Meaning and the Symbolical Features of Organisations Essay

Meaning and the Symbolical Features of Organisations - Essay Example The narratives, which is also referred to as organizational stories, sagas, and myths, work to guide members in understanding and representing the organization’s objective and the function of its members. The organizational narrative gives information about ideologies and standards, and it plays several roles in an organization—resolving gaps between the past and the present, moderating power relations, prevention of conflict, and reconciliation of tensions between individual and organizational interests (Gabriel, 2000, p.10). This essay discusses the relationship between narrative and heritage. A narrative in Organisations There is seven types of narrative that have been observed to occur in various organizations. First are narratives about how the organisation solves problems; second are narratives about how the person in charge or the manager responds to mistakes; third are stories addressing the issue of how much assistance or support an organisation will give to it s people when they have to transfer regularly; fourth are narratives about how an organisation acts when confronted with the likelihood of laying off or discharging employees (Czarniawska, 1998, pp. 2-3); fifth is a narrative about the likelihood of a praiseworthy employee being recognised or rewarded by the organisation; sixth is a narrative about the level of respect and compassion the manager shows in relation to his/her subordinates; and seventh is a narrative about breaking the rules wherein a senior manager violates a rule which his/her subordinate should then implement (Czarniawska, 1998, p. 3). Every narrative has good and bad versions, which always reveal the conflicts that develop from a tension between individual values and organizational interests. These conflicts relate to the problems of control vs. chaos, stability vs. instability, and equality vs. hierarchy within the organization (Lipman, 1999, p. 22). When these narratives or events come together to form a broader or more complete narrative, the central identity or purpose is formed. This central narrative consolidates events and experiences into a main interpretative system for the organization. In an article of the Administrative Quarterly Review, dedicated to the discussion of organizational culture, several organizational experts talked about techniques they have created for explaining the interpretative structures that work at more profound aspects of an organization (Polkinghorne, 1988, p. 122). For instance, as a support for planning and dealing with problems, Mitroff and Killman encouraged bosses to relate stories about an organization; afterward, they grouped them in accordance to the Jungian personality styles.