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Connecting Practical Doings to Cultural Meanings: Exploring the Work of Moral Mediators in Human Service Organizations
Author(s) -
Geiss Carley
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
symbolic interaction
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.874
H-Index - 47
eISSN - 1533-8665
pISSN - 0195-6086
DOI - 10.1002/symb.440
Subject(s) - narrative , sociology , storytelling , agency (philosophy) , ambiguity , drama , morality , organizational culture , public relations , identity (music) , social psychology , psychology , epistemology , aesthetics , political science , social science , art , philosophy , linguistics , literature
This study illuminates the work of moral mediators , which I define as organizational actors who work to strategically monitor, maintain, and manage the moral identity of others . My layered, organizational, narrative analysis of the mentoring organization Big Brothers Big Sisters draws on two types of data: client stories featured on the national website and ten in‐depth interviews with case managers at a local agency. My analysis demonstrates how case managers employ an emotional labor technique of drama dilution , or work done to add ambiguity to public storytelling in ways that leave more space for variations of deservingness, success, and morality . This article emphasizes the paradoxical nature of public organizational narratives and highlights the need for continued exploration of day‐to‐day work in conjunction with organizational structure and cultural values and beliefs.

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