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Books > Social sciences > Sociology, social studies > Social institutions > Work & labour
In a time of flexible and mutable work arrangements, there is hardly a domain of organizing that has not been affected by liminality. Temporary workers who switch companies based on projects, consultants who operate at the boundaries between the consultant and the client companies, or 'hybrid entrepreneurs' who start new ventures, while still keeping their previous job, are examples of liminality in organizations. Liminality is also felt by managers who handle interorganizational relationships within customer-supplier networks or scientists who, albeit affiliated with R&D units, have strong ties with their scientific communities, acknowledging that they belong to neither setting thoroughly. Precious hints for enriching our comprehension of liminality in organizational settings can be conveyed by the reflection that has flourished in different fields. This book advances knowledge of liminality management by elaborating on a model that puts together aspects of the liminal process that have been mostly described in a separate way so far, benefiting from the input provided by experience in sociology, medicine, and education. Through the articulation of a model that accounts for the antecedents, content, and consequences of liminality in organizations, the book intends to prompt quantitative research on this topic. It will be of value to those interested in organizational behavior, organization and management, marketing, sociology of work, and sociology of organizations.
Spanning the 20th and 21st centuries, the writers considered in this first book of the Routledge Focus on Women Writers in Organization Studies series make an important contribution to how we think about rationality in managing, leading and working. It provides a space in which to think differently about rationality, challenging dominant masculine logics while positioning relations between people centre stage. A critical and intellectually provocative text, the book provides a nuanced and practical account of rationality in organizational contexts, making it clear that women have and continue to write groundbreaking work on the subject: women like Lillian Moller Gilbreth, who was at the forefront of developments in scientific management, and Frances Perkins, who was the first female US cabinet secretary. Both are important not only for what they achieved but also as illustrations of the ways in which women have been written out of the accounts of managing and management thought. This matters not only because credit is denied to those who deserve it, but also because it impoverishes our understanding of complex organisational phenomenon. Where so much extant writing on managing and organizing is preoccupied with abstract notions of structure, strategy, metaphor and machines, the writers considered here explain why effective working and managing is primarily about seeing and working with people. Writers such as Arlie Hochschild, Mary Parker Follett and Heather Hoepfl remind us that rationality cannot be decoupled from emotion or, where a system is to be rationalised, then it should start with and enhance the lives of people - be designed with people at the centre. In this sense, the book is not arguing for a wholesale rejection of rationality. Rather, authors call on readers to move beyond a preoccupation with rationality for its own sake, seeing it instead as a useful and highly contestable aspect of organizational life. Each woman writer is introduced and analysed by an expert in their field. Further reading and accessible resources are also identified for those interested in knowing more. This book will be relevant to students, researchers and practitioners with an interest in business and management, organizational studies, critical management studies, gender studies and sociology. Like all the books in this series, it will also be of interest to anyone who wants to see, think and act differently.
There is a long tradition of research on politics, power and exclusion in areas such as sociology, social policy, politics, women's studies and philosophy. While power has received considerable attention in mainstream management research and teaching, it is rarely considered in terms of politics and exclusion, particularly where the work of women writers is concerned. This second book in the Routledge Series on Women Writers in Organization Studies analyses the ways in which women have theorised and embodied relations of power. Women like Edith Garrud who, trained in the Japanese art of jujutsu, confronted the power of the state to champion feminist politics. Others, such as Beatrice Webb and Alva Myrdal, are shown to have been at the heart of welfare reforms and social justice movements that responded to the worst excesses of industrialisation based on considerations of class and gender. The writing of bell hooks provides a necessarily uncomfortable account of the ways in which imperialism, white supremacy and patriarchy inflict unspoken harm, while Hannah Arendt's work considers the ways in which different modes of organizing restrict the ability of people to live freely. Taken together, such writings dispel the myth that work or business can be separated from the rest of life, a point driven home by Rosabeth Moss Kanter's observations on the ways in which power and inequality differentially structure life chances. These writers challenge us to think again about power, politics and exclusion in organizational contexts. They provide provocative thinking, which opens up new avenues for organization theory, practice and social activism. Each woman writer is introduced and analysed by experts in organization studies. Further reading and accessible resources are also identified for those interested in knowing (thinking!) more. This book will be relevant to students, researchers and practitioners with an interest in business and management, organizational studies, critical management studies, gender studies and sociology. Like all the books in this series, it will also be interest to anyone who wants to see, think and act differently.
Politics is an aspect of everyday life within organizations, and is a force that inhibits individual and collective behaviour. If not fully understood, it can impede organizational change and development. In order to minimise the political aspects of organizational dynamics there is a need to understand the extent to which organizational culture brings about politicised conformance and how individuals shape their behaviour through self-interest to conform-sense-giving and sense-making nexus-thus moderating the degree of change initiatives. The Politics of Organizational Change explores the relationship between self-interest, power, politics and managing organizational change from a theoretical perspective. It encourages the fundamental questioning of the relationship between self-interest, power and control inherent within organizational change, and discusses the attendant implications for managing change. It will be of value to those who require a text that goes beyond set patterns of coverage found in textbooks dealing with managing change.
This book explores the 'backstage' of transnational legal practice by illuminating the routines and habits that are crucial to the field, yet rarely studied. Through innovative discussion of practices often considered trivial, the book encourages readers to conceptualise the 'backstage' as emblematic of transnational legal practice. Expanding the focus of transnational legal scholarship, the book explores the seemingly mundane procedures which are often taken for granted, despite being widely recognized as part of what it means to 'do transnational law'. Adopting various methodologies and approaches, each chapter focuses on one specific practice: for example, mooting exercises for law students, international travel, transnational time, the social media activities of lawyers and legal scholars, and the networking at the ICC's annual Assembly of States Parties. In and of themselves, these chapters each provide unique insights into what happens before the curtain rises and after it falls on the familiar 'outputs' of transnational law. It does more, however, than provide a range of different practices: it takes the next step in theorizing on the importance of the marginal and the everyday for what we 'know' to be 'the law' and what the international legal field looks like. Furthermore, by interrogating undiscussed academic practices, it provides students with a candid view on the perils and promises of transnational legal scholarship, inviting them to join the discussion and to practice their discipline in a more reflexive way. Written in an accessible format, containing a readable collection of personal and recognizable accounts of transnational legal practice, the book provides an everyday insight into transnational law. It will therefore appeal to international legal scholars, alongside any reader with an interest in transnational law.
Highly topical and presents core challenges facing advanced market economies in reconciling competitive global market dynamics with socially and ecologically sustainable societies. Presents original analyses and perspectives Proposes bold and novel models of governance to deal with them. Avoids too much disciplinary jargon and is kept in a language accessible to an educated reader
Worker Participation: Current Research and Future Trends, Volume 16
of Research in the Sociology of Work, offers cutting edge research
on the character and implications of workplace participation.
Written by some of the leading scholars in the sociology of
workplace transformation and alternative organizations, the
chapters here examine various outcomes, causes, and consequences
related to participation programs and worker democracy today.
Topics include ways in which participation schemes are socially
constructed and negotiated; the meanings that workers attach to
opportunities for involvement in the workplace; practice,
participation, and consent in alternative organizations such as
cooperatives and collectives; and theoretical treatments that call
for new ways of thinking about workplace participation.
Methodologically pluralist and concerned less with specific
productivity effects of worker participation, this volume
highlights the social structural, social constructionist, and meta
theoretical dimensions of worker participation and democratic
organizations in the twenty-first century.
Contributing to the debate on work performance evaluation in a time of technological transformation, this book explores the impact of digitisation on production and organisation models, as well as on the rights and interests of the stakeholders involved. As organisations down-size, merge with other companies and become decentralised, the boundaries in employer-employee-customer relationships are blurred and new models for the organisation and assessment of work performance have emerged. With these new models, innovative regulatory approaches are sorely needed. Taking an interdisciplinary approach and drawing on theoretical concepts from organisation studies, human resource management, sociology and labour economics, this all-encompassing collection is not only essential reading for academics and students, but also for policy-makers and employers who are looking for innovative and practical solutions to the challenges of modern employment relations.
This book presents the comprehensive investigation of critical thinking in higher education from the perspectives of the study and labor market. It looks for an answer to the vibrant question of what and to whom critical thinking is. The study brings together findings from systematic literature review, analysis of descriptions of higher education study programs and study subjects, phenomenographical research and survey and supplements the existing perceptions of critical thinking with novel data-driven insights. The book reveals how critical thinking manifests itself in the contexts of higher education and the labor market and advocates for the significance of the critical thinking at personal, interpersonal, and social levels.
Uniquely accessible and concise guide to complexity and management Includes perspectives from the complexity sciences, philosophy and history Includes chapter bringing theories to management practice
Introduces readers to aspects of work psychology at a greater depth Includes relevant critical cultural discussions Intriguing discussion of modern critiques of work and how the concepts of work psychology as well as those of some thinkers outside of psychology might confirm, moderate, repudiate and address these critiques
Introduces readers to aspects of work psychology at a greater depth Includes relevant critical cultural discussions Intriguing discussion of modern critiques of work and how the concepts of work psychology as well as those of some thinkers outside of psychology might confirm, moderate, repudiate and address these critiques
This book highlights the vital necessity for combining sustainable development processes from different areas, with applications in areas such as science, education and production sectors. These sectors have previously been separated by linguistic and technological barriers. Breaking down these barriers will allow an interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary flow of information, leading to greater efficiency, and towards a more real resilient and sustainable economy development. This book fills in the gap in respect of publications addressing aspects of innovation and sustainable development and focuses on a range of areas, such as I. Gradual transition to innovative development; II. Continuity of technology in education, science and industry; III. Convergency directions, interdisciplinary relations in scientific research; IV. Digital technologies for sustainable development; V. Global trends and regional aspects of innovation and traditions in environmental management; VI. International legal regulations and environmental and economic relations among business communities. The publication fosters the global efforts towards taking better advantage of the many opportunities which innovation in specific areas may offer.
With a focus on five major regions globally (UK, US, Europe, Canada, and Australia) Identifying and Managing Risk at Work outlines key regional factors affecting risk and its management. This volume looks at the social production and social construction of risk as well as taking a labour-process approach and socio-political perspective to investigate the nature and causes of work-related risk. In addition, there are several issues included that contribute to identifying risk at work such as climate change, the "gig" economy and the "Me Too" movement. Readers will gain a picture of some of the major current issues that are affecting risk under globalisation. Drawing on these key aspects of risk, students, academics, practitioners, and policy-makers will gain a better understanding of how risk is conceptualised and identified, and of the roles of management and employees in dealing with risk. This book will be of interest to researchers and practitioners to help gain an understanding of risk for a number of regions, and how several current issues in globalisation can be seen in their risk context.
The promotion of social protection in Sub-Saharan Africa happens in a context where informal labour markets constitute the norm, and where most workers live uncertain livelihoods with very limited access to official social protection. The dominant social protection agenda and the associated literature come with an almost exclusive focus on donor and state programmes even if their coverage is limited to small parts of the populations - and in no way stands measure to the needs. In these circumstances, people depend on other means of protection and cushioning against risks and vulnerabilities including different forms of collective self-organizing providing alternative forms of social protection. These informal, bottom-up forms of social protection are at a nascent stage of social protection discussions and little is known about the extent or models of these informal mechanisms. This book seeks to fill this gap by focusing on three important sectors of informal work, namely: transport, construction, and micro-trade in Kenya and Tanzania. It explores how the global social protection agenda interacts with informal contexts and how it fits with the actual realities of the informal workers. Consequently, the authors examine and compare the social protection models conceptualized and implemented 'from above' by the public authorities in Tanzania and Kenya with social protection mechanisms 'from below' by the informal workers own collective associations. The book will be of interest to academics in International Development Studies, Political Economy, and African Studies, as well as development practitioners and policy communities.
This book investigates the formation, configuration and consolidation of elites amongst Kenya's Maasai. The Maasai ethnic group is one of the world's most anthropologized populations, but research tends to focus on what appears to be their dismal situation, analysing how their culture hinders or challenges modern ideas of economic and political development. This book instead focuses on the Maasai men and women who rise to the position of elites, overcoming the odds to take on positions as politicians, professors, CEOs, and high-end administrators. The twenty-first century has seen new opportunities for progression beyond the social reproduction of family wealth, with NGOs, missionaries, tourists and researchers providing new sources of global capital flows. The author, who is Maasai herself, demonstrates the diverse local, national, and global resources and opportunities which lead to social mobility and elite formation. The book also shows how female elites have been able to navigate a patriarchal society in their journey to attaining and maintaining elite status. This book will be of interest to researchers across the fields of anthropology, political science, international development, sociology, and African studies.
This book uses a variety of empirical cases on topics including drug development, egg donation, and governance of healthcare facilities, to investigate how actors navigate the uncertainties that permeate the interfaces of health, technologies, and politics in post-Soviet settings and what the implications of their chosen navigation routes are. Contemporary societies are imbued with uncertainties, but the authors focus on settings where uncertainties multiply, making decisions, practises, and relations in everyday life precarious. Two worlds are brought into dialogue throughout the chapters of this book with the aim of facilitating mutual learning from one another - the world of science and technology studies (STS) and the high-income liberal democracies of the West, on one hand, and studies of post-socialism on the other. In so doing, this book encourages critical learning on ensuring the resilience of individual and societal health in situations of profound uncertainties. This timely collection will be of great interest to scholars, practitioners and policy makes in the fields of sociology, biomedicine, political science and public and global health.
With its implications for health care, the economy, and an assortment of other policy areas, population aging is one of the most pressing issues facing governments and society today, and confronting its complex reality is becoming increasingly urgent, particularly in the age of COVID-19. In The Four Lenses of Population Aging, Patrik Marier looks at how Canada's ten provinces are preparing for an aging society. Focusing on a wide range of administrative and policy challenges, this analysis explores multiple actions from the development of strategic plans to the expansion of long-term care capacity. To enhance this analysis, Marier adopts four lenses: the intergenerational, the medical, the social gerontological, and the organizational. By comparing the unique insights and contributions of each lens, Marier draws attention to the vital lessons and possible solutions to the challenges of an aging society. Drawing on over a hundred interviews with senior civil servants and thousands of policy documents, The Four Lenses of Population Aging is a significant contribution to public administration, provincial politics, and comparative public policy literatures, and a timely resource for policymakers and general readers seeking an informed perspective on a timely and important issue.
This book combines academic research with practical guidelines in methods and techniques to supplement existing knowledge relating to organizational management in the era of digital acceleration. It offers a simple layout with concise but rich content presented in an engaging, accessible style and the authors' holistic approach is unique in the field. From a universalist perspective, the book examines and analyzes the development of, among others, Industry 4.0, artificial intelligence (AI), AI 2.0, AI systems and platforms, algorithmics, new paradigms of organization management, business ecosystems, data processing models in AI-based organizations and AI strategies in the global perspective. An additional strength of the book is its relevance and contemporary nature, featuring information, data, forecasts or scenarios reaching up to 2030. How does one build, step by step, an organization that will be based on artificial intelligence technology and gain measurable benefits from it, for instance, as a result of its involvement in the creation of the so-called mesh ecosystem? The answer to this and many other pertinent questions are provided in this book. This timely and important book will appeal to scholars and students across the fields of organizational management and innovation and technology management, as well as managers, educators, scientists, entrepreneurs, innovators and more.
Addresses a topic of global importance across all business schools and beyond Concise analysis of research impact, with critical insights into its challenges Contains distilled guidance and recommendations for administrators and policymakers in higher education settings
* Focuses on advancing collaborative, equitable and sustainable labor relations approaches and strategies in higher education, offering practical advice to those managing and leading. * Provides benchmark measures of success and best practices * Offers timely information on select employee groups where there is interest and activity, particularly with respect to the COVID 19 matters, which are going to have a dramatic impact on negotiations, particularly graduate students, adjunct, contingent and part-time employees.
Continuing to Disrupt the Status Quo? Young and New Women Professors of Educational Leadership was conceptualized as a follow-up to Breaking Into the All-Male Club: Female Professors of Educational Administration (Mertz, 2009), a book about and by many women who were the first women faculty admitted into departments of educational administration primarily in the 1970's and 1980's. This book offers narratives of those women new to the field of educational leadership and makes comparisons to those stories shared by the veteran women in the field to highlight both similarities and differences. Continuing to Disrupt the Status Quo? Young and New Women Professors of Educational Leadership is a literary way to preserve and continue the tradition of the sharing/addition of voices to the field of educational leadership that was begun with Breaking Into the All-Male Club. It begs the question, ""If the women from Breaking Into the All-Male Club are ""firsts,"" ""pioneers,"" and ""groundbreakers,"" then who are we, the young and new women of the field? If the entrance of women into the field of educational leadership was threatening enough for the veteran women (and still is for many of the young and new women), then the addition of age and ethnicity as confounding factors has likely created a cacophony of dissonance forty years later! Continuing to Disrupt the Status Quo? represents a decade of stories (2002-2012) from young and new women to the field of educational leadership.
Whether it's working for free in exchange for 'experience', enduring poor treatment in the name of being 'part of the family', or clocking serious overtime for a good cause, more and more of us are pushed to make sacrifices for the privilege of being able to do work we enjoy. Work Won't Love You Back examines how we all bought into this 'labour of love' myth: the idea that certain work is not really work, and should be done for the sake of passion rather than pay. Through the lives and experiences of various workers-from the unpaid intern and the overworked teacher, to the nonprofit employee, the domestic worker and even the professional athlete-this compelling book reveals how we've all been tricked into a new tyranny of work. Sarah Jaffe argues that understanding the labour of love trap will empower us to work less and demand what our work is worth. Once freed, we can finally figure out what actually gives us joy, pleasure and satisfaction.
This book investigates women as business owners in emerging markets, documenting the structural difficulties they face as a result of their seeking access to global supply chains, and demonstrating the ways in which they are rewriting norms and challenging market assumptions. Although women own an estimated one-third of all small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in emerging markets, they are deeply underrepresented in global supply chains. In what the author refers to as the Women in Trade Deficit, women-owned enterprises earn less than 1% of all money spent on vendors by large corporations and governments worldwide. Drawing on an in-depth empirical investigation of a range of SMEs in Bangladesh, Nigeria, and Sri Lanka, this book investigates how women enter the supply chains of major global firms and multinational corporations and the challenges they face in doing so. Overall, the book argues that these business owners are rewriting norms and rearranging markets through networked enterprises to advance what the author calls prosocial industrialism. Whilst many studies focus on women at the micro-enterprise or laborer level, this book makes an important contribution to our understanding of their role at the helm of SMEs that trade internationally. As such, it will be of interest to researchers across business studies, economics, sociology, and development studies, and to donor agencies, policymakers, and the global private sector.
This book offers practical insight into the changing ways in which organizations operate today. Building on a groundbreaking concept of teal organizations, the book illustrates the practicality of advocating a lack of hierarchy of predetermined positions and the introduction of roles that come with clear responsibilities constantly defined according to current needs. First described by Frederic Laloux, a teal organization is a ground-breaking approach to managing organizations that is being adopted around the world, which turns everyone into a leader. This new paradigm rests on the ideas of wholeness, evolutionary purpose, employee autonomy, and self-management based on peer relationships. Its main assumption is the empowerment of the employee resulting in a change in workplace relationships and a more soulful and purposeful work environment. Drawing on the authors' research across six different countries, it presents the evolution of self-management and entrepreneurial culture in the current age of Economy 4.0 and examines how the teal concept has been implemented around the world. It examines misconceptions surrounding this novel approach and diagnoses the practical problems connected with implementing it in the current uncertain times. It will be of value to researchers, academics, managers, and students in the fields of management and organizational studies. |
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