The aim of this paper is to investigate actors' ways of sensemaking through the use of rhetorical strategies, frames, and categories, in a management team meeting.
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this paper is to investigate actors' ways of sensemaking through the use of rhetorical strategies, frames, and categories, in a management team meeting.
Design/methodology/approach
The empirical data were generated from a video recorded and transcribed management meeting, and participant observation. The analysis of institutional discourses and practices builds upon the assumption that language and texts are the main tools for understanding actors' social reality. The managers' ways of sensemaking of institutional discourses and practices is captured through their use of tools like rhetorical strategies, frames, and categories in talk‐in‐interaction.
Findings
The team managers' ways of sensemaking through mobilizing rhetorical strategies, institutional categories, and how they recontextualise frames in negotiation of a disputed issue, adds new aspects to previous studies of the multi voiced complex integration processes in a cross‐border acquisition. The significance of the results is the revealing of actors' frequent use of rhetorical strategies, frames, and categories in sensemaking processes. The study calls for further research on structural features of institutional talk as related to the dynamics of talk‐in‐interaction.
Originality/value
The findings and methods of analysis contribute to international business studies and to the empirical‐based research on institutional interaction through text and talk.
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CHRISTINA BOEDKER, JAMES GUTHRIE and SURESH CUGANESAN
The disclosure of information on organisational knowledge resources and related knowledge management (KM) activities in annual reports has become a much debated issue within the…
Abstract
The disclosure of information on organisational knowledge resources and related knowledge management (KM) activities in annual reports has become a much debated issue within the intellectual capital (IC) discourse. This paper discusses the disclosure of IC information, and in particularly human capital information, in an Australian public sector organisation's annual reports. It contrasts and compares the case study organisation's internal IC management issues and practices with its external IC reporting practices. The empirical analysis demonstrates inconsistency between the organisation's internal IC management issues and practices and its external IC reporting practices. It shows that strategically important information about the organisation's management challenges, knowledge resources, KM activities and IC indicators was not disclosed to external stakeholders in the organisation's annual reports. The study exemplifies to external stakeholders the significance of the provision of information on IC and, in particular human capital, and highlights to public policy makers the relevance of extending existing reporting policies to incorporate disclosure requirements for organisations to include information on IC in annual reports.
Educator‐philosopher Paulo Freire (1921‐1997) is internationally known for his adult literacy work with peasants and workers in his native Brazil. Through a process of…
Abstract
Educator‐philosopher Paulo Freire (1921‐1997) is internationally known for his adult literacy work with peasants and workers in his native Brazil. Through a process of “conscientization”, the oppressed become active subjects in the making of culture and history, as opposed to passively accepting that which is imposed on them by society’s élite. Freire’s pedagogy has been embraced by many in the Third World and adapted to a First World context by North American educators. The annotated bibliography that follows presents a selection of Freire’s work, as well as that of other educators who have adopted a “Freirean” approach to education. In addition, several books recount Freirean inspired literacy campaigns instituted in countries rocked by political conflict and revolutionary change.
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Lars Birch Andreasen is Associate Professor at the Department of Learning and Philosophy at Aalborg University, Denmark, where he is a member of the Research Lab: ICT and Designs…
Abstract
Lars Birch Andreasen is Associate Professor at the Department of Learning and Philosophy at Aalborg University, Denmark, where he is a member of the Research Lab: ICT and Designs for Learning. He holds a Ph.D. in Education from the Danish University of Education and an M.A. in Cultural Sociology from Copenhagen University. His research interests are dialogic communication, problem- and project-based learning, collaboration in virtual learning environments, information literacy, and lifelong learning.
The paper aims to present the case study of Arillas, a small beach resort on Corfu, Greece, where the locals have taken their fate into their own hands in the middle of a crisis…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper aims to present the case study of Arillas, a small beach resort on Corfu, Greece, where the locals have taken their fate into their own hands in the middle of a crisis. It presents the historical background of the development of tourism in Arillas, the actions that have been undertaken by the local stakeholders to actively participate in the management of the village and to attract alternative, responsible and sustainable forms of tourism to Arillas, and the main players contributing to this process, as well as a look at three important themes contributing to the change.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper is based on an empirical study spanning many years by a local inhabitant who has an affinity with place management and marketing. It also includes some conclusions of a quantitative, questionnaire-based customer satisfaction survey carried out in 2011 and 2012 among 600 visitors. The analysis of the quantitative data was carried out by the Head of the Corfu Department of the National Tourism Organisation of Greece.
Findings
The paper demonstrates how a shared vision, combined with empowerment and communication among local stakeholders on improving the place, as well as many joint actions carried out on a volunteer basis have, first of all, dramatically increased the level of engagement of the locals in the present and future of Arillas, and second they have attracted and are attracting more individual travellers who are coming for the hospitality, local food and products, music and cultural festivals, walking, yoga and meditation rather than the outdated mass tourism model.
Research limitations/implications
It would be very interesting to perform another quantitative, questionnaire-based survey now to compare the results to those of 2012.
Originality/value
This paper demonstrates that a bottom-up, horizontal approach to placemaking and place marketing can yield substantial results even (or especially) in an adverse economical and social environment.
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Christina He and Janice Loftus
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the environmental disclosure practices of firms engaged in environmentally sensitive industries by examining their association with…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the environmental disclosure practices of firms engaged in environmentally sensitive industries by examining their association with environmental performance.
Design/methodology/approach
The study tests for associations between environmental performance and the level and nature of environmental disclosures by listed Chinese firms operating in industries that have been identified by a regulator as environmentally sensitive. The level of environmental disclosure is measured using a disclosure index based on the global reporting initiative. The nature of environmental disclosure is measured as the ratio of hard to total disclosure items.
Findings
Firms with more favourable environmental performance provide a higher level of environmental disclosure and include a greater proportion of hard disclosure items. However, the overall level of disclosure is lower than that observed in developed countries.
Research limitations/implications
Due to data constraints, the proxy for environmental performance is based on the receipt and maintenance of environmental titles and awards and does not capture variation in the level of environmental performance of firms with no titles or awards.
Practical implications
As China continues to embrace market-based economic reform, the ability to reflect sustainable choices through market transactions is of increasing importance to the preservation of economic, natural and social capital for future generations.
Originality/value
The study examines the relation between environmental reporting and environmental performance by firms operating in industries that have been identified by a regulator as environmentally sensitive.