scholarly journals Distinctly lonely: how loneliness at work varies by status in organizations

2022 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony Silard ◽  
Sarah Wright
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Meaningful Work ◽  
Organizational Management ◽  
Organizational Life ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Emotional Connection ◽  
Management Roles ◽  
Management And Leadership

Purpose This paper aims to study the differing pathways to loneliness in managers and their employees. Literature on emotions in organizational life, organizational management and leadership and loneliness are explored to develop and test hypotheses regarding the differential prototypical scripts that can be generative of loneliness in managers and employees. Design/methodology/approach A total of 28 managers and 235 employees from a horticultural company based in Mexico were surveyed, using measures of perceived connection quality, loneliness and meaningful work to test three hypotheses. Findings Data from 28 managers and 235 staff indicate that while loneliness scores do not significantly differ between managers and their subordinates, the predictors of loneliness differ between managers and employees, with emotional connection and mutuality predicting loneliness in employees but not in managers. Originality/value This paper adds specification to the literatures on workplace loneliness, the loneliness associated with management roles, emotions in organizational life and emotions and leadership. The findings are discussed in relation to the literature on manager-subordinate relationships.

The portrayal of Australian women in property publications

2018 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 119-129 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hera Antoniades ◽  
Clive M.J. Warren
Keyword(s):  
Built Environment ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Ad Hoc ◽  
Valuable Insight ◽  
Gender Inequity ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Promote Gender Equality ◽  
Management Roles ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Research Analysis

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to undertake an analysis of the visual portrayal of women published in a professional journal within the built environment and to establish whether or not there is gender stereotyping through these published images. Design/methodology/approach A prominent property professional industry journal was selected for the research analysis. This journal was selected because of the national coverage within Australia and high prominence within the property industry. The analysis focused on a total of 166 pictures in the 2015 issues. The coding identified the publication year, issue number and page number of each photograph analysed and total number of pictures on each page. After this information was tabulated, each photograph was analysed using a thematic analysis approach. Findings The research identified that given the opportunity to be photographed ad hoc, women tend to take the dominant stance and yet when the pictures were posed, the women showed a tendency to adopt a submissive stance. Male images were 13.39 per cent in the dominance category indicating a higher score in comparison to females at 3.45 per cent. Practical implications Whilst it is generally accepted that there are more males in the built environment, the reality leans towards the notion that with less woman on property boards and management roles, it will be difficult to portray women in positions of authority and to balance the gender portrayal. In summary, the marginalisation of women is evident, and marketing media can be highly influential and unintentionally promote gender inequity with image portrayal. Originality/value This research provides a valuable insight on how women are portrayed in the property profession. The property industry and the professional bodies can provide an influential role to promote gender equality.

Meeting technologies and recordkeeping: a preliminary study

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fiorella Foscarini ◽  
Madeleine Krucker ◽  
Danyse Golick
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Records Management ◽  
Organizational Life ◽  
Contextual Data ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Business Meetings ◽  
Virtual Meeting ◽  
User Attention ◽  
Preliminary Study ◽  
Virtual Meetings

Purpose The purpose of this study is to raise awareness of the benefits and drawbacks involved in using digital technologies for business meetings, and identify key concerns. The shift from in-person to virtual meetings has multiple consequences, some of which impact recordkeeping. Design/methodology/approach Drawing on research from records management, anthropology, organizational theory and computer science, this study establishes the norms of physical meeting spaces and recordkeeping and explores how these norms are challenged as meetings become virtual. Findings Virtual meetings allow for collaboration to work across time and space and offer multiple affordances that do not exist in on-site meetings; however, they also involve the additional barrier of technical access and reduction in user attention. Virtual meetings also enable the creation, capture and sharing of increased contextual data, and this increased documentation challenges traditional recordkeeping models. Meeting technologies are also worryingly invasive. This study shows that concerns over privacy have been dismissed in the design of virtual meeting spaces, and therefore the authors recommend their more thorough consideration. Originality/value Meetings are a pervasive feature of organizational life whose significance has been overlooked in the recordkeeping literature. By bringing together research about in-person and virtual meetings in a novel and necessary way, the authors started to fill a gap and hope to inspire further studies.

Impact of transactional, relational and balanced contract on affective commitment

2020 ◽  
Vol 70 (1) ◽  
pp. 131-149
Author(s):  
Nishant Singh ◽  
Harsha Tyagi ◽  
Umesh Bamel
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Behavior ◽  
Psychological Contract ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Affective Commitment ◽  
Meaningful Work ◽  
Psychological Contracts ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Manufacturing Organizations ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

PurposeThis paper is aimed at examining the impact of three types of psychological contracts such as transactional, relational and balanced contract on affective commitment by keeping meaningful work (MFW) as a mediator in this relationship.Design/methodology/approachThe data of 355 employees was collected from the large heavy Indian manufacturing organizations. The mediation path was analyzed through SPSS macro computational tool, i.e. PROCESS.FindingsThe result suggests that MFW partially mediates the relationship between all three types of psychological contract and affective commitment.Originality/valueThe study adds value to research in organizational behavior and human psychology by providing new insights on employee-employer relationships, MFW, and commitment.

Could self-centrism rust the glitter of meaningful work? Exploring the darker sides of the construct

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Subhra Pattnaik ◽  
Lalatendu Kesari Jena
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Study ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Manufacturing Sector ◽  
Meaningful Work ◽  
Work And Family ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Family Ties

Purpose The paper explores if individuals experiencing deeply meaningful work turn self-centric and therein they negatively affect people around them. It also discusses ways to attenuate this darker effect of meaningful work. Design/methodology/approach Semi-structured interviews were conducted with supervisors, peers, subordinates, and family of 24 executives in the Indian Aeronautical Manufacturing Sector who scored high on the Meaningful Work scale in another empirical study carried out by the authors in early 2019. Findings Individuals experiencing deeply Meaningful Work get self-centric, at times, where nothing beyond work appeals to them. This negatively affects their camaraderie at work and family ties. Originality/value The paper adds to the scarce literature on the darker side of Meaningful Work by exploring its effect on breeding self-centrism using an Indian sample.

The strong, the weak and the meaningful

2019 ◽  
Vol 39 (5/6) ◽  
pp. 376-394 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roger Patulny ◽  
Gaby Ramia ◽  
Zhuqin Feng ◽  
Michelle Peterie ◽  
Greg Marston
Keyword(s):  
Emotional Support ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Meaningful Work ◽  
Employment Outcomes ◽  
Employment Services ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Entry Level ◽  
The Unemployed ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose Governments increasingly promote employment through social networks (whether via formal job networks or informal personal networks). However, they rarely account for how weak-tie “bridging” networks and strong-tie “bonding” networks differentially affect employment outcomes. Given criticism that (usually weak-tie bridging-focussed) formal job networks are overly focussed on finding entry-level (i.e. any) jobs, it is imperative to understand the impact of strong and weak ties on securing work with good conditions, or of meaning to the worker. Such links are poorly understood in the present literature. The paper aims to discuss this issue. Design/methodology/approach This study uses national Australian survey data to assess whether support from close “friends” or distant “acquaintances” is associated with employment outcomes such as finding any work or “meaningful” work. Findings The results show that relatively distant ties (close acquaintances) and emotional support from friends are each associated with reduced chances of being an unemployed/discouraged worker. Stronger ties (close friends) are associated with better chances of a having a “meaningful” job. Practical implications More attention should be paid to tie strength dynamics and meaningful employment outcomes in the delivery of employment services. In particular, a role for active “close-tie brokers” in promoting networks should be investigated, instead of expecting/pushing the unemployed to rely on either extremely close or distant connections. Originality/value This is the first study to find a link between network type and meaningful work, which has important implications for the delivery of employment services.

How organizational culture can shape leadership style

2020 ◽  
Vol 34 (5) ◽  
pp. 41-43
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Culture ◽  
Cultural Values ◽  
Leadership Style ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Reading Time ◽  
Considerable Influence ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Management Roles ◽  
Pertinent Information

Purpose Strong cultural values that persist within a specific nation or society typically determine the type of culture formed within business institutions there. Certain aspects of organizational culture can then exert considerable influence on the leadership style embraced by individuals who occupy management roles. Design/methodology/approach This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context. Findings Strong cultural values that persist within a specific nation or society typically determine the type of culture formed within business institutions there. Certain aspects of organizational culture can then exert considerable influence on the leadership style embraced by individuals who occupy management roles. Originality/value The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.

Between change and reproduction

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 177-189 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jette Ernst
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Organizational Life ◽  
Hospital Organization ◽  
Hospital Department ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Professional Boundaries ◽  
Practice Redesign ◽  
Organizational Ethnography ◽  
Danish Hospital

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of organizational space in attempts at practice redesign and innovation that involve a break with the traditional professional boundaries in a recently established Danish hospital department. Design/methodology/approach Organizational ethnography combined with Bourdieusian theorization. The data used for this paper are derived from 13 months of ethnographic fieldwork. The author performed participant and meeting observations combined with interviews and the reading of internal and external documents. Findings Despite the department’s attempts at pursuing practice redesign and innovation by breaking with the institutionalized professional boundaries as well as role hierarchies, and emphasizing collaboration between nurses and doctors, the paper demonstrates how the attempts at change meet invisible impediments in practice and how organizational space plays an important yet, overlooked part in reproducing field tradition. Originality/value By virtue of Bourdieusian theorization in combination with organizational ethnography, the paper contributes with unique insights into a seldom studied part of hospital organization, which is how organizational space, rather than being a backdrop for organizational life, is constructed and used by professionals whose habitus renders this space an active component in delimiting professional work as well as the scope of change.

scholarly journals Organizational members as storywriters: on organizing practices of reflexivity

2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
Silvia Gherardi ◽  
Michela Cozza ◽  
Barbara Poggio
Keyword(s):  
Social Practice ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Important Process ◽  
Organizational Life ◽  
Learning Context ◽  
Shared Experience ◽  
Process Of Change ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Approach To Learning ◽  
Practice Elements

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to describe how organizational members became storywriters of an important process of organizational change. Writing became a practice designed to create a space, a time and a methodology with which to author the process of change and create a learning context. The written stories produced both the subjectivity of practical authors and reflexively created the con/text for their reproduction. Design/methodology/approach A storywriting workshop inspired by a processual and participatory practice-based approach to learning and knowing was held in a research organization undergoing privatization. For six months, 31 organizational members, divided into two groups, participated in writing one story per week for six weeks. The written story had to refer to a fact that had occurred in the previous week, thus prompting reflection on the ongoing organizational life and giving a situated meaning to the change process. Findings Storywriting is first and foremost a social practice of wayfinding, that is of knowing as one goes. Writing proved to be an effective practice that involved the authors, their narratives and the audiences in a shared experience where all these practice elements became connected and through their connection acquired agency. Originality/value Narrative knowledge has been studied mainly in storytelling, while storywriting by organizational members has received less attention. This paper explores storywriting both as a situated, relational and material practice and as the process that produces narratives which can be considered for their content and their style.

Resolving conflict in organizations – achieving results through a harmonization process

2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (5) ◽  
pp. 4-7
Author(s):  
Thuc-Doan Nguyen
Keyword(s):  
Problem Solving ◽  
Conflict Management ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
The Other ◽  
Organizational Life ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Management Capability ◽  
Harmonization Process ◽  
The One ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose Conflict is inevitable in organizational life. On the one hand, it can bring creativity and enhance problem-solving. On the other, it can hinder effective problem-solving, increase defensiveness and member dissatisfaction, and create a destructive work environment. This paper aims to outline four important components of harmonization that help to enhance conflict-management capability. Design/methodology/approach Based on Nguyen and Belk’s (2013) harmonization framework, the author adds their own comments and places in the context of resolving conflict in organization. Findings The harmonization process synthesizes multiple goals and balances differences to achieve better solutions without discounting any of these elements. Harmonization provides better understanding of important issues and why they are critical to each party. Each party will feel better about the situation after having heard the other side’s position. There might be anger, anxiety, or frustration at the beginning. However, when people successfully go through the harmonization process, they feel happy, connected to others and proud of the results they get. These processes require communicating with others, learning others’ perspectives, understanding and empathizing with others, and being willing to adjust. Practical implications The paper outlines four skills in which organizations can train their employees to improve conflict management. Originality/value Harmonization process is applied to conflict management in organization.

scholarly journals Charting new territory for organizational ethnography

2014 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 10-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Smets ◽  
Gary Burke ◽  
Paula Jarzabkowski ◽  
Paul Spee
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Organizational Life ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Video Ethnography ◽  
New Approaches ◽  
Norms And Values ◽  
Organizational Ethnography ◽  
Different Dimensions ◽  
Being There

Purpose – Increasing complexity, fragmentation, mobility, pace, and technological intermediation of organizational life make “being there” increasingly difficult. Where do ethnographers have to be, when, for how long, and with whom to “be there” and grasp the practices, norms, and values that make the situation meaningful to natives? These novel complexities call for new forms of organizational ethnography. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the above issues. Design/methodology/approach – In this paper, the authors respond to these calls for innovative ethnographic methods in two ways. First, the paper reports on the practices and ethnographic experiences of conducting a year-long team-based video ethnography of reinsurance trading in London. Findings – Second, drawing on these experiences, the paper proposes a framework for systematizing new approaches to organizational ethnography and visualizing the ways in which they are “expanding” ethnography as it was traditionally practiced. Originality/value – The paper contributes to the ethnographic literature in three ways: first, the paper develops a framework for charting new approaches to ethnography and highlight its different dimensions – site, instrument, and fieldworker. Second, the paper outlines the opportunities and challenges associated with these expansions, specifically with regard to research design, analytical rigour, and communication of results. Third, drawing on the previous two contributions, the paper highlights configurations of methodological expansions on the aforementioned dimensions that are more promising than others in leveraging new technologies and approaches to claim new territory for organizational ethnography and enhance its relevance for understanding today's multifarious organizational realities.

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