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Structure and agency

About: Structure and agency is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 1265 publications have been published within this topic receiving 63660 citations.


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Journal ArticleDOI
01 Jan 2006
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors deal with the dynamic of the organizational field using structurationist logic, allowing that from this logic we recall both the importance of the practice in the structuration process of the organisational field and the historical and recursive character which may constrain or enable the actions of social actors.
Abstract: The concept of the organizational field has been greatly dealt with in the literature on institutional theory in recent years. As the concept of field involves a relational and symbolic dimension, we propose that the theory of structuration, based on the logic of recursiveness between agency and structure should be adapted to the understanding of the field dynamically. In this way, the objective of this theoretical essay is to deal with the dynamic of the organizational field using structurationist logic, allowing that from this logic we recall both the importance of the practice in the structuration process of the organizational field and the historical and recursive character which may constrain or enable the actions of social actors. To this end, we revise the concept of field in different perspectives of analysis, reflecting on the implication of the theoretical presuppositions of each approach and then discuss in a critical manner the theoretical foundation of the structuration process of organizational fields based on the structurationist approach. We conclude the paper with propositions pertaining to the revision of the concept of field from a multiparadigmatic viewpoint in which structure and agency are recursively implied.

12 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This paper explored nurses' perceptions of the ways in which organisational changes that occurred within the NHS over the past decade have mediated their working practices and explored nurses perceptions of their own perceptions of how such organisational change affected their practices.
Abstract: This methodological paper draws upon the results of a piece of qualitative research which explored nurses perceptions of the ways in which the organisational changes that occurred within the NHS over the past decade have mediated their working practices This paper seeks to go beyond traditional forms of qualitative analysis in posing the question: Can the views and beliefs of social agents captured in social research inform a realist understanding of the social world? In addressing this question, the paper draws upon the insights of critical realist philosophy which takes as its central theoretical assumption, the interdependence of social structures and social interaction This methodological approach conceptualises „discourse‟ (here defined as the articulation by social agents of their understanding of their world of social practices) as being as „real‟ as the structural interrelations to which it is materially linked through practice Following Sayer (1997), analysing discourse in this way emphasizes its „performative‟ aspect rather than its representational aspect alone Nevertheless, the accounts given by nurses as social agents are fallible and so interpretive analysis must involve a process of „theoretical transformation‟ or re-conceptualisation of these presentations of social practice This paper sets out an analytical framework for the realist analysis of discourse which seeks to go beyond inductively or deductively-derived explanations of the social processes that shape nurses' working practices Background The origins of this methodology paper lie in research conducted by the author, which was concerned with the impact of the organisational changes occurring within the NHS in the 1990‟s upon nursing practice Nurses were then experiencing the consequences of new organisational priorities which were subjecting their practice to levels of managerial regulation and scrutiny not previously experienced by the profession The working practices and attitudes of nurses were widely perceived by the Department of Health at the time to be old-fashioned and resistant to change, and therefore seen as representing an obstacle to the organisational goal of rationalisation and efficiency (DoH, 2002; Allen, 2001; Walsh and Gough 2000) The study itself sought to focus upon nurses‟ own perceptions of the ways in which these organisational changes mediated their working practices The implicit aim of the research was to interrogate the nature of the interactive relationship that exists between structure and agency in the shaping of practice This required firstly establishing what were the common (and deviant) themes that characterised the frames of meaning or „discourses‟ that these nurses drew upon in their day-to

12 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors illustrate the roles of agency and structure as workers, management, and a union representative use ritual encounters for their own ends in an American hospital and discuss the symbolism of the union contract as a charter for ritual and indicate how it and the structure that defines it subvert the broader goals of union.
Abstract: The authors illustrate the roles of agency and structure as workers, management, and a union representative use ritual encounters for their own ends in an American hospital. They also discuss the symbolism of the union contract as a charter for ritual and indicate how it and the structure that defines it subvert the broader goals of the union.

12 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
Ron Glatter1
TL;DR: The authors reviewed some dominant themes from the preceding contributions and relate them to my own preoccupations and perspectives, focusing on the themes of agency, reform and the field of education administration.
Abstract: This concluding article attempts to review some dominant themes from the preceding contributions and relate them to my own preoccupations and perspectives. It focuses on the themes of agency, reform and the field. It points to the risk of polarising the debate about the relative influence of agency and structure but acknowledges and exemplifies the impact of the radical organisational reforms of recent years, particularly in England, on schools and their leaders. The educational world has changed beyond recognition since Baron and Taylor's edited book was published. I argue that, in spite of the severe challenges this has posed for the field of educational administration, and whatever the variations in its title and scope in different contexts, it has become the important and distinctive field of study and application that they intended it to be.

12 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors argue that precarious work is intrinsic to capitalism and therefore the precariat cannot be understood as a class-in-itself, and that solidarity needs to be forged between all groups of workers in order to organise for decent and stable employment.
Abstract: Purpose The purpose of this paper is to reflect on the notion of precarious work and addresses the temporal, historical and analytical weaknesses manifest in many accounts by proposing a political economy synthesis. Design/methodology/approach The discussion takes place through a political economy theoretical lens that takes seriously the structures and institutions of capitalism and the agency of workers individually and collectively. Findings The paper concludes that precarious work is intrinsic to capitalism and therefore the precariat cannot be understood as a class-in-itself. The implications of this for activists are that solidarity needs to be forged between all groups of workers in order to organise for decent and stable employment. Originality/value First, it is argued that two key structural influences on precarity are the spatiality of capitalism and its endemic tendency to crisis. Second, temporal and institutional “shapers” of precarity are discussed in historical and comparative context. Third, the agential influence on precarity is examined with regard to the possibility of the self-organisation precarious workers and their potential for forging solidarity with other groups.

12 citations


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Performance
Metrics
No. of papers in the topic in previous years
YearPapers
202335
202288
202148
202039
201954
201859