Stories shared. Stories heard: how narratives enhance one's authority or exercise of power in an advertising agency.

Abstract

There are many things or activities that we tend to neglect their importance simply because they are a part of our every day routine. One of which is the act if story telling. The concept of storytelling and power in an organization specifically, an advertising agency, is the main focus of this qualitative study. It explores how stories help in enhancing one's authority or exercise of power. The study is guided by Walter Fisher's narrative paradigm. It presented the kinds of stories circulating in an organization, how power is perceived among the members, the common virtues of an ideal audience and the quality of narratives being shared. Since the study is qualitative in nature, data was gathered through interviews with the chosen employees of the advertising agency, Campaigns and Grey. Participants in the study were categorized into three: members in the top management, old employee and new employee. Three sets of questionnaires were used in this research. Each set was tailored fit with the storytelling experiences of the participants. Each of them was interviewed one on one by the researcher depending on which category they belong. Most of them were video taped while the others were only audio recorded. Findings revealed that stories shared by old employees, when evaluated by the new ones using narrative rationality - story's consistency and truthfulness, together with the storyteller's credibility, affect one's beliefs and actions. In the case of the study, members in the top management were believed to be more powerful. Thus, new employees obey members in the top management without questioning and are driven to produce quality outputs in order to impress them, a manifestation of an enhanced exercise of power.