The consequences of functionalist assumptions in the epistemology of organizational culture : the perspective of Critical Management Studies

W artykule zaprezentowano refleksję nad konsekwencjami założeń filozoficznych charakterystycznych dla paradygmatu funkcjonalizmu w epistemologii kultury organizacyjnej. Refleksja prowadzona jest z perspektywy nurtu krytycznego w naukach o zarządzaniu, który stoi w opozycji względem funkcjonalizmu, proponując rozstrzygnięcia teoretyczne i praktyczne o charakterze emancypacyjnym. Prezentowany artykuł ma spełniać cel emancypacyjny związany z denaturalizacją funkcjonalizmu i zaproponowaniem ramy teoretycznej dla krytycznego wglądu w konsekwencje, jakie wynikają z przyjęcia jego założeń w teorii i praktyce zarządzania i organizowania.The author presents the reflection about the consequences of assumptions characteristic for the functionalist paradigm in the epistemology of organizational culture in the management sciences. The study was conducted from the perspective of Critical Management Studies, which stands in opposition to the functionalist paradigm, offering theoretical and practical settlement of an emancipation

Elite interviewing in professional organizations

Interviewing elites presents distinctive methodological challenges, which are exacerbated when interviewing elite professionals. These individuals (i.e. senior professionals and professionals in elite professional organizations) are typically relatively powerful, highly educated, and self-assured, and work in organizations which guard their external image very carefully. Over the past 25 years I have interviewed many hundreds of senior professionals in elite professional organizations. For this article, I have reflected on my experiences and have asked senior professionals to reflect on their own experience of research interviews. Bringing together insights of both interviewees and interviewers, this article provides an opportunity for researchers to reflect upon and improve their professional practice when conducting elite interviews

Labour process theory and critical management studies

Labour Process Theory (LPT) is conventionally and rightly listed as one of the analytical resources for Critical Management Studies (CMS). Yet, the relationships between the two have been, in the words of a classic of the former, a contested terrain. This is hardly surprising. Even if we set aside the inevitable multiplicity of perspectives, there is a tension in potential objects of analysis. Before CMS burst on to the scene, LPT was being criticised at its peak of influence in the 1980s for paying too much attention to management and too little to capital(ism) and labour. This was sometimes attributed to the location of many of the protagonists (in the UK at least) in business schools, but was, more likely a reflection of wider theoretical and ideological divides

Unpacking the client(s): constructions, positions and client–consultant dynamics

Research on management consultancy usually emphasizes the role and perspective of the consultants. Whilst important, consultants are only one element in a dynamic relationship involving both consultants and their clients. In much of the literature, the client is neglected, or is assumed to represent a distinct, immutable entity. In this paper, we argue that the client organisation is not uniform but is instead (like organisations generally) a more or less heterogeneous assemblage of actors, interests and inclinations involved in multiple and varied ways in consultancy projects. This paper draws upon three empirical cases and emphasizes three key aspects of clients in the context of consultancy projects: (a) client diversity, including, but not limited to diversity arising solely from (pre-)structured contact relations and interests; (b) processes of constructing ‘the client’ (including negotiation, conflict, and reconstruction) and the client identities which are thereby produced; and (c) the dynamics of client–consultant relations and how these influence the construction of multiple and perhaps contested client positions and identities

Vulnerability in illness: household healthcare-seeking processes during maternal and child illness in rural Lao PDR

Background: Despite considerable progress, m aternal and child mortality persists and continues to affect many low-income countries, to the extent that the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) 4 and 5 will not be reached. This calls for a broader range of information that will enhance the understanding of the different dimensions of healthcare-seeking. This must be grounded in people’s social reality, not least among remote, rural populations. Aim: The overall aim is to contribute new knowledge on household healthcare-seeking processes, and coping strategies during maternal and child illness, in the context of Lao PDR. Methods: The data originates from two main studies. The first one took place in Xekong and Savannakhet provinces (Articles I-III) and explored how healthcare-seeking takes place and the rationales behind those processes during child illness, pregnancy and childbir th. In each of six rural communities, focus group discussions (FGDs) and in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with mothers and fathers to children under five; pregnant women and grandmothers; and a variety of healthcare providers. The second study took place in the provinces of Phongsaly, Vientiane and Attapeu and aimed to describe households’ experiences of shocks when facing drought, pest infestation, divorce and disease (article IV). In 11 communities, FGDs and in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted. Interviews with households that had experienced serious maternal and child illness were analyzed for sources of vulnerability, coping strategies and shock consequences. Transcripts of the data collected were analyzed and guided by in terpretive description. Results: Several households had experienced serious health shocks. High costs (medical and non-medical), limited possibilities to rapidly mobilize cash and long distances to health facilities were barriers for seeking healthcare (IV ). Only in communities with poor access to healthcare facilities had the death of children - after only consulting traditional healers – occurred (I). In healthcare-seeking processes, delays were observed at household level due to either difficulty in asse ssing the severity of illness symptoms or to disagreements between spouses and between parents and grandparents (I). During important situations such as the first trimester of pregnancy and childbirth, grandmothers were considered important sources of advi ce for young women. Their status was in part based on the impressive changes they had themselves experienced in childbirth practices (III). The risks of dying outside the community had influenced women to seek local healthcare providers (I ), as had their l ack of knowledge about the expectations and social norms of health facilities (II). Conclusions: Sources of vulnerability are many, including the inability to mobilize cash to pay for healthcare despite severe illness; and the spending of savings and sell ing assets, which nevertheless would not always result in the recovery of the family member. Understanding if, how and when healthcare-seeking is initiated, stopped or continued is important in reaching out to groups in areas that are poorly served or not yet using healthcare services. This is one of many challenges in achieving MDG 4 and 5

For many are called, but few are chosen - Citizen Participation in Lund Municipality

On all levels of government, politicians try to find solutions to our environmental problems. Municipalities in countries create action plans according to the Agenda 21, approved in 1992. This agenda encouraged the involvement of citizens from below and many took that to their hearts. Lund municipality in Sweden is one of them. The theory used in this thesis is deliberative democracy. It is applied through studying citizen participation in the policy process leading up to the municipality’s latest environmental document, LundaEko. Through in-depth interviews I could draw the conclusion that citizen participation was not a big part of the process. The participation did not meet the conditions for a fully deliberative process. It consequently did not influence the decisions in a significant manner. The municipality pursued legitimacy in the process, but whether they gained it is not entirely studied. The efficiency was influenced by disagreements among the politicians rather than by the participation of citizens. To conclude, we need further discussions about the relevance of citizen participation, according to deliberative democracy, in today’s democratic society

Extending critical performativity

In this article we extend the debate about critical performativity. We begin by outlining the basic tenets of critical performativity and how this has been applied in the study of management and organization. We then address recent critiques of critical performance. We note these arguments suffer from an undue focus on intra-academic debates; engage in author-itarian theoretical policing; feign relevance through symbolic radicalism; and repackage common sense. We take these critiques as an opportunity to offer an extended model of critical performativity that involves focusing on issues of public importance; engaging with non-academic groups using dialectical reasoning; scaling up insights through movement building; and propagating deliberation

Identity ambiguity and the promises and practices of hybrid e-HRM project teams

The role of IS project team identity work in the enactment of day-to-day relationships with their internal clients is under-researched. We address this gap by examining the identity work undertaken by an electronic human resource management (e-HRM) 'hybrid' project team engaged in an enterprise-wide IS implementation for their multi-national organisation. Utilising social identity theory, we identify three distinctive, interrelated dimensions of project team identity work (project team management, team 'value propositions' (promises) and the team's 'knowledge practice'). We reveal how dissonance between two perspectives of e-HRM project identity work (clients' expected norms of project team's service and project team's expected norms of themselves) results in identity ambiguity. Our research contributions are to identity studies in the IS project management, HR and hybrid literatures and to managerial practice by challenging the assumption that hybrid experts are the panacea for problems associated with IS projects

The complexities of 'otherness': reflections on embodiment of a young White British woman engaged in cross-generation research involving older people in Indonesia

This article has been made available through the Brunel Open Access Publishing Fund.If interviews are to be considered embodied experiences, than the potential influence of the embodied researcher must be explored. A focus on specific attributes such as age or ethnicity belies the complex and negotiated space that both researcher and participant inhabit simultaneously. Drawing on empirical research with stroke survivors in an ethnically mixed area of Indonesia, this paper highlights the importance of considering embodiment as a specific methodological concern. Three specific interactions are described and analysed, illustrating the active nature of the embodied researcher in narrative production and development. The intersectionality of embodied features is evident, alongside their fluctuating influence in time and place. These interactions draw attention to the need to consider the researcher within the interview process and the subsequent analysis and presentation of narrative findings. The paper concludes with a reinforcement of the importance of ongoing and meaningful reflexivity in research, a need to consider the researcher as the other participant, and specifically a call to engage with and present the dynamic nature of embodiment