Rhetoric and Employment Relations

Hamilton, Peter

doi:10.1111/1467-8543.00208

Cited by 24 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…I first identify the dominant discourses in the field of diversity management and then explore organizational practices of diversity as they are evidenced in the accounts of diversity managers in the sample. A simultaneous investigation of discourse and practice is important because it provides insights into the interplay, gaps, continuities and contradictions between the actual practices and their discursive representations (Hamilton, 2001). Finally, I turn my attention to diversity practitioners to explore what mechanisms shape the entry into this field as professionals.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Multi-layered Exploration of the Diversity Management Field: Diversity Discourses, Practices and Practitioners in the UK

Tatlι

2010

British Journal of Management

208

243

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This paper presents a multi-layered exploration of the diversity management field in the UK. In doing so, it aims to address two problematic tendencies in the current diversity research: the focus on single-level explorations, and the polarization between critical and mainstream approaches. Using Bourdieu's concept of field, I develop a theoretical framework that conceptualizes the field of diversity management in three constituents: diversity discourse, diversity practice and diversity practitioners. The framework is used to analyse empirical evidence generated through semi-structured interviews with 19 diversity managers of large private-sector companies. This study reveals the presence of a gap between the diversity discourse and practice, and the absence of any standard set of qualifications and skills requirement for practitioners. The findings demonstrate the twofold role of discourse in drawing the boundaries of the diversity management field. First, it is instrumental in constructing diversity management as distinct from equal opportunities. Second, the use discourse functions as a mechanism to control the entry of practitioners into this field, which otherwise has low entry barriers. The paper offers a contribution to management research in general and equality and diversity research in particular through its original use of Bourdieuan sociology in an empirical study.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Multi-layered Exploration of the Diversity Management Field: Diversity Discourses, Practices and Practitioners in the UK

Tatlι

2010

British Journal of Management

208

243

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“…Watson 1995;Hamilton 1999;Sillence 2002). Rhetorical analysis has been applied to a range of aspects of organizational life including employment relations (Hamilton 2001), management consultancy and management fashions (Case 1999) and computer-supported co-operative work (Hayes and Walsham 2000). In this section, I define what I mean by rhetorical analysis, how it is being applied here and explain its contribution in relation to other approaches to understanding resistance and identity.…”

Section: Rhetoricmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring Resistance from a Rhetorical Perspective

Symon

2005

Organization Studies

116

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Contemporary accounts of resistance at work have emphasized processes of identity construction and regulation (e.g. Alvesson and Willmott 2002). Case study examinations (e.g. Knights and McCabe 2000;Ezzamel et al. 2001) have been recently extended by detailed studies of the operation of discourse at the level of talk (e.g. Dick and Cassell 2002). This paper adds to these recent accounts by providing an analysis of arguments for and against a technological change project in a UK public sector organization. The objective is to demonstrate how such arguments are constructed to achieve particular interpretations of reality while resisting others (i.e. the use of persuasive rhetoric). In the examples analysed here, rhetorical strategies included: producing a range of identities for 'the resistant', IT support staff and others; disputing the 'realness' of people, things and processes (e.g. information, participation); producing and negotiating various boundaries (e.g. we/other, production worker/support staff); and drawing on local and broader cultural discourse. In this example, we also see how 'subjectivity', 'agency' and (political) 'structures' may serve as rhetorical resources. This paper argues that the focus on counter-argument (as resistance) demonstrates the disputative, politically oriented and dialogical nature of identity construction.

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“…The rhetorical analyst is charged with identifying how constructions of ‘the real’ are made persuasive (Potter, : 106). Organisational actors construct discourses aimed at moving others' beliefs and behaviour (Hamilton, : 445). Thus rhetoric is action oriented, having the potential to lead to actions that advance workers' interests.…”

Section: A Rhetorical Approachmentioning

confidence: 99%

Advancing interests through informal voice: a study of professional workers in Sri Lanka's knowledge outsourcing sector

Fernando

2017

Human Res Mgmt Journal

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Drawing on a rhetorical approach, this article examines how early career professional workers challenge ‘ideal worker expectations’ through informal voice. Informal ‘voice’ is shown as a powerful way of advancing workers' interests, leading to incremental changes that improve their conditions of work. Striking are the power dynamics underpinning informal voice. Highlighting how ideal worker expectations are continuously legitimised and de‐legitimised as employees and their managers rhetorically engage with each other, ideal worker expectations are theorised as a process while illuminating a pluralistic, contextualised view of organisational culture shaped by the past, present and anticipated future.

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Rhetoric and Employment Relations

Cited by 24 publications

References 19 publications

A Multi-layered Exploration of the Diversity Management Field: Diversity Discourses, Practices and Practitioners in the UK

A Multi-layered Exploration of the Diversity Management Field: Diversity Discourses, Practices and Practitioners in the UK

Exploring Resistance from a Rhetorical Perspective

Advancing interests through informal voice: a study of professional workers in Sri Lanka's knowledge outsourcing sector

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