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1 – 10 of 106Keith Grint, Clare Holt and Peter Neyroud
The purpose of this paper is to consider a challenge to an occupational jurisdiction in the British police. Historically, street cops have defended the importance of operational…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to consider a challenge to an occupational jurisdiction in the British police. Historically, street cops have defended the importance of operational credibility as a way of sustaining the value of experience, and inhibiting attempts to introduce external leaders. This has generated a particular form of policing and leadership that is deemed by the British Government as inadequate to face the problems of the next decade.
Design/methodology/approach
The project used the High Potential Development Scheme of the British police to assess the value of operational credibility and the possibilities of radical cultural change. Data are drawn from participants on the program, from those who failed to get onto the program, and from officers who have risen through the ranks without access to a fast-track scheme.
Findings
Most organizational changes fail in their own terms, often because of cultural resistance. However, if we change our metaphors of culture from natural to human constructions it may be possible to focus on the key point of the culture: the lodestone that glues it together. Operational credibility may be such a cultural lodestone and undermining it offers the opportunity for rapid and radical change.
Research limitations/implications
The scheme itself has had limited numbers and the research was limited to a small proportion of the different categories outlined above.
Practical implications
If we change our metaphors for culture and cultural change – from natural to constructed metaphors – (icebergs and webs to buildings), it may be possible to consider a much more radical approach to organizational change.
Originality/value
Most assessments of cultural change focus on those charged with enacting the change and explain failure through recourse to natural metaphors of change. This paper challenges the convention that cultural change can only ever be achieved, if at all, through years of effort.
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Finn Frandsen and Winni Johansen
In February 2015, Jørgen Vig Knudstorp, CEO of the LEGO Group, invited the national and international press to a financial briefing at the company's headquarters in Billund…
Abstract
In February 2015, Jørgen Vig Knudstorp, CEO of the LEGO Group, invited the national and international press to a financial briefing at the company's headquarters in Billund (Denmark). 2014 had been an exceptional year of growth for the LEGO group. Nevertheless, most of the journalists present in the room were surprised when the Danish CEO suddenly began to dance in front of the audience while singing ‘Everything is awesome’ from the LEGO Movie. Why did he do it? Was it out of spontaneous joy? Or was there a strategy behind his actions? And what were the reactions of the media and LEGO employees? What can a CEO who is dancing and singing for a few seconds or minutes in front of a group of journalists tell us about leadership roles and leadership communication? The aim of this chapter is to provide plausible answers to these questions. We combine theory of dancing with three different approaches to the study of leadership: (1) a strategic approach: the CEO as a Performer, (2) a positive organizational scholarship approach: the CEO as a Chief Happiness Officer and (3) a critical approach: the CEO as a Seducer. At the end of the chapter, we discuss how this small case study can contribute to a broader understanding of strategic communication that includes a dramaturgical and multimodal perspective.
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This paper aims to provide insights into the female transformational leadership behaviours within a socially dynamic environment. Research was conducted in the State of Qatar, a…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to provide insights into the female transformational leadership behaviours within a socially dynamic environment. Research was conducted in the State of Qatar, a country that is going through a rapid social change.
Design/methodology/approach
The research framework was based on the transformational leadership framework (TLF) initially proposed by Burns (1978) and further developed by Bass (1985). A respondent set, consisting of 25 Qatari female managers, was taken from the largest public university in the State of Qatar. In-depth interviews were the main source of collected data. The data were analysed using NVivo 11.
Findings
Predominantly, Qatari female leadership behaviours were reflective of transformational leadership. In their dealings, Qatari female managers displayed motherly instincts, encouraged open communication, used relationship adaptations and used trust. From time to time, Qatari female managers displayed non-transformational leadership behaviours. This occasional leadership style switch was part of behavioural flexibility that was required in a mixed age, mixed gender, mixed experience and mixed nationalities work environment. The key reason for the change in transformational leadership approach came as a reaction to subordinates’ attitude. In particular, the male-dominated work environment required behavioural adjustments (such as being more assertive and autocratic) to deal with masculine subordinates.
Research limitations/implications
A range of respondent perceptions were related to defining leadership. There was some overlapping between the tested determinants. For example, idealised influence and individualised consideration shared a degree of similarity in terms of how they were perceived.
Social implications
Socially dynamic environment should be seen as an opportunity for female transformational leadership development. Social dynamism may result in an evolved TLF that could be more appropriate for Qatari organisations. Hence, experience and problem sharing between Qatari female managers may help in developing a socially and culturally fitting transformational leadership model.
Originality/value
The study presented a perspective of a socially dynamic environment where women were practicing transformational leadership primarily through behavioural flexibility and change management. The study suggests an extended version of TLF that would be more suitable for female leadership within a socially dynamic environment.
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Souha R. Ezzedeen and Jelena Zikic
The purpose of this paper is to explore how women entrepreneurs experience entrepreneurship in the Canadian technology sector and the types of obstacles posed by the field's…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore how women entrepreneurs experience entrepreneurship in the Canadian technology sector and the types of obstacles posed by the field's male‐dominated character.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors' research purpose called for an inductive approach. Interviews with a sample of women technology entrepreneurs allowed for in‐depth exploration of their subjective experiences and the contexts in which these were situated.
Findings
The research subjects encountered persistent gender stereotypes, a paucity of female role models, resistance from associates within and outside of their organizations, and societal pressures to maintain appropriate levels of work‐family balance.
Research limitations/implications
Although exploratory and preliminary in nature, the findings indicate that women entrepreneurs do not experience “glass ceilings” as much as they experience “labyrinth walls” and what the authors identify as “thorny floors”, meaning opposition and sabotage from male subordinates.
Social implications
Women considering entrepreneurship should expect to encounter resistance to their leadership, albeit manifested in different forms than in corporate settings. Male‐dominated fields such as technology involve industry‐level resistance as well as opposition from within the organization. Nevertheless, women perceived the field as merit‐driven whereby they gained acceptance once they had established themselves as credible competitors.
Originality/value
This study is one of few to elucidate the multiple levels of opposition to women's entrepreneurship in male‐dominated settings and introduces the concept of “thorny floors” to research on women's advancement and entrepreneurship.
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Helen Woodruffe‐Burton and Susan Wakenshaw
The research presented in this article aims to extend our understanding of the symbolic and experiential values of shopping through the investigation of consumers' grocery…
Abstract
Purpose
The research presented in this article aims to extend our understanding of the symbolic and experiential values of shopping through the investigation of consumers' grocery shopping and consumption experiences.
Design/methodology/approach
The research approach was based on the existential phenomenological interview; ten women living in the UK who were in paid employment outside the home at the time of the study, who were married (or living with their partner) and who had at least one child living at home participated in the study which explored their lived experiences of grocery shopping and consumption.
Findings
The findings reveal that consumers can construct various dimensions and levels of self/identity through their food shopping and consumption practices through their shopping experiences and in conjunction with various resources and support provided by retailers. Four key themes are identified and explored: “I am in control”; “I am me”; “I share and I love”; and “I belong”.
Research limitations/implications
The present study is exploratory in nature; it identifies four key themes which appear significant and provides a starting point for further research.
Originality/value
This paper explores the ways in which shopping confirms consumers' personal identity, social position and social identity and contributes to the literature in two ways: the research extends our understanding of the experiential values of shopping by extending the domain of enquiry from consumers' experiences in‐store to the actual consumption phase and consumers' self identity is investigated through the exploration of individual consumers' lived shopping and consumption experiences from an holistic perspective.
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IN The verdict of you all, Rupert Croft‐Cooke has some uncomplimentary things to say about novel readers as a class, which is at least an unusual look at his public by a…
Abstract
IN The verdict of you all, Rupert Croft‐Cooke has some uncomplimentary things to say about novel readers as a class, which is at least an unusual look at his public by a practitioner whose income for many years was provided by those he denigrates.
Patrick P. Lonergan, Maurice Patterson and Maria Lichrou
This paper aims to elucidate how cultural intermediaries shape the subjectivity of other marketplace actors in fashion, thus preserving the illusio underpinning this field of…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to elucidate how cultural intermediaries shape the subjectivity of other marketplace actors in fashion, thus preserving the illusio underpinning this field of cultural production.
Design/methodology/approach
Narrative interviews were conducted with cultural intermediaries in the fashion industry. These were supplemented with non-participant observations, carried out simultaneously during the research process. Interview transcripts and field notes were analysed using a combination of holistic-content and categorical-content analysis.
Findings
As the fashion field is constructed around beliefs as to what constitutes value, the empirical data demonstrate how fashion models’ embody the illusio of the field and authenticate the values, meanings and identities inherent in it through aestheticised and rarefied styles of performance. These activities seduce other market actors and engender a willing suspension of disbelief that in turn mobilises affective intensities resulting in perceptions of legitimacy.
Research limitations/implications
This research adds greater clarity to what cultural intermediaries do when they mediate between economy and culture. To do this, our research is analysed in terms of the ritual performance, the sensibility of the model, the use of the body and the performative fusion.
Practical implications
The paper offers practical implications insofar as it deconstructs the two core ritualistic aspects of the fashion industry which each season yields significant tangible outputs in various forms. The combination of narrative inquiry with observation allows for a better understanding of how these events can be best channelled to mediate the illusio of this cultural field.
Originality/value
To date, there has been very little consumer research that explores cultural intermediaries and less still that offers an empirical glimpse of their performance. This research adds greater clarity to these embodied performances that legitimate other market actors’ suspension of disbelief while also demystifying the ambiguity with which cultural intermediaries are discussed in consumer research.
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The aim of this paper is to gather information that will be useful to practitioners who are assessing and trying to understand the difficulties of people with intellectual…
Abstract
The aim of this paper is to gather information that will be useful to practitioners who are assessing and trying to understand the difficulties of people with intellectual disabilities who may have experienced sexual abuse. In the first part of this paper the research into the effects of sexual abuse on people with learning disability is reviewed. In the second part of this paper, the major clinical implications of these findings are explored. These include the implications for abuse evaluations, identification of individuals at increased risk of disturbance, implications for treatment and provision of psychotherapeutic services.
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This paper provides some guidance on how recent research into decision‐making capacity can be used in clinical practice to maximise financial independence among adults with…
Abstract
This paper provides some guidance on how recent research into decision‐making capacity can be used in clinical practice to maximise financial independence among adults with learning disabilities. Its key messages are (i) that capacity is changeable rather than fixed and static, and (ii) that an assessment of capacity is just a starting point for identifying and enhancing a person's strengths and addressing weaknesses. The first half of the paper contains an overview of some recent developments in social policy, capacity legislation and research. We highlight some of the most important issues for clinicians and other health and social care practitioners to consider. In the second half, a case study is discussed. We outline some potential interventions for maximising financial capacity in different ways, as well as identifying some broad strategies for addressing difficulties in decision‐making.