Role distance. An ethnographic study on how street-level managers cope
<p>Policy is not only made by street-level bureaucrats at the frontlines. It is also made by their superiors—street-level managers—who set the organizational conditions through which street-level bureaucrats act. Although scholars have documented how street-level bureaucrat...
| Váldodahkki: | |
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| Materiálatiipa: | Journal article |
| Giella: | English |
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Oxford University Press
2023
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| _version_ | 1826313512321810432 |
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| author | Wong, J |
| author_facet | Wong, J |
| author_sort | Wong, J |
| collection | OXFORD |
| description | <p>Policy is not only made by street-level bureaucrats at the frontlines. It is also made by their superiors—street-level managers—who set the organizational conditions through which street-level bureaucrats act. Although scholars have documented how street-level bureaucrats cope with the pressures of their work by, for instance, breaking or bending rules, the question of how street-level <em>managers</em> cope with the pressures of their own work has received less attention. Drawing from ethnographic data of a network of publicly funded health centers in the Midwestern US, I show how street-level managers use an interaction ritual with role distance to cope. Role distance is mobilized when the person uses communicative expressions such as laughter or cries of frustration to convey a critical distance from what her organizational role prescribes. Based on classic sociological insights, I posit that role distance can function as follows. It can help managers <em>preserve self</em> by allowing them to define their putatively “more-human self” from their work, create a feeling of <em>collectiveness</em> as they orient themselves to the shared frustrations yet obligations that their role engenders, which enables them to <em>coordinate</em> on carrying out tasks, even those that rub against their preferences and well-intentions. Taken together, I suggest that role distance can offer a <em>coping</em> function, which enables them to hold in abeyance individual and collective responsibility for the decisions they make. I then highlight the benefits and unintended consequences of role distance and posit what academics and practitioners can do to ensure that street-level managers use role distance toward more productive ends.</p> |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T08:18:05Z |
| format | Journal article |
| id | oxford-uuid:0b1f0c2a-2b5e-4ddc-ad25-1249cedd4712 |
| institution | University of Oxford |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-25T04:14:51Z |
| publishDate | 2023 |
| publisher | Oxford University Press |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | oxford-uuid:0b1f0c2a-2b5e-4ddc-ad25-1249cedd47122024-07-19T09:49:13ZRole distance. An ethnographic study on how street-level managers copeJournal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:0b1f0c2a-2b5e-4ddc-ad25-1249cedd4712EnglishSymplectic ElementsOxford University Press2023Wong, J<p>Policy is not only made by street-level bureaucrats at the frontlines. It is also made by their superiors—street-level managers—who set the organizational conditions through which street-level bureaucrats act. Although scholars have documented how street-level bureaucrats cope with the pressures of their work by, for instance, breaking or bending rules, the question of how street-level <em>managers</em> cope with the pressures of their own work has received less attention. Drawing from ethnographic data of a network of publicly funded health centers in the Midwestern US, I show how street-level managers use an interaction ritual with role distance to cope. Role distance is mobilized when the person uses communicative expressions such as laughter or cries of frustration to convey a critical distance from what her organizational role prescribes. Based on classic sociological insights, I posit that role distance can function as follows. It can help managers <em>preserve self</em> by allowing them to define their putatively “more-human self” from their work, create a feeling of <em>collectiveness</em> as they orient themselves to the shared frustrations yet obligations that their role engenders, which enables them to <em>coordinate</em> on carrying out tasks, even those that rub against their preferences and well-intentions. Taken together, I suggest that role distance can offer a <em>coping</em> function, which enables them to hold in abeyance individual and collective responsibility for the decisions they make. I then highlight the benefits and unintended consequences of role distance and posit what academics and practitioners can do to ensure that street-level managers use role distance toward more productive ends.</p> |
| spellingShingle | Wong, J Role distance. An ethnographic study on how street-level managers cope |
| title | Role distance. An ethnographic study on how street-level managers cope |
| title_full | Role distance. An ethnographic study on how street-level managers cope |
| title_fullStr | Role distance. An ethnographic study on how street-level managers cope |
| title_full_unstemmed | Role distance. An ethnographic study on how street-level managers cope |
| title_short | Role distance. An ethnographic study on how street-level managers cope |
| title_sort | role distance an ethnographic study on how street level managers cope |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT wongj roledistanceanethnographicstudyonhowstreetlevelmanagerscope |