| 1. |
- Alvesson, Mats
(författare)
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The meaning and meaninglessness of postmodernism : Some Ironic Remarks
- 1995
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Ingår i: Organization Studies. - : SAGE Publications. - 1741-3044 .- 0170-8406. ; 16:6, s. 1047-1075
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This paper discusses the popularity of postmodernism in social and organizational studies. It is argued that the word conflates quite different social phenomena and lines of development, and theoretical and philosophical positions. Framing issues in terms of modernism/postmodernism easily leads to insensitive conceptualizations of the varied positions within what is dumped together as 'modernism'. 'Modernist' ideas about contemporary society and types of organizations encourage an oversensitivity for novelty. It is argued that many of the themes raised under the banner of postmodernism are worth taking seriously, but no effort should be taken to combine them under the same concept.
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| 2. |
- Czarniawska-Joerges, Barbara, et al.
(författare)
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Political Organizations and Commedia Dell’Arte
- 1995
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Ingår i: Organization Studies. - Berlin : de Gruynter. - 0170-8406 .- 1741-3044. ; 16:3, s. 375-394
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This paper employs the dramatistic metaphor of commedia dell’arte to interpret developments in a set of interlocking public administrative organizations in Sweden. More specifically, the performances given by state and municipal politicians studied in several projects of ours are analyzed, with the help of what we know of this special kind of theatre. In so doing, we relate to a long tradition within the social sciences. The symbolic acting, the public perform ances, and the ambiguous connection between ideas and realities of various sorts that are evident all made the theatre metaphor appear relevant to an analysis of politics in society at large and in organizations within it. Of the different forms of theatre, commedia dell’arte is that which seems to render itself best to the exploration and interpretation of contemporary organizations within the public sector, imprinted as they are with the stamp of modern demo cratic politics, which bespeaks force but is highly contradictory.
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| 3. |
- Elg, Ulf, et al.
(författare)
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Decision Making in Inter-firm Networks as a Political Process.
- 1997
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Ingår i: Organization Studies. - : SAGE Publications. - 1741-3044 .- 0170-8406. ; 18, s. 361-384
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A political-process-oriented approach to decision making is applied to an asymmetric network of firms, based on the notion of resource interdependen cies as the prime motivator of inter-firm exchange, and on a multi-dimensional view of power. Empirically, the paper draws upon a case study of the introduc tion of a computer-based decision aid (DPP) in the Swedish food industry. A theoretical model is developed, demonstrating how motives, structural condi tions and moves made by powerful as well as more dependent firms interact in shaping the decision process. A central theme is that structural change as well as the adoption of innovations within inter-firm networks is influenced by political activities during the decision process. The relevance of subtle moves aimed at influencing the perceptions and beliefs of other actors is espe cially stressed. The paper also suggests that more dependent firms do not necessarily give priority to balancing dependencies since they may actually jeopardize privileges not attainable within a less asymmetric structure.
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| 4. |
- Garsten, Christina
(författare)
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Betwixt and between : Temporary employees as liminal subjects in flexible organizations
- 1999
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Ingår i: Organization Studies. - : SAGE Publications. - 0170-8406 .- 1741-3044. ; 20:4, s. 601-617
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- As organizations change to become more flexible and transient, the use of a flexible workforce becomes an attractive solution. Temporary employees are here tentatively viewed as being `betwixt and between' organizational structures, in transit between the relatively fixed positions of full-time, regular employment. Building on previous fieldwork and recent interviews among temporary employees in Sweden and the US, the notion of liminality is employed to explore aspects of temporary work. The liminal position of `temporaries', it is suggested, is an ambiguous position involving both risks and opportunities for individuals, temporary staffing agencies, and client organizations alike. It may be seen as a seedbed of cultural creativity, where old perspectives on work and subjectivity are contested and new ones created. Related to the transient, mobile character of temporary employment, is an enhanced awareness of substitutability and a continuous reflexive monitoring of manners and competencies. Furthermore, the mobile and temporary character of assignments lead to the development of transient and episodic imagined communities of the workplace. Through the lens of liminality then, temporal and contractual flexibilization of work is seen to challenge the old boundaries of industrial society and to suggest new ways of organizing and experiencing work, as well as new ways of constructing organizational subjectivity.
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| 5. |
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| 6. |
- Svedberg Helgesson, Karin
(författare)
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Practice, Myths and Theories for Change: The Re-Construction of an East German Organization
- 1996
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Ingår i: Organization Studies. - : SAGE Publications (UK and US). - 1741-3044 .- 0170-8406. ; 17:2, s. 291-309
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Tidskriftsartikel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- There have been many attempts to change organizations in East- and Central Europe in recent years. The transition perspective understanding of the situ ation in East and Central Europe has furthered such attempts. Here, it is assumed that the dominance of the transition perspective discourages the use of previous practices as a basis for organizational reconstruction, due to its emphasis on the importance of market economy experience. Instead, myths are likely to dominate. Furthermore, it is argued that there is little incentive in this context for organizations to change their theory for change, unless they were acquired by a Western firm adhering to an opposing theory. Based on the differences over a length of time between constructions of an East German organization, it is suggested that the transition perspective emphasis on the importance of market economy experience may not only dis courage but, eventually, also further the use of previous practices as a basis for the re-construction of an organization, due to the expansion of the group of actors considered as competent constructors. The study also confirms that where a Western firm acquires a company in the East, it may indeed induce a shift in the Eastern company's theory for change.
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| 7. |
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