Qualitative Methods in Trans-disciplinary Socio-economic Research

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Qualitative Methods in Trans-disciplinary
Socio-economic Research

• Professor Linda McKie
• www.organisationsworkandcare.org

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Aim

• Case study Policies practices of care in
  business organisations
• 3 year project
• Conceptual background
• Research design
• Team from 3 disciplines
• Cultural geography
• Marketing management
• Sociology

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The Context

• Socio-economic contracts
• EU Knowledge Economies
• Innovation
• Labour market trends
• Flexicurity
• IHRM trends policies practices
• Interdependencies economies, business,
  households
• Recession

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Conceptual Frameworks

• Caringscapes
• McKie, L., Gregory, S. Bowlby, S. (2002) Shadow
  Times The Temporal and Spatial Frameworks and
  Experiences of Caring and Working. Sociology, 36,
  4, 897-924.
• Briefing paper. See www.crfr.ac.uk
• Carescapes
• McKie, L., Gregory, S. and Bowlby, S. (2004)
  Starting Well Gender, Care and Health in Family
  Context. Sociology, 38 (3) 593-611.
• Organisation Carescapes
• McKie, L., Hearn, J., Bowlby, S., Smith, A. and
  Hogg, G. (2008) Organisation Carescapes
  Researching Organisations, Work and Care.
  Helsinki, Finland Hanken School of Economics
  Working Paper

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Trans-disciplinary Origins

• Care is a multi-faceted term that can combine
  feelings of concern and anxiety for others
  alongside the provision of practical labour and
  tasks that attend to a persons needs (Cancian
  and Oliker 2000 2). Ethics, philosophy,
  sociology
• Most discussions on care emphasise either the
  social policy and welfare context work-life
  balance, or organisational well-being and
  occupational health (Sevenhuijsen, 1998).
  Business, economics social policy

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Trans-disciplinary Origins

• Culture refers to the beliefs of the
  organisations and their symbolic and practical
  representation through a range of activities.
  Organisation studies, sociology
• Cultures of care identify values (how
  organisations specify what people ought to do
  through policies and practices) and norms (the
  rules of behaviour that create parameters for
  behaviour) (Wilson, 2001)
• Exploring a conceptual framework in empirical
  research ....

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Management Business

• The relevance and potential for organisational
  cultures to endorse the concept of care across a
  range of employment policies, is critical to
  working relations and thus, productivity
• The notion of organisational health is apposite
  in any examination of the complex relationship
  between organisational cultures, productivity and
  the health and well-being of employees and
  companies

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Organisation Carescapes

• Organisation carescapes are not static thus
  planned routes (policies and practices) must
  sometimes be changed or amended in response to
  shifts in public policies (e.g. the introduction
  of disability rights legislation, and flexible
  working guidelines), the actions of employers or,
  in the case of family life, personal events such
  as the arrival of a first or subsequent child.

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Organisation Carescapes (2)

• These issues also change in response
• to the influences of others
• (governments, EU, business,
• organisations) and changes in mobility,
• communication institutional
• organisations that confront individuals
• and companies (McKie et al., 2008)

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Research Design

• Organisations, Work Care
• Economic Social Research Council
• Multi-method
• Stage 1 whats care? Oh that!
• Stage 2 unpacking the concept
• Equalities diversity
• Health well-being
• Rights responsibilities
• Stage 3 Critical Incident Techniques (CIT)
  interviews. Incidents age, discipline, flexible
  working, training, well-being

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Epistemological Basis

• Interpretative drawing upon
• Critical theory
• Feminist theory
• Structuralism
• Postcolonialism
• Mapping (context), interviews (depth)

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Research Process

• Stage 1 Exploratory interviews
• Reflect UK economy. 10 EOs, 6 SMEs
• Care as an absent-presence
• Accommodating care
• Trade-offs. Care and organisational goals

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Research Process (2)

• Stage 2 Survey
• Equality and diversity parental leave to
  religious observance
• Health well-being occupation health to
  bullying and harassment
• Responsibilities rights working hours to staff
  development and training
• 103 EOs

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Research Process (3)

• Surveillance control
• Base line
• Working hours, sickness
• Retention
• Appraisal
• Maternity/paternity leave
• Employer of choice
• Skill shortages
• Reputation
• Self fulfilment
• Outward facing EOs
• Leave of absence / pro bono

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Research Process (4)

• Critical incident technique
• Describe the experience or situation
• Outline what they, or the people observed, did
• What was their assessment of this?
• What would they have liked to happen?
• Overall, what did they conclude?
• Age, Discipline, Flexible working, Training,
  Well-being

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Research Process (4)

• Themes to emerge
• Defining care and caring in the workplace
• Boundaries within and between work /non-work
• Knowledge and use of policies - access, support
  to use, non use
• Inter-sectionalities - gender and identities age
  and identities and gender, age and sector
• Cultures and changing nature of these as
  recession becomes apparent
• Organisational health and well-being

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Conclusions

• Organisation Carescape look like...
• The history of EO, or the unit analysed such as
  department or team. The past experiences of
  workers
• Contemporary context and experiences. Policies
  and practices
• A summation of the dominant culture and its
  implications
• Assessment of futures aspirations and contextual
  constraints and opportunities. Forecasting and
  speculations about EOs and people.

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Conclusions (2)

• Methods
• Exploratory stage
• CIT interviews
• Conceptual
• Social moral economy
• Fairness
• Gender stereotypes
• Workplace pressure support
• Labour process
• Political rhetoric