Abstract
The foreword of Face to Face with Practice: Existential Forms of Research for Management Inquiry defines the meaning of philosophy used in the book, thus giving a clear understanding of its context. The use of metaphor here is appropriate and useful, and readers are encouraged to be open minded, reflective and reflexive. The implication is that this is a book to be read, but also to prompt new ways of thinking and consequent managerial and professional behavioural change. The introduction contains a useful critique of traditional positivist forms of research, which in a data-driven managerial world may seem to management researchers as an obvious, objective, unbiased approach to research. However, Segal and Jankelson (2016: xv) conclude that this excludes any inclusion of the lived experience of the professional or the manager in research. They argue the benefits of hermeneutic, existential, phenomenological (HEP) approaches to research which require the researcher to be aware of the emotions, feelings and values which lead to their inquiry and to come face to face with their practice through deep questioning. This observation is echoed by Shotter and Tsoukas (2014) who conclude that management studies in the main have a ‘rationalist orientation’ meaning that ‘the role of emotions, moral agency, language use, and, especially, the selective and integrative nature of perceptual processes, are far too easily ignored’ (p. 224).
The ‘abstracts’ towards the end of the introduction give the reader a good overview of each of the chapters; each chapter, including the introduction, has a separate and detailed bibliography, making this a book that feels easy to access. Chapters can all be read independently and there is no requirement for sequential reading, though the first chapter, by Jankelson, is entitled ‘The hermeneutic circle as a lived experience of research’ giving a good introduction to the approach. The combined bibliographies provide a comprehensive reading list for those interested in phenomenology and more specifically in HEP. Segal and Jankelson are both academics with the Macquarie Graduate School of Management with experience in the field of management and leadership teaching and hermeneutic research. The authors of the individual chapters all use HEP or other reflexive approaches such as auto-ethnography in their research.
The editors refer to the sharp contrast between the disciplined and rigorous approach used by the chapter authors in their research, and the popular biographies which sell in book stores, making idealistic claims about ‘best leadership practices’ (Segal and Jankelson, 2016: xviii). This book is readable and accessible to those who have some academic interest and a real desire to reflect and develop their practice; it is not a ‘commuter read’, nor is it a quick and easy read, it does however engage the reader in thought; to that end it succeeds very well at what it sets out to do. The terminology associated with HEP can be confusing to those unfamiliar with academic research, therefore the foreword and introduction are mandatory reading, making what may be unfamiliar terms to managers and early stage researchers, understandable. The book gives permission for a researcher to be both subjective and objective in a rigorous and thorough manner and gives great credibility to the practical usefulness and validity of this approach to research, which a quick library search confirms is not commonly used in management studies.
Chapter 1 contains a powerful example of how the use of a hermeneutic approach can be used both in research and also in professional practice; in this case, it was a 15 million dollar project which was successfully completed using a hermeneutic as opposed to a positivist approach. Such examples emphasise that the potential readership should include management professionals who can apply the approach in practice for real workplace improvements. Since the book is a collection of individual papers, the writing style in each chapter varies; this makes for additional interest, and readers may be more drawn to one style than another. This collection of different perspectives both in terms of context and in terms of explaining the HEP approach is powerful. What may not be completely understood by reading one chapter falls into place with the different wording or citations used in another. I particularly like the concept used by Duggan in chapter 2 that we should remain open, and by doing so notice the elements that are familiar as well as the strange: ‘understanding occurs in this space between familiarity and strangeness’, where ‘the true locus of hermeneutics is this in-between’.
The focus of the third chapter is the transition into being a manager, referring to the abyss that must be crossed – the need to go forward into the unknown which is both there to be explored and ‘to hold one back’ (Segal and Jankelson, 2016: 41). The language used describes very well the process of becoming a manager, of inhabiting the role of a manager and creating an identity as a manager – a useful mixture of familiar examples and reference to existentialism which to many will be less familiar. Perhaps there is also an element in these chapters of the reader working through a process to inhabit a place where there is a better understanding of the concept or existentialism and hermeneutics. The real examples and personal stories mixed with the theory give the reader a sense of both the familiar and the unknown. Chapter 4 continues the theme of disruption being the starting point of research and shows application of hermeneutics to generate a greater understanding of project management and the researcher’s dissatisfaction with the practice of project management, where ‘disruption is when the relationship we have with our everyday activities no longer makes sense’.
A common theme through the chapters is that interest in the issues and thus the research comes not from what goes well, but from disharmony or anomaly, from crisis or ambiguity or from a reflective questioning about ones role or responsibilities, a need for clarity and further understanding. The concepts in the book are powerful in a context where it is often said that ‘if you cannot measure it, you cannot manage it’, hermeneutics is not about traditional positivist measuring, it is about developing a deep level of understanding; the book for me completely legitimises a research approach that to some will feel unfamiliar and unscientific, but which seems to effectively tackle those aspects of management that really matter and make a difference – being able to practice and really ‘be’ a manager. Chapter 5 is less about management, but the journey to becoming a hermeneutic phenomenologist.
The theme of dealing with disruption and uncertainty is now a familiar theme, one which enables the researcher to engage with the research, and is of several dimensions, grappling with the focus of the research as well as with the process of doing the research. These chapters share deeply personal experiences, which resonate for me – becoming a researcher is a journey where both the familiar and the unknown have to be experienced and thought through and challenged. People do not always talk about the challenges they face, and therefore part of the power of the book comes from knowing that it is ok to find the research process challenging and to embrace the philosophical questions and challenges that the research process presents; in fact, this change in the way we think as we research may be the most powerful outcome of the process. In chapter 6, the message that comes across to me is one of being brave enough to challenge conventions of practice and to change ones approach to practice by exploring disruption and researching by ‘being in-practice rather than thinking about practice from an objective distance’ (Segal and Jankelson, 2016: 87); this chapter is written as an absolutely in-practice auto-ethnographic narrative.
The role of metrics and objective measurement in management will always be there; however, this book gives an important counter-balance and shows the legitimacy and the power of researching in-practice as well. A shift in perception of ‘how to do research’ is summarised well in the final chapter: ‘the gold standard for academic research methods … held that a researcher is able to produce a knowledge reality separate from the researcher’. This cannot be true where the researcher is living the experience which is being researched and gaining insights into the world in which we live.
To repeat a point made at the start of this piece, the implication in the introduction is that this is a book to be read, but also to prompt new ways of thinking and consequent managerial and professional behavioural change. I have certainly found that reading the book has affected the way that I think about managerial research. In my doctoral study, I am using a phenomenographic approach; I have found this book very thought provoking and it has added to the confidence with which I approach my research. In the past, at master’s level, I used ethnography as a research methodology and encountered opposition when I suggested using auto-ethnography, with colleagues suggesting that this was not a rigorous research approach. My first degree was in mechanical engineering; my outlook then was positivist, objective and quantitatively measurable. My career has been in management and consultancy, and now in academia my research journey is still in relatively early stages; however, this book reinforces what I have learned through observation and practice, that much about management and being a professional cannot be measured quantitatively. Existential forms of research, enabling us to explore the reality of lived experience are critical, remembering of course that rigour and transparency have to be a part of any research. I thoroughly recommend this book.