WEEK 4 THE NATURE OF MANAGERIAL WORK 1990s

Prof Steve Fox Stephen.Fox@qmul.ac.uk

2 readings this week

FOR THE LECTURE

Sims, D.P. (1993) The formation of top managers: a discourse analysis of five managerial autobiographies. British Journal of Management, 4: 57-68.
FOR THE SEMINAR

Watson, T.J. (2001) The emergent manager and processes of management pre-learning, Management Learning, 32, 2: 221-35.

Common Themes this week:

Managers formative experiences These studies return to Marshall and Stewarts (1981) research policy of listening to managers stories in their own words as far as possible And by doing so, they found managers cite early experiences from childhood and upbringing, as well as more recent learning prior to becoming a manager

Also check-out:
BBC Radio 4 Podcasts: Programme Series:

The Bottom Line with Evan Davis

Episode: Family Businesses 24 Jan 13 Duration: 28 minutes Three owner-managers talk with Evan Davis about their upbringing within family businesses http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/botto mline

Sims (1993)
Ten years after Gronn (1983) Sims (1993) adopts a Discourse Analysis perspective DA not CA And he analyses sections within 5 famous managers autobiographies i.e. sections which dealt with childhood and upbringing

5 famous managers

Michael Edwardes (b.1930-)

CEO, Britsh Leyland

Lee Iacocca (b.1924-)

CEO Chrysler

Akio Morita (1921-1999)

Founder Sony

Marcus Sieff (1913-2001)

President Mark&Spencer

An Wang (1920-1990)
Co-founder Wang Laboratories

Discourse what does it mean?

Three different concepts that interweave: Discourse as everyday speech

Discourse as conversation

Discourses as spoken and written forms

Ways of speaking and writing

Discourses as Discursive Regimes

Foucaults - discourse as a system of

representation

Example: Discourse as Everyday Speech (Gronn, 1983)

Ways of speaking
with extracts from Gronn (1983)

Expressing opinion Factual denials

Contradiction

Questions & Answer

Ways of speaking
with extracts from Watson (2003) Lisa Potts Retail Manager

Julian Alderley Manager in Software Industry

Ways of writing (1) - with extracts from Sims (1993)

Ways of writing (2) - with extracts from Sims (1993)

Discourse as Discursive Regimes

Foucault [1926-1984]

Explains Discursive regimes as systems of categories that structure how we think and become part of our culture.

E.g. in The Birth of the Clinic he charts the concepts of sanity and insanity, which underpin a whole new set of institutions: Asylums, Psychiatry etc..

Any research project involves 3 dimensions

Research topic or question Method Theoretical Perspective Methodology: is a section on how your method fits with your question/topic and perspective

Research Dissertation A Typical Structure

Title Abstract Introduction - lay out topic (issues, questions) perspective Literature Review who has said what so far on this? Research Methods what you have done to collect data &/or Methodology - why you did this, what you hoped for My Study bit of background Data Analysis what you found + workings out Discussion what it all means in relation to previous lit Conclusion so in sum: what I now know &/or think References

Possible Topics
What do managers do? What do managers perceive themselves as doing? What is the function of management? What types of manager exist? What is the relationship between management development and corporate performance?

Possible Methods
Data Collection Secondary sources
Official statistics Public records Public documents

Data Analysis Secondary sources

Statistical analyses (e.g. correlation, regression) Content analysis

Primary sources
Interviews Questionnaire Surveys Focus Groups Participant Observation

Primary sources
Content analysis Codings + statistical analysis Content analysis Content analysis

But how do you do content analysis?

Lots of approaches (see perspectives)

Possible Perspectives
Activity Theory Actor-network theory Community of practice theory Conversation analysis Conflict Theory Critical discourse analysis Critical Realism Critical Theory Deconstruction Discourse analysis Dramaturgical analysis Ethnography Ethnomethodology Feminist theory Foucauldian Discourse analysis Functionalism Grounded theory Hermeneutics Interactionism Interpretivism Knowledge management Knowledge-based view Labour Process Theory Marxist Theory Narrative analysis Networked learning theory Organizational learning theory Phenomenology Positivism Post-colonial theory Post-feminist theory Postmodern theory Post-structuralism Psychodynamic theory Realism Resource-based view Situated Learning Theory Social constructionism Social Network Analysis Social systems theory Socio-cognitive theory Structuralism Symbolic Interactionism Systems Theory

Research Dissertation A Typical Structure

Title Abstract Introduction Literature Review Research Methods &/or Methodology My Study Data Analysis Discussion So Conclusion References Something or Other 2-300 word summary The topic, questions, plan Critical discussion of Lit. So, what I did was Heres why I did that A bit of background Heres what I found What it means for the Lit/future In sum, this is what I think List of all works cited & quoted

Essay A Typical Structure

Title Abstract Introduction Something 2-300 word summary The topic, question, issues.. and my plan Literature Review What has been said by whom.. and why (or how justified)? Discussion What I agree with and why? What I dont agree with and why? What I think beyond that and why? Conclusion In sum: what I think is: One, 2, 3. References List of all works cited & quoted

Gibson Burrell & Gareth Morgan

Objective

Objective

assumptions: about the nature of society

Regulation
Stability Integration Functional Consensus

Radical Change
Change Disintegration Dysfunctional Conflict
[Burrell & Morgan (1979)]

assumptions: about the nature of economic & social science

Objective
Reality exists independently of us We can know reality as it is & proper research methods enable this

Subjective
Reality exists only as we perceive it We can know reality only as we perceive it & all research methods are limited by this

Human behaviour is largely determined

Human behaviour is largely self-determined

If the social world is an objective reality

Then: Reality exists independently of us We can know reality as it is & proper research methods enable this

Human behaviour is largely determined & proper research shows us how

If the social world is a subjective reality

Then
Reality exists only as we perceive it

We can know reality only as we perceive it & all research methods are limited by this
Human behaviour is largely self-determined

Ways of doing discourse analysis

Thematic analyses of what people say or write

Historical analyses of discursive regimes e.g. the appearance of new distinctions or ideas which become part of the language e.g. Madness & Civilization
Analysis of conversations viewed as discursive action & interaction (not to be confused with Conversation Analysis)

next week: TWO readings:

For the lecture: Tengblad, S. (2006) Is there a new managerial work? A comparison with Henry Mintzbergs classic study 30 years later. Journal of Management Studies, 43, 7: 1437-61. For the seminar: Hales (2005) Rooted in supervision, branching into management: continuity and change in the role of first-line manager. Journal of Management Studies, 42, 3:471-506.

Extra Reading Hales, C. and Klidas, A. (1998) Empowerment in five-star hotels: choice, voice or rhetoric?. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 10, 3: 88-95.