Week 3, Blog #3

In the web lecture, Metaphors and Culture, metaphors are defined as those which “help people understand one thing (unknown) in terms of another (known)”. Notwithstanding the limitations associated with certain types of metaphors (as the conduit metaphor has been so described), I believe metaphors can still be powerful forms of communication within an organization. For example, in trying to describe the difference between leadership and management in an organization, one metaphor has always resonated with me: “Management is efficiency in climbing the ladder of success; leadership determines whether the ladder is leaning against the right wall” (Stephen R. Covey). I understand that this metaphor alone is not likely to be an effective enough form of organizational communication. It also takes soliciting feedback and building message redundancy to make this kind of message stick.