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Changing minds : subjectivity, trust and change in British manufacturing
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O'Mahoney, Joseph K. (2000) Changing minds : subjectivity, trust and change in British manufacturing. PhD thesis, University of Warwick.
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Official URL: http://webcat.warwick.ac.uk/record=b1372171~S1
Abstract
This thesis attempts to provide an explanation of how changes to
subjectivity occur in TQM change programmes. Through an examination of
the TQM and management of change literature, the thesis argues that existing
analyses are limited in their presentation of changes to subjectivity by their
dependence upon either neo-Marxist or postmodernist thought. Using three
medium-sized, privately-owned manufacturing plants in the West Midlands
the thesis uses grounded theory and phenomenological methodologies to
construct a theory which explains how changes in subjectivity occur. The
theory that is developed uses a combination of structuration theory and
existentialist philosophy to understand how trust, distrust and angst mediate
structural forces, organisational conditions and employee subjectivity.
There could be several implications of this framework, but three are
stressed. First, it is argued that habit, in the form of trust and distrust, allows a
modelling of workers that is neither under- nor over-socialised. Second, it is
argued that the traditional distinction made between attitudes and behaviours
is unnecessary in a processual study. The distinction hampers our
understanding of how change works in practice. This argument raises serious
questions regarding the validity of notions such as 'acting out'. Thirdly, and
consequently, the thesis argues that researchers' methodologies need to be
much more sensitive to hard-to-measure intangibles than many are at present.
Item Type: | Thesis (PhD) | ||||
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Subjects: | H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor | ||||
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): | Total quality management, Organizational change, Manufacturing industries -- Great Britain -- West Midlands -- Case studies | ||||
Official Date: | September 2000 | ||||
Dates: |
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Institution: | University of Warwick | ||||
Theses Department: | Warwick Business School | ||||
Thesis Type: | PhD | ||||
Publication Status: | Unpublished | ||||
Supervisor(s)/Advisor: | Edwards, Paul | ||||
Sponsors: | Economic and Social Research Council (Great Britain) (ESRC) | ||||
Extent: | vi, 306 leaves | ||||
Language: | eng |
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