English Department Essay

From various literatures, there is no clear definition about what postmodernism is. Dr. Mary Klages (2003), Associate Professor in the English Department at University of Colorado, says that postmodernism cannot be defined in a single term. Instead, postmodernism can be considered as a complex term since it appears as a concept that exists in variety of study including art, science, sociology, and technology. Postmodernism present as the sign of new times, an outcome of changing trends in all areas of human life, the irruption of new social, political, cultural, and economic values which are maddening great human behavioural changes in organizations. In addition, the postmodernism is considered as a new expression of philosophic, ontological, methodological, scientific, artistic, political, social, economic, etc. trends, and therefore a new outlook which set limits and deficiencies on modern expressions. Moreover, postmodernism is a new paradigm approach to knowledge, and it is also a new paradigm of aesthetic. Concerning the discussion of postmodernism, information science and technology, this paper will take into account the discussion about knowledge management in organizations. The reason to include the discussion of postmodernism in organizations is because it represents the use of information science, sociology, and knowledge. I. 2 Characteristics of Postmodernism Organizations Any structure can be called as an organization because it is designed to carry out a given purpose. Organizations are living systems, oriented in the direction of a trend of self-organized patterns, structures and processes which respond to demands of a complex and confused, changing environment through constant and permanent learning. Historically, organization theory originated from academic institutions within the context of socially legitimized public institutions. Under such circumstances, learning capacity of organizations becomes key determinant in their survival to face various business challenges. Some characteristics of postmodernism organizations which influence on organizational analysis are as following: 1. Identification With â€Å"might being† 2. Emphasis Effectiveness 3. Structure In function of market needs 4. Focus of power Centralized in knowledge and experience 5. Orientation Toward Market (Boje, M & Dennehy 2000) In organization practices, it is found that postmodernism tends to force the organizations to avoid human beings from bureaucratic structures. This is because postmodernism has the philosophy to provide simplicity instead of complexity (Boje, M & Dennehy 2000). Links between modernity and postmodernism Modernity is often characterized by comparing modern societies to pre-modern or post-modern ones, and the understanding of those non-modern social statuses is far from an issue. To an extent, it is reasonable to doubt the very possibility of a descriptive concept that can adequately capture diverse realities of societies of various historical contexts. In term of social structure, many of the defining events and characteristics listed above stem from a transition from relatively isolated local communities to a more integrated large-scale society. There is a shift from the model of the modernist, factory-bureaucracy: a rigid structure, with everything in place to do its particular function to the place where it has a connected with different types changing formation in response to the conditions. II. Postmodernism, Social Science and technology In sociology point of view, there is a notion that postmodernism is considered as the results of the changes in economy, culture, and demography. In addition, postmodernism is also considered as the factors that contribute to the rise of service economy and the increasing interdependence of world economy. Concerning the relation of postmodernism in technology, there is a notion that technological utopianism is a common trait in Western history and it is true in postmodernism era with some changes in the manifestation. In postmodernism era, the expression of technology comes in the form of the sudden increase in analog mass broadcasting of television. In this situation, people see the mass broadcasting of television as a liberating force to human affairs since television has capability to provide various understandable symbols. This situation drives Newton N Minow to consider television as â€Å"a vast wasteland. † Another expression of technology in postmodernism era is the development of digital networking. In this view, digital communications are believed to provide modern society with positive feature since people are now enabling to experiences in art, culture, and community that they think as being correct.