1.1 Background of the Study
The purpose of this research paper is to establish, through the use of a grounded theory methodology, a substantive theory of how commitment in work is emotionalized and gendered. The setting of this study is the Abu Dhabi University, a private and multi-campus university in Abu Dhabi as the concentration is on commitment of professionals and their experiences. The work of Glaser and Straus (1967) which was later on developed by Straus and Corbin (1990; 1998) and Straus (1987) is used as the basis of the grounded theory approach. Appreciating the emotional and gendered aspects of work commitment is important as it response to the gap within understanding and conceptualizing commitment and will suggest of future
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The setting of this study is Abu Dhabi University and it involves various levels of academic staffs from its academic units as this group of people has the characteristic of having diverse knowledge and commitment. In terms of research and learning, the delivery of the core business of the university is charged to staffs (Bryson, 2004). Academic work achievements are used for tenure and promotion and performance appraisal. The research question of this study is: “How is work commitment emotionalized and gendered?” This study will determine if work commitment and its degree in addressing this research question. This research will also evaluate how emotions add to a gendered perspective of commitment at work. In addition, the reconceptualization of work commitment through establishing a new theory is also a part of this …show more content…
In order to present a more sensitive, balanced and gender sensitive of all members of the organization. Focusing again on gender and emotions presents a path to such a reconceptualization. Through the generation of a new theory, the research aims at the reconceptualization of work commitment as an addition to the research question above. Within the substantial literature of work commitment, Morrow (1983, 1993) was able to provide a review of the ways in which theories and measures where established for the phenomenon. Despite the long standing recognition of gender, in terms of commitment as an important construct, there are several scholars have done little to respond to the issue of the strong barriers that does not promote the advancement of minority, women, disabled and ethnic groups (Wolf, 1977 and Brown, 1976). Gender divisions have largely been treated in management and organization studies as invisible and irrelevant in practice (Thompson and McHugh, 1990 and Cetin, 2006). The trend of either suppressing or ignoring the importance of gender had been followed by studies of work commitment (Matheiu and Zajac, 1990 and Cohen and Lowenberg, 1990). The expectation, in a male dominated organization, has been that experience of women can be adequately understood through the lens if the dominant gender cultures where there is a