essential-guide-to-qualitative-in-organizational-research

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– REPERTORY GRIDS –––––––––– 63have been used in organizational psychology research, quantitative methods of data analysishave traditionally been utilized. The increasingly sophisticated computer packages availablehave focused on looking for statistical similarity between constructs through forms of factorand cluster analysis, or on construct groupings through principal components analysis forexample. However the danger of the developments in statistical analysis that accompanies griddata is a move away from the central point of concern: understanding how the individualmakes sense of the world. As Bannister (1985) suggests, the grid has becomea Frankenstein’s monster rushed away on a statistical and experimental rampage of itsown, leaving construct theory neglected, stranded high and dry, far behind. (1985: xii)This poses problems for a technique that is used within an interview setting and essentiallyhas a qualitative focus on language (Easterby-Smith et al., 1996). Our approach to data analysisfits in with that of Gammack and Stephens (1994) who remind us that the grid is mostmeaningfully grounded within Kelly’s PCP as a ‘conversational technology’ (1994: 76). Thevalue of the grids to the study reported here lies in providing significant cues and clues in therespondent’s own language about the ways in which performance is evaluated and assessedwithin their own working world. The background to the study is outlined below.BACKGROUND TO THE RESEARCH ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––The two authors of the chapter were approached by a number of senior women in the UKpublishing industry who were keen to commission a piece of research to investigate thebarriers to women’s progression within the publishing industry. This group were explicitlyconcerned with generating qualitative data about the issues. They felt that there was alreadya wide range of quantitative information about women’s position but that more detailedresearch was needed that could potentially address some of the more subtle covert barriers thatprevented women from reaching the top. It was felt that a study was needed which exploredthe interrelationships, if any, between cultural aspects of an organization, and an individual’sinternal sense of themselves.The situation of women in publishing is an interesting one in that, despite the roughlyequal number of women and men who enter publishing, it is clear that beyond a certain gradethat equivalence disappears. A large-scale quantitative survey carried out by Tomlinson andColgan (1989) identified that women within publishing were under-represented at the toptiers of the industry and that ‘men are more than twice as likely to become managers, andmore than five times as likely to be a company board director’ (1989: 9).The aims of the research were to: explore the covert barriers to progression within thepublishing industry with a particular emphasis on the experience of women; to identify aspectsof organizational culture which impacted on the success of women; and to describe how menand women viewed their own opportunities for achieving success. Previous research usingrepertory grids has demonstrated that a person’s self-concept is often viewed as a crucialinfluence on their career decisions and other behaviours (Arnold and Nicholson, 1991).Therefore a way of examining personal experiences was particularly pertinent to this researchgiven the key issue of how women see themselves and their opportunities within thepublishing industry. The repertory grids were used to map participants’ perceptions ofthemselves and others within the organizations in relation to organizational success. The