Get 20M+ Full-Text Papers For Less Than $1.50/day. Start a 14-Day Trial for You or Your Team.

Learn More →

The making of inclusion as structuration: empirical evidence of a multinational company

The making of inclusion as structuration: empirical evidence of a multinational company Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to theoretically and empirically analyse the question how organizations become inclusive – with special regard to migrants – and the potential limits to inclusion. Design/methodology/approach – The paper develops a theoretical framework based on Giddens’ structuration theory. By a firm‐level case study, the paper empirically examines the theoretical propositions. Findings – The paper proposes that inclusion bears specific kinds of the structural dimensions signification, domination and legitimation on which organizational actors draw to reproduce the inclusive organization. The empirical case reveals three areas of organizational practices – personnel recruitment and selection; training and development; meals and parties – in the making of inclusion. But the interplay of specific rules and resources also contains social practices of differentiation and hierarchization that limit inclusion. Research limitations/implications – Future studies would benefit from considering additional socio‐demographic characteristics and intersectionalities. An ethnographic approach on the basis of participant observation is also recommendable. A longitudinal empirical design focusing on causal relationships would expand the papers descriptive approach. Practical implications – The findings suggest that organizational actors can shape the structural dimensions corresponding to an inclusive organization by acting themselves accordingly and inciting others to do so. They should be aware of processes of differentiation and hierarchization that go along with practices of inclusion. Originality/value – Applying key arguments of structuration theory, the paper develops a comprehensive framework that considers corresponding rules and resources in detail. The empirical case study demonstrates the fruitfulness of the theoretical framework and reveals the ambivalence of organizational practices that promote inclusion. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal Emerald Publishing

The making of inclusion as structuration: empirical evidence of a multinational company

Download PDF
14 pages

Loading next page...
 
/lp/emerald-publishing/the-making-of-inclusion-as-structuration-empirical-evidence-of-a-LsjM5lHvpm
Publisher
Emerald Publishing
Copyright
Copyright © 2014 Emerald Group Publishing Limited. All rights reserved.
ISSN
2040-7149
DOI
10.1108/EDI-06-2012-0052
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to theoretically and empirically analyse the question how organizations become inclusive – with special regard to migrants – and the potential limits to inclusion. Design/methodology/approach – The paper develops a theoretical framework based on Giddens’ structuration theory. By a firm‐level case study, the paper empirically examines the theoretical propositions. Findings – The paper proposes that inclusion bears specific kinds of the structural dimensions signification, domination and legitimation on which organizational actors draw to reproduce the inclusive organization. The empirical case reveals three areas of organizational practices – personnel recruitment and selection; training and development; meals and parties – in the making of inclusion. But the interplay of specific rules and resources also contains social practices of differentiation and hierarchization that limit inclusion. Research limitations/implications – Future studies would benefit from considering additional socio‐demographic characteristics and intersectionalities. An ethnographic approach on the basis of participant observation is also recommendable. A longitudinal empirical design focusing on causal relationships would expand the papers descriptive approach. Practical implications – The findings suggest that organizational actors can shape the structural dimensions corresponding to an inclusive organization by acting themselves accordingly and inciting others to do so. They should be aware of processes of differentiation and hierarchization that go along with practices of inclusion. Originality/value – Applying key arguments of structuration theory, the paper develops a comprehensive framework that considers corresponding rules and resources in detail. The empirical case study demonstrates the fruitfulness of the theoretical framework and reveals the ambivalence of organizational practices that promote inclusion.

Journal

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal – Emerald Publishing

Published: Mar 11, 2014

Keywords: Ethnic minorities; Qualitative research; Inclusion; Migrants; Structuration theory

References

  • On the idea of emancipation in management and organization studies
    Alvesson, M.; Willmott, H.
  • Diversity und Diversity Management in Berliner Unternehmen. Im Fokus: Personen mit Migrationshintergrund. Ergebnisse einer quantitativen und qualitativen empirischen Studie (Diversity and Diversity Management in Berlin Companies – Focused on Persons with a Migration Background. Results of a Quantitative and Qualitative Empirical Study)
    Anders, V.; Ortlieb, R.; Pantelmann, H.; Reim, D.; Sieben, B.; Stein, S.
  • Breaking barriers and creating inclusiveness: lessons of organizational transformation to advance women faculty in academic science and engineering
    Bilimoria, D.; Joy, S.; Liang, X.
  • Paradoxes of intersectionality: theorizing inequality in the Dutch police force through structure and agency
    Boogaard, B.; Roggeband, C.
  • The Sage Handbook of Grounded Theory
    Bryant, A.; Charmaz, K.C.
  • Anthony Giddens: Consensus and Controversy
    Clark, J.; Mogdil, C.; Mogdil, S.
  • Anthony Giddens
    Craib, I.
  • Earnings assimilation of immigrants in Germany: the importance of heterogeneity and attrition bias
    Fertig, M.; Schurer, S.
  • The Constitution of Society. Outline of the Theory of Structuration
    Giddens, A.
  • Organizing migrant workers: a case study of working conditions and unionization in a London sandwich factory
    Holgate, J.
  • Creating and sustaining diversity and inclusion in organizations: strategies and approaches
    Holvino, E.; Ferdman, B.M.; Merrill‐Sands, D.
  • What makes an organization inclusive? Organizational practices favouring the relational inclusion of ethnic minorities in operative jobs
    Janssens, M.; Zanoni, P.
  • The case of vanishing borders: theorizing diversity management as internal border control
    Kalonaityte, V.
  • Ethnic minority women: a lost voice in HRM
    Kamenou, N.; Fearful, A.
  • Beyond affirmative action: toward a model of diversity and organizational inclusion
    Mor Barak, M.E.
  • International Migration Outlook 2012
    OECD
  • The dynamics of employee relationships in an ethnically diverse workforce
    Ogbonna, E.; Harris, L.C.
  • Migrant employees in Germany: personnel structures and practices
    Ortlieb, R.; Sieben, B.
  • Employment strategies and business logic: why do companies employ ethnic minorities?
    Ortlieb, R.; Sieben, B.
  • The Protestant ethic and the myths of the frontier: cultural imprints, organizational structuring, and workplace diversity
    Prasad, P.
  • Race and ethnicity in organizations
    Proudford, K.L.; Nkomo, S.M.
  • Disentangling the meanings of diversity and inclusion in organizations
    Roberson, Q.M.
  • Ethnic group differences in measures of job performance: a new meta‐analysis
    Roth, P.L.; Huffcutt, A.I.; Bobko, P.
  • How do we justify knowledge produced within interpretive approaches?
    Sandberg, J.
  • Inclusion and diversity in work groups: a review and model for future research
    Shore, L.M.; Randel, A.E.; Chung, B.G.; Dean, M.A.; Ehrhart, K.H.; Singh, G.
  • The jobs immigrants do: issues of displacement and marginalisation in the Irish labour market
    Turner, T.
  • Case Study Research, Design and Methods
    Yin, R.K.
  • Deconstructing difference: the rhetorics of HR managers’ diversity discourses
    Zanoni, P.; Janssens, M.
  • Minority employees. Engaging with (diversity) management: an analysis of control, agency, and micro‐emancipation
    Zanoni, P.; Janssens, M.