Suchergebnisse

Under the British Government's current plan, the devolution of authority for civil service pay will be complete in 1996, with all departments and agencies receiving control over the pay of their employees. The process of pay delegation began some years ago with selected Next Steps executive agencies. What lessons does the progress of the Conservative administration's pay reform programme hold for the future? In examining the success that the government has had so far with delegation of pay to executive agencies, centres on primary research involving a postal survey of executive agencies and in‐depth interviews with several agency human resources directors. Provides an insight into the shape that pay reform is likely to take as further devolution occurs. Reform is unlikely to be either as rapid, coherent or concerted as the government would like. Concludes that while there is little question that change is occurring, its pace has not kept up with the government's deadlines, and its form is only partially in line with the government's stated objectives. Identifies several factors explaining the slow progress, most importantly: the internal inconsistencies among the government's pay reform objectives; the uncertain environment in which many agencies are operating; agencies' lack of resources; and a failure to take account of the institutional context.

Organization studies scholars have examined leadership development processes on only a handful of occasions. This paper argues that an organizational lens, rather than individualized and decontextualized research, can significantly advance this under-theorized field. A critical organizational framing, in particular, assists not only in problematizing the 'leader' identities produced within contemporary leadership development programmes (LDPs), but also in surfacing the ways in which power, context and identity can be inextricably linked within specific practices. The article contributes to critical leadership and organization studies in three main ways. First, it theorizes through a critical identity lens the regulatory practices that constitute an idealized leader self in two separate global LDPs, and which create tensions and paradoxes rarely examined in studies of LDPs and organizations more generally. Second, it examines participants' considerable resistance to the prevailing models of global leader prescribed in the two programmes. Third, our dual case analysis highlights the role of discursive context, enabling us to compare two particular strategies of leadership development through identity regulation: 'investiture' and 'divestiture'. The paper concludes by discussing the implications of this analysis for rethinking theory and practice, and suggests future research directions for critical organization studies of leadership and LDPs.

In equality, diversity and inclusion studies, there is often an underlying assumption that research will advance equality and inclusion. Yet scholars increasingly point to a gap between theory and practice to achieve change. While paradigmatic differences in how change is framed may in part account for this gap, we argue that 'action knowledges' drawn from different paradigms are both important and 'commensurable' once a change agenda is adopted. Placing these in tension, we develop an interplay requiring scholars to engage differences in both ontology and ideology to 'see' the change knowledge in other paradigms. A 'fifth knowledge' for research to combat inequality and contribute to more equitable organizations can result from engaging with the dynamic tensions identified in our analysis.

PurposeThis paper examines actors and discourses shaping new Canadian legislation designed to advance diversity in corporate governance.Design/methodology/approachThis paper performs a stakeholder and discourse analysis drawing on texts of parliamentary debates.FindingsThe paper illuminates tensions regarding definitions of diversity, its importance for boards of directors and the mechanisms favoured for implementation. Official discourses examined show that, unlike for other political issues, opposition was largely muted, and most stakeholders engaged in the process supported legislation advancing diversity. Nonetheless areas of debate and positioning by actors and suggest important differences, with outcomes linked to non-traditional power bases.Research limitations/implicationsThis study provides insights into the discursive environments of organizations and processes relating to promoting diversity and equality in the political decision-making domain, a critical venue for understanding advancement of equity, often neglected in organizational studies.Practical implicationsBy understanding the complex and competing discourses surrounding diversity and inclusion at the macro level this paper provides a context for understanding organizational (meso) and individual (micro) beliefs and behaviours.Social implicationsThis study shows how advocacy shapes how policy and legislation are framed and the ways mainstream organizations, including women's groups, may advance gender equality without regard to other dimensions of diversity or intersectionality.Originality/valueThis study maps the political discourse around recent Canadian legislation designed to improve diversity on boards that must, in the Canadian context, address more than gender.

Purpose
This paper aims to extend Lewis and Simpson's (2010) work on the complexity of (in)visibility and explores what it means to women's entrepreneurship in Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic.


Design/methodology/approach
This piece contributes to the special issue on COVID-19 and the impact on women entrepreneurs. Specifically, it applies an (in)visibility lens to argue that responses to COVID-19 in Canada negatively affect women entrepreneurs disproportionately and that while initiatives such as the Women Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub (WEKH) are threatened, they can also serve as an agitator during this time to advocate for an inclusive recovery approach.


Findings
Despite progress through such government funded initiatives as the Women Entrepreneurship Strategy (WES), which is targeting more than $2bn (Cdn) in investments towards women entrepreneurs, structural inequality and the (in)visibility of women's entrepreneurship has been amplified during COVID-19. Through a particular understanding of the (in)visibility vortex notion (Lewis and Simpson, 2010), it is concluded the (in)visibility of women entrepreneurs as deeply embedded and that there is a continued need to advocate for a gender and diversity lens, to ensure inclusive recovery that benefits women and diverse entrepreneurs.


Originality/value
An (in)visibility lens brings an important addition to the literature on women's entrepreneurship, as well as illuminates the important differences within this broad category, deepening the understanding of these trends and their impact during COVID-19 pandemic. It highlights how the complexities of intersectionality are critical to understand, and their recognition can help to drive a clear evidence base, as well as advocacy. The piece call researchers and practitioners alike to consider the question under COVID-19, will these conditions create a new vortex in this domain, or can the work of organizations and researchers position gender and intersectionality in women entrepreneurship as a disrupter for the future?

The case studies contained in this book show real life examples of complex problems being addressed through collaboration. The problems confronting modern society are complex and do not lend themselves to simple solutions or linear decision making. They require the involvement of many stakeholders. This is often brought about by networks, which bring together a multitude of players in the search for solutions to public policy issues.