Toward an irony-centered organization

Wim van Orshaegen

pp. 175-199

in: Suzan Langenberg, Fleur Beyers (eds), Citizenship in organizations, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan, 2018

Abstract

Besides the operational aspect that characterizes and signifies each organization, this text focuses on the lingual frame of reference that colors the organization, and also gives it sense and meaning. Indeed, what can we say about the language, the discourse, in short: the frame of reference wherein the organization—and as a consequence its people—moves and expresses itself? And does the act follow the language here, or does the language follow the act? Does language constitute the organizational, or is it simply subject to power relations? Or is their relation not so unambiguous? In this text, we will try to answer these questions by referring to different disciplines (philosophy, psychology, linguistics). We will take the concept of irony as a starting point to examine the role of the frames of reference within organizations.