Rhetoric and action: When a literary drama tells the organization's story

Recognizes the link between rhetoric and organizational outcomes in organizational theory. Suggests that it is a link which could also be developed in organizational change management; and that selected literary texts could provide a valid learning resource for exploring the role of root metaphors in organizational culture and in management development, Literary artists filter ''real life'' through a personal, but sensitively attuned conduit; so their ''findings'' and ''conclusions'' provide a challenging alternative to the traditional case study. If, for example, literary texts suggest that root metaphors in organizational culture influence action. then it would follow that management initiative to change a root metaphor could lead to change in action outcomes.