Changing the People: Social Engineering in the Contemporary Workplace

Thompson, Paul; Findlay, Patricia

doi:10.4135/9781446218112.n8

Cited by 43 publications

(49 citation statements)

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“…Furthermore, the claim that strong cultures based on "shared values" produce superior organisation performance is questionable. The emancipatory promise held out in the 1980s (Ouchi, 1981;Peters & Waterman, 1982;Kanter, 1985) has not been unequivocally validated by later research (Kotter and Heskett, 1992;Kunda, 1992;Willmott, 1993;Thompson and Findlay, 1999;Ridley-Duff, 2005). Moreover, recent analysis of the social enterprise sector not only fails to reveal widespread commitment to shared values, but considerable heterogeneity and mistrust between different constituencies (Wallace, 2005;Seanor and Meaton, 2006).…”

Section: Social Capital and Social Rationalitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Social enterprise as a socially rational business

Ridley-Duff

2008

International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior &Amp; Research

117

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Purpose: This paper examines the discourses that influence policy and practice in social enterprises. In institutional circles, arguments are shaped by the desire to protect assets for the community, while entrepreneurial discourses favour a mixture of investment sources, surplus sharing and inclusive systems of governance. A critique is outlined that challenges policy-makers and academics to move beyond the heated debate on "business-like" activity through a deeper understanding of the social relations entered into (and created by) different social entrepreneurial activities.Design/Methodology/Approach: The paper is wholly theoretical. Firstly, contradictions are exposed through a review of practitioner and scholarly literature. Thereafter, empirically grounded studies are used to develop a theoretical model that accommodates and accounts for diverse practices. A broader perspective, that views human behaviour as a product of, and support system for, our socio-sexual choices, is deployed to extend understanding of social capital. By integrating this into governance theory, workplaces come to be seen as complex centres of community-building replete with economic and social goals. The concept of "social rationality" is elaborated as an alternative way to understand the legitimacy of social entrepreneurial activity and management practice.Originality/Value: The paper concludes by developing a framework and typology that theorises social enterprise as a heterogeneous business movement. Each form of social enterprise integrates socially rational thinking into its policies and practices. This suggests a different educational agenda for social entrepreneurs oriented towards the equitable distribution, and not accumulation, of social and economic capital.

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Section: Social Capital and Social Rationalitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Social enterprise as a socially rational business

Ridley-Duff

2008

International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior &Amp; Research

117

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“…In response, managements have not always been ready to let go of the commitment goal. As early as the beginning of the 1990s, studies were already showing a general tendency for employers to move from initiative to initiative in the wake of failures to develop substantial improvements in workforce commitment (Guest and Dewe, 1991;Kelly and Kelly, 1991;Ramsay, 1991 ), Since then, the range (Leopold and Hallier, 1997 ;Thompson and Findlay, 1999;Thompson and McHugh, 2002 ).…”

Section: Accepted For Economic and Industrial Democracy Volume 31 (I)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Welcome to the House of Fun: Work Space and Social Identity

Baldry

Hallier

2009

Economic and Industrial Democracy

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“…Employees follow auto disciplinary values and symbols rather than rules (Willmott, 1993). To some extent, this is supposed to work where individual identity is positively tied to participation in what are interpreted as discursive practices providing a sense of belonging (Thompson and Findlay, 1999). In consequence, improvements in productivity and quality, it is argued, are the result of corporate cultures that systematically recognise and reward individuals for identifying their sense of purpose with values designed into the organisation (Kunda, 1992).…”

Section: 'Regulation' and 'Control' In Post-bureaucratic Organisationsmentioning

confidence: 98%

Bureaucracy transcended? New patterns of employment regulation and labour control in the international automotive industry

Pulignano

Stewart

2006

New Tech Work Empl

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Contemporary changes in patterns of work and management are alleged to have given rise to the post-modern organisation and the diminishing importance of traditional bureaucracy. This paper is concerned with the changing nature of labour control in new 'multi-enterprise' settings in the international automotive sector. Rather than eliminating bureaucracy, the tools of industrial bureaucracy are becoming more sophisticated.

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Changing the People: Social Engineering in the Contemporary Workplace

Cited by 43 publications

References 0 publications

Social enterprise as a socially rational business

Social enterprise as a socially rational business

Welcome to the House of Fun: Work Space and Social Identity

Bureaucracy transcended? New patterns of employment regulation and labour control in the international automotive industry

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