business environment micro environment macro environment.pptx
Sf aa mar 2011 outsider ethnography
1. Doing Corporate Ethnography As An Outsider Mary Walker, VP Organizational Development, Rackspace Society for Applied Anthropology, Annual Conference March 2011 Panel on Corporate Ethnography: Various Topics
6. Most of what happens in corporations is para-ethnography Ethnography conducted via ESP Meaning-making activities that have “an ethnographic sensibility” “…something that approximates ethnographic [activity]…” “…an aspect of expert practice…” “…an alternative and valid method of knowledge” [an alternative to quantitative methods of knowledge] “Fast-Capitalism: Para Ethnography & the Rise of the Symbolic Analyst” by Douglas R. Holmes & George C. Marcus. From Frontiers of Capital: Ethnographic Reflections on the New Economy, editors Melissa Fischer & Greg Downey, 2005. Smells like…ethnography
7. Corporate para-ethnography = activities with an ethnographic mindset - seek understanding & insight into people’s day-to-day lives- avoid value judgments (shoulds, right-vs-wrong, smart-vs-stupid) - respect the full range, variety & weirdness of human experience - We need more of this mindset in the world. We need more of this mindset in the world Just ask Jaron Lanier
16. External orientation (outside the organization) Para-ethnographic disciplines examples: market research, customer experience, product development, customer service, etc. Study people outside the organization (customers etc.) with adapted ethno techniques “Organizational Ethnography” Study people inside the organization (employees) with adapted ethno techniques Para-ethnographic disciplines Examples: human resources, coaching, organizational development, process improvement, program/project management, etc. Internal orientation (into the organization)
18. Simplest answer: not an employee* *But that’s not the only answer. Depends on the organization & context.
19. “Outsider-ness” in an organizational setting can be complicated… Acting Leader of X Executive of a support function Full time W2 employee Executive coach Overseas affiliate Temp-to-perm candidate Auditor sent from headquarters to field Executive of line function Long-term on-site vendor Internal consultant Summer intern Ex-employee, now contractor You …varies by context & observer
20. An outsider is somebody who is not part of my… Organizational Context Organization Department Work group Team Seniority level Job type Location Societal Context Geographic Ethnic Linguistic Religion Social status Wealth Education Family
22. Outside consultant on The Hero’s Journey Objective Companions Crossing the Threshold Meeting Helpers & Hinderers Road of Trials Temptations Completion Separation & Departure
23. What is your official objective? (hint: they wrote it in your contract)
24. What are the unofficial objectives? Of the person who brought you in: Outside expert brings credibility Hit man to do my dirty work Skill transfer to my internal people Spend down my budget before I lose it Experiment, fishing expedition Responding to pressure from higher-ups Scapegoat Yours: Your own learning Promote humanistic values in the project, organization or profession Get a new reference client Learn a new company, industry, area, topic Material for an article / book / presentation (cough, cough) Figuring out your sponsor’s unofficial objectives is key Know thyself You have agency What matters to you?
25. Are you a lone hand? Companions Your outsider experience is heavily dependent on your companions -- other outsiders/consultants you’re working with (if any) Or one of a group?
26. Crossing the Threshold: going onsite The physical environment of the client’s workplace is rich with information (material artifacts & context for behaviors and interactions).
33. Meeting Helpers & Hinderers As people assess your presence in their organization, they decide whether to help, obstruct or stand aside. Mapping allies, opponents & neutrals is part of the outsider experience.
34. Road of Trials They wouldn’t have hired you if they’d been able to easily do it for themselves. There will be monsters and riddles and wolves in sheep’s clothing.
48. Strengths & joys of being an outsider Variety: different projects, different organizations Development of new skills in becoming a consultant Psychological growth in “leaving the herd” - proving yourself, going it alone Higher cash income than insiders Easier to maintain independence & boundaries
49. An idiosyncratic bibliography Kleiner, Art. Who Really Matters: The Core Group Theory of Power, Privilege & Success. Currency/Doubleday, 2003. Jordan, Ann. Business Anthropology. Ann Jordan. Waveland Press, 2002. Moeran, Brian. The Business of Ethnography: Strategic Exchange, People & Organizations. Berg Publishers, 2005. Schwartzman, Helen. Ethnography in Organizations. Sage Publications, 2002. Wolcott, Harry. Ethnography: A Way of Seeing. Altamira Press, 2nd edition, 2008. Wright, Susan. The Anthropology of Organizations. Routledge, 1994. Block, Peter. Flawless Consulting: A Guide to Getting Your Expertise Used. Pfeiffer, 3rd edition, 2011. Cefkin, Melissa, editor. Ethnography and the Corporate Encounter: Reflections on Research in and of Corporations. Berghahn Books, 2009. Gellner, David and Hirsh, Eric, editors. Inside Organizations: Anthropologists at Work. Berg Publishers, 2001. Ho, Karen. Liquidated: An Ethnography of Wall Street. Duke University Press, 2009.
Jaron Lanier (genius, Renaissance man, technologist & musician) talks about how a narrow technologically-influenced mindset overvalues quantitative data compared to qualitative experience & requires humans to adapt to machines, rather than the other way around.
Image of two people with tape recorder: www.wirelessmuse.com “Mumbai blogger and market researcher Dina Mehta (left) speaks with farmer Dhanaji Dongre about Nokia Life Tools. I'm taking the photo sitting in a chair a foot or two away while Dina translates Dongre's Maranthi into English for me.”Group in room: from website http://www.surveymarketing.co.uk/market-research/qualitative-research