Reflexivity of a Manager in a Contemporary Organisation - Term Paper Example

Introduction

Background

The term reflexivity is a concept that is very popular in social sciences meant to explore and deal with the relationship between the researcher and the object of research (Brannick and Coghlan, 2006). Reflexivity means that an individual thinks and questions about the conditions for what they are doing. Additionally, reflexivity implies a situation in which an individual explores ways in which the theoretical, cultural and political contexts of individual and intellectual involvement are bound to affect the subject under researched (Brannick and Coghlan, 2006). The concept of reflexivity in recent times has penetrated the management discourses especially in research, education and practice. As a result, the manager has attracted a great role with regard to reflexivity and the discourse of practice.

The concept of reflexivity is also known as the crisis of truth, and it has been used within numerous disciplines, such as linguistics, philosophy, natural science, sociology, psychology, and anthropology. Among these disciplines, reflexivity in sociology has been the most significant, and it means the circular relationship between cause and effect, where the cause and the effect are always intertwined. However, recently it has been coined in organisations and in management studies (Alvesson & Sköldberg, 2000; Calás & Smircich, 1999). Basically, “reflexive scholars question the threads of philosophical and methodological certainty implicit in the goal of mainstream social science to provide an absolute view of the world” (Cunliffe, 2003). Some of the scholars propose that all kinds of inquiry relate to a confined paradigm (Burrell and Morgan, 1979). Thus, the situation implies that the expectations about reality and the manner in which accurate theories are supposed to be challenged reveal the integral instability of knowledge. It, therefore, becomes vital for a reflexive manager in a contemporary organisation to be a critical thinker.

Problem Statement

This paper aims to critically analyse the reflexivity of a manager in a contemporary organisation and the impact it accrues to that particular organisation when the manager is wholly reflective. Leadership is an integral part of the any organisation, and failure in leadership implies that the organisation has failed. Reflexivity of a manager in a contemporary organisation implies that the manager has to use another form a leadership style that is in line with reflexivity principles. The methods of inquiry, knowledge, and social reality are all associated with social science, which are also related to reflexivity. Therefore, the role of a reflexivity manager has majority of the aspects in social science. First this paper will first review the theoretical perspective of reflexivity in management and consequently in the contemporary organisations. The theory and practice will then link theory to the managers as reflective practitioners (Cunliffe, 2004). The next section will give a personal perspective on reflexivity on practising practitioners (Cunliffe, 2004). The final section will give the limitations, recommendations and concluding views of the subject matter.

Reflexivity of a Manager in a Contemporary Organization

Reflexivity of a manager in a contemporary organisation relates to the issue of representation which questions the people’s relationship with the social world and how such interaction is critical in shaping the personal experiences. A manager in a contemporary organisation can adopt this approach to problem solving by questioning reality in a form that involved reflecting on knowledge, texts, language, and truth claims, thereby making them less believable and transparent (Lawson, 1985).

In social science, ontological and epistemological perspectives provide the basis for the process of theorising our world. This is important as it allows people to separate aspects of their lives that are external to their experiences as social reality is made up aspects that are external to participants. The raises the issue of representation and its contrast to reflexivity. In this regard, representation is deemed unproblematic in research as the basis for action can be explored through a direct observation of reality, developing truth, identifying causality and objectives for purposes of developing knowledge in a more confident way (Samuels, 1991).

Reflexivity is opposed to the concept of representation in social aspects are it critiques the direct observation of phenomena by advocating for construction of knowledge through constant construction of social realities and meaning. A person is able to construct new realities based on the interaction with others, as it forms the basis for our experiences. Hence, in construction of the reality of the world around us, it is imprudent to attempt the separation of ontological and epistemological perspectives, as well as the role of the historical, cultural and linguistic traditions in shaping our experiences (Kubota, 2011).

This research seeks to expound on radical reflexivity based it on ethnographic perspective, specifically the construction theory of knowledge. This perspective holds that practitioners and researchers need to question in a much deeper manner in order to get the truth claims of others. It also seeks to question how the practitioners construct truths by making their claims. Hence, in a contemporary organisation, the theory is formulated under the assumption that all research is constructed through an interaction between the reflexive manager and the colleagues or the subordinates. The manager is also in charge of individual theorising and the aspects of operation he/she theorises about. Hence, construction of the reality in the context of reflexive managers requires the recognition of personal philosophical commitments and the ability to order internal logic so as to expose them to critical questioning with an aim of uncovering their situated nature.

Effective reflectivity of a manager in a contemporary organisation or work context is related to the sense-making ability of the manager to construct meaning and reality based on its experiences and interaction with the other workmates and then reflect the knowledge to tentative, situated and context-related understanding. Hence, the most essential attitude of this manager is the ability to interact with others and surpass all barriers such as social, political, cultural and economic, with an aim of ensuring that all employees at a position to interact, question, and share issues and knowledge. For instance, in a highly diverse workplace, the reflective manager can act as the cultural bridge and promote diversity and cosmopolitan status with other cultures. This is done by consistently and intrinsically developing skills that are linked to the analysis of the situations that have been observed. This phenomena sets the foundation for ethnographic process as the management of challenges in a contemporary organisation through question and reflection requires knowledge construction and transfer skills characteristic to ethnography (Moore, 2011).

Constructionist Approaches

Reflexive approaches draw on cultural anthropology and sociology while there are those that are influenced by postmodernism and poststructuralism. Proponents of these theories recommend that knowledge and reality are not accounted for at face value, but rather are constructed through interaction and/or language, making it problematic to categorize or theorize. The cultural anthropology and sociology fields influence a reflexive manager as they are implicitly or explicitly founded on the metaphors of either otherness or betweeness. Organisational texts that draw on otherness are related to the deconstructionist approach while those grounded on the concept of betweeness draws on ethnographic approach to reality construction. Specifically, betweeness is concerned with constructionist approaches that imply that reflexive managers contrast the reality of their organisations through the conversations that take place between different people in the workplace (Watson, 1994).

The approach of betweeness is based on upon cultural anthropology, sociology and social constructionism disciplines and relates to the constructive nature of language (Shotter, 1993). According to social constructionists, reflexive managers make sense of their realities using numerous forms of discourses including reading, writing and conversation. Hence, radical reflexive argue that radical managers take their process in the process of making sense of reality based on the fact that construction of knowledge and objective realities happens intersubjectively in a way that makes them inventors rather than reality presenters. The application of the constructivist approach helps in the exploration of how the interaction of participants; managers and colleagues leads to construction of meaning. It is therefore prudent to note that the mode of inquiry used in organisational studies. In this case, the constructivist approaches adopt the first-order approach to reflexivity which relates to the application of reflexivity as the primary approach of determining how managers construct their realities in the work organisation context. This involves investigating ways in which features that have been taken for granted including actions, languages, and shared knowledge are used in their local context to organise and reinforce action. This can help reflexive managers identify ways in which they can solve issues such as oppression, power relations, and diversity issues. It can also be helpful in organising organisational discourse and investigating how various modes of discipline can be revealed based on how the colleges and other workmates associate with each other through conversations.

Case Study

The company that will be used to assess the concept of reflexivity in managers will be confidential company and will be known as XYZ Plc., due to ethical concerns that are related to confidentiality. XYZ Plc., is an international company that has major overarching issues such as operational excellence, brand management and people and culture, the reflectivity of a manager play a critical role in questioning the interaction of phenomena with a view of achieving a global integration while at the same time being susceptible to local re-contextualisation (Brannen 2004). This approach, therefore provides XYZ Plc. with an opportunity of not only learning important aspects about the employees, but also formulating an action plan for reinvigorating the company.

In the effort to deal with the diverse and goal issues in XYZ Plc. adopted the traditional ethnographic coding techniques to team work. The implementation process was highly problematic as the company is vastly diverse in terms of linguistic and cultural aspects. The motivation for the application of constructivist approach to employee management in this company is based upon the recognition that customers are at the heart of the company and failure to reinforce interaction between the management and the employees will not give the management the type of information needed to revolutionise the company and steer forward. Moreover, the employees at the lower levels such as sales and marketing or store attendants are the ones who interact directly with the customers, making them a valuable resource in management and reinforcement of action plan.

According to the research conducted on the state of the UK in Europe, the retail sector, it was revealed that XYZ Plc.’s competitive advantage is in their employees. This is because the company recruits and employs the employees that are overly differentiated from their rival shops in the high street (Schippers et al. (2003). This aspect of management is essential in the success of the company and it is highly dependent upon the realities that the managers of the company have constructed based on their interactions with the employees and other stakeholders that may have important information necessary in formulating the action plan. For instance, observing the company’s values and identity through the interviews with the XYZ Plc. managers in popular media and in the speeches by the XYZ Plc. management reveals that the company recognizes the importance of people-management skills and engaging teams. However, despite the fact that most of the aspects are found on their formal reports, most of the managers in the company fail to employ reflexivity in management and instead choose to be dependent on rhetoric analysis (Kirkman et al., 2004).

The concept of reflexivity of a manager applies in this context as it allows the managers of the company to interact with the employees in a way that allows them to learn more about their employees and the rhetoric outside the bounds of the company. One of the most important outcome of reflexivity of a manager is attracting information about the responses of the customers as it allows the company to respond easily to the needs of the market in a more objective manner. The reflexive skills of such managers are reflected in their roles as strategic ethnographers and allows them to not only identify problems, but also find immediate solutions.

Discussion on Reflexivity of a Manager

Cunliffe (2009) indicated that the real reflexivity is the one that deepens our reflection through interrogating the relationship that we have with the social world and the manner that we account for our experience. This assertion has been ascertained in the case study that the relationship that a manager has with the social world is very important, since the manager in the contemporary organisation is always questions each component in the organisation. The reflective manager has also the ability to apply critical thinking in his managerial decisions. One of the major aspects that has risen in the event of a reflective manager in the contemporary organisation is ‘reflective questioning’ which implies that the manager is always questioning what surrounds him and the organisation. A manager that is always questioning will definitely diagnose a potential problem earl, saving the organisation from uncertainties that could lead to failure of the organisations. The major reason that make the manager to have that ‘reflective questioning’ is the fact that he or she interacts with the employees and the staff that are in the organisation more frequently. The people will give them their insights, and when the manager is reflecting on some of the insight received as a result of interactions with people, questions become inevitable (Carson and Fisher, 2006).

Knowledge and reflexivity are related as evident from the case study, therefore reflexivity of a manager in an organisation implies that the manager has the knowledge that is as a result of the reflexivity. Similarly, the knowledge is as a result of interaction with the people around him, since reflexivity occurs mainly as a result of social interaction. The reflexivity of the manager in a contemporary organisation that the workers in that organisation will also develop transactive knowledge systems within their relevant subgroups. Therefore, the result will be the fact that the all the workers will adapt characteristics of reflexivity, such they also start questioning and this enhances their problem solving skills in the organisation.

Since reflexivity has the capability of enhancing the truth and transparency, the organisation that has managers that are characterised with reflexivity will be very transparent as well as enhance accountability. The fact that an organisation can develop aspect of truthful makes it very vital in daily operation of the organisation, the manager is able to make sure that all the operations are run with utmost transparency. Reflexivity also ensures that a manager can manage cultural difference in the organisation more effectively that that manager that doesn’t possess the aspects of reflexivity in his trait. The contemporary organisation is filled with diversity in terms of language, race, and culture making it necessary for the organisation to devise techniques that can manage diversity. Therefore, reflexivity has the capability of enhancing homogeneity, which implies that such manager is able to unite all the employees of the organisation despite the difference in culture. Contemporary organisation have been struggling with how to manage change in the organisation, and the only way that is can be achieved is when the organisation enhances that its managers have aspect of reflexivity either directly or indirectly. Reflexivity as discussed in the literature review and the case study, it is a concept that can be taught or be trained. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the organisation to train its management so as it can receive the numerous benefits that accrue organisation that have its managers embrace the concept of reflexivity, either in their character or in their means of operation.

Conclusion

The major limitation is on how the reflexivity can be instilled in managers either by training or taught (Gray, 2007). This is due to the fact that reflexivity is a social aspect, and ensuring that construction of knowledge that is enhanced through constant construction of social realities can be very difficult. The manager has to be reflex in order for him or her to be branded as a manager that that enhances reflexivity in the organisation, therefore identifying a manager that can best enhance the concept of reflexivity can be very difficult. The construct of knowledge is also very difficult to form as far as reflexivity is concerned.

It is therefore very necessary to group managers into groups while an organisation is considering training managers on reflexivity. The training can include reflective questioning so as to increase the cognitive complexity of the respective manager. The cognitive aspects that are associated with reflexivity are so complex, and this is due to the fact that that reflexivity is a form of knowledge construct. Organisations should therefore consider individuals that have high intellectual capability so as to make sure that training managers on reflexivity is simpler. Reflection of ideas, opinions, and challenges should be also be part and parcel of the organisations before making any decision, this will enhance the concept of reflexivity more easily (Cunliffe, and Jun, 2002).

Reflexivity of a manager in a contemporary organisation has been ascertained to be very important and critical in the organisation. Therefore, an integrated approach should be taken in ensuring that reflexivity is a concept that characterizes all the managers in the organisation (Cotter and Cullen, 2012). Reflexivity is about deep questioning, and this should be the norm in the organisation as it makes the managers more accountable and transparent. The managers can also share their deep thoughts with the organisations stakeholder, in addition the managers are able to explore epistemic limits by use of doubt processing heuristics. There is no doubt that reflexivity of a manager in the contemporary organisation is very vital in this modern times, and all the managers in all the departments within an organisation should be embrace reflexivity at all cost.