Grosse, H (2018) Investigating trust in the German construction industry: a contractor's autoethnographic exploration of trust and Le?vinas. PhD thesis, University of Gloucestershire, UK.
Abstract
In this work I use autoethnography to explore my business practices in the construction company I own and manage. I draw on postmodern ethics and Le?vinas' thoughts to contribute to, first, the pursuit of autoethnography as practitioner research, second, the understanding of trust's nature and role in the light of Le?vinas' philosophy and, third, its implications for managerial practice. Le?vinas' thought about the relationship between self and Other and his notions of Saying and Said assisted me while reflecting on trust in my business environment. Writing fieldnotes and reflections about my experiences in business, I show that autoethnography done by an industry practitioner provides unique insights which are not available to outsiders. In particular, insiders are able to deconstruct commonly held assumptions by drawing on their own thoughts and feelings. Although trust is often seen as serving a purpose, I strongly oppose this view. Trust is a non-calculative mode of interaction since a calculative approach cannot explain trust. I argue that trust belongs to Le?vinas' Saying. It is not a conscious decision but a preconscious urge towards the Other which I may rationally control. Le?vinas' Saying links trust, responsibility, forgiving, and genuine care for the Other. Trust as Saying supports its recurring nature and explains its elusive nature. Trusting the Other is not a conscious decision but an opening to basic human interaction - conversation and sociality. Trusting an unknowable Other risks disappointment and hence it demands forgiving - almost pre-emptively. However, it also makes it possible to benefit from the Other in unknowable ways. The uncertainty about the Other requires loosening control and making oneself vulnerable to the trusted. This questions ever-tighter control mechanisms and a culture of accountability that one experiences in business. However, without the courage to trust, one cannot unleash the creative power of trusting cooperation.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Thesis advisor: | Williams, S and Fuller, M |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | accountability; ethics; trust; uncertainty |
| Index terms: | cooperation, exploration, practitioner, drawing, construction company, philosophy, accountability, interaction, construction industry, reflection, ethics |
| Subjects: | technical documentation, professional development, philosophical studies, industry analysis, practitioner, organization, ethical practice, psychology, environmental resource management, liability law, behavioral psychology |
| Topics: | Business Strategy, Research Practice, Information Management, Roles and Professions, Design Practice, Organizational Design, Sustainability, Legal Issues |
| Descriptive scope: | 3 PCT |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here