Leading in an Amish Paradise: humanistic leadership in the Old Order Amish

2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 473-485
Author(s):  
Charles Keim ◽  
Masoud Shadnam
Keyword(s):  
Census Data ◽  
Ethnographic Study ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Lead Author ◽  
Large Set ◽  
Old Order Amish ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Sustainable Community ◽  
Old Order ◽  
Humanistic Leadership

PurposeThe authors examined the traditional leadership practiced by the Old Order Amish located in the Holmes and Wayne counties of America. Despite popular stereotypes, this community is remarkably innovative and resilient. Amish leadership aligns with the central tenets of humanistic leadership and provides a rich illustration of how such a leadership paradigm can foster a vibrant, inclusive and sustainable community. Unlike current leadership models that focus on instrumental values like wealth, profit and growth, Amish leadership is concerned with faith, community and living a simple life with purpose and dignity.Design/methodology/approachThe primary data required for this paper were collected by the lead author during a six-month ethnographic study on several Amish communities located in Ohio. The authors also consulted a large set of archival data, including think tank reports, census data, biographies, magazine features and academic publications, which helped in placing the primary data in perspective and reminding of the particularities of the contexts from which the primary data were collected. For the data analysis, the authors used a thematic analysis approach to allow the salient themes of Amish humanistic leadership emerge from the data.FindingsA total offour themes emerged from this study: (1) leadership as local identity and practice; (2) leaders without benefits, chosen by the lot; (3) leaders present matters, followers discuss and decide; (4) community welfare as the yardstick for evaluation. These themes highlighted some of the key aspects of humanistic leadership eclipsed in the mainstream theories of management and leadership. They showed how the Amish respond to the encroachment of technology, which holds critical clues for how humanistic leaders can place the needs of their people before the demands of their shareholders. By examining Amish leadership in detail, this study demonstrated the potential of humanistic leadership for creating a strong and sustainable community while also contributing to the empirical foundation of humanistic management.Originality/valueGiven the closed nature of the Amish, only few academic studies exist, which examined their leadership style. Furthermore, the traditional and conservative nature of the Amish community has prevented critics from investigating their leadership as a model for revitalizing other communities.

scholarly journals VIRTUALLY AMISH: PRESERVING COMMUNITY AT THE INTERNET’S MARGINS

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lindsay Ems
Keyword(s):  
Technology Use ◽  
Communication Technologies ◽  
Ethnographic Study ◽  
Religious Leaders ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Old Order Amish ◽  
Old Order ◽  
Forthcoming Book ◽  
Negative Impacts ◽  
Adoption Design

My forthcoming book (MIT Press), Virtually Amish, is an ethnographic study of the adoption, design and use of digital communication technologies among members of Old Order Amish communities. This paper explores a section of the book focusing on Amish strategies for internet management. These strategies are in place to protect Amish communities from perceived negative impacts of technologically mediated connectivity. Today it is increasingly common for the Amish to adopt computers, the internet and mobile devices in calculated ways to remain competitive in business. Often the use of these devices blends into the personal sphere as well. This research is notable for its empirical observations that show shared values are key to determining patterns of technology use in Amish communities. Data was collected via semi-structured interviews with thought-leaders (business and religious leaders) in Indiana Amish settlements. Findings show that the Amish consider their own cultural, social, political and religious autonomy in deciding how to engage with a broader social and economic system as technologies are essential to the mediation of these relationships.

scholarly journals Ideology at work: reconsidering ideology, the labour process and workplace resistance

2017 ◽  
Vol 37 (5/6) ◽  
pp. 266-279 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony Lloyd
Keyword(s):  
Alternative Interpretation ◽  
Ethnographic Study ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Call Centre ◽  
Sociology Of Work ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Workplace Studies ◽  
Labour Process ◽  
North East ◽  
Workplace Resistance

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to consider existing debates within the sociology of work, particularly the re-emergence of labour process theory (LPT) and the “collective worker”, in relation to resistance at work. Through presentation of primary data and a dialectical discussion about the nature of ideology, the paper offers alternative interpretations on long-standing debates and raises questions about the efficacy of workplace resistance. Design/methodology/approach The design of this methodology is an ethnographic study of a call centre in the North-East of England, a covert participant observation at “Call Direct” supplemented by semi-structured interviews with call centre employees. Findings The findings in this paper suggest that resistance in the call centre mirrors forms of resistance outlined elsewhere in both the call centre literature and classical workplace studies from the industrial era. However, in presenting an alternative interpretation of ideology, as working at the level of action rather than thought, the paper reinterprets the data and characterises workplace resistance as lacking the political potential for change often emphasised in LPT and other workplace studies. Originality/value The original contribution of this paper is in applying an alternative interpretation of ideology to a long-standing debate. In asking sociology of work scholars to consider the “reversal of ideology”, it presents an alternative perspective on resistance in the workplace and raises questions about the efficacy of workplace disobedience.

“Methodomania”? On the methodological and theoretical challenges of IMP business research

IMP Journal ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 443-463 ◽  
Author(s):  
Håkan Håkansson ◽  
Alexandra Waluszewski
Keyword(s):  
Original Data ◽  
Economic Resources ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Original Form ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Large Set ◽  
Business Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Methodological Challenges ◽  
Business Exchange

Purpose Behind the simple connotation “business exchange” a complex empirical phenomenon can be observed, including using, producing and developing activities, taking place in different contexts, influenced by ideas stemming from both practice and mainstream economic thinking. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the methodological challenges of research on business exchange in general and of IMP research in particular. Furthermore, to discuss how the authors can avoid the contemporary “methodomania” trend, where the researchers’ focus is directed toward accounting for which rules were followed. Design/methodology/approach The paper is based on a methodological distinction made by Peter Galison (1997) in his investigation of the interdependence among research approach, methodology, and research object in microphysics. Studies based on: “image,” allows data in its original form, and “logic,” requires the translation of original data and therefore relies “fundamentally on statistical demonstrations.” This distinction is utilized to investigate what is specific with business exchange as a research object, and how IMP researchers have dealt with the methodological challenges it presents. Furthermore, the paper considers these different methodological approaches in relation to theory and understanding of the research object. Findings The main conclusion is the huge importance the image-based methodology has had for the development of the IMP network approach. From the very start the IMP project has been focused on the production of a large set of, in Galison’s terminology, “hard facts” about the existence, substance and importance of interaction and the relationships it is creating. This image-based methodology has been utilized in the development of a set of imaging instruments, each with an ability to picture the content and consequences of business exchange. Research limitations/implications Two methodological challenges which are specific for business research are identified. One is that “images” in terms of personal accounts on the organizing of production and use of economic resources are marbled with ideas, stemming from a mix of theories, textbooks and practice on how to do this. The second is that established theories create a “logic” in terms of the combination of “assumptions” and established “accounting principles” that produce a number of outputs interpreted as primary data and objective accounts of the characteristics of the production and use of economic resources. Practical implications IMP’s image-based methodology and the development of specific imaging instruments can increase the exactness in the pictures of the content and consequences of business interaction, and also, catch the range of its substance. Considering this circumstance could be a way to avoid “methodomania” and to breed awareness of the relationship among research object, methodology, and research approach. Social implications IMP’s image-based methodology can increase the awareness that the logic-based model of business exchange has been ascribed an advisory role in terms of how companies should act in order to survive and prosper: as sellers and buyers in relation to each other, and also in relation to others. Originality/value First, the paper underlines that image-based methodologies can be used to produce “hard facts” about the existence, substance, and importance of business interaction. Second, the paper shows how the methodology of mainstream economics tends to be “the elephant in the room,” both in approaches resting on “image” and “logic.” It addresses the importance of making the elephant visible and investigates what is happening in its shadow.

The role of innovation in building competitive advantages: an empirical investigation

2018 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 44-69 ◽  
Author(s):  
Prodromos Chatzoglou ◽  
Dimitrios Chatzoudes
Keyword(s):  
Competitive Advantage ◽  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
Empirical Investigation ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Empirical Literature ◽  
Competitive Advantages ◽  
Manufacturing Companies ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Structured Questionnaire

Purpose Nowadays, innovation appears as one of the main driving forces of organisational success. Despite the above fact, its impact on the propensity of an organisation to develop and sustain a competitive advantage has not yet received sufficient empirical investigation. The purpose of this paper is to enhance the existing empirical literature by focusing on the antecedents of innovation and its impact on competitive advantage. It proposes a newly developed conceptual framework that adopts a three-step approach, highlighting areas that have rarely been simultaneously examined before. Design/methodology/approach The examination of the proposed conceptual framework was performed with the use of a newly developed structured questionnaire that was distributed to a group of Greek manufacturing companies. The questionnaire has been successfully completed by chief executive officers (CEOs) from 189 different companies. CEOs were used as key respondents due to their knowledge and experience. The reliability and the validity of the questionnaire were thoroughly examined. Empirical data were analysed using the structural equation modelling technique. The study is empirical (based on primary data), explanatory (examines cause and effect relationships), deductive (tests research hypotheses) and quantitative (includes the analysis of quantitative data collected with the use of a structured questionnaire). Findings Results indicate that knowledge management, intellectual capital, organisational capabilities and organisational culture have significant direct and indirect effects on innovation, underlining the importance of their simultaneous enhancement. Finally, the positive effect of innovation on the creation of competitive advantages is empirically validated, bridging the gap in the relevant literature and offering avenues for additional future research. Originality/value The causal relationship between innovation and competitive advantage, despite its significant theoretical support, has not been empirically validated. The present paper aspires to bridge this gap, investigating the impact of innovation on the development of competitive advantages. Moreover, the present study adopts a multidimensional approach that has never been explored in the existing innovation literature, making the examination of the proposed conceptual framework an interesting research topic.

scholarly journals Risk factors for Toxoplasma gondii seropositivity in the Old Order Amish

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-25
Author(s):  
A. O. Markon ◽  
K. A. Ryan ◽  
A. Wadhawan ◽  
M. Pavlovich ◽  
M.W. Groer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Toxoplasma Gondii ◽  
Old Order Amish ◽  
Old Order

Toward a theory on workplaces for smart workers

Facilities ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 38 (3/4) ◽  
pp. 298-315
Author(s):  
Luisa Errichiello ◽  
Tommasina Pianese
Keyword(s):  
Web Sites ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Innovative Design ◽  
Content Type ◽  
New Type ◽  
Smart Working ◽  
Research Propositions

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify the main features of smart work centers (SWCs) and show how these innovative offices would support the implementation of smart working and related changes in workspaces (“bricks”), technologies (“bytes”) and organizational practices (“behaviors”). Design/methodology/approach In this study, scientific literature is combined with white papers and business reports and visits to 14 workplaces, including offices designed as SWCs, co-working spaces, one telecenter, one accelerator and one fab lab. Primary data were collected through interviews with managers and users and non-participant observation, whereas secondary data included web-sites, brochures, presentations, press releases and official documents. Findings The authors developed research propositions about how the design of spaces and the availability of technology within SWCs would support the “bricks” and “bytes” levers of smart working. More importantly, the authors assumed that this new type of workplace would sustain changes in employees’ behaviors and managers’ practices, thus helping to overcome several challenges traditionally associated with remote working. Research limitations/implications The exploratory nature of the research only provides preliminary information about the role of SWCs within smart working programs. Additional qualitative and quantitative empirical investigation is required. Practical implications This study provides valuable knowledge about how the design of corporate offices can be leveraged to sustain the implementation of smart working. Originality/value This study advances knowledge on workplaces by focusing on an innovative design of traditional offices (SWC). It also lays the foundations for future investigation aimed at testing the developed propositions.

The sustainable management design of oxbow lake to determine the factors in lake management in Buluh Cina village, Indonesia

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 395-430
Author(s):  
Adi Susilo
Keyword(s):  
Survey Methods ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Lake Management ◽  
Monte Carlo Analysis ◽  
Oxbow Lake ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Economic Dimension ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Sustainability Index ◽  
Index Value

Purpose The purpose of this study at the level of sustainability of oxbow lake was intended to determine the status of sustainability, leverage attributes and driving factors in the management of oxbow lake in Buluh Cina village in Kampar, Riau, Indonesia. Design/methodology/approach The types of data collected include primary data and secondary data. Data was collected using survey methods, library research, laboratory analysis and interviews. The analytical method used this study is multidimensional scaling (MDS) analysis and prospect analysis. Sustainability analysis is done using the MDS analysis approach with the help of RapOxbow software and compared to Monte Carlo analysis results. Findings The current sustainability status of the management of Lake Baru ecosystem according to a number of dimensions is considered sustainable with a sustainability index value of 50.95. Meanwhile, the analysis results of each dimension shows that the sustainability index for the ecological dimension is 42.56 and the sustainability index for the economic dimension is 47.44, which means that the index is less sustainable. Originality/value The approach of this research is MDS analysis and prospect analysis and research locations in Buluh Cina village in Kampar, Indonesia which have never been studied before. This is one of few studies that investigates comprehensively the analysis of management sustainability, especially in the dimensions of ecology, economics and socio-culture, especially in Indonesia.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document