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The purpose of this study is to propose the notion of the value and contribution of the wisdom of older workers in working life.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to propose the notion of the value and contribution of the wisdom of older workers in working life.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a framework of organisational aesthetics, this paper presents an empirical case study analysing the material collected from Finnish municipal home care services and sheltered accommodation designed for older people. Through the analysis of the stories of older and younger employees, the case study shows how workers construct ideas of skills related to ageing, how the wisdom of older workers has been transformed into practices and how aesthetic wisdom might benefit this social process.
Findings
The findings reveal three characteristics of ageing wisdom – caring, graceful and joyful wisdom – that all present focused sensitivity, emphasizing the subject’s experience, feelings and emotions. The findings also illustrate how the authority of older workers made visible this feeling-driven wisdom and values, and through these means, enhanced the skills of younger employees.
Social implications
The present paper challenges the debate on ageing which has mainly focused on the problems of older workers in a social context.
Originality/value
This paper provides new insights into the skills of older workers in the empirical and theoretical framework of organisational aesthetics.
Details
Keywords
This study aims to explore aesthetic atmospheres and their affordances in urban squares to advance knowledge on the research and design of attractive living environments.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore aesthetic atmospheres and their affordances in urban squares to advance knowledge on the research and design of attractive living environments.
Design/methodology/approach
Descriptions of pleasant and unpleasant experiences of urban squares were collected using qualitative questionnaires with open-ended questions. The theoretical framework and the lens of aesthetic affordances were applied to pinpoint and understand the connections between the place attributes and experiences.
Findings
This study found four distinct aesthetic atmospheres formed by perceived synergies of both the material and immaterial aspects of the environment. It was also found that the atmospheres may shift. A model that shows the aesthetic atmospheres and their potential affordances as layered and emerging is presented.
Research limitations/implications
Everyday aesthetics considered as affordances open new research perspectives for the understanding of what generates attractive living environments – or not.
Practical implications
Aesthetics affordances may provide the design professionals and alike means on how to design places that engender specific aesthetic atmosphere.
Social implications
Gathering and discussing commonplace aesthetic experiences in everyday life may enhance democratic participation in place development among people with different levels of design expertise.
Originality/value
This study combines theories of place with a novel concept of aesthetic affordances to identify distinct aesthetic atmospheres. A holistic overview structure of how the various constituents of aesthetic atmospheres relate to each other provides new ways of studying and understanding urban aesthetic atmospheres.
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Keywords
Päivi Kosonen and Mirjami Ikonen
This paper aims at examining the prospects and possibilities of autoethnography in trust research. The focus of this study is on trust-building in a management team from an…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims at examining the prospects and possibilities of autoethnography in trust research. The focus of this study is on trust-building in a management team from an esthetic leadership perspective. The empirical context of the study is the organization of higher education during a funding reform.
Design/methodology/approach
This study adopted a qualitative research strategy with co-produced autoethnographic methods. The data comprised the researcher's diary, field notes and written texts from informants. Autoethnographic methods were applied in data gathering; more precisely, the data were collected by the moving observing method of shadowing and complemented with the management team's written texts reporting their feelings. The data were analyzed by constructing autoethnographic vignettes and a critical frame story.
Findings
The findings of the study contribute to the methodological discussion of autoethnographic research when studying a complex phenomenon such as trust-building. The findings suggest that the role of authenticity in trust-building may vary depending on the esthetic leadership style. Furthermore, the findings contribute to the esthetic leadership theory by a proposal of esthetic reassurance as intentional leader-embodied communication aiming to reinforce follower trust in a leader.
Originality/value
Co-produced autoethnography is applied in studying trust-building. Furthermore, this paper provides an inside view of the meaning of esthetics in leader-follower relationships in higher education organizations.
Details
Keywords
Gino Cattani, Simone Ferriani, Frédéric Godart and Stoyan V. Sgourev