Morgan's Metaphors
Boyce, M. 1995 Collective centring and collective sense making in the stories and storytelling of one organization. Organizational Studies 16(1), 107-137.
Identify the business problems of each of the cases
This case takes place in the context of a non-profit organization. The vehicle that Boyle uses to address organizational change is storytelling. The author / change agent uses shared storytelling, a practice she terms collective centering [centring -- SIC], and collective sense-making to help stakeholders understand the need for change and to contribute to the articulation of the organizational change plan. A substantive problem is that of dissonance between the president of the organization and the organizational members, despite the appearance of all the members being rooted in a unitary reality of their organization and within the industry landscape.
Rank-order the critical issues stated in the cases
The process Boyle uses with the stakeholders...
Evaluate the proposed solutions. Are the solutions valid? Why or why not?
The practice of sense-making is used in this structurally closed organization, but that is a matter of concern. If the organization is to benefit from the various perspectives that can be achieved through use of metaphor, it would benefit from opening the organizational system to those outside of the structurally closed organization.
4. Submit recommendations you propose beyond what is already stated in the cases.
The non-profit organization needs to examine the root metaphors and the organizational dynamics by using several approaches that enable an analysis of organizational myth…
