Manufactoring the "Final Truth"

Mumby and Putnam conclude their feminist critique of bounded rationality by challenging persistent efforts in communication research to uncover the universal substance of the organization. As they argue, “[s]cholars need to abandon their efforts to construct a final organizational vocabulary based on the belief that truth is ‘out there’ waiting to be discovered. The final truth of organizations is not out there” (481). I think that all academics conduct research with the hopes of improving the human condition. However, as they point out through their references to Foucault, dominant cultural rationalities do not speak to “truth” as much as they are constructed through the results of particular dynamics between power and knowledge. For example, “bounded rationality become powerful heuristics not because of the objective organizational reality they mirror, but because they articulate knowledge about organizations that reflects certain dominant practices” (481). What I think can be somewhat empowering is that such knowledge can be influenced by academic research and writing we can hopefully influence change in organizations. Thus, what role should emotion play in our own research? Could we influence organizational change by incorporating bounded emotionality into our projects? If so, what would this look like?