In the Company of Men’: a reflexive tale of cultural organising in a small organisation

A tale of fieldwork in a small organization is discussed in this article with
a view to highlighting how social processes, cultural understandings and
expressions of gender are produced during fieldwork interaction. The tale
is told reflexively and retrospectively, recording an ongoing conversation
about fieldwork experience. Central to the tale is discussion of how the
researcher is drawn into 'culture-making' within the organization and the
ways in which fieldwork interaction creates a 'space' through which
organizational members engage with, work through and realize workplace
values. In this article there are multiple levels of reflection. At one
level it is examined how the organizational-researcher role of 'emotional
nurturer' was constructed during fieldwork. At the same time some cultural
insights drawn from ethnographic inquiry and intensive interviewing
within the small organization are presented. The analysis is also
shaped by a further layer of post-fieldwork reflection and interpretation
which draws in emotional issues and expressions of gender. It is argued
that a close scrutiny of fieldwork roles is important to organizational
research in that it makes explicit how the researcher-'native' interaction is
central to the theorizing process and how the researcher can become a
participant in organizational culture-making.