The Social Construction of Organization.

Intro -- The Social Construction of Organization -- Copyright -- Table of contents -- The editors -- Preface -- Why this book -- How we have composed this book -- References -- Why do I write about organizations in poetry? -- Introduction -- Writing in relation to Other Poetic form as Other -- The reader as other -- Poetry and the avoidance of conclusion -- Moving around and about a topic -- A contribution of the incomplete? -- Space for Many Voices -- Avoiding the irony of a conclusion? -- Chapter 1: Making your way: please start here -- Relating as persuasion -- An illustration from Sheila -- Relating as appreciation -- Relating as co-construction -- Making local realities -- Relating as performance -- Some implications for practice -- References -- Recommended further readings -- Managing a sestina managing me? -- Chapter 2: Organizational Science and the Promises of Postmodernism -- Organizational Science: A Modernist Adventure -- The Rational Agent -- Empirical Evaluation -- Language as Picture -- The Narrative of Progress -- The Postmodern Turn -- From Individual to Communal Rationality -- From Empirical Method to Social Construction -- Language as Social Action -- The Multi-Culturation of Meaning -- Toward Postmodern Organizational Science -- The Place of Research Technologies -- Toward Critical Reflection -- The Construction of New Worlds -- Toward Catalytic Conversation -- References -- The Agent out there -- Chapter 3: Organizations, organizing, and related concepts of change -- Persons act in or on organizations -- Entities -- Subject-Object relations -- The entitative narrative of organizations -- Organizational change -- Introducing other narratives -- Relational-construction processes as processes of 'organizing' -- A tool kit for reflecting on relational processes -- Summary - relational construction processes.

Re-constructions of organizational change -- Relational constructionism and change work -- References -- Notes -- Who am I? -- Chapter 4: Patterns of engagement -- Overview -- Mutual expectations and patterns in conversation -- Revisiting conversational rules -- Expectations of performance become embedded - even in objects -- Using 'word objects' - how language is in-scribed with expected performance -- Con-forming, reproducing and breaching patterns -- 'Attributes' of patterns and how power is made -- The 'characteristics' of people arise in the expectations in-scribed in the pattern - the 'context' -- Patterns turn up for work - like other members of the workforce -- Patterns make things work -- Patterns 'speak' before we do -- The behaviour of interactions (rather than people) - 'patternality' not personality -- The pattern inscribes behaviour and qualities back into the participants -- How do patterns keep their shape - and are they weak or strong? -- References -- Notes -- Subject-Object Relations, knowledge and power -- Knowledge in the RVS -- Language in the RVS -- Power in the RVS -- Related narratives -- Another view - starting with social construction -- Language -- Power -- References -- Notes -- Chapter 5: Auditive leadership culture: lessons from symphony orchestras -- Introduction -- Visual leadership narrative -- Visual aspects in leadership literature -- Endurance -- Distance and differentiation -- Inaffectuality -- Individuality -- Auditive leadership narrative -- Qualities of auditive culture -- Natural, effortless listening -- Openness and tolerance -- Auditive aspects in leadership literature -- Temporality -- Incorporation -- Exposure -- Collectivity -- The skill of listening -- Some conclusions -- References -- Notes -- Reflections on Power in Organizations -- The options -- References -- Notes.

Chapter 6: Abilities, competencies, and selection decision-making -- Introduction -- Social constructionism as an alternative to possessive-instrumentalism -- The importance of abilities in the new economy -- A contemporary case: what abilities should graduates have? -- Problems with the language of ability -- Using the language of abilities -- But what about tests of ability? -- Good news or bad news? -- References -- Notes -- Chapter 7: The group-in-the-making: from 'Group Dynamics' to 'relational practices' -- From 'Group Dynamics' to the 'group-in-the-making' -- The essence of group process learning: from 'here and now' feedback to 'relational practice' -- The linguistic and relational turn: group relational practice -- The 'Conversation for learning and development' construction of a group -- The group-in-the-making: balancing group conversations -- Facilitating learning-from-within about relational practices in groups -- References -- Narrative approaches to inquiry -- References -- Notes -- Chapter 8: Voicing Differences and Becoming Other. Life-stories of Immigrants in an Organizational Context. -- Opening: Diversity management meets social construction -- Life-stories: Narrating one's self -- Reading the life-stories: Applying some principles of narrating -- Re-reading the life stories in an organizational context: Diversity and multiplicity in the organizing process -- Becoming other and conceptions of the self -- References -- Recommended further readings -- For social constructionist approaches to narrative and identity see: -- Notes -- Me-they-we? -- Chapter 9: The social side of Innovation: a process perspective -- Introduction -- Vignette 1: Purification -- Genesis and development of scientific facts -- The social construction of technology -- Vignette 2: The development of the bicycle: a socio-technological tale.

Organizing Collaboration within New Product Development processes -- The paradoxical nature of innovative trajectories and 'a way out' -- The dual nature of social interaction -- Towards a way out: handling paradoxical requirements -- Implications for organizing practices: Introducing time and space as 'design' parameters -- References -- Notes -- Chapter 10: Learning Organizations: the emergence of a relational-interpretive view of organization -- What is a relational-interpretive view of organization? -- Against the grain of post-war positivism -- Relational ways of knowing -- Individuals and groups -- The emergence of a relational view -- Organizing as learning in community -- References -- Notes -- Learning -- Chapter 11: Appreciative evaluation in an educational context: Inviting conversations of assessment and development -- Appreciative evaluation: assessing and constructing a program -- Background -- Appreciative Evaluation -- The retreat -- Setting the context -- Who are we and who can we become? -- Describe the features that would help you create an ideal curriculum -- The curriculum: Where do we want to be? What is the ideal curriculum for this School? -- Integration of ideal curriculum - creating a plan of action -- Committing to the next steps -- Actions agreed upon at the close of the retreat -- Reflections on the Process of Appreciative Evaluation -- Appreciative Evaluation: Pros and Cons -- Appendix A -- References -- Notes -- The Band Played on -- Chapter 12: Wittgenstein, Bakhtin, Management and the Dialogical -- 'The Background': the joint, dialogical nature of human activity -- Joint Action, A sui generis Third Realm -- Two examples of knowledge in motion, or of 'knowing from within' -- Conclusions -- References -- The Experts -- Chapter 13: Consulting: New Language, New Possibilities? -- 'Super Experts' and Language Philosophy?.

Multiple Ethics -- Conjoint Learning -- Deconstructing -- Discourses -- Coordination of Discourses: Conversations in Dialog -- Conclusion -- References -- Metaphors -- References -- Notes -- Chapter 14: Lev Vygotsky and the New Performative Psychology: Implications for Business and Organizations -- The journey -- The landscape -- Vygostky and new psychology -- Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development - The Human Activity Zone -- Discovering the therapeutic in Vygotsky and the performative in therapy -- Back to business -- Performing the organization's play -- The Value of Improvisation -- Case study: fostering a healthy company culture -- The Client -- The Process -- Daring to perform -- References -- Notes -- Chapter 15: Living in Organizations: Lessons from Jazz Improvisation -- Out of the Comfort Zone: Embracing Risk -- Cultivating surrender by exploring the edges of competence -- Cultivating surrender by developing provocative learning relationships -- Cultivating surrender by creating incremental disruptions that demand openness to what unfolds -- Coordination -- References -- Synergy -- Dialogue, talk, and debate -- Dialogue -- Debate -- How to avoid destructive debate? -- Question -- The MIT Dialogue Project: initial guidelines -- Bohm's metaphor of dialogue - based on his work in quantum physics -- References -- Chapter 16: Disturbing Patterns of Engagement -- Co-missioning Change -- "We need to improve communications between staff and managers…." -- Re-forming talk - the site of practical disturbance -- An example to illustrate the point -- "We are all equal today." -- "What is she up to now? What does she want?" -- "We are doing trust now, so what's wrong with you?" -- Some disturbing principles -- Conclusion -- References -- Notes.

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Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, Michigan : ProQuest Ebook Central, 2024. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ProQuest Ebook Central affiliated libraries.