Ralph Bathurst | Massey University (original) (raw)
Papers by Ralph Bathurst
Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 2011
ABSTRACTThe debate concerning corporate social responsibility (CSR) is shifting from public relat... more ABSTRACTThe debate concerning corporate social responsibility (CSR) is shifting from public relations, reputation management, and cause marketing to issues of competitive advantage and good corporate governance. The need for and benefits of proactive and transparent communication about CSR are widely acknowledged. This study uses the case study approach to examine the practice and communication of CSR in emerging economies with a focus on India. This empirical study analyses the CSR and governance themes of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), the largest private company from India for CSR communication. The study finds that the company lacks an inclusive and strategic approach to CSR communication. Based on the findings, we develop a participatory ‘top‐down’ and ‘inside‐out’ approach to management of CSR communication by corporates in emerging economies in Asia. Despite some limitations, this study is expected to serve as a pointer to the effectiveness of CSR communication by the Ind...
Leadership, Apr 25, 2023
In this essay I explore two leaders: the composer Igor Stravinsky (1882–1971) and United States o... more In this essay I explore two leaders: the composer Igor Stravinsky (1882–1971) and United States of America Senator Joshua Hawley (b. 1979). These two offer an opportunity to re-describe leadership as an acoustic art thereby enriching the field beyond its current ocular orientation. Through this discussion, then, I invite readers into the world of music. The year 2021 marked the 50th anniversary of Stravinsky’s death, and in that same year, Hawley came to international fame through the 6 January invasion of the United States Capitol building by people protesting the confirmation of Joe Biden as the 46th President. I offer a polyphonic analysis of Hawley and Stravinsky by operationalizing the music construct of tonal pairing which allows two tonalities to play together. I conclude the essay by noting the ubiquity of Manicheanism, a belief system that affords leaders an ability to characterize opponents as being evil. I mitigate this deleterious system by proposing that symphonic leadership calls for diversity and difference. Leadership as an acoustic art has implications for understanding the current war in Ukraine and China’s role on the international stage, including her relationship with the United States of America.
Journal of Management Inquiry, Jul 26, 2010
Our article defines myth as “ideology in narrative form” and explores the role of myth in an orga... more Our article defines myth as “ideology in narrative form” and explores the role of myth in an organizational change story. Following Roland Barthes we show that when word meaning shifts from first- to second-order semiology the myth that develops within the second-order semiology of a discourse may become a determinant of change outcomes. Here we tell a story of a symphony orchestra that operated as a self-governing co-operative for its first 25 years but, influenced by the storying of second-order semiology, it undertook a radical change: it adopted a corporate style of governance. We explore this change as an example of a restructuring that was assumed to be managed rationally but was in part mythologically driven.
Paper presented at the Conference of Practical Criticism in the Managerial Social Sciences, Leice... more Paper presented at the Conference of Practical Criticism in the Managerial Social Sciences, Leicester University Management School, January 15th-17th, 2008. Mary Parker Follett wrote on business administration almost a century ago. Leading management scholars today generally agree that although often invoked and lauded her work has never been widely read or discussed. Our paper argues that it should be. Our close reading of ‘The Essentials of Leadership’ demonstrates that Follett’s ideas about leadership are not only seminal to current leadership theory, but are also more complex than readings to date have acknowledged. Follett argues that the primary responsibility of leadership is to discover the sense-making thread that structures understanding of the ‘total situation’, establish the ‘common purpose’ that emerges from this, and by leading, ‘anticipating’, make the next situation. But paradoxically, because time ensures that the situation is always transitory, it is always finally...
Social Science Research Network, 2007
When Steve’s email arrived inviting me to participate in the performance of Through the Reading G... more When Steve’s email arrived inviting me to participate in the performance of Through the Reading Glasses at the forthcoming Art of Management and Organization Conference in Copenhagen (August 2014) I was both flattered and frightened. I am familiar with Steve’s work, having mounted his play Ties That Bind here in Auckland, and acted in the play Cow Going Abstract at the Banff AoMO Conference in 2010. Although performer at heart, and always ready for an opportunity, I doubted if I had the emotional energy to put into preparing for this production.
Unique situation in NZ: in the wake of the 1988 Cartwright Inquiry (extreme abuse of medical powe... more Unique situation in NZ: in the wake of the 1988 Cartwright Inquiry (extreme abuse of medical power in research), 50% of committee composition is lay. Keep in check researcher and institutional power Also, power to the “ordinary New Zealander” (layperson) This research project: experiences of lay members (so, internal to committee process) Across five ethics committees in NZ, lay members are empowered, fully valued members In sharp contrast to the North American experience: limited grammarian roles and often alienated, if not intimidated in cttee Yet, ambiguity of lay role, particularly in tertiary committees: who is a ‘lay’ person? (on Health and Disability Ethics Committees [HDECs], clearer: ‘non-medical’). What or whom do they represent in tertiary contexts
Handbook of Research on Leadership and Creativity
International Journal of Corporate Social Responsibility, 2018
CSR, Sustainability, and Leadership, 2017
Leadership, 2016
This article has been crafted to evoke the sound of leadership. It represents the hum and sigh an... more This article has been crafted to evoke the sound of leadership. It represents the hum and sigh and pounding of leadership as it appeared, disappeared and reappeared each time looking and sounding different in an extraordinary undertaking where senior citizens, many with no acting experience performed T. S. Eliot’s The Waste Land. The metaphor of a hunt and an episodic form represents our experience and we have sought to suggest sound by using principles of montage, Gestalt theory, and the poetic devise of enjambment that leave one reaching after meaning rather than being comforted by end points. This article represents research that we very nearly abandoned, because it simply did not ring true when we wrote in conventional ways. As a result, we advocate different ways of writing not only because we love good writing but because for us, different writing was the only way that we could do justice to this story.
Leadership and the Humanities, 2016
Organizational Aesthetics, 2014
Leadership, 2016
This paper takes Mary Parker Follett's ideas of power-with and explores them within a contemp... more This paper takes Mary Parker Follett's ideas of power-with and explores them within a contemporary context. Three illustrative case studies from a technology company, innovative manufacturer, and nuclear submarine are offered as ways of exploring the phenomenon. We find that in spite of being hailed for their revolutionary management styles, power-with is still challenging to operationalize especially given the tendency and culturally prevalent expectations to revert to hierarchical, leader-centric forms of guiding organizations. We propose a way forward based on power-with practices which organizations may adopt.
Organizational Aesthetics, 2012
Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 2011
ABSTRACTThe debate concerning corporate social responsibility (CSR) is shifting from public relat... more ABSTRACTThe debate concerning corporate social responsibility (CSR) is shifting from public relations, reputation management, and cause marketing to issues of competitive advantage and good corporate governance. The need for and benefits of proactive and transparent communication about CSR are widely acknowledged. This study uses the case study approach to examine the practice and communication of CSR in emerging economies with a focus on India. This empirical study analyses the CSR and governance themes of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), the largest private company from India for CSR communication. The study finds that the company lacks an inclusive and strategic approach to CSR communication. Based on the findings, we develop a participatory ‘top‐down’ and ‘inside‐out’ approach to management of CSR communication by corporates in emerging economies in Asia. Despite some limitations, this study is expected to serve as a pointer to the effectiveness of CSR communication by the Ind...
Leadership, Apr 25, 2023
In this essay I explore two leaders: the composer Igor Stravinsky (1882–1971) and United States o... more In this essay I explore two leaders: the composer Igor Stravinsky (1882–1971) and United States of America Senator Joshua Hawley (b. 1979). These two offer an opportunity to re-describe leadership as an acoustic art thereby enriching the field beyond its current ocular orientation. Through this discussion, then, I invite readers into the world of music. The year 2021 marked the 50th anniversary of Stravinsky’s death, and in that same year, Hawley came to international fame through the 6 January invasion of the United States Capitol building by people protesting the confirmation of Joe Biden as the 46th President. I offer a polyphonic analysis of Hawley and Stravinsky by operationalizing the music construct of tonal pairing which allows two tonalities to play together. I conclude the essay by noting the ubiquity of Manicheanism, a belief system that affords leaders an ability to characterize opponents as being evil. I mitigate this deleterious system by proposing that symphonic leadership calls for diversity and difference. Leadership as an acoustic art has implications for understanding the current war in Ukraine and China’s role on the international stage, including her relationship with the United States of America.
Journal of Management Inquiry, Jul 26, 2010
Our article defines myth as “ideology in narrative form” and explores the role of myth in an orga... more Our article defines myth as “ideology in narrative form” and explores the role of myth in an organizational change story. Following Roland Barthes we show that when word meaning shifts from first- to second-order semiology the myth that develops within the second-order semiology of a discourse may become a determinant of change outcomes. Here we tell a story of a symphony orchestra that operated as a self-governing co-operative for its first 25 years but, influenced by the storying of second-order semiology, it undertook a radical change: it adopted a corporate style of governance. We explore this change as an example of a restructuring that was assumed to be managed rationally but was in part mythologically driven.
Paper presented at the Conference of Practical Criticism in the Managerial Social Sciences, Leice... more Paper presented at the Conference of Practical Criticism in the Managerial Social Sciences, Leicester University Management School, January 15th-17th, 2008. Mary Parker Follett wrote on business administration almost a century ago. Leading management scholars today generally agree that although often invoked and lauded her work has never been widely read or discussed. Our paper argues that it should be. Our close reading of ‘The Essentials of Leadership’ demonstrates that Follett’s ideas about leadership are not only seminal to current leadership theory, but are also more complex than readings to date have acknowledged. Follett argues that the primary responsibility of leadership is to discover the sense-making thread that structures understanding of the ‘total situation’, establish the ‘common purpose’ that emerges from this, and by leading, ‘anticipating’, make the next situation. But paradoxically, because time ensures that the situation is always transitory, it is always finally...
Social Science Research Network, 2007
When Steve’s email arrived inviting me to participate in the performance of Through the Reading G... more When Steve’s email arrived inviting me to participate in the performance of Through the Reading Glasses at the forthcoming Art of Management and Organization Conference in Copenhagen (August 2014) I was both flattered and frightened. I am familiar with Steve’s work, having mounted his play Ties That Bind here in Auckland, and acted in the play Cow Going Abstract at the Banff AoMO Conference in 2010. Although performer at heart, and always ready for an opportunity, I doubted if I had the emotional energy to put into preparing for this production.
Unique situation in NZ: in the wake of the 1988 Cartwright Inquiry (extreme abuse of medical powe... more Unique situation in NZ: in the wake of the 1988 Cartwright Inquiry (extreme abuse of medical power in research), 50% of committee composition is lay. Keep in check researcher and institutional power Also, power to the “ordinary New Zealander” (layperson) This research project: experiences of lay members (so, internal to committee process) Across five ethics committees in NZ, lay members are empowered, fully valued members In sharp contrast to the North American experience: limited grammarian roles and often alienated, if not intimidated in cttee Yet, ambiguity of lay role, particularly in tertiary committees: who is a ‘lay’ person? (on Health and Disability Ethics Committees [HDECs], clearer: ‘non-medical’). What or whom do they represent in tertiary contexts
Handbook of Research on Leadership and Creativity
International Journal of Corporate Social Responsibility, 2018
CSR, Sustainability, and Leadership, 2017
Leadership, 2016
This article has been crafted to evoke the sound of leadership. It represents the hum and sigh an... more This article has been crafted to evoke the sound of leadership. It represents the hum and sigh and pounding of leadership as it appeared, disappeared and reappeared each time looking and sounding different in an extraordinary undertaking where senior citizens, many with no acting experience performed T. S. Eliot’s The Waste Land. The metaphor of a hunt and an episodic form represents our experience and we have sought to suggest sound by using principles of montage, Gestalt theory, and the poetic devise of enjambment that leave one reaching after meaning rather than being comforted by end points. This article represents research that we very nearly abandoned, because it simply did not ring true when we wrote in conventional ways. As a result, we advocate different ways of writing not only because we love good writing but because for us, different writing was the only way that we could do justice to this story.
Leadership and the Humanities, 2016
Organizational Aesthetics, 2014
Leadership, 2016
This paper takes Mary Parker Follett's ideas of power-with and explores them within a contemp... more This paper takes Mary Parker Follett's ideas of power-with and explores them within a contemporary context. Three illustrative case studies from a technology company, innovative manufacturer, and nuclear submarine are offered as ways of exploring the phenomenon. We find that in spite of being hailed for their revolutionary management styles, power-with is still challenging to operationalize especially given the tendency and culturally prevalent expectations to revert to hierarchical, leader-centric forms of guiding organizations. We propose a way forward based on power-with practices which organizations may adopt.
Organizational Aesthetics, 2012