Abstract
The study of strategic management focuses upon the relationship between strategy and organisational outcomes (Chandler, 1966; Rumelt, 1986; Kantrow, 1983) but rarely on interpersonal outcomes, such as self-esteem and gendered identity. Following on the recent work of Acker (1991) and the UMIST studies (Knights and Sturdy, 1987; Morgan and Knights, 1991; Kerfoot and Knights, 1993), this chapter examines the relationship between the dynamics of corporate strategy and the gendered nature of work.
Supported by a General Research Grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (no. 92-0476).
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Acker, J. (1991), ‘Thinking about Wages: Thé Gendered Wage Gap in Swedish Banks’, Gender & Society, 5, pp. 390–407.
Acker, J. (1992) ‘Gendering Organisational Theory’, in Mills, A. J and Tancred, P. (eds), Gendering Organisational Analysis (London: Sage), pp. 248–60.
Arnold, W. L. and Brown, J. L. (1986), ‘Tracking Strategy in the Airlines: PWA 1945–84’, Canadian Journal of Administrative Science, 3: 2, pp. 171–203.
Bamford, J. (1986), Croissants at Croydon: The Memoirs of Jack Bamford (Sutton, Surrey: Sutton Libraries & Arts Services).
Cadogan, M. (1992), Women with Wings (London: Macmillan).
Chandler, A. D., Jr (1966), Strategy and Structure (Garden City, NY: Doubleday).
Child, J. (1972), ‘Organisation, Structure, Environment and Performance — The Role of Strategic Choice’, Sociology, 6: 1, pp. 1–22.
Condit, J. (1984), Wings over the West: Russ Baker and the Rise of Pacific Western Airlines (Madeira Park, BC: Harbour).
Escott, Squadron Leader B. E. (1989) Women in Air Force Blue (Northamptonshire: Patrick Stevens).
Gil, A. (1990), ‘Air Transport Deregulation and its Implication for Flight Attendants’, International Labour Review, 129: 3, pp. 317–331.
Hampden-Turner, C. (1990), Corporate Culture: From Vicious to Virtuous Circles (London: Hutchinson/Economist Books).
Harper, H. (1930), The Romance of a Modern Airway (London: Sampson Low, Marston).
Hearn, J. and Parkin, P. W. (1987), ‘Sex’ at ‘Work’: The Power and Paradox of Organisational Sexuality (Brighton: Wheatsheaf).
Hochschild, A. R. (1983), The Managed Heart: Commercialization of Human Feeling (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press).
Hudson, K. and Pettifer, J. (1979), Diamonds in the Sky: A Social History of Air Travel (London: The Bodley Head/BBC Publications).
Kane, P. (1975), Sex Objects in the Sky (Chicago, IL: Follett).
Kantrow, A. M. (ed.) (1983), Survival Strategies for American Industry (New York: John Wiley/Harvard Business Review).
Keith, R. A. (1973), Bush Pilot with a Brief Case. The Happy-go-Lucky Story of Grant McConachie (Don Mills, Ontario: Paperjacks).
Kerfoot, D. and Knights, D. (1993), ‘Management, Masculinity and Manipulation: from Paternalism to Corporate Strategy in Financial Services in Britain’, Journal of Management Studies, 30:4, July, pp. 659–77.
Knights, D. and Sturdy, A. (1987), ‘Women’s Work in Insurance — Information Technology and the Reproduction of Gendered Segregation’, in Women and Information Technology, ed. Davidson, M. J. and Cooper, C. L. (London: Wiley).
Lasserre, P. and Putti, J. (1990), Business Strategy and Management (Singapore: Times Academic Press).
Learmoth, B., Nash, J. and Cluett, D. (1983), The First Croydon Airport, 1915–1928 (Sutton: Sutton Libraries & Arts Services).
McCafferty, D. (1988), Billy Bishop: Canadian Hero (Toronto: James Lorimer).
Mills, A. J. (1993a), ‘Managing Subjectivity, Silencing Diversity: Organisational Imagery in the Airline Industry — The Case of British Airways’, paper presented at the Eastern Academy of Management Annual Meeting, Providence, RI, May.
Mills, A. J. (1993b), ‘Corporate Image, Gendered Subjects and the Company Newsletter — The Changing Faces of British Airways’, paper presented at the European Group for Organisation Studies Meeting, Paris, July.
Mills, A. J. (1994a), ‘Dueling Discourses — Desexualization versus Eroticism in the Corporate Framing of Female Sexuality: Images of British Airways, 1945–60’, paper presented at the British Sociological Association Annual Conference, University of Central Lancashire, Preston, 28–31 March.
Mills, A. J. (1994b), ‘The Gendering of Organisational Culture: Social and Organisational Discourses in the Making of British Airways’, Proceedings of the Women in Management Section, Administrative Sciences Association of Canada Annual Meeting, Halifax, Nova Scotia, 25–28 June.
Mills, A. J. (1994c), ‘Gendering Organisational Culture: From Theory to Analysis — Identifying Discriminatory Discourses in the Making of British Airways’, paper presented at the Business History Section of the Administrative Sciences Association of Canada Annual Meeting, Halifax, Nova Scotia, 25–28 June.
Mills, A. J. (1994d), ‘No Sex Please, we’re British Airways — A Model for Uncovering the Symbols of Gender in British Airways’ Culture, 1919–1991’, paper presented at the Conference on Organisational Symbolism, Calgary, 10–13 July.
Mills, A. J. and Helms Hatfield, J. C. (1994), ‘Air Canada vs. Canadian: “Competition” and “Merger” in the Framing of Airline Cultures’, paper presented at the Metaphors in Organisational Theory and Behaviour Conference, London, 28–30 July.
Mintzberg, H., Brunet, J. P. and Waters, J. A. (1986), ‘Does Planning Impede Strategic Thinking? Tracking the Strategies of Air Canada from 1937 to 1976’ in Lamb, R. and Shrivastava, P. (eds), Advances in Strategic Management, vol. 4 (Greenwich, CT: JAI Press), pp. 3–41.
Morgan, G. and Knights, D. (1991), ‘Gendering Jobs: Corporate Strategies, Managerial Control and Dynamics of Job Segregation’, Work, Employment & Society, 5: 2, pp. 181–200.
Nielsen, G. P. (1982), From Sky Girl to Flight Attendant (New York: ILR Press).
O’Brien, G. (1983), ‘Negotiating Order in the Workplace: The Case of the Air Hostess’, Journal of Irish Business and Administrative Research 5:2, pp. 3–13.
Penrose, H. (1980), Wings Across the World: An Illustrated History of British Airways (London: Cassell).
Rumelt, R. P. (1986), Strategy, Structure, and Economic Performance (Boston, MA: Harvard Business School).
Sampson, A. (1984), Empires of the Sky: The Politics, Contests and Cartels of World Airlines (New York: Random House).
Saxton, M. J., Phillips, J. S. and Blakeney, R. N. (1991), ‘Antecedents and Consequences of Emotional Exhaustion in the Airline Reservation Service Sector’, Human Relations, 44: 6, pp. 583–95.
Serling, R. (1983), Howard Hughes’ Airline: An Informal History of TWA (New York: St Martin’s/Marek).
Warren, M. A. (1980), The Nature of Women: An Encyclopedia and Guide to the Literature (Inverness, CA: Edgepress).
Weeks, J. (1986), Sexuality (London: Tavistock).
Wright, C. (1985), Tables in the Sky: Recipes from British Airways and the Great Chefs (London: W. H. Allen).
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 1996 British Sociological Association
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Mills, A.J. (1996). Strategy, Sexuality and the Stratosphere: Airlines and the Gendering of Organisations. In: Morris, L., Lyon, E.S. (eds) Gender Relations in Public and Private. Explorations in Sociology. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-24543-7_5
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-24543-7_5
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-0-333-63088-4
Online ISBN: 978-1-349-24543-7
eBook Packages: Palgrave Social & Cultural Studies CollectionSocial Sciences (R0)