Discourse in Systemic Operational Design

Within the literature on Systemic Operational Design, discourse is generally treated as a mechanical communicative process. The monograph presents alternative ways to consider discourse, the implications of this for theory of Systemic Operational Design; and how these alternatives can lead to a richer understanding of discourse’s role in design. To answer this question, it conducts a structured inquiry into the nature of discourse from the perspectives of agency, narrative and artifact structure, and socio-cultural relationships. Agency in design is viewed from a linguistic anthropological perspective that de-emphasizes individual agency in favor of agency that is significantly mediated by the linguistic structure of the participant’s language and how they use language to define the power relations in their interactions with others. Choices in narrative content, particularly temporal points in the narrative’s structure significantly influence the content and capabilities of the discourse to function in design. The paper also finds that choices for artifacts used to both transmit and maintain historical integrity of the discourse are not neutral, but affect its content and use. The importance of understanding the internal discourses that form the socio-cultural structure of the design team, and by extension that of its strategic sponsors is found to be critical in the development of effective discourse related to operations.

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