Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
- Discipline
Articles 1 - 4 of 4
Full-Text Articles in Entire DC Network
The Importance Of Place: Using Local-Focus Videos To Spark The Sociological Imagination, Elizabeth A. Hoffmann
The Importance Of Place: Using Local-Focus Videos To Spark The Sociological Imagination, Elizabeth A. Hoffmann
Department of Sociology Faculty Publications
Sociologists have documented how important place is in people’s lives. For example, certain places are associated with various emotions, such as triumph, sadness, fear, and contentment (Gieryn 2000). We also know that as people live in a place for more time, they become more attached to it (e.g., Herting et al 1997). Other scholars have shown that the bonds people create between themselves and certain geographic places reframe how certain sites are understood both by those involved and by outsiders (Gupta and Ferguson 1997). These geographic-human bonds shape how people identify themselves and others, and how they understand the issues …
The Ironic Value Of Loyalty: Dispute Resolution Strategies In Worker Cooperatives And Conventional Organizations, Elizabeth A. Hoffmann
The Ironic Value Of Loyalty: Dispute Resolution Strategies In Worker Cooperatives And Conventional Organizations, Elizabeth A. Hoffmann
Department of Sociology Faculty Publications
Employee retention and satisfaction are key concerns for employers. In this article, I explore a variety of worker characteristics that affect how workers respond to troubling events and circumstances in the workplace. I examine how they approach their workplace problems, focusing on the value of their loyalty and how this loyalty might affect their problem-related decisions. This research suggests that worker loyalty presents an irony for managers, which I call the ironic value of loyalty: workers with greater loyalty are less likely to exit when they encounter workplace problems, decreasing turnover problems, yet when more loyal workers choose to remain …
Driving Street Justice: The Taxicab Driver As The Last American Cowboy, Elizabeth A. Hoffmann
Driving Street Justice: The Taxicab Driver As The Last American Cowboy, Elizabeth A. Hoffmann
Department of Sociology Faculty Publications
This research explores workers' solidarity and shared culture in the cab driving industry, using theories of distributive justice and relational justice. Cab driving culture involves a high level of worker solidarity, with drivers relying on fellow drivers for assistance, working together in the face of conflict, and imposing various forms of social control when the cab driving community's norms are violated. This article operationalizes such actions as "street justice." Through both individual and group acts of street justice, the cabdrivers promote the main goals of their occupation's culture: justice and safety.
Exit And Voice: Organizational Loyalty And Dispute Resolution Strategies, Elizabeth A. Hoffmann
Exit And Voice: Organizational Loyalty And Dispute Resolution Strategies, Elizabeth A. Hoffmann
Department of Sociology Faculty Publications
This study compares workplace dispute resolution strategies (exit, voice, and toleration) in matched pairs of conventional and worker-owned cooperative organizations operating in three industries – coal mining, taxicab driving, and organic food distribution. Building on Hirschman’s classic exit, voice, and loyalty thesis, this research demonstrates how the degree of loyalty that workers hold affects how they approach workplace problems. I find that workers with greater loyalty are more likely to embrace “voice” as a way to address their problems. Although the “exit” patterns do not mirror the classic “exit-voice framework,” the data do support Hirschman’s broader thesis, which incorporates examination …