Expanding the Discourse on Organizational Inquiry, Power and the Metaphor Commodity

Background

This chapter is an updated version of the paper published in IJSS Vol 1. No1 in 2014 and provides an opportunity to place the notion of organizational power, the subject of the paper, into context. First, we describe the Systems perspective upon which this argument is based; second we describe what we mean by organization and then commodity as a metaphor for power. Finally a short section outlining the current research activities associated with the ideas expressed in this chapter

Organizational intervention is problematic as each inquirer has a different notion of what an organization is and in order to make sense of it the inquirer adopts a model or concept of ‘organization’. In this paper the author revisits the way in which we set about organizational inquiry and how we can gain a greater appreciation of power and how it might be used. It is argued that a once and for all model of organization is deficient as organizations exist in a turbulent environment and must constantly change to survive. Change may bring about resistance from those most affected. The notion of Commodity as a metaphor for ‘soft power’ is introduced as a way of surfacing how it is used. By thinking in terms of commodity the inquirer gains insight into the effects of power within the group and opens the way for a wider range of discussions to take place that may bring out hidden and imagined manifestations of power. Understanding the way that power manifests might play a significant part in developing management strategy.