Paradoxical Thinking and Change in the Frames of Reference

Abstract

Different types of mental frames of reference among employees in a producers' cooperative are described. Characterizing the employee this way produces a pic ture of the way in which each employee processes information that, in a given situation, enables him or her to identify probiems and solutions. These different frames of reference are assumed to have an impact on the actions taken by these individuals. Furthermore, such actions are assumed to be connected with actions in the organization. Some of the employees occasionally display unexpected beha viour that cannot be explained by the way they have previously interpreted their situation. They experience a paradoxical situation in the organization, during which previous frames of references (or parts of them) are 'deframed' and devoid of meaning, because they hecome involved in discussions on a different, unknown level. Some of these employees discover that the new categories are socially constructed, enabling them to pursue new ways of understanding the environ ment, and to act accordingly. This paper describes situations in which this process is likely to take place and how it may or may not facilitate organizational change.