Writing Responsibly: Narrative Fiction and Organization Studies

Abstract

In this paper we reflect on the use of fictional source material and fictional formats in organization studies in order to explore issues of responsibility in the writing of research. We start by examining how research using fictional narrative methods has worked to radically destabilise distinctions between what is real and what is fictional. In relation to this we ask the question: if a research account can be regarded as fiction, what are the implications of this insight for the responsibilities of authors? Opposing the view that using fiction necessarily leads to an 'anything goes' relativism, we argue that a recognition of the fictionality of research texts implies a heightened sense of researcher-author responsibility. We see our main contribution as extending existing discussions of reflexivity in research into a consideration of issues of ethics and responsibility as it relates to the textuality of research writing. To do so we draw on Derrida's theorisation of responsibility and undecidability as a way of problematising and discussing the ethics of research in relation to its textuality. We argue that the explicit borrowing from fictional genres evinces the essentially 'written' and fictional status of research papers, and highlights the ethical dimensions associated with decisions related to representational strategies and authorial subjectivity. 'The perfect description of Thomas industries,' Mike exclaimed. 'We help lay the traps. We punch out, but don't stop working. It shows on our faces. Our minds are crippled!' Charlie and Randy nodded. 'The noise from the control room, that damn Thomas industries sign, the gyp mountain, smokestacks… every night this mess is with me before I go to sleep.' Charlie and Randy were silent. They arrived just in time to punch in before the 7 o'clock whistle. 'Goddamn whistles,' Mike grumbled. 'Remind me of grade school.' (Jermier 1985: 71-72) There were 40 or 50 different routes, maybe more, each case was different, you were never able to learn any of them, you had to get your mail up and ready before 8 a.m. for the truck despatches, and Jonstone would take no excuses. The subs routed their magazines on corners, went without lunch, and died in the streets. Johnstone would have us start casing the routes 30 minutes late-spinning in his chair in his red shirt-'Chinaski take route 539!' We'd start a halfhour short but were still expected to get the mail up and out and be back on time. And once or twice a week, already beaten, fagged and fucked we had to make the night pickups, and the schedule on the board was impossible-the truck wouldn't go that fast.

‘If I Should Fall From Grace…’: Stories of Change and Organizational Ethics

“…Telling this story is a 'hegemonic act required for legitimation purposes' (Humphreys and Brown, 2002, p. 421). However, even though much research has been conducted to show how 'stories can serve as means to provide legitimacy for organizational changes that might otherwise have been considered illegitimate, irrational or unnecessary' (Rhodes and Brown, 2005a, p. 173), less attention has been paid to their implications for organizational ethics (for exceptions see Humphreys and Brown, 2008;Kornberger and Brown, 2007;Rhodes and Brown, 2005b). Whilst there is a well-established literature on organizational storytelling (see Boje, 2001;Czarniawska, 1997Czarniawska, , 2004Gabriel, 2000;Rhodes and Brown, 2005a) and its relation to organizational change (Doolin, 2003;Feldman, 1990;Brown and Humphreys, 2003;Skoldberg, 1994;Stevenson and Greenberg, 1998) and power (Humphreys and Brown, 2002;Clegg, 1993;Mumby, 1987;Smith and Keyton, 2001), the place of ethics has remained relatively unexamined.…”

Autoethnography and academic identity: glimpsing business school doppelgängers

“…Indeed, our use of the Jekyll and Hyde conceit (which some may think of as an absurdity) first stimulated, and then framed these reflections. Here, the radical (ab-)use of a novel we attempted, though it has resonances with some other uses of the literary in organization studies (Czarniawska, 2008;De Cock and Land, 2005;Land and Sliwa, 2009;Rhodes and Brown, 2005), was one inspired primarily by the encouragement given to autoethnographers to use novels, poems and other creative forms of writing (Denzin, 2003).…”

Tales of the Suburbs?—The Social Sustainability Agenda in Sweden through Literary Accounts

“…While using literary accounts as sources is not a mainstream method, it has been used fruitfully in organization studies (see Rhodes [24,25] for a review) and development studies [21,22]. CzarniawskaJoerges and de Monthoux [26] suggest that reading fiction is a means to better understand the -realities‖ of organizations as it incorporates subjective and emotional perspectives together with more rational and logically organized accounts often found in traditional academic writing.…”