Leigh, J.T. (2017) Recalcitrance, compliance and the presentation of self: Exploring the concept of organisational misbehaviour in an English local authority child protection service. Children and Youth Services Review, 79. pp. 612-619. ISSN 0190-7409
Abstract
This article examines how social workers reinterpreted certain legal requirements to meet their organisation's performance targets. Using an ethnographic approach, I combine organisational misbehaviour theory and Goffmanesque conceptions of dramaturgy to explore the regional activity of one team in a statutory agency. I argue that singly neither misbehaviour theory nor dramaturgical performances account for our understanding of why workers respond differently to organisational changes in a neo-liberalist environment. This study differs from current literature by shifting emphasis away from workers either resisting or conforming with organisational directives on to the ways in which individuals and collectives devise methods which instead give the appearance of co-operation. I demonstrate how workers disguised their resistance in an attempt to achieve potentially unachievable objectives and in turn avoid disciplinary action. I conclude by suggesting that applying Goffman to studies of organisation can advance scholars' understanding of how certain individuals respond to change and might come to be defined as loyal and compliant. This approach can also encourage discussions relating to the concept of recalcitrance and whether it is developed, and enforced, by those in powerful positions on the basis of their own desire to be well regarded by others.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2017 Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an author produced version of a paper subsequently published in Children and Youth Services Review. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. Article available under the terms of the CC-BY-NC-ND licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/) |
Keywords: | Goffman; organisational misbehaviour; recalcitrance; compliance; ethnography; social work |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Social Sciences (Sheffield) > Department of Sociological Studies (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 21 Jul 2017 13:00 |
Last Modified: | 21 Jan 2019 01:39 |
Published Version: | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2017.07.016 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Elsevier |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1016/j.childyouth.2017.07.016 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:119323 |
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Filename: Leigh, J - Recalcitrance compliance and the presentation of self - AFC 2017-07-20.pdf
Licence: CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0