I'm still toiling through methodology, but have been reading a book (no, really :$0 and it has made me realise that I may well be able to make a stronger case by linking my research to organisation theory/social theory of groups and their interaction with other groups in the same place - I'm thinking of things like the relationship between groups of people working in the same organisation - secretaries, managers, office workers etc (does that exist I wonder in a book????). What I'm looking for is something that will give me a way of linking the whole range of school workers into a similar structure - I know I could go up to the library and look along the shelves, but I'm wondering if anyone knows where I should start looking, since I imagine there will be loads that will have nothing in them at all, and besides which its raining :$.

Hi Joyce,

Here's my twopenneth, although my own research is less about groups per se and more about organizational culture, but some ideas that crossed my mind:

Gareth Morgan - Images of Organization (various editions) is one of the 'standard texts' in organization theory - it basically sets out various metaphors for understanding organizations (organization as machine, as brain, as organism etc) - might be a good starting point for thinking about how your groups relate to one another.

I have actually read Payne and Cooper (eds) Groups At Work. 1981, Wiley. which seems more directly relevant to your problem, and while i was searching for it in the library catalogue I came across another book called Groups at Work by Marlene Turner (1999).

Another quite famous text is Deal and Kennedy's (2000) Corporate Cultures, which argues not so much for different groups as different 'types' of organization member - people who conform, people who are mavericks etc. Very readable book although it borders on 'popular' sociology rather than an academic text. (Probably why it's so readable!)

Alternatively there are lots of textbooks called 'Organization theory' which are a decent starting point - anything by Mary Hatch is good.

Thanks for that. I've had a look at the stock in my library, and they don't have those, so rather than brave the weather, I've ordered a couple online, the Deal and Kennedy one looks good-it was one of those look inside books which was useful - as it may fit quite nicely into my section on labour power as well. :-)

sounds like you want to delve into networking theory - see Ibarra 1993 and Ibarra 1995, granovetter, Burt 1992 - google scholar these and then also goolge who has cited them, there should be plenty for you! you may want to look for 'social network anaysis' too.

thanks for that I will look up those refs