Session 16, Aarts
description
Transcript of Session 16, Aarts
CSR and the need to connect: a theoretical reflection with
implications for practice
Noelle Aarts University of Amsterdam Wageningen University
CSR communication
Stakeholders want organizations to have a sound CSR programme
What then is a sound CSR programme?
a CSR programme that is agreed upon by different stakeholders, including the organization itself?
A CSR programme should be developed in interaction with relevant stakeholders
Most organisations are very experienced in:
Means-end planning
Sending information
Formal communication
Self-referentiality refers to the characteristic of people and organizations to:
see the environment from a completely own idea about what is important and what not
without being aware of doing so
Framing
Framing
Autopoiesis (Maturana en Varela, 1990):
All living systems are organizationally closed, autonomous systems of interaction that make reference only to themselves
Autopoiesis refers to the capacity for self-production through a closed system of relations
The aim of autopoietic systems is ultimately to (re)produce themselves; the organization itself, its culture and identity is their most important product
Autopoietic systems are closed loops: self-referential systems that strive to shape themselves in their own image
Autopoiesis (Luhmann, 1991)
The environment is part of the system’s organization and shaped according the organization’s identity (resemiotization, Teubner, 2009; Ford, 1999)
Society consists of closed systems that disturbe each other in their efforts to survive.
The inclination to autopoiesis makes:
people feel comfortable with what they already know
people feel comfortable with people who have the same opinion
people tend to mainly communicate with people of their own ‘speech’ community
A ‘speech’ community (also referred to as an interpretive community) is a group of like-minded individuals who develop similar assumptions about how things should be understood (Fish, 1980; Pepper, 1995).
As a consequence:
A lack of critical reflection on existing opinions
A lack of adaptation to the wider environment
A lack of willingness to really change
A strong inclination to pr and windowdressing
How to deal with the inclination to autopoiesis? Recognizing and valuing differences
Organizing encounters between different systems
Organizing critical reflection on existing opinions (advocate of the devil)
Organizing a safe environment for discussion and experimentation
Listening to people’s needs as expressed in conversations
Paying attention to conversations
Organizational change occurs through conversation (Ford & Ford, 1995)
Organizational change can be recognized in shifting conversations
The activity of conversation itself is the key process through which forms of organizing are dynamically sustained and changed (Shaw, 2003)
Organizations are networks of conversations rather than have networks of conversations (Ford, 1999)
What people most need is to rediscover the art of talking together (Isaacs, 1999)
Smart listening (Scharmer – Theory U)
Downloading (repeating patterns of the past)
Object focused listening (looking for new information)
Empathic listening (taking the perspective of the other without judgment)
Generative listening (creating change, including changing oneself)
To conclude:
For a sound CSR programme (and communication) organizations need to continuously adapt to their environment of which they are inherently dependent
Organizations thus need to continuously change
Organizational change does not occur without people’s ability and willingness to speak and listen differently
No organizational change without conversational shift
Such shift is constructed in interactions between different ‘speech’ communities
For a sound CSR programme we should re(value) conversations and stories
Thank you for your attention!