Everyday Sensegiving: A Closer Look at Successful Plant Managers

Authors

Anne D. Smith, University of Tennessee - KnoxvilleFollow
Donde Ashmos Plowman, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Dennis Duchon, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow

Date of this Version

2010

Comments

Published in The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science 46:2 (2010), pp. 220–244; doi: 10.117710021886310369932 Copyright © 2010 NTL Institute; published by SAGE Publications: http://jabs.sagepub.com Used by permission.

Abstract

The authors conducted in-depth interviews and on-site visits with successful plant managers to understand similarities in their management approaches. Across 11 different plants, representing nine different industries, the authors found each plant manager actively engaged in shaping how employees viewed the organization and its values through what the authors call “everyday sensegiving.” From themes inductively identified from the interviews and on-site visits, four central values—”Here, we value people, we value openness, we value being positive, and we value being part of a larger community”— were identified. In this article, the authors link everyday sensegiving of these middle managers and extend the findings of the study to consider linkages to organizational performance and change efforts.