Desperately seeking kindness : an epistemological paradigmatic adventure

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dc.contributor.advisor Mills, Jean Helms, 1954-
dc.coverage.spatial Nova Scotia
dc.creator Thomason, Michelle
dc.date.accessioned 2021-09-02T14:55:00Z
dc.date.available 2021-09-02T14:55:00Z
dc.date.issued 2020
dc.identifier.uri http://library2.smu.ca/xmlui/handle/01/29818
dc.description 1 online resource (234 pages) : colour chart
dc.description Includes abstract and appendix.
dc.description Includes bibliographical references (pages 194-234).
dc.description.abstract This thesis studies the concept of kindness. The study of kindness is limited in management and organizational studies and this research problematizes the concept of kindness, shows how kindness research is represented in other academic fields and offers ways forward to understand and engage in new thinking on kindness as a concept for individuals at work and for organizations. <br> To expand understanding of kindness at work, thirty-two public servants in Nova Scotia were interviewed. Using Weick’s (1995) sensemaking properties these workers’ understandings of and resistance to the concept of kindness were analyzed. From this analysis, themes were built to take these individual conceptualizations of kindness and engage with the theories and theorists of Burrell and Morgan’s (1979) paradigmatic framework. This research allows us to better understand barriers to kindness and offers ways for organizations to get to work on integrating the concept of kindness within their workplace. <br> Key contributions of this research include: A unique methodological approach of fusing Weick’s (1995) sensemaking properties and Burrell and Morgan’s (1979) paradigms leading to multiple understandings of the same phenomena. <br> The ontological and epistemological perspectives of kindness interpreted through the four paradigms of Burrell and Morgan contributing to kindness theorizing in organization and management studies. <br> Exploration of kindness as an expression of <i>love in action</i> and its potential impact on psychological health and safety and employee well-being through greater understanding of individual, relational and organizational enactment of the concept of kindness. en_CA
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dc.description.provenance Made available in DSpace on 2021-09-02T14:55:00Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Thomason_Michelle_PHD_2020.pdf: 1393408 bytes, checksum: 64c5f88f8e90cfd4310f044a473190da (MD5) Previous issue date: 2020-01-16 en
dc.language.iso en en_CA
dc.publisher Halifax, N.S. : Saint Mary's University
dc.subject.lcsh Kindness
dc.subject.lcsh Management
dc.subject.lcsh Organizational behavior
dc.subject.lcsh Work environment
dc.subject.lcsh Employee health promotion
dc.subject.lcsh Work -- Psychological aspects
dc.title Desperately seeking kindness : an epistemological paradigmatic adventure en_CA
dc.type Text en_CA
thesis.degree.name Doctor of Philosophy in Business Administration (Management)
thesis.degree.level Doctoral
thesis.degree.discipline Management
thesis.degree.grantor Saint Mary's University (Halifax, N.S.)
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