Time continuity and discontinuity in organizations. A reflexive case on Lecoquian pedagogy

Abstract

For organization literature, time is a key concept in distinguishing improvisation from composition as organizational practices. In improvisation, generation and execution response(s) converge in time. In composition, these are disconnected and there’s a clear temporal separation between the creative process and its outcomes. From the emphasis on the time variable, this paper develops a study around continuity and discontinuity as a point of view onto organizational practices. First, it compares organization literature and performing arts literature, detecting in time continuity and discontinuity the constructs around which improvisation and composition can be defined. The paper then questions traditional assumptions of neatly separating improvisation and composition, exploring the issue of time continuity and discontinuity at the Ecole Lecoq, Paris for theatre. Drawing from empirical materials gathered through observational participation by one of the authors in this school’s activity, the article shows how improvisation and composition are intertwined, while continuity and temporal discontinuity continuously overlap. In light of this consideration, the paper argues that time management in organizations is affected by theoretical and practical understandings of time within artistic practices. Those practices, in fact, should not be considered as mere tools or metaphors for management, but as sources of organizational knowledge.