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1 – 10 of 31This paper seeks to understand whether significant senior management and structural changes within an Australian university is the result of learning or other influences and how…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper seeks to understand whether significant senior management and structural changes within an Australian university is the result of learning or other influences and how these explain the impact of change on the careers of two individuals within the organisation.
Design/methodology/approach
The organisation and the changes are introduced followed by a microcase study of two individuals aspiring to the same position. The cause and effect of changes are considered from organisational learning, structural, political and emotional perspectives.
Findings
Organisational learning was not found to be the primary cause of the changes. (Re)structure was used to increase horizontal power and authority. Decision‐making ranged from rational to emotional based on the strengths of one's political affiliations.
Research limitations/implications
Limitations exist by virtue of a restricted number of objects of interest being studied.
Practical implications
This paper seeks to challenge the individual to understand the dynamics within their organisation and to respond in a rational rather than emotional way to organisational change so that they can benefit from or at least learn from the changes at a personal level.
Originality/value
The paper considers a range of organisational perspectives and offers a general model of the relationships between structure, power, rationality, emotions, and the unitary v. pluralist views.
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Louise Gillies and Helen M. Burrows
Families conduct their affairs through processes that are built upon those of previous generations and also social capacities such as culture, class, oppression and poverty. The…
Abstract
Families conduct their affairs through processes that are built upon those of previous generations and also social capacities such as culture, class, oppression and poverty. The media has played a part in stereotyping the lower classes through their portrayal on the television programmes such as Benefits Street and Jeremy Kyle and tabloid newspaper stories. This chapter is a case study of two families who are at the opposing ends of the social scale, the Horrobin/Carter and Aldridge families. The two families were chosen due to them being linked by marriage in the younger generation. Through the use of genograms, we explore how the families differ in their attitudes towards relationships within their individual families, and also how they relate to each other as separate family groups. Despite the many differences, there are also a number of key similarities, particularly regarding the key females in the families, in terms of family background and snobbery. We also show that there is little family loyalty in the more privileged family and a power differential between the two families (oppressors vs. oppressed) in terms of the crimes committed.
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Karen Newbigging, Debbie Nixon, John Playle, Christina Lyons and Nigel Harrison
Kris De Welde, Marjukka Ollilainen and Catherine Richards Solomon
Feminist leadership and administrative praxis include areas overlooked or devalued by traditional leadership. In this chapter, the authors explore how academic administrators in…
Abstract
Feminist leadership and administrative praxis include areas overlooked or devalued by traditional leadership. In this chapter, the authors explore how academic administrators in the United States who self-identify as “feminist” integrate their feminist values into daily praxis, decisions, and implementation – or revision – of institutional policies. The goals of this study are to identify how feminist values inform praxis and how feminist administrators’ praxis produce successful changes. Through in-depth, semi-structured, qualitative interviews with feminist administrators in higher education, the authors find commonalities in feminist values, in how those values shape administrators’ interactions, and how they inform initiatives and policies on which administrators have worked. Feminist administrators rely on values such as transparency, collaboration, inclusivity, empowering others, and being mindful of power and personal biases. These values informed their interactions with faculty, staff, and students as well as formal policies and initiatives, which were infused with feminist principles in their efforts to make academe more just.
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The purpose of this paper is to discuss methodological issues connected to being a member of a stigmatised group invited to take part in a research study.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to discuss methodological issues connected to being a member of a stigmatised group invited to take part in a research study.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper draws on experiences of interviewing young parents and their families about teenage parenthood. The paper reflects on how the feelings of young parents about being under surveillance all the time, by official agencies and in their communities, could lead to resistance to “official” visitors, role confusion relating to access, and a great deal of image management, all of which potentially influenced the interviews.
Findings
Participants may feel that they should consent to an interview because of their position as a member of a group accustomed to being under surveillance, but they can take the opportunity to use the interview to demonstrate their competence, in this case as mothers. Interviewing members of a stigmatised group such as teenage parents empowers them to challenge negative stereotypes normally encountered in discourses of teenage parenting, thus subverting a sense of feeling bound to take part in an interview and turning the encounter around to assert a positive identity.
Originality/value
The “positionality” of the researcher as an influence on the research process has been widely examined, the positionality of the participants less so. This paper highlights how members of a stigmatised and potentially vulnerable group position themselves, and by so doing, can use the interview as part of the process of asserting a valued identity.
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Debbie Haski-Leventhal and Akriti Mehra
This study aims to extend existing research on impact measurement (IM) in social enterprises (SEs) by capturing, comparing and contrasting perceptions of IM in SEs in Australia…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to extend existing research on impact measurement (IM) in social enterprises (SEs) by capturing, comparing and contrasting perceptions of IM in SEs in Australia and India.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative methodology was used to study five cases each in India and Australia. The SEs were identified using snowball and theoretical sampling, and grounded theory was applied to analyze the data.
Findings
Emerging perceptions of IM in both countries are described according to the development of the SE, its perceived impact and IM methods and challenges. Primary differences between India and Australia lie in perceptions of impact and IM, and related tools and processes. Similarities include understanding the importance of IM and the challenges faced. Signaling theory is used to depict how some SEs use IM to signal quality to their stakeholders and how information asymmetry can be reduced by measuring and reporting on IM.
Research limitations/implications
There is limited representation from developed and developing countries, and the snowball and theoretical sampling approaches used to identify SEs have limitations, including limited representation of SEs.
Practical implications
There is presently no standardized method of IM due to common challenges and perceived barriers. It is, therefore, important for SEs to work toward developing their own comprehensive IM methodology that is ingrained in strategy, applied on a regular basis and used to measure collective impact to increase sense of ownership and acceptability for employees and partners.
Originality/value
The paper brings the social entrepreneurs’ perspectives on measuring social impact while comparing these perspectives in one developing and one developed country.
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Debbie Ollis, Leanne Coll, Lyn Harrison and Bruce Johnson
The aim of this paper is to explore the role and potential of lived experiences in informing and shaping the formation of place identity within the sphere of the production and…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this paper is to explore the role and potential of lived experiences in informing and shaping the formation of place identity within the sphere of the production and consumption of craft objects.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper is part of a larger funded research project and focuses on Manchester’s Craft and Design Centre. It draws upon a series of in-depth interviews conducted with craft makers and visitors.
Findings
The analysis and interpretation of textual data help to theorise an experiential identity of place, which revolves around the fusion of the cultural heritage and lived insideness of the physical setting; activity spaces and the micro-encounters of craft-making; and conflicting meanings and attachments to the Craft and Design Centre.
Originality/value
This study provides a novel perspective on the understanding of place identity in the context of craft-making by focusing on the lived experiences of various stakeholders and acknowledging the multi-faceted, dynamic and processual nature of place.
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Michael A. Katovich and Wesley Longhofer
This chapter compares and contrasts the British invasion and punk rock as mystified, post-performance products. Expanding on Goffman's notion of mystification to discuss texts…
Abstract
This chapter compares and contrasts the British invasion and punk rock as mystified, post-performance products. Expanding on Goffman's notion of mystification to discuss texts that emerged from performances and drawing on Mannheim's distinction between ideological and utopian perspectives, we discuss the British invasion as bound to elite interpretations of mystified products and punk rock as bound to more provincial and anti-elitist interpretations. We note that despite differences, both genres involve, to varying degrees, mystifying differences, mystifying legendary status, and mystifying popularity itself. The discussion of both musical genres compliments and affirms previous analyses, especially the analysis of punk rock as a dramaturgical and utopian version of play.