Candice Harris

Getting 'entangled': reflexivity and the 'critical turn' in tourism studies.

Reflecting a broader postmodern shift to unmask the cultural politics of research and knowledge-making in academia, tourism studies as a field is demonstrating a notable ‘critical turn’—a shift in thought that serves to provide and legitimize a space for more interpretative and critical modes of tourism inquiry. In response to this critical turn, this paper addresses the central issue of ‘reflexivity’ which, while alive in other disciplines and fields, has received rather limited attention within tourism studies. By drawing on our own personal academic/research experiences working at the crossroads of this turn in thought, we identify a range of ‘entanglements’ that influence and constrain our research choices, textual strategies and ability to pursue reflexive knowledge. These entanglements centre around four broad, but interlinking, themes: ‘ideologies and legitimacies’; ‘research accountability’; ‘positionality’, and ‘intersectionality with the researched’. In writing this paper, we aim to uncloak the current cultural politics in the tourism studies field, deferring as a basis to more mature debates on reflexivity in the social sciences. Ultimately, we stress the need to recognize reflexivity not only as a self-indulgent practice of writing ourselves in to our research, but also as a wider socio-political process which must incorporate and acknowledge the ‘researched’ and our responsibilities to them in the production of tourism knowledge. More importantly, in order to move the perceptions of reflexivity beyond the self, we urge all researchers to find a common territory and engage in the art of reflexivity, irrespective of their ontological, epistemological and methodological binds.

A Critical Discourse Analysis of In-Flight Magazine Advertisements: The ‘Social Sorting’ of Airline Travellers?

The in-flight magazine is one of many industrialised print media to which the traveller is exposed. In-flight magazines, however ‘ideologically innocent’ they may appear, can be very powerful in representing the norms and values to which travellers should supposedly adhere. This paper builds on arguments that there is a lack of research on representation in tourism and focuses in particular on how in-flight magazine advertising produces, mediates and reproduces discourses surrounding air travel. Using Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), advertisements from a selection of Qantas and Air New Zealand in-flight magazines from 2005 were studied. The content analysis of these texts reveals that the magazine advertisements wish to speak to a certain ‘elite’ type of traveller who is mobility-rich as well as financially wealthy, with the time to pursue a raft of travel activities and the money to buy an array of expensive luxury products. Essentially, the paper argues that magazine advertisements can be a subtle (or, perhaps, not so subtle) way of ‘socially sorting’ airline travellers into those who are socially and culturally acceptable airline travellers and those who are not. The advertisements can also be seen as a means of socially sorting the airline traveller from other types of traveller and from the non-traveller. No matter which way the sorting occurs, in-flight magazine advertising appears to be a powerful medium that overwhelmingly appeals and speaks to privileged groups in society.

Business assistance for SMEs: New Zealand owner‐managers make their assessment

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the business assistance realities of New Zealand small and medium enterprise (SME) owner‐managers in order to better understand those experiences in terms of their ability to identify and use what is provided.Design/methodology/approach – Site visits were made to 51 small firms that had been recruited from a random sample of 500 New Zealand firms that employed up to 50 full‐time equivalent staff and were in the “manufacturing” or “service” sector. An interview was then carried out with the owner‐manager of the firm.Findings – The owner‐managers of some SMEs interact with the support infrastructure regularly, while others do not. The sources of business assistance most frequently accessed where not necessarily those that were subsequently perceived as being the most useful or significant.Research limitations/implications – The findings are limited in their generalisability due to the research methodology and research context. However, the conclusions will b...

Leadership Development for Women in New Zealand Universities: Learning From the New Zealand Women in Leadership Program

The Problem. Women continue to be underrepresented in senior academic and general staff positions in universities internationally, and New Zealand universities are no different. In addition, there is limited empirical research on leadership development programs for women. The Solution. This article adds to knowledge in the area by describing and discussing the outcomes of the national New Zealand Women in Leadership (NZWIL) program, which is now in its 5th year of operation. A longitudinal case study approach has been adopted including surveys, phone interviews, and an independent evaluation. The findings suggest that the program has been successful on both an individual and organizational level. Individually, participants have increased their self-confidence and networking skills, enabling them, for example, to apply for promotion and gain it. The Stakeholders. Postsecondary leaders, human resource development (HRD), and leadership development professionals can learn from the findings of this program and adapt them to their context.

Learning by doing: six dimensions of complexity in researching SMEs

Purpose - The purpose of the paper is to present practical methodological insights into doing research with the owner-managers of small and medium enterprises. Design/methodology/approach - Practical methodological lessons are reported from a project involving interviews with owner-managers of a set of 50 firms recruited from a random sample of 500 New Zealand “manufacturing” or “service” firms employing 5-50 full-time staff. Findings - The experiences of the project team were reflected on, refined, and presented as six practical “lessons” to be considered by others contemplating engaging with SMEs to achieve a research objective. Research limitations/implications - The findings are subjective (in that, they are the opinions and experiences of the researchers involved) and are derived from a specific context (the SME sector in New Zealand). Originality/value - The paper contributes to the small, but growing, body of literature that specifically deals with “good practice” research methodology in relation to small firms.

HR managers and environmental sustainability: strategic leaders or passive observers?

In this paper, we explore the challenges posed to, and reactions of, human resource (HR) managers by the concept of environmental sustainability. From interviews with 14 New Zealand HR managers, we explore three related aspects of morality identified by Fineman: private, conventional, and enacted. Findings indicate that while the HR managers note a private position of environmental concern, they take a passive approach to environmental sustainability within their organizations. We note that this passive position is not without potentially adverse effects in relation to the role of HR as a strategic partner and for the advancement of environmental sustainability within organizations.

Exploring Firm Development in the Context of New Zealand SMEs

Abstract The relative strengths and weaknesses of ‘stages of development ‘ models for explaining small firm growth have attracted significant research attention. Despite this there remains little consensus regarding the ways in which SME owner-managers and their firms experience growth, and the transitions and milestones it comprises. In an attempt to heed the call for ongoing investigations into this phenomenon this paper reports on a project investigating the topic in the context of New Zealand small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Findings from 50 interviews with small firm owner-managers are reported, along with conclusions and suggestions for future research.

The entrepreneurship-motherhood nexus

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to use boundaryless career theory as a perspective from which to explore understanding related to the interplay between life-stage and career transitions in women; and, specifically, the life-stage-related event of motherhood relative to the transition from corporate employment to self-employment. Design/methodology/approach – A qualitative longitudinal research design was operationalized over a four-year period and data from both primary and secondary sources were collected in relation to four New Zealand case studies. Findings – The findings highlight how life-stage events such as motherhood can have a profound influence on both the perception and enactment of careers and career transitions. In total, two primary micro-processes were identified in relation to the career transitions of the female participants into self-employment and were labeled “traditional employment” (relating to role change; integrating work and life domains; opportunity seeking; and support) a...

Glass slippers, Holy Grails and Ivory Towers: gender and advancement in academia

Australasia, as with other western countries, has experienced gender differentials in the advancement of women through academia. Some of the barriers to advancement that have been identified in the literature include unconscious attitudes towards work organisation and the value of work performed by men and women. Further, concepts of ‘meritocracy’ may in fact hide gender discrimination and also obscure the role of informal networks in disseminating information and knowledge that privilege some groups over others in the appointment processes. This article draws on in-depth interviews with 32 male and female research active academics across all faculties of a New Zealand university. This article uses the metaphor of fairy tales to explore and explain gendered experiences of academic advancement. The use of a different context to analyse our findings not only protects the anonymity of participants, but uncovers assumptions of work and merit in academic advancement.

Long hospitality careers – a contradiction in terms?

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore why workers remain in long hospitality careers and to challenge the frequent portrayal of careers in the sector as temporary and unsatisfactory. Design/methodology/approach The study took an interpretative social constructionist approach. Methods used were memory-work, semi-structured interviews and intersectional analysis. Findings A key finding in this study is that career longevity in hospitality is not solely dependent on career progression. Strong social connection, a professional self-identity and complex interesting work contribute to long careers. Research limitations/implications The study contributes detailed empirical knowledge about hospitality career paths in New Zealand. Conclusions should be generalised outside the specific context with caution. Practical implications The findings that hospitality jobs can be complex and satisfying at all hierarchical ranks hold practical implications for Human Resource Managers in the service sector. To increase career longevity, hospitality employers should improve induction and socialisation processes and recognise their employees’ professional identity. Social implications This paper significantly extends the notion of belonging and social connection in service work. “Social connection” is distinctly different from social and networking career competencies. Strong social connection is created by a fusion of complex social relationships with managers, co-workers and guests, ultimately creating the sense of a respected professional identity and satisfying career. Originality/value The contemporary concept of a successful hospitality career is associated with an upwards career trajectory; however, this paper suggests that at the lower hierarchical levels of service work, many individuals enjoy complex satisfying careers with no desire for further advancement.