Organizational Discourse Research Articles

FAR-RIGHT POLITICAL FORCES OF THE USA AND GREAT BRITAIN: IN SEARCH OF ANSWERS TO THREATS TO NATIONAL IDENTITY

The article attempts to analyze the rhetoric and methods of promoting the ideas of far-right groups in the United States of America and Great Britain in the context of immigration processes and the multiculturalism policy connected with them. The authors draw attention to the tendency that right-wing radical groups hold different positions: from moderate to most radical. The focus of the study is on comparing the tactics and discourse of such organizations whose degrees of radicalism differ because of their positions on the problem of national identity. The study attempts to highlight the activities of previously unexplored right-wing radical groups in the United States and Great Britain. The focus is on “Proud Guys” and “Generation of Identity”, trying to create a socially acceptable image; Richard Spencer and Tomi Robinson, who are trying on the image of extreme right-wing leaders; Andrew Anglin and members of "National Action", who occupy ultra right positions in expressing their views. The study deals with a massive selection of sources: mass media materials, statistical reports of public organizations and accessible official resources of right-wing forces. The authors conclude that the modern far-right associations of the USA and Great Britain are similar on the agenda and in its implementation. The main enemies of the right radicals are immigrants, Muslims, Jews and feminists. In this sense, adepts of such ideas constitute a threat to the stability of a democratic society.

Selective Adoption: How Port Authorities in Europe and West Africa Engage with the Globalizing ‘Green Port’ Idea

The scholarly debate on ‘green ports’ since it emerged in the policy discourse of international maritime organizations has largely focused on exploring the economic benefits associated with implementing related policies and developing green guides and codes of conduct for port authorities. In contrast, it has received little attention how the green port idea and according measures are taken up and what role is played by contextual factors in places of such uptake. By engaging with the expanding literature on policy mobilities and drawing on empirical information collected through interviews with port officials from four ports in Europe and West Africa, we argue that context-specific factors strongly influence what we call the selective adoption of green port tools and measures for transitioning ports towards sustainability. They include environmental priorities, regulatory requirements, financial resources and the immediate areas of competence of port authorities, which all vary widely across regions and specific ports.

Universidades Corporativas e o ensino para a sustentabilidade

Este artigo tem por objetivo verificar como universidades corporativas promovem a educação para a sustentabilidade de seus colaboradores e stakeholders externos de forma a integrar esta temática nas estratégias organizacionais. Para esta pesquisa qualitativa, a técnica de coleta de dados escolhida foi a entrevista semiestruturada, realizada com 16 Gestores de universidades corporativas sediadas no Estado de São Paulo. Os resultados apontam que, embora a sustentabilidade seja um componente estratégico presente no discurso organizacional, é praticamente inexistente modelos específicos e ações educacionais, relacionados propriamente com o tema. Destaca-se a falta de uma cultura para a sustentabilidade efetiva nas organizações e concentração do conhecimento relativo ao tema nos departamentos específicos de sustentabilidade, que contribui para um aprendizado fragmentado e pontual, dificultando a apropriação deste conhecimento nas demais unidades organizacionais e a incorporação da temática na estratégia das organizações pesquisadas. O principal desafio encontrado se refere à construção de diálogo colaborativo entre as universidades corporativas, áreas de sustentabilidade e demais setores organizacionais que facilite um processo formativo efetivo nas organizações, conciliando objetivos econômicos, ambientais e sociais.

Noções de sujeito e poder em leituras foucaultianas e sua influência nos estudos de organizações e gestão de pessoas

Resumo O objetivo deste artigo é refletir sobre a noção de sujeito e poder caracterizada por Michel Foucault (1926-1984), considerando suas três fases intelectuais e suas possibilidades nos estudos de organizações e gestão de pessoas. Argumenta-se que os modos como o sujeito foi caracterizado em suas fases intelectuais reflete os modos como o indivíduo fora gerido nas organizações, bem como aponta o potencial que a abordagem foucaultiana oferece para as análises sobre os sujeitos e as relações de poder nas organizações. Na fase arqueológica, propõe-se priorizar o estudo dos discursos organizacionais; na genealogia, argumenta-se sobre a proposta de avançar nas análises do poder disciplinar, poder relacional e biopolítica; na ética, sugere-se a necessidade de analisar a constituição de subjetividades no espaço de trabalho.

Políticas de Cooperación Panamericana en los 50 y 60: Recepciones, tradiciones y resistencias desde la revista Nuestra Arquitectura

El auge de las políticas de Cooperación Panamericana de los ’50 y ’60 no siempre fue acompañado de una recepción acorde a lo planificado desde los organismos internacionales. En suelo argentino, el arribo de las políticas de cooperación tomará vuelo luego de la caída del peronismo, y acompañaran algunos discursos que buscan modernizar el ejercicio profesional desde el Estado. Las primeras políticas impulsadas por la Organización de los Estados Americanos, apuntarían a la formación de técnicos y técnicas locales para el impulso de programas que atiendan a las problemáticas de la vivienda popular; en este caso se profundiza sobre el adiestramiento de profesionales para la implementación de las políticas de Ayuda Mutua y Esfuerzo Propio para la construcción de viviendas. Este resulta un caso interesante de explorar, para divisar como ciertas tradiciones e instituciones dominantes en el campo, a pesar de alinearse a los discursos de los organismos internacionales, no siempre reciben y acuerdan con las propuestas sin ejercer resistencia. Este ensayo se propone revisar el caso a través del análisis de uno de los medios de comunicación especializados, más importantes del campo profesional en aquella época, la Revista Nuestra Arquitectura, entre 1950 y 1963.

Conditioned openings and restraints: The meaning‐making of women professionals breaking into the male‐dominated sector of forestry

This article addresses how women forestry professionals articulate and interpret their experiences of being a woman and a professional in the male‐dominated context of forestry. The findings suggest that the entrance of women into forestry has created openings as well as restraints within the dominant discourses of forestry organizations. Gendered constructions of skills and a workplace culture described as built on homosocial values cause women to feel questioned and disadvantaged. At the same time, women are valued for their perceived capacity to perform relational‐based aspects of forestry work and as a means to reduce gender segregation. We conclude that while these openings are conditioned by discourses of gender differences and masculine privileges, they provide women, to some extent, with subjectivity and organizational space that, with time, may challenge the dominant and gendered discourses of forestry organizations.

Organizational Discourses on Equality, Diversity Inclusion in the Turkish Context

This study investigates the organizational discourses on equality, diversity and inclusion in Turkey – a highly relevant, yet understudied context. More specifically, we combine the arguments by di...

From a new workplace to a new way of working: legitimizing organizational change

PurposeSeveral studies have recently documented projects of organizational transformation and modernization which, commonly clustered under the umbrella term “New Ways of Working” (NWoW), simultaneously entail material, technological, cultural and managerial dimensions. Academic contributions, however, have paid little attention to the mechanisms allowing such projects to progressively become legitimized in organizational discourses and practices. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the distinctive features of the legitimation process underlying the implementation of NWoW projects.Design/methodology/approachThis paper relies on a longitudinal, three-year analysis of a large insurance company. Data were collected through qualitative methods including semi-structured interviews (48), periods of observation (3 months) and document analysis (78).FindingsThe paper develops a grounded and integrative framework of legitimation processes underlying “NWoW” change projects. The framework emphasizes four decisive operations of translation in “NWoW” design and implementation: translating material constraints into strategic opportunities; translating strategic opportunities into a quantitative business plan supported by the top management; translating compelling discourses around “NWoW” into an organizational machinery; and translating a transformation project into discourses of unequivocal success, conveyed by legitimate spokespeople within and beyond the organization.Originality/valueBesides contributing to the understanding of a managerial fashion, which has received little academic attention so far, the paper also offers an original integrative framework to account for legitimation processes that combines two theoretical approaches – the sociology of translation and research on institutionalist work.

Communicating legitimacy through portrayals of successful aging: An examination of Pulte homes’ online communication strategies

The aging population has created implications for many industries, especially in terms of establishing legitimacy among stakeholders. One industry that has been affected by the shifting demographics is homebuilding. Older adults must consider future housing needs that allow for successful aging. However, the current inventory of houses and neighborhoods are not necessarily built to suit this population. Pulte Homes, a national homebuilding company, has a line of active adult communities under the name Del Webb. To understand how Pulte communicates legitimacy for this housing product, I completed a qualitative content analysis of the Del Webb section of the organizational website that integrates the tenets of the Communication Ecology Model of Successful Aging (CEMSA) with five discursive strategies for establishing legitimacy. In doing so, I found that Pulte constructed an idealized portrayal of age/aging by emphasizing the need to (1) plan for future needs, (2) express optimism about aging, (3) resist age-based stereotypes, and (4) minimize the role of communication technology. Based on these findings, Pulte’s discourse ultimately positions Del Webb as a utopia for older adults/space that facilitates ‘successful’ aging and raises questions about the transparency of this organizational discourse.

The Most Integrated Hour in America: Reframing the Organizational Discourses of Church Purpose

Religious organizations have increasingly drawn the attention of communication scholars. This interest is due in part to the significant role these organizations have in building social capital – particularly in regard to improving racial/ethnic relations. This potential has remained largely unrealized, however, since the Civil Rights Movement over 50 years ago. Consequently, this study seeks to understand how church pastors frame the ambiguous discourse of organizational purpose. Building on an earlier research phase that included 42 pastoral interviews, this study adds to our understanding of framing practices via three dialectical tensions: integration-segregation, belief-practice, and vertical-horizontal. The analysis also reveals how these dialectics were framed through improbability, double bind, alternation, selection, connection, and transcendence, as well as their impact upon ethnic relationships. Theoretic and practical implications are provided.

Green reorientation of clusters and the role of policy: ‘the normative’ and ‘the neutral’ route

ABSTRACTCluster theory and cluster policy have lacked a focus on how to achieve ‘directionality’ in cluster evolution, and the literature lacks discussions regarding how to achieve green reorientation of clusters and how policy can support this. In contributing towards this gap, we argue for a more thorough integration of Evolutionary Economic Geography (EEG) and Transition Studies (TS), two frameworks that separately have been applied extensively in studies of technological and industrial change. We draw on a discussion of Technology–Organization–Discourse (TOD) dynamics in exemplifying how EEG and TS can inform cluster theory and policy. Empirically, we investigate how cluster strategies are linked to differentiated TOD dynamics by examining Norwegian cluster policy and the strategic responses of facilitators of a petroleum, a marine, and a maritime cluster in Western Norway. We identify two ‘routes’ to reorientation of clusters – a ‘neutral’ and a ‘normative’ route – and argue that the investigated cluster projects have, as a matter of differentiated TOD dynamics, taken different stances towards green reorientation. Furthermore, we argue that cluster theory and policy should take into consideration that several policy domains influence these dynamics, not just cluster policy.

Meanings of talk about the transition to retirement: Connecting macro and micro discourses

ABSTRACTThis study integrates the normative theory of social support and organizational discourse perspectives to examine the meanings of baby boomers’ talk about changes associated with the transition to retirement, and how this talk connects to societal Discourses. Analysis of interviews with 43 participants (21 couples) revealed that talk about changes associated with money and time implicated multiple task, identity, and relational meanings. Drawing connections between talk and Discourse about finances was relatively straightforward, whereas there was more disjuncture regarding time. Results suggest that participants were easily able to talk about financial issues, perhaps because of more prominent Discourse, but found discussing identity and relational aspects of spending time in retirement more difficult, perhaps due to a lack of Discourse.

Promotion and emergence of organizational identities: between control and co-creation

This work approaches a revision and theoretical development of the Identity Work concept based on the logic of the event and the multiplicity to highlight the creative potentialities of the collective in the organizational environments. A new perspective is introduced on the processes of normative control beyond the mere problematization of organizational discourses and their impact on our identity construction. The feeling of being trapped by ..., or immersed in ..., or committed to the dynamics of the company is presented as a complex process, not unidirectional, full of ambivalence, contradictions and reformulations that lead us to understand identity as an organizational battlefield, as something contingent that arises, that happens, that is created collectively and not as much as something that is held, adopted or imposed indefinitely.

The Many Meanings of Co‐Operation in the Employment Relationship and Their Implications

AbstractCo‐operation in the employment relationship continues to be a widely lauded goal, but academics, practitioners and policy makers rarely define the concept or analyse systematically its variants. This is problematic because a lack of clarity is a significant barrier to academic discourse and practical implementation in many organizations and countries. This article therefore carefully develops a framework that results in six key perspectives on co‐operation rooted in five assumptions. In addition to fostering a deeper understanding of co‐operation, these six perspectives can be used to theorize alternative employment relations paradigms when co‐operation rather than conflict is viewed as the central construct. Moreover, a dynamic analysis of these six perspectives adds new insights to understanding the challenges of achieving and sustaining truly co‐operative regimes, while also highlighting the need to go beyond structures and practices by incorporating the role of ideas in analyses of the success or failure of co‐operative efforts.

The translational diamond: robust translation of magic concept in public organizations

Purpose Public organizations are constantly offered new ideas and concepts that involve a substantial investment of resources when it comes to translating them into organizational practice. An especially powerful group of such concepts in the discourse of organizations comprises so-called “magic concepts” that both pose opportunities and challenges for public leaders trying to translate them. Although critical discussion about the value of popular concepts has been intense in existing research, there is still little knowledge about the factors that determine why some magic concepts have a pervasive influence, while others quickly go out of fashion and leave little trace in organizational practice. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach By combining insights from public leadership theory, implementation theory, institutional theory and organizational psychology, this paper outlines four dimensions that are central to the robustness of the organizational translation of magic concepts. The paper develops a conceptual model labeled “The Translational Diamond,” which suggests that the robust translation of organizational concepts depends on the level of both strategic and local anchoring, as well as the interplay between reflection and experimentation in the translation process. The Translational Diamond is applied in two embedded case studies, which offer insight into the variance between two organizational departments attempting to translate the same magic concept. Findings A central argument in the “translational diamond” is that bigger, balanced diamonds reflect more robust translations than smaller, warped diamonds. The results support this assumption. Although the translation of trust involves challenges in both departments, there are much more severe difficulties in the social department, which is characterized by a notably smaller and much more warped diamond than the health and care department. Research limitations/implications While this paper argues that strategic and local anchoring and the interplay between reflection and experimentation play a crucial role in the translation of magic concepts, there may be other factors at stake in the process. For example, Røvik argues that the skill of the individual translators engaged in the process is important for creating a robust translation (Røvik, 2007). In addition, magic concepts are potentially involved in a power battle with other magic concepts that are constantly competing for organizational attention (Hood, 2005). Such power dynamics may substantially influence actors’ engagement in translation, but are not within the scope of this paper. Practical implications For public leaders, the translational diamond may serve as a conceptual framework that can spur their understanding of, and reflection about, how to support the translation of magic concepts in their organization. For example, archetypically warped diamonds can illustrate the problems that might occur if translation is not sufficiently anchored in all four dimensions. Translating organizational concepts involves respect for the inherent dilemmas of securing a balance between strategic and local perspectives, as well as the strengths of securing feedback loops between reflection and experimentation. These dimensions will not necessarily be equally balanced at all times in the process of translating magic concepts. The conceptual model of the translational diamond may help leaders to understand the current status of a translation and guide them in their endeavor to support a better balance. Originality/value While symbolic change may serve other organizational purposes than effectiveness, this paper addresses the under-studied question of how organizational concepts are translated robustly into practice. The originality of the “translational diamond” is its focus on “how” rather than “whether” the translation of magic concepts should be attempted. In addition, the diamond’s integration of theoretical constructs from leadership theory, implementation theory, institutional theory and organizational theory offers a more nuanced understanding of central dimensions impacting organizational translation at a practical level.

Organizational identity construction of the world’s top universities: A discourse analysis of university prospectuses

A prospectus, as a kind of self-description of the organization, is specified as one of the attributes of an organization. A university, as a type of organization, makes its prospectus accordingly. A prospectus – as a genre of organizational discourse – has a constructive mechanism. With the synergy of the discoursehistorical approach (DHA) and the corpus discourse approach, this article will analyze – using WordSmith – the discursive strategies involved in the construction of the organizational identity of the world’s top universities. The analysis reveals that the prospectuses of the world’s top 100 universities mainly employ the referential/nomination strategy and predication strategy to construct an identity for themselves as world-renowned, diversified, reputable leading universities which will participate positively in the global market.

Cutting my dick off

ABSTRACTThis essay considers how transgender and non-conforming people and their bodies are medically organised in society by surgery. The surgical normalisation of these bodies is not however enough for some in society. ‘Once a man, always a man’ claim those who oppose and abuse TGNC people and the UK daily press, radio and TV routinely encourage and facilitate this abuse. This essay focuses on themes of genitalia, tattoos, self-harm, self-mutilation and auto-castration to understand how and why society and medical practices seem to be obsessed with normalising bodies. It does so in relation to one body, that of a non-binary individual. That body is my own and it is my hope that this essay will open up and add to literature on trans folk in organisational discourse whilst also introducing the issues of gender dysphoria and ‘self-mutilation’ as themes for further organisational research and debate.

Стрессоустойчивость (resilience) в дискурсах Европейского союза и международных организаций

Lately, the European Union (EU) has faced multiple internal and external challenges. The conceptual response of EU institutions was “A Global Strategy for the European Union’s Foreign and Security Policy” (June 2016). At the core of the understanding of what was happening, as well as of the prospects of overcoming those crises, sat the concept of “resilience.” It has been some time since this concept appeared in the discourses of international organizations and its meaning remains volatile, situational and dependent on the scope of application, the relevant context and the authorship.The purpose of this study is to examine the specificity of use of the concept of resilience in the discourses of the EU and various international organizations, as well as the interrelation between those uses. The sample encompasses organizations of particular importance to the European integration project and to global and regional governance, including the Council of Europe, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and those which comprise the United Nations system (the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, etc.). Since the empirical material consists mostly of official texts produced by international organizations, the preferred method of study is discourse analysis.The analysis examines the Brussels-advanced notion of resilience from a more distant perspective, namely, within the coordinate system of global and regional governance represented by Western-dominated multilateral institutions. The study identifies channels and agents responsible for the concept’s penetration into the discourses of the EU and other international organizations. Conclusions are drawn regarding similarities and divergences in the articulations of resilience. Particular focus is put on the interrelation between the concept and the neo-liberal approach to risk management and security.

HUMOR NA ACADEMIA E PESQUISAS SOBRE HUMOR

We started the editorial of the previous edition—the first of the year—with a brief joke and were confronted by some colleagues as if we had committed heresy: “What is this in an editorial?” Well, perhaps it was not a good joke, but the question was great and calls for reflection. Does the academia necessarily need to be bland and colorless? Cannot humor be part of researchers’ lives? Do we need to be stern and monotonous? To me, this view seems to disregard studies that evidence the role of humor in increasing creativity, well-being, and health as well as producing better results in organizations (Mesmer-Magnus, Glew, & Viswesvaran, 2012). Humor is embedded in work processes (Korczynski, 2011) and is a fundamental element in the development of human relationships. Humor facilitates work (Rodrigues & Collinson, 1995), as the seminal article on humor in the area of organizational studies, written by the Brazilian researcher Suzana Braga Rodrigues, states. Humor is important for individuals, organizations, and the society (Duarte & Duarte, 2016). There is even a journal focused exclusively on humor: The European Journal of Humour Research. Reinforcing the positive role of this human trait for work, the articles by Romero and Cruthirds (2006), considering the international context, and Castro Silva and Brito (2014), considering the Brazilian context, show that humor has a positive impact on communication, group cohesion, and leadership. Humor is part of the organizational discourse (Koester, 2010) and workspace (Chefneux, 2015; Vivona, 2014). In summary, the role of humor in sociability at work seems to be fundamental for the proper functioning of organizations.

The deadly elasticity of heteronormative assumptions in South African organisations

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to critically analyse the discourses of gender empowerment in South African organisations to determine the extent to which they reify or resist the entrenched oppressive gender binaries.Design/methodology/approachMultiple case studies design and critical discourse analysis were employed to collect and analyse the data. Research entailed critical analysis of 36 published documents containing information on gender and gender empowerment. Semi-structured interviews were also conducted with six transformation managers as change agents who are tasked with the responsibility of driving gender empowerment in the selected organisations.FindingsThe authors found that gender in studied organisations was insularly defined within the confines of the male–female gender binaries. Consequently, designed gender empowerment strategies and ensuing initiatives mainly focussed on promoting the inclusion of heterosexual women in and on protecting these women from heterosexual men. Thus, gender empowerment systematised heteropatriachy in organisational culture and processes while invisibilising and annihilating the possibility of existence of alternative genders outside these naturalised binaries. Transformation managers, as change agents, fell short of acknowledging, challenging and changing these entrenched ideologies of patriotic heterosexuality.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper uses Galting’s (1960) and Paul Farmer’s (2009) concept of structural violence and Rich’s (1980) notion of “deadly elasticity of heterosexual assumptions”, to theorise these gender empowerment discourses as constituting and perpetuating violence against queer bodies and subjectivities.Practical implicationsThe paper recommends that corporates need to broaden their conceptions of gender and to design and entrench gender discourses that promote gender justice and equality.Social implicationsThis inquiry proves Joan Acker’s (2006) and Baker’s (2012) views that inequality and injustice are produced and entrenched in a reciprocal relationship between society and the workplace.Originality/valueThis paper focusses on constructions of gender in organisations. By doing so, it links the observed violence against women and gender binary non-conforming people in society with organisational discourses of gender that perpetuate such violence instead of challenging and changing it so that democracy can be realised for all.