TY - JOUR
T1 - Paradox as invitation to act in problematic change situations
AU - Beech, N.
AU - Burns, Harry
AU - de Caestecker, Linda
AU - MacIntosh, Robert
AU - MacLean, Donald
PY - 2004/10/1
Y1 - 2004/10/1
N2 - It has been argued that organizational life typically contains paradoxical situations such as efforts to manage change which nonetheless seem to reinforce inertia. Four logical options for coping with paradox have been explicated, three of which seek resolution and one of which ‘keeps the paradox open’. The purpose of this article is to explore the potential for managerial action where the paradox is held open through the use of theory on ‘serious playfulness’. Our argument is that paradoxes, as intrinsic features in organizational life, cannot always be resolved through cognitive processes. What may be possible, however, is that such paradoxes are transformed, or ‘moved on’ through action and as a result the overall change effort need not be stalled by the existence of embedded paradoxes.
AB - It has been argued that organizational life typically contains paradoxical situations such as efforts to manage change which nonetheless seem to reinforce inertia. Four logical options for coping with paradox have been explicated, three of which seek resolution and one of which ‘keeps the paradox open’. The purpose of this article is to explore the potential for managerial action where the paradox is held open through the use of theory on ‘serious playfulness’. Our argument is that paradoxes, as intrinsic features in organizational life, cannot always be resolved through cognitive processes. What may be possible, however, is that such paradoxes are transformed, or ‘moved on’ through action and as a result the overall change effort need not be stalled by the existence of embedded paradoxes.
U2 - 10.1177/0018726704048357
DO - 10.1177/0018726704048357
M3 - Article
SN - 0018-7267
VL - 57
SP - 1313
EP - 1332
JO - Human Relations
JF - Human Relations
IS - 10
ER -