This study analyzes the discourse during a meeting of three diverse
organizations as they attempt to resolve conflicting organizational inter
ests. The three diverse groups were a waste disposal business, a grass-
roots community organization, and a state regulatory agency. Discourse
analysis of a meeting among these three organizations supported nego
tiated order theory, which suggests organizations with different cultures
find it difficult to achieve a negotiated order because they will at times
fail to share the symbolic meaning of the common terms they use.
Implications for practice and future research are offered.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Beyer, J.M., & Trice, H.M. (1987). How an organization's rites reveal its culture . Organizational Dynamics, 15, 5-24.
2.
Bryant, G.A., & Jary, D. (1991). Introduction: Coming to terms with Anthony Giddens . In G. A. Bryant & D. Jary (Eds.), Giddens' theory of structuration: A critical appreciation (pp. 1-31). London: Routledge.
3.
Dua, H.R. (1981). Dimensions of speech community. International Journal of the Sociology of Language. 32, 85-119.
4.
Foss, S.K., Foss, K.A., & Trapp, R. (1991). Contemporary perspectives on rhetoric. Prospect Heights, IL: Waveland Press.
5.
Geist, P. (1995). Negotiating whose order? Communicating to negotiate identities and revise organizational structures. In A. M. Nicotera (Ed.), Conflict and organizations (pp. 45-64). Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.
6.
Gray, B., & Wood, D.J. (1991). Collaborative alliances: Moving from practice to theory. Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 27, 3-22.
7.
Goffman, E. (1974). Frame analysis. New York: Harper and Row.
Gumperz, J.J. (1992). Interviewing in intercultural situations. In P. Drew & J. Heritage (Eds.), Talk at work: Interaction in institutional settings (pp. 302-327). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
10.
Hatch, M.J. (1993). The dynamics of organizational culture. Academy of Management Review, 18, 657-693.
11.
Kleinman, S. (1982). Actors' conflicting theories of negotiation: The case of a holistic health center. Urban Life, 11, 312-327.
12.
Labov, W. (1972). Sociolinguistic Patterns. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.
13.
LePage, R.B. & Tabouret-Keller, A.R. (1985). Acts of identity: Creole-based approaches to language and ethnicity. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press
14.
Maines, D.R. (1982). In search of mesostructure: Studies in the negotiated order. Urban Life, 11, 267-279.
15.
Nathan, M.L., & Mitroff, I.I. (1991). The use of negotiated order theory as a tool for the analysis and development of an interorganizational field. Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 27, 163-180.
16.
Ogden, C.K., & Richards, I.A. (1927). Meaning of meaning. New York: Harcourt, Brace & Company .
17.
Pacanowsky, M.E., & O'Donnell-Trujillo, N. (1982). Communication and organizational cultures. Western Journal of Speech Communication, 46, 115-130. PODER brochure. Undated. n.d.
18.
Romaine, S. (1994). Language in society: An introduction to sociolinguistics . New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
