organizing and social imagination

The forces of globalization and new communication technologies have increased the expansiveness of organization members' social imaginations--conversations about past, current, and future identities. I've observed this locally in my department, especially during the past year. At the end of the spring 2007 semester, four faculty left the university and two moved into administrative positions. Several of former group had been obstructionists, making it difficult to have any real dialogue in meetings. But with those individuals gone and the introduction of new communication tools (such as department wikis), the faculty were able to have useful conversations about the department's present identity and the ways that identity might change. The results were dramatic, evident in the department's new website, facebook group, tagline (Listen • Speak • Engage), tagline image (above), and the re-envisioned major and graduate program.

Many diverse scapes influenced our discussions, including those related to individual cultural identities, professional allegiances, university culture, economic realities, and the like. At the same time, faculty were reflecting on these scapes and seizing the opportunity to define themselves, the department, and the programs. The new identity has already started to emerge, but will come into sharp focus in Fall 2009 with the new undergraduate and graduate programs.

~ Professor Cyborg