Called to do meaningful work:A blessing or a curse?

Two groups of people are particularly inclined to mention a calling when talking about their work motivation: those who are spiritual (because the concept of calling originated in the religious realm) and those in serving occupations (such as hospitals, schools, and nongovernmental organizations). Because Christian professors are in both groups, the concept of calling is likely to emerge. In this article, I trace the development of calling as a concept of work motivation from its traditional religious origin to its daily use in organizational scholarship. Several positive sides of callings are described, as well as the potential downsides that come with high aspirations. At the end of this exploration, I conclude with three practical suggestions for Christian professors and educators who live out a calling. This paper explores what it means to have a calling as a professor, and the different facets of such a calling. On the one hand, having a personal calling is seen as a way of having a meaningful working life. Researchers who have focused on the topic of calling have documented that awareness of one's calling contributes to intrinsic motivation, job satisfaction, and greater determination (see Duffy & Dik, 2013, for a review). From that perspective, it seems to be very beneficial to have a calling. Similarly, professors and teachers often mention that they feel called to follow their vocation, which gives their work meaning. On the other hand, having a calling can be a stressful experience. Most often, the goals pursued by someone with a sense of calling, which comes from afar, are hard to accomplish. They make individuals reach for higher ground, and this realization can make people suffer. Having a meaningful life is by no means a guarantee for a happy life (Baumeister, Vohs, Aaker, & Garbinsky, 2013). Some key differences between a happy life and a meaningful life. Viktor Frankl (1984) made the point in Man's Search for Meaning that burning is often required in order to give light. In a recent review of the literature on calling, Gazica and Spector (2015) stated that having no calling is preferable to having an unmet calling. So, answering a calling can be seen as having both inspiring and troublesome elements, a double-edged sword (Bunderson & Thompson, 2009). Two groups of people are particularly inclined to mention calling, namely those who are spiritual (because the concept of calling originated in the religious realm) and those in serving occupations (such as hospitals, schools, and nongovernmental organizations). Being a member of either group means that the concept of calling is likely to emerge. Christian professors comprise such a group. Those who choose to invest their lives in educating the next generation often experience a calling; if not, they may well have to account for its absence given the expectations of other people that they have one. In this article, I reflect on some underlying dynamics of a calling using a range of sources from organizational sciences, philosophy, and practical theology. The aim of this reflection is to aid Christian teaching professionals to benefit from the positive side of calling while avoiding the pitfalls. The article is structured in three parts, with the first providing a definition of the concept of calling. In the second section, the tensions that come with a calling are explored. Finally, suggestions for Christian teaching professionals are offered, based on this elaboration of calling dynamics

Speaking of dominance, status differences, and identification: Making sense of a merger

This study focuses on the perceptions of faculty members involved in a merger between two South African universities that were historically a ‘white’ and a ‘black’ institution. Combining a sensemaking approach and insights from social identity theory, the study aimed for a better understanding of the dynamics that underlie the processes of identification in organizational settings. Analysis of the transcripts of interviews and a focus group showed the importance of status differences, dominance, and several foci of identification. Surprisingly, employees from both merging partners claimed to be the dominated group in the merger and faculty members described their post-merger identification in terms of their profession rather than their membership of the organization. These findings draw attention to the dynamic relationship between salient categories of identification

Context-specific definitions of organizational concepts: Defining 'team effectiveness' with use of the Delphi Technique

Definitions are social constructions rather than objective descriptions. They set clear boundaries for what is considered normal in a situation. Common words in organizations, like effectiveness or success, carry different meaningss in different contexts. In this paper, we evaluate the Delphi Technique as a method for explicating context-specific definitions and illustrate its use in formulating a context-specific definition of ‘an effective health care team’. Eight multi-disciplinary organization members participated in the study and reached consensus on characteristics assigned to team effectiveness in three rounds. The final definition implies the influence of organizational values, underscoring the importance of context specificity in organization studie

Ambiguities of ‘doing what works’:how professionals make sense of applying solution-focused support for people with intellectual disabilities

Objectives: Solution-focused support (SFS) is an upcoming approach to support people with intellectual disabilities (ID). However, while research shows that clients appreciate this approach, insight into professionals’ experiences and their application of SFS is lacking. This article describes a qualitative study aimed at understanding how professionals make sense of learning and applying SFS, specifically, Cauffman’s Solution Cube. Methods: Logbook files in which professionals reported their experiences with SFS for a full year were qualitatively analyzed in two steps: (1) identification of how professionals assigned successful and unsuccessful applications of SFS, and reflected on what worked and dilemmas arising during this application process, (2) identification of patterns over time in how professionals learned how to deal with the encountered dilemmas. Results: The main dilemma experienced by professionals concerns ‘doing what works’ in conjunction with other dimensions of the Solution Cube. Three overall patterns were identified to address how professionals made sense of learning how to apply SFS over time and deal with ambiguities of ‘doing what works’ in practice: (1) a focus on caring, (2) a focus on empowering, and (3) a focus on balancing between the two. Conclusions: Understanding how professionals deal with SFS over time enables researchers to identify different ways professionals learn SFS, along with the ambiguities they experience about the approach and unintended applications. Implications for implementing SFS and learning facilitators that might help promote a balance between caring and empowerment, specifically for people with ID, are provided

Behavioural dynamics in high-performing continuous improvement teams

We have explored from an Organisational-Behavioural perspective, why a Continuous Improvement (CI) team performs well. We report on the first part of a longitudinal study on intra-team behaviour of five, carefully selected, high-performing CI teams in five major Dutch organizations. Not only did we conduct a survey among team members and leaders, we also conducted informal interviews and analysed extensively the field notes. Preliminary results show the importance of five dynamics, such as ‘social talk’ within those teams. Team results were validated during subsequent team feedback sessions. A follow-up study will illuminate how these and related behaviours evolve over time

Quick, accurate, smart: 3D computer vision technology helps assessing confined animals' behaviour

Mankind directly controls the environment and lifestyles of several domestic species for purposes ranging from production and research to conservation and companionship. These environments and lifestyles may not offer these animals the best quality of life. Behaviour is a direct reflection of how the animal is coping with its environment. Behavioural indicators are thus among the preferred parameters to assess welfare. However, behavioural recording (usually from video) can be very time consuming and the accuracy and reliability of the output rely on the experience and background of the observers. The outburst of new video technology and computer image processing gives the basis for promising solutions. In this pilot study, we present a new prototype software able to automatically infer the behaviour of dogs housed in kennels from 3D visual data and through structured machine learning frameworks. Depth information acquired through 3D features, body part detection and training are the key elements that allow the machine to recognise postures, trajectories inside the kennel and patterns of movement that can be later labelled at convenience. The main innovation of the software is its ability to automatically cluster frequently observed temporal patterns of movement without any pre-set ethogram. Conversely, when common patterns are defined through training, a deviation from normal behaviour in time or between individuals could be assessed. The software accuracy in correctly detecting the dogs' behaviour was checked through a validation process. An automatic behaviour recognition system, independent from human subjectivity, could add scientific knowledge on animals' quality of life in confinement as well as saving time and resources. This 3D framework was designed to be invariant to the dog's shape and size and could be extended to farm, laboratory and zoo quadrupeds in artificial housing. The computer vision technique applied to this software is innovative in non-human animal behaviour science. Further improvements and validation are needed, and future applications and limitations are discussed.</p

Parent perceptions of the quality of life of pet dogs living with neuro-typically developing and neuro-atypically developing children: an exploratory study

There is growing scientific and societal recognition of the role that pet dogs can play in healthy development of children; both those who are neuro-typically developing and those who live with a neuro-developmental disorder, such as autism or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. However, little attention has been paid to how living with children positively and negatively affects quality of life of a pet dog. In this exploratory study we conducted semi-structured interviews with parents of neuro-typically developing children (n = 18) and those with a neuro-developmental disorder (n = 18) who owned a pet dog, until no new factors were identified. Living with children brought potentially positive benefits to the dog’s life including: imposition of a routine, participation in recreational activities and the development of a strong bond between the child and the dog. The importance of maintaining a routine was particularly prevalent in families with children with neuro-developmental disorders. Potential negative factors included having to cope with child meltdowns and tantrums, over stimulation from child visitors, harsh contact and rough and tumble play with the child. The regularity and intensity of meltdowns and tantrums was particularly evident in responses from parents with children with a neuro-developmental disorder. However, child visitors and rough play and contact were mentioned similarly across the groups. Protective factors included having a safe haven for the dog to escape to, parent’s awareness of stress signs and child education in dog-interaction. Parents were also asked to complete a stress response scale to provide an initial quantitative comparison of stress responses between dogs living with the two family-types. Parents with neuro-typically developing children more frequently observed their dog rapidly running away from a situation and less frequently observed their dog widening their eyes, than parents with children with a neuro-developmental disorder. We propose the development of a stress audit based on the findings reported here, to prevent potential dangerous situations, which may lead to dog bites and dog relinquishment and allow owners to maximise the benefits of dog ownership