Process, Sensemaking, and Organizing
Tor Hernes and Sally Maitlis
Abstract
This book is the first in a series of volumes which explore perspectives on process theories, an emerging approach to the study of organizations that focuses on (understanding) activities, interactions, and change as essential properties of organizations rather than structures and state — an approach which prioritizes activity over product, change over persistence, novelty over continuity, and expression over determination. Process and sensemaking may be seen as mutually interlocking phenomena and, as such, are cornerstones in process thinking, This book brings together contributions from an i ... More
This book is the first in a series of volumes which explore perspectives on process theories, an emerging approach to the study of organizations that focuses on (understanding) activities, interactions, and change as essential properties of organizations rather than structures and state — an approach which prioritizes activity over product, change over persistence, novelty over continuity, and expression over determination. Process and sensemaking may be seen as mutually interlocking phenomena and, as such, are cornerstones in process thinking, This book brings together contributions from an international group of scholars energized by process organization studies. The chapters offer perspectives from different disciplines, insights from diverse theoretical traditions and contexts, and parallels made with a range of cultural forms, including art, poetry, and cookery. The chapters exhibit a clear emphasis on a process ontology, process theorizing, and narrative thinking. Recurrent themes emerge that distinguish process theorizing from the more logico-scientific, variance-oriented research that dominates organization studies today.
Keywords:
process theories,
activities,
interactions,
change,
experssion,
novelty,
organizations
Bibliographic Information
Print publication date: 2010 |
Print ISBN-13: 9780199594566 |
Published to Oxford Scholarship Online: January 2011 |
DOI:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199594566.001.0001 |
Authors
Affiliations are at time of print publication.
Tor Hernes, editor
Copenhagen Business School
Sally Maitlis, editor
Sauder School of Business, University of British Columbia
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