A Study on Symbolism: Storytelling, Essay Example

Representing emotions and ideas by the use of symbols is what is referred to as symbolism. Symbols in this case could be anything that is used to represent something else. Here the focus is on storytelling as an example of symbolism applied in organizations. Bolman and Deal (2008) expound more on the symbolic frame which describes how story, among other things like ceremony and ritual can be used to build team spirit in an organization.

Stories are good when used to deliver a message because they leave the listener entertained and still gets to understand the message. For instance, if stories are told to employees in an organization, this leaves them with a clear picture of what the speaker could be trying to tell. It is even easier to remember something if it was told in form of a story. The issue of team spirit arises where the employees gather up to listen to the story. They also gain something together therefore creating a thing they will always have in common whenever the details of the story come up hence building team spirit.

Taking an example of New Zealand’s Trade me website, so many things would be derived from it. For example Corner (2009) gives a story on how New Zealand’s trade me had optimized its operations with F5 gear. He further explains the different things that Trade Me has done and their implication in the market. For instance, he explains the implication of implementing F5’s Vipron application delivery controllers and it turns out that Trade Me will be able to handle growing access volumes better.

These kinds of real life stories would be given to the employees in an organization that is a competitor of Trade Me to make them device better strategies so that they can manage to be at a better competitive edge. Stories are therefore a very good way of motivating people in an organization.

References

Bolman L. G. and Deal T. E. (2008). Reframing Organizations. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Stuart C. ( Feb 12, 2009). NZ’s Trade Me optimizes operations with F5 gear. Retrieved on July 17, 2009 from http://www.itwire.com/content/view/23197/127/