| Ethnographic Questions and the Question of Ethnography: Journeying From Method to Tradition in a Pluralistic World |
| | Prasad, Pushkala | Lund U. | Pushkala.Prasad@fek.lu.se | 46-46-222-4349 |
| | Prasad, Anshuman | U. of New Haven | aprasad@charger.newhaven.edu | 203-932-7124 |
| | While the term 'ethnography' is commonly used in management and organization studies to refer to intensive forms of
fieldwork, the richer and more complex nuances associated with its anthropological roots and traditions are largely ignored.
This paper argues that understanding ethnography as tradition is likely to yield greater insights into its use and conduct in
a pluralistic world than understanding it as method. We first discuss the distinction between ethnographic method and
tradition, and then examine the rise of ethnographic approaches in both anthropology and organization science. We then
explore different ethnographic genres and experimental movements in the anthropological tradition. These include 'gone
native' ethnography, ethnographic memoir, self-ethnography and narrative ethnography. We suggest that these newer
traditions, while often calling into question the very project of ethnography, have significant implications for organization
research in a globalized world where questions of plurality, researcher reflexivity and representation are becoming central
to scholarly inquiry. |
| | Keywords: Ethnography,; Traditions,; Natives |
| Order from Chaos: Applications of Narrative Methods to Organization Studies |
| | O'Connor, Ellen S. | Stanford U. | eoconnor@leland.stanford.edu | 650/941-8249 |
| | This paper describes and demonstrates narrative methods for organizational research. It is offered toward a better understanding of how to do narrative studies and towards greater acceptance of narrative as a systematic form of analysis.
The paper draws extensively from data obtained during a one-year ethnographic study of a high technology research organization in Silicon Valley, California. Ethnographic research is posited as central to the method, for stories must be gathered and interpreted in the context of their tellings. However, the paper builds on existing ideas about ethnographic methods by conceptualizing the researcher's main task as one of identifying the key plots into which the organization plots itself and into which it is plotted by others. Thus the organization is posited as fundamentally storied in nature and in action.
There are three main parts: (1) a positioning of the research method into traditions from literature, linguistics, and sociology; (2) background on the field site and on the circumstances of the study; and (3) a description and demonstration of the narrative methods employed.
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| | Keywords: narrative,; ethnography,; methodology |
| Using the Focus Group Method for Cross-Cultural Research |
| | Weisinger, Judith Y. | Northeastern U. | jweisinger@neu.edu | (617)-375-5241 |
| |
The emergence of the pluralistic, cross-cultural workplace requires not only new ways of managing, but also
new ways of researching cross-cultural issues. Contemporary cross-cultural research emphasizes large-
scale, quantitative studies while underemphasizing more qualitative methods which can provide richer data
on complex cross-cultural interactions.
This paper discusses the application of one such method, the focus group, as a way of gathering rich data
on cross-cultural interactions. Using an example of three focus groups conducted in a study of Japanese-
U.S. international joint ventures, this paper proposes that the focus group method surfaces hidden cultural
assumptions, highlights intracultural diversity, and illuminates aspects of the context (other than culture)
which affect cross-cultural interactions at work.
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| | Keywords: focus groups,; cross-cultural,; methodology |