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Decolonializing discourse: Critical reflections on organizational discourse analysis

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Author

Summary, in English

Organizational discourse has emerged as a large research field and references to discourse are numerous. As with all dominating approaches problematizations of assumptions are important. This article, partly a follow up of the authors' frequently cited 2000 Human Relations article, provides a critical and perhaps provocative overview of some of the more recent work and tendencies within the field. It is argued that discourse continues to be used in vague and all-embracing ways, where the constitutive effects of discourse are taken for granted rather than problematized and explored. The article identifies three particular problems prevalent in the current organizational discourse literature: reductionism, overpacking, and colonization and suggests three analytical strategies to overcome these problems: counter-balancing concepts - aiming to avoid seeing 'everything' as discourse - relativizing muscularity - being more open about discourse's constitutive effects - and disconnecting discourse and Discourse through much more disciplined use of discourse vocabulary.

Publishing year

2011

Language

English

Pages

1121-1146

Publication/Series

Human Relations

Volume

64

Issue

9

Document type

Journal article

Publisher

SAGE Publications

Topic

  • Business Administration
  • Economics and Business

Keywords

  • discourse
  • language
  • methodology
  • organizational culture
  • power
  • subjectivity

Status

Published

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISSN: 0018-7267