scholarly journals The decentered translation of management ideas: Attending to the conditioning flow of everyday work practices

2020 ◽  
pp. 001872671989796
Author(s):  
Lotta Hultin ◽  
Lucas D Introna ◽  
Magnus Mähring
Keyword(s):  
Management Practices ◽  
Organizational Practices ◽  
Work Practices ◽  
Lean Management ◽  
Theoretical Understanding ◽  
Everyday Work ◽  
Social Anthropologist

Based on a study of Lean management practices at the Swedish Migration Board, we develop a novel theoretical understanding of the translation of management ideas. We show how translation, rather than being reduced to a network of human intentions and actions governing the transformation of organizational practices, can instead be understood as a historically contingent, situated flow of mundane everyday work practices through which social and material translators simultaneously become translated, conditioned to be and act in certain ways. We show how prior actor-centric accounts of translation of management ideas can be understood as performative consequences of a conceptual vocabulary inherited from Callon and Latour. Contrasting this, the non-actor-centric vocabulary of social anthropologist Tim Ingold allows us to background the intentional human actor and foreground the flow of mundane, situated practices. In adopting this vocabulary, we capture how the flow of practices conditions subjects and objects to become enacted as well as act, and develop an understanding of translation as occurring within, rather than distinct from, these practices. In essence, our novel view of translation emphasizes how management ideas are radically unstable, and subject to alteration through the flow of practices rather than as a result of deliberate implementation efforts.

People Management Practices that Underpin Lean Management Outcomes

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Renu Agarwal ◽  
Christopher Bajada ◽  
Paul James Brown ◽  
Roy Green
Keyword(s):  
Management Practices ◽  
Lean Management

Management Practice—and the Doing of Management

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefan Tengblad
Keyword(s):  
Management Practices ◽  
Management Practice ◽  
Management Theory ◽  
Work Practices ◽  
Managerial Work ◽  
Explanatory Framework ◽  
Empirical Results ◽  
Integrated Theory

The chapter gives an overview of the most important studies about managerial work practices and the most important findings these studies shed on our general understanding of management as a societal phenomenon and as a field for scientific enquiry. These studies can be divided into major streams, one functionalistic and one ethnographic. Both streams identify work practices that are very different from mainstream management theory (reactive, fragmented, unsystematic, irrational, etc). While the first stream is oriented towards solutions to managers to act in a more rational manner, the second stream seeks to understand why normative management theory often is mere a rationalistic dream and a legitimizing ideology than a robust explanatory framework built on empirical results. Regardless of these limitations the chapter claims that it is possible to summarize both streams into an integrated theory about management practices that acknowledge the complexities and the multifaceted nature of management practice.

scholarly journals Inclusive management in international organizations

2018 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 458-473 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charlotte Jonasson ◽  
Jakob Lauring ◽  
David S.A. Guttormsen
Keyword(s):  
International Organizations ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Minority Groups ◽  
Theory Development ◽  
Job Engagement ◽  
Management Communication ◽  
Theoretical Understanding ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Effective Inclusion ◽  
Management Functions

Purpose A growing number of academics relocate abroad to work as expatriates in the university sector. While this employee group seems to have a highly constructive influence on the performance of university organizations, some problems in relation to effective inclusion of these individuals have been noted. In order to further advance the theoretical understanding regarding integration efforts in international university organizations, the purpose of this paper is to explore how two types of inclusive management, empowering management (identity-blind) vs English management communication (identity-conscious), affect local and expatriate academics. Design/methodology/approach Using responses generated from a survey of 792 local and 620 expatriate academics, this paper assesses the effects of inclusive management on job engagement and stress among the two groups. Findings The results show that one type of inclusive management, empowering management (identity-blind), has a favorable influence on job engagement and stress in both subsamples. The other type, English management communication (identity-conscious), increases stress for local academics but has no effect on the expatriates. These findings are useful for theory development in relation to employee inclusion in international organizations. Originality/value The authors have little knowledge about how inclusive management functions in international organizations. Testing the effect of identity-blind and identity-conscious inclusive management practices among two different groups of local and expatriate academics provides new insight to this area. In particular, the use of English management communication provides new knowledge on the integration of majority and minority groups in international organizations.

High performance work practices and competitive advantage in the Irish hospitality sector

2007 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 201-210 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pauline Connolly ◽  
Geraldine McGing
Keyword(s):  
High Performance ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Work Practices ◽  
Performance Practices ◽  
Content Type ◽  
High Performing ◽  
Competitive Edge ◽  
Cost Effective Method ◽  
High Performance Work Practices

PurposeFailte Ireland argues that high performance work practices will provide the Irish tourist industry with the necessary competitive edge. The main focus of this study is to explore the extent of these practices in the Irish hospitality industry with particular emphasis on the practices of staff empowerment and participation.Design/methodology/approachA questionnaire was chosen as the most appropriate means of obtaining information from managers because respondents could be targeted in a cost effective method. A total of 71 questionnaires were mailed to managers in all three, four and five‐star hotels in the Dublin and greater Dublin area.FindingsThe data show that Dublin‐based hotels display some of the human resource practices associated with high performing work practices. There are, however, very low levels of employee participation, which many authors argue are the cornerstone of high performance practices.Practical implicationsThe Irish hotel industry is undergoing fundamental change, not least of which is the increasingly demanding and discerning clients. Customers are demanding quality products and services, speed and reliability of service, price competitiveness and innovation. If Irish hotels are to survive and remain competitive, the issue of staff representation, participation and the channels of communication will have to be addressed. Recognising, utilizing and developing their human resources may be the most significant challenge that management faces, and it is posited that those organisations that excel at this will be the industry leaders.Originality/valueThe paper offers insights into the realities of management practices in hotels in an Irish setting.

Exploratory study of adoption of lean management practices in Pakistani textile firms

2013 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 338 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Khurrum S. Bhutta ◽  
Ana L. Rosado Feger ◽  
Faizul Huq ◽  
Asif Muzaffar
Keyword(s):  
Exploratory Study ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Lean Management

scholarly journals Management Practices and Productivity in Germany

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. e657-e705 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandra Broszeit ◽  
Marie-Christine Laible ◽  
Holger Görg ◽  
Ursula Fritsch
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
The United States ◽  
Organizational Practices ◽  
Aggregate Productivity ◽  
Establishment Size ◽  
Management Quality ◽  
Similar Survey ◽  
Substantial Heterogeneity ◽  
Specific Management

AbstractBased on a novel dataset, the ‘German Management and Organizational Practices’ (GMOP) Survey, we calculate establishment-specific management scores following Bloom and van Reenen as indicators of management quality. We find substantial heterogeneity in management practices across establishments in Germany, with small establishments having lower scores than large establishments on average. We show a robust positive and economically important association between the management score and establishment level productivity in Germany. This association increases with establishment size. Comparison to a similar survey in the United States indicates that the average management score is lower in Germany than in the United States. Overall, our results point toward lower management quality being at least in part to blame for the differences in aggregate productivity between Germany and the United States.

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