Intro -- Craig Carroll, research interests, metaphor
cec74480@acuvax.acu.edu
Fri, 30 Dec 1994 01:26:22 CST
Hello! I wanted to take a moment to introduce myself and wish
everyone the best as 1994 comes to a close and 1995 approaches. My
name is Craig Carroll and I have been with the discussion week
approximately two weeks. My background is organizational
communication. My bachelor's in OC focuses on a mass communication
perspective and my master's in OC on a human communication
perspective. My interest in organizational learning is three fold:
1) I am interested in Senge's and Argyris & Schon's notion of
organizational dialogue. 2) In particular I am interested in the
role of metaphor in organizational learning and organizational
dialogue. 3) I am interested in the role of personal and
organizational identity formation processes in organizational
learning. I am currently a researcher and practioner. As a
practitioner, I am working with Priority Management International
in helping individuals and teams reduce the gap between personal
and organizational values, and between individuals' espoused values
and values in action. As a researcher, I am interested
in the role of metaphor in organizational dialogue. Specifically,
I have studied & am studying why certain metaphors "take hold" in
organizations and why others fail. Early results of this project
were recently presented at the annual conference of the Association
of Business Communication about a month and a half ago. Where do I
plan to go from here? Well, the results I came up with have
generated more questions that I am interested in pursuing, such as
the discrepancy between the language of "textbook interventions"
and the language of the day-to-day trying to put "it" into
practice, discrepancy between external images of organizational
constituents with the internal images, how individuals reconcile
the strategic visions of the organization with the day-to-day, how
they reconcile organizational images of identity and mission with
their personal mission and identity, and finally, the metaphors we
use to describe the role of metaphor in our lives (such as
"building block," "anchor," "springboard," "window," "door," etc.)
Why am I interested in organizational learning? After a period of
hashing out and fleshing out my own questions of what makes
organizations healthy for ALL individuals involved, I have
concluded that there is a strong link between these issues of
organizational communication, organizational learning, and
democracy in the workplace. If anyone is interested in sharing
their observations either publicly or privately on these matters, I
would be interested in hearing from
them. I appreciate all those who stuck with this introduction
despite the use of paragraphs and breaks between thoughts. Much
obliges.
Craig Carroll
cec74480@acuvax.acu.edu
Priority Management
4400 Buffalo Gap Rd, Ste. 2800
Abilene, TX 79606
Day Phone: 915/ 695-0501
Fax: 915/ 695-0816