analysed). Total number of analysed covers were 49 and covers analysed
per magazine is shown below.
Table.1.Number of Covers Analysed per Magazine
Name of Magazine
Forbes
Number of Covers Analysed
12
43
Rana NAZLI, Jülide KESKEN
Fortune
Bloomberg BusinessWeek
Wired
The Economist
7
9
7
13
Total number of analysed covers differs by the gender of cover persons. Below shown the male/female ratio of
cover persons in analysed business magazines.
Table.2. Male/ Female Ratio of Cover Persons in Analysed Magazines
Sort by Gender
Male
Female
Forbes
11
1
Fortune
5
2
Bloomberg
Businessweek
Wired
9
0
3
2
The Economist
11
2
Both Fortune, Wired and The Economist gave it' s cover two times to business women or women politicians where
Forbes gave only one time and Bloomberg Businessweek gave none. Forbes is the leader with male cover men, The
Economist follows with 11 cover men, Bloomberg Businessweek with 9 and Wired and Fortune with 5 cover men,
respectively.
Table.3. Sort by Cover men - Cover womens' Occupation
Sort by Occupation / Position
Politician
Businessman /woman – arts
Forbes
0
1
Fortune
0
7
Bloomberg Businessweek
2
7
Wired
1
4
The Economist
13
0
Table 3 shows that 2013 issues of Forbes magazines' all cover people were either businessmen or women, so
were Fortune's, 2 cover men of Bloomberg Businessweek were politicians and 7 of them were businessmen or
women, Wired had only 1 politician on their 2013 issue covers whereas they have 6 businessmen or women and
finally all of the cover men and women of The Economist were politicians.
Table.4. Sort by Sectors
Name of
Magazine
Forbes
Fortune
Bloomberg
Businessweek
Wired
The
IT &
Internet
Investor Businessman(woman)
Telecommunication
Automotive
Arts &
Recreation(Sports)
5
6
6
2
-
2
-
1
-
2
1
2
1
2
-
-
-
-
2
-
1
13
44
Politician
Symbols of power in business and how it's represented through business media: a semiological analysis of top five international business
magazines
Economist
Table 4 shows the allocation of the sectors of businessmen - women and also the politicians by magazine covers.
As seen IT & Internet sector has proclaimed it's reign by becoming manifest as famous IT & Internet cover men &
women with a total number of 20 covers devoted to them. Covers made of Politicians follow IT & Internet guys
with a sum of 15 then professionals, in Arts & Recreation (Sports) there are 7, Investors & Businessman (woman)
and Telecommunication professionals follow with 2 each and lastly there is only 1 cover men from Automotive
sector.
Figure.1. Cover Men & Accessories and Symbols Used by Them
Figure 1 shows that the Cover men mostly preferred dark colored (black and antraside) suits and ties followed
dark suits. Mostly t-shirts or sports and casual outfits were preferred by IT & Internet professionals and Politicians
with a percentage of %100 preferred dark suits with tie but some of the IT & Internet professionals who preffered to
wear suits were shown without putting a tie on them. Shirts are among a high percentage also in Art & Recreation
professionals and IT guys also but Investors and Businessmen with professionals in Automotive industry and
Telecommunications also preferred to wear suits. No other symbols were detected among cover men of the listed
magazines.
Figure.2. Some of the selected Magazine Covers With IT& Internet Professionals
45
Rana NAZLI, Jülide KESKEN
Figure.3. Some of the selected Magazine Covers With Politicians and Investor - Businessmen
Figure.4. Cover Women & Accessories and Symbols Used by Them
Figure 2 show that Cover women mostly preferred to wear jackets and pants (suits) or Jackets with skirts. The most
used accessories were pearl necklaces and earrings and those were followed by gold, silver and bronze necklaces.
The minority of cover women were shown with man like suits(model was dressed as a man) and uniforms. A
comparison between the fashion goods and possessions used by cover men and women it can be stated that women
tended to use more status symbols than man.
Figure.5.Some of the selected Magazine Covers With Women Professionals
46
Symbols of power in business and how it's represented through business media: a semiological analysis of top five international business
magazines
The covers were analysed by using semiological analysis. Broadly speaking, semiotics analyzes the structures of
meaning- producing events, both verbal and nonverbal. Sebeok(1976) states that semiotics - In this paper the
research is called the semiological analyses since the analyses is made in the light of Barthesian tradition- and its
subject matter includes "the exchange of any messages whatever and of the systems of signs which underlie them"
with the sign always the fundamental concept (Sebeok, 1976:1). The semiological analyses aims to decode signs
and sign systems according to the text that the sign or code takes place and general context that the text takes place.
The roots of semiology trail back at Antic Greek tradition and Saussure claims that the term "semiology" was
derived from Greek "SEMEION"; meaning the "sign" and "LOGIA" meaning science. The Barthesian tradition of
semiology offers the term denotation and connotation. Connotation lightens the deeper view of the signs and
actually hide the intended meaning or the meaning which was initially hidden whereas denotation stands for the
actual meaning of what you say/ show.
Working hard on trying to establish semiology as a modern discipline, Barthes was influenced by the work of head
scholars in the field of semiology such as F. de Saussure and L.Hjemslev and by advancing their work on the field
and adapting his own into literature, fashion, picture and modern myths (Rifat, 127). Below shown some of the
covers analysed according to the Barthesian tradition of semiology.
Language
Code
1. Signifier
2. Signified
Photo of a middle
Woman dressed
aged woman dressed
in formal clothes
in dark jacket and
and accessories.
foulard with pearl
earrings and
necklace.
3.Sign
Woman dressed in formal clothes and
accessories.
MYTH
A "businesswoman in
war "with peers from
the same sector
dressed in formal suit
and business status
symbol with a
confident gaze.
I.SIGNIFIER
II.SIGNIFIED
III.SIGN
Figure.6. Cover Analysis of Forbes Magazine June 2013 Issue Cover with Meg Whitman (CEO of HP
47
Rana NAZLI, Jülide KESKEN
Language
Code
MYTH
1. Signifier
Photo of a man wearing
a navy shirt with jeans
sitting comfortably with
open arms and legs.
2. Signified
Man sitting
comfortably
with open
arms and legs,
with casual
clothes.
3.Sign
Man sitting comfortably with open arms and
legs, with casual clothes.
I.SIGNIFIER
The businessman of year Jeff Bezos
represents the casual business giant
with his casual shirt, denim and his
open body language sat comfortably,
firmly and confidently.
II.SIGNIFIED
III.SIGN
Figure.7. Cover Analysis of Fortune Magazine Businessmen of The Year Issue With Jeff Bezos (CEO of www.amazon.com)
Language
Code
1. Signifier
Photo of a man
(smiling) with glasses
and a moustache
wearing grey suit and
ocean blue tie with his
arm open.
2. Signified
A smiling man
with glasses and a
moustache in
grey suit and tie
with his arm
open.
The investor - banker
John Ovia or so
called the Godfather
of Banking in his high
quality grey suit and
silk tie with his open,
offering hand rhymes
with the title "Why
825 Million Dollars
Means Nothing To
Me". His selection of
fashion products is
well established in
showing this
wealth.And his
comfortable, high- hat
look is well
understood.
II.SIGNIFIED
3.Sign
I.SIGNIFIER
III.SIGN
Figure.8. Cover Analysis of Forbes Magazine With Jim OVIA (Banker - Investor)
4. Conclusion
Status symbols are a sociological phenomenon and an important factor on defining and sometimes differentiating
the social classes and specific groups. The research showed us that business media; the top 5 most read magazines of
the year 2013, in figure of speech is an important determinant of the representations of social and economical
figures. The results showed that IT & Internet professionals were among the most featured cover men and women,
this of course not surprising since we live the era of high tech and we revolutions but compared to the previous years
48
Symbols of power in business and how it's represented through business media: a semiological analysis of top five international business
magazines
for example to the year 2008 - the depression period- giving way for politicians or businessmen in the business
magazine covers had declined. The research also shows that whether most businessmen - women or politician sare
known for their obsessions with some sort of luxury brands or lifestyle they are not shown with any specific kind of
status symbols at all. Cover women were the only exact users of status symbols - foulards, earrings and necklacesbut even they were not conspicuous enough to state as "high class symbols" regarding their position as might have
been expected. An emphasis should be laid on the new elites; or the techno elites regarding their impact on daily and
business life and their new choices of consuming and lifestyle.
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