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Polarities, Paralysis and Paradox: Centrifugal Dialectics

In: Metaphor and Dialectic in Managing Diversity

Author

Listed:
  • Christina Schwabenland

    (University of Bedfordshire)

Abstract

The quotation above from Edwards is one that I have used a lot in teaching. It is a deceptively simple question that goes to the heart of the dilemmas of managing diversity. This chapter is going to concentrate on difference and how it is constructed within organisations and by organisations. In this, and subsequent chapters, I am drawing on Bakhtin’s distinction between the centrifugal and centripetal dynamics that underpin dialectic. In a centrifuge rapid motion separates substances into components of different densities. Centrifugal force is that which propels these substances away from the centre. Centrifugal dynamics is a powerful metaphor for capturing some sense of the patterns of thinking that create notions of difference.

Suggested Citation

  • Christina Schwabenland, 2012. "Polarities, Paralysis and Paradox: Centrifugal Dialectics," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Metaphor and Dialectic in Managing Diversity, chapter 6, pages 129-153, Palgrave Macmillan.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:palchp:978-1-137-02267-7_6
    DOI: 10.1057/9781137022677_6
    as

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