Suzanne Gagnon - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Suzanne Gagnon

The purpose of this paper is to argue that the concept of identity regulation has much to offer i... more The purpose of this paper is to argue that the concept of identity regulation has much to offer in understanding management and leadership development in corporate, multinational contexts, but is incomplete without accounting for insecurity, both material and symbolic , experienced by the participants. Thus the paper will work to fuse these two seminal ideas -identity regulation and the importance of insecurity in identity construction --through presenting findings of fieldwork in two contrasting international firms. The first, I argue, reflects a Darwinian model of management/leadership development; the second, a Creationist model. In each case, participants were carefully selected as future leaders of the firm and participated in an 'elite' months-long development program, while performing their regular jobs. Using an iterative research design that combined in-depth interviews with key informants and program participants (N=47) in both firms, observations of their joint working in strategic project groups, and careful examination of the literature, this study presents findings which: a) illustrate two models of identity regulation in practice, b) outline in detail the identity work that is done in these contexts --the 'selves' which are enacted, given the regulation, and c) suggest conclusions which have implications for the theorizing of identity dynamics and the importance of insecurity in the contemporary workplace.

Management Learning, 2008

Collinson's emphasis on insecurity within processes of identity construction, to unravel subjecti... more Collinson's emphasis on insecurity within processes of identity construction, to unravel subjectivities and the production of identity in two global, corporate management development programs. Drawing on interviews and observation in the settings, the article contrasts discursive practices in the two programs. It then examines the micro-processes of program participants' identity work in each context, using as a heuristic tool Collinson's theory of conforming, dramaturgical and resisting selves. Contributing to critical studies in management education, this framing draws attention to the dynamics of power in shaping identities within management development. The study suggests new notions of how identity regulation and insecurity interact, relating to two 'ideal types' or models of management development emerging in the fi eldwork. Key Words: critical management education; identity work; insecurity; management development; subjectivity Current scholarship in post-structuralist critical management studies examines how organizational discourse produces identities, rendering individuals as subjects. This interest has been less prominent within critical perspectives on management education, despite a seemingly natural connection, perhaps, between education and identity work. Exceptions include conceptual analyses of masculinity and the Master of Business Administration (MBA) , and the recent empirical study by that considers the interweaving of knowledge, emotion and identity within learning accounts of former MBA students. This article adds to empirical, learner-oriented investigations of identity construction through the analysis of corporate development programs for 'high-potential' managers in two contrasting fi rms. The study contributes to perspectives on management education that have explored the contradictions, inequalities and power relations belying the 'natural order' of organizational life in this fi eld (Cunliffe et al.

Employee Relations, 1996

... Suzanne Gagnon, Grant MacEwan College, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. ... This article argues tha... more ... Suzanne Gagnon, Grant MacEwan College, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. ... This article argues that the Conservative administration's programme to replace pay determination under the long-standing Whitley arrangements with an agency-based system has been neither as rapid ...

Human Resource Management Journal, 2006

Personnel review, 2006

... Suzanne Gagnon, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. ... The extension of pay devolut... more ... Suzanne Gagnon, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. ... The extension of pay devolution from large to all executive agencies in 1996 represented the abrupt termination of a Whitley model of centralised bargaining, based on around just half a dozen national ...

Building workplace equality: Ethics, …, 2002

... These have sometimes included relatively progressive actions or'positive action&... more ... These have sometimes included relatively progressive actions or'positive action', such as childcare facilities at work. ... tains some'family friendly'provisions such as parental Box 1.5 (a) Mapping the legal framework for facilitation of equality, diversity and inclusion in different ...

Human Resource Management …, 2000

T he primary focus of this article is a paradox fundamental to many approaches to workplace equal... more T he primary focus of this article is a paradox fundamental to many approaches to workplace equality: why do the traditionally disadvantaged so frequently feel that such actions do little to addres s the material reality of their experiences of discrimination, unfair treatment and marginalisation? Our interest here is not in those organisations that pay lip service to addressing inequality. Rather it concerns those employers who for the right reasons, such as being a genuinely good employer, valuing difference and seeing that equality is morally right, still fail to generate actually fair or `felt fair' equality.

Business Ethics: A European Review, 1999

In this paper we review recent UK literature on HRM and ethics and suggest that implicit in many ... more In this paper we review recent UK literature on HRM and ethics and suggest that implicit in many accounts is a perception of a ‘moral hole’ appearing within the employee relations landscape which is based on external, reflective observations of HRM policies and practices. We argue that the investigation of HRM and ethics could be broadened by locating HRM and ethics research more explicitly within the social and cultural realities of organizations and their employees. Finally, we outline and illustrate what a social constructivist approach might add to research in this field and how it might provide insights that help bridge the gap between theory and practice.

Business Ethics: A European Review, 2004