Metaphors from Alice in Wonderland illustrate firstly the ridiculous ...

Suddenly, a queen with a very large head and
a red gown came running. Alice tried to keep
up with her; at least it seemed as if she was
going somewhere. Alice and the Red Queen
ran in the forest for a long time, but when
they stopped, they were still under the same
tree as when they started. “It takes all the
running you can do, to keep in the same place.
If you want to get somewhere else, you must
run at least twice as fast as that!” The Red
Queen was obviously irritated as she explained
how things work in her kingdom. “And if you
don‟t conform to tone in with my likes and
dislikes, it will be „Off with your head!‟”
Just as the crockery gave Alice a promise
of some reward (refreshments), she soon
realised that the cups were bottomless
and full of empty promises; the fixing
promises of the damaged image did not
bear the intended fruit. If a brand fails to
deliver on the promises made, the
bottom of the branded entity falls out. An
authentic brand consistently delivers on
promises, and provides evidence, a
measurable track record, the facilities
and infrastructures, the practices and
policies and the commitment to
customers who support the promises
(Davies-Janes, 2009).
Alice sat down at the table full of crockery, but
without cutlery. On my mobile phone screen, I
noticed that a Wonderland tea party is like
Wonderland‟s science ‒ different. The cups did
not have bottoms and nobody cared for polite
tea party conversation.
Maybe the inauthentic brand messages
created and maintained an inconsistent
institutional image as authentic branding
could have contributed to the HEI‟s
credibility, because it would have
contained elements of passion and value
(George, 2009).
Alice was delighted by the expectation of some
refreshment, but left without any when the
Hatter said to her, “You used to be much more
… muchier. You‟ve lost your muchness.”
Alice‟s and the UFS‟s “muchness” was
lost, because she and the institution
doubted her/its identity and authenticity
and, therefore, also its purpose
(Cooperrider, 2003).
When Alice realised what her authentic leadership position and purpose was, she got her “muchness”
back, and slayed the Jabberwocky. Critics might think that the researcher has gone mad, but then
outcomes of the transformation process became clear. The Jabberwocky motif is implying the
leviathan of power and politics in HEIs that try to manipulate internal and authentic transformation
through external and apparent transformation.
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