“That's not a proper ethnography”: a hybrid “propportune” ethnography to study nurses' perceptions of organisational culture in a British hospital

PurposeThis paper revolves around the central question: is it possible to do “proper ethnography” without complete participant observation? The authors draw upon a student's experiences of negotiating National Health Service (NHS) ethical approval requirements and access into the student's research field, a British NHS hospital and having to adapt data collection methods for the student's doctoral research. The authors examine some of the positional (insider/outsider, native gone academic), methodological (long-term/interrupted, overt/covert) and contextual challenges that threatened the student's ethnographic study.Design/methodology/approachThe paper draws on reflexive vignettes written during the student's doctorate, capturing significant moments and issues within the student's research.FindingsThe authors highlight the temporal, practical, ethical and emotional challenges faced in attempting an ethnography of nursing culture within a highly regulated research environment. Having revealed the student's experience of researching this specific culture and finding ways to overcome these challenges, the authors conclude that the contemporary ethnographer needs to be increasingly flexible, opportunistic and somewhat covert.Research limitations/implicationsThe authors argue that it is possible to do “proper” and “good” ethnography without complete participant observation – it is not the method, the observation, that is the essence of ethnography, but whether the researcher achieves real understanding through thick descriptions of the culture that explain “what is really going on here”.Practical implicationsThe authors hope to assist doctoral students engage in “good” ethnographic research within (potentially) risk-averse host organisations, such as the NHS, whilst being located in neo-liberal performative academic organisations (Foster, 2017; McCann et al., 2020). The authors wish to contribute to the journal to ensure good ethnography is accessible and achievable to (particularly) doctoral researchers who have to navigate complex challenges exacerbated by pressures in both the host and home cultures. The authors wish to see doctoral researchers survive and thrive in producing good organisational ethnographies to ensure such research is published (Watson 2012), cognisant of the pressures and targets to publish in top-ranked journals (Jones et al. 2020).Originality/valueHaving identified key challenges, the authors demonstrate how these can be addressed to ensure ethnography remains accessible to and achievable for, doctoral researchers, particularly in healthcare organisations. The authors conclude that understanding can be attained in what they propose as a hybrid form of “propportune” ethnography that blends the aim of the essence of “proper” anthropological approaches with the “opportunism” of contemporary data collection solutions

Engaging students in group work to maximise tacit knowledge sharing and use

We investigated how students' interpersonal trust relationships impact on their willingness to share knowledge during group work and whether there is one best method of group allocation to maximise knowledge sharing. Through focus groups with 32 undergraduate and postgraduate students, we found: i) participants had limited experience of sharing skills; ii) they were more frequently engaged in sharing their beliefs, values and ideas; iii) while interpersonal relationships impacted upon the degree to which knowledge sharing took place, the major contributing factor was participants' desired outcomes. Participants identified different advantages and disadvantages for the same allocation methods depending on their motivations for attending their courses. We conclude that the most equitable approach to group work is to allow students to choose the allocation method most appropriate to their needs. Findings can assist educators in making informed decisions about group work to increase student engagement, and support cognition-based trust to enhance knowledge sharing

Leadership and knowledge management in UK ICT organisations

Purpose While it is well known that leadership can play an important role in engendering effective knowledge management activity, relatively little is known about which styles of leadership are most appropriate for this task. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to theory by exploring dimensions of leadership as presented by Avolio and Bass (Transformational, Transactional and Passive‐Avoidance Leadership) and the dimensions of organisational knowledge management activity as presented by Maier and Mosley through a survey of primary knowledge managers from information and communications technology (ICT) organisations in the UK. Design/methodology/approach The paper presents the results of a quantitative survey of 111 primary knowledge managers from ICT organisations in the UK. Findings The key finding is that when primary knowledge managers within organisations adopt the Transformational and Transactional leadership styles, there is a notable increase in knowledge management activity. Given the results, the authors argue that organisations must be cognisant of the leadership style adopted by their knowledge managers and that it is important that both the Transformational and Transactional leadership styles are mastered and can be employed by knowledge managers within organisations. Originality/value The paper provides analysis of two well‐known leadership styles and a full range of knowledge management activity, providing insights for practitioners and theorists alike