Top5.2 Organizational Storytelling Approach
The purpose of fishing net is to catch fish. When fish is caught, the net is forgotten; the purpose of a rabbit snare is to catch rabbit. When rabbit is caught, the snare is forgotten…
The purpose of a story is to entertain the audience, share the personal experiences, exchange information, transmit knowledge, shape and reshape the organizational change programs… A good story will never die. ----
Even a scientist admits, “Knowledge can not be captured via a formula or an equation”
Stories are the best ways to handle complexity, ambiguity, uncertainty and rapid changes within organizations (Allan, J. et.al. 2000).
Traditionally, organizational communications have had a tendency to be somewhat dry and lacking in inspiration. Storytelling uses ranges of techniques to engage, involve and inspire people, using language that is more authentic (opposed to textbook “buzzword” speak) and a narrative form that people find interesting and fun. (http://www.creatingthe21stcentury.org)
Stories make experience meaningful, stories connect us with one another; stories make the character come alive; stories provide an opportunity for a renewed sense of organizational community. (Dawson, P. 2003:p128, quoted from Boje and Dennehy 1993:18)
Storytelling in organizations is a hot topic nowadays. As an ancient form of art, the glittering of storytelling has been re-discovered from the last decade. Quite a number of studies and researches have been conducted in this field and many advantages derived from the practice of organizational storytelling have been recognized. Based on the literature pertinent to this area, the article has revealed some of the significant impacts which storytelling embodies on the modern organizations. Such as, the advantages of storytelling over the abstract thinking; the reasons why modern organizations have the necessities to use storytelling; the efficiency and effectiveness which storytelling shows in organizational communications; how powerful storytelling is as a mechanism for sharing knowledge and experiences; and lastly, the dynamic relationships and triangulation between organizational change activities, the stories implied from those change programs and their contributions to the verification of organizational change theory has been probed briefly.