Session Descriptions, Study Suggestions and DiscussionQuestions

Introductory Comments: This class is a class about theory, about perception and explanation, about the many different ways in which we can look at, analyze and understand what happens in human organizations. There are many ways to go through ths class - my suggestion is that you dive into the material, have an open mind and see where it can take you!! There are lots of readings in the class because it is only through reading lots of different people and their points of view that you can get a feel for the organizational theory landscape. This is not about memorizing material though but about understanding the material and understanding it well enough so can you work with it in your own analysis of the many organizations around you. Our major text will be Morgan's Images of Organization. I continue to use this text mostly because I like the way it is organized and because I like the broad scope of coverage. The book itself is not very deep or thorough which is why we will supplement with additional materials, most of which will be electronically accessible. The additional materials either elaborate on what's presented in the text, provide examples of that kind of perspective or challenge it. Also be sure to look at the Bibliographic Notes section in Morgan to get a better feel for some of the authors and feel free to do additional research yourself.  You will be able to get extra points for locating useful class resources! In each of the sections below, I list the readings for each of the classes, describe them a bit and provide you with some direction, study suggestions and discussion questions, all of which may assist you in working productively with the material. I hope you will have a good journey!!

PART I: THEORETICAL THINKING ABOUT ORGANIZATIONS

Session 2: Theories, Metaphors and the Study of Organizations

In this session we will explore the basic ideas and concepts involved in thinking about - theorizing - organizations. Chapters 1 and 10 in the text will give you the basic framework used by Morgan - a framework that centers around the idea of metaphor, that is, the idea that every theory has within it an implicit or explicit metaphorical image that describes and often prescribes certain ideas, assumptions, and actions in organizations. We will be using Morgan's framework as our central organizing device for the course, elaborating and detailing specific elements and concepts, sometimes sticking closely to the material and sometimes deviating substantially.

For some additional ideas about metaphors, check the articles on management metaphors at http://www.strategic-innovation.dk/Engelsk/E-metaph.html  and http://www.devco.demon.co.uk/Metaphors-of-Orgs-1.html The first piece provides some interesting alternative imagery in thinking about organizations, including organizations as leaves, trees and plates of spaghetti. The second article begins with a discussion of Morgan’s approach in Images of Organization and Imaginization. The second part is a very interesting discussion of how the author uses metaphors in working with organizations and organizational change. Also note some of the related links at the end of these pieces pertaining to the use of metaphor.

To work a bit more with the idea of perception and the impact of perception (and also to introduce some humor into your life, check http://www.thomaslbrown.com/FFT_screen-only.pdf  (note: this is a “read only file). At this site Thomas Brown provides some modern renditions of old fairy tales adapted to the corporate context.

Finally, organization theory is an elaborate field, interdisciplinary in nature and structured in many ways by longstanding debates. We will review some of these debates but it would be helpful for you to have a bit of a "preview" which can be found at: http://www.hewett.norfolk.sch.uk/curric/soc/theory.htm  

Be sure to at least review the basic ideas at points 1, 2 and 3, addressing issues regarding the nature of reality, social reality construction, the relationship between the individual and society and assumptions we make about conflict and change.

After reading the materials for this session, you may want to review using the following questions:

·        What metaphors would be applicable to your organization? What metaphors are used in your organization? Do different groups use different metaphors? Are there different images to describe different activities? Different budget cycles? Times of the month?

·        What are the implications of using different images or metaphors for thinking about organizations? When you view your organization as a machine, what do you see? How about when you use the image of “spaghetti”? “Psychic prison”? Family?

·        What stories are currently "playing" in your organization? Can you think of an old (or new) fairy tale that would capture the heart/soul of your company? In what version?

·        In your own words, what are the issues that are the heart of the debates reviewed?

Session 3: Theories, Paradigms and the Study of Organizations, Concluded

In this session we will continue our general exploration of the study of organizations. Chapter 11 talks about the impact of our metaphors on how we perceive the world and how we see specific events, people and organizations (MultiCom) Think about this idea in the context of the Sally Quinn story listed and provide some different readings of this story, using Morgan's metaphors. In doing so, pay particular attention to the impact of the metaphor on questions such as: What is the problem here? How could it be fixed/have been avoided? Who is at fault?

One idea we will working with this term is closely related to Morgan's notion of metaphor, namely the idea of storytelling. The first two websites listed ( http://cbae.nmsu.edu/~dboje/storytellingorg.html and

http://cbae.nmsu.edu/~dboje/sto.html are wonderful sites by David Boje that contain great links to lots of elements of storytelling. The second website in particular allows you to review the major components of storytelling,  in particular the elements re: how to story and the different types of narratives. Also look closely at the examples provided by Boje re: how to and how not to, since we will be using his format rather closely as a model for our papers. The third website contains some historical "storytelling" in that it introduces the intellectual fathers and mothers of the field. We will return to most of them in more detail during the term but it would be useful for you to review their basic teachings at this point. Additional approaches and uses of story telling are in the other websites. For the class session itself, read the Sally Quinn story as one example of a story and work with it following the suggestions below.

Review and Discussion Questions

·        Is there a dominant metaphor apparent in Sally Quinn's story? If so, what is it? Pick at least 3 different metaphors and provide 3 different readings of the story? How is the context of the story possibly important for your reading (i.e. the historical time frame, social issues, economic issues, gender issues, etc.) How would it be told differently by one of the other actors, e.g. the hair dresser, the male executive, another anchor person, a person watching the news?

·        What are the main components of storytelling, as presented by David Boje? How can we think of organizations as stories? Why should we? Should we? What is your personal experience with storytelling? Experiment with telling different versions of a story, using an incident at work or one of the cultural archetypes, like “Red Riding Hood”. Keep in mind the Septet model presented by Boje and his comments re: the different levels of critical thinking.

·        Looking at your own organization, what stories are currently "playing" in your organization? Can you think of an old (or new) fairy tale that would capture the heart/soul of your company? In what version?  What is the official narrative of the organization? What story would you tell about the organization? Remember the key components of a good story here!

·        News stories always provide us with valuable insight into the development of narrative.  Look for examples of news reporting during the week and see if you can separate “event” from “perspective”. Then see if you can develop different narratives/stories around the main theme, i.e. how would the story be told differently by different people involved?

·        How do the different theorists reviewed in the father/mother website relate to the debates presented last time (http://cbae.nmsu.edu/~dboje/teaching/503/father_and_mother_links.html )Did you recognize any of the theorists? Any favorites? What is the “story” they tell about organizations? If they were to tell a story about your organization, what would it look like? (pick one or two as examples)