Organisational Metaphor Analysis in communication

This is a paper that focuses on Organisational Metaphor Analysis in communication. The paper also offers various questions to answer relating to this assignment.

Organisational Metaphor Analysis in communication

Assessment task 1: Organisational Metaphor Analysis

Objective: Use organisational metaphors as theoretical underpinnings to describe the culture of an organisation that you have chosen.

The organisation: The organisation is one of your own choice. It must be large enough to make analysis useful (more than 750 employees). It is preferable to use an Australian company but if not, ensure the company has a strong subsidiary presence in Australia.

Note: You do not need to visit the organisation, but feel free to do so if you have contacts.

Discuss which of Morgan’s (1997) metaphors or Bolman and Deal’s (2008) frames best describe/s your organisation. Discuss the relevance of a number of metaphors or frames, not just the one you consider ‘best fit’ and make them all coherent.
Use the following questions to guide your thinking in preparing for your essay.
Answers to these questions are critical to your analysis. However, do not use the questions as subheadings for your written work.

1. Firstly, using Bolman and Deal’s (2008) frames, discuss the nature of the organisation (eg size, sector, organisational structure, employees, leadership, etc.) that makes a particular metaphor appropriate or inappropriate. What aspects of the organisation does your metaphor focus your attention on? What aspects of the organisation does your metaphor ignore? Provide specific communication genres you have seen, if any,from the organisation to support your analysis.

2. Secondly, imagine yourself working in this organisation. What communication genres would you expect to see? Also, what might be management’s preferred style of communication?
What patterns might you expect to see in an organisation’s communication with its employees? You may wish to draw on Putnam’s metaphors (1999) for communication.

Remember

Take a position and back it up with evidence and theory.
Demonstrate your understanding of literature and theories covered in Weeks 2 and also 3 lectures. You are expected to cite sources from the required readings from these few weeks. Additional references could be provided but that is entirely up to you.
If you are using visuals, include them as appendices in your essay.