scholarly journals Organizational Culture Beyond Consensus and Clarity: Narratives From Elite Sport

2020 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 288-299
Author(s):  
Michael McDougall ◽  
Noora Ronkainen ◽  
David Richardson ◽  
Martin Littlewood ◽  
Mark Nesti
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Culture ◽  
Sport Psychology ◽  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
Elite Sport ◽  
Narrative Interviews ◽  
Research And Practice ◽  
Course Of Action ◽  
Inclusive Concept ◽  
Cultural Content

In sport psychology, organizational culture is usually depicted as shared, consistent, and clear—the glue that holds people together so they can achieve success. There is, however, growing discontent in sport psychology with this idea of culture and extensive critiques in other academic domains that suggest this perspective is limited. Accordingly, the authors draw on narrative interviews with participants (n = 7) from different areas of sport and use Martin and Meyerson’s three perspective (integration, differentiation, and fragmentation) approach to culture alongside thematic analysis to reconstruct three “ideal cases” that exemplify each perspective. The findings emphasize a different pattern of meaning in each actors’ narrative and suggest the need to develop a broader, more inclusive concept of culture, so as not to minimize or dismiss cultural content that is not obviously shared, clear, or created by leadership; a course of action that can enhance both research and practice in the area.

Reflective Practice Within Elite Consultancy: Diary Extracts and Further Discussion on a Personal and Elusive Process

2012 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 454-469 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zoe Knowles ◽  
Jonathan Katz ◽  
David Gilbourne
Keyword(s):  
Social Science ◽  
Reflective Practice ◽  
Sport Psychology ◽  
Personal Development ◽  
Critical Reflection ◽  
Elite Sport ◽  
Sporting Event ◽  
Critical Social Science ◽  
Shared Writing ◽  
Critical Social

This paper examines reflective practice by illustrating and commenting upon aspects of an elite sport psychology practitioner’s reflective processes. Extracts from a practitioner’s reflective diary, maintained during attendance at a major sporting event, focused upon issues that relate to on-going relationships and communication with fellow practitioners and athletes. Authors one and three offered subsequent comment on these accounts to facilitate movement toward critical reflection via an intrapersonal process creating considerations for the practitioners with regard to skills and personal development. These issues are discussed in relation to pragmatic topics such as “staged” and “layered” reflection encouraged by author collaboration and shared writing within the present paper. We argue these outcomes against more philosophical/opaque considerations such as the progression of critical reflection and critical social science.

“Women Are Cancer, You Shouldn’t Be Working in Sport”: Sport Psychologists’ Lived Experiences of Sexism in Sport

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Aura Goldman ◽  
Misia Gervis
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Focus Groups ◽  
Sport Psychology ◽  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
Lived Experiences ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Power Differentials ◽  
The Feminine ◽  
Gendered Power ◽  
The Impact

Though sexism has been recognized as problematic in sport, its impact on female sport psychologists in the United Kingdom has not yet been investigated. The purpose of this research was to explore the impact of sexism and its influence on practice. Four semistructured focus groups were conducted, comprising 11 sport psychologists who worked in the United Kingdom. Thematic analysis revealed four general themes: the environment, privileging masculinity, acts of sexism, and the feminine. Participants’ discourse suggests that female sport psychologists are impacted by sexism in their workplaces. Gendered power differentials, coupled with the low status of sport psychology within sport, exacerbated the challenges faced by female sport psychologists. This study contributes to making up for the dearth of research on the impact of sexism on sport psychologists. Suggestions are made with regard to implications for practice.

scholarly journals Extending Organizational Memory and Corporate Communications Research via Autoethnography/Autobiography

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Damion Waymer ◽  
Nneka Logan
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Culture ◽  
Public Relations ◽  
Corporate Communication ◽  
Organizational Memory ◽  
Corporate Communications ◽  
Memory Research ◽  
Research And Practice ◽  
Theory Research ◽  
Communication Methods

Culture, business, and communication are overlapping human phenomena. However, corporate communication methods have yet to embrace the complexity of organizational culture. Since the study of culture is anthropological in nature, we propose foregrounding autoethnography/autobiographical approaches and method to analyze corporate organizational culture. We argue that studying corporate communication, public relations, and society via the lenses of organizational culture and subsidiary organizational memory can provide unique insights into practice of corporate communication and the theorizing of organizational memory research. In this case example, we answer this question: In what ways can autobiographical/autoethnographic narratives of organizational members inform the theory, research, and practice in corporate communication?

scholarly journals Making Sense of an Unknown Terrain

2016 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 215-225 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas D. Hughes ◽  
Louise Locock ◽  
Sue Simkin ◽  
Anne Stewart ◽  
Anne E. Ferrey ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
Sense Of Self ◽  
Family Members ◽  
Sense Making ◽  
Narrative Interviews ◽  
Considerable Effort ◽  
Making Sense ◽  
Self Harm ◽  
The Impact

Self-harm is common in young people, and can have profound effects on parents and other family members. We conducted narrative interviews with 41 parents and other family members of 38 young people, aged up to 25, who had self-harmed. Most of the participants were parents but included one sibling and one spouse. This article reports experiences of the parent participants. A cross-case thematic analysis showed that most participants were bewildered by self-harm. The disruption to their worldview brought about by self-harm prompted many to undergo a process of “sense-making”—by ruminative introspection, looking for information, and building a new way of seeing—to understand and come to terms with self-harm. Most participants appeared to have been successful in making sense of self-harm, though not without considerable effort and emotional struggle. Our findings provide grounds for a deeper socio-cultural understanding of the impact of self-harm on parents.

scholarly journals Vulnerability: Ripples From Reflections on Mental Toughness

2017 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 299-307 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark A. Uphill ◽  
Brian Hemmings
Keyword(s):  
Sport Psychology ◽  
Critical Reflection ◽  
Cultural Analysis ◽  
Mental Toughness ◽  
Research And Practice ◽  
Current Thinking ◽  
Survivor Bias ◽  
Creative Analytic Practice ◽  
The Invisible ◽  
Wounded Healers

The aim of this paper is to present a critical reflection on mental toughness using a creative analytic practice. In particular, we move from intrapersonal technical reflections to an altogether more interpersonal cultural analysis that (re)considers some of the assumptions that can underpin sport psychology practice. Specifically, in the ripples that extend from these initial technical reflections, we argue that it is important to understand vulnerability, and consider (a) wounded healers, (b) the ideology of individualism, and (c) the survivor bias to help make sense of current thinking and applied practice. Emerging from these ripples are a number of implications (naming elephants, tellability, neoliberalism) from which sport psychologists may reflect upon to enhance their own practice. In making visible the invisible, we conclude that vulnerability can no longer be ignored in sport psychology discourse, research, and practice. Should this story of vulnerability resonate, we encourage you, where appropriate to share this story.

Sport Psychology Consulting With Indigenous Athletes: The Case of New Zealand Māori

2011 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 350-360 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ken Hodge ◽  
Lee-Ann Sharp ◽  
Justin Ihirangi Heke
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Ethnic Group ◽  
Sport Psychology ◽  
Cultural Practices ◽  
Psychological Intervention ◽  
Final Analysis ◽  
Skills Training ◽  
Research And Practice ◽  
Indigenous Ethnic Group ◽  
Kaupapa Māori

Sport psychology consulting with athletes who are from an indigenous ethnic group presents some challenges and opportunities that do not typically need to be considered when consulting with nonindigenous athletes. Māori1 are the indigenous ethnic group of New Zealand. To work as a sport psychology consultant with Māori athletes and indeed any indigenous athletes (e.g., Tahitian, First Nation Canadian Indian) it is important for the sport psychologist to have an understanding of Te Ao o Nga Tāngata Whenua (indigenous worldview) and tīkanga Tāngata Whenua (indigenous cultural practices; Hanrahan, 2004; Schinke & Hanrahan, 2009; Tuhiwai-Smith, 1999). Both research and practice in the social sciences regarding Māori people seek to use a Kaupapa Māori (Māori research and practice platform) approach. Kaupapa Māori attempts to ensure that cultural sensitivity is infused from the conceptualization of an intervention (e.g., psychological skills training, psychological intervention) through to the design, delivery, evaluation, final analysis, and presentation of the intervention or research project. A Kaupapa Māori approach to sport psychology consulting attempts to ensure that key Māori aspirations are honored and celebrated, as many Māori do not wish to follow a non-Māori ideology that depersonalizes the whānau (family) perspective and seeks individuality in its place (Durie, 1998a; Mead, 2003). Therefore, an effective sport psychology consulting program for an athlete who lives her or his life from a Te Ao Māori (Māori worldview) and tīkanga Māori (Māori cultural practices) perspective needs to be constructed as a Māori-for-Māori intervention based within a Kaupapa Māori framework.

scholarly journals Sport psychology consulting at elite sport competitions.

2014 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 75-88 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lee-Ann Sharp ◽  
Ken Hodge ◽  
Steve Danish
Keyword(s):  
Sport Psychology ◽  
Elite Sport

scholarly journals The Use of Counseling Principles and Skills to Develop Practitioner-Athlete Relationships by Practitioners Who Provide Sport Psychology Support

2016 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 276-289 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fran Longstaff ◽  
Misia Gervis
Keyword(s):  
Sport Psychology ◽  
Significant Role ◽  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
Counseling Skills ◽  
Working Alliances ◽  
Self Disclosure ◽  
Semistructured Interviews

This study examined how practitioners who provide sport psychology support use counseling principles and skills to develop practitioner-athlete relationships. Semistructured interviews were conducted with thirteen competent practitioners (Mean age = 41.2 ± 10.9 years old, five men, eight women). Thematic analysis revealed that the participants used a range of counseling principles to develop practitioner-athlete relationships including: the facilitative conditions, self-disclosure, counseling skills, the formation of working alliances, and awareness of the unreal relationship. The participants also described using noncounseling strategies (e.g., gaining an understanding of the athlete’s sporting environment) to build relationships with their athletes. There was considerable variation between the participants both in the training that they had received in counseling principles and skills, and how they applied them. It was concluded that counseling principles and skills play a significant role in the development of practitioner-athlete relationships.

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