Towards adopting a global perspective in the field of consumer studies

Abstract Using economic principles to explain the nuances of consumer decisions with global implications does not adequately capture the reality of modern consumption. Embracing a global perspective would enable consumer studies professionals to compensate for this shortcoming as it consists ‘of the information, attitudes, awareness, and skills which taken together, can help individuals understand the world, how they affect others, and how others affect them’ (p.19).¹ As this paper explains the essence of a global perspective, it reinterprets a collection of economic principles towards global sensitivity. Six ideas are suggested to facilitate a dialogue among consumer studies professionals about practising from a global perspective.     

Consumer scholarship and transdisciplinarity

A case is made for the place of transdisciplinary inquiry in consumer scholarship. After framing consumer studies as a discipline, the paper explains seven conventional modes of disciplinarity. Then, the discussion turns to the nuances of the transdisciplinary approach, and what consumer scholarship would look like within this perspective. Seasoned and emerging consumer scholars and practitioners are invited to brave the repercussions of stepping outside of their disciplinary boundary onto a rich fertile space where the academy meets society for the betterment of humanity. Consumer scholarship will never be the same.     

Reorienting consumer education using social learning theory: sustainable development via authentic consumer pedagogy

The paper illustrates the growing interest in understanding consumer behaviour through a social learning theory (SLT) lens, and explains the recently launched United Nations Decade for Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). Then, the discussion turns to an overview of a recently developed ESD/SLT integrated theoretical framework, which is then applied to consumer education via an authentic pedagogy. The paper highlights the rich potential of authentic intellectual work in the form of observational learning by augmenting ESD within authentic consumer education curricula.     

What are the implications of the new UK age discrimination legislation for research and practice?

Forthcoming changing demographics and the introduction of the relatively recent UK age discrimination legislation make it timely to consider some of the debates around the relevance of age to work. Issues surrounding ageing have been considered from within a number of disciplines and research perspectives which have led to some questioning of the dominant economic model that pivots on chronological age as a convenient, bureaucratic, measure that proxies for ability. The role of the HR practitioner in being able to redefine expectations throughout the lifespan of employees is considered while constraints to managing for the longer term are acknowledged. It is proposed that although the legislation will affect some age‐related practices positively, there are likely to be unintended consequences that single out particular age groups as special cases and therefore make age more relevant to the work relationship.     

Ideological maps of consumer education

The case is made for the merit of discovering and owning the ideological and paradigmatic underpinnings of consumer‐related education initiatives. After briefly profiling two camps of dominant and contending/emergent world views (ideologies and attendant paradigms), two ideological maps of consumer education are developed and applied, providing a scaffold for future deliberations about the import of world views in consumer education.     

‘Everybody's talking at me’: the dynamics of information disclosure and consultation in high‐skill workplaces in the UK

This article examines the dynamics of direct and indirect consultation processes in three high‐skill work establishments in the UK. Drawing on a mix of case study survey and interview data, it analyses the experiences and attitudes of predominantly well‐qualified professional employees. Adopting the concept of ‘embeddedness’ of employee consultation at the workplace level, we find that despite considerable breadth and depth of practice, many employees remain dissatisfied with the extent of their individual and collective influence over management decision‐making processes. Four underlying contributory factors are presented: extant hierarchical and bureaucratic management styles, the negative impact of work overload, the individualisation of consultation through computerisation, and the weakness of cooperative forms of union engagement.     

Organizational culture in a terminally ill hospital

This study analyzed an organizational culture in a community hospital in Texas to measure organizational culture change and its impact on Patient Satisfaction (PS). The study employed primary and secondary data, combining quantitative and qualitative methods for a case study. Participant observation was used and archival data were collected to provide a better understanding of the organizational culture and the context in which change was taking place. This study also applied a "Shared Vision" of the organization as the central process in bringing forth the knowledge shared by members of the community hospital who were both subjects and research participants. The results from the study suggest an increase in PS due to the shared vision of one subculture within the hospital. There were powerful subcultures in this organization based on occupation and specialization, and their interests and functional orientations were not conducive to a systems approach. Hospital management was conducted in "silos" and there was lack of feedback between organizational levels of the hospital, especially in financial management, with organizational dysfunctionality in reacting and adapting to the health care market.