Organizational Storytelling discussed in class November 8, 2012.

Organizational storytelling is a detailed narrative of management actions, employee interactions, and other intraorganizational events that are communicated informally within the organization (Dalkir 107).  It differs from regular storytelling in that it is storytelling with a business purpose, supported by hard data, and is authentic and true (Naidu).  It is significant because it is part of the first phase of the knowledge management cycle which is knowledge capture and stories are excellent for capturing and coding tacit knowledge (Dalkir 107). 

Organizational storytelling is a very effective method of communication and is part of culture and history.  Within an organization, it can be part of the organizational culture.  A good organizational story is one you can understand, remember, and that you are able to retell (Naidu).   Storytelling is important to developing communities of practice and help gives meaning.  “The more emotionally, physically, and cognitively engaged participants are in the community of practice, the greater the need for storytelling as a way to make sense of the new activities” (Fiol 601).  Storytelling can be used as a leadership tool and not as a goal in itself and needs to be focused on business objectives.  Stories can be used to “win support for disruptive change (Denning 132).  Denning also suggests stories have a simple narrative pattern, are true and actually happened, are positive in tone, and have a happy ending.   

In the context of a library, organizational storytelling is an “emerging management technique” that can help librarians “improve their organizations through the power of narrative (Bartlett 1).   Stories can be used to teach the corporate culture, to “navigate the organizational environment” and help people deal with “workplace anxiety and uncertainty” as well as “entertain and build morale” (Bartlett 1).

Baker believes that storytelling is as an effective way to communicate and to enhance organizational communication and performance.  The strengths of storytelling lie in the fact that all humans are storytellers that send and receive messages establishing a common ground among the participants and quickly establish a social relationship (Baker 302).  “With this existing support for the cross-cultural power of storytelling and its business application, and the critical need for a communication tool addressing the organizational diversity continuum, it follows that storytelling is a viable solution to promote cogent communication and assist in the development of organizational understanding, building stronger employee relationships and therefore increasing business productivity” (Baker 303).  “Storytelling is effective in bringing about a sense of community—that in which listeners can easily understand and find common ground with their fellow listeners” (Baker 306).  Baker uses the following diagram to illustrate the Storytelling Model of Organizational Communication (Baker 302):

Works Cited

Baker, Randolph and Kim Gower.“Strategic Application of Storytelling in Organizations: Toward Effective Communication in a Diverse World.”  Journal of Business Communication, Jul2010, Vol. 47 Issue 3, p295-312, 18p, 2 Diagrams; found on p302.

Bartlett, Jennifer A.1, jen.bartlett@uky.edu. "New And Noteworthy: A Natural Fit: Organizational Storytelling In The Library." Library Leadership & Management 25.4 (2011): 1-3. OmniFile Full Text Mega (H.W. Wilson). Web. 13 Nov. 2012.

Dalkir, Kimiz.  Knowledge Management in Theory and Practice.  Cambridge: MIT Press, 2011. Print.

Denning, Stephen. "Stories In The Workplace." Hrmagazine 53.9 (2008): 129-132. OmniFile Full Text Mega (H.W. Wilson). Web. 13 Nov. 2012.

Fiol, C. Marlene and Elaine Ramanelli. “Before Identity: The Emergence of New Organizational Forms.” Organization Science 23.3 (2012): 597-611. Print.

Naidu, Yamini.  “Organisational Storytelling with Yamini Naidu.” YouTube. CPAustralia, 3 May 2009. Web. 13 November 2012.