"Among the best and easiest ways to ferret out clues about an organizational culture are:
- observing the behavior over time of the people who perform the rites and rituals that maintain or protect the organizational culture; wander around - study physical settings;
- listening to the language and to organizational stories that are told and retold; and
- watching what people spend their time working on, rather than what they say the organization values." (p. 55)
"[Meg Capalini]
ADTED 550
October 21, 1998
Ethnography: General Distinguishing Characteristics
The following comments highlight defining characteristics of ethnography, rather than aspects necessarily unique to only ethnography. Often it is the way common qualities are combined and their purposes or place within the whole, for example, that distinguish this particular qualitative design. But we believe that there are also some unique qualities as well. It is hoped that these summaries will provide at least cursory information that gives a sense of what ethnography is.
Ethnography is both an end product, the written report, and an approach to research. Ethnography is holistic and looks for anthropological categories of meaning, such as myths, rituals and social structure. The goal of ethnography is “to create a vivid reconstruction of the culture studied” (LeCompte & Preissle, 1993, p. 234). Ethnography incorporates both the etic (views of the actors in the group) and the emic (researcher’s perspectives). Two primary approaches are conventional and critical ethnography. Within the broad field of ethnography, educational ethnography is a fairly recent addition, and is not yet well defined. The term ethnography is not infrequently used to refer to any and all natural inquiry, so one must be careful to check which meaning is intended in any particular context.
Following are some other distinguishing features of ethnography:
Sampling:
Both the site and then the individuals and subgroups within the site must be selected. The full range of approaches to selection are possible. Issues in selection within ethnography are the boundaries of the group (especially in less traditional forms of ethnography) and the recursiveness (i.e., dynamic, phasic, sequential) of the selection process.
Data Collection
Observation and interview methods of data collection are most prevalent. Secondary forms of data collection: artifact collection, use of archival materials and demographic data banks, mechanical recordings, and physical data trace collection. The latter refers to the attentiveness to signs of human presence or use, such as worn spots on a carpet. Initially, the researcher “shags around” to scope out the situation and make acquaintances. The role of the researchers frequently changes over the course of the study, often beginning as an observer and moving toward group participant. Field notes are an indispensable part of an ethnographic study and are meticulously and constantly maintained. The ethnographic study is an emergent design. Before leaving the field one must double check to make sure that all necessary data has been collected.
Data Analysis
Data analysis begins during data collection and aids decision-making during the course of the study. The first step after all the data has been collected is to create a description of the cultural group studied, being careful to avoid any interpretive words and comments. During the analysis stage, analytic induction, constant comparison, typological analysis and enumeration are used. Finally, the interpretation stage is characterized by theoretical consolidation, theoretical application, the use of metaphors, similes and analogy, and synthesis.
Reporting
There are several styles of reporting used in the production of ethnographies. The “realist tale” is direct, matter-of-fact and impersonal. The “confessional tale” focuses on fieldwork experiences and processes and uses the first person perspective. In the “impressionistic tale” a personalized dramatic account is given and the first person is used here also. The “thematic narrative” is characterized by the material being organized around themes derived from the data. In all cases reporting should include description, analysis and interpretation.
Quality Enhancement
Using systematic data collection procedures and basing analysis on such collected data seems to be a key aspect of quality assurance in the ethnographic study. High regard is also held for explaining behavior from the emic perspective, although not necessarily exclusively from this point of view. Participant intersubjectivity and having more than one researcher work on the study also strengthens the research. These appear to be the most vital and characteristic techniques for quality enhancement in ethnographic studies, although others are used as well. However, the philosophical stance of the researcher(s) may also dictate certain criteria for judging the value of a study.
Philosophical Bases
Ethnographic studies are openly assumed to be value laden. Within the ethnographic study, philosophy does not only refer to traditional philosophical traditions; it also means the accumulation of life experiences and personal characteristics, the cultural background of the researcher, and the impact of the disciplinary training of the researcher. Since so many fields use the ethnographic approach, there is a corresponding plethora of formal philosophical traditions represented in this research tradition, including: functionalism, conflict theory, symbolic interactionalism and ethnomethodology, critical theory, ethnoscience or cognitive anthropology, exchange theory, psychodynamic theory, and behaviorism. Each tradition has its set of implications for the ethnographic study. The researcher should attempt to be conscious of his or her leanings and biases.
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The material for these summaries was gleaned from the following two texts:
Creswell, J. W. (1998). Qualitative inquiry and research design. Choosing among five traditions. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
LeCompte, M. D. & Preissle, J. (1993). Ethnography and qualitative design in educational research, 2nd ed. San Diego: Academic Press"
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If all else fails, shag around. Writing is optional.
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"Observe the behavior of the people who perform the functions that communicate and maintain the organizational culture. Watch who is trusted to tell organizational stories at ceremonies or to be the agency's spokesperson during important rituals. Who is assigned to induct new employees into the ways of the agency, to function as 'mentors,' 'orienters,' or 'big sisters/big brothers?' Organizations (that are alert) only assign people to orient newcomers who are deemed to be acceptable 'models' and thus safe 'transmitters' of culture." (p. 55)
or...
"In an ethnographic study, however, a single site is important where an intact culture-sharing group has developed shared values, beliefs, and assumptions. The researcher needs to select a group (or an individual or individuals representative of a group) to study, preferably one to which the investigator is a 'stranger'... and can gain access...
In an ethnography, access typically begins with a 'gatekeeper,' an individual who is a member or or has insider status with a cultural group. This gatekeeper is the initial contact for the researcher and leads the researcher to other informants. Approaching this gatekeeper and the cultural system slowly is sage advice for 'strangers' studying the culture...
In an ethnography, once the investigator selects a site with a cultural group, the next decision is who and what will be studied. Thus, within-culture sampling proceeds. Fetterman (1989) recommends proceeding with the 'big net approach' (p. 42), where at first the researcher mingles with everyone. Ethnographers rely on their judgment to select members of the subculture or unit based on their research questions. They take advantage of opportunities ('opportunistic 'sampling [Miles & Huberman, 1994]) or establish criteria for studying select individuals (criterion sampling). The criteria for selecting who and what to study for Hammersley and Atkinson (1993) are based on gaining some perspective on time in the social life of the group, people representative of the culture-sharing group in terms of demographics, and the contexts that lead to different forms of behavior.
In an ethnographic study, the investigator collects descriptions of behavior through observations, interviewing, documents, and artifacts (Hammersley & Atkinson, 1995; Spradley, 1980), although observing and interviewing appear to be the most popular forms of data collection. Participant observation, for example, offers possibilities for the researcher on a continuum from being a complete outsider to being a complete insider (Jorgensen, 1989). The approach of changing roles from that of an outsider to an insider through the course of the ethnographic study is well documented in field research (Jorgenson, 1989)" (Creswell, John W. (1997), Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design: Choosing among Five Traditions. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage, chapter 7, "Data Collection", pp. 109ff)
So next time you start a new job, bone up on your ethnographic research skills and you should be off to a good start, as long as you don't work for an organization like the Vienna mission, that is. But whatever you do, select your gatekeeper with care, because that person will have the power to make or break you.
Another helpful approach to learning about organizational cultures is grounded theory. While ethnography gets you into the heart of things, grounded theory might be useful in the actual creation of theories and potential paradigms that explain the culture of your new workplace. It isn't advisable, in most cases (unless you're in an organization like the Vienna mission and all you have to do all day is read software manuals) to spend excessive amounts of time, however, on data collection and theory building; your boss might not like that use of your time, unless you can convince him/her that your efforts are intended to increase the likelihood you'll succeed in the organization because you'll better understand it and know how to act (and not act). If you have a very nice boss s/he might accept this explanation and you are then free to continue your research on company time.
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The next sub-section in the "Clues about Organizational Culture" section is "Physical Settings."
"Wander around, study physical settings. Notice the arrangement and layout of work stations, the proximity of offices to decisionmakers, and how often doors to offices are open or closed. Then, look for incongruities between what new employees are told about the organization and what the physical layout says. For example, if new employees are told that an organization is informal, most decisions are made participatively, and management is not status-conscious, but the size, layout, and access routes to work areas look and feel like the U.S. Treasury Department building [in Washington] an incongruity has been spotted." (p. 55-56).
Or...
"Ancient and modern buildings and artifacts, the intended and unintended residues of human activity, give alternative insights into the ways in which people perceived and fashioned their lives. Shortcuts across lawns indicate preferred traffic patterns...
'What people say' is often very different from 'what people do.'...
"In another series of studies, the decoration of rooms as well as pots and other containers has been interpreted as a form of silent discourse conducted by women, whose voice has been silenced by dominant male interests...
...[I]n developing a theory of material culture, the first task is to distinguish at least two different ways in which material culture has abstract meaning beyond primary utilitarian concerns. The first is through rules of representation. The second is through practice and evocation - through the networking, interconnection, and mutual implication of material and nonmaterial...
In general terms, the interpreter of material culture works between past and present or between different examples of material culture, making analogies between them...
The notion of correspondence between theory and data does not imply absolute objectivity and independence, but rather embeds the fit of data and theory within coherence. The data are made to cohere by being linked within theoretical arguments. Similarly, the coherence of the argument is supported by the fit to data." (Hodder, Ion. (1994) The interpretation of documents and material culture. In Denzin, Norman K., & Lincoln, Yvonna S. (eds.). Handbook of Qualitative Resarch. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage, p. 393-402.
If you weren't overcome by ambiguity as you begin a new job, the task of correctly interpreting the 'physical settings' or 'material culture' will do you in, unless your organization is like the Vienna mission, in that this aspect of interpretation is relatively easy:
The bigwigs and their secretaries were on the top floor, including the human resources staff (all 2 of them - the U.S. military reserve chaplains). The layout and design group were on the main floor, and everyone else was in the basement. The significance of this, layout appears at first glance to indicate that the bigwigs indeed sat upon the top of a formal hierarchy structure relationally and also physically. So that's a cinch. Everyone that was downstairs comprised the nitty gritty part of the work that involved a lot of travel to "the East" (Warsaw Pact countries) and so entailed security risks peculiar to their work, which made it safer to stick them out of sight. Plus this facilitated hobnobbing in a way that the rest of us didn't need as much; that is proximity wasn't as crucial for the bigwigs nor the layout and design group. If only everything were this easy...
[4/16/11 note: I since remembered more offices on the 2nd floor: The two women's ministry workers and also the accountant had offices there.]
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I'm skipping the "language" sub-section, because it does not entail anything to do with German. The last sub-section and part of this article that I'm going to use is titled: "Actions vs. Words."
"Watch what people pay attention to and spend their time working on, rather than what they say the organization values." (p. 56)
I was expecting some time bomb like: "Put your money where your mouth is" or "Actions speak louder than words." In comparison this seems a bit wimpy. I don't know what anyone else spent their time doing because I wasn't privy to it. All I know is that the mission really values in its secretaries a thorough working knowledge of software manuals. I hope they made that clear to the person who took my place so that she could make an informed decision as to whether or not she wanted to work for the mission, based on what she'll really be doing, I mean.
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As I said, this ends another article, and I'll have to pick a new one for next time.
