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UBC Theses and Dissertations
Women creating a caring organization : the public dimensions of care Smith, Linette Wright
Abstract
The purpose of this ethnographic study is to describe and illustrate how the Board members of a nonprofit organization have constructed and sustained a caring organization. The study answers the ethnographic questions that framed the research purpose and focus: What are the organization's core values? Where, when, how and by whom are they articulated? How do the participants enact these core values in their practice? What is the role of learning in a caring organization? What does care look like in a caring organization? The focus of this study's description and analysis are the interactions and practices of the women trustees as they engaged in the work of governance within routine Board of Directors' meetings. The data collected include field observations of Board meetings, interviews with Board members and organizational documents. The study conceptualizes meetings as the primary process and form in which organizational members create, maintain, and re-create their organization (Schwartzman, 1989). The study uses a multi-perspective approach (J. Martin, 1992) to organizational culture in order to describe elements of congruence, difference and contradiction in a caring organization. The study describes and illustrates how the organizational members developed care as a central organizing principle, a moral practice and a political idea (Tronto, 1993). The members' values, beliefs, and practices had moved care from the private realms of caring work into the public realms of caring practice, expanding care from its predominantly private interpretation to a larger public notion. The organization studied was one that was founded by women, governed by women and predominantly staffed by women. It provides programs, services and resources to meet the child care needs of families, children, child care providers, child care related organizations and the community. The study's findings have implications for practice in the development of nonprofit organizations that support caring practice and caring work.
Item Metadata
Title |
Women creating a caring organization : the public dimensions of care
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Creator | |
Publisher |
University of British Columbia
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Date Issued |
1996
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Description |
The purpose of this ethnographic study is to describe and illustrate how the Board
members of a nonprofit organization have constructed and sustained a caring
organization. The study answers the ethnographic questions that framed the research
purpose and focus: What are the organization's core values? Where, when, how and by
whom are they articulated? How do the participants enact these core values in their
practice? What is the role of learning in a caring organization? What does care look like
in a caring organization? The focus of this study's description and analysis are the
interactions and practices of the women trustees as they engaged in the work of
governance within routine Board of Directors' meetings. The data collected include field
observations of Board meetings, interviews with Board members and organizational
documents. The study conceptualizes meetings as the primary process and form in
which organizational members create, maintain, and re-create their organization
(Schwartzman, 1989). The study uses a multi-perspective approach (J. Martin, 1992) to
organizational culture in order to describe elements of congruence, difference and
contradiction in a caring organization. The study describes and illustrates how the
organizational members developed care as a central organizing principle, a moral practice
and a political idea (Tronto, 1993). The members' values, beliefs, and practices had
moved care from the private realms of caring work into the public realms of caring
practice, expanding care from its predominantly private interpretation to a larger public
notion. The organization studied was one that was founded by women, governed by women and predominantly staffed by women. It provides programs, services and
resources to meet the child care needs of families, children, child care providers, child
care related organizations and the community. The study's findings have implications for
practice in the development of nonprofit organizations that support caring practice and
caring work.
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Extent |
7051652 bytes
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Genre | |
Type | |
File Format |
application/pdf
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Language |
eng
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Date Available |
2009-02-11
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Provider |
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
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Rights |
For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use.
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DOI |
10.14288/1.0064528
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URI | |
Degree | |
Program | |
Affiliation | |
Degree Grantor |
University of British Columbia
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Graduation Date |
1996-05
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Campus | |
Scholarly Level |
Graduate
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Aggregated Source Repository |
DSpace
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Item Media
Item Citations and Data
Rights
For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use.