HRM 523 Organization Theory Papers 2 and 3

In the second and third paper, you are asked to describe, apply and evaluate cultural and critical theories of organization in an analysis of an on-going organization or an organizational phenomenon of interest to you,  using the same or a similar narrative structure as what you presented in the first paper. Make sure that you follow the narrative guidelines outlined on the websites, paying particular attention to the sections on septet, critical analysis and the examples.  Paper 2 and 3 may be submitted separately or they may be combined. If they are combined, your final product should be approximately 18 pages in length, not counting title, reference or appendix pages. Proofread and edit the paper thoroughly. For writing assistance, contact the Writer's Center at 412-536-1227.

1. Select something from your own personal experience in organizations and tell a story about this, using the basic components of story telling (see Boje’s Septet piece for further details)
2. Understand that theories are narratives in that they tell a particular story of organizations and the people in them. Your job in this assignment is to provide two different narratives, employing 1 cultural and 1 critical theory in telling “what really happened”, how and why .
3. In telling the story, be sure to integrate the ideas, concepts and perspectives employed by the theories, using the class readings.
4. Also include your own position on the theories, in some fashion or another (e.g. narrator’s comments, twists in the story, postscripts etc. etc.)
5. Through using the narrative structure, you should be supplying the following, albeit not in that form:

Description of theories: At some point, you need to provide a brief description of cultural and critical thought, including its major paradigmatic assumptions and perspective on organizations and organizational research and a specific theory/focal area from each perspective. Make sure to reference your discussion thoroughly, using APA referencing.

Application of the theories: Your narratives need to clearly illustrate the use of the selected theories to provide two different analyses of your organization/ phenomenon. Make sure that the analysis is detailed and comprehensive, reflecting both the general focus and the specific concepts of the theories. For the cultural section, make sure that your cultural narrative includes key symbols, language, stories and rituals of the organization and that they link behaviors, cultural forms and core values. For the critical section, make sure that your critical narrative provides deconstruction, either of the cultural narrative or of the functionalist narrative, focusing on the ways in which either serves to distort/control.

Evaluation of the theories: Provide your personal evaluation of each of the theories and of the cultural and critical perspectives as a whole, including both strengths and weaknesses. Remember that you are evaluating the theories in this section, not your organization.

Your paper will be evaluated on the extent and quality of incorporation of the reading material, overall organization, clarity and attention to detail, critical and analytical thought, and creativity and thoughtfulness evidenced in the narrative.

For 15 bonus points: Use some creative means (poetry, visual art, music, song, drama, etc. to describe your encounter/ clash/experience with organization theory during this term. Work must be original and should be presented during the last class session