The Power of Proverbs as Metaphors Influencing Work Culture?
Speaker
Abstract
| The presentation introduces paremiology – the study of proverbs (metaphors) – as a way to investigate and understand a culture (for example, work culture) and explore how proverbs can reveal culture traits of groups. Proverbs are treated not only as rhetorical tools, but also as cognitive means (mental representations), for example mental scripts influencing behavior. The phenomenon of proverb thinking is seen as a natural way of categorizing human experience (e.g. the experience of work). Proverbs are metaphors whose power is present not only in expressing, but also in shaping the culture. |
| The presentation attempts to explain the power of proverbs in a culture and proposes the methodology of using proverbs as metaphors to research culture traits of different groups . It is exemplified by a brief presentation of a concrete empirical research method referring to the conceptual domain of work imprinted in about 1400 Polish and 400 German proverbs. Despite some limitations, necessary to be considered, the application of metaphors in cultural research appears to be a promising field in cross-cultural management domain. |
| Dr Mariusz Wolonciej is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Organization and Management Psychology KUL, Poland. He is interested in psychology of work, work culture, cross-cultural communication, psychology in vocational guidance, and the relation between language and culture. |
| His interdisciplinary investigations focus on the process of proverb thinking and the influence of national culture and linguistic constraints on organizational behavior existing in a culture. His experience and research in Ecuador, Poland and Germany let him develop an innovative comparative research method of cross-cultural research using paremiology (the study of proverbs). |
| In his theoretical approach he introduces a new concept of a paremioscript to social research on organizational culture. In cooperation with the world’s leading paremiologists (e.g. W. Mieder in Burlington, Vermont) he is developing new techniques of cross-cultural management research. |
| Contact information: |
| Betina Szkudlarek |
