Situated Organization

James R. Taylor is Professor Emeritus and founder of the Department of Communication at the University of Montreal. He is the author, co-author or editor of six books, including The Emergent Organization (2000). Elizabeth J. Van Every is an historian and sociologist by training and has worked in both the public and private sectors. She has co-authored two previous books with James Taylor: The Vulnerable Fortress (1993) and The Emergent Organization (2000) as well as co-edited The Computerization of Work (2001) and Communication as Organizing (2006).

"What happens when a fresh but solid foothold in the theory of pragmatics starts to interact with a range of novel case studies in communication research? Read it yourself and be inspired!" Hans Weigand, Tilburg University, the Netherlands"The Situated Organization is an innovative work that accomplishes its purpose: to present its readers with theories and to reflect upon such theories through empirical studies." Marlene Marchiori, Londrina State University, Brazil"The Situated Organization was an eye-opener to me. It presents and illustrates new, fundamental and important insights in what organizations are from a communication point of view, and how essential communication is in understanding what organization is. These insights can contribute beyond communication studies, in realms like organization science, management science, information systems, and enterprise engineering." Stijn Hoppenbrouwers, Radboud University Nijmegen, the Netherlands"This book develops an interesting conceptual framework based on the idea of "organization-as-thirdness". Applying concepts from semiotic, philosophy of language, ethnomethodology, etc; the authors put forth a convincing argument demonstrating the constructive role of communication in organization." Sylvie Grosjean, University of Ottawa"Taylor and Van Every contribute to the general understanding of the sometimes overly abstract writing of the Montreal School. ... The Situated Organization is a good first read for students and teachers of organizational communication ... it is Taylor and Van Every’s very practice of empirical research that sheds yet another light on organization, organizations, and – organization studies. In the words of Taylor and Van Every, 'Organization is alive and well!'"Organization Studies 2011 (Reviewed by Steffen Blaschke, University of Hamburg, Germany)

• Prologue: The Puzzle of Organization The Premise of Organization as Thirdness The Frame Game, And How Communication Establishes and Distributes Organizational AuthorityLanguage as Both Meaning and ActionPART TWO: RESEARCHText as the Constitutive Basis of Organization The Accounts of a Business—Or Perhaps Rather the Business of Accounting?Playing On the Game while Playing In the Game—Frames, Identities and the "Fall Plan"The Organization as Text The "Western," 21st Century Version—Mapping the Boundaries Through TextsPART THREE: SYNTHESISThe Organization as Thirdness, or How to Do Organizational Communication Research