THE COMMUNICATIONAL BASIS OF ORGANIZATION - BETWEEN THE CONVERSATION AND THE TEXT

Recent work in the sociology of scientific knowledge leads us to belie ve that organization exists in the interpretive processes of its membe rs. A theory of communication is presented which views the communicati onal process as a double translation, from text to conversation and co nversation into text. Using this theory as a basis, a conception of co mplex and extended forms of organization is developed which demonstrat es that the text-conversation cycle underlies a complex process of net working out of which the identity of the organization emerges, and soc ial structuring occurs, resulting in the division of labor and coordin ation. Implications of the theory are briefly considered for research.