Understanding Identity & Organizations

Andrea Whittle (BSc(Hons), PhD) is Professor of Management and Organization Studies at Newcastle University Business School. Before joining Newcastle University in 2013, she held a Chair in Organization Studies at Cardiff University. Andrea holds a first class honours degree in Natural Science from Durham University and gained her PhD in Sociology from Brunel University at the Centre for Research into Innovation, Culture and Technology (CRICT). After an ESRC funded post-doctoral research fellowship at Said Business School, University of Oxford, Andrea joined Cardiff University in 2004. Her research is driven by a passion for understanding the role of language in management settings and is informed by theories and methodologies from the fields of discourse analysis, narrative, discursive psychology, ethnography, ethnomethodology and conversation analysis. She has conducted research on management consultants, identity, branding, organizational change, technology and strategy. Her research has been published in leading journals, including Organization Studies, Human Relations, Management Communication Quarterly and Organization. She has also co-authored a SAGE textbook, with Kate Kenny and Hugh Willmott (2011) Understanding Identity and Organizations.

Electronic Inspection Copy available for instructorsAn understanding of identity is fundamental to a complete understanding of organizational life. While conventional management textbooks nod to in-groups, cohesion and discrimination, this text offers instead a deeper, more nuanced understanding of why people, groups and organizations behave the way they do.

Introduction to Understanding IdentityIntroduction Identity vs Personality Identity on the Management Agenda: A Brief History How Do Individual and Organizational Identities Interact? Introducing the Book Suggested ReadingTheoretical Perspectives on IdentityIntroduction Social Identity Theory (SIT) Psychoanalysis Foucauldian Perspective Symbolic Interactionism Narrative Approaches Micro-Interactional Approaches Application Exercise - The Case of Frances Conclusion Suggested Reading Sample Exam/Assignment QuestionsDiversity and IdentityIntroduction Identity as a Social Category Identity as a Process of Social Construction Conclusion Suggested Reading Sample Exam/Assignment QuestionsOccupational IdentitiesIntroduction The Meaning of Work Occupational Cultures and Boundaries Managerial Identities Professional Identities The Dirty, the Deviant and the Degrading Unpaid Work and Unemployment When I Grow Up I Want To Be ...ConclusionSuggested ReadingSample Exam/Assignment QuestionsIdentity and Organizational ControlOverview and Introduction Bringing Identity to Work Managing Culture Managing Identities Identification and Dis-identificationConclusionSuggested Reading Sample Exam/Assignment QuestionsOrganizational IdentityIntroduction Organizational Identity: What Is It and Why Does It Matter? Organizational Identity - Properties or Beliefs? Types of Organizational Identity Power in (and of) Organizational Identity Conclusion Suggested Reading Sample Exam/Assignment QuestionsVirtual IdentityOverview and Introduction Competing Perspectives: Technological Determinism and Social Constructionism New Connections and Identity: Online Communities Virtual Identity, Power and Control Teleworking and Identity Conclusion Suggested Reading Sample Exam/Assignment QuestionsThe Future of IdentityIntroduction Strong Attachments and Totalizing Workplaces? Weak Attachments and the ¿Flexible¿ Firm New Public Management Identity and the Global, Virtual Firm The Future of Diversity ConclusionSuggested Reading Glossary of Terms