Abstracts – Browse Results
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Büsch, M P (2013) The role of procurement professionals in industrial projects: organisation, roles, and tasks for professional project procurement, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of Gloucestershire.
Grosse, H (2018) Investigating trust in the German Construction Industry: A Contractor's Autoethnographic Exploration of Trust and LeÌvinas, Published PhD Thesis, School of Business and Technology, University of Gloucestershire.
- Type: Thesis
- Keywords: Accountability; Trust; Co-operation; Construction industry; Business Ethics; Levinas
- ISBN/ISSN:
- URL: https://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.784104
- Abstract:
In this work I use autoethnography to explore my business practices in the construction company I own and manage. I draw on postmodern ethics and Lévinas’ thoughts to contribute to, first, the pursuit of autoethnography as practitioner research, second, the understanding of trust’s nature and role in the light of Lévinas’ philosophy and, third, its implications for managerial practice. Lévinas’ thought about the relationship between self and Other and his notions of Saying and Said assisted me while reflecting on trust in my business environment. Writing fieldnotes and reflections about my experiences in business, I show that autoethnography done by an industry practitioner provides unique insights which are not available to outsiders. In particular, insiders are able to deconstruct commonly held assumptions by drawing on their own thoughts and feelings. Although trust is often seen as serving a purpose, I strongly oppose this view. Trust is a non-calculative mode of interaction since a calculative approach cannot explain trust. I argue that trust belongs to Lévinas’ Saying. It is not a conscious decision but a preconscious urge towards the Other which I may rationally control. Lévinas’ Saying links trust, responsibility, forgiving, and genuine care for the Other. Trust as Saying supports its recurring nature and explains its elusive nature. Trusting the Other is not a conscious decision but an opening to basic human interaction – conversation and sociality. Trusting an unknowable Other risks disappointment and hence it demands forgiving – almost pre-emptively. However, it also makes it possible to benefit from the Other in unknowable ways. The uncertainty about the Other requires loosening control and making oneself vulnerable to the trusted. This questions ever-tighter control mechanisms and a culture of accountability that one experiences in business. However, without the courage to trust, one cannot unleash the creative power of trusting cooperation.
Kübelböck, G (2013) Constructing a conceptual framework for market intelligence in the European plant building industry, Unpublished PhD Thesis, Gloucestershire Business School, University of Gloucestershire.
Münster, H (2021) Future sources of competitive advantage in the German self-propelled construction equipment industry, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of Gloucestershire.
Rossenbach, T D (2018) The development of a management accounting system for decentralised construction companies, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of Gloucestershire.
Sprenger, G (2018) Pay flexibility in an ageing workforce: A model of pay for the German building trade, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of Gloucestershire.
Straub, M (2014) A new framework for designing and developing cost-effective logistic chains for long items, Unpublished PhD Thesis, Gloucestershire Business School, University of Gloucestershire.