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Chapter 3. Constructing a “competent” meeting chair

A study of the discourse of meeting chairing in a Hong Kong workplace
  • Angela Chan
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Identity Struggles
This chapter is in the book Identity Struggles

Abstract

This chapter investigates how an inexperienced manager struggles to construct or not to construct himself as a (competent) meeting chair in face of his boss’s criticism on his meeting chairing skills. It draws on video-recordings of business meetings collected at a small company in Hong Kong and employs a combination of conversation analysis, social constructionism, and the Community of Practice theory as its analytical tool. The analysis reveals that discrepant views on effective meeting chairing and orientations to meeting conventions can become sources of identity struggles. This study demonstrates that the construction of a meeting chair identity is complex and involves collaboration and negotiation among meeting participants. It also suggests that identity struggles may not necessarily be interpreted negatively.

Abstract

This chapter investigates how an inexperienced manager struggles to construct or not to construct himself as a (competent) meeting chair in face of his boss’s criticism on his meeting chairing skills. It draws on video-recordings of business meetings collected at a small company in Hong Kong and employs a combination of conversation analysis, social constructionism, and the Community of Practice theory as its analytical tool. The analysis reveals that discrepant views on effective meeting chairing and orientations to meeting conventions can become sources of identity struggles. This study demonstrates that the construction of a meeting chair identity is complex and involves collaboration and negotiation among meeting participants. It also suggests that identity struggles may not necessarily be interpreted negatively.

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Dedication v
  3. Table of contents vii
  4. Acknowledgements xi
  5. Chapter 1. Introduction 1
  6. Part I. Struggling to construct professional competence
  7. Chapter 2. Coping with uncertainty 21
  8. Chapter 3. Constructing a “competent” meeting chair 39
  9. Chapter 4. Juggling “I”s and “we”s with “he”s and “she”s 57
  10. Chapter 5. Epistemic “Struggles” 79
  11. Chapter 6. Who’s the expert? 95
  12. Part II. Struggling to (de-)construct in-group membership
  13. Chapter 7. You’re a proper tradesman mate 127
  14. Chapter 8. Indian women at work 147
  15. Chapter 9. The dynamics of identity struggle in interdisciplinary meetings in higher education 165
  16. Chapter 10. Laughables as a resource for foregrounding shared knowledge and shared identities in intercultural interactions in Scandinavia 185
  17. Chapter 11. Workplace conflicts as (re)source for analysing identity struggles in stories told in interviews 207
  18. Chapter 12. Identities on a learning curve 225
  19. Part III. Struggling to combine (sometimes competing) expectations
  20. Chapter 13. Managing patients’ expectations in telephone complaints in Scotland 243
  21. Chapter 14. Identity work in nurse-client interactions in selected community hospitals in Kenya 263
  22. Chapter 15. ‘Even if there were procedures, we will be acting at our own discretion…’ 281
  23. Chapter 16. A kind of work 299
  24. Chapter 17. Adapting self for private and public audiences 317
  25. Chapter 18. “I speak French=eh” 335
  26. Part IV. Struggling to define identity boundaries
  27. Chapter 19. The discursive accomplishment of identity during veterinary medical consultations in the UK 355
  28. Chapter 20. Embracing a new professional identity 371
  29. Chapter 21. Identity and space 387
  30. Chapter 22. Household workers’ use of directives to negotiate their professional identity in Lima, Peru 407
  31. Chapter 23. ‘We’re only here to help’ 427
  32. Chapter 24. Epilogue 445
  33. Index 455
https://doi.org/10.1075/dapsac.69.03cha

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Dedication v
  3. Table of contents vii
  4. Acknowledgements xi
  5. Chapter 1. Introduction 1
  6. Part I. Struggling to construct professional competence
  7. Chapter 2. Coping with uncertainty 21
  8. Chapter 3. Constructing a “competent” meeting chair 39
  9. Chapter 4. Juggling “I”s and “we”s with “he”s and “she”s 57
  10. Chapter 5. Epistemic “Struggles” 79
  11. Chapter 6. Who’s the expert? 95
  12. Part II. Struggling to (de-)construct in-group membership
  13. Chapter 7. You’re a proper tradesman mate 127
  14. Chapter 8. Indian women at work 147
  15. Chapter 9. The dynamics of identity struggle in interdisciplinary meetings in higher education 165
  16. Chapter 10. Laughables as a resource for foregrounding shared knowledge and shared identities in intercultural interactions in Scandinavia 185
  17. Chapter 11. Workplace conflicts as (re)source for analysing identity struggles in stories told in interviews 207
  18. Chapter 12. Identities on a learning curve 225
  19. Part III. Struggling to combine (sometimes competing) expectations
  20. Chapter 13. Managing patients’ expectations in telephone complaints in Scotland 243
  21. Chapter 14. Identity work in nurse-client interactions in selected community hospitals in Kenya 263
  22. Chapter 15. ‘Even if there were procedures, we will be acting at our own discretion…’ 281
  23. Chapter 16. A kind of work 299
  24. Chapter 17. Adapting self for private and public audiences 317
  25. Chapter 18. “I speak French=eh” 335
  26. Part IV. Struggling to define identity boundaries
  27. Chapter 19. The discursive accomplishment of identity during veterinary medical consultations in the UK 355
  28. Chapter 20. Embracing a new professional identity 371
  29. Chapter 21. Identity and space 387
  30. Chapter 22. Household workers’ use of directives to negotiate their professional identity in Lima, Peru 407
  31. Chapter 23. ‘We’re only here to help’ 427
  32. Chapter 24. Epilogue 445
  33. Index 455
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