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- Publisher
- SAGE
- Copyright
- Copyright © 2019 by The Tavistock Institute
- ISSN
- 0018-7267
- eISSN
- 1741-282X
- DOI
- 10.1177/0018726714552287
- Publisher site
- See Article on Publisher Site
Abstract
This article first provides something of an informal narrative of my own academic career and suggests just what is idiosyncratic to that narrative and what seems to me to be rather general. This is followed by a swift look at ethnography as a social practice and some of its defining features highlighting the relatively recent burgeoning of ethnographic studies in organizational research. The following sections examine what I think are exemplary ethnographic career studies and just how these ethnographic studies have changed over time. The next section notes what seems to have not changed much over the years. I conclude by revisiting some of my introductory remarks on academic careers and the always provisional character of ethnographic studies. My normative argument is that while ethnographic work has contributed a great deal to our understanding of both occupational and organizational careers – then and now – such studies are too often overlooked by current variable and measurement-driven career researchers.
Journal
Human Relations – SAGE
Published: Dec 16, 2014
Keywords: career,career studies,ethnography,occupational communities,organization culture