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Mission
The EPIC conference is designed to enhance human understanding and research by promoting the science, practice, and application of ethnographic understandings. We believe those practicing their ethnographic training in the corporate setting are in need of venues for support and sharing information. Towards this end, the conference should:
- Provide a forum for ethnographic practitioners in business to exchange research, insights, methods and other information
- Support participants in their efforts to study and apply, the principles, findings, and best known methods of ethnographic research
- Identify opportunities for expanding and developing the discipline and practice of business ethnography
- Monitor and address challenges to the understanding and practice of ethnographic research in consumer and work settings
- Promote public awareness of business ethnographic researchers
Mission
The EPIC conference has the mission to promote the use of ethnographic investigations and principals in the study of human behavior as it is applied to issues of interest to corporations. We believe by understanding people; what they do, how they do it, and how this changes over time, we can create better corporate strategies, products, and processes, as well as, enhance and simplify people’s lives. Further, the conference aspires to promote the integration of anthropological perspectives, methods, and theory into business practices; to advocate for business decisions based upon sound research; to promote public recognition of practicing ethnographers as a profession; and to support the continuing professionalization of the field
Who
The conference is designed to facilitate people who have trained in and are practicing ethnography in business contexts. This could include, but not limited to, people who specialize in qualitative methods from disciplines like anthropology, sociology, semiotics, art history, linguistics, cultural geography, cultural studies, design, computer science, etc.
Problems / Opportunities
Corporate Anthropology have lacked a forum of their own. Therefore we propose to create a safe forum for corporate practitioners allowing us to face key issues head on.
- Practitioners are faced with unique demands placed upon them. Issues that are often raised involve the value of the research in general, for example framing a problem in the appropriate way or getting appropriate return on investment.
- Another issue is the execution of research, for example practitioners often face a challenge on the amount of time to conduct research.
- Additionally there is the opportunity of making transparent the ethics that abound in the practice of corporate anthropology.
- Another challenge deals with structural issues of the institution within which the research is being conducted, for example, researchers are part of interdisciplinary teams.
- Finally, the issue of translation of research into valuable and actionable findings.
Praxis
A variety of procedures, tools, techniques and “how to” documents have been developed to assist in addressing academic issues and problems; however, the dissemination of the same information has not been applied to the people who are practicing researchers. In part, we want to capture and/or rigorously develop both standardized and more situationally-specific procedures and techniques used in ethnographic research.
Conducting research without a theoretical orientation provides for poor practice. Practitioners should be able to acquire knowledge of research theory and practice about society, culture and the individual. A difficulty lies in theories being moved into practice. Academics are not rewarded for such efforts, and many practitioners often lack time and resources to remain in touch. The forum wants to provide an opportunity and a venue to assist people in applying appropriate theory, as well as reward those who have made progress toward praxis. |
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