Are we “out of the box” yet? A case study and critique of managerial metaphors of change

Communication Studies

Volumn 52, Issue 1, 2001, Pages 85-102

  Morgan, Jayne M ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF NORTHERN IOWA   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 3042615892     PISSN: 10510974     EISSN: 17451035     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1080/10510970109388542     Document Type: Article

References (58)

1. Akin, G., and Palmer, I., 2000. Putting metaphors to work for change in organizations. Organizational Dynamics, 28: 67–79.
2. Argyris, C., 1995. “ Knowledge when used in practice tests theory: The case of applied communication research ”. In Applied communication in the 21st century, Edited by: Cissna, K. N., 1–19. Manwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
3. Armenakis, A. A., and Bedeian, A. G., 1992. The role of metaphors in organizational change. Group & Organization Management, 17: 242–248.
4. Barker, J. R., 1993. Tightening the iron cage: Concertive control in self‐managing teams. Administrative Science Quarterly, 38: 408–437.
5. Barker, J. R., and Cheney, G., 1994. The concept and practices of discipline in contemporary organizational life. Communication Monographs, 61: 19–43.
6. Black, M., 1962. Models and metaphors: Studies in language and philosophy, Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
7. Black, M., 1979. “ More about metaphor ”. In Metaphor and thought, Edited by: Ortony, A., 19–43. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.
8. Burke, W. W., 1992. Metaphors to consult. Group & Organization Management, 17: 255–259.
9. Burrell, N. A., Buzzanell, P. M., and McMillan, J. J., 1992. Feminine tensions in conflict situations as revealed by metaphoric analyses. Management Communication Quarterly, 6: 115–149.
10. Butcher, D., and Atkinson, S., 2000. The bottom‐up principle. Management Review, January: 48–53.
11. Champlin, D., and Olson, P., 1994. Post‐industrial metaphors: Understanding corporate restructuring and the economic environment of the 1990s. Journal of Economic Issues, 28: 449–459.
12. Cleary, C., and Packard, T., 1992. The use of metaphors in organizational assessment and change. Group & Organization Management, 17: 229–241.
13. Coffman, S. L., 1992. Staff problems with geriatric care in two types of health care organizations. Journal of Applied Communication Research, 20: 292–307.
14. Coffman, S. L., and Eblen, A. L., 1987. Metaphor use and perceived managerial effectiveness. Journal of Applied Communication Research, 15: 53–66.
15. Cripe, E. J., 1996. Use graphic metaphors to communicate organizational change. Communication World, December: 34–37.
16. Deetz, S., 1986. “ Metaphors and the discursive production and reproduction of organization ”. In Organizational communication: Emerging perspectives, Edited by: Thayer, L., Vol. I, 168–182. Norwood, NJ: Ablex.
17. Deetz, S., 1992. Democracy in an age of corporate colonization, Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.
18. Deetz, S., 1995. Transforming communication, transforming business: Building responsive and responsible workplaces, Cresskill, NJ: Hampton Press.
19. Deetz, S., and Mumby, D., 1985. Metaphors, information, and power. Information and Behavior, 1: 369–386.
20. Deetz, S., and Mumby, D. K., 1990. Power, discourse, and the workplace: Reclaiming the critical tradition. Communication Yearbook, 13: 18–47.
21. Dohnellon, A., Gray, B., and Bougon, M. G., 1986. Communication, meaning, and action. Administrative Science Quarterly, 31: 43–55.
22. Eisenberg, E. M., 1984. Ambiguity as strategy in organizational communication. Communication Monographs, 51: 227–242.
23. Fairhurst, G. T., 1993. Echoes of the vision: When the rest of the organization talks Total Quality. Management Communication Quarterly, 6: 331–371.
24. Fairhurst, G. T., Jordan, J. M., and Neuwirth, K., 1997. Why are we here? Managing the meaning of an organizational mission statement. Journal of Applied Communication Research, 25: 243–263.
25. Ford, J. D., and Ford, L., 1995. The role of conversations in producing intentional change in organizations. Academy of Management Review, 20: 541–570.
26. Frey, L. C., O'Hair, D., and Kreps, G. L., 1990. “ Applied communication methodology ”. In Applied communication theory and research, Edited by: O'Hair, D., and Kreps, G. L., 23–56. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
27. Giddens, A., 1984. The constitution of society, Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
28. Gioia, D. A., Schultz, M., and Corley, K. G., 2000. Organizational identity, image and adaptive instability. Academy of Management Review, 25: 63–81.
29. Jorgensen‐Earp, C. R., and Staton, A. Q., 1993. Student metaphors for the college freshman experience. Communication Education, 42: 123–141.
30. Karathanos, P., and Huter, L., 1995. Organizational change through metaphorical expression of values. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication, 25: 243–249.
31. Kellett, P. M., 1999. Dialogue and dialectics in managing organizational change: The case of a mission‐based transformation. The Southern Communication Journal, 64: 211–231.
32. Kendall, J. E., and Kendall, K. E., 1993. Metaphors and methodologies: Living beyond the systems machine. MIS Quarterly, 17: 149–171.
33. Koch, S., and Deetz, S., 1981. Metaphor analysis of social reality in organizations. Journal of Applied Communication Research, 9: 1–15.
34. Kramlinger, T., 1998. How to deliver a change message. Training and Development, 52: 44–47.
35. Lakoff, G., and Johnson, M., 1980. Metaphors we live, Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
36. Langer, S. K., 1957. Philosophy in a new key: A study in the symbolism of reason, rite, and art, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
37. Lewis, L. K., 2000. “Blindsided by that one” and “I saw that one coming”: The relative anticipation and occurrence of communication problems and other problems in implementers’ hindsight. Journal of Applied Communication Research, 28: 44–67.
38. Lewis, L. K., and Seibold, D. R., 1998. “ Reconceptualizing organizational change implementation as a communication problem: A review of literature and research agenda ”. In Communication Yearbook, Vol. 21, 93–151. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
39. Lindlof, T. R., Qualitative communication research methods, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
40. Marshak, R. J., 1993. Managing the metaphors of change. Organizational Dynamics, 22: 44–56.
41. Morgan, G., 1986. Images of organization, Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
42. Morgan, G., 1993. Imaginization: The art of creative management, Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
43. Ortony, A., 1979. “ Metaphor: A multidimensional problem ”. In Metaphor and thought, Edited by: Ortony, A., 1–16. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.
44. Palmer, I., and Dunford, R., 1996. Conflicting uses of metaphors: Reconceptualizing their use in the field of organizational change. Academy of Management Review, 21: 691–717.
45. Patton, M. Q., 1990. Qualitative evaluation and research methods, London: Sage.
46. Pearce, C. L., and Osmond, C. P., 1996. Metaphors for change: The ALPs model of change management. Organizational Dynamics, 24: 23–35.
47. Reddy, M. J., 1979. “ The conduit metaphor‐a case of frame conflict in our language about language ”. In Metaphor and thought, Edited by: Ortony, A., 284–324. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.
48. Richards, I. A., 1936. The philosophy of rhetoric, New York: Oxford University Press.
49. Sackmann, S., 1989. The role of metaphors in organization transformation. Human Relations, 42: 463–485.
50. Schon, D. A., 1979. “ Generative metaphor: A perspective on problem‐setting in social policy ”. In Metaphor and thought, Edited by: Ortony, A., 284–324. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.
51. Smith, K. K., and Simmons, V. M., 1983. A Rumpelstiltskin organization: Metaphors on metaphors in field research. Administrative Science Quarterly, 28: 377–392.
52. Smith, R. C., and Eisenberg, E. M., 1987. Conflict at Disneyland: A root‐metaphor analysis. Communication Monographs, 54: 367–380.
53. Suchan, J., 1995. The influence of organizational metaphors on writers’ communication roles and stylistic choices. The Journal of Business Communication, 32: 7–29.
54. Van de Ven, A. H., and Poole, M. S., 1995. Explaining development and change in organizations. Academy of Management Review, 20: 510–540.
55. Weick, K., 1979. The social psychology oforganizing, (2nd ed.), Reading, MA: Addison‐Wesley.
56. Wendt, R. F., 1994. Learning to “walk the talk”: A critical tale of the micropolitics at a Total Quality university. Management Communication Quarterly, 8: 5–45.
57. Wendt, R. F., and Fairhurst, G. T., 1994. Looking for “the vision thing”: The rhetoric of leadership in the 1992 Presidential election. Communication Quarterly, 42: 180–195.
58. Zorn, T. E., Page, D. J., and Cheney, G., 2000. Nuts about change: Multiple perspectives on change‐oriented communication in a public sector organization. Management Communication Quarterly, 13: 515–566.