Myths, Stories, and Organizations

Premodern Narratives for Our Times
Erscheinungsjahr 2004
ISBN: 978-0-19-926448-3
Verlag: OUP Oxford

Buch, Englisch, 264 Seiten, Format (B × H): 156 mm x 234 mm, Gewicht: 406 g

Each chapter of this book takes as its starting point a myth, a legend, a story or a fable, and explores its contemporary relevance for a world of globalization, organizations and, consumerism. Each contributor is inspired by a relatively short but rich text which is then used as a springboard for an analysis of contemporary social and organizational realities. The idea behind this book is that by looking at contemporary society through the prism of pre-modern narratives, certain features emerge in sharp relief, while others are found to be entrenched in societies across the ages.

The texts that have inspired the authors of this collection differ - some are myths, some are stories, one is a children's tale. The origins of these texts differ, from the scriptural to the folkloric, from high art to oral tradition. What all the texts have in common is a distinct and compelling plot, a cast of recognizable characters with an ability to touch us and speak to us through the ages, and, above all, a powerful symbolic aura, one that makes them identifiable landmarks in storytelling tradition. The driving force behind this project was each author's love for their narratives. It is not an exaggeration to say that the book is a true labour of love.

The chapters are introduced by the editor and are arranged in four parts, each with its own introduction. The chapters in each part spring from stories that share a narrative character, and are labelled as Knowledge Narratives, Heroic Narratives, Tragic Narratives, and Reflecive Narratives.

The book offers a set of probing, original and critical inquiries into the nature of human experience knowledge and truth, the nature of leadership, power and heroic achievement, postmodernity and its discontents, and emotion, identity and the nature of human relations in organizations.

Different chapters deal, among other things, with the nature of leadership in the face of terrorism, friendship, women's position in organizations, the struggle for identity, the curse of insatiable consumption and the ways the hero and heroine are constructed in our times.

Zielgruppe

Academics and students interested in organizational theory, the use of narrative, and the nature of postmodernity, management consultants interested in using storytelling to explore issues of organization, general readers interested in myths and stories and their role in the modern world.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Gabriel, Yiannis

Fachgebiete

• Sozialwissenschaften Ethnologie | Volkskunde Volkskunde Volkskunde: Sitten, Traditionen, Mythen, Legenden
• Sozialwissenschaften Pädagogik Berufliche Bildung Coaching, Training, Supervision
• Wirtschaftswissenschaften Betriebswirtschaft Unternehmensorganisation, Corporate Responsibility Unternehmensethik
• Sozialwissenschaften Psychologie Psychologische Disziplinen Wirtschafts-, Arbeits- und Organisationspsychologie
• Geisteswissenschaften Philosophie Angewandte Ethik & Soziale Verantwortung Wirtschaftsethik, Unternehmensethik
• Wirtschaftswissenschaften Betriebswirtschaft Coaching, Training, Supervision
• Wirtschaftswissenschaften Betriebswirtschaft Organisationstheorie, Organisationssoziologie, Organisationspsychologie
• Geisteswissenschaften Literaturwissenschaft Literaturwissenschaft
• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Spezielle Soziologie Wirtschaftssoziologie, Arbeitssoziologie, Organisationssoziologie

Inhaltsverzeichnis

- Preface

- Introduction

- Part I: The Knowledge Narratives: Experience, Learning, and Truth

- 1: Yiannis Gabriel: The Narrative Veil

- 2: Silvia Gherardi: Knowing as Desire: Dante's Ulisse at the End of the Known World

- 3: Peter Case: The Blind People and the Elephant

- 4: Dimitris Kyrtatas: Heaven and Paradise: Western Ways of Perfect (Non)-Organization

- Part II: The Heroic Narratives: Achievement, Leadership, and Power

- 5: Keith Grint: Overcoming the Hydra: Leaderless Groups and Terrorism

- 6: Robert French and Patrick Moore: Divided Neither in Life nor in Death: Friendship and Leadership in the Story of David and Jonathan

- 7: Donncha Kavanagh and Majella O'Leary: The Legend of Cu Chulainn: Exploring Organization Theory's Heroic Odyssey

- Part III: The Tragic Narratives: Postmodernity and its Discontents

- 8: Peter Pelzer: The Flying Dutchman and the Discontents of Postmodernity

- 9: Yvonne Guerrier: Arachne and Minerva: Women, Power, and Realization

- 10: Ulrich Gehmann: Prometheus, the Quest for Knowledge and the Promise of Salvation through Technique

- 11: Diana Winstanley: Phaethon, the Struggle for Identity, and the Reins of Power

- 12: Heather Hopfl: The Hymn to Demeter: The Curse of Insatiable Consumption

- Part IV: The Reflexive Narratives: Emotion, Identity, and the Nature of Relations in Organizations

- 13: David Sims: The Velveteen Rabbit and the Emotional Construction of Organizations

- 14: Tony Watson: Shy William and the Gaberlunzie Girl

Über Autor(innen)

Yiannis Gabriel is Professor of Organizational Theory, School of Management, Imperial College, having taught previously at Thames Polytechnic and Bath University. He has a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Imperial College London, where he also carried out post-graduate studies in industrial sociology. He has a PhD in Sociology from the University of California, Berkeley. His main research interests are in organizational and psychoanalytic theories, consumer and cultural studies. He has written numerous books and articles and is well-known for his work on storytelling in organizations. He has carried out research on leadership, management learning, the dissemination of organizational knowledge, and chaos and complexity in organizations. He has been Editor of the journal Management Learning and is Associate Editor of Human Relations.