Katherine J Reynolds, John C Turner and S.Alexander Haslam
Within social and organizational psychology and the other social sciences the concept of identity is now widely embraced. Two theories that are increasingly being applied to help…
Abstract
Within social and organizational psychology and the other social sciences the concept of identity is now widely embraced. Two theories that are increasingly being applied to help make sense of group and organizational identification are social identity theory and self-categorization theory (Tajfel, 1978; Turner, 1982; Turner, Hogg, Oakes, Reicher & Wetherell, 1987). These theories, jointly referred to as the social identity perspective, recognise that people’s individual characteristics and their group memberships play a significant role in shaping attitudes, values, beliefs, and behavior. Given this focus, interest in these theories mirrors the growing popularity of group-based management techniques applied to topics such as group decision-making, team building, group performance, organizational culture and organizational change.
Michelle K. Ryan, S. Alexander Haslam and Tom Postmes
This paper aims to investigate the phenomenon of the glass cliff, whereby women are more likely than men to be placed in precarious leadership positions. Men's and women's…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate the phenomenon of the glass cliff, whereby women are more likely than men to be placed in precarious leadership positions. Men's and women's reactions to this subtle form of gender discrimination are examined, the identity processes involved, and the implications for organisations who must manage this change in the gender make‐up of their workforce.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper is qualitative analysis of participants’ spontaneous explanations for the glass cliff, after having read about the phenomenon on an online news web site.
Findings
The research demonstrates clear differences in men's and women's reactions to the glass cliff. While women were more likely to acknowledge the existence of the glass cliff and recognise its danger, unfairness, and prevalence for women, men were more likely to question the validity of research into the glass cliff, downplaying the dangers. These patterns were mirrored in the explanations that individuals generated. While women were most likely to explain the glass cliff in terms of pernicious processes such as a lack of alternative opportunities, sexism, or men's ingroup favouritism, men were most likely to favour largely benign interpretations, such as women's suitability for difficult leadership tasks, the need for strategic decision‐making, or company factors unrelated to gender.
Originality/value
This research examines people's reactions to a new form of subtle sexism in the workplace which allows one to develop a more thorough theoretical understanding of the phenomenon and of the likely impact of practical interventions designed to help eliminate discriminatory appointment practices.
Details
Keywords
The purpose of this paper is to summarise two 2014 research papers that highlight the role of social interactions and the social world in recovery in the context of mental…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to summarise two 2014 research papers that highlight the role of social interactions and the social world in recovery in the context of mental distress.
Design/methodology/approach
The author summarise two papers: one is about two theories from social psychology that help us understand social identity – our sense of who we are. The other brings together and looks at the similarities and differences between ten different therapies that can be called resource-oriented – that is, they focus on people's strengths and resources rather than what is wrong with them.
Findings
The paper on social identity gives a convincing case for incorporating teaching about social identity – and the social groups to which people belong – into the training of mental health professionals. The paper on resource-oriented therapies suggests that social relationships are a main component of all ten therapies examined. This second paper suggested a need for more research and theory relating to resource-oriented therapies. Social identity theory could help address this issue. Mental health services may be able to help people more by focusing on their established and desired social identities and group-belonging, and their strengths, than is usual.
Originality/value
These two papers seem timely given the growing recognition of the role of social factors in the development and maintenance of mental distress. More attention to social factors in recovery could help make it more self-sustaining.
Details
Keywords
Anne T. O'Brien, S. Alexander Haslam, Jolanda Jetten, Louise Humphrey, Lucy O'Sullivan, Tom Postmes, Rachael Eggins and Katherine J. Reynolds
Despite a renewed interest in processes which help organizations to harness social capital, it is apparent that practical efforts to achieve this rarely focus on employees who are…
Abstract
Despite a renewed interest in processes which help organizations to harness social capital, it is apparent that practical efforts to achieve this rarely focus on employees who are members of low status groups. In large part this is because such employees tend to be skeptical of, and to resist, engagement in intervention programs on the basis of previous adverse experience regarding the benefits achieved and lack of trust. This paper presents evidence that, among hospital staff, work groups who felt they were devalued displayed higher levels of cynicism regarding the potential efficacy of a stress intervention program. Within the organization, devalued groups were characterized by lower levels of organizational identification and members of these groups reported under‐utilization of their skills by the organization. Thus, there is evidence that organizations are failing to realize the social capital of specific groups. The ASPIRe model of organizational development is discussed as an appropriate vehicle to provide devalued groups with genuine opportunities for development and empowerment. To the extent that such a program receives genuine institutional support, we argue that it has the potential to unlock key enclaves of social capital that tend otherwise to be overlooked.
Details
Keywords
David Best, Dan I. Lubman, Michael Savic, Ann Wilson, Genevieve Dingle, S. Alexander Haslam, Catherine Haslam and Jolanda Jetten
There is considerable literature indicating the importance of social connectedness and its relationship to wellbeing. For problem substance users, a similar literature emphasises…
Abstract
Purpose
There is considerable literature indicating the importance of social connectedness and its relationship to wellbeing. For problem substance users, a similar literature emphasises the importance of the transition from a social network supportive of use to one that fosters recovery. Within this framework, the therapeutic community (TC) is seen as a critical location for adopting a transitional identity (i.e. from a “drug user” to a “member of the TC”), as part of the emergence of a “recovery identity” following treatment. The purpose of this paper is to outline a model for conceptualising and measuring identity based on the theories of social identity and recovery capital, and pilots this model within a TC setting.
Design/methodology/approach
A social identity mapping was used with TC residents to test their identification with “using” and “TC” groups, and their relationship to recovery capital.
Findings
The network mapping method was acceptable to TC residents, and provided valuable insights into the social networks and social identity of TC residents.
Research limitations/implications
This paper explores issues around mapping social identity and its potential in the TC and other residential settings.
Originality/value
The paper integrates a number of conceptual models to create a new framework for understanding transitions in social networks during treatment and reports on a novel measurement method underpinning this.
Details
Keywords
A new phenomenon called “Glass Cliff” has formed claiming that women at the higher echelons of organizations are being placed in higher risk positions when compared to men. The…
Abstract
Purpose
A new phenomenon called “Glass Cliff” has formed claiming that women at the higher echelons of organizations are being placed in higher risk positions when compared to men. The purpose of this research study is to examine whether this phenomenon occurs at the middle to upper middle management levels for women. If so, it can possibly be one of the many underlying reasons that contribute to the grounds of why the pipeline problem exists with female leadership at the top-level management positions.
Design/methodology/approach
The design considers competing hypotheses based on the emerging, contradictory research on the Glass Cliff and the more established perspective of social norms and implicit biases. The experimental study is conducted on 202 participants to examine the likelihood of occurrence of this phenomenon at middle to upper middle management levels.
Findings
Counter to the tenets pertaining to the Glass Cliff phenomenon but consistent with the implicit leadership theories, this research study revealed that when compared to the female candidate, the male candidate was more likely to be assigned to the higher risk position.
Research limitations/implications
The subjective nature of the study can be the reason for variations of each participant and their biases since it is a specific experiment dealing with perceptions, social norms and prejudice.
Originality/value
This phenomenon is mostly studied at the executive level and can contribute to the pipeline problem for women, hence this study provides insight and examines the phenomenon at the middle to upper middle management levels to examine its likelihood.
Details
Keywords
Lynn McAlpine, Andrew Gibson and Søren Smedegaard Bengtsen
Increasingly governmental policy around PhD education has resulted in greater university oversight of programs and student experience – often through creating central PhD Schools…
Abstract
Purpose
Increasingly governmental policy around PhD education has resulted in greater university oversight of programs and student experience – often through creating central PhD Schools. While student experience is well researched, the experiences of Heads of these units, who are responsible for creating student experience, have been invisible. This exploratory Danish case study begins such a conversation: its purpose to examine the perceptions of five Heads of PhD Humanities Schools, each responsible for steering institutional decisions within Danish PhD policy landscapes.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative approach integrated three distinct analyses: a review of Danish PhD education policies and university procedures, each university’s job specifications for the Heads of the Schools and the Heads’ views on their responsibilities.
Findings
The Heads differentiated between their own and today’s PhD student experience. They had held prior leadership roles and fully supported institutional regulations. They cared deeply for the students under their charge and were working to achieve personal goals to enhance PhD experience. Their leadership perspective was relational: enhancing individual student learning through engaging with multiple PhD actors (e.g. program leaders) – when possible at a personal level – to improve PhD practices.
Originality/value
This study contributes an expanded perspective on how PhD School Heads constitute their roles by empirically linking: macro-national policies and institutional regulations and individuals’ biographies to their support of the PhD regimes – with implications for academic leadership generally. The authors argue research into PhD School leadership is essential, as it is such individuals who create the organisational settings that students experience.
Details
Keywords
Sylwiusz Retowski, Dorota Godlewska-Werner and Rolf van Dick
The study aimed to test the validity and reliability of the Polish version of the identity leadership inventory (ILI) proposed by Steffens, Haslam, Reicher et al. (2014) and to…
Abstract
Purpose
The study aimed to test the validity and reliability of the Polish version of the identity leadership inventory (ILI) proposed by Steffens, Haslam, Reicher et al. (2014) and to confirm the relationship between identity leadership and various job-related outcomes (i.e., trust in leaders, job satisfaction, work engagement and turnover intentions) among employees from Poland-based organizations. Identity leadership appears to be a universal construct (van Dick, Ciampa, & Liang, 2018) but no one has studied it in Poland so far.
Design/methodology/approach
The sample consisted of 1078 employees collected in two independent subsamples from different organizations located in Northern and Central Poland. We evaluated the ILI’s factorial structure using confirmatory factor analysis.
Findings
The results confirm that the 15-item Polish version of the ILI has a four-dimensional structure with factors representing prototypicality, advancement, entrepreneurship and impresarioship. It showed satisfactory reliability. The identity leadership inventory-short form (four items) also showed a good fit with the data. As expected, the relationships between identity leadership and important work-related outcomes (general level of job satisfaction, work engagement, trust toward the leader and turnover intentions) were also significant.
Originality/value
Despite the cultural specifics of Polish organizations, the research results were generally very similar to those in other countries, confirming the universality of the ILI as shown in the Global Identity Leadership Development project (GILD, see van Dick, Ciampa, & Liang, 2018; van Dick et al., 2021).
Details
Keywords
Linda Steuer-Dankert and Carmen Leicht-Scholten
Diversity management is seen as a decisive factor for ensuring the development of socially responsible innovations (Beacham and Shambaugh, 2011; Sonntag, 2014; López, 2015;…
Abstract
Diversity management is seen as a decisive factor for ensuring the development of socially responsible innovations (Beacham and Shambaugh, 2011; Sonntag, 2014; López, 2015; Uebernickel et al., 2015). However, many diversity management approaches fail due to a one-sided consideration of diversity (Thomas and Ely, 2019) and a lacking linkage between the prevailing organizational culture and the perception of diversity in the respective organization. Reflecting the importance of diverse perspectives, research institutions have a special responsibility to actively deal with diversity, as they are publicly funded institutions that drive socially relevant development and educate future generations of developers, leaders and decision-makers. Nevertheless, only a few studies have so far dealt with the influence of the special framework conditions of the science system on diversity management. Focusing on the interdependency of the organizational culture and diversity management especially in a university research environment, this chapter aims in a first step to provide a theoretical perspective on the framework conditions of a complex research organization in Germany in order to understand the system-specific factors influencing diversity management. In a second step, an exploratory cluster analysis is presented, investigating the perception of diversity and possible influencing factors moderating this perception in a scientific organization. Combining both steps, the results show specific mechanisms and structures of the university research environment that have an impact on diversity management and rigidify structural barriers preventing an increase of diversity. The quantitative study also points out that the management level takes on a special role model function in the scientific system and thus has an influence on the perception of diversity. Consequently, when developing diversity management approaches in research organizations, it is necessary to consider the top-down direction of action, the special nature of organizational structures in the university research environment as well as the special role of the professorial level as role model for the scientific staff.
Details
Keywords
Basharat Hussain, Abdullah Zafar Sheikh, Julie Repper, Theodore Stickley, Stephen Timmons and Mahmood Hussain Shah
This study aims to investigate how British Pakistani people talk about their social identity, in the context of mental health, and how this shapes their experiences and…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate how British Pakistani people talk about their social identity, in the context of mental health, and how this shapes their experiences and perceptions of care delivered by the National Health Service, UK.
Design/methodology/approach
Eight narrative interviews were conducted among members of the Pakistani community living in a city in the UK. The data were analyzed using a narrative analysis approach using “social identity” as a theoretical lens.
Findings
Considering Pakistani service users as a single social entity, and responding with generic approaches in meeting their mental health needs, may not be helpful in achieving equitable treatment. Study participants reject a simple conceptualization of race and ethnicity and how a response based upon stereotypes is woefully inadequate. The study revealed that people from one ethnic or national background cannot be assumed to have a fixed social identity.
Originality/value
This study broadens understanding of how people from a single ethnic background may construct and view their social identities markedly different to others from the same ethnic group. This has implications for service providers in understanding how their clients’ social identity is treated and understood in practice.