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Purpose: This paper aims to construct an approach referred to as "the participatory narrative" for organizational learning in diverse organizations. The approach is grounded in an understanding of organizational learning as the process of social construction which is narratively mediated. Design/methodology/approach: The participatory narrative is constructed theoretically. Additionally, the approach and its potential use are illustrated by means of a practical example. Findings: It is shown that the participatory narrative enables interplay between various perspectives of diverse people. It makes it possible to overcome the temporal and spatial limits of organisational learning situations and helps to question self-evident assumptions about diverse people and makes such assumptions visible and negotiable. Research limitations/implications: The application of the participatory narrative is only highlighted with the help of an illustrative example. Practical implications: The participatory narrative helps to stimulate people's empathetic orientation, which provides a basis for responses to the experiences and world-views of other people. Thus, it helps people in diverse organizations to learn to become capable of imagining not only their own position but also the position of others. Originality/value: This article contributes to prior literature by developing an awareness of the narrative mechanisms of language use in the field of organizational learning. The paper shows also that the transformative dynamic of narratively mediated organizational learning lies in the empowering recognition that organization members understand that they are the active authors of the stories. (Contains 2 figures and 1 table.)

This article examines how the issue of gender, particularly women's (under)representation in the video game industry, is framed in US and Finnish media. Building on the notion of stigma surrounding feminism, the article examines discourse practices as acts of managing the image of feminism. The findings illustrate five stigma management strategies that offer the possibility of maintaining socially accepted ways of discussing gender inequality and portraying women in mainstream media. Using critical discourse analysis, the paper addresses how the use of these stigma management strategies connects with different contemporary feminisms. The strategies used and their ideological backgrounds vary between the two cultural contexts. This article contributes to the understanding of the ongoing discussions between postfeminism and neoliberal feminism in contemporary society and organizations by demonstrating how the expression of feminist ideas is managed in different cultural contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this empirical case study we explore the fantasy nature of strategy work and propose fantasising as a framework contributing to the nascent literature dealing with the previously overlooked fantasy nature of strategy. More specifically, our interest is on examining how the meaning of official strategy gets constructed as it is being implemented, as well as and how and why the perceptions may evolve during implementation. Our data consists of official strategy documents and interviews from Finland's largest financial services group and its largest unit. The interviews cover all organisational levels, enabling us to reveal the variations of perceptions of strategy as it is being implemented. The data analysis is carried out by means of qualitative interpretation. According to our findings, the main goal of becoming the leading bank, as outlined in the official strategy, had been adopted throughout the organisation hierarchically. However, conceptions of what would constitute ‘a leading bank’ varied, especially horizontally. The plausibility of the official strategy is constructed through rational techniques (e.g. numerical ‘objective’ accounting information) intertwined with storytelling. As a result we propose that strategy implementation may best be understood as fantasising involving two forms: functional (explicit, short-term-oriented) and symbolic (metaphorical, long-term-oriented). We offer fantasising in these two forms as an addition to fantasy-oriented strategy literature for further exploration to better understand the nature of strategy work. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Analyzes the experiences of Canadian Finns who immigrated to Canada in the 1920s. Development of interethnic networks and language preferences; Substantial differences in temporal patterns of interethnic interaction and language preferences between three areas of life; Implication of a further elaboration of acculturation theory.