Welcome to the InfoSci Platform
Reference Hub1
Expanding the Discourse on Organizational Inquiry, Power and the Metaphor Commodity

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

Frank Stowell
Copyright: © 2018 |Pages: 25
ISBN13: 9781522559962|ISBN10: 1522559965|EISBN13: 9781522559979
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-5225-5996-2.ch007
Cite Chapter Cite Chapter

MLA

Stowell, Frank. "Expanding the Discourse on Organizational Inquiry, Power and the Metaphor Commodity." Systems Research for Real-World Challenges, edited by Frank Stowell, IGI Global, 2018, pp. 212-236. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-5225-5996-2.ch007

APA

Stowell, F. (2018). Expanding the Discourse on Organizational Inquiry, Power and the Metaphor Commodity. In F. Stowell (Ed.), Systems Research for Real-World Challenges (pp. 212-236). IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-5225-5996-2.ch007

Chicago

Stowell, Frank. "Expanding the Discourse on Organizational Inquiry, Power and the Metaphor Commodity." In Systems Research for Real-World Challenges, edited by Frank Stowell, 212-236. Hershey, PA: IGI Global, 2018. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-5225-5996-2.ch007

Export Reference

Mendeley
Favorite

Abstract

Models of organization are unsatisfactory as they assume a certain level of predictability, but research shows that each organization is unique and cannot be encapsulated by a single ontological model. Organizations exist in a turbulent environment and must change to survive, but change creates tensions that threaten its stability. Those who make up the organization cooperate only when it is in their interest to do so; in other words, it is far from being predictable. Individuals and groups use their power in an attempt to shape outcomes into one that they can accept. The way that power is used can have a significant effect upon the decisions made about the way the organization maintains its relationship with its environment. To enhance our understanding of the way organizational power is used, the notion of “commodity” as a metaphor for power is introduced as a means of surfacing the way in which individual power is used.

Request Access

You do not own this content. Please login to recommend this title to your institution's librarian or purchase it from the IGI Global bookstore.