Thesis (M.F.A.)--University of North Texas, Dec., 2008. / Title from title page display. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis, PlanB (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Stout, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references.

This research discloses a gendered and sexualized dynamic in instrumental guanxi through an ethnographic study of white-collar workers in Shenzhen, an urban city just north of the border with Hong Kong. The notion of instrumental guanxi refers to a means of achieving tangible benefits in the workplace through purposively built enduring interpersonal relationships. This study is focused on female white-collar employees born after the onset of China's economic reform, and in particular women who work as marketing executives. The concept of erotic capital is incorporated into the theoretical framework of gendered and sexualized guanxi deployed in this thesis. The discussion of erotic capital in the following chapters is integrated into a resource theory of social exchange. The thesis answers the question concerning how women's guanxi strategy is different from men's. In doing so the thesis examines the male-centred standardized routine of guanxi in part through a detailed analysis of banquets and post-banquet activities that usually involve women as subordinate "erotic gifts". The discussion goes on to identify an additional four ideal-type characterizations of women as equal guanxi participants, navigating instrumental guanxi by deploying different strategies associated with each type. These types are "pseudo-brothers", "rational legal professionals", "the unreachable desired", and "unspoken rules followers". The thesis goes on to discuss the blurred boundaries that distinguish these five types of women's guanxi participation strategies by scrutinizing the power-interactive nature of erotic capital and how the endorsement of erotic capital in the workplace interacts with structural constraints that stem from gender norms and family expectations.

No description available.

Thesis (M.S.)--Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1990. / Vita. Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 84-89). Also available via the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1990. / Vita. Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 112-125). Also available via the Internet.

Call number: LD2668 .T4 1986 S75 / Master of Science / Psychological Sciences

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between self-aspects, sources of workplace satisfaction and types of organisational commitment. This study tested three expectations. The first was that employees with strongly developed relational self-aspects who find satisfaction in workplace relationships with their direct managers and colleagues were likely to experience affective committed towards their organisation. The second was that employees with strongly developed individual selfaspects who find satisfaction in the job itself were likely to experience continuance commitment towards their organisation. The third was that employees with strongly developed collective self-aspects who find satisfaction in the organisation as well as its senior management were likely to experience normative committed towards their organisation. To test these hypotheses, three empirical studies were conducted. In Study 1 respondents (N = 140) were drawn from a large aged care nursing facility. Using separate regression analyses, support was found for the expectation that relational self-aspects would predict satisfaction with colleague relationships and that satisfaction with colleague and manager relationships would predict affective commitment. Support was also found for the expectation that collective self-aspects would predict satisfaction with the organisation and its senior management, however only satisfaction with the organisation was found to predict normative commitment. The expected relationship between individual self-aspects, job satisfaction and continuance commitment was not supported. It was argued that the strong relational nature of the sample and the high percentage (87%) of females within the sample may have influenced the results. Study 2 was designed to reconfirm the expected relationship between sources of workplace satisfaction and types of organisational commitment using a broader sample. Respondents (N = 146; females =86, males = 60) were drawn from four sources; a credit co-op, an adventure based training organisation, a commercial cleaning organisation, and a Graduate School of Business. As expected, satisfaction with colleague relationships was a significant predictor of affective commitment, while a non-significant trend was observed for satisfaction with manager relationships. Some support was found for the expectation that job satisfaction would be a significant predictor of continuance commitment through an observed non-significant trend. Satisfaction with the organisation was a significant predictor of normative commitment, while satisfaction with senior management was not. The influence of gender on these results were also examined and discussed. The purpose of Study 3 was to introduce a newly developed work specific selfaspects scale and test the integrated model that examined the relationship between three types of self-aspects, three sources of workplace satisfaction on three types of organisational commitment. The influence of gender was also examined and discussed. Respondents (N= 119) were drawn from an Australian financial institution. Using standard regression analysis to test the model, it was found that collective work selfaspects together with satisfaction with colleague and manager relationships were the only predictors of affective commitment, while collective work self-aspects together with satisfaction with the organisation were the only predictors of normative commitment. No support was found for the expectation that individual self-aspects together with job satisfaction would significantly predict continuous commitment. The results of this research provided some support for the view that the strength of an employee's self-aspects may determine the type of workplace experiences they are likely to find satisfying. Furthermore, these sources of workplace satisfaction are likely to lead to different forms of organisational commitment. It was argued that the results observed across the three studies may have been influenced by organisational context. It was suggested that further research should sample a broader range of organisations in order to test the validity of the integrated model.

Thesis (DPhil(Criminology))--University of Pretoria, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references.

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