Anita Mangan

Information systems and the allure of organisational integration: a cautionary tale from the Irish financial services sector

In this paper we draw on evidence from an in-depth, longitudinal, interpretive study of an ambitious attempt to implement a large-scale information systems (IS) infrastructure (the ILCUTECH Standard Information System (ISIS) project) within the Irish credit union movement, to explore some of the difficulties and contradictions associated with information and communication technology (ICT)-enabled organisational integration. We argue that, in their enthusiasm for facilitating IS innovation, the leadership of the movement neglected more deep-seated organisational issues that were, to that point, largely unarticulated. In an attempt to get to the heart of these issues, we synthesise a distinctive theoretical perspective that draws mainly on institutional theory. This helps untangle the complex institutional heritage of the credit union movement, which resulted in the emergence of an interesting hybridity of institutional logics and latent contradictions. These contradictions provoked the emergence of a particular kind of institutional entrepreneurship, which was deeply implicated in reshaping institutionalised ways of thinking and doing. We emphasise the political nature of the change process and argue that the institutional arrangements for governing the ISIS project, which also underpinned the governance of the broader movement, were not well suited to manage the risk associated with such an enterprise. We conclude by suggesting that the case described might be an example of the workings of a broader kind of change dynamics around ICT. Specifically, the scale and scope of the change project acted as a trigger that brought tensions underlying existing competing institutional logics to a head, thus provoking institutional reform.

In Search of Subtlety: Discursive Devices and Rhetorical Competence

What is the role of contradiction in organizational rhetoric? This article argues that existing research tends to focus on contradiction at an institutional level and then develop a distinct but complementary perspective that views contradictory rhetoric at an interactional level and as a practical concern, especially when routine is disrupted and repair tactics are required. Drawing on data from a study of a quality improvement initiative in the United Kingdom, the authors examine the contradictions that were constructed when a “change champion” attempted to deal with resistance to change. They conclude by depicting how contradiction can emerge when actors reflexively shift their identifications to portray themselves and their actions in a contextually appropriate manner.

`We're not banks': Exploring self-discipline, subjectivity and co-operative work

In studies of the workplace, the enterprising employee is theorized as autonomous, self-actualizing and calculating; self-discipline is linked to self-interest. This article explores the question of self-discipline by drawing on empirical material from a longitudinal study of the Irish credit union movement. As financial co-operatives, credit unions have a tradition of helping local communities under the aegis of mutuality and co-operative credit. The article theorizes two interrelated, yet antagonistic discourses within the credit union movement; an older community service discourse and an emerging enterprise discourse. In tracing the question of what it means to be a credit union volunteer, the article explores some of the tensions and contradictions between the two discourses, as experienced by volunteers who struggle with the question of how to balance the movements traditional self-help ethos with the growing pressures to become more entrepreneurial.

More Than a ‘Little Act of Kindness’? Towards a Typology of Volunteering as Unpaid Work

Definitions of volunteering are widespread and complex, yet relatively little attention is given to volunteering as unpaid work, even though it intersects with the worlds of paid employment and the domestic sphere, cutting across individual/collective and public/private spaces. This article advances a typology of volunteering work (altruistic, instrumental, militant and forced volunteering/‘voluntolding’) that illuminates the complexity and dynamism of volunteering. Using qualitative data from a study of 30 volunteers to explore practices of volunteering as they unfold in daily life, the typology provides much-needed conceptual building blocks for a theory of ‘volunteering as unpaid work’. This perspective helps transcend the binaries prevalent in the sociology of work and provides a lens to rethink what counts as work in contemporary society. It also invites further research about the effects of ‘voluntolding’ on individuals and society, and on the complex relationship between volunteering work and outcomes at a personal and collective level.

Animating the classroom: Pedagogical responses to internationalisation

Internationalisation of the postgraduate classroom has become a feature of UK business schools, but traditional seminar-led learning often does not suit international students’ learning needs. This article reports on a pilot project that used experiential drama workshops, held in a local theatre, as a response to the challenges created by internationalisation. As part of a collaborative auto-ethnography between two academics and a theatre practitioner, the article focuses on a theatre workshop where UK and Chinese MA Management students (the latter being the majority) were given full creative control to create a theatrical performance about the collapse of Enron. We outline how the project provided students with an opportunity to learn about ethical leadership through a series of experiential drama exercises and how it equipped the lecturers with tools and understandings that were subsequently used to teach leadership and critical management studies in a more inclusive way. We conclude by discussing the benefits of using drama techniques to address internationalisation challenges and urge business schools with a large international cohort to engage in a degree of pedagogical risk-taking in order to foster alternative ways of learning that are more inclusive and experientially based.

Drug Living Lab – Supply Chain Security and Control

Supply chain security and control are key issues for the life sci ences or pharmaceutical industry. Counterfeit drugs have been recognised as a serious public health risk1. The Drug Living Lab has been designed as a pilot project to study the feasibility of innovative technologies for securing supply chains of medication from the manufacturer to the pharmacy or patient. The chapter provides a brief account of current risks, and sketches a possible response based on existing solutions, such as mass serialization and tracking, and tracing integrated into an information infrastructure using the concept of Electronic Product Codes Information Services (EPCIS). Although it might be argued the technical building blocks are already in place, the pharmaceutical sector has yet to produce a coordinated response to the stringent compliance issues and the threat posed by counterfeit drugs. No single player can solve the problem. What is needed is a global, industrywide, inter-organisational approach that involves the coordinated action of a large number of stakeholders, including industry, government and third party representatives.

The challenges of police-community collaboration: Identity manoeuvres and power struggles in a neighbourhood based meeting

ABSTRACT The turn to collaborative governance is a key feature of the New Public Governance environment in many Western economies. Within the UK, successive governments have mandated policing organizations to engage in public service partnerships and collaborate with communities. This paper examines one such collaborative arrangement, namely, neighbourhood public meetings. Drawing on a theoretical framing of the dynamic relationship between identities, agency and power, we critically explore how individuals seek to persuade, defend and legitimate their values, beliefs and practices in collaborative situations. The paper provides a nuanced exploration of the challenges of collaboration for both public servants and community members.

Marginalising co-operation? A discursive analysis of media reporting on the Co-operative Bank

Recently there has been renewed academic interest in co-operatives. In contrast, media accounts of co-operatives are relatively scarce, particularly, in the United Kingdom, where business reporting usually focuses on capitalist narratives, with alternatives routinely marginalised until a scandal pushes them into the public eye. This article analyses media coverage of the United Kingdom’s Co-operative Bank (2011–2015), tracing its transformation from an unremarkable presence on the UK high street to preferred bidder for Lloyds Bank branches and its subsequent near collapse. The article charts changes in reporting and media interest in the bank through five discursive frames: member and customer service; standard financial reporting; human interest, personality-driven journalism; the public relations machine; and political coverage. Our analysis discusses three points: the politicisation of the story through covert and overt political values; simplification and sensationalism; and media hegemony. We argue that although moments of crisis provide an opening for re-evaluating the dominant reporting model, established frames tend to reassert themselves as a story develops. This produces good copy that reflects the interests of the publishers but does not extend understanding of co-operative organisations. Thus, the article identifies the role of the media in delegitimising organisations with alternative governance structures, thereby promoting ideological and economic conformity.

Mediatization and Sport: A Bottom-Up Perspective

The concept of mediatization has proved remarkably popular in the past decade, although recent critiques have challenged its media-centrism, ahistoricism, and conceptual clarity. In this article, we draw on the work of those who suggest that mediatization is best deployed as a means of understanding particular social domains and the ways in which institutions and actors orientate their activities towards media. Using association football, or soccer, as our focus we offer a bottom-up perspective using data gathered from research workshops with young people in England. These not only demonstrate the extent to which football is followed through a range of media platforms but also how broader understandings of the game are shaped by these engagements. Moreover, we adapt insights from recent phenomenological approaches to media to focus on the practical, embodied forms of knowledge and habit that shape how football is currently played, followed, and debated.