Racial Habitus, Moral Conflict, and White Moral Hegemony Within Interracial Evangelical Organizations

Re-conceptualizing habitus as a complex of inculcated moral dispositions that—particularly within the racialized social system of the United States—are racially-constituted, this article proposes a framework through which racial conflict and structural/cultural domination within interracial religious organizations, and perhaps other volunteer organizations, may be analyzed. Drawing upon qualitative data from a study of fundraising experiences within interracial evangelical organizations, I demonstrate, first, that racial conflicts within these organizations are best framed as disputes over moral standards arising out of divergent, racially-constituted, moral dispositions, and second, that these conflicts are worked out via the institutionalization and instilment of white cultural norms, ultimately resulting in the hegemony of white moral standards within the organizations.     

Organization and Management in the Third Sector: Toward a Cross‐Cultural Research Agenda

Third sector organizations in the industrialized and the developing world—and particularly the subset of third sector organizations known as development nongovernmental organizations (NGOs)—are becoming more culturally diverse in internal staff composition, management styles, and working environments. Although cultural issues have been largely absent from the nonprofit and the NGO research literatures, the organizational implications of societal culture and organizational culture are widely debated within other research fields. This article proposes a closer engagement between third sector management research and the wider study of cross‐cultural organizational issues within anthropology, development studies, and management theory. It argues that such an exchange is necessary if third sector organizational research agendas are to include changing organizational landscapes effectively, and the article concludes with some ideas for future research.     

The Relationship between Cultural Tightness–Looseness and Organizational Innovativeness: A Comparative Research into the Turkish and Italian Marble Industries

When examining the literature of cross-cultural field holistically, it can be seen that the dominant paradigm in the literature is based on values. However, in recent decades there have been growing criticisms against values in explaining cultural differences adequately and thus a new cultural dimension, the so called “tightness–looseness” has, once again, come to the forefront. The beginning point of this research is based on the assumption that cultural tightness–looseness, defined as strength, importance, pervasive and binding of norms within a certain community, which was previously examined on a societal level, might also have significant implications within organizations. In this regard, the ultimate objective of the research is to examine the validity and reliability of the construct in Turkish and Italian marble industries using a comparative approach, while considering the cultural dimension of tightness–looseness at an organizational level and aiming to explore its relationship with organizational innovativeness empirically. The survey method has therefore been adopted. The results and implications of the study are discussed in greater detail and recommendations for future studies made.     

Deconstructing divisions: Cultural schismogeneses as sources of creativity in organizations

Drawing on Gregory Bateson's theory of cultural schismogenesis, the authors analyse such processes within two organizations: the Birdwatching and Bird Study Association of Slovenia and VU University Amsterdam. Both cases illustrate internal cultural divisions typical for non-profit organizations whose goals go beyond optimizing financial profits and can thus be interpreted in various, sometimes conflicting, ways. The article demonstrates how organizational members, through continuous processes of creative deconstruction, transform organizations by simultaneously creating both schisms and coalitions. This shows that, although cultural divisions may at first glance seem destructive, they are at the same time sources of creativity that permit organizational renewal and growth.     

‘Heritage’ and ‘cultural practice’ in a globalized disaster: a preliminary thematic analysis of documents produced during the Ebola epidemic of 2013–2015

The Ebola crisis of 2013–2015 highlighted the relationship between cultural heritage, neoliberal globalization and public health. It also raised the problem of cultural compatibility between organizations within the global ‘epidemic space’, which intruded on the pre-existing ‘heritage space’. In this paper, we discuss the differences and disjunctures between ‘heritage’ as it was explicitly and implicitly defined by two organizations positioned very differently in the global epidemic space – UNESCO, and the University of Makeni, Sierra Leone’s first private university. A thematic analysis of documents produced by these institutions reveals that they both placed the themes of human dignity and cultural heritage at the forefront of their responses. It also reveals that they dealt with those themes in sharply disjunctive ways, indicating the limits of cultural compatibility within the global ‘epidemic space’.     

The established and the outsiders: legitimacy and economic niches of the four generations of Saint Petersburg cultural organizations

ABSTRACT

This paper analyses the post-Soviet evolution of the sector of cultural organizations in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The study relies on a combination of qualitative (semi-structured interviews with employees of 34 cultural organizations of St. Petersburg) and quantitative (pile sorting) methods of data treatment, as well as synthesizes approaches from theories of organizations (organizational ecology, neo-institutionalism) and cultural studies and sociology of culture (Bourdieu, DiMaggio) to analyse the successively emerging waves of organizations. We show that the organizations can be divided into four waves, with the oldest ones existing from Soviet (and sometimes Imperial) times and the newest emerging during the economic boom of the early 2000s. The waves differ primarily in the degree of legitimacy resulting from their abstaining from or participating in a wide range of market activities. The aristocratic establishment extracting resources from ‘pure’ sources enjoys much greater prestige and, ultimately, economic security, than those who have to use less approved sources. Our general conclusion is that the ‘birth order’ is primarily responsible for the ability of an organization to occupy a desirable economic niche. Thus, the oldest wave occupies the most favourable niche, possessing the greatest legitimacy and receiving generous support from public and private foundations, while later waves had either to restrict their economic activities to prove their belonging to artistic field (second and, partially, third waves) or to combine different artistic (exhibitions, performances, and film screening), academic (lectures and seminars) and commercial (café and shops) activities within one public space, which, however, greatly undermines their legitimacy and deprives them of most sources of public funding. Ironically, the newer organizations embrace and translate the opposition between ‘pure art’ and ‘commerce’, which dooms them to suffering in a vicious circle of illegitimacy.     

Organizations and the structure of culture

Recent work emphasizes how organizations and organizing are suffused by culture. Ignored, however, is the question of how organizations and organizing shape cultural understandings. In this paper, we draw attention to how organizations impact the creation, maintenance, and matching of cultural associations: The “structure of culture.” Cultural associations are distributed understandings of “what goes with what,” diffused via their co-adoption by individual and corporate actors. We argue that the process of associative diffusion is heavily influenced by organizational forms, routines, and operations. While organizations shape culture production, they likewise shape resulting associations between cultural items, actively modifying the structure of culture. We conclude that the role of organizations in shaping the structure and dynamics of culture should be a central topic of study moving forward.     

Cross‐cultural civility in global civil society: transnational cooperation in Chinese NGOs

Transnational networks and organizations are often hailed as embodiments and carriers of global civil society, yet these assessments remain incomplete due to a lack of empirical research on their internal dynamics. In this article, I investigate whether or not transnational NGOs embody the cooperation across multiple social, cultural and political cleavages central to definitions of global civil society by exploring how multiple memberships are negotiated in the context of their everyday tasks. Using organizational documents and interview data with staff of two Protestant Christian development NGOs in China, I analyse how actors within these transnational organizations successfully manage their multiple memberships in national polities, national cultures, religious communities and a world culture. While multiple memberships exhibit the potential both to enable and to constrain an NGO's organizational tasks, the key to making such ties enabling are staff who act as skilful cross‐cultural brokers. Thus, the type of social capital required to render multiple memberships beneficial and not harmful to the organizations also makes these organizations true indicators of a developing global civil society.     

Affective capitalism,humanitarianism and extractivism in Colombia: old and new borders for future times

Contemporary Colombian conjuncture encompasses two dynamics. These incorporate social, economic, political and cultural aspects, whose related rationalities are yet to be mapped out and understood in their complex and multi-layered dimensions and registers. On the one hand, as I will explain throughout the text, we have been witness to on-going peace talks between the government and the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia guerrilla group, a whole set of practices of forgiveness, inaugurations of memory museums, the passing of the victims and land restitution law, as well as the recognition of victims and the effervescence of their movements and organizations. These factors have spiralled victims’ demonstrations and fuelled marches all over the country. On the other hand, there are increased rates of foreign investment in those regions that, until as little as a decade ago, were subject to appalling rates of internal displacement, massacres and disappearances, and which now constitute new borders where global capitalism has been able to reconfigure and increase its rates of capital accumulation. In this article, I analyse the processes referred to above and their complex relationships from the vantage point of a cultural studies interrogation of the affective and the popular, focusing on two Colombian regions: Montes de María and Mapiripán. My goal is to understand how different groups and actors are experiencing these processes in their everyday lives. Here, I include victims and their organizations but also government officials and entrepreneurs related to agro-industry initiatives – mentioned below – today refashioned within the new mantra of corporate responsibility. I want to understand the issue of where people are located and what they are doing, facing, consuming, or resisting in terms of these new challenges. Finally, I wish to offer an analytical study that can capture the everyday textures of these processes in a complex and concrete fashion.     

Public relations,indigeneity and colonization: Indigenous resistance as dialogic anchor

Cultural communication has been put forth in the context of globalization and the emergence of Indigenous movements as a framework for dialogue to be carried out by organizations (Love & Tilley, 2014). Concepts of Māori communication for instance have been foregrounded in the public relations literature to anchor strategies of effective engagement through dialogue, leading to the building of trust in Indigenous communities (Love & Tilley, 2014). Similarly, Indigenous engagement has been foregrounded as a key resource in achieving global sustainable development (Dutta, 2013, 2019). This turn to Indigenous cultural communication is broadly situated in the framing of indigeneity as a category to be developed within frameworks of dialogue and engagement, constituted within the structures of transnational capitalism (Dutta, 2019).Drawing from Dutta’s (2008) theorizing of the cultural sensitivity and culture-centered approaches to communication, we critically interrogate the hegemony of Indigenous dialogue as a strategy deployed by dominant organizations. Whereas cultural sensitivity incorporates cultural characteristics to serve organizational goals, cultural-centering serves as an anchor for collaborating with cultural communities at the margins in building “communicative infrastructures” for voice. Arguing that superficial markers of culture incorporated into engagement is a communicative inversion that serves the colonizing tools of transnational capital, we attend to culturally centered communication strategies of engagement that are grounded in resistance and emerge from within the voices of Indigenous movements that are increasingly threatened by ever-expanding colonial missions of globalization.Comparing across two case studies, one about the struggle of the Dongria Kondh in the Odisha state of Eastern India against mining capitalism, and the other a critical review of the use of Māori cultural knowledge in the public relations literature, we articulate indigeneity as a site of resistance within the meta-theoretical framework of the culture-centered approach (Dutta, 2008, 2011). In conceptualizing Indigenous resistance as an agonistic anchor to communication, we attend to the impossibilities of dialogue, and simultaneously to the role of communicative infrastructures in inverting neoliberal hegemony. Dialogue is radically transformed, not in generating consensus but rather in its capacity to disrupt the neoliberal status quo through the presence of Indigenous voices. Indigenous resistance “renders impure” the ontological category of dialogue, on one hand, attending to the limits of dialogue, and on the other hand, turns dialogic tools into the hands of Indigenous social movements. Dialogue as a communication infrastructure located materially within Indigenous resistance movements turns the power of communication into the hands of Indigenous communities.     

Field Dynamics and Public Relations Theory: Toward the Management of Multiple Publics

This article expands on the theoretical idea that public relations should be a two-way symmetrical process in which organizations use principles of communication, negotiation, and conflict resolution to manage relationships with strategic publics. We point out that the symmetrical model is two-way and does not explain the situation in which an organization must communicate with multiple publics about a problem. In the typical public relations case, the organization carries on a public debate with at least one relevant public in front of numerous other publics. This article adapts the method of field dynamics for assessing the relative positions of publics and organizations. The method makes it possible to compare organizations and publics on the dimensions of dominance—submissiveness, friendly-unfriendly, and group versus self-orientation. We compare our method with the situational theory of publics, co-orientation, and cultural analysis—all of which have been used in public relations theory and research. We then apply field dynamics to a dispute with Native Americans in Wisconsin and suggest intervention strategies for dealing with the dispute.     

What Affects Hispanic Volunteering in the United States: Comparing the Current Population Survey, Panel Study of Income Dynamics, and the AIM Giving and Volunteering Survey

This study examines Hispanic formal volunteering and the cultural, social, and community context factors that affect their decision to volunteer. Using data from three surveys in the United States, the study finds that religious attendance, cultural background, and education are the most consistent and significant predictors of Hispanic formal volunteering. Religious attendance has a stronger positive impact on Hispanic volunteering than on non-Hispanics. The impacts of income, social resources, and community characteristics on Hispanics’ volunteering vary by surveys. Secular organizations serving children and youth and religious organizations are the favorite organizations for Hispanic volunteers.     

Let’s be careful out there … : how digital rights advocates educate citizens in the digital age

From the early days of the printed press, citizens have challenged and modified the information environment as constructed by governments and media organizations. In the digital era, this struggle is manifested in the work of civil-society organizations calling to expand the boundaries of digital rights such as access to the internet, freedom of speech, and the right to privacy. Alongside their traditional activity of confronting governments and internet organizations, these bodies have also engaged in educating citizens about their rights. In order to shed light on such educational efforts, I examine the activities of four civil-society organizations operating in three countries (Germany, Israel, and the U.S.) by conducting a content analysis of their websites between 2013 and 2015. The results suggest that the organizations’ interactions with the public are guided by three main principles: (1) cultural informational framing: delivering accurate technological and political information, which is framed so as to resonate with the cultural premises and everyday lives of the target audiences; (2) personal activism: propelling citizens toward participation, primarily through political clicktivism and by providing them with technological guidance and tools for digital self-protection; and (3) branding digital rights activism: fostering a unique image for a particular organization’s digital rights activism, mostly through selling merchandise to citizens. Using these strategies, the organizations aim to construct the social–political–cultural identity of a generation who are knowledgeable, politically active, and aware of their rights in the digital age. The characteristics of this identity are discussed in the conclusion.     

The Impact of Interdisciplinary Teams on Organizational Relationships

Based upon research in an alcoholism treatment organization, the study explores the impact of interdisciplinary team treatment on organizational participants and structure. The findings suggest that alternate organizational arrangements are necessary for organizations which use the team method. The implications of team treatment for professionals were confounded because of power relationships within the organization. Role bargaining between professionals was observed to be virtually non-existent because of the dominance of a single discipline. A surprising finding was the extent to which supervisory personnel were disadvantaged in the study. Caution is suggested for those organizations most likely to adopt the team method, large public health organizations.     

A Coalition Perspective on Nonprofit Governance Quality: Analyzing Dimensions of Influence in an Exploratory Comparative Case Analysis

We answer the call that governance research should focus more on processes outside the boundaries of boards, especially for nonprofit organizations. In particular, we suggest and elaborate concrete steps with respect to the advantages of a leadership coalition perspective to focus more on the behavioral and informal aspects of governance. Through a comparative case analysis of five nonprofit organizations, we explore contingencies between characteristics of nonprofit leadership coalitions and governance quality. We identify two dimensions to classify leadership coalitions: centralized versus diffused influence and specific versus holistic influence. These dimensions are subsequently related with observed governance quality. We frame our finding in the existing literature on group faultlines, which are socially constructed dividing lines within groups, and we discuss the importance of establishing a balanced coalition between a weak or nonexisting and a strong dominant coalition to ensure high governance quality. We also present propositions on how governance quality and its various sub-dimensions can be studied as a complex, nonlinear intermediate concept between coalitional aspects of leadership groups and nonprofit organizational performance. Finally, we discuss concrete avenues for further testing and verification of our theoretical interpretation.     

Stop Making Sense! Erfolgreiche Teamkooperation in globalen Kontexten

With the ongoing globalization process and hierarchical organizations being extended by network oriented principles of governance, the effective team cooperation becomes a success criterion for the management of complex organizations. Group dynamics and organizational theory establish well known variables that have to be addressed for assuring the performance and effectiveness of team work. This article extends these findings by a focused analysis of characteristics of multinational teams. Moreover, success criteria for uncovering the available potential within international teams are explored. On the basis of ethnologic and system-theoretically considerations, the current status quo concerning the manifold integration efforts (such as the prevalent team building programs) will fundamentally be questioned as well as alternatives developed. Finally, the risks and opportunities of a difference oriented mindset will be illustrated on the basis of a concrete and practical example.     

The Genesis and Proliferation of Civil Society in Democracy and Monarchy: A Historical Comparison of America and Prussia in the Nineteenth Century

The notion that civil society and democracy go hand in hand has been a cornerstone of modernization theory. The formation of civil society, so the argument went, contributed to the democratization of society and provided the backbone of democracy. If one follows such an interpretation of modernization and of modern society, monarchic systems should be void of civil society. And yet, the case of Germany shows that civil society developed and even flourished within a monarchic society. The Kingdom of Prussia in 1865 was the home to an extensive network of civil society organizations that included associations, endowments, and foundations. These organizations provided services in the fields of education, social welfare, and supported all kinds of cultural institutions. These organizations were essential for the functioning of Prussia’s public institutions. Donors who created these institutions had a voice in the shaping of monarchic society, and the visions of donors often coincided with the visions put forward by monarchical rulers. The number of Prussians involved in giving, the number of organizations created, and the amount of money given were truly astonishing. Between 2 and 3% of Prussia’s population was involved in civil society organizations. The funds provided by these organizations accounted for 20–30% of public-school funding. And the number of organizations created a tight network that spanned across the entire country. Nineteenth-century monarchic Prussia was not void of civil society as it should have been if American social scientists are correct. Instead, Prussia provided the home to a vibrant civil society. Civil society emerges when societies move from an agrarian and organized system of social hierarchies to an industrial, and traditional social hierarchies destroying system. The destruction of established social hierarchies, the creation and accumulation of wealth, and the emergence of social inequality provided powerful incentives for the formation of civil society. Since this economic modernization and transformation occurred not only within democratic societies such as the USA but also within monarchic societies such as Prussia, civil society developed in both types of political system

     

Organizational theory: From classical sociology to the 1970s

Organizations are the fundamental building blocks of modern societies. So it is not surprising that they have always been at the center of sociological research, starting with Marx and Weber. And although Durkheim did not explicitly analyze organizations, his work has clear implications for the study of organizations. We review the insights of these three pioneering sociologists and then discuss ideas about organizations proposed by other scholars, from both management and sociology, from 1910 to the mid‐1970s. Marx, Weber, and Durkheim's theoretical frameworks were tools for understanding the transition to modernity. Marx and Weber saw organizations as sites of class struggle and rationalization, respectively, while Durkheim focused on social cohesion and collective sensemaking, both of which underpin organizations. Later theorists focused more closely on the meso‐level and micro‐level processes that happen within and between organizations. These later theorists emphasized pragmatic concerns of optimizing organizational efficiency and labor productivity (scientific management and human relations theories), processes of affiliation and hierarchy (Simmel), limits to rational decision‐making (the Carnegie School), and environmental conditions that shape organizational processes and outcomes (contingency theories). A companion paper describes the three perspectives (demographic, relational, and cultural) that have dominated sociological research on organizations since the mid‐1970s.     

COLLECTIVE IDENTITY IN THE STRAIGHT EDGE MOVEMENT:

Although social movement scholars generally study movement organizations, a great deal of significant collective action occurs in diffuse, noninstitutional contexts. This article uses the straight edge movement to explore the less structured aspects of movement activity and discuss the roles collective identity plays in diffuse movements. The straight edge collective identity promotes individual action within the context of a commitment to a strong identity. This paper shows how a strong collective identity is the foundation of diffuse movements, providing "structure," a basis for commitment, and guidelines for individualized participation. Finally, the article demonstrates that organizational conceptualizations of social movements fail to capture important avenues of cultural protest.