The psychology of careers in industrial-organizational settings: a critical but appreciative analysis

The psychology of careers in industrial-organizational settings: a critical but appreciative analysi

Lived experiences of offshoring : an examination of UK and Indian financial service employees’ accounts of themselves and one another

This article is about employees’ lived experiences of offshoring. Focusing on the accounts of individuals in a financial services company operating in the UK and Mumbai, India, it examines the ways in which respondents constructed and positioned themselves in relation to one another in the stories they told. We argue that in their accounts our respondents mobilized discourses of culture and cultural difference to describe and justify this positioning, with particular reference to ‘the language barrier’, work ethics and notions of competence. We draw three broad conclusions. The first is empirical and concerns the benefits of in-depth case study research for developing understandings of this emerging sector. The second conclusion relates to respondents’ use of cultural ascriptions to justify certain existing patterns of behaviour and to foreclose discussion of alternatives. The third conclusion highlights the deep sense of ambivalence that permeates our dataset, proposing that within this ambivalence lie possibilities for resistance and change. This paper is about employees’ lived experiences of offshoring. Focusing on the accounts of individuals in a financial services company operating in three centres in the United Kingdom and one in Mumbai, India, it examines the ways in which Indian and UK workers account for one another, and considers these understandings for organizational practice. In the last five years the growth of business outsourcing and offshoring has generated fierce debate. On a macro level, while some commentators have described such arrangements as providing both source and destination countries with opportunities for prosperity, flexibility, security and freedom (Friedman, 2005), others see India, China etc. simply as providers of cheap labour, and this form of modernisation as ultimately leading to even greater inequality and deprivation (Mishra, 2006). With regard to India in particular, with some notable exceptions (eg, Mirchandani, 2004, 2005; McMillan, 2006) commentators are similarly divided, with arguments that the technology enabled sector is offering high wages and unprecedented career and life prospects to aspirational young people (NASSCOM; Dossani & Kenney, 2003) set against a view of Indian customer service workers as ‘cyber coolies’, ‘insecure’ and ‘vulnerable’ casualities of the new economic order (Ramesh, 2004). While important contextually, our paper does not aim to take a position in this highly polarized debate. Rather, our interest here is in employees’ lived experiences of these new forms of organization. The literature on customer service sectors highlights relationships with customers as central to employees’ experiences of work (Korczynski, 2002; Mirchandani, 2005). However, in our data it was the dynamics between UK and Indian employees that emerged as a defining feature of this transnational setting. In this paper we interrogate the ways in which respondents constructed and positioned themselves in relation to one another in the stories they told. We argue that in their accounts our respondents mobilised discourses of ‘culture’ and especially of ‘cultural difference’ to describe and justify this positioning, most specifically with respect to language issues, work ethics and their implications for organizational practice, and notions of competence. We suggest that such data provide rich insights into how work is made sense of, legitimated and enacted in these putative organizational forms. A distinguishing feature of our study is the structure of our case study organization. As Taylor and Bain (2003) have explained, outsourcing and offshoring are generic terms, used in diverse, sometimes overlapping ways, to denote a whole range of organizational arrangements from contracting out to a third party based overseas (described in India as ‘business process outsourcing’, or BPO), to the wholly owned subsidiary (in India termed the ‘captive’) (see also Mitter, 2000 and Dossani & Kenney, 2003). The organization we studied is a captive, which means that although the Indian operation has its own management structure, UK and Indian employees work alongside one another and are all considered to be part of the same, highly reputed and long-standing UK financial services company. Whereas the BPO sector is based on short-term, transactional client/service provider relationships, in a captive the relationships between India and the UK are much more complex, with business processes wholly based in one site, with others operating across sites. This matrix structure creates spaces for wide-ranging interaction and the development of multifaceted relationships between the UK and Indian staff. Turning to the structure of the paper, following this introduction we will consider key debates and perspectives in the literature on offshored customer service work, then focus on the Indian context in particular and the ways in which this has been written about in the West, as well as in the Indian popular and academic press. We then turn to our study, briefly describing the case study organization and our research design. The empirical discussion examines respondents’ ascriptions of culture and cultural difference with respect to three permeating themes: the ‘language barrier’, work ethics and organizational practices, and notions of competence. In the discussion we draw three broad conclusions. The first is empirical and concerns the benefits of indepth case study research for developing understandings of this emerging sector. The second conclusion relates to respondents’ use of cultural ascriptions to justify certain existing patterns of behaviour, and to foreclose discussion of alternatives. The third conclusion highlights the deep sense of ambivalence that permeates our dataset, proposing that within this ambivalence lie possibilities for resistance and change

Exploring the interplay between gender, organizational context and career: A Sri Lankan perspective

Purpose – This paper aims to explore how highly skilled women workers in Sri Lanka navigate organizational contexts via different modes of engagement in pursuit of hierarchical advancement. The purpose is to contribute new insights into existing understandings of women's careers in diverse socio-cultural contexts. Design/methodology/approach – This paper is based on one-to-one in-depth interviews conducted with 24 Sri Lankan women in early, mid and late career. Findings – The findings reveal how the women in this sample actively used eight modes of engagement to manage themselves in organizations and vertically advance in their careers. The implications of these modes for organizational contexts and women's careers are highlighted. Originality/value – This paper contributes to the limited literature on women's careers in South Asia and develops existing understandings of modes of engagement individuals use to develop their careers

Examining the interplay of career, migration and national cultural identity: the case of Indian scientists

In this paper, we examine individuals' career migration across international borders. It is widely recognized that globalization has fundamental implications for the careers of people across geographical and cultural boundaries. However, our understanding of the interplay of migration, career development and national/cultural identities remains undeveloped within the extant literature. In this paper, we seek to offer insights into this relationship. Focusing on Indian scientists, an occupational group whose careers have long been associated with movement around the world, in this paper we examine these issues. Empirically, we examine three themes: why Indian scientists see international mobility as important in the development of their careers; continued links with India; and the interplay of national/cultural affiliation and respondents' career experiences. In light of our findings, in the discussion section we argue that considering Indian scientists as a career diaspora highlights three important features that in the main have received only limited attention in the extant literature: career as a social form and process; the notion of the scientific career as a cultural product; and the interrelationship of career and national/cultural affiliation as ongoing facets of individuals' identities as they develop diasporic careers. © 2012 The Authors. International Migration © 2009 IOM

Remembrance of things past : cultural process and practice in the analysis of career stories

Stories can be a valuable tool for the career researcher. Questions arise, though, about how best to approach stories analytically such that their insights can be fully realised. In this paper I apply cultural theorist Raymond Williams’ analysis of cultural processes as dominant, residual and emergent (1977) to the narratives generated in a recent study into the careers of research scientists. I examine how these overlapping meaning systems are elucidated in individuals’ career narratives and consider implications for developing understanding

Understanding language processes: a neglected skill in the management curriculum

Understanding how language works is central to an understanding of how organizations work. This argument is well rehearsed in the organizational literature, and is implicit in many of the modules taught in management education. Yet students of management are rarely given a theoretical base or the tools and skills required for analysing language and other sign systems used in organizations. Using examples from current literature and the authors’ own research, this article argues that this omission should be rectified so that students of management can gain an understanding of how language functions to create particular meanings and serve particular purposes. The article describes the authors’ attempts to provide a theoretical base and relevant tools and skills to management students within their own institution

The Office (27 November 2003–18 January 2004), the photographers’ gallery, London: a review

The recent preoccupation with the aesthetic dimension of organizational life (Carr and Hancock, 2002; Gagliardi, 1990; Linstead and Hopfl, 2000; Strati, 1999) has, in part, contributed to an ongoing interest in the visual culture of organizations and a concomitant concern with cultural artefacts such as logos and symbols, workspaces and architecture and even workers’ bodies. However, as Warren (2002) has noted, much of this interest has been articulated largely through spoken and written texts reflecting what might be regarded as something of a ‘visual illiteracy’ in work and organization studies (Strangleman, 2004) and indeed, the social sciences more generally. In this review we consider what contribution, if any, photographic exhibitions such as The Office might make to our understanding of work and its organization, and particularly to reflecting on both continuities and changes in the lived experience of office life

My brilliant career ? Using stories as a methodological tool in careers research

Within organizational research, stories are increasingly recognised as a powerful research tool. In this article we argue that stories can likewise be a valuable research instrument in analyzing "career". In particular, they illuminate the ways in which individuals make sense of their careers as they unfold through time and space, attending to both the holistic nature of career as well as to specific career transitions. Further, stories as discursive constructs provides insights into individual sense-making. Through such insights, the story-based researcher can build a rich, complex, multifaceted, and integrated picture from the perspective of situated individuals

The transition from organisational employment to portfolio working: Perceptions of `boundarylessness'

The focus of this paper is the transition of managers and professionals out of organisational employment into portfolio work. The interest in this individual transition is its resonance with wider debates about the changing nature of career. The demise of the traditional hierarchical career is widely predicted as is its replacement by a proliferation of more fluid and individual career choices, encompassed in the over-arching notion of the boundaryless career. The two studies on which this paper is based have taken an in-depth look at individuals who appear to exemplify this move out of organisational employment and into more independent working. The paper draws inductively on interviews with individuals who had left organisations to set up on their own. Hence the data is grounded in the accounts of individuals and seeks to explore their interpretations of their experiences. The paper focuses on participants’ expectations of their new employment context and its realities. In considering the major implications of these findings, it questions dualistic conceptualisations of career and argues for theoretical frameworks based more on synthesis and linkage

Entrepreneurial identities: reflections from two case studies

The central focus of this paper is an analysis of the enterprise discourse and how it is articulated by individuals working in small business environments, to construct and reconstruct material practices and psychological identities. The core argument is that, even if people do not take the enterprise culture seriously, even if they feel unaffected by its values and claims, they are inevitably reproducing it through their involvement with the daily practices which are imbued with the notion of enterprise (du Gay and Salaman, 1992). As such, the paper takes a social constructionist perspective which seeks to illustrate how individuals are constituted by the discourse of enterprise, and to provide some empirical evidence of the processes and practices which both reflect and construct that experience