Ann Cunliffe - IAM 2013 - Reflexive Practice

Ann Cunliffe - IAM 2013 - Reflexive Practice

• 1.
  Leeds University BusinessSchool REFLEXIVE PRACTICE: INTEGRATING SELF, SCHOLARSHIP AND LEARNING Ann L. Cunliffe Professor of Organization Studies
• 2.
  Integrating Communities ofLearning and Practice How might we ‘practice’ in more thoughtful ways and ‘theorise’ in more relevant ways? Irish Academy of Management ALC 2013
• 3.
  Theory “…is a statementof concepts and their interrelationships that shows how and/or why a phenomenon occurs.” (Corley & Gioia, 2011: 12) Practice Activities, behaviours and interactions oriented to particular goals, utilizing specific methods, processes and/or tools, and providing an identity. (Sandberg & Tsoukas, 2011: 343) Irish Academy of Management ALC 2013
• 4.
  A Widening Gap? Theoriginal passion for social justice, economic equality, human rights, sustainable environment, political freedom or simply a better world, that drew so many of us to sociology, is channeled into the pursuit of academic credentials. (Michael Burawoy, 2005: 5). Irish Academy of Management ALC 2013
• 5.
  Integrating Theory, Practice andLearning • Impact case studies. • Engaged scholarship (Van de Ven, 2007) • Insider/outsider research teams (Bartunek & Reis, 1996) • Action research/action learning (Reason & Bradbury, 2001) • Co-produced research (e.g., Marcos & Denyer, 2012) • Reflective practice (Kolb, 1975; Schön 1983) • Reflexive practice (Cunliffe, 2004, 2013) Irish Academy of Management ALC 2013
• 6.
  Reflective and ReflexivePractice Are not the same…. Reflection ‘on’: A stepping back - a rational and reasoning being with an inner consciousness, making logical sense of an outside world. Reflexivity ‘in’: A living in – we are always selves-in-relation-toothers, both shaping/shaped by our social world. Irish Academy of Management ALC 2013
• 7.
  Reflection “Active, persistent, and carefulconsideration of any belief or supposed form of knowledge in the light of the grounds that support it, and the further conclusions to which it tends.” Steve Franks (Dewey, 1997: 6) Irish Academy of Management ALC 2013
• 8.
  Reflexive Practice Questioning therelationship between ourselves and others: how we see the world, our assumptions/what we take for granted and the impact, our responsibility for ‘constructing’ life/self/social (Cunliffe, 2009) Irish Academy of Management ALC 2013
• 9.
  Reflective or Reflexive? Comparisonto preestablished categories/theories/model s. Application of theories, models and methods to experience, without question. Coming to a common understanding of a pre-established view. Irish Academy of Management Questioning taken-forgranted theories, practices and policies. Asking what is said and not said. Accepting that there are different perspectives. ALC 2013
• 10.
  Reflexive Practice andSelf “The basic practical-moral problem in life is not what to do but [who to be]” (Shotter & Cunliffe, 2002) “Managing is therefore about who we are, because our actions, our ways of making sense and shaping our world are not separate from us, they do not stem from a detached knowledge of the world, but are intimately linked to who we are, what we feel and say, and how we engage with our surroundings.” (Cunliffe, 2013) Irish Academy of Management ALC 2013
• 11.
  Critically-Reflexive Practice  Examineassumptions that there is a rational way of managing organizations.  Question what is being taken for granted.  Examine ‘normal’ strategies, policies, programs and organizational practices  Recognize the need to encourage and discuss competing interests in decision making processes.  Encourage organizational members to question assumptions and actions and their impact on the organization and the community at large.  Engage in dialogue that is critical and open. Irish Academy of Management ALC 2013
• 12.
  Self Reflexivity … explorehow we create understandings from within our ongoing, shared, dialogical relationships.  Participants are embodied, culturally-grounded with embedded views and presuppositions.  Recognize the many voices active in shaping meaning.  That we are actively, spontaneously and momentarily engaged – in liminal space - in the process of imagining ‘realities’.  Think about our truth claims and ‘methods’ Irish Academy of Management ALC 2013
• 13.
  Reflexive Practice: ‘practicing’in more thoughtful ways and ‘theorising’ in more relevant ways…. Understanding: ‘practice’ – who we are in the world and our responsibilities for acting and relating with others. ‘theory’ – embedded ways of making life sensible (Cunliffe, 2013), practical theories, action-guiding anticipatory understandings (Shotter, 2008). Understanding Relating Noticing Irish Academy of Management ALC 2013