Managing nothing: questioning identification of the text

Organizational Discourse:Talk, Text and Tropes

Edited by Cherry Combes, David Grant,Tom Keenoy and Cliff Oswick

Organizational Discourse:Talk, Text and Tropes

The proceedings of theconference held at

The Management CentreKing's College, University of London

on the 24th - 26th July 1996

Edited by

Cherry CombesDavid GrantTom KeenoyCliff Oswick

Organizational Discourse: Talk, Text and Tropes

Edited by: Cherry CombesDavid GrantTom KeenoyCliff Oswick

Copyright © KMCP 1996

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data:A Catalogue record for this book is available from theBritish Library,

ISBN 1 900089 01 7

Published byKMCPThe Management CentreKing's College LondonCampden Hill RoadLONDONW8 7 AH

Contents

Contributors 9

Part One: Abstracts of Conventional Papers

Team Syntegrity]M: me tap ho rising reality and realisingmetaphorAlbakri Ahmad and Keith Trickey 13

Annual company reports as a form of publiccommunication: remarks on recent expansions of thediscretionary inclusion of visual and textualrepresentationsMichael S. Ball 16

Actions speak louder than words: the influence of theaccountant on organisational discoursePatrick Barber 20

The structure of managerial thinking in themanagement of strategy: a lexical and content analysisA, John Basch and Andrew Crouch 23

An organization is a conversationGerrit Broekstra ,.29

On the discourse of theory, practice and relevance inmarketing managementDouglas Brownlie and Michael Saren 32

The discourse and the metaphor of identityMiguel P. Caldas and Thomaz Wood Jr 38

2 Organizational Discourse

The postmodern dilemma of human agency: a reflexiveview of the discourse and text in organisation analysisthat is to have no subjectAdrian Carr 42

Metaphors and organisations: critical evaluation andtheoretical perspectivesDidier Cazal 44

Hanging around and listening into a managementdevelopment programme: illuminating culture change inthe health serviceGraeme Currie 48

Communicative power in an organizational setting: alinguistic approach to the study of management controlBeatrix Dorriots and Inga-Lill Johansson 51

Like a phoenix from the ashes: an analysis of thedeveloping discourse on the emergence of neworganizational formsRichard Dunford and Ian Palmer 57

From general to local discoursesStaffan Furusten and Nils Kinch 63

How to become oneself: discourses of subjectivity inpost-bureaucratic organizationsChristina Gars ten and Christopher Grey 65

Cross cultural communication: culture as a constraint toeffective interaction within the firm.Duncan Gibson 69

HRM, rhetoric and the psychological contract: a case of"easier said than done"David Grant... . ..72

Organisational Discourse 3

Entrepreneurial language, venture capitalists andarchetypesJohn T. Gray and Gerard Fairtlough 79

Stories and fictions as representations of organisationalexperienceJim Grieves 83

'Southpaw grammar1: rhetoric as knockout notknockaboutPeter Hamilton 89

The metamorphoses of identity, paradox andheterogeneityKlaus Harju 95

Text and the verbal fiatHeather Hopfl 98

Difference or differance? The deconstruction of humanresource managementBarry Hutchinson 100

Language and the instability of meaning: why metaphorquestions the nature of the interpretation andrepresentation of reality in organisational theoryDawn Inns and Philip Jones 104

A change of discourse for leadership: on the meaning ofthe talk and the actions of the boss.Kajsa Johansson and Gill Lidstrom-Widell 108

HEM as hologramTom Keenoy Ill


Symbolism, power and the social construction of totalquality managementMiha-ela Kelemen 114

The official language of the arts: a textual analysis ofthe rhetoric within recent arts council annual reportsPatricia Kenneally-Forrester 119

"None will sweat but for promotion": a Shakespeareanperspective on motivationMartin Kilduff 123

Chasing in the Holy Grail in organisationaldevelopment: reflections on performance review andbusiness planning in an NHS trustArnand Kumar 128

Life in the age of metaphors and rhetoric: managingsymbol intensive organizationsVirpi Leikola and Thorn az Wood, Jr 132

The discourse of "diversity": from biology tomanagementDeborah R. Litvin 136

Trading work: the vocabulary of exchange in theeconomic culture of local governmentMaureen Mackintosh 140

Political language: corporate anorexia and other dis-casesE. Sharon Mason 143

Ambiguity, archetypes and algorithms in the narrativesof organizations

Robin Matthews... , ..147


Sex, lies and videotropes: how do you get commitmentin high technology teams?James McCalman and Nic Beech 150

Discourse and metaphor analysis: some problems and apossible solutionAnders Ortenblad 154

A non-dualistic theory of metaphorsAnders Ortenblad 157

Images of an organisation: the use of metaphor in amultinational companyCliff Oswick and John Montgomery 158

Organizations are blind as well as fat and lazy: the newstrategic language of downsizing?Ian Palmer, Boris Kabanoff and Richard Dun ford 161

Talking about Us and Them: identity and division inorganisationsMartin Parker 166

The dynamics of narration: text and interaction inorganizational life story interviewTuomo Peltonen 169

Is there a link between the growth of a firm and the useof metaphor in owner-manager's discourse?Lew Perren arid-Rod Atkin 173

Managing multiple identities: discourse, legitimacy andresources in the UK refugee systemNelson Phillips and Cynthia Hardy 178


The meta narrative of perfbrmativity: why educationalevaluation of courses has become a waste of companytime.Ashly Pinnington 183

The market as metaphor: redefinition of theorganisation of health careDavid MRea 187

The language and theory of management: can theyaccommodate women's experience of management?Anne Ross-Smith 190

As God Created the World: a saga that makes senseMiriam Salzer 194

Talking of emotion for the development of strategy inthe boardroomDalvir Samra-Fredericks 197

Power and gender relationships in banks and in thebanking employees union: high productivity as afeminine strategy for ascent in the hierarchyLiliaua Rolfsen Petrilli Segnini 203

Discursive closure and opening: a theoretical andmethodological approach for studying organizing in alocal settingMartin Selander and Ewa Wikstrom 205

Managing nothing: questioning identification of the textTiina Vainio 208

An emerging paradigm for the strategy-making processHannu Vanharanta and Markus Krdkin.. . ...211


Decision support for strategic management in ahyper knowledge environment and the holistic conceptof manHannu Vanharanta, Ai-Mei Chang and Pekka Pihlanto.,,214

The struggle with sense: a dialogue between twoapproaches to sense making in organizationsAnne Wallemacq and David Sims 217

People or personale: discursive resources in British andItalian personnel management magazinesTony Watson and Francesco Bargiela-Chiappini 220

Are there any organizational conditions that supportdiscursive openings?Ewa Wikstrom 224

Organizational analysis as cinema verite: how real isreel - a postmodern metaphor for knowledge work?Martin Wood 226

Conversations and change: the text of organizingJill Woodilla 231

TQM as an arbitrary sign for play: discourse andtransfer mationQiXu 234

Towards a discursive approach to knowledge formationAli Yakhlef 239

Confrontation or resolution: discourse strategies fordealing with conflict in participative decision-makingLorrita Yeung 243


Part Two: Soundbite Papers

Dilemmas of the rational decision-makerKarin Brunsson 247

Discourse in and across organizationsHal K. Colebatch 254

Talking action: conversations, narrative and action inorganizationsCynthia Hardy and, Nelson Phillips 260

Three lies and a truth about organizationsMike Harry 267

Power, responsibility, leadership and learning: newthinking and a new language for the new millenniumBruce Lloyd 271

Is organizational discourse culture-bound?Sid Lowe 274

Accessing values through synectic symbols: issues inmethodology and revelationAnnabelle Mark 281

The role of metaphor and analogical reasoning inorganisation science: an alternative way of thinkingCliff Oswick and David Grant... 285


Contributors

Albakri Ahmad, Liverpool John Moores University,England.

Rod Atkin, University of Greenwich, England.

Michael S. Ball, Staffordshire University, England.

Patrick Barber, King's College, University of London,England.

Francesca Bargiela-Chiappini, Nottingham TrentUniversity, England.

A. John Basch, Bond University, Australia.

Nic Beech, University of Strathclyde, Scotland.

Gerrit Broekstra, Nijenrode University, Netherlands.

Douglas Brownlie, University of Stirling, Scotland.

Karin Brunsson, Stockholm University, Sweden.

Miguel P. Caldas, EAESP/FGV, Brazil.

Adrian Carr, University of Western Sydney (Nepean),Australia.

Didier Cazal, Groupe ESC, Marseille-Provence, France.

Ai-Mei Chang, National Defence University, United Statesof America.

Hal K. Colebatch, Australian National University,Australia.

Andrew Crouch, Bond University, Australia.

Graeme Currie, University of Derby, England.

Beatriz Dorriots, Goteborg University, Sweden.

Richard Dunford, Victoria University of Wellington, NewZealand.

Gerard Fairtlough, Therexsys Limited, England.


Staffan Furusten, Stockholm University, Sweden.

Christina Garsten, Stockholm University, Sweden.

Duncan Gibson, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University,Hong Kong.

David Grant, King's College, University of London,England.

John T. Gray, University of Western Australia - Macarthur,Australia.

Christopher Grey, University of Leeds, England.

Jim Grieves, University of Teesside, England.

Peter Hamilton, University of Central Lancashire,England.

Cynthia Hardy, McGill University, Canada.

Klaus Harju, Swedish School of Economics and BusinessAdministration, Finland.

Mike Harry, Bradford University, England.

Heather Hopfl, Bolton Institute, England,

Barry Hutchinson, University of Greenwich, England.

Dawn Inns, University of Westminster, England.

Inga-Lill Johansson, Goteborg University, Sweden.

Kajsa Johansson, Goteborg University, Sweden.

Philip Jones, University of Westminster, England.

Boris Kabanoff, University of New South Whales, Australia.

Tom Keenoy, King's College, University of London,England.

Mihaela Kelemen, Sheffield Hallam. University, England.

Patricia Kenneally-Forrester, South Bank University,England.


Martin Kilduff, Pennsylvania State University, UnitedStates of America.Nils Kinch, Uppsala University, Sweden.

Markus Krakin, University of Joensuu, Finland.

Anand Kumar, University of Southampton, England.

Virpi Leikola, University of Art and Design Helsinki,Finland.

Gill Lidstrom-Widell, Goteborg University, Sweden,

Deborah Litvin, University of Massachusetts, UnitedStates of America.

Bruce Lloyd, South Bank University, England.

Sidney Lowe, King's College, University of London,England.

Maureen Mackintosh, The Open University, England.

Annabelle Mark, Middlesex University, England.

Sharon Mason, Brock University, Canada.

Robin Matthews, Kingston University, England.

James McCalman, University of Strathclyde, Scotland.

John Montgomery, King's College, University of London,England.

Anders Ortenblad, Goteborg University, Sweden.

Cliff Oswick, King's College, University of London,England.

Ian Palmer, University of Technology, Sydney, Australia.

Martin Parker, University of Keele, England.

Tuomo Peltonen, Helsinki School of Economics andBusiness Administration, Finland.

Lew Perren, University of Brighton, England.


Nelson Phillips, McGill University, Canada.

Pekka Pihlanto, Turku School of Economics and BusinessAdministration, Finland.

Ashly Pinnington, Coventry University, England.

David M. Rea, University of Wales, Swansea, Wales.

Anne Ross-Smith, University of Technology, Sydney,Australia.

Miriam Salzer, Linkoping University, Sweden.

Dalvir Samra-Fredericks, Aston University, England.

Mike Saren, University of Stirling, Scotland.

Liliana R.P. Segnini, Universidade Estadual deCampinas, Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Martin Selander, Goteborg University, Sweden.

David Sims, Brunei University, England.

Keith Trickey, Liverpool John Moores University, England.

Tiina Vainio, Helsinki School of Economics and BusinessAdministration, Finland.

Hannu Vanharanta, University of Joensuu, Finland.

Anne Wallemacq, University of Namur, Belgium.

Tony Watson, Nottingham Trent University, England.

Ewa Wikstrom, Goteborg University, Sweden.

Martin Wood, University of Warwick, England.

Thomaz Wood Jr., EAESP-FGV, Brazil.

Jill Woodilla, University of Massachusetts, United States ofAmerica.

Qi Xu, Durham. University, England.

Ali Yakhlef, Stockholm University, Sweden.

Lorrita Yeung, Lingnan College, Hong Kong.

Managing nothing:questioning identification ofthe text

Tiina VainioHelsinki School of Economics and BusinessAdministration,Finland

What does it mean to talk about managing? There is thegerund form of the verb denotating continuous, supposedlyintentional action where a temporally framed managingsubject takes hold on the presumed object of the subject'sintentions. What does it mean to talk about managingnothing? There is the gerund form of the verb binding thereferred nothing into its temporally lasting mode of action.My question is whether there could or/and should be scopefor questioning conditions for the aforementionedidentification of managing nothing also in organizationstudies. What are the implications of questioning theidentifiability of the traditionally approved conceptualgrounds for organization scholars and their stakeholders?What are the benefits of questioning identification? Is it justanother act of violence erecting another foothold forsystematic penetration upon unknown continents in livingorganizations? Is spacing possible without sacrificing thetrust in organization scholars embracing their learning


audiences? If there were not an apriori existing text to startwith, is it possible to argue both discursive and non-discursive forces structuring and writing the double conceptof the border are at stake? In this paper, I will discuss someissues hinging identification, questioning, talk, text andmetaphoricity with the notion of an apriori subject backingup identifiability for the representative purposes oforganization and management studies.

What does is mean today to speak of management?We confront the care taking of the perceived interest in thename of our contingencies. We confront the social strata ofempirical richness providing guidelines for managerialmoves and decisions. We act as if our acts were intentional.We have learned to learn and yearn for more knowledge onmanagement. When we speak of management we speak ofhands and of manege. The etymological grounds formanagement are to be found in the Latin hands and theItalian horse training hall. We have horse power in ourhands, we have force at hand.

What does it mean to speak of nothing? We arclacking of some-thing. There is no-thing to speak about.We may check our philosophical basis and trace the notionof nothing to Martin Heidegger. His introduction intometaphysics of things turns the Platonic notion of a thing inthe world of ideas upside down. Heidegger questions thebeing of a thing by giving a speech on no-thing (Nichts).Heideggerian no-thing supports thinking into directionswhere nothing could operate without having an intent or anexistence.

What does it mean to speak of managing nothing? Inorder to answer this question we need to organise andlegitimate the platform for questioning thinking, reading,writing and managing; we need to think through theseducing metaphoricity of representative ideas, to questionthe premises of metaphorical apparatus and acknowledgethe conditions of possibilities for any tropes to function.


Managing nothing leaves the apriori positioning of thesubject-object dichotomy open. There is the ambiguity ofthe managing subject and the "to be managed an object"which contributes to managing and organization studies bythrowing the implicitly adopted notions of intentionalsubjectivity and receptive objectivity back into our activethinking. Managing nothing could mean as well the nothingbeing managed by the implicit, taken-for-grantedintentionality as the managing nothing bringing into thehorizon the pending choice for organising presence anew.Bob Cooper has suggested control to order writing, and text,as a consequence. Heidegger opens "difference" for debate,the irreducible difference which Jacques Derrida callsdifferance. So far, nothing new - we know all this.

The question is how to operate from here on.Whether to return into the subject's existential ambivalencethrough Merleau-Ponty or other bodily thinkers. Or toinstruct a system-based thorough investigation of the(systematic) conditions of double writing in our perception.Or to radicalise management thinking by wonderingwhether there were anything to say at all, if the aprioricontrolling hand of a subject were dismissed. This wouldleave us the question of the hand and the subject; the notionof the touch. The touch joins discussing managing nothingwith numerous issues referring experience, grip,representation, reaching and reticence. And here are only acouple of openings. Managing nothing providesmanagement and organization studies with the radicalquestion concerning the apriori necessity domesticated inour discipline: identification. How and why identification ofthe text is not an absolutely necessary prerequisite fororganization and discourse to be dealt with in academicresearch - this is what I would like to discuss at the 2nddearly awaited and warmly saluted, internationalconference on organizational discourse.

Documents

Managing nothing: questioning identification of the text