158 research outputs found
Transient, unsettling and creative space: Experiences of liminality through the accounts of Chinese students on a UK-based MBA
No full textThis is the author's accepted manuscript. The final published article is available from the link below. Copyright @ The Author(s) 2009.This article explores the experiences of liminality through the accounts of Chinese students on a UK-based MBA programme. The transient nature of the MBA experience, as well as the international status of the Chinese student, is resonant with conceptualizations of liminality as ‘in between’ space. Based on semi-structured interviews with 20 MBA graduates who had subsequently returned to China with their qualification, we explored their perceptions of outcomes from the course and their experiences as international students on a programme imbued with western norms and values. Results support the unsettling yet creative implications of liminality, as well as the fragmented insecure nature of identities, as individuals pass through the MBA ‘rite of passage’ in terms of ‘becoming’ a manager and entering a new phase of career. Accounts suggest the creation of hierarchical structures within liminal space whereby Chinese students, through their positioning at the margin, have uncomfortable yet illuminating encounters with alterity. At the same time, they experience levels of ambiguity and uncertainty in the post-liminal phase of China-located employments, as new western-based managerial identities collide with dominant discourses of Chinese organization
What it means to succeed: personal conceptions of career success held by male and female managers at different ages
No full textThe aim of this research is to investigate how managers define career success for
themselves. It seeks to discover what differences there are in the way that women
and men, and older and younger managers, see their own career success. It fills an
identifiable gap in the literature on career success, in that it examines the subject
from the point of view of the individual, not the organisation. In doing so, it
responds to calls for work in this area, especially the development of "orientational
categories" which classify peoples' attitudes to careers according to their individual
predispositions (Bailyn 1989).
The research, which took place in BT, uses qualitative methods, in particular in-depth
interviewing, to elicit managers' own definitions of career success. Using techniques
of qualitative data analysis and with the help of NUD. IST computer software, it
develops a typology of managerial career success, which shows that managers view
their own career success in one of four ways: as a Climber, who emphasises
hierarchical position, pay and enjoyment in their definition of success; as an Expert,
who sees success as being good at what they do and getting personal recognition for
this; as an Influencer, who defines career success primarily as organisational
influence; and as a Self-Realiser, who judges their own career success by
achievement at a very personal level.
Women managers, who generally base their definitions of career success on internal
and intangible criteria, are more likely to be Experts and Self-Realisers; men, who
tend to base their ideas of success on external criteria are more likely to be Climbers
and Influencers. Younger managers, especially men, are most likely to be Climbers,
and older managers, Influencers who often see their own success in terms of
achieving something at work by which they will be remembered
The cinema of Preston Sturges : author's diversions on the edge of classical narrative
No full textThe subject of the doctoral dissertation is the cinema of Preston Sturges, an influential and innovative creator who has still not received enough attention from film historians. In the centre of the research reflection, the author places directing and screenwriting achievements of this American artist. His work can be divided chronologically into three stages: the thirties, in which he built his position in the American studio system as an outstanding screenwriter; the golden period of 1940-1944, in which he provided Paramount Pictures with eight, fully independent successful productions; and the later period, which can be described as a progressive erosion of creative ideas and increasing difficulties in acquiring funds for further masterpieces. The indicated research area is indirectly embodied in the topic and focuses on the category of an "author" and a "narrative". Its important complement is a hypothesis that the structure of the presented world, the "ideological variables" conditioning it and the narrative strategies used in Sturges' works are an anticipation of philosophical and cultural as well as aesthetic postmodernism. In this dissertation, the author interprets the works of Preston Sturges through the prism of transgressing performance conventions, narrative strategies and preferred ideology, which are characteristic of the classical Hollywood cinema. Sturges' ambiguous position, as both the author and participant of the studio system, justifies going beyond the purely textual dimension in the analyses and interpretations of his works, in consequence locating them in historical, social and political contexts, which significantly determine their semantic structures. In turn, the American director's ways of deconstructing the norms and conventions of the classical cinema are a clear prefiguration of postmodernism in film. The two-coding character included in Sturges' pieces is a decisive factor that allows to interpret his works as a phenomenon that simultaneously falls into his contemporary cinema models, as well as a completely separate work with his independent style. The works of this American director, extremely stylistically consistent and marked with a recognizable writing technique, meet all the conditions to feel tempted to read them through the prism of the authorial policy defined in the 1950s. Referring to the dispute on terminology related to the understanding of film authorship present in a historical and film reflection, the author in this dissertation does not abstract from the biographical legend of the American artist. Trying to go beyond the purely textual dimension, the author looks at the contexts (historical, social, political) that determine the meaning structures of Sturges' films. That cinema, though hybrid in genre (screwball comedy, slapstick, cartoons, westerns, political pamphlet), was supposed to perform well in its popular dimension, therefore it is reasonable to analyze it through the light of the times in which it was created. Of course, such a research strategy cannot ignore issues related to reflection over the genre of Preston Sturges’ films, as the above-mentioned hybridism and genre eclecticism favor the emergence of such relationships within Sturges’ individual pictures that have a decisive impact on the perception of his work in terms of innovation and originality. Preston Sturges was a creator who significantly redefined understanding of traditional roles in the way films were made in Hollywood. Consistent combination of the tasks for a screenwriter/director constituted a novelty in the existing Hollywood production models. Thus, the American authorial "originality" cannot be considered in isolation from the implementation context and production models dominating in the contemporary large-scale film studios. Another research problem that is developed in this dissertation concerns a deconstruction of classical narrative formulas. Sturges makes it in numerous ways. The most emblematic strategy in this respect is violating the chronological order (especially through a frequent use of flashbacks), disturbing orientation during the story and applying a hypothetical narrative. In turn, autothematicity, intertextuality and the ubiquitous pastiche are factors that allow to interpret Sturges' works as "meta-images", which act as a discursive reflection on formal and stylistic solutions constituting the paradigm of the classical cinema, as well as on the non-textual representation in which Sturges' work relativizes the most important components of the American cinema of the 1930s and 1940s (ideology of success, heroic war mythologies, moral patterns, institution of marriage, values of the American West, etc.) and shows the structures and mechanisms that Hollywood conceals behind its film texts
What it means to succeed? Managers' conceptions of career success
No full textWhat is success for the manager?, asked the author of the study in an empirical survey from the executives of a big British telecommunications company. The answers led her to the conclusion that the earlier conceived „advancement plans“ are no longer sufficient to reflect the managers4 needs to advance and their visions. Managers think in terms of professional advancement rather than organisational and hierarchical rank
In God's name: Calling, gender and career success in religious ministry
No full textThis article uses a gender lens to examine how people with a calling conceptualize what career success means to them, that is, what work-related outcomes they seek to accomplish in their career. Qualitative data were gathered from ministers of religion working for the Church of England, an organization where gender discrimination is deeply embedded. The findings show that people with the same calling may conceptualize their own career success in quite different ways. Many of the male and female ministers who took part in the study conceived their own career success in a way that reflected the gendered context of the Church of England. This suggests that gender is important for understanding how a calling is pursued in the workplace.</p
0480_018_004_Acquisitions_1960-1979_Stapled_Set_14
No full textLetters and documents from 1968-1969 involving Dr. Aziz S. Atiya and others regarding historical literature and administrative actions for the University of Utah. Contains eight pages of typewritten reports and letters1. One-page typewritten letter dated 18 June 1968 from G. A. Harrer to Mr. Khosrow Mostofi, regarding the University of Utah Middle East Library Catalog Series, Volume I, "Arabic Collection." 2. First page of two-page typewritten document dated 7 April 1969 regarding the administrative actions reported to faculty council. 3. Second page of two-page typewritten document dated 7 April 1969 regarding the administrative actions reported to faculty council. 4. One-page typewritten letter dated 11 April 1969 addressed to "Colleague" and from author with an illegible signature, regarding a one-million dollar gift to the University of Utah and its library development program contributed by J. W. Marriott. 5. One-page typewritten letter dated 11 October 1968 to Dr. Philip C. Sturges from Dr. Aziz S. Atiya, regarding the plea for the concentration of historical literature. 6. First page of two-page typewritten document titled, "Summary of Legislative Action Affecting the University of Uta
Career progress and career barriers: Women MBA graduates in Canada and the UK
No full textThis article explores the career progress of female MBA graduates in Canada and the UK and the nature of career barriers experienced in each context. Results suggest that while Canadian women have similar career profiles to men, women in the UK lag behind their male counterparts after graduation from the course. At the same time, UK women encounter more intractable career barriers in the form of negative attitudes and prejudice. A model of the ‘MBA effect’ is proposed in terms of how the qualification may impact on career barriers. This incorporates three different types of barriers which are seen to operate at the individual level (person centred barriers) and at the intermediate/organizational level (organizational culture and attitudes, corporate practices) as well as, at the macro level, the impact of legislative frameworks. Results from the UK and Canadian surveys are discussed in relation to this model and in the context of feminist theory and women in management literature
„Najpiękniejszy układ”: małżeństwo w dwóch filmach Prestona Sturgesa
No full text“The Most Beautiful Set-up”: Marriage in Two Films by Preston SturgesThe author focuses on two movies by the famous writer-director Preston Sturges: The Palm Beach Story 1942 and The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek 1944, and specifically on the ways both works depict marriage. He connects those ways to Sturges’ own life as well as to his other works and provides a biographical introduction in the first part of his essay. The author stresses subversive elements in Sturges’ treatment of marriage, but also reveals its surprisingly conservative undercurrent.“The Most Beautiful Set-up”: Marriage in Two Films by Preston SturgesThe author focuses on two movies by the famous writer-director Preston Sturges: The Palm Beach Story 1942 and The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek 1944, and specifically on the ways both works depict marriage. He connects those ways to Sturges’ own life as well as to his other works and provides a biographical introduction in the first part of his essay. The author stresses subversive elements in Sturges’ treatment of marriage, but also reveals its surprisingly conservative undercurrent
All in a day's work? Career self‐management and the management of the boundary between work and non‐work
No full textA matter of time: young professionals' experiences of long work hours
No full textThis article examines young construction industry professionals’ experiences of working long hours from the perspective of the meanings that they ascribe to work time and how these influence the hours that they work. It considers how such notions of ‘qualitative’ time spent on work may shape attitudes and behaviour relating to ‘quantitative’ work hours. The findings show that, for the interviewees, work time has meanings chiefly associated with enjoyment, being professional and being part of a work family. The article contributes to the long work hours literature by broadening our understanding of how young professionals experience long work hours, why they may not always view them negatively and how the meanings that they attach to them can lead to particular patterns of work hours. It also highlights gender differences in this regard
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