The godmother of gendered organizations: In celebration of the work of Joan Acker

Joan Acker can be considered the godmother of gendered organizations. In this paper, we reflect on the impact that Joan Acker's work has on our thinking and our careers as gender scholars in management and organization studies in Europe. First, we tell our personal stories of close encounters with Joan Acker. Second, we highlight what we consider to be two key contributions of Joan Acker. The first are the interrelated gendered processes regarding structure, culture, interaction and identity from her work in the early 1990s, the second the notion of inequality regimes from her later work on the intersections of gender, class and race. We then discuss how Acker's work has been influential in our research on gendered organizations, and in our teaching when we use it in our explanations of the functioning of gender in organizations to students, and in our work as advisors and consultants for organizations interested in equality, diversity and inclusion. Finally, we elaborate on new directions building on Acker's work, especially in current theorizing on gender and diversity in organizational change.     

Choice and control in social care: Experiences of older self-funders in England

This paper considers the experiences of older self-funders in England in the context of policies promoting choice and control. Self-funders are people who are not state-funded; they pay for social care from their own resources. Choice and control have been operationalized through personal budgets, based on the assumption that managing resources enhances ability to access appropriate care and support. This paper uses data from 40 qualitative interviews with self-funders and their relatives, and 19 with professionals. It explores the impact of the financial and social capital that self-funders are assumed to have and asks how older self-funders experience choice and control. The study found that older self-funders drew on personal experiences, family, and friends for information; were reluctant to spend their wealth on care due to competing priorities; and felt they had more control over the timing of decisions than people who were state-funded. Personal wealth appears to be perceived differently to funds “gifted” to people through cash for care schemes.     

Are the ideal worker and ideal parent norms about to change? The acceptance of part-time and parental leave at German workplaces

ABSTRACT

This study examines the extent to which the use of part-time work and parental leave is accepted at German workplaces. Is there evidence for a weakening of ideal worker and ideal parent norms? Interviews were conducted with 95 employees in different status positions in hospitals, police stations and industrial companies. The results indicate that even though ideal worker norms and ideal parent norms still prevail, especially in higher-status positions and typical male professions, they have shifted partially for some employees. Partial change can be observed for mothers in high-status positions (part-time) and for men up to mid-level positions (parental leave). There is greater acceptance of fathers’ parental leave, mainly due to the reform of the German parental leave legislation. Part-time for women in upper-level positions has become more accepted due to work-life balance policies at the company level. Norm changes, however, have stalled at the halfway mark. Fathers are still expected to prioritize their career and to schedule parental leave according to their organization’s business needs. Part-time working mothers in high-status positions are expected to deliver performance similar to that of full-time workers. Moreover, norm changes are hindered by economic constraints, mainly staff shortages.     

Decision-making in Swiss home-like childbirth: A grounded theory study

Background

Decision-making in midwifery, including a claim for shared decision-making between midwives and women, is of major significance for the health of mother and child. Midwives have little information about how to share decision-making responsibilities with women, especially when complications arise during birth.

Beyond trust: towards a practice-based understanding of governing ‘network organizations’

In recent past the concept of the ‘network’ or ‘network organization’ has emerged as one of the most prominent concepts for thinking, understanding and conceptualizing the coordination of ‘productive activities’. In the literature on network organizations, ‘trust’ is commonly understood to be the main coordinating mechanism of this organizational form. Highlighting the problematics involved in this prime focus on trust, this study combines practice-based theory (Schatzki in Social practices: a Wittgensteinian approach to human activity and the social, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2008) and a Foucauldian understanding of governing to contribute to a more differentiated understanding of the coordination of everyday activities in network organizations. By focusing on how the ‘network organization’ and its subjects are ‘produced’ in power-infused practices, this study provides insights into the complexity of mechanisms involved in such organizations. Empirically this is illustrated at the example of a consulting company which describes itself—internally and externally—as ‘network organization’. Based on an ethnographic participant observation and in-depth semi-structured interviews, the analysis of the case questions the centrality of trust as coordinating mechanism and provides deep insights into the constitution of this specific ‘network organization’.     

Workplace Relationships,Psychological Capital,Accreditation and Safety Culture: a new Framework of Analysis within Healthcare Organizations

Public Organization Review - This paper used Social Exchange Theory (SET), Positive Organizational Behavior (POB) and Cooper’s (Safety Science, 36(2), 111–136, 2000) frameworks to...     

Systemic perspectives on intimate partner violence treatment

This article reviews changes in the research literature on intimate partner violence (IPV) since our earlier review (Stith, Rosen, & McCollum, 2003). A rationale for systemic treatment of IPV has emerged from research that has continued to document the limited effectiveness of single-gender treatment approaches for offenders and that has identified subtypes of abusive relationships, including situational couple violence, which often includes the reciprocal use of violence. Consistent findings from the available outcome research have demonstrated that for carefully screened couples who choose to stay together, systemic interventions decrease incidences of IPV and decrease the risk factors for IPV with no increase in risk. Implications for research and treatment are offered.     

Pursuing the capabilities approach within the migration–development nexus

The ‘migration–development nexus’ has become an established development mantra with debate surrounding the ability of migration to promote economic growth and reduce poverty. The optimism of this debate is paired with a push to control migration through the promotion of temporary migration programmes and initiatives considered to support the regular movement of migrants. This dominant paradigm has come under criticism, however, for overlooking the multidimensional costs of migration for migrants and their families. As evidence on the costs of migration gathers, debates within policy and scholarly arenas have turned to how to integrate human rights into migration and development initiatives. The discourse surrounding this debate largely draws on the capabilities approach, which sees expanding human capabilities as the central role of development. In this paper, we analyse the resulting discourse and implementation of this approach to demonstrate how this theoretical framework is utilised to conceptualise diverse outcomes for migrant worker rights within global governance priorities for managing migration. We argue that greater attention is needed in the application of the capabilities approach in order to resonate with policy-makers without compromising the integrity of the approach or separating migrants from their intrinsic human rights.     

Motivating the unemployed: A full-range model of motivational strategies that caseworkers use to activate clients

Governments use activation policies to stimulate unemployed citizens in finding work. Caseworkers are, as front-line workers, responsible for concrete activation trajectories based on these activation policies. Little is known about how caseworkers try to get clients to participate in these activation trajectories. In a qualitative, inductive study (consisting of observations and reflective interviews) in two welfare agencies, we identified 10 motivational strategies that caseworkers employed. The full-range leadership model appeared to be an appropriate perspective to understand, systematize, and reflect on these strategies, in particular as our analyses show that these motivational strategies can be placed on a continuum ranging from laissez-faire to transactional and transformational strategies. We found that caseworkers matched their motivational strategy to the situation and client but preferred transformational strategies. Our findings implicate chances but also challenges for activation in practice and literature on front-line workers.