context and organizing

Yesterday afternoon six students and I discussed Chapkis and Webb's book, Dying to Get High, Marijuana as Medicine. I had developed 25 questions to guide the conversation, which lasted two hours. One question focused on the context in which the Wo/Men's Alliance for Medical Marijuana developed: "In Chapter 2, the authors discuss the set and the setting and argue that Santa Cruz provided the petri dish in which WAMM could grow. What about Santa Cruz made WAMM possible? Could WAMM exist anywhere else?"

I asked this question because organizational communication researchers often ignore the cultural and political environment in which organizations function. In Chapter 11, Cheney et al. discuss the socio-historical context of organizational change, tracing the history change in terms of what was happening at the time. For example, "the movements that began in the 1970s (organizational culture, quality circles, and Toyotism) all reflect a shift in the change-constancy dialectic toward a greater valuing of change" (p. 318). WAMM represented a change in addressing the needs of the those with chronic pain or illness, especially those who were poor and lacked health insurance. The organization grew out of an intersection of a particular political climate (progressive) and particular group of people (activists). WAMM enjoyed strong support from the community, including the major and city council and several health care groups. In addition, the group worked with the sheriff, who was supportive of California's medical marijuana initiative.

The reading group discussants agreed that an organization such as WAMM might be possible in another place with similar cultural and political leanings. At the time WAMM was organized, the climate in Santa Cruz related to the issue of medical marijuana was supportive of the change side of the change-constancy dialectic. However, the group also acknowledged the importance of the organization's founders and additional members who kept the organization going, especially in times of adversity.

~ Professor Cyborg