Plotting the Organization

Abstract

This article uses the literary form of the embedded narrative to link a particular text to the larger texts in which it is embedded, or the surrounding story situation. The article thus addresses a continuing problem in organizational discourse, which is the need to interpret discourse in relation to its context. It also shows how this construct sheds light on the complexity and dynamics of organizational change. The data are from a year-long ethnographic study of a high-technology research organization in Silicon Valley.