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Article
Publication date: 25 March 2020

Annika Lindberg and Tobias Georg Eule

The article examines situations of unease during ethnographic fieldwork with migration control agents in Sweden, Denmark and Germany. It shows how these “tests” are both…

255

Abstract

Purpose

The article examines situations of unease during ethnographic fieldwork with migration control agents in Sweden, Denmark and Germany. It shows how these “tests” are both methodologically challenging and analytically valuable, and how they need to be addressed properly. The article concludes a special issue on “passing the test in organisational ethnography”.

Design/methodology/approach

The article is based on ethnographic research with migration control agents, carried out by both authors in Denmark and Sweden (Annika) and Germany (Tobias). However, rather than presenting the main results from this research, the article focuses on the tests encountered during the research.

Findings

The article has two main findings. First, it provides an open typology of tests. Second, it proposes four ways in which ethnographers could address these tests: acknowledging them methodologically, working through them personally and collectively, unpacking them analytically and preparing others in teaching and peer-feedback.

Research limitations/implications

The article encourages ethnographers to engage reflexively with fieldwork challenges, and provides a framework for doing so.

Originality/value

The article presents contributes to the current debate on organisational ethnography with recommendations of how to engage with tests in ethnographic fieldwork.

Details

Journal of Organizational Ethnography, vol. 9 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2046-6749

Keywords

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Article
Publication date: 12 June 2020

Annika Lindberg and Tobias Georg Eule

50

Abstract

Details

Journal of Organizational Ethnography, vol. 9 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2046-6749

Available. Open Access. Open Access
Article
Publication date: 5 October 2022

Maria Lindberg, Bernice Skytt, Magnus Lindberg, Katarina Wijk and Annika Strömberg

Management and leadership in health care are described as complex and challenging, and the span of control is known to be a key component in the manager’s job demands. The…

947

Abstract

Purpose

Management and leadership in health care are described as complex and challenging, and the span of control is known to be a key component in the manager’s job demands. The implementation of change can be a challenge in health care, and managers often have roles as implementation leaders. Little attention has been given to how managers perceive the process of implementation. Thus, this study aims to explore second-line managers’ perceptions of, prerequisites for and experiences from the implementation of changes in their manager’s work conditions.

Design/methodology/approach

A grounded theory–based qualitative design was used. Data were collected from a purposive sample of nine second-line managers by individual semi-structured interviews. The three stages of initial coding, focus codes and axial coding were used in data analysis.

Findings

Three thematic areas were identified: engagement, facilitation and achievement. The second-line managers’ descriptions suggest that the change work entails a complex challenge with an unclear result. Involvement, consideration for the context and facilitation are needed to be able to conduct a cohesive implementation process.

Originality/value

This study findings outline that to succeed when implementing change in complex organizations, it is crucial that managers at different levels are involved in the entire process, and that there are prerequisites established for the facilitation and achievement of goals during the planning, implementation and follow-up.

Details

Leadership in Health Services, vol. 36 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1751-1879

Keywords

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Article
Publication date: 23 January 2020

Lars Breuls

A reflexive ethnographic account of the practical and emotional challenges encountered by the researcher during fieldwork is too often separated from the analytical research…

104

Abstract

Purpose

A reflexive ethnographic account of the practical and emotional challenges encountered by the researcher during fieldwork is too often separated from the analytical research results, which, as argued by this paper, downplays or even ignores the analytical value of the encountered challenges. Drawing on personal examples from ethnographic research in immigration detention, the purpose of this paper is to show that these challenges have an intrinsic analytical value.

Design/methodology/approach

Ethnographic research was carried out in two immigration detention centres in Belgium and one in the Netherlands. Observations, informal conversations with detainees and staff, and semi-structured interviews with detainees were triangulated. Extracts from fieldnotes are presented and discussed to demonstrate the analytical value of the challenges experienced during fieldwork.

Findings

Three important challenges are presented: distrust from organisational gatekeepers and research participants, disruptions of the organisational routines, and witnessing and experiencing feelings of powerlessness. The analytical value of these challenges is strongly connected to theoretical and analytical themes that emerged during the research.

Originality/value

Ethnographic researchers are encouraged to explicitly treat the reflexive accounts of practical and emotional challenges as “data in itself” and as such nested within their analytical results.

Details

Journal of Organizational Ethnography, vol. 9 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2046-6749

Keywords

Available. Open Access. Open Access
Article
Publication date: 2 December 2020

Åsa Vidman and Annika Strömberg

Recruiting and retaining staff to work with elderly people in social care is a global issue. The quality of leadership is considered important because it influences employees’ job…

8017

Abstract

Purpose

Recruiting and retaining staff to work with elderly people in social care is a global issue. The quality of leadership is considered important because it influences employees’ job satisfaction, job turnover and health. This paper aims to identify leadership that employees in residential elderly care facilities in Sweden consider as contributing towards a healthy work environment.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors interviewed 14 persons employed in facilities organized in different ways. The data from these interviews was analysed using qualitative content analysis..

Findings

The results showed that the employees felt that their health partly depended on the attributes that leaders possessed, what leaders do and how leaders do it. This study confirms that leadership influences the perception of a healthy workplace. It also shows that questions about leadership are complex.

Originality/value

Research about factors that increase health risks is wide-ranging; however, research that examines factors that promote health, especially how leadership influences employees’ well-being, is not as comprehensive.

Details

Leadership in Health Services, vol. 34 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1751-1879

Keywords

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Article
Publication date: 29 January 2020

Kathryne M. Young

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the tests the author faced in her sociolegal fieldwork on Hawaiian cockfighting, and to draw broader lessons from these tests for other…

69

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the tests the author faced in her sociolegal fieldwork on Hawaiian cockfighting, and to draw broader lessons from these tests for other ethnographers of illegal organizations.

Design/methodology/approach

The author draws on six weeks of in-depth ethnographic fieldwork and interviewing.

Findings

Relational work in ethnographic fieldwork requires skills academia does not always impart – including humility, a sense of humor and patience with yourself and other people. Each test we face is a part of the ongoing process of building these relationships.

Originality/value

As ethnographers, it is sometimes considered “taboo” to tell our stories – to explain our internal and external struggles in the field. This taboo makes a certain amount of sense. After all, we are trying to understand society, not reflect on our own development as people. Yet the taboo is also a pity. For one, it is unrealistic to think that we are “mere observers” whose presence in the field does not affect it. “Scrubbing” ourselves from the field necessarily scrubs out some of our data. It also omits parts of the story that other researchers might find interesting or instructive.

Details

Journal of Organizational Ethnography, vol. 9 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2046-6749

Keywords

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Article
Publication date: 4 March 2014

Annika Andersson, Eric D. Carlstrom, Bengt Ahgren and Johan M. Berlin

– The purpose of this paper is to identify what is practiced during collaboration exercises and possible facilitators for inter-organisational collaboration.

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to identify what is practiced during collaboration exercises and possible facilitators for inter-organisational collaboration.

Design/methodology/approach

Interviews with 23 participants from four collaboration exercises in Sweden were carried out during autumn 2011. Interview data were subjected to qualitative content analysis.

Findings

Findings indicate that the exercises tend to focus on intra-organisational routines and skills, rather than developing collaboration capacities. What the participants practiced depended on roles and order of arrival at the exercise. Exercises contributed to practicing leadership roles, which was considered essential since crises are unpredictable and require inter-organisational decision making.

Originality/value

The results of this study indicate that the ability to identify boundary objects, such as injured/patients, was found to be important in order for collaboration to occur. Furthermore, lessons learned from exercises could benefit from inter-organisational evaluation. By introducing and reinforcing certain elements and distinct aims of the exercise, the proactive function of collaboration exercises can be clarified.

Details

International Journal of Emergency Services, vol. 3 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2047-0894

Keywords

Available. Open Access. Open Access
Article
Publication date: 27 November 2017

Åsa Vidman and Annika Strömberg

Employees in elderly care have a high rate of sick leave. One explanation is that employees that experience a low level of meaning of work are at a higher risk for long-term sick…

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Abstract

Purpose

Employees in elderly care have a high rate of sick leave. One explanation is that employees that experience a low level of meaning of work are at a higher risk for long-term sick leave. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

This qualitative interview study aims to examine what employees in residential care facilities experience as the meaningful aspects of their work tasks. Interviews with 14 persons employed in residential care facilities were conducted.

Findings

The findings show that meaningful work tasks are about organizing the work to make use of the creativity and knowledge of the staff in order to support relations with older people.

Originality/value

The knowledge about what constitutes a healthy work environment is not as comprehensive as it is about what constitutes health risks. Furthermore, these issues have been considered by only a few qualitative studies about social care in the field of sick leave. Therefore, this qualitative interview study examines what employees in residential care facilities experience as meaningful aspects of their work tasks.

Details

Working with Older People, vol. 22 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1366-3666

Keywords

Available. Open Access. Open Access
Article
Publication date: 22 November 2024

Mia Björk, Annika Eklund, Maria Skyvell Nilsson and Viola Nyman

The aim of this study was to identify and describe the collaborative and professional boundary challenges at a hospital ward from a bottom-up perspective.

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Abstract

Purpose

The aim of this study was to identify and describe the collaborative and professional boundary challenges at a hospital ward from a bottom-up perspective.

Design/methodology/approach

The study was conducted as a bottom-up improvement project at a hospital ward in western Sweden. An insider action research (IAR) approach was used during the project. The theoretical framework for this project was based on the Cultural-Historical Activity Theory (CHAT). Data were collected between 2019 and 2021.

Findings

The findings showed that unclear professional boundaries and limited resources challenged and hindered interprofessional collaboration. The project group had to reorganize its daily work to adjust to the different disciplines’ legal responsibilities in relation to the patients’ recovery process. To safely discharge patients, the professionals needed to talk about each other’s professional responsibilities, professional boundaries and ethical codes.

Originality/value

The IAR project revealed that revising the daily team-round routine improved the status of assistant nurses and encouraged physicians to consider input from all professions during the patients’ recovery process. However, the new approach faced resistance from clinic leadership, who believed it could prolong patients’ stays in the ward. The findings underscore the challenges of modifying hierarchical structures and social orders within hospital settings.

Details

Journal of Health Organization and Management, vol. 38 no. 9
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1477-7266

Keywords

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Article
Publication date: 21 August 2017

Christian Grönroos

The purpose of this paper is to record the author’s personal reflections on his career as a marketing scholar.

1258

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to record the author’s personal reflections on his career as a marketing scholar.

Design/methodology/approach

Personal reflections in an autobiographical approach.

Findings

The author’s career as student, teacher and scholar is described in some detail.

Originality/value

The paper records events and memories that might otherwise be forgotten. No other such account has been published of Christian Grönroos’s career.

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