SPONTANEOUS HUMOR AS AN INDICATOR OF PARADOX AND AMBIGUITY IN ORGANIZATIONS

Assuming that humour is built on a foundation of recognized contradict ion, incongruity and incoherence, then it seems plausible that humour points to discourse capable of revealing the nature and substance of p aradox and ambiguity - a topic of increasing interest to students of o rganization. This paper presents the method and results of a case stud y illustrating the interpretive possibilities of combining humour anal ysis with the study of paradox and ambiguity as a means to address eve ryday experience in organizations. Results are interpreted as indicati ng a paradox of control and the ambiguity of problem and solution thin king.