The Aesthetic of Thomas B. Greenfield: An Exploration of Practices That Leave No Mark

Abstract

Thomas Greenfield, between the early 1970s and 1992, argued passionately for a theory of organizations that would begin with their social construction. Greenfield advised researchers to concentrate on the subjectively held meanings of those within organizations. In choosing to illustrate his own theory with persona from the discursive arts, he blends two axiological concerns-aesthetics and values. He accomplishes this boldly and dramatically through a "shock aesthetic" and, in an interdisciplinary vein, through bringing other ways of seeing to the field of educational administration. Greenfield's experiment in the art of inquiry also holds broad implications for the preparation of administrators.

Imagining the Good Organization

“…what produces the tolerance is the power of detachment in the imagination, where things are removed just out of reach of belief and action. (Frye, 1963: 32) In referring to an imagination 'just out of reach', Frye was speaking of literary texts, the source of imagination that Greenfield employs so successfully (Harris, 1996b). The ruling out of direct action, in this case, permits us to place ourselves in the shoes of others and to reflect on their experiences with minimum threat to our own safety.…”

Imagining Good Organizations

“…As this slide is both cultural and historical, any possibility of mitigating it to restore aesthetic imagination and ethical life exists in cultural learning processes. For Greenfield, this requires exposure to the arts, and in particular literature (Harris, 1996). But it also needs strong leadership and authoritative moral hierarchies (Greenfield, 1993c: 223).…”