Purpose-The paper articulates a practice-based, non-cognitivist approach to Organizational Learni... more Purpose-The paper articulates a practice-based, non-cognitivist approach to Organizational Learning. Design/Methodology/Approach: Explores the potential contribution of a process-based "practice turn" in social theory for understanding Organizational Learning. Findings: In complex, turbulent environments, robust organizations recur more to cultivated sensitivities and predispositions rather than rely on elaborate plans and strategies to guide their action; they "Wayfind" their way to sustainable success. Originality/Value: Develops the understanding of Organizational Learning as a process of everyday practical coping guided by internalized sensitivities and predispositions.
The terms 'modem' and 'postmodern' have become common currency in intel lectual d... more The terms 'modem' and 'postmodern' have become common currency in intel lectual debates within organization studies. The postmodern is variously inter preted as an 'epoch', a 'perspective', or a new 'paradigm' of thought. In this paper the author argues that what distinguishes the postmodern from the modem is a 'style of thinking' which eschews the uncritical use of common organizational terms such as 'organizations', 'individuals', 'environment', 'structure', and 'culture', etc. These terms refer to the existence of social entit ies and attributes within a modernist problematic. This is because a modernist thought style relies on a 'strong' ontology (the study of the nature and essence of things) of being which privileges thinking in terms of discrete phenomenal 'states', static 'attributes' and sequential 'events'. Postmodern thinking, on the other hand, privileg...
This chapter argues that paradox arises, not from our phenomenal experience, but from our efforts... more This chapter argues that paradox arises, not from our phenomenal experience, but from our efforts at conceptualizing it through the logic of comprehension dominating Western thought. It identifies an Aristotelian-inspired “Being” ontology and a corresponding representationalist epistemology as the primary underlying cause of paradox in truth claims made on empirical observations. Drawing on a Heraclitean-inspired tradition in the West, this chapter shows how paradox may be circumnavigated through an alternative logic of Otherness. Underlying this metaphysical outlook is an ontology of Becoming, which takes flux and change as pervasive and inexorable. Language and logic are thus seen as futile attempts to fix the unfixable. Embracing a Becoming world view of reality enables us to recognize the limits of logic and representation and hence develop more nuanced and oblique modes of communication and responses. A Becoming world view sensitizes us to a necessary Otherness always already i...
What strategic actors actually do in practice has become increasingly the focus of strategy resea... more What strategic actors actually do in practice has become increasingly the focus of strategy research in recent years. This paper argues that, in furthering such practicebased views of strategy, we need a more adequate re-conceptualization of agency, action and practice and how they interrelate. We draw from the work of the continental philosopher Martin Heidegger to articulate a relational theory of human agency that is better suited to explaining everyday purposive actions and practices. Specifically, we argue that the dominant 'building' mode of strategizing that configures actors (whether individual or organizational) as distinct entities deliberately engaging in purposeful strategic activities derives from a more basic 'dwelling' mode in which strategy emerges non-deliberately through everyday practical coping. Whereas, from the building perspective, strategy is predicated upon the prior conception of plans that are then orchestrated to realize desired outcome, from a dwelling perspective strategy does not require, nor does it presuppose, intention and purposeful goal-orientation: strategic 'intent' is viewed as immanent in every adaptive action. Observed consistencies in actions taken are explained not through deliberate goal-orientation but, instead, via a modus operandi: an internalized disposition to act in a manner congruent with past actions and experiences. Explaining strategy in dwelling terms enables us to understand how it is that actions may be consistent and organizationally effective without (and even in spite of) the existence of purposeful strategic plans.
... consequences for doing practice-based strategy research need to be taken seriously, we emphas... more ... consequences for doing practice-based strategy research need to be taken seriously, we emphasize the need to 'get closer' to strategy practices by an 'in-depth' ethnographic approach using ... Our argumentation focuses on the practice turn in social theory because the work of ...
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the effect of traditional Chinese fuzzy thinkin... more Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the effect of traditional Chinese fuzzy thinking and its particular effects on human resource management (HRM) practices in mainland China. Design/methodology/approach – Semi-structured interviews with practising managers and directors of Chinese companies were used to access the tacit message in HR practices cases and to capture the personal stories provided by Chinese managers with rich working experiences on HRM, in order to discover the cultural fundamentals beneath the surface of HR practices and so disclose their underlying significance. The data for the study were collected through in-depth interviews with 21 top managers and HR managers in Chinese companies about the role of Chinese fuzzy thinking in Chinese HRM practices. Findings – The results show that in HRM practices, the principle of Zhongyong significantly affects: preference in recruitment and selection practices; the preferred way of communication and negotiation; the relationship between superiors and subordinates and the relationship among employees; and the leadership styles. Research limitations/implications – The research limitation mainly lies in an insufficient sample size, undivided geographical area and inadequate classification of the Chinese enterprises. Originality/value – This is the first paper of its kind to empirically investigate the effect of the ideal of Zhongyong, which the authors claim originates from Chinese traditional fuzzy thinking, on HRM practices in China.
... Gibson Burrell, Mike Reed, Harry Jamieson, Seungkwon Jang, Colin Brown, Jose Malave, Lu Yuan,... more ... Gibson Burrell, Mike Reed, Harry Jamieson, Seungkwon Jang, Colin Brown, Jose Malave, Lu Yuan, Steve Fox, Vivien Hodgson, John Burgoyne and my former colleagues at the Department of Management Learning at Lancaster ... Robert Chia March 1996 Dunblane, Scotland ...
Process is an ambivalent term. Its use in organizational research and theorizing is widespread. Y... more Process is an ambivalent term. Its use in organizational research and theorizing is widespread. Yet, there are important subtle differences in how the term is understood and employed in the study of organizing/ organization. In this chapter, we show that thinking in terms of ceaseless change, emergence and the immanent becoming of things, entities and events are central to a proper appreciation of what it means to truly understand process in genuinely processual terms. From this process philosophical perspective, social entities such as individuals and organizations are construed as temporarily stabilized event clusters abstracted from a sea of constant flux and change. Such an approach to the understanding of organizational phenomena draws its inspiration from a tradition of thinkers from Heraclitus to twentieth-century process philosophers such as William James, Henri Bergson and Alfred North Whitehead and beyond all of who, in one way or another, viewed reality in terms of ceaseless process, flux and transformation rather than as a stable world of unchanging entities. In what follows, we outline the key principles and axioms of process philosophy. We
Complexity fascinates and confounds. At times it is reminiscent of that proverbial enigmatic, sha... more Complexity fascinates and confounds. At times it is reminiscent of that proverbial enigmatic, shadowy and elusive nocturnal creature that appears only fleetingly for us to catch a glimpse of before it disappears mysteriously back into the darkness and beyond. Despite its profound effect on virtually every aspect of modern life, full understanding and comprehension of complexity eludes us at every turn. Its reticence in revealing itself fully to our scholastic gaze may have something to do with our academic temperament and the nature of our investigative approach. In this chapter, I propose a more oblique and circuitous strategy for understanding and managing the complex: one in which, paradoxically, the act of detour allows better access to its hidden nature and inner workings. In other words, I suggest, we need to complexify our thinking in order to learn and better appreciate the nature of complexity. In this effort to complexify thought, this chapter resonates with the concerns raised by several other chapter contributions in this handbook including that of Shotter and Tsoukas and Kurt Richardson in seeking to wean our thought processes from the dominance of natural scientific thought on the nature of complexity. More specifically, it advocates learning from the arts the art of complex thinking for the arts have long explored and appreciated the subtleties, paradoxes and nuances associated with the human condition. It urges us to set aside our natural inclination to apprehend social phenomena 'head-on' by showing how in that very act of direct apprehension we unwittingly forfeit access to those very insights we so very much seek. Social and managerial complexity retreats into the shadows when directly confronted. They are best approached through stealth. We propose here an indirect strategy for gaining access to the phenomenon of complexity in social life and suggest their implications for management.
The intellectual life of man consists almost wholly in his substitution of a conceptual order for... more The intellectual life of man consists almost wholly in his substitution of a conceptual order for the perceptual order in which his experience originally comes. (James, 1911/ 1996, p. 51) Philosophy is the self-correction by consciousness of its own initial excess of subjectivity y The task of philosophy is to recover the totality obscured by the selection. (Whitehead, 1929, p. 20) The relentless demand for a better understanding of the world around us and the justification of appropriate human action has been a major motivational impulse in the growth and evolution of modern societies. The need to know what human life is about, what reality is made of and how we should live a rich and fulfilling life has been an abiding preoccupation since the dim and distant dawn of human civilization. One noticeable inexorable trend in this civilizing process has been the gradual shift from an overwhelming reliance on brute force to the cultivation of reasoned curiosity and the consequent development of knowledge as a means of meeting basic survival needs and attaining collectively desired ends. It may be that, as Aristotle famously remarked, human beings have the innate desire to know; however, the particular forms of knowledge generated have varied over time.
The terms 'modem' and 'postmodern' have become common currency in intellectual debates within org... more The terms 'modem' and 'postmodern' have become common currency in intellectual debates within organization studies. The postmodern is variously interpreted as an 'epoch', a 'perspective', or a new 'paradigm' of thought. In this paper the author argues that what distinguishes the postmodern from the modem is a 'style of thinking' which eschews the uncritical use of common organizational terms such as 'organizations', 'individuals', 'environment', 'structure', and 'culture', etc. These terms refer to the existence of social entities and attributes within a modernist problematic. This is because a modernist thought style relies on a 'strong' ontology (the study of the nature and essence of things) of being which privileges thinking in terms of discrete phenomenal 'states', static 'attributes' and sequential 'events'. Postmodern thinking, on the other hand, privileges a 'weak' ontology of becoming which emphasizes a transient, ephemeral and emergent reality. From this thought style, reality is deemed to be continuously in flux and transformation and hence unrepresentable in any static sense. Debates about modernism and postmodernism which do not address this ontological distinction miss critical insights which postmodernism brings to the study of organization. Adopting a postmodern mode of thinking implies radical consequences for rethinking organization studies. Instead of the traditional emphasis on organizations, organizational forms and organizational attributes, what is accentuated is the importance of examining local assemblages of 'organizings' which collectively make up social reality. A postmodern style of thought, therefore, brings with it a different set of ontological commitments, intellectual priorities and theoretical preoccupations to bear on the study of organization. Descriptors: ontology of being, thought style, fallacy of misplaced concreteness, heterogeneous engineering, micro-logics of organizing
In each period there is a general form of the forms of thought; and, like the air we breath, such... more In each period there is a general form of the forms of thought; and, like the air we breath, such a form is so translucent, and so pervading, and so seemingly necessary, that only by extreme effort can we become aware of it' (Alfred North Whitehead, 1933: 21) 'I must start by underlining just how much I admire the work of M. Einstein….I believe that we are being presented here not only with a new realm of physics, but also, in a certain respect, a new way of thinking' (H. Bergson, 1922: 102) 'Whereas the mechanistic picture regarded discrete objects as the primary reality…I suggest that the unbroken movements of enfolding and unfolding…is primary while the apparently discrete objects are secondary phenomena….Whereas modern physics has tried to understand the whole reductively by beginning with the most elementary parts, I am proposing a postmodern physics which begins with the whole' (D. Bohm, 1988: 66) Overview This chapter seeks to offer a comprehensive and cri...
Purpose-The paper articulates a practice-based, non-cognitivist approach to Organizational Learni... more Purpose-The paper articulates a practice-based, non-cognitivist approach to Organizational Learning. Design/Methodology/Approach: Explores the potential contribution of a process-based "practice turn" in social theory for understanding Organizational Learning. Findings: In complex, turbulent environments, robust organizations recur more to cultivated sensitivities and predispositions rather than rely on elaborate plans and strategies to guide their action; they "Wayfind" their way to sustainable success. Originality/Value: Develops the understanding of Organizational Learning as a process of everyday practical coping guided by internalized sensitivities and predispositions.
The terms 'modem' and 'postmodern' have become common currency in intel lectual d... more The terms 'modem' and 'postmodern' have become common currency in intel lectual debates within organization studies. The postmodern is variously inter preted as an 'epoch', a 'perspective', or a new 'paradigm' of thought. In this paper the author argues that what distinguishes the postmodern from the modem is a 'style of thinking' which eschews the uncritical use of common organizational terms such as 'organizations', 'individuals', 'environment', 'structure', and 'culture', etc. These terms refer to the existence of social entit ies and attributes within a modernist problematic. This is because a modernist thought style relies on a 'strong' ontology (the study of the nature and essence of things) of being which privileges thinking in terms of discrete phenomenal 'states', static 'attributes' and sequential 'events'. Postmodern thinking, on the other hand, privileg...
This chapter argues that paradox arises, not from our phenomenal experience, but from our efforts... more This chapter argues that paradox arises, not from our phenomenal experience, but from our efforts at conceptualizing it through the logic of comprehension dominating Western thought. It identifies an Aristotelian-inspired “Being” ontology and a corresponding representationalist epistemology as the primary underlying cause of paradox in truth claims made on empirical observations. Drawing on a Heraclitean-inspired tradition in the West, this chapter shows how paradox may be circumnavigated through an alternative logic of Otherness. Underlying this metaphysical outlook is an ontology of Becoming, which takes flux and change as pervasive and inexorable. Language and logic are thus seen as futile attempts to fix the unfixable. Embracing a Becoming world view of reality enables us to recognize the limits of logic and representation and hence develop more nuanced and oblique modes of communication and responses. A Becoming world view sensitizes us to a necessary Otherness always already i...
What strategic actors actually do in practice has become increasingly the focus of strategy resea... more What strategic actors actually do in practice has become increasingly the focus of strategy research in recent years. This paper argues that, in furthering such practicebased views of strategy, we need a more adequate re-conceptualization of agency, action and practice and how they interrelate. We draw from the work of the continental philosopher Martin Heidegger to articulate a relational theory of human agency that is better suited to explaining everyday purposive actions and practices. Specifically, we argue that the dominant 'building' mode of strategizing that configures actors (whether individual or organizational) as distinct entities deliberately engaging in purposeful strategic activities derives from a more basic 'dwelling' mode in which strategy emerges non-deliberately through everyday practical coping. Whereas, from the building perspective, strategy is predicated upon the prior conception of plans that are then orchestrated to realize desired outcome, from a dwelling perspective strategy does not require, nor does it presuppose, intention and purposeful goal-orientation: strategic 'intent' is viewed as immanent in every adaptive action. Observed consistencies in actions taken are explained not through deliberate goal-orientation but, instead, via a modus operandi: an internalized disposition to act in a manner congruent with past actions and experiences. Explaining strategy in dwelling terms enables us to understand how it is that actions may be consistent and organizationally effective without (and even in spite of) the existence of purposeful strategic plans.
... consequences for doing practice-based strategy research need to be taken seriously, we emphas... more ... consequences for doing practice-based strategy research need to be taken seriously, we emphasize the need to 'get closer' to strategy practices by an 'in-depth' ethnographic approach using ... Our argumentation focuses on the practice turn in social theory because the work of ...
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the effect of traditional Chinese fuzzy thinkin... more Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the effect of traditional Chinese fuzzy thinking and its particular effects on human resource management (HRM) practices in mainland China. Design/methodology/approach – Semi-structured interviews with practising managers and directors of Chinese companies were used to access the tacit message in HR practices cases and to capture the personal stories provided by Chinese managers with rich working experiences on HRM, in order to discover the cultural fundamentals beneath the surface of HR practices and so disclose their underlying significance. The data for the study were collected through in-depth interviews with 21 top managers and HR managers in Chinese companies about the role of Chinese fuzzy thinking in Chinese HRM practices. Findings – The results show that in HRM practices, the principle of Zhongyong significantly affects: preference in recruitment and selection practices; the preferred way of communication and negotiation; the relationship between superiors and subordinates and the relationship among employees; and the leadership styles. Research limitations/implications – The research limitation mainly lies in an insufficient sample size, undivided geographical area and inadequate classification of the Chinese enterprises. Originality/value – This is the first paper of its kind to empirically investigate the effect of the ideal of Zhongyong, which the authors claim originates from Chinese traditional fuzzy thinking, on HRM practices in China.
... Gibson Burrell, Mike Reed, Harry Jamieson, Seungkwon Jang, Colin Brown, Jose Malave, Lu Yuan,... more ... Gibson Burrell, Mike Reed, Harry Jamieson, Seungkwon Jang, Colin Brown, Jose Malave, Lu Yuan, Steve Fox, Vivien Hodgson, John Burgoyne and my former colleagues at the Department of Management Learning at Lancaster ... Robert Chia March 1996 Dunblane, Scotland ...
Process is an ambivalent term. Its use in organizational research and theorizing is widespread. Y... more Process is an ambivalent term. Its use in organizational research and theorizing is widespread. Yet, there are important subtle differences in how the term is understood and employed in the study of organizing/ organization. In this chapter, we show that thinking in terms of ceaseless change, emergence and the immanent becoming of things, entities and events are central to a proper appreciation of what it means to truly understand process in genuinely processual terms. From this process philosophical perspective, social entities such as individuals and organizations are construed as temporarily stabilized event clusters abstracted from a sea of constant flux and change. Such an approach to the understanding of organizational phenomena draws its inspiration from a tradition of thinkers from Heraclitus to twentieth-century process philosophers such as William James, Henri Bergson and Alfred North Whitehead and beyond all of who, in one way or another, viewed reality in terms of ceaseless process, flux and transformation rather than as a stable world of unchanging entities. In what follows, we outline the key principles and axioms of process philosophy. We
Complexity fascinates and confounds. At times it is reminiscent of that proverbial enigmatic, sha... more Complexity fascinates and confounds. At times it is reminiscent of that proverbial enigmatic, shadowy and elusive nocturnal creature that appears only fleetingly for us to catch a glimpse of before it disappears mysteriously back into the darkness and beyond. Despite its profound effect on virtually every aspect of modern life, full understanding and comprehension of complexity eludes us at every turn. Its reticence in revealing itself fully to our scholastic gaze may have something to do with our academic temperament and the nature of our investigative approach. In this chapter, I propose a more oblique and circuitous strategy for understanding and managing the complex: one in which, paradoxically, the act of detour allows better access to its hidden nature and inner workings. In other words, I suggest, we need to complexify our thinking in order to learn and better appreciate the nature of complexity. In this effort to complexify thought, this chapter resonates with the concerns raised by several other chapter contributions in this handbook including that of Shotter and Tsoukas and Kurt Richardson in seeking to wean our thought processes from the dominance of natural scientific thought on the nature of complexity. More specifically, it advocates learning from the arts the art of complex thinking for the arts have long explored and appreciated the subtleties, paradoxes and nuances associated with the human condition. It urges us to set aside our natural inclination to apprehend social phenomena 'head-on' by showing how in that very act of direct apprehension we unwittingly forfeit access to those very insights we so very much seek. Social and managerial complexity retreats into the shadows when directly confronted. They are best approached through stealth. We propose here an indirect strategy for gaining access to the phenomenon of complexity in social life and suggest their implications for management.
The intellectual life of man consists almost wholly in his substitution of a conceptual order for... more The intellectual life of man consists almost wholly in his substitution of a conceptual order for the perceptual order in which his experience originally comes. (James, 1911/ 1996, p. 51) Philosophy is the self-correction by consciousness of its own initial excess of subjectivity y The task of philosophy is to recover the totality obscured by the selection. (Whitehead, 1929, p. 20) The relentless demand for a better understanding of the world around us and the justification of appropriate human action has been a major motivational impulse in the growth and evolution of modern societies. The need to know what human life is about, what reality is made of and how we should live a rich and fulfilling life has been an abiding preoccupation since the dim and distant dawn of human civilization. One noticeable inexorable trend in this civilizing process has been the gradual shift from an overwhelming reliance on brute force to the cultivation of reasoned curiosity and the consequent development of knowledge as a means of meeting basic survival needs and attaining collectively desired ends. It may be that, as Aristotle famously remarked, human beings have the innate desire to know; however, the particular forms of knowledge generated have varied over time.
The terms 'modem' and 'postmodern' have become common currency in intellectual debates within org... more The terms 'modem' and 'postmodern' have become common currency in intellectual debates within organization studies. The postmodern is variously interpreted as an 'epoch', a 'perspective', or a new 'paradigm' of thought. In this paper the author argues that what distinguishes the postmodern from the modem is a 'style of thinking' which eschews the uncritical use of common organizational terms such as 'organizations', 'individuals', 'environment', 'structure', and 'culture', etc. These terms refer to the existence of social entities and attributes within a modernist problematic. This is because a modernist thought style relies on a 'strong' ontology (the study of the nature and essence of things) of being which privileges thinking in terms of discrete phenomenal 'states', static 'attributes' and sequential 'events'. Postmodern thinking, on the other hand, privileges a 'weak' ontology of becoming which emphasizes a transient, ephemeral and emergent reality. From this thought style, reality is deemed to be continuously in flux and transformation and hence unrepresentable in any static sense. Debates about modernism and postmodernism which do not address this ontological distinction miss critical insights which postmodernism brings to the study of organization. Adopting a postmodern mode of thinking implies radical consequences for rethinking organization studies. Instead of the traditional emphasis on organizations, organizational forms and organizational attributes, what is accentuated is the importance of examining local assemblages of 'organizings' which collectively make up social reality. A postmodern style of thought, therefore, brings with it a different set of ontological commitments, intellectual priorities and theoretical preoccupations to bear on the study of organization. Descriptors: ontology of being, thought style, fallacy of misplaced concreteness, heterogeneous engineering, micro-logics of organizing
In each period there is a general form of the forms of thought; and, like the air we breath, such... more In each period there is a general form of the forms of thought; and, like the air we breath, such a form is so translucent, and so pervading, and so seemingly necessary, that only by extreme effort can we become aware of it' (Alfred North Whitehead, 1933: 21) 'I must start by underlining just how much I admire the work of M. Einstein….I believe that we are being presented here not only with a new realm of physics, but also, in a certain respect, a new way of thinking' (H. Bergson, 1922: 102) 'Whereas the mechanistic picture regarded discrete objects as the primary reality…I suggest that the unbroken movements of enfolding and unfolding…is primary while the apparently discrete objects are secondary phenomena….Whereas modern physics has tried to understand the whole reductively by beginning with the most elementary parts, I am proposing a postmodern physics which begins with the whole' (D. Bohm, 1988: 66) Overview This chapter seeks to offer a comprehensive and cri...
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