Michael A. Gross

What the shadow knows: Exploring the hidden dimensions of the consumer metaphor in management education

This article aims to uncover hidden dimensions of the metaphor of consumerism in management education. By exploring the metaphor, the authors elucidate the implicit claims in the assertion that teachers produce business education and students consume that product. The image of commodification structures a discourse that involves conceptions of power, knowledge, and socially useful activity. The discourse emanates from social and educational institutions that shape relations between students and teachers. To understand how the metaphor creates subjective perceptions, the authors propose a linguistic-based framework as an analytical device. They conclude with specific reference to teaching activities and ways in which the so-called shadow of consumerism can be empirically examined.

Meaning in Organizational Communication Why Metaphor Is the Cake, not the Icing

The authors propose an alternative to the postmodern way of viewing metaphor primarily as an instrumental and functional rhetorical tool designed to influence members of an organization through ideological appeals, a view that depicts rhetoric as merely subjective and manipulable. Our alternative draws from the “aesthetic side of organizational life” and argues that communication exceeds the theoretical reach of the postmodern perspective, which requires a new conceptualization of metaphor as epistemic and capable of signaling meaning that is inseparable from its unique and discrete form.

Playing Their Roles: Experiential Design Concepts Applied in Complex Services

With the increasing use of experience design with its theatrical ideas of scripting, staging, and other performing arts concepts in the service industry, the reaction of employees working in these environments has come under the spotlight. In addition, as the setting moves beyond theme parks to more complex contexts such as hospitals or hotels, these areas have received little exploration by researchers. This case study examines reactions of managers and service employees to a workplace implementing experience design concepts. Using an ethnographic approach, this article finds that management and employees diverge in their perceptions, meaning, and effectiveness of theatrical concepts. The authors identify two types of differences: (a) divergent interpretations in how employees and managers understand the content of the hotel’s chosen themes and (b) divergent interpretations in how employees and managers understand scripting. As a result, the employees deliver a service experience that creates conflicts with the management’s objectives. Finally, the authors find that employee’s alignment with a prescribed design depends on their job experience, occupational norms, and context of delivery. The key findings from this study inform theory and practice for managers designing service encounters, particularly related to (a) employee viewpoints and reactions to different theater-based concepts in more complex service environments and (b) implications for improving the design and implementation of these concepts for managers, employees, and customers or guests.

Process, people, and conflict management in organizations

Purpose – In this viewpoint, the authors argue that the predominant method of analyzing conflict management focuses too heavily on the managerial interests in administrative efficiency and productivity rather than on the needs of individuals and organizations. The aim of this paper is to employ Webers analysis of conflict systems, specifically the distinction between formal and substantive rationality, to support the authors’ view.Design/methodology/approach – This is a viewpoint, where content is dependent on the authors opinion and interpretation.Findings – Conflict management based on Webers theories of formal and substantive rationality will benefit organizations and society by promoting a more positive perception of corporate behavior.Research limitations/implications – Future research could examine the relationship between organizational justice and the more global concepts of formality and rationality. Similarly, future research on justice may be expanded by through the notion and perception of ...

Making governance work in academia

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyze the importance of dispute systems for academic employees and to propose a procedure of voluntary binding arbitration, which would improve governance, promote organizational justice, and reduce litigation.Design/methodology/approach – It is argued that the rationale for arbitration in the educational sphere is even more compelling than in the nonunion industrial workplace because higher education is premised on the concept of shared governance between faculty and administrators. Colleges and universities confront an environment of declining resources, escalating costs, and a consumerist view of education where relations between members of the educational community increasingly resemble market transactions rather than cooperative endeavors.Findings – Given those trends, faculty would benefit from a system of conflict resolution that serves to safeguard professional standards, ensure organizational justice, and provide an effective workplace voice.Research li...

Crying Is in the Eyes of the Beholder: An Attribution Theory Framework of Crying at Work

This article contributes to research on emotion expression, attributions, and discrete work emotions by developing an observer-focused model to explain the outcomes of crying at work. Our model is focused on crying as a form of emotion expression because crying may be driven by different felt emotions or be used as a means of manipulation. In addition, the model focuses on observers, who must form perceptions of the emotion expression in order to determine an appropriate response. This model is particularly valuable because it addresses the reality that an observer will develop an impression of another person’s emotion and intention, and that this impression may not always align with the reality of the emotion being experienced by the expresser.

Argumentativeness and Verbal Aggressiveness as Predictors of Partner-Perceptions of Conflict Styles During a Simulated Downsizing Activity

The present study examined how the traits of argumentativeness and verbal aggressiveness are associated with perceptions of communication competence and conflict styles during a simulated downsizing activity. Participants were placed into dyads and asked to determine which two out of four employees they should terminate, with each participant being given private motivations for keeping a different pair of employees so that they would initially have incompatible goals. Findings suggest that the concept of argumentativeness is complex and nuanced and that argumentativeness sometimes works with verbal aggressiveness to predict how a person is perceived during decision-making tasks. Additionally, findings illustrate how critical it is to examine both actor and partner effects when studying conflict and decision-making.