ABSTRACT

In this last chapter, I discuss if we can regard the modern institution as a symbolic form and, if so, what we can gain from assigning such a role. I show how bureaucratic logics have become a metastandard for organizing, and how this metastandard molds the way we experience and behave, not only in, but also outside institutions. Seeing the institution as a symbolic form may help us (a) see the strengths and the weaknesses of institutions’ specific levels of refraction and particular logics, (b) see how different symbolic forms coexist and influence behavior in organizations and how we may gain a better and more realistic picture of organizations if we become proficient in understanding organizations through different forms, and (c) develop curricula that are more realistic. I close the chapter by discussing how pluralism may lead to unity and the need for bringing the best of the humanities into management education.