The Self in The Social Construction of Organizational Reality: Eastern and Western Views

Abstract

This article sheds light on the importance of understanding the self within social and cultural contexts. The self is the most important intervening factor to come between phenomenal objects (other people, roles, and external things) and an individual's own behavior and action. I ask questions about the individual and his or her role in the social construction process, by comparing Eastern and Western ideas about the concept of self. The most important commonality between Eastern and Western thought is an emphasis on constructing the self in relationship with others and exploring the dialectical relationships between self, culture, organization, and society. If our understanding of organizational reality fails to grapple with the dynamic nature of the self, organizations will remain more of a management's interest in explaining and controlling human behavior than in understanding human experience and action.