Developing a framework for understanding the emotional dimension of organizational culture

Why is it that in some organizations we are able to find and develop our positive selves and in others we are not? Responding to the call from positive organizational scholarship to better understand how to build contexts for human flourishing, in this paper we are concerned how an organization's culture contributes to our thriving, or failing to thrive, at work. We introduce the organizational culture construct and its summary dimensions, noting the absence of an emotional dimension. We show that it is through our interactions with others that organizational culture is developed and maintained, and through which we learn how to manage and interpret the emotions we experience. That is, relationships are central to both culture and emotions. Integrating Josselson's model of our relational needs with Schein's typology of organizational culture, we present a relationally-based framework for an emotional dimension of organizational culture. The paper concludes with a report on a study designed to refine the framework presented and suggests that individuals will thrive in organizations where the cultural norms and values for relating enable a "good enough" fulfillment of our relational needs.

The development of a new construct : the emotional dimension of organizational culture

Qualitative organisational culture studies reveal the emotional side of organisational life. Yet, in a recent review of the quantitative organisational culture survey measures available, 10 summary dimensions were identified intended to be representative of the major dimensional categories in the organisational culture literature, and an emotional dimension was notably absent. The PhD aims to address this gap in the literature by (a) developing a theoretical definition of the newly proposed dimension; and (b) developing and validating an instrument for its measurement. The talk presents the findings of the studies conducted to date and discusses the inherent challenges of bringing the rigours of psychometric development to areas more commonly associated with qualitative research. The theoretical bases for adopting a multidimensional, relational approach that draws on theories within the psychoanalytically oriented and feminist traditions is provided. A strength of this approach is that the research can potentially contribute to explaining the nature of the ties between organisational members that is currently lacking in organisational research.

The pragmatics of text facilitation : the study of academic English of native and non-native writers

In this paper I describe the discursive strategies related to the writer–reader textual reciprocity. I focus on one way of achieving such reciprocity -- the employment by the writer of facilitative schematic structures and metalanguage where one text segment signposts information conveyed in the segment that follows. I refer to these facilitative schematic structures as "organising relational schemata". I see organising relations as the most explicit components of the rhetorical structure of texts: they illuminate the main message and aid the reader's cognitive processes in the orientation of how information is conveyed by text.
This paper discusses the way the choices of organising relations and associated metalanguage by the writers in different cultures and different discourse communities contribute to the communicative homeostasis in the world of text. It shows how the influence of a native culture and intellectual style together with the forces operating within the writer's international disciplinary community interact in the authorial guidance in the scholarly prose.
I introduce and exemplify three types of organising relational structures: Advance Organisers, Introducers and Enumerators. I trace the utilisation of these three types of relations in sociology research papers written in English and produced in "Anglo" and Polish academic discourse comunities by native English speaking and native Polish speaking scholars. The relational typology adopted is based on a study by Golebiowski (2002), which proposed a theoretical framework for the examination of discoursal structure of research papers, referred to as FARS – Framework for the Analysis of the Rhetorical Structure of Texts. FARS entails a relational taxonomy which displays a pattern of rhetorical relations utilised by the writer to achieve textual coherence.
I describe intertextual differences in the frequency of occurrence of organising relations, their degree of explicitness and their positioning in the hierarchical structure of texts. Differences in the mode of employment of textual organisers suggest that the rhetorical structure of English research prose produced by non-native speakers cannot escape being shaped by the characteristics and conventions of the authors’ first language. They are also attributed to cultural norms and conventions as well as educational systems prevailing within the discourse communities which constitute the social contexts of texts.

Prominent messages in education and applied linguistic abstracts : how do authors appeal to their prospective readers?

This study investigates the rhetorical structure of abstracts of papers published in Applied Linguistics and Education. It examines how abstract authors in these two fields emphasise the significance of their research, and how they appeal to their prospective readership. Although abstracts in both disciplinary groups are found to display a coordinate textual development they exhibit a utilization of different relational schemata to indicate the functional prominence of textual propositions. In particular, different relational patterns are seen to be employed to fulfil the two primary objectives of an abstract: to provide a synopsis of the accompanying article, and to promote it to relevant research and professional communities. The way authors demonstrate the value of their research and their professional credibility appears to be conditioned by disciplinary writing conventions. It is proposed that relational choices, which result in differences in the accentuation of communicative messages in Applied Linguistics and Education abstracts, depend on the perceived relationship between the author and the discourse community in terms of expectations of prior knowledge.

Care : what nurses say and what nurses do

Caring is neither simply a set of attitudes or theories, nor does it comprise all that nurses do. Nursing care is determined by the way nurses use knowledge and skills to appreciate the uniqueness of the person they are caring for (changing the care noun into a caring verb). The purpose of this article is to present a range of contemporary nurse theorists' ideas on caring and to examine these ideas using the backdrop of nursing as practiced in both Australia and Canada to demonstrate a range of national and international similarities and theoretical beliefs. Caring relationships set up the conditions of trust that enable the one receiving the care to accept the help offered, underpinning the nurse-patient relationship or the therapeutic relationship. Caring is always specific and relational such as that found in the nurse-patient relationship. We believe that caring theory has much to offer nursing practice worldwide. Caring must be considered in the caring context because the nature of the caring relationship is central to most nursing interventions. Nurses need to be able to actually practice caring rather than just theorize about it-using caring theories to inform their practice.

Predicting in-role and extra-role performance by gender

Men and women are said to perceive justice differently, with women proposed to be more concerned with relational issues and men focused more on material issues. In this study, the potential for differential effects of justice on performance by gender was analyzed across the four contemporary types of justice. Respondents were 265 male and 113 female occupationally diverse employees in a single organization. The results show significant differences in how men and women respond to the four justice types with only one - informational justice - acting similarly by gender. Women were more interested in maintaining social harmony than men. The results appear to strongly support the use of the justice judgment model over the group-value model as a means of explaining the gender differences. Implications for management include the importance of informational justice both generally and within the performance appraisal process

Preparing leaders to work with emotions in culturally diverse educational communities

Purpose – This paper argues that because leadership is a relational practice and leaders are gendered and racialised, in socially diverse schools and societies, leader preparation around difference is potentially emotionally confronting to leaders' professional and personal identities.

Design/methodology/approach – The paper draws on critical race and feminist theoretical perspectives to undertake a review and analysis of current approaches to professional development.

Findings – The paper concludes that because there is significant agreement now that leadership is considered to be emotional management work, then leadership learning, if it seeks to change practice, is also emotionally laden. The paper concludes that to develop more reflexive leaders, professional learning should begin with scrutiny of the self as gendered and racialised to consider what that means for “the Other” in terms of leadership in culturally diverse communities and schools.

Research limitations/implications – The paper is context specific, largely drawing on Australian data with reference to indigeneity. This is consistent with its theoretical position that leadership is relational and situated.

Practical implications – The paper identifies possible strategies that could be undertaken in professional learning forums that address issues of difference.

Originality/value – While there are significant issues around professional learning to develop pedagogical practices that address student diversity, there is less theorising around leadership diversity and what that might mean in terms of professional development of leaders.

Gender and schooling : still making the difference?

This chapter analyses contemporary political responses to the perceived academic success of girls as compared with boys, and the motivations behind what they call the 'what about the boys?' lobby. It argues that the growth of this influential lobby group is emblematic of a feminist backlash in western societies. By exposing some of the theoretical problems with the construction of difference upon which the 'boys in education' case is based, the author constructs an alternative relational approach which urges that the school curriculum should encourage all students to deconstruct gender, and particularly the ways in which hegemonic masculinity is formed and shaped in our society

Appearing pedagogy : from embodied learning and teaching to embodied pedagogy

In this paper images are used to support the conceptualisation and recognition of embodied pedagogy. Analysis of data gathered during an arts-based teaching project in pre-service teacher education revealed the presence of an embodied pedagogy and supports the further deployment of embodied teaching and learning in teacher education. Embodied pedagogy includes embodied teaching and embodied learning but is conceptualised through ‘pedagogy as relational’ – between teaching and learning and between teacher and learner. Through image this paper presents traces of embodied pedagogy from the classroom. These tracings of embodied pedagogy in classrooms defy baseline certainty and instead assert Benjamin’s thesis that knowledge can only ‘stand up’ through multiplicity, through all acts of knowing.

Relationship-based determinants of building project performance in China

The aim of this paper is to investigate the relationship-based factors that affect performance of general building projects in China. Eight performance metrics that may be used to measure the success level of construction projects are defined and categorized into two groups namely 'hard' and 'soft' performance. Eight indicators of risks inherent in relationships and seven indicators of tools expected to facilitate relationship building that may affect project success are identified. Data of different projects were collected in China via a self-administered postal survey. By using structural equation modelling techniques, a structural model is developed to help explain the relationship among different variables. It has been found that relational risk has negative influence on project performance. It is recommended that firms in the Chinese construction industry manage the relationship-based factors that are significant in the model so as to achieve project success.

Abstracting in the context of spontaneous learning

There is evidence that spontaneous learning leads to relational understanding and high positive affect. To study spontaneous abstracting, a model was constructed by combining the RBC model of abstraction with Krutetskii's mental activities. Using video-stimulated interviews, the model was then used to analyse the behaviour of two Year 8 students who had demonstrated spontaneous abstracting. The analysis highlighted the crucial role of synthetic and evaluative analysis, two processes that seem unlikely to occur under guided construction.

Risk and trust in cross-sector R & D projects

The Cooperative Research Centres are hybrid organizations at the leading edge of change in Australia's research culture and are key elements in the new knowledge infrastructure contributing to technological innovation. The paper presents findings from a qualitative study of CRC managers' perceptions and management of downside risk in commercially-focused R&D projects. CRC managers deal with both performance risks (arising from uncertainties about achieving goals) and relational risks (arising from collaborative relationships). They do so through formalisation, the selection of people with desirable characteristics, and the building of relationships. Underlying these risk mitigation strategies is the formation of trust (a willingness to rely on a partner in whom one has confidence), and this occurs at both interorganizational and project levels.

Metaphysics of love as moral responsibility in nursing and midwifery

This study used a qualitative research design incorporating principles of social constructionism, hermeneutic dialectic method, Neo-Socratic dialogue and philosophy for reporting the tacit and social knowledge constructions underlying particular ways of knowing that inform the experiential reality of love in the practice of nursing and midwifery. The philosophy of Emmanuel Levinas, that culminated in his magnum opus of the ‘metaphysics of otherness’, provided the theoretical underpinning for the interpretation of the experiences nurses and midwives believed were examples of love in their clinical practice in Australia, Singapore and Bhutan. What is love in nursing and midwifery? The answer is moral responsibility. The relational context has a nurse and midwife constantly exposed to patient situations that give rise to expressions of love as moral responsibility. It is a form of love that centres on the ability of our being, or at least the possibility of our being, to transcend its everyday form to a metaphysical state of being moral. It enables a nurse and midwife to transcend the isolation associated with their personal being as a self-project, to be ‘for’ the patient as a first priority. But while the ‘Goodness’ of the ‘Good’ assigns the nurse and midwife responsible and is expressed to their personal being in the form of the ‘urge to do’, ‘what to do’ in caring for the patient is a matter of living out the command to be responsible and will be different for each nurse and midwife. However, no matter the outcome, love as moral responsibility will always leave a nurse and midwife feeling there is still more to be done in being responsible.

Studies in supervisory practice : the effectiveness of the practicum in teacher education in the Northern Territory

In this thesis we descend into the swampy lowlands to meet with student-teachers and their supervisors and observe them working together at different sites across the Top End of Australia. In the process we discover the multiple relationships that comprise the practicum text and the discomforting untidiness and unwieldiness, as well as the awkwardness of complexity, which surrounds research into supervisory practice. The thesis demonstrates the need to attend to the subjectivities of the participants and highlights the conflicting attitudes, beliefs, interests, and desires which are only partially realised or understood. It moves us beyond language to the sentient world of anger, love, disgust, hope, fear, despair, joy, anguish, and pain and we become immersed in a murky, incoherent, interior world of hints, shadows, and unfamiliar sounds, a world of lost innocence and conflict in which knowledge is truly embodied. Encompassing a view of supervision as moral praxis, particular attention was given to the care and protection of the self and a romanticist conception of the self was seen to predominate. The thesis demonstrates the part played by positioning and agency in the process of subjectification, the importance of emotional and relational bonding in the emergence of collegiality, the tactics of power employed by supervisors, the struggle for personal autonomy, the presence of anxiety induced by failure to pro vide feedback, the inculcation of guilt, and the complex interplay of age-related and gender effects. Attention is also given to the degree to which supervisors adopt reflective and constructivist approaches to their work. The stories reveal that supervision is much more than advising student-teachers on curriculum content, resource availability and lesson presentation. It is a process of interiority in which supervisors may need to provide emotional support in the face of displacement and disorientation, and assume the role of an abiding presence, someone capable of imaginative introjection, someone who ‘knows’. Particular attention is paid to the language of supervision which was marked by indirection, diffidence, imprecision, irony, and understatement. At the same time, the agonistic nature of language associated with the politics of the personal is made apparent. Whilst in the opinion of Liaison Lecturers, context-of-site did not appear to matter as far as acquiring teaching competence was concerned, the failure to attend to context-of-site affected how student-teachers engaged with difference and diversity. In spite of attempts to contest the myths of Aboriginal education and interrupt the discourse of impoverishment, colonialist attitudes and resistance to liberatory education persisted. The thesis ends with suggestions for alternatives to the traditional practicum and discusses the introduction of Field-Based Teacher Education into Northern Territory schools.

Knowledge, identities and dilemmas of the self in physical education teacher education

The purpose of this study was to understand how becoming a physical education teacher is shaped by personally and socially constructed knowledge and is affected by the rules and resources of the structural systems in which physical education teacher education (PETE) takes place. The study was influenced by the traditions of Personal Construct Theory (Kelly 1955), the theoretical tenets of social constructionism (Gergen 1991), and Giddens’s work on structuration (1984) and self-identity (1991). Ten PETE students participated in the study over almost three years. They undertook repertory grid sessions periodically through their study, followed by ‘learning conversations’, in which the grid itself was discussed, reworked and collaboratively analysed. All conversations were audio taped and were fully transcribed. The data were analysed in three ways, all of which were used to construct a story of the study. First, the grids were analysed for patterns, consistencies across students and for consistencies within students. These grids provided the first level story that related to constructions of knowledge. These constructions were then content analysed using analysis categories developed from Gergen’s notion of the saturated self and Giddens’ ideas of identity in late modernity. These analyses represented what Giddens calls a double hermeneutic since to all intents and purposes, the story of the study was constructed from the participants’ constructions of what it is to be a physical education teacher. The data suggests that during the process of constructing professional knowledge the student experienced a series of dilemmas of professional self-identity. It seems that to become a PE teacher, the dilemmas must be worked through until a position of what Giddens calls ontologist security has been achieved. Some students in this study had not managed to reach such a point before they left university and entered the teaching profession. In spite of this, the methods of the study allowed the participants to begin to articulate their theories and visions of teaching physical education. The therapeutic qualities of Kelly’s theory encouraged a number of the students to ‘see it differently’ (Rossi, 1997) and to begin to develop a rationale for physical education based on educational practice that considers the needs of individuals and the promotion of a socially just community. I have argued however that this ‘critical’ approach to physical education pedagogy was considered risky and as such students who were prepared to engage in such risk strategies also had other strategic relational selves (Gergen, 1991) to minimise risk at key times during their teacher education.