Managers work with words - an introduction

Abstract

This report tries to establish a theoretical position on the problem of dealing with contradictory goals in organisations. Our most prominent theories point to `sequential attention to alternatives' or `sequential attention to goals' and describe the process of accommodation by referring to `negotiation.' This activity has mostly been analysed in game theoretic frameworks. This paper seeks to introduce a cooperative approach where people present and evaluate arguments in a common effort to solve problems. Speech act theory and one of its latest developments (Cooren 2000) is described as a possible approach to the study of how competent persons achieve agreement on courses of action without giving up their own missions. The argument is deemed especially relevant for project management.