Seminar with Professor Anne Edwards, Oxford University, October 28th

Abstract: Linking analyses of the micro-level actions of managers with their beliefs about their strategic purposes is an analytic challenge. A data collection tool, based in cultural historical understandings of motivated action, is introduced as a resource to address the challenge. The tool analytically connects individual actions in everyday activities with the strategic purposes of organisations. It is discussed by drawing on examples of its use by senior managers tasked with co-ordinating professional work in children’s services and by practitioners responsible for helping vulnerable families connect with mainstream society. The tool’s use as a resource for professional reflection is also considered.