Providing an overview of domains such as study, methodologies and perspectives used in research, this text shows how discourse analysis has moved beyond its roots in literary theory to become an important approach in the study of organizations.

Eleven vivacious episodes, enlivened with humorous verses and original hand-drawn illustrations, vividly satirize the interplay between managers and their Research and Development (R&D) staff in a typical high-tech company. The unforgettable Company characters and wickedly barbed lampoons, which highlight serious underlying workplace issues, have brought worldwide acclaim to Management By Vice. Executive consultants have recommended this book for forward-looking global leaders. It is a must-read for business management students, offers case studies for human resources and entertainment for anyone who appreciates meaningful, satirical humor. This hardcover edition is now available as a high-quality trade paperback!

Writing Matters provides theoretical and practical guidance to writing up qualitative research, and narrative strategies for scholarly research in general.

A biography of two troublesome words. Isn't it ironic? Or is it? Never mind, I'm just being sarcastic (or am I?). Irony and sarcasm are two of the most misused, misapplied, and misunderstood words in our conversational lexicon. In this volume in the MIT Press Essential Knowledge series, psycholinguist Roger Kreuz offers an enlightening and concise overview of the life and times of these two terms, mapping their evolution from Greek philosophy and Roman rhetoric to modern literary criticism to emojis. Kreuz describes eight different ways that irony has been used through the centuries, proceeding from Socratic to dramatic to cosmic irony. He explains that verbal irony—irony as it is traditionally understood—refers to statements that mean something different (frequently the opposite) of what is literally intended, and defines sarcasm as a type of verbal irony. Kreuz outlines the prerequisites for irony and sarcasm (one of which is a shared frame of reference); clarifies what irony is not (coincidence, paradox, satire) and what it can be (among other things, a socially acceptable way to express hostility); recounts ways that people can signal their ironic intentions; and considers the difficulties of online irony. Finally, he wonders if, because irony refers to so many different phenomena, people may gradually stop using the word, with sarcasm taking over its verbal duties.

Jones discusses obvious symbols such as corporate logos, office sizes and use of titles, as well as focusing on the more subtle aspect of expressive forms of symbolism such as storytelling, institutional jargon and workplace personalisation.

"Irony, in the writings of these scholars from different parts of the world, demonstrates once again that ""what"" we know is tenuous and at the same time closely intertwined with ""how"" we know and represent that knowledge. And while each chapter approaches irony from a slightly different angle, they share a common assumption - that irony can be used to enhance practice."

This unique book provides a novel and challenging framework for understanding and influencing organizational change. It reimagines managing and leading change as the mindful mobilisation of maps, masks and mirrors.

"The Gift of the Magi" is a short story by O. Henry first published in 1905. The story tells of a young husband and wife and how they deal with the challenge of buying secret Christmas gifts for each other with very little money. As a sentimental story with a moral lesson about gift-giving, it has been popular for adaptation, especially for presentation at Christmas time.