Tensions, ambivalence, and contradiction: a small story analysis of discursive identity construction in the South African workplace

Abstract

Recently there has been an increased focus on narratives produced within or about the workplace. A number of different analytical approaches to narrative exist and there has been quite a vigorous debate between researchers interested in life stories (or so-called big stories) and those researchers proposing an increased focus on small stories. This paper will use small story analysis (SSA) to examine workplace identity in discourses on organizational processes in one workplace in South Africa. The data for this study were collected by conducting interviews and focus group discussions with 19 members of a large South African retail company. We find that participants often introduce small stories which offer discourses that contradict or contest "official" company discourses (or the so-called sanctioned grand narrative stories). We argue that small stories can be a valuable resource to investigate organizational discourses, as participants often introduce questions of identity which do not necessarily fit the dominant organizational discourses through small stories. Small story analysis seems to be an ideal tool to investigate contradictions and inconsistencies which occur in all discourses but are typical of contexts of diversity and transformation such as the South African workplace.

Investigating ‘care leaver’ identity: A narrative analysis of personal experience stories

“…Lanza (2012) elicits personal experience narratives to consider the influence of societal discourse on migrant identity, which she argues cannot be achieved through a microanalysis of interaction. Meanwhile, for Oostendorp and Jones (2015), small stories provide a way of looking at the constitution of workplace identity beyond the official discourses that dominate in organizational contexts.…”

Governing safe operations at a distance

“…The analysis thus brings up discourses or meta-narratives in so far as such patterns of rules and norms are enacted by participants themselves (Korobov 2010). Finally, to notice and understand variations, contradictions, and dilemmas in interaction are seen as an integral part of the discourse analytical project (Oostendorp and Jones 2015). Analysing positioning in this fashion, using naturally occurring data, enables processes to be studied and reported on, rather than seemingly cemented political projects and discourses.…”

‘Welcome to Twitter, @CIA. Better late than never’: Communication professionals’ views of social media humour and implications for organizational identity

“…There is a significant body of research into the shaping of organizational identities as regards the influence of narratives and discursive resources (e.g. Czarniawska, 1997; Manuti and Mininni, 2013; Oostendorp and Jones, 2015). Research on humour has also added important insights into employee relations within the workplace (Collinson, 2002; Holmes and Schnurr, 2005; Westwood and Johnston, 2013).…”