Dialogue

Abstract

The article provides a response to the 2002 article “Metaphor and Analogical Reasoning in Organization Theory: Beyond Orthodoxy,” by C. Oswick, T. Keenoy, and D. Grant, and discusses the influence of metaphor and other word imagery in unconscious framings or conceptualizations. The article discusses conceptual metaphors and the use of tropes beyond theory, and gives an example of a manager using war terms to describe a marketing strategy. The author argues that paying attention to the frame-making and frame-breaking tropes that are used by managers and theorists can change how those individuals conceptualize and address the world at large.