Understanding Organizations through Language

`The book is extremely clear in its explanation of how language works.... The authors treat their readers as curious, intelligent and concerned to find new and powerful tools to come at the workings of organizations from a lateral and newly illuminating perspective' - ***Virginia Valentine, Semiotic Solutions, London

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Offering a viable alternative to functional' approaches to communication based around the metaphor of webs of meaning' and using semiology as its theoretical bedrock, the authors provide examples and argue how and why this approach is useful in understanding communicative processes. This approach is applied to areas of interest, including: metaphor, story-telling, discourse, gender, leadership and electronic communication.

Informationen zum Autor Susanne's first degree, an MA in English and German (first class), was awarded by Karl-Ruprechts-Universität, Heidelberg (Germany). She worked as a librarian, properties manager for a theatre company and translator before taking up a teaching scholarship awarded by the Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (German Academic Exchange Service) in 1989 to teach German at Sheffield City Polytechnic Klappentext The book is extremely clear in its explanation of how language works.... The authors treat their readers as curious, intelligent and concerned to find new and powerful tools to come at the workings of organizations from a lateral and newly illuminating perspective' - Virginia Valentine, Semiotic Solutions, LondonOffering a viable alternative to functional' approaches to communication based around the metaphor of `webs of meaning' and using semiology as its theoretical bedrock, the authors provide examples and argue how and why this approach is useful in understanding communicative processes. This approach is applied to areas of interest, including: metaphor, story-telling, discourse, gender, leadership and electronic communication. Zusammenfassung Taking issue with functional approaches to communication! this title offers an alternative based on 'webs of meaning'. Instead of viewing communication as a thing that can be unproblematically controlled and managed! this title uses semiology as a theoretical bedrock to develop a metaphor for communication. Inhaltsverzeichnis Introduction Spinning Webs of Meaning Language and Social Reality A Semiological Approach to Meaning Making Understanding Organizations through Metaphor Understanding Organizations through Stories and Narratives Understanding Organizations through Discourse Language, Culture, Meaning Gender and Language Leadership and Language Meaning-Making in the Electronic Age

Autorentext
Susannes first degree, an MA in English and German (first class), was awarded by Karl-Ruprechts-Universität, Heidelberg (Germany). She worked as a librarian, properties manager for a theatre company and translator before taking up a teaching scholarship awarded by the Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (German Academic Exchange Service) in 1989 to teach German at Sheffield City Polytechnic

Zusammenfassung
Taking issue with functional approaches to communication, this title offers an alternative based on 'webs of meaning'. Instead of viewing communication as a thing that can be unproblematically controlled and managed, this title uses semiology as a theoretical bedrock to develop a metaphor for communication.

Inhalt

Introduction
Spinning Webs of Meaning
Language and Social Reality
A Semiological Approach to Meaning Making
Understanding Organizations through Metaphor
Understanding Organizations through Stories and Narratives
Understanding Organizations through Discourse
Language, Culture, Meaning
Gender and Language
Leadership and Language
Meaning-Making in the Electronic Age