Argument and Narration in Organizational Communication
TL;DR: In this article, the authors highlight the relevance of argumentation and narration for organizational communication, which is the exchange of information among organizational participants from which meaning is inferred, and the links between argument and organizational rationality and between the narrative paradigm and organizational storytelling are discussed.
About: This article is published in Journal of Management.The article was published on 1986-06-01. It has received 282 citations till now. The article focuses on the topics: Organizational learning & Organizational commitment.
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TL;DR: In this paper, the anonymous reviewers for Administrative Science Quarterly (ASCQ) have been surveyed for help with previous versions of this manuscript from the authors and the anonymous reviewer for ACSQ.
Abstract: We acknowledge with deep gratitude, generous and extensive help with previous versions of this manuscript from Sue Ashford, Michael Cohen, Dan Denison, Jane Dutton, Les Gasser, Joel Kahn, Rod Kramer, Peter Manning, Dave Meader, Debra Meyerson, Walter Nord, Linda Pike, Joe Porac, Bob Quinn, Lance Sandelands, Paul Schaffner, Howard Schwartz, Kathie Sutcliffe, Bob Sutton, Diane Vaughan, Jim Walsh, Rod White, Mayer Zald, and the anonymous reviewers for Administrative Science Quarterly.
4,053 citations
Cites background from "Argument and Narration in Organizat..."
...Narrative skills (Bruner, 1986; Weick and Browning, 1986; Orr, 1990) are important for collective mind because stories organize know-how, tacit knowledge, nuance, sequence, multiple causation, means-end relations, and consequences into a memorable plot....
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TL;DR: The process of theory construction in organizational studies is portrayed as imagination disciplined by evolutionary processes analogous to artificial selection as mentioned in this paper, and the quality of theory produced is predicted to vary as a function of the accuracy and detail present in the problem statement that triggers theory building, the number of and independence among the conjectures that attempt to solve the problem, and the number and diversity of selection criteria used to test the conjecture.
Abstract: The process of theory construction in organizational studies is portrayed as imagination disciplined by evolutionary processes analogous to artificial selection. The quality of theory produced is predicted to vary as a function of the accuracy and detail present in the problem statement that triggers theory building, the number of and independence among the conjectures that attempt to solve the problem, and the number and diversity of selection criteria used to test the conjectures. It is argued that interest is a substitute for validation during theory construction, middle range theories are a necessity if the process is to be kept manageable, and representations such as metaphors are inevitable, given the complexity of the subject matter.
1,821 citations
Additional excerpts
...The standards by which narratives are judged differ from those used to judge arguments (Weick & Browning, 1986)....
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors demonstrate that closer attention to the ways people construct meaning can suggest new ways to improve reliability in air traffic control, nuclear power generation, and naval carrier operations.
Abstract: Organizations in which reliable performance is a more pressing issue than efficient performance often must learn to cope with incomprehensible technologies by means other than trial and error, since the cost of failure is too high. Discovery and consistent application of substitutes for trial and error—such as imagination, simulation, vicarious experience, and stories—contribute to heightened reliability. Organizational culture is integral to the creation of effective substitutes. Using examples taken from air traffic control, nuclear power generation, and naval carrier operations, this article demonstrates that closer attention to the ways people construct meaning can suggest new ways to improve reliability.
1,290 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors argue that traditional approaches to theory building are not entirely consistent with the assumptions of alternative research paradigms that are now assuming more prominence in organizational study, and they explore a metaparadigm perspective that might allow disparate approaches to the theory building to be considered together.
Abstract: Traditional approaches to theory building are not entirely consistent with the assumptions of alternative research paradigms that are now assuming more prominence in organizational study. We argue for a multiparadigm approach to theory building as a means of establishing correspondence between paradigms and theory-construction efforts. Because of the implications of the multiparadigm approach, we also examine ways of bridging across blurred paradigm boundaries. In addition, we explore a metaparadigm perspective that might allow disparate approaches to theory building to be considered together. Such a perspective can produce views of organizational phenomena that not only allow scholars to recognize inherent and irreconcilable theoretical differences, but also can encourage them to adopt a more comprehensive view by accounting for those differences.
1,271 citations
TL;DR: This paper examined 82 accounts of "issue selling" to understand managers' implicit theories for successfully shaping change from below by directing the attention of top management, and found that most of the accounts were based on the same model.
Abstract: In this study, we examined 82 accounts of “issue selling” to better understand managers' implicit theories for successfully shaping change from below by directing the attention of top management. T...
751 citations
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TL;DR: In this article, the author analyzes the maturing research in the field of organization studies - the available ethnographic methods, participant observation, qualitative research, and clinical research, concluding that culture functions to solve an organization's basic problems of surviving in the external environment and integrating its internal processes to ensure its continued survival.
Abstract: Discusses the key role of organizational leadership in organizational culture, and the intertwining problems associated with each. Organizational culture is defined as the basic assumptions and beliefs shared by members of an organization. These are learned, operate unconsciously, and essentially define an organization's view of itself and its environment. Though cultural differences are reflected in companies, each company also has an individual culture that modifies local or national cultures. Origins of culture are discussed, especially the entrepreneur's effect on cultural formation, and mechanisms of embedding and reinforcing cultural standards as a means of guiding an evolving company. Taking an interdisciplinary perspective, the book analyzes the maturing research in the field of organization studies - the available ethnographic methods, participant observation, qualitative research, and clinical research. Results indicate that culture functions to solve an organization's basic problems of (a) surviving in the external environment and (b) integrating its internal processes to ensure its continued survival. Since the organizational structure and people's attitudes and perceptions constitute key artifacts of a culture, both these must be changed before the company's overarching cultural change can occur. Typically, change begins at the formative stage as a positive growth force in need of development, evolves into a complex, diverse model of culture, and finally at the point of maturation, often becomes dysfunctional. It is at this point that the leader-usually the entrepreneur - is most crucial, often turning to various change models as a means of sustaining the company. Though the leader's role in cultural formation shifts, such purposeful, foundational change in an organization only occurs rarely in mature companies and under effective leadership. In sum, cultural leadership - and especially the role of the cultural manager - needs to be assessed more clearly in light of the organization's rapidly changing internal and external environment. (CJC)
13,246 citations
TL;DR: An up-to-date handbook on conceptual and methodological issues relevant to the study of industrial and organizational behavior is presented in this paper, which covers substantive issues at both the individual and organizational level in both theoretical and practical terms.
Abstract: An up-to-date handbook on conceptual and methodological issues relevant to the study of industrial and organizational behavior. Chapters contributed by leading experts from the academic and business communities cover substantive issues at both the individual and organizational level, in both theoretical and practical terms.
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01 Jan 1982
TL;DR: The CFA Association of Pakistan is such a platform and as members, your hand in organizing and promoting the society's activities can make all the difference: scholarships, university outreach programs, analyst certification programs, implementing global performance standards as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: As spirits are dampened, we take heart from whatever can be accomplished against the odds. Being Pakistan’s educated elite, each one of us needs to help improve our reality – be it through personal volunteering, professional activism or performance excellence. The CFA Association of Pakistan is such a platform and as members, your hand in organizing and promoting the society’s activities can make all the difference: scholarships, university outreach programs, analyst certification programs, implementing global performance standards.
4,649 citations