This paper uses jazz as a metaphoric vehicle for redescribing the concept of organizational structure in ways that fit within the emerging vocabulary of organization studies. The metaphoric comparison begins with a description of some basic elements of jazz performance - soloing, comping, trading fours, listening and responding, groove and feel - and builds on those to redescribe organizational structure as ambiguous, emotional, and temporal. In reflexive fashion, this concept is not only demonstrated, but a jazz-like performance of Rorty’s method of redescription via metaphor is presented.
Organizational structure; organization studies; jazz; metaphor; creativity