A Comment on Gerunds: Realizing the Researcher’s Process...

Amy Russell, Texas State University Abstract This conceptual discussion briefly presents the unique process that classic grounded theory researchers may encounter when undertaking the analysis and interpretation elements of the research process. Grounded theory researchers may discover their own researcher gerunds, much like the naming of theoretical codes in grounded theory. The author formulates the researcher gerunds she experienced and presents these in the context of her dissertation study. Keywords: conceptual discussion, learning grounded theory, the new grounded theory researcher. Introduction Testing and questioning represent constant comparison in data analysis. The researcher may sometimes have self-doubt and may question his or her abstractions of the data. This self-doubt is better served through testing codes in constant comparison, and allowing said codes to emerge from the data. As I learned to trust myself as a new grounded theory researcher, testing as a learning action became requisite, since this led to revisiting data for constant comparison and checking for substantive coding, fit, and flexibility. Questioning and testing my conceptualizations ensured I would follow the outline for data analysis: (a) comparing incidents applicable to each category, (b) integrating categories with their properties, (c) delimiting the theory, and (d) writing the theory (Glaser & Strauss, 1967, p.105). Questioning and testing the fit and flexibility of codes, categories, and properties grounded my process of theory generation. Glaser (1978) believed that the researcher “should not be afraid of his own fear; for that itself may block the creative process” (p. 20). Embracing this fear and using it in the grounded theory process have been invaluable to me as a grounded theory researcher. Self-doubt in this learning process led to a more theoretical sensitivity and testing action, and as such relieved the fear that I would be unable to conceptualize the theoretical codes, which reflects the next section of the researcher gerunds of waiting and trusting. Waiting and Trusting Glaser (1978) stated generating grounded theory “takes time [and is a] delayed action phenomenon” (p. 18). Patience in the process is challenging, especially when excitement builds as codes emerge. The researcher must trust in emergence, whether discovering a category or naming a theoretical code. Trust requires waiting for emergence. There is nothing passive in waiting and trusting because the researcher is constantly thinking about the data. As memoing occurred and links made between codes and basic social processes, three epiphanies would then come that would finally turn the coding toward a more fitting direction. Glaser (1978) stated that this self-pacing recipe forces patience. Waiting and trusting also involve relinquishing control; the researcher has no control over the data or the direction the discovery takes. Reflexing and Owning Reflexing and owning required insight and accountability in my previous practice experiences and studies. For social workers, previous practice experience presents a unique issue when doing grounded theory. Reflexivity, a feminist concept, means that a person must reflect on contexts of past experiences (Hurd, 1998). As a community mental health worker in the field nearly ten years, I pride myself on the ability to assess severe and persistent mental illness, which I found myself doing in one interview. I recovered quickly when I recognized this behavior and returned to the method. It is no accident that classic grounded theory is very forgiving because details are inconsequential. The researcher simply abstracts data to find deeper meaning. This event was a very powerful and liberating realization. The simple awareness of what was occurring helped me redirect my energies back into conceptualizing theory....

Discovering Glaser: My Experience of Doing Grounded Theory...

Lesley Margaret Piko, Australian National University Abstract For my investigation into how general practitioners (GPs) experience their medical careers, I used a grounded theory methodology based on the early work of Glaser and Strauss (1967) and Glaser’s subsequent work (Glaser, 1978, 1998). Glaser (1998) suggested you need to do grounded theory in order to understand the methodology. I found as I engaged in the process I began to understand the meaning of Glaser’s teachings and to discover Glaser. In this article, I share my experience of discovering my theory of optimising professional life. This theory explains how GPs develop their professional life in response to their need for sustainment—a need that encapsulates self-care to sustain wellbeing, work interest to sustain motivation and income to sustain lifestyle. Keywords: Career development, sustainment, optimising professional life, general practitioners, grounded theory. Introduction Glaser (1998) suggested you need to conduct grounded theory (GT) in order to understand the methodology. I found that as I engaged in the process, I began to understand the meaning of Glaser’s teachings and to discover Glaser. In this article I share my experience of how I discovered a new career development theory, the theory of optimising professional life. This theory explains how general practitioners (GPs) develop their professional life in response to their need for sustainment—need that encapsulates self-care to sustain well-being, work interest to sustain motivation and income to sustain lifestyle. I used GT based on the early work of Glaser and Strauss (1967) and Glaser’s subsequent works (Glaser, 1978, 1998). Sampling My early sampling was based on a perspective of GP careers, beginning with young GPs, to hear about the formative years of medical life. I then interviewed experienced and mid-career doctors working in different professional roles and locations. Their need to self-care, be interested in their work, and earn income emerged as catalysts for career events. Guided by Glaser’s writings, I used a sample of GPs for career events that added to the properties and dimensions of these concepts. The sampling continued until similar incidents were repeated and no new concepts were emerging from which I concluded a category was saturated and sampling for that concept could stop. Data Collection Sampling and data collection for this study occurred through interviews with thirty GPs and seven managers of general practice businesses. For each doctor I interviewed, I also explored public information from websites, publications, government registration, biographies, Google searches, and conference proceedings. Any information that supported or contradicted a participant‘s account was noted, for further analysis. Data were collected over several months. Six study participants had second interviews and one GP also has a third interview. Throughout this data collection process, I was concerned with keeping the interview conversation open and guided by the participant (as required by Glaser’s teachings), and wanting to capture depth and consistency in the data. I managed to ease the concern through developing of an interview guide that served as a prompt. I wanted to collect sufficient data to compare what GPs said and to explore new lines of enquiry. This guide was a useful tool that ensured I followed Glaser’s research method appropriately. I would begin each interview with an open question so that issues were allowed to emerge more freely. Subsequent data collection was informed by these issues. Typically, the first question was as follows: Could you tell me about your work history since graduating in medicine? Other open questions I used were as follows: Tell me about your life...

Applying the Theory of Optimising Professional Life...

Lesley Margaret Piko, Australian National University Abstract Glaser (2014) wrote that “the application of grounded theory (GT) is a relatively neglected topic” (p. 1) in the literature. Applying GT to purposely intervene and improve a situation is an important adjunct to our knowledge and understanding of GT. A recent workshop of family doctors and general practitioners provides a useful example. The theory of optimising professional life explains that doctors are concerned about sustainment in their career and, to resolve this concern, they implement solutions to optimise their personal situation. Sustainment is a new, overarching concept of three needs: the need for self-care to sustain well-being, the need for work interest to sustain motivation, and the need for income to sustain lifestyle. The objective of the workshop was to empower doctors to reinvent their careers using this theory. Working individually and in small groups, participants were able to analyse a problem and to identify potential solutions. Keywords: Career development, sustainment, optimising professional life, general practitioners, grounded theory. Introduction Glaser (2014) pointed out that “the application of grounded theory (GT) is a relatively neglected topic” (p. 1) in the literature. At the 2014 Wonca Europe conference of family doctors and general practitioners (GPs), I conducted a workshop with three colleagues that applied my theory of optimising professional life. The objective was to empower doctors to reinvent their careers. I found that this theory and its concepts resonated with workshop participants. Working in small groups, they were able to analyse a problem which individuals in the group were experiencing and to identify strategies that could assist them. The Theory The workshop was based on my research, for a Doctor of Philosophy thesis, that investigated how Australian GPs experience their careers and participate in primary health care. For my study, I used GT based on the early work of Glaser and Strauss (1967) and Glaser’s subsequent works (Glaser, 1978,1998). I collected data from 37 study participants. The emergent theory of optimising professional life explains that experienced GPs are concerned about sustainment in their career and, to resolve this concern, they implement solutions to optimise their personal situation. Sustainment is a new, overarching concept of the three needs that GPs have to sustain and grow their careers: the need for self care to sustain well-being, the need for work interest to sustain motivation and the need for income to sustain lifestyle. Optimising involves assessing alternatives and choosing the best—after taking into account the particular set of circumstances and the constraints involved. GPs find these alternatives in four main areas: in treating patients, in structuring the workday, in integrating work and personal life, and in adapting oneself. Firstly, treating patients refers to the work content—how that work is done and the type of clinical work. Secondly, structuring the workday refers to the administrative progress of the day—the mix of roles, place of work, timing of appointments, deadlines and so on. Thirdly, integrating work and personal life relates to how seamlessly doctors can bring these two life roles together. Finally, adapting oneself involves building ones skills and resilience, or perhaps changing one’s perception of what is needed. This new career development theory explains the trade-offs GPs make between competing needs to optimise their personal situation and the constraints involved. In doing this GPs can change the focus of their clinical work, re-structure their day-to-day working life, improve how they integrate work-life balance, and enhance their skills and personal capacity. The Workshop Whilst coming from different generations...

Goal-oriented Balancing: a New Model of Contemporary Sales Management...

Lars-Johan Åge, Stockholm School of Economics Abstract This study focuses on the substantive area of sales management and it suggests that the main concern of a sales manager is to reach the sales and economical goals of the sales organization. The social process by which this main concern is resolved is called goal-oriented balancing and it describes two complementary organizational dimensions, frame development and individual development that are continuously balanced against each other. That is, the sales manager must establish effective organizational processes and structures as well as find the keys to maximum individual performance. These two processes have to be in balance and supportive of each other. Introduction A sales manager’s responsibilities include assigning territories, mentoring team members, assigning training, and building a plan. Managers are often involved in hiring and firing and have to determine sales force effectiveness. They also have to determine sales force effectiveness by continually assessing how well members of the sales organization perform. These evaluations provide a basis for rewards, but they also generate feedback that can be used to improve the overall sales management process. The aim of this grounded theory study is to produce a theory that explains the main concern of sales managers and how the population resolves that main concern. Data was collected for this study from 27 interviews in 13 different companies that were regarded as very effective sales organizations. The first eight companies were nominated as “best sales organization” in Sweden 2011 by Weekly Business (in Swedish: Veckans Affärer), a leading periodical. The other five were chosen based on snowball technique and were recommended by the respondents in the first sample. Data were primarily collected from interviews, each of which lasted approximately 1-2 hours. The respondents were sales managers or directors. The criterion for choosing respondents was that they should have responsibility for the whole sales organization. Therefore, middle sales managers were not included. The author conducted the interviews at the respondents’ organization. Leading questions were avoided during the interviews; rather, interviewees were asked to respond freely to general open-ended questions about the challenges and difficulties they experienced during these management processes. According to Glaser (1978), such an attitude of “openness”(p. 44) is crucial for developing the emerging theory. Finally, existing categories were allowed to guide the interviews to some extent. The interviews were audio-recoded and notes were taken. Extant Literature Within the extant sales literature, researchers have often considered the characteristics of the salesperson as the main predictor of sales performance and sales effectiveness (Babakus, Cravens, Grant, Ingram, & LaForge, 1996). Two of the most well known efforts are the models presented by Walker, Churchill, and Ford (1977) and Weitz (1979, 1981). However, these studies resulted in a lack of “adequate explanation of observed inconsistencies” (Churchill, Ford, Hartley, & Walker, 1985, p. 103); in the 1980s, researchers started to focus on sales management practices as determinants of salespersons’ performance and sales organization effectiveness. To understand these managerial factors, three different and rather disconnected areas of research emerged around the themes of motivation, control systems, and compensation plans (Brown, Evans, Mantrala & Challagalla, 2005). Sales force motivation research is based on psychological theories and emphasizes personal characteristics and perceptions as determinants of individual performance (Vinchur, Schippmann, Switzer, & Roth, 1998; Brown & Peterson, 1994; Bagozzi, 1980; Brown, Cron, & Slocum, 1998). The literature involving control systems has mainly focused on metrics and monitoring, and draws on management and organizational theories (Anderson & Oliver, 1987; Oliver & Andersson,...

Systematic Avocating

Jan Green and Ben Binsardi, Glyndŵr University, Wrexham Abstract Feeling obliged to undertake complex research tasks outside core working hours is a common occurrence in academia. Detailed and timely research projects are expected; the creation and defence of sufficient intervals within a crowded working schedule is one concern explored in this short version paper. Merely working longer hours fails to provide a satisfactory solution for individuals experiencing concerns of this nature. Personal effort and drive are utilised and requires the application of mental mustering and systematic procedures. The attitude to research work is treating the task as a hobby conceptualised as avocating. Whilst this provides a personal solution through immersion in the task, this approach should raise concerns for employers. The flexibility of grounded theory is evident and the freedom to draw on various bodies of knowledge provides fresh insight into a problem that occurs in organizations in many sectors experiencing multiple priorities. The application of the core category, systematic avocating, may prove beneficial. Keywords: avocating, flow, personal drive, time management, support mechanisms. Introduction Sources of motivation, individual engagement and work/life balance strategies within the workplace are topics that have been subject to extensive scrutiny by researchers since Maslow’s work in the 1940s. In contrast, limited attention has been given to behaviours of highly engaged and motivated individuals who are accomplished performers and strive to complete complex, time-consuming tasks in addition to a busy core role. Personal development and achieving career aspirations are the most frequently cited individual rationales for undertaking additional tasks within the work place. Evidence of working on supplementary tasks in business departments of academic institutions is widespread where there is an expectation to undertake research and publish the results within specific timeframes. This work contributes towards the Research Excellence Framework (www.ref.ac.uk) in the UK, the system for assessing research, which determines public funding and affect the reputation of universities. The scope and focus of this discussion paper is limited to this specific example. However the theory generated is readily transferable to other sectors and roles where research and undertaking additional projects are requirements, as the concerns and their resolution are of a similar nature and indicate the theory is modifiable to fit other circumstances. The theoretical proposition is that the accomplished performer draws on less visible and less documented support mechanisms and interpretations of work when undertaking additional tasks having close links with the way in which hobbies are addressed. How support is sourced and utilised may be complex, intermittent and varied. The aim of this study is to reveal the behaviours that contribute towards a solution, for individuals striving to fulfil additional strata of work and, is based on a general problem area (Glaser & Strauss, 1967). It is anticipated that the grounded theory will provide additional insight into this issue for academics and practitioners to support not only their own future endeavours but also those of colleagues and managers requesting extra effort and task completion from staff. “In the absence of clear-cut procedures and definitions,” (Glaser & Strauss, 1967, p.1) which effectively address the issues of work-place fatigue and complex endeavours, there is a clear research gap that warrants attention to provide a useable theory with practitioner understanding. Data were gathered from a sample of research active academics employed in business and management departments to ensure potential respondents have first-hand experience of the specific problem. The format of the data collection consisted initially of “open-ended conversations during which the respondents are allowed to...