Management Of Employees With Asd In The Workplace

The purpose of this report is to examine the extent to which employees with ASD in the workplace require different management style as opposed to employees without ASD. Thus far, there has been few empirical studies concerning the impact of ASD on the management relationship.

Definition of ASD

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) refers to individuals that have been diagnosed with either `classic autism` which can also be called Autism Disorder, Asperger syndrome and Pervasive Developmental Disorder – not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS) which can be known as `atypical autism` (www.nhs.uk). The National Autistic Society (NAS) gives caution that sometimes PDDNOS is incorrectly labelled as atypical autism. PDD-NOS is diagnosed when someone shows several behaviour traits of Autism but does not full meet the criteria (www.autism.org.uk).

The NAS summaries ASD as a syndrome that varies from person to person, some are able to live independently while others need ongoing specialist support. ASD is classed as a lifelong disability effecting someone`s communication skills and how they relate with other people www.autism.org.uk. The National Health Service (www.nhs.uk) breaks this down to a `triad of impairments` which are social interaction, communication and imagination. Social interaction is the most important out of the three and if it is the only one present in someone they can still be diagnosed with ASD even if it is subtle. Aspergers syndrome is also classed as ASD and is mostly a `hidden disability`. There are similarities with Autism however people with Aspergers outwardly appear like everyone else. Often having average or above average intelligence, and may not suffer from learning disabilities like many people with autism (www.autism.org.uk).

This report mainly focusses on people on the high functioning part of the ASD spectrum. These such people with the correct support and encouragement can be highly beneficial to an organisation (Attwood 2007). Looking at the triad of impairments more closely it is clear to see how some of these impairments can be advantageous to organisations.

Social interaction

A person with ASD may find social interaction difficult. They may wish to be sociable but find it hard knowing how to initiate and maintain friendships. They may not understand unspoken rules of conduct such as appropriate personal space. They may find others unpredictable and may become aloof and distance (www.autism.org.uk). This could be beneficial to an organisation as they would closely follow the rules of the organisation and not the unspoken unofficial rules.

Social Communication

Difficulties with social communication can include understanding non-verbal communications, complex and unusual words. They may also find it hard knowing what subjects are suitable and when, understanding when conversations should start or finish and they like instructions and comments to be literal and not suggestive or hypothetical (www.autism.org.uk). Their need to take instructions literal can be highly beneficial such as in the case of quality. Social Imagination A difficulty with social imagination would mean to someone with ASD a lack of reading between the lines, thinking of different possible outcomes, interpreting and understanding others actions, thoughts and feelings, and they may see things in a black and white perspective. Only seeing a function that has been given to something instead of an added function it could also be used for (www.autism.org.uk). This black and white perspective can also be beneficial for organisations as someone with ASD is less likely to question direction from an authority figure.

LITERATURE REVIEW

As the purpose of this research is to examine if employees with ASD require a different management style than employees without ASD and if so, the literature review then considers the extent to which variations in management style are required to ensure maximum staff motivation and productivity in organisational tasks and life.

The Roles and responsibilities of management

Managers have and will continue in the foreseeable future to be important to companies performance, even though there is ambiguity over their role (Martins 2009). Deming (2000) believes a managers role is to enable staff to meet the organisations goals, through co-operation, motivation, tutor, counsellor, without being judgemental. Martins (2009) feels there is confusion over managers priority to strategy, operations and man management, and questions their level of authority saying some authors feel first tier managers are only assistants to higher management. This argument over level of control is not taken into further depth. Regardless of their level of control managers are more people focussed than they used to be (Kerr 2002). Which is required as employees expect more than they used to (Comeau-Kirschner, Wah 1999), and as the Audit Commission (1997) concluded managers are major instigators for staff turnaround. Making managers best to handle changes and man manage the workforce (Flanagan 1997). For example without line managers commitment, necessary skills, attitude and abilities to encourage a diverse workforce, diversity will not work within the organisation (Bassett-Jones 2005). The NAS also acknowledge the importance of managers support for staff with ASD and for the company to exceed through exemplary communication (National Autistic Society 2011).

Misunderstanding the role of managers leads to confusion over job responsibility (Martins 2009), such as where does a managers responsibility ends and HR`s responsibility starts (Anonymous 1994) (Keegan, Francis 2010). Both managers and HR`s role has been and is still evolving (Keegan, Francis 2010). Recently many HR departments are started delegating to line managers (Kersley et al 2004), which causes confusion and thus resulting in a lack of managers embracing the HR element (Cunningham et al. 2004) (Whittaker, Marchington 2003), as many do not believe their job should be HR (Mindell 1995). This confusion and conflict can leave managers feeling HR duties have been dumped on them and can distract from other duties (Harris 2005). Eisenstate (1996) and Renwick (2002) stated HR should be strategic focussed. Ulrich (1996) believes managers responsibilities are strategic and not about `employee comfort`. Harris (2008) impugns Ulrich saying if managers do not focus on employee comfort, knowledge and understanding will be missed which could dilute the success of the organisations strategy. Bassett-Jones (2005) feel recruiting, training, appraisals and rewards in a diverse workforce is HRM`s job.

Recruitment and training could be viewed as strategic however appraisals and rewards could be viewed as either strategy or man management or a combination of the two. Unfortunately he does not specify nor explain where HR`s role transfers into the managers role. With line managers being in closer proximity to their staff and the pace of organisational change line managers are better equipped to handle elements of HR and support staff (Mindell 1995) (Harris 2008) however many don`t want to (Mindell 1995). Tickle (2009) highlights this could clash with caring element of a managers role (Tickle 2009). Flanagan (1997) says caring is respect and not `soft and flabby`. Darling, Walker (2001) agree, they state a caring manager sees, acknowledges and manages all conflict to make positive for the organisation and all parties involved. Their viewpoint is more overview and organisational focus however the emphasis on all parties and the non-judgemental anti-authority tone clearly shows respect and an assertive forward thinking attitude. So to manage a diverse workforce HR and line managers need to work together (Bassett-Jones 2005), as managers can lack some of the skills and time needed (Mindell 1995), and it is HR job to support and train managers to manage diverse staff and the emotions that come with them (Bassett-Jones 2005). Flanagan (1997) looks at this from a different and valid perspective. Not only do managers need to support, skills and knowledge to care for their staff, but any lack of support and training can give them stress and stress can stop them caring which impacts on their overall effectiveness.

Management / Staff Relationships

For managers to full fill their strategy and care duties they need to understand their staff and know how best to fit them into the organisational goals (Bassett-Jones 2005). Understanding their staff help managers harness employee potential (Colquhoun 2006), and managers that work the their staff`s strengths and build systems to counter balance their weaknesses is seen as smart managers (Drucker 1999) (Buckingham, Coffman 1999).

Darling, Walker`s (2001) paper on conflict management said effective managers appreciate all types of people. Using Peter Druckers (Mullins 2007) model that teams should be made up of relaters, analyzers, directors and socializers draws the conclusion that managers should be open to identify, develop and work with their staffs uniqueness. Darling, Walker (2001) explain diversity is good, and managers who adapt their style to individuals help manage conflict better and thus reduce stress and benefit the organisation. They go on to discuss Stylefex, describing it as when a manager adapts their behaviour to enhance the performance of their staff, while staying congruent to themselves. Done correctly results will feel organic and not manipulated. Kofodimos (1991) believes Stylefex works best when all levels in an organisation with this ethos. Darling, Walker (2001) mention a back up style which comes into effect when people feel cornered. It is an extreme version of the original style and can turn a strength into a weakness. Back up style`s are rigid, level of communication is hindered and transferring into the back up style is an unconscious decision. Handled poorly the back up style will only get worse. Darling, Walker (2001) acknowledge employees reactions can vary however they do not mention how the relationship with the manager can impact on the employees reaction.

Many management models do not mention flexibility towards staff. The cultural web refers to `routine behaviour` which looks at employee behaviour towards each other, but not the managers adaption towards their staff. The McKinsey7-S Framework, Lewin`s three phase process of behaviour modification, Kotter and Cohen`s eight step model for successful large-scale change, and the Kaleidoscope model (Mullins 2007) to name a few. None listed mention how the manager needs to adapt their management style to their staff. There are models such as SWOT which can be applied to assist managers in understanding their staff but do not go further into explaining how the manager needs to adapt to this information. However some leadership models are more empathic and relationship directed, such as Zalenik`s definition of a leader, leadership and management model designed by Investors in People, Action-Centred Leadership by Adair, Path-Goal Theory, and McGregor`s Leadership Relationship Model (Mullins 2007) so may offer greater support.

Companies caring for their staff are going to become more important in the future as the new generation of staff are expecting it and retention is being viewed as a positive to the bottom line (Comeau-Kirschner, Wah (1999) (Flanagan 1997). A good track record of recruitment and retaining staff can help attract exceptional staff and therefore give the organisation a competitive edge (Eubanks 1990). Once caring and personal development has been embraced by line managers it can help strategy (Mindell 1995). Alternatively it could be viewed as bad to spend money and resources training managers when they are much needed elsewhere (Flanagan 1997). All situations and people are unique so no one rule or action plan will fit all situations (Flanagan 1997).

Conculsion To The Roles and responsibilities of management

Many academics (Flanagan 1997) (Bassett-Jones 2005) (Mullins 2007) believe managers are effectively positioned to combine strategy and management however do require support and training from HR to effectively fulfil their role. There can be conflict between strategy and management nonetheless by using styleflex or other such models and encouraging staff to copy this conflict should be minimalized and malleable. Unfortunately many management models are too ridged in their theory and do not encourage managers to adapt their methods to the needs of their staff (Mullins 2007). Leadership models are far more encouraging, however this lack in management models does require further attention, as caring managers are positively linked to staff retention, turnover and attraction of exceptional staff.

Given the limited consideration of individual characteristics in management model, the next part of this report will consider material on diversity which offers an explanation of what is diversity, what challenges come with implementing it and debate if diversity is beneficial or should be avoided.

Diversity in the workplace

This section of the report will look into what diversity is and it`s focus, as well as the challenges that come with introducing and managing such a varied workforces.

Diversity Definition

Kapoor (2011) defines diversity as all experiences and characteristics that make us unique, whereas Burns (2008) offer a limited definition which includes experience, skills and culture. For Cavanaugh (2001) diversity means embracing a broad range of people (not just focussing on age and race) and creating an environment where everyone feels respect, acceptance, with good communication so they are able to reach their full potential. Svehla (1994) agrees diversity managed well is appreciating differences and making everyone feel safe and accepted. Herring (2009) believes there is greater confusion. He explains one view is that it is about protecting groups such as gender and race through political orientated schemes such as affirmation action and quotas.

Another view is diversity should support wider minority groups such as disabled, age, religion, ethnicity, location, sexual preference, personality and more. Taking both opinions into view Herring (2009) draws the conclusion that diversity should create a culture where anyone that is different from the traditional majority would feel just as valued and be able to reach their potential as the majority. He makes no attempt to define what the traditional majority means.

The founder Thorkil Sonne set up a company called Specialisterne located in Denmark and the United Kingdom that mainly employees people on the autistic spectrum. This organisation challenges Herring (2009) definition of the traditional majority. Davis (2006) diversity definition works better with Specialisterne employment model. He describes diversity as assortment, variety and range, and is more than just differences. Therefore caters for all the staff at Specialisterne and can not be viewed in any discrimination way as no sub sector such as race or gender have been highlighted, nor missed out.

Soni (2000) notes there is limited research into the receptivity of diversity management, making it unclear how open people and organisations really are (Gaze). Miserandino (1998) paper concludes that failure to embrace diversity is hurtful and harmful to minorities. Resistance to diversity can have numerous factors which organisations need to identify and address in order to overcome and have the desired results (Bassett-Jones 2005). This is not easy as deep routed beliefs will surface (Bell 1992), and diversity impacts on employees (Thomas 1991) (Loden, Rosener 1991) (Gentile 1994).

Diversity Management Focus

The debate of who diversity management should be focussed on is deep rooted in diversity management literature. Kellough (2006) argues if it should be based on utilitarianism, diversity, disadvantage, or even if it should be based on anti-discrimination. Gaze cautions care to ensure diversity management succeeds in practice. Initiatives to embrace differences and encourage respect can go overboard and potentially backfire, causing conflict and confirming negative stereotypes. Holvino, Kamp (2009) paper focusses on the element of sameness and differences in the debate of diversity management. They question how can something that focusses on differences make things equal. Loden, Rosener (1991) believe differences are complex. They are a mix of fixed, innate components such as biological, age, gender, physical abilities and secondary which include education, location, income and religion to name a few. A third organisational element is also added by Plummer (2003) which includes organisational role, nationality, cognitive style and skills. With such detailed views on differences there still is little uniformed opinions on what are differences, especially when you look on a global scale. In Denmark differences in the workplace are viewed as a weakness, and there is a general moral obligation in the country to care for vulnerable people (Holvino, Kamp 2009). The term weakness implies not as strong, not as beneficial or good as the norm. If differences are viewed as being from a lesser and not so good standing then that is a paradox of academics that say differences bring important and much needed clarity to the mix. Holvino and Kamp (2009) do not state where they got this opinion from just that it is conceived in Denmark firms.

Resistance Elements

With such varied views on differences in order to maintain a controlled and cohesive workforce resistance elements need addressing. Conflict and Confusion and Miscommunication will be looked at closer.

Conflict

Conflict is described as two or more parties within a unit being incompatible (Darling, Walker 2001). Kanter (1977), Ibaara (1993), Tafjel (1982), Ely, Thomas (2001) and Eubanks (1990) all believe conflict is bad. As it produces distrust, poor quality, takes attention from customer and market focus. It can damage cohesion, communication and encourages alienation. Not all academics view it as bad (Nurmi, Darling 1997), (Walton 1976), as it can encourage change for the better (Darling, Walker 2001). Managed effectively conflict can improve performance, decisifness and problem-solving (Bassett-Jones 2005), and help staff development, and decision making (Blome 1983). Darling, Walker (2001) say conflict can not be avoided and managers that try to avoid it will not last the distance. Even though it can be uncomfortable and conflict does cost the organisation, the benefits outweigh and help the organisations long term survival.

Staff can backlash to working in such an environment (Holvino, Kamp 2009), resentment can surface as staff can feel someone is getting special treatment (Owens 2010). Resulting in staff feeling alienated (Bassett-Jones 2005), and left unresolved this could escalate into bulling (Tickle 2009), or even worse aggression (Bhattacharya, Mehra 2010). Some people with ASD already struggle with social interaction (www.autism.org.uk) so working in an environment where managers and co-workers are prejudiced, anxious and ignorant (Tickle 2009) is unmanaged the knock on effect can be dramatic. Bassett-Jones (2005) article lists many benefits for diversity such as when managed well diversity can encourage and enhance innovation, creativity, moral, loyalty. agility and have a positive impact on organisation performance. Working with strengths and weaknesses through trust and sensitivity in diverse groups can help solve problems, and make greater creativity. However the following eleven elements need to be present. Commitment, team spirit, trust, leadership, external support, clear goals, focus on results and excellence, recognition and involvement in decision making, and finally flexibility to cater for changing conditions. The arguments in the article did feel shallow with no real life examples. It did confirm that organisations dedication to tacking the negative aspects of diversity can help it overcome them and reap the many rewards available.

Confusion and miscommunication

Another by-product is the chance of greater confusion and miscommunication, which can contribute to conflict (Eubanks 1990). As mentioned earlier there is confusion over responsibilities between HR and line managers, this tension can result in resistance to disclose and share information and knowledge (Anonymous 1994). Compounding the confusion over roles and boundaries and the perspectives both parties bring to the table (McGovern et. al. 1998). Harris (2008) paper regarding this tension gives the view that line managers lack of interest or skills regarding their new HR orientated roles is putting a strain on HR. They do not say if managers understand or want the HR element: however state that managers want HR to back them up and help them avoid mistakes. As HR can view line managers as being strategic and not interested in staff, they do not feel the support they need from HR will be forthcoming. Believing HR are fearful of losing control and distancing themselves. Where as HR allegedly feel managers do not want to embrace their new roles because they are not confident and therefore not using tools HR are giving them. They think managers want quick fix`s and do not want to put the effort in. The paper did put forward some good arguments although it read like two opposing sides conflicting against each other instead of working together. With the author being firmly in HR`s camp. They did conclude saying HR is needed when legal complexities and disputes with line managers arise.

Conclusion to Resistance Elements

Resistance to diversity can have numerous factors, organisations need to identify and address these factors in order to overcome them and reach positive results (Bassett-Jones 2005) (Darling, Walker 2001). Caring managers in particular have been identified as being able to tackle the conflict effectively (Darling, Walker 2001). With managers being closer to their staff they are able to pick up tensions that could lead to conflict and quickly address them. Many early signs come from deep routed beliefs (Bell 1992) such as stereotypes, and tension which can be brought about by no, or under management of diversity which will be felt by all employees, positively or negatively. Cox, Black (1991) feel valuing differences is the way forward. Valuing differences means appreciating heterogeneity and making everyone feel safe and accepted (Svehla 1994). In reality its unclear how open people and organisations are (Gaze). As moral and cohesion are so important to organisations (Eubanks 1990) it is strange that there is limited research into how diversity management relates to moral (Soni 2000).

Long Term Diversity Strategy

Gone are the days when employees were expected to act the same (Kerr 2002). With numerous impactors effecting the future workforce (ASD, learning difficulties, greater cultural mix, more minority groups wanting to stay or enter the work place), many companies are now looking at inclusion strategies instead of stand management (Garkinkel 2005). Holvino, Kamp (2009) reach the same conclusion however from a different angle. They explain pigeon-holing people into those that are different from those that are not then managing each pigeon hole separately evades historical negative stereotypes and prejudices, and makes the disadvantaged people feel they have been singled out. Focussing on the group instead of the individual and working towards inclusion makes a fairer outcome.

Cox et al. (1991), Wise, Tschirhart (2000), Elmer (2006), Watson et al. (1993) Holvino, Kamp (2009) Herring (2009), Bassett-Jones (2005) among many academics believe diversity is good. Common benefits are group and organisational competitive performance, symbiosis, creativity, innovation, talent sourcing, heightened commitment and staff retention and satisfaction, organisational agility and profitability, as well as less discrimination suits. Wise, Tschirhart (2000) adds tolerance and understanding. Peter Drucker`s theory that each management task needs a minimal of four different personalities (Drucker 1973) confirms diversity is good. Some academics say diversity encourages conflict however Cox (2001) says conflict encourages staff to question assumptions which produces innovation and creation which are good for the organisation. Holvino, Kamp (2009) questions if diversity management can really take ownership of this positive conflict. Diversity does make people more open to risk (Bassett-Jones 2005).

The business case for diversity

Many authors (Cox et al. 1991) (Wise, Tschirhart 2000) (Elmer 2006) (Watson et al. 1993) (Holvino, Kamp 2009) (Herring 2009) (Bassett-Jones 2005) have offered a solid business case for diversity. Stock prices can increase through diversity (Wright et al 1995). American statistics confirm organisations with women in top management positions generate a third more return to shareholders than organisations that solely made up of men in top management positions, a reason given is women are still the main consumer and hence women in top positions will be able to relate to the customer more naturally (Guerrera 2007), no evidence is given for this assumption however Sen, Bhattacharya (2001) & Black et al. (1996) do confirm consumers prefer organisations that are diverse. Out of 495 organisations in Europe 83% believe diversity positively contributes to their business success (European Commission 2005), and companies such as PepsiCo are openly proud of their diverse workforce (Guerrera 2007). Failure to embrace diversity can even been seen as a contributor to organisational collapse. (Bhattacharya, Mehra 2010).

This debate is not all one-sided, some academics question the true benefits (Kochan et al. 2003) (Herring 2009) say many organisations are not committed enough to assess the effectiveness (Comer, Soliman 1996), and any observations gained have not been scrutinized (Herring 2009). Therefore any results must be taken with considerable doubt. External influences such as available workforce, culture and stereotypes impacting on the organisation with or without diversity management Herring (2009) Colquhoun (2006) question if diversity can be benchmarked. Walgenbach and Hegele (2001) summarize “what can an apple learn from an orange?”. Critics say diversity management is used as a distraction from debates on power, systemic oppression, hierarchy, privilege, equality, discrimination and organisational justice (Prasad et al. 1997). Herring (2009) concludes overall diversity is good, but mentions the harmful impactors such as conflict, poor cohesiveness, absenteeism, lower quality and performance which un-addressed can end up costing more than the value added. Eubanks (1990) adds communication – language and literacy, cultural awareness including respect, career development, workforce preparedness and the organisational culture development as issues that also need attention.

Having a diverse workforce alone does not guarantee positive results, for example some managers have shun away from staff that they feel have complex needs due to time constraints (Harris 2008). Therefore all levels of staff and managers need to be managed and management techniques need to be tailored to the individual (Moore 1999) (Herring 2009). As different diversity groups have different reactions (Herring 2009). Staff will also pick up each others strengths and weaknesses and there will be a level of self managing (Bassett-Jones 2005), however to increase the odds of reaching true potential managers need to take control of the situation.

Eubanks (1990) stated that the traditional workforce is shrinking and more and more women, ethnic minorities and immigrants are seeking employment (Eubanks 1990). People are now working longer due to changes in retirement laws, but one could argue that in itself is age diversity. Which makes the question not should a company choose to be diverse but how best they can make use of the workforce available to them (Eubanks 1990).

Although business experts encourage diversity (Cox, Blake 1991), literature indicates companies have mixed views (Gaze). Many believe in diversity however do not fully understand or embrace it, instead listing legal obligations as their main motivator (Gaze), and do not priorities it or allocate a budget to implement it (Anonymous 1999). It is unclear how committed top management is to diversity, but to reap the maximum benefits organisations need to embrace and support it (Gaze). This is an enormous challenge as the sociological impact can be great (Herring 2009). Holvino, Kamp (2009) observe diversity management only works when the majority feel the power positions are not at risk and the outsiders are generally only welcomed if they are beneficial (Holvino, Kamp 2009). Managing a diverse workforce can mean greater workload in balancing positives over conflict and resistance (Bassett-Jones 2005). Hence many organisations are not interested enough to assess the data, or put women and minorities into new domains and roles (Holvino, Kamp 2009). With diversity management perimeters being blurry (Holvino, Kamp 2009), and a job advert for a diversity manager requiring in-depth and specialist skills such as an understanding of legal, interpersonal skills and strategy (Anonymous 2006), is is no wonder organisations have not and are not embracing it like they know they should be. Organisations that do embrace diversity there can be numerous reactions. Bassett-Jones (2005) identifies four behaviours, diversity hostile, blind and naïve, and a fourth proactive response called diversity integrationist. It is hard to predict which behavioural trend will surface as many have varying siding factors.

Diversity management needs to be long and short term focussed (Anonymous 1999), especially as loyalty is changing and being re-defined (Welch 2001), and cultural diversity is now an important issue (Miserandino 1998). Staff support is needed early on to encourage a sense of belonging and individuality appreciation (Bassett Jones 2005). Managers support is also needed as many will not know what to expect (Tickle 2009).

Diversity Conclusion

To conclude diversity at work should be about setting an environment where a broad range of people can work together in harmony and reach their full potential. This is a difficult challenge as many concious and unconscious elements impact on all persons including the manager. However as the workforce and society is continually evolving it is essential and if the negatives can be navigated through the rewards can transform an organisation.

Evolution of the work force

The next part of this report will consider the extent to which adjustments have been made in the workplace to accommodate different groups. The report will look into the past and see what lessons already learnt can help prepare the way for welcoming and underpinning a new wave of employees with ASD. The workforce is continually evolving and reflecting the changing demographic and the change in social attitudes. The most noted have been the entrance of women and ethnic minorities. Therefore the next part of the report will look at both these groups in attempt to identify potential resistance and obsticals people with ASD may need to overcome.

A diverse workplace mirrors a diverse society (Davis 2006), making it impractical to have a homogeneous workforce any more (Herring 2009). Academics agree there has been a change but disagree on the reasons behind this shift (Kelly, Dubbin 1998) (Hays-Thomas 2004) (Kerr 2002). Some industries and jobs still have very analogous workforce: however in the broader concept variegated workforces are the norm. Nowonly 38% of the workforce comprises of white males (Davis 2006), Davis does not state where this statistic comes from so must be taken with prudence. The number of women in the workforce are increasing (Reznik, Prevatt 1988). as well as the number of minorities, and immigrates, staff are also retiring later than they used to (Buhler 1995) (Eubanks 1990). The workplace is also opening up to people with disabilities (Davis 2006).

As society and people seeking employment is changing organisations need to respond, embrace and support this new workforce (Soni 2000) (Davis 2006). Failure to embrace diversity is hurtful and harmful to minority individuals (Miserandino 1998), and to organisations. Some advancements are done due to policies and keeping up to date with the latest legislation instead of out of a need for equality (Rees 1992), so hidden agendas need identifying and addressing. Trepidation is essential as women and ethnic minorities have different experiences and outcomes at work (Smith, Joseph 2010). Reznik, Prevatt`s (1988) paper mentions that as corporate hireacy is flattening and women in power are rising `women issues` are now being addressed. Their paper does have a tone that women are victims that have to juggle both home and work so they need their issues addressing, giving a sense of powerless. There seems little strength in their portrayal of women and when discussing the parenting demands on women make no reference to the demands on a male parent, which were less back in 1988 when this paper was written. Another change over time is loyalty. Staff are less loyal to their employer and they are now responsible for their careers instead of trusting the organisation to look after them (Buhler 1995). Many organisations believe flexibility is one way to to tackle these new issues that come with diversity. Buhler`s (1995) paper highlights flexible staff are welcome, as the business world is in continual state of change. The paper is disappointing in that it sees everything from one opinion. Saying staff that aren`t flexible will hinder an organisation, but then contradicts itself saying diversity is good.

Gender

It was only until the mid 1970`s that women fully embraced and pursued professional careers (Reznik, Prevatt`s 1988), (Helms, Guffey 1997). Almost four decades later women still earn less than men (Office for National Statistics 2011), one academics works it out to be 13% less than their male counterparts and suggests it will be approximately 20 years before women will be equal to men in senior civil service positions, and 40 years before they are equal at director level (Farquharson 2006). With research proving what is good for women employees is good for all employees (Reznik, Prevatt 1988) backs up what happens in reality is not always what academics prove it should be. In reality women work as equality hard as men (Hakim 2004), and team performance and organisational performance is improved when there is a gender mix (Herring 2009) (Guerrera 2007).

Rees (1992) suggests the reason women have faced such difficulties at work was because they were viewed as being inferior and their home responsibilities deflected them from their work duties. In the past when organisations tried to accommodate woman`s `special needs` the organisations were viewed as being weak in the face of stress and did not elevate pressure on women instead indirectly increased the load on women (Rees 1992). A survey carried out in 1990 concluded that the reasons women still face a glass ceiling at work is much more complex. Reasons given were age and mobility, job selection process, what is the right thing to do for women, old boy networks that exclude women and negative stereotypes regarding intentions and availability (Hansard Society Commission 1990). Hakim (2004) puts it down to the general division in rank between men in higher positions and women in lower ones. As top executives average aged is 51 it is to early to tell if women are still being held back (Reznik, Prevatt 1988). Hakim (2004) posit a reason given is that testosterone makes men more competitive and women need to balance home and work which makes them less invested in career development. One could argue with high powered and motivated women such as Margaret Thatcher, Anita Roddick, Deborah Meaden and Dame Stella Rimington (the first female director of MI5) that women are as competitive as men. Also with more single fathers, and changes in society`s attitude towards fathers becoming more active in home and family responsibilities the reasons Hakim gives could easily be rebutted.

Stereotypes could also be viewed as the basis for women`s inequality at work (Hakim 2004) (Reznik, Prevatt 1998). Berry (2010) obituary of Jean Lawrence describes challenges and constraints Jean faced as a successful business manager expert teaching in UK business schools in the 1960-70`s. He describes both Jean and her female colleague, both as high achieving women being fully aware of barriers and chose to either ignored or steered clear of them. By ignoring and avoiding these barriers surely these would have impacted on their results and quality. Both women enjoyed challenging their male counterparts and superiors. Over the years Jean specialized in the unconscious process of management. Which bears the question which unfortunately Berry did not answer could her specialized interest have been a result of the challenges and barriers she herself faced and she saw her colleagues and women in general faced through negative stereotypes. Berry points out not all women have the same pioneering attitude, and deal with scenarios in different ways. Bhattacharya, Mehra (2010) confirms same sex can discriminate against each other.

Academically much as been written about the inequality of women at work, from pay to promotion, company ethos, and harassment. To list all the differing views would detract from the main purpose of this paper so data taken from the Office for National Statistics (2011) which is up to date, unbiased and relevant for the United Kingdom is used to give a basic portrayal. Across all industries the gross weekly pay for full time employees showed women earn £388 less than men, and part time employees averaging out to women earning £271 less then men. This data is very general as it does not take into account level of hierarchy in an organisation however the statistics do give a general trend. A paper written by Bhattacharya, Mehra (2010) on corporate apartheid in India the advancement of women at work is further behind and legislation to support them does not take into account subtle and demeaning discrimination. Sexual harassment is rampant and under reported, with abusive superiors and harassment frequently being over looked and companies actively allowing it to continue. The paper only give a small amount of evidence to back their observations and the paper does not have any solid debate underpinning its contents (Bhattacharya, Mehra 2010).

Some global organisations are trying to correct the discriminatory attitudes in different countries and adapting their policies around that country laws and cultures, however change must be handled slowly and carefully (Farquharson 2006).

Empathy and support which used to be viewed as a female gender management styles and not encouraged have now been proved as beneficial to organisations (Reznik, Prevatt 1988), the assumption they are a gender style and not a personality style is further explored. Regardless these qualities were used as a foundation to discriminate women is clearly shown and now has been disvalued. Reznik, Prevatt (1988) paper highlights many of the challenges women at that time were facing some of which are still current today, such as a desire to balance work and family. While their paper does highlight these challenges the authors fail to portray a crusading element instead paints a picture of victims waiting for the tide to turn. Women have and are victims of their country, employers and social prejudices according to Hakim (2004), Bhattacharya, Mehra (2010) does back this up. Hakim (2004) proposes it is the work culture not the job that defines if a job is a male or female role. Men and women stay in positions that are predominately same sex roles for social and personal comfort, and someone who doesn`t conform of correct sex protocol can be frozen out. Frozen out refers to when someone is not given necessary training and a colleagues undermine, ignore or harass them until they quit or move on (Hakim 2004).

Phillips, Taylor (1980) describes how at that time organisations viewed married women as docile, attentive, and easy to suppress and pay less by making them fearful of being replaced. Male workers de-skilled jobs for women to reinforce this fear. Women were treated like slaves and expected to do degrading and oppressive jobs (Webster 1990). As organisations knew they could impose on women unlike they could on their male employees. An example of this is a female clerical worker who was expected to clean the ladies toilet. Management was `patchy` and full of inconsistencies, contradictions and inefficient. With many organisations having no management policy, with control gained through fear of sacking (Webster 1990). Organisations purposely segregated women as the Equal Pay Legislation enforced in 1975 in the UK, stated everyone doing the same job with the same level of responsibility should earn the same. So if the women could not find a man doing the same job earning more then they could not use the law to get equal pay (Rees 1992). Segregation also encouraged resentment and hindered suggestions for improvement as women felt their comments would not be heard (Webster 1990). Padavic, Reskin (2002) explain women generally did not rebel against this treatment. This could be because many women during the 1960-70`s felt under valued and aliens in a male dominate environment, where sexual tension was dealt with by a `screwing the secretary` attitude (Berry 2010).

Ethnic Minorities

Organisations can benefit from cultural diversity (Miserandino 1998) (Donkin 1999), Spiers (2008) believes it can make teams be more creative, and can helps new views, opportunities and ideas be identified as opposed to similar people who after a while tend to become blinkered (Anonymous 2006 (A)). Companies understand race diversity needs addressing however out of 104 companies committed to diversity only 2.6% had a senior executive from an ethnic background (Anonymous 2006 (A)). The contradiction between employers apparent desire to employ racial mix in high level positions and the rarity in reality could be down to a number of reasons which we will explore later in the report however it is clear that diversity across all levels in an organisation is highly beneficial (Romano 1993), and organisations are under pressure to employ different race`s especially at top level (Carbado, Gulati 2004).

A workforce of white staff may not notice certain cultural issues and continual lack of awareness could magnify and be potentially viewed as severe discrimination (Anonymous 1999) (Miserandino 1998). Alternatively some behaviour that seems politically correct could have a deep discriminatory tone. Smith, Joseph (2010) believes race discrimination is social and political, meaning resistance can be big, as deep routed beliefs with surface (Miserandino 1998). Much discrimination is subtle and can be both conscious and unconscious (Carbado, Gulati 2004). By managers not being aware of racism, including the subtlies can suggest it is acceptable and in directly encouraging it to continue (Katz, Moore 2004). In 2005 29% for workers reported as overhearing racism or ethnicbased remarks, Davis (2006) does not give a time line of when these remarks were made or give any descri ption of the setting which could easily influence the results. Laer, Janssens (2011) breakdown subtle ethnic minority discrimination by three characteristics. The first being ambiguous empowerment resulting in dis-empowerment. Second: regular dis-empowerment through everyday duties, and the third being discriminatory society.

Adams (1999) describes how even after 20 years of anti-discrimination legislation racism is still present and there shows no significant signs of it decreasing. Katz, Moore (2004) agrees, stating how today`s organisations are proud and open to have zero tolerance to racism however ethnic minority employees and statistics paint another picture. They describe many people of colour feeling alienated, isolated, and feel they are given the worst jobs with little support. Katz, and Moore fail to explain where they got this information from. They also say many top level positions are still predominately held by white persons. Romano (1993) confirms quoting in twenty years the number of ethnic minorities entering the boardroom has increased from 9% to 37%. Maitland (2003) paper written 10 years later says 7% executive directors are non-British nationals, 6% women and only 1% British ethnic minorities. Considering the benefits of diversity and how organisations have zero tolerance to racism this is shocking. Katz and Moore`s (2004) delves into the reasons behind this contradiction. The basis of their argument is subconsciously we prefer people like ourselves and this does effect how we act. They call this the `comfort factor`, which can come from all staff within the organisation, customers, suppliers and alliances. On the most part people are unaware how their `comfort factor` impacts on them. In order for staff to progress they need honest feedback which they may not get if their manager finds it hard to relate to them. Appraisals are done on individuals with promotion, pay and advancement opportunities directly linked. Adams (1999) report makes no mention of appraisals, but does confirm ethnic minorities do earn less due to lack of promotion. Once minorities get into middle management they proceed at equal speed of their white counterparts even though generally they work harder (Donkin 1999). Unfortunately the promotion of a minority employee can be presumed that they only got promotion to hit the minority quota also known as tokenism (Katz, Moore 2004). Promoting someone as a `token` ethnic employee, shadows future ethnic people who have been promoted on merit alone (Anonymous 2006 (A)).

Anonymous (2006 (A)) and Carbado, Gulati (2004) confirm the number of ethnics climbing the ladder are rising however the numbers are very small. Moseley (2006) suggests ethnic minorities do not start from level footing which make progression slow, he gives the example of lack of education holding them back. Another view is white board directors have been playing by unwritten rules such as networking since their school days, and chairmen prefer to recruit friends and are wary of outsiders (Donkin 1999) (Romano 1993). Anonymous (2006 (A)) also blames head-hunters and recruiters. Carbado, Gulati (2004) states racial comfort prevents diversity, as limited race mix means trust issues between races, which encourages recruiting familiar and similar people. Katz, Moore (2004) confirms people prefer similar people.

For decades ethnic minorities have been fully aware the hypocrisy not only of the workplace but also of the country they lived in saying everyone has equal rights and opportunities, where in reality there is not only human slavery but also wage slavery (Arnesen 2007). Adams (1999) paper confirms this is still the case Indians living in Britain generally are greater academic achievers than white people in Britain, statistics quoted however confirm they earn 6% less than white people and 8% more likely to be unemployed. Some organisations are trying to address this a manager at HP in South Africa describes how race diversity is highly important since apartheid. In the western world a manager that overly seeks to employ a person with black skin could be accused of being discriminatory towards the potential white recruits, however with the countries past the manager is happy to be quoted as saying in recruitment they look at skin colour, but once employed promotion is solely based on performance. They go on to describe in house schemes set up to make their white workforce believe it is good to work along side staff with black skin (Farquharson 2006).

Arnesen (2007) book describes past issues many employees of dark skin have faced. Unlike women organisations wanted to manage and control their black workers, when they struggled violence was normally followed. Just after slavery was abolished in America not only did black workers find it hard to be recruited in new job fields, as stereotypes prevent new doors opening. Black women as well as being subjected to degrading jobs and violence many also suffered sexual abuse. Prostitution as seen as only a fraction more degrading than legitimate work. Whites managers were aware that while they maintained superiority important questions on race inequality would never get resolved and the current status quo could continue. When minority staff questioned their conditions and treatment conflict and resistance came from their employers, main-steam co-workers, trade unions and the people of their minority that were in middle and rising classes. Successful minorities felt workers who challenged the current situation were setting a poor example and therefore would confirm the negative attitudes which would jeopardize any progress already made.

Integration can be messy and leadership is needed Miserandino (1998). Moseley (2006) paper discusses post apartheid employment schemes to encourage diversity. They mention people with dark skin have concerns about going into partnerships with their old suppressors, and how this can lead to trust issues. As some alliances may only be supportive as they see an opportunity to make money and not to help address equality and a better future – so would be fickle and could jump ship. Even when minorities get employed many can still feel feel alienated, isolated and feel they are given the worst jobs, Katz, Moore (2004) do not give any source for their statement. Arnesen (2007) states people of dark skin face issues at work such as harsh working conditions, poor wage, abuse from managers, and general discriminatory racism treatment. Historically these conditions were not portrayed at the time, Arnesen (2007) does not give a reason for this.

Minorities supporting each other

Many diversity schemes designed to encourage differences take into account sex and ethnicity (Moseley 2006) however ignorance in unidentified diversity groups could still fail those categories. Diversity in other aspects as well as sex and ethnicity is equally important. Personality and education are also identified by Anonymous (2006 A)), which is good news for race, gender, and people that come from a different education background. Diversity schemes that encourage organisations to fulfil vacancies with unqualified or inexperienced staff are therefore good (Herring 2009). Carbado, Gulati (2004) explain top end minorities are in a position to enforce policies to tackle discrimination and there is an assumption they will do however they do not always do. Carbado, Gulati (2004) give the example of two successful racial minorities that did not want to discuss barriers they had to face and overcame but did mentor. Herring (2009) agree the best way to help is through mentors. Unless successful minorities support climbing minorities issues effecting them will remain un-addressed. The reason given for successful minorities that quietly support climbing minorities is they are continuously scrutinized consciously and un consciously just like when they were climbing. It is hard for climbing minorities to get a mentor as it is difficult for them to find one that can relate to similar issues and challenges they face and techniques for overcoming these are often learnt through out of work socializing. Invitations to these social situations are unconsciously based on similar persons sticking together, so hard to get an invitations if you are viewed as different. Organisations need to be aware that a diverse top level staff helps ambitious staff feel their goals are achievable (Carbado, Gulati 2004). In 1973 women at board level was only 11% however by 1993 this had grown to 60% women`s advancement is slow but ethnics is even slower (Romano 1993). With quiet mentoring and more women going for decision making roles (Romano 1993), change is happening unfortunately as board directors get re-elected every 3 years, so it will take years before diversity will be felt from such a level (Maitland 2003).

Conclusion of Evolution of the Work Force

To paraphrase both gender and race have faced negative stereotypes derived from perceptions perceived prior to entering the workplace. Women were seen as docile, and unambitious, ethnic minorities were viewed as only good for certain jobs. Both gender and ethnicity were viewed as needing to be suppressed in order to maintain control. The reactions to the stereotypes are been similar regarding suppression including de-valued, alienation, segregation, wage reduction, hindered promotion opportunities, allocation of lesser jobs, victimisation, limited support from peers both within workplace and privately and threats of replacement if backlash. Management methods vary, women received little or no management, and ethnic minorities were over managed, both faced physical as well as mental abuse. Organisation manipulated their environment to keep control and when staff fought to be treated with respect and equality organisations closed ranks and froze the employee out, confirming discriminatory behaviour is acceptable and sending clear message to other minorities to accept the status quo. Successful minorities are still scrutinized and do not outwardly support climbing minorities. To climb minorities need mentoring and support. Progression will be slow and in the interim minorities will need to work harder than the traditional majority. External culture from country of residence, customers, suppliers, out of work environment also play a huge role in the evolution of the attitudes minorities face. With statistics and reports not matching the current situation due to fear of reporting and lack of accurate non-biased reporting. Minorities will also need to learn to work with previous suppressors where trust is not given from either sides.

The next section of this report will look at the methodology adopted in order to gain primary data which would reflect the current situation employees with ASD face at work.

Methodology

The literature review has established the extent to which the experience of the management of employees with ASD is under examined and under theorised. Therefore, the research question below was justified. Moreover the qualitative, ethnographic stance taken here is also justified.

In this chapter, first the methodology stance will be identified, then the actual methodology itself which ethnographic fiction science (Watson (2000) was chosen. Ethnographic fiction science similar to other methodology approaches has its own strengths and weaknesses, these will be expanded upon and details of the challenges faced by the ethnographer for this report will be identified and described, furthermore the steps selected to prevent the data being misinterpreted are also included. In addition to the decision to gain this primary data from interviews and the issues relating to those interviews this section will also explicate the thematic analysis using a quantitative approach on the qualitative data collected via the interview narratives.

Methodology

Because the subject under study involves perception of relationships, it was appropriate to approach individuals in that are close in proximity to this relationship in order to develop greater awareness. Written questionnaires were dismissed as an unsuitable way to collect this data as they could hinder the participant from discussing necessary vibes and attitudes that were felt and the interviewer could pick up on certain tones or looks and gently probe the interviewee to elaborate. Video footage of a work environment was also dismissed as much informal shop talk such as gossiping does not always happen in the workplace and unspoken tension could not be so easily picked up. Therefore interviews seemed the best path to take. Ethnographic Fiction Science is an ethnographic approach, described and justified by Watson, (2000) is a narrative research method portraying the primary data collected but also enabling the analysis and conclusions derived from the interviews in an easy to read and digest manner. This method was particularly appealing as it delineates the multi level facets of an organisation, as well as the spoken and unspoken vibes, interactions and reactions of colleagues. Van Maanen (1988) elucidate that the social world is not clear cut, but is fabricated of numerous variables, grey arrears and hidden perspectives. As ethnographic fiction science does not aim to be a reporting, mirroring or descri ptive method, and goes against epistemological realism, instead it`s manner is based upon straightforward, objective story telling (Watson 2000), which embraces the multi level, non arbitrary and capricious environment of the workplace. The interview narratives given follow the basic approach that Czarniawska (1998) defines. That each dialogue must follow the sequence of firstly describing an original circumstance then detail an action which leads to a changed condition. Also the use of creative writing skills is needed to interweave feelings, events and interpretations into the plot giving a meaning and purpose to the dialogue (Rose 1990). Czarniawska-Joerges (1995) warns users of ethnographic fiction science to stay aware of limitations and be aware of possibilities of using this method. Therefore trepidation with the creative writing element was used throughout all interview dialogues to ensure the interviewees initial meaning was kept honest and true to the interviewees interpretation. To assist in the flow and ease of reading of this report occasionally some interviews were incorporated into one. Watson (2000) confirms taking multiple interviews and portraying them in one dialogue is expectable when using the ethnographic fiction science method. As long as they weave effortlessly into the dialogue and stay true to the original opinion given and each individual interview. The dialogues also follow the traditional rhetorical format which Atkinson (1990) and Watson (1995) describe. All interviews are included in the appendix in their original format and any quotes taken from the original interviews and used in the ethnographic fictional science narrative are identified and linked prior to the narrative for this report in a table clearly showing which quote came from which original interview.

Methods and Challenges of being an Ethnographer

The methods adopted to collate this data was in the form of in-depth and semi-structured interviews. The majority of interviews had no or few questions with direction laying fully on the interviewees progression. Occasionally an interviewee did not respond well to this relaxed approach and requested questions and themes to guide them into giving examples and opinions, this is a typical challenge many ethnographers face. For reassurance verbal and non-verbal confirmation was given throughout, with an emphasize on empathy while remaining non-judgemental. Duration of interviews varied from 15 minutes to 45 minutes. Interviews were carried out in person or over the telephone and were done on a one to one informal and confidential basis, except for one interview where the participant expressed feeling of being uncomfortable and requested their partner sat in with them. For this instance their partner sat throughout the interview and helped give prompts which made the participant outwardly appear more relaxed and less anxious. Reassurance that all names would be replaced with fictional names.

As you can see below interviewees ranged in ages from 23 to 68. The majority were selected as currently being of working age so their experiences would be recent in order to portray the current environment, as anthropology, psychology and sociology are all impacted by times we live in. Mainly interviewees were white British, and there was an equal mix of gender. Ethnicity and gender diversity was preferred as both have previously been classed as the minority so could show greater insight and empathy however with white British males being for so long as viewed as the majority their views were also deemed important. Both the gender and white British male mix seemed suitably addressed however due to resource limitations the ethnicity mix was below the desired estimations. 8 Out of the 10 interviewees have either a friend of relative with ASD. I wanted to have a diverse range of interviewees as people with close personal knowledge of ASD were able to provide more knowledgeable and insightful opinions and people without a friend of relative with ASD would be able to offer a more objective non biased assessment. As the people who know someone closes with ASD have generally greater observations and developed opinions of the matter I choose to ensure they were the majority.

Each interviewee mentioned a couple of individuals and scenarios. Below you can see a breakdown of the examples and scenarios given. Location is mainly Northamptonshire due to ease and accessibility. Northampton is a typical British town as its location is central in England, therefore making it popular to large organisations to distribute from, additionally it has a large student and ethnicity population. So should offer a true general representation of the current climate in the United Kingdom at this time. A few examples are with family members this was to offer a wider perspective. The views of family members are still very focussed on the work environment and offer an extra important dimension. Again there is a wide range of gender however the ethnicity of the person with ASD has not been requested as this was deemed less relevant for this report and could be tangential to the purpose of the interviews however it could be of greater interest in future research.

In addition to the benefits listed above to the use of ethnographic fiction science there is also many challenges. Due to this being the first time I have used this method some of these challenges I was aware of before starting the interviews and some where learnt along the way.

When starting these interviews I was aware the subject would bring about many emotions. Most interviewees expressed great emotions throughout their scenarios. Many expressed concern, the feeling to compensate for someone else lack of care or understanding, a few showing distress for seeing someone familiar to them going through such difficult challenges. Interviewees showed pride when they felt they had seen a manager or company tackle a situation positively. Overall I was surprised at the amount of emotions and how deep the emotions ran throughout what appeared to be everyone involved in the scenario. Interviewees not only expressed their feelings but conjectured the feelings and emotions of the employee with ASD, colleagues and managers involved.

McAdams, Bowman (2001) and Chase (2005) describe how each narrative tells something about the interviewee. The personality of each interviewee was very strong throughout. Some were shy and reserve which showed through by their need for reassurance throughout the interview and in the number of examples given. Others were very keen and helpful which again showed through when they were giving examples of how they interacted with the person with ASD.

Some critics of ethnographic fictional science dismiss the validity of this method as the narrative given from the interviewee can be distorted by their own inflated ego. One interviewee describes the abuse of power his manager imposed on his colleagues with ASD and describes how when she tried to do this to him he said no and spoke to his managers manager to put a an end to this behaviour. The interviewee told the story in the slant that he was a team player and had come to his colleagues rescue however re-reading his interview he clearly states ` Even though I had not enjoyed watching her over delegate to my colleagues I felt it was not my battle`, and then describes he only explained what was happening to high management after HR had expressed a concern and higher management asked for his take on the incident. After detailing this story he went on to explain how co-workers with ASD regularly ask him for his help and believes he has benefited from promotional jobs since the incident because ` I understand people with ASD and I am willing to be a bridge between them and normal people`. Another interviewee who has a sibling with ASD who throughout the interview is very pro education to improve managers and co-workers understanding of the challenges faced by people with ASD, describes frequently hearing his colleagues laughing at an employee with ASD behind her back. When asked how he thought the employee with ASD felt he replied `I don`t think she is aware it is going on`. He clearly feels the teasing is wrong but gave no impression of doing anything to stop it or to offer support to the employee with ASD because she was unaware it was happening in his perception.

Another lesson learnt throughout was interviewees being over eager to help. One interviewee was not sure what ASD was, but said she had many scenarios to relay. So at the beginning of each example I asked her to describe the person`s characteristics so then I could confirm that was or was not someone on the autistic spectrum. With the autistic spectrum being so varied and many people either not being diagnosed or hiding their diagnoses her eagerness to help highlighted how confusion over the parameters of the interview and how she may be willing to label someone as ASD in order to help by giving a good story is a challenge to an ethnographer. Also because she was so obviously willing to help this did raise concerns over other interviews that I assumed had be genuine. There was no true way to verifying these examples while keeping the interviews confidential. The only protection I had was by remaining non-judgemental, and emphasise with the characters in the examples without seeming to interested in the drama of the incidents in the hope the interviewee would stay as true to the facts as possible and not over exaggerate particular elements.

Time distorts peoples memoires, as does each time stories are relayed, then by adding different perspectives from the narrator and sub-conscious motives each of these elements can easily remould and evolve an event, due to no-malicious intent from the narrator. This is yet another critical argument to the use of ethnographic fiction science. The only way you could suitably eliminate this distortion would be to carry out 360 degree interviews with everyone involved or who witnessed the incident. However by carrying out such in depth verification the confidentially element of the interviews would be lost and narrators may not feel the need not to be so thorough feeling other narrators may have already expanded on that particular part, and therefore could run the risk that an important element could be missed. As well as interviewees knowing their version is being verified may impact on the information given. To try to offer some kind of verification structure the thought of relaying the interview back to the narrator a few days later was considered but then rejected as this could lead to further distortions. Verifications was then sort through discussing the interview structure and process of analysis with my dissertation supervisor to ensure I had followed a nonbasis academical approach, she confirmed that I had. To verify the validitory of the scenarios given, after all interviews had been done I had a telephone consultation with the head of services, at the Prospects employment service at the NAS. I relayed the severity of some of the scenarios acquired through the interviews and explained the themes discovered. Only giving a limited amount of information to ensure the confidentiality promised to the interviewees the head of services at the Prospects employment service confirmed the examples given are very common to his expert experiences. He then gave his own confidential examples in his own words which confirmed he fully understood my perceptions which I gleaned from my interviews.

Analysis

While carrying out the interviews a few dominate themes appeared. Dedication to remain impartial and allow the interviewees to steer towards their own themes became more relevant as the number of interviews continued. Once completed an analysis was needed to be carried out on the narrative scri pts. The analytical search for the themes was not carried carried out until all interviews were completed to prevent any conscious or subconscious encouragement towards any particular theme. Due to interviewees descri ptive dialogue being subject to their own interpretation it was deemed necessary to do the analysis on the contents rather than the way the dialogue was said. Therefore a thematic analysis approach was adopted as its approach is through the dialogue and focusses around a core dimension which helps identify different views from such a concentrated starting point (Maitlis 2005). The process of working through each interview and their scenarios piecing together categories based on recurrent themes where carried out. The themes were then put into the following table with the number of appearances in which the themes were present out of all the interviews and scenarios. The data from this table highlights not only the themes but also a priority order according to the interviewees I approached. The next part of this report will look for closely at these themes.

Findings and Analysis

Introduction

Now that all the primary data collected from the in-depth and semi-structured interviews has been recorded and full thematic analysis has be completed, the findings and analysis section of this report will reconnoitre the themes identified. A sort summary detailing the regularity of the particular theme will start each section. Followed by a table listing quotations taken from interviews that will be used in the ethnographic fiction science narrative that ensues. The ethnographic fiction science summary narratives have the highlighted quotations inter weaved throughout, to assist in projecting the concise conveyance of my analytical findings. At the end of each theme is a brief conclusion of how the scenario presented illustrates the relationship between the employee with ASD and their manager.

Bullying and Teasing

Out of the twenty two examples given seven mentioned bullying and teasing. This was the second most common theme from the interviews carried out. Some interviewees mentioned it in passing, others had this theme as the skeleton of their dialogue. The reaction to this theme varied some were deeply troubled by the extend they had observed and others appeared not to have given it more than a moment of thought. The level of bullying and teasing also varied. The story of Ursula shows a extreme case which the head of services, at the Prospects employment service at the NAS confirmed although examples like this do happen, sometimes it can be worse however many cases do not normally get the the severity that Ursula`s describes.

Ursula`s story

Ursula has always worked in the retail industry. She is a small petite girl who is quiet and pleasant by nature. As she is not naturally outgoing she has mainly worked in large supermarkets as they allow her to stay within a small team, remain anonymous and still reap the rewards of staff discounts. Ursula is a very private person and only opens up to a small close knit of friends and family, so does not like to announce that she has AS. Over the years her managers and co-workers have pieced together her quirky ways however as they do not have any one close to them with AS they just think her attention to detail, and way of doing things are her idiosyncrasies and nothing more. During a re-structure at work new members joined her team and her manager was replaced by a younger more career minded woman. Her new team members did not find her way of doing things so endearing. Joanne resented her for being a perfectionist as it made her feel insecure, and Ursula`s ridgelly keeping to keeping to her hours and never coming in late or taking longer breaks than she should have just rubbed salt into the wound. Joanne saw the job as just a job. She came did only what she had to do, skipped as many corners as needing without jepodizing her job, then left dead on time, even if she arrived at work late or came back from lunch ten or fifteen minutes later than she should have. Joanne`s attitude frustrated Ursula. Ursula could not understand how Joanne could she not care. Skipping those corners meant customers weren`t getting the level of care they should get. Ursula hated confrontation more than she hated Joanne`s cant be asked attitude. So she kept her head down and carried out. Even though Ursula did not say anything her body language and behaviour to Joanne screamed out. Unlike Ursula Joanne felt comfortable with confrontation, and Joanne regularly wonder what made Ursula think she was so much better. Ursula`s quiet way came across to Joanne as a superiority complex. Joanne started talking about Ursula over the coffee machine. Other co-workers that liked Ursula started to question Ursula`s quiet attitude. They started watching her and it wasn`t long before they felt Ursula was judging them. Joanne`s behaviour made Ursula feel isolated her from her friends. They started to distance themselves, which she didn`t notice until they wouldn`t talk or sit next to her. By then it was too late and Ursula didn`t know how to win them over without bad mouthing Joanne which she couldn`t do, so she just stayed quiet. Joanne started to take longer lunches and told Ursula if any of the management came round Ursula had to cover for her. Ursula did this to prevent any further confrontation. Realizing this Joanne delegated most of her jobs to Ursula. Ursula was now having to stay late to do all the extra work and her boyfriend Kevin told her she had to deal with this. Having spent all weekend practising what to say she went in on Monday all worked up and ready. When Joanne turned up at work twenty minutes late which as now normal and went straight to the coffee room Ursula followed her in. She started of word for word what she had practised. Nervous, heart beating faster and started to sweat she remained focussed and carried on. Before she got to the end of the second sentence Joanne interrupted calling her names such as freak and not normal She pushed her and eventually shoved her out of the way. Ursula left alone in the room burst into tears. Lunchtime she phoned her Kevin and after a lot of persuasion Ursula eventually went to her boss. Her supervisor Helen had always seemed fair and left Ursula and the other staff to get on with their work. Ursula didn`t want to go to Helen but she kept catching Joanne and the other staff giving her cold looks, and Joanne was now delegating most of her work to Ursula. It took till the end of the day for Ursula to pluck up the courage to approach Helen, and waiting for a time when Helen was alone. When Ursula started to explain what happened in the coffee room this morning she started to cry. Helen listened and said nothing until Ursula had finished. Helen then explained she was friends with that co-worker had known Joanne for years and viewed Joanne not only as a good friend but a loyal team player. Ursula had never shown her any team spirit. She never went to the pub Friday night after work, recently she always sat on her own during breaks and lunchtime. Ursula tried to explain her friends had disowned her but Helen wouldn`t hear. Instead Helen said Ursula should make more of an effort, then promptly left, leaving Ursula to stay an extra half an hour to complete all her work which she wasn`t able to do earlier as she was doing Joanne`s work. That evening she cried all night and Kevin kept out of her way as he was annoyed with her for letting everything get so out of control. Her boss did nothing to stop the bullying. Tension was even greater the next day and the following weeks. Helen had told Joanne about her chat with Ursula and it had made the rounds. No one would talk to Ursula, she started making mistakes because she felt so upset. Everyone picked up all the mistakes, gloating in her errors. Joanne blatantly picked on her when no one was about and would push and shove her. regularly pushed and shoved her when no one was looking. She overheard her co-workers saying hurtful things behind her back and some co-workers frequently laugh at her. Crying every night she was tired and a bag of nerves, her family and Kevin forced her to go to the doctors. The stress and upset eventually made her ill and her doctor signed her of work for a month. She was to scared to tell her boss so Kevin took the sick note in and explained once the sick note had expired Ursula would not be coming back. Kevin took the opportunity to give the manager a piece of his mind Kevin stormed into Helens office past Joanne and slammed the door shut behind him. He was in her office for almost an hour. Helen seemed shocked when he recounted her actions and told her she hadn`t acted in a professional manner. She hadn`t realized how far it had gone. She had not noticed half of what was going on, it was her first position as a supervisor and thought she had no bullying under her watch. Later that day Kevin explained Ursula needed to email her departmental manager and put her side of the story across before Helen and Joanne fabricated a story up, and he felt she need to give her resignation, as he feared if she did she would get ill again. Ursula agreed on the condition he helped her word the email. Nine o`clock the next morning the departmental manager emailed her back. Saying he was shocked by what had been going on. Even though they had never spoken he had always received positive feedback from mystery shoppers he used and customer regarding her care to detail and level of customer service. He promised he would look in to the matter urgently and even offered to give her a future business reference. Kevin was speechless after reading the reply. He asked Ursula why she had never approached her departmental manager before about this. She replied `I didn`t want to cause a scene`, it was the same reason she never approached her manager. She felt unable to due to her fear of confrontation. Kevin explained many people think she isn`t confrontational because she is shy, were in reality she is totally unable to be confrontational to anyone.

Conclusion of Ursula`s story

Ursula`s story not only gives an example of her relationship with her direct manager Helen but also of her relationship with the departmental manager. Ursula`s story portrays her direct manager Helen as not caring and taking her views seriously enough. She watches from afar and only notices Ursula`s distance from her co-workers and not the stages leading to her distance. However the dialogue clearly states Helen was introduced to the department at the same time as Joanne, so has not been there long. She is described as being ` a younger more career minded woman`, which implies her experience of being in a managerial role and recently taking on a new unfamiliar team could be the reason behind her lack of observations regarding Joanne`s abusive and manipulating behaviour and Ursula`s downwards spiral. When Kevin explains to her what has happened we are told she `seemed shocked` and `hadn`t realized how far it had gone`. Ursula`s inability to approach either Helen or her departmental manager until such a late stage clearly has disabled them in resolving the issue sooner. Ursula`s departmental manager clearly believes she was an asset to the organisation nonetheless the lack of relationship and communication is the real lesson behind Ursula`s story.

Abuse of Power and Taking Advantage of

Five scenarios given mentioned abuse of power. Two had the abuse of power coming from managers, one from a co-worker and the remaining two did not specify the position of the person This theme was joint third in the frequency of occurrence throughout interviews. All interviewees that mentioned it were very aware of the seriousness of the matter if left un-addressed. The narrative below is taken mainly from one interviewee with a one quotation taken from another scenario. The story of Bernadette is a good illustration of a manager that abuses their level of power and how organisational in-fracture and higher management are able to identify this and their level of authority they can use to rectify.

Michael`s Story

Michael has been working in the IT industry for most of his career. Many of co-workers have high functioning autism, and seem to like their job and feel accepted. A recent change at work brought about a new manager called Bernadette. Bernadette was very ambitious and saw her job as a temporary step towards a higher position. Therefore she did not feel she needed to adapt herself to her staff. She had never before had staff with Aspergers but as she was not staying long in this position it never dawned on her to read up on Aspergers. Bernadette found her staff were unlikely complain if she got them to do her work. Unaware they hated confrontation and many actually felt unable to be confrontational to anyone, she continued to delegate more and more of her duties to them, until she had delegated the majority of her work. The more work she delegated the more staff she had to split the work between. It was at this point she tried to do this with Michael because no one else complained. As she shut herself away in her office most of her days and had done no research on Aspergers she made the assumption all her staff would be as willing to help. Even though he had not enjoyed watching her over delegate to his co-workers he felt it was not his battle. So when she tried to delegate to Michael and he objected and she got angry. she would not take his no as an answer. After a week of battling with Michael and feeling the rest of her staff closely watching she approached her HR department, in an attempt to discredit him. Saying Michael had an attitude problem and disciplinary issues. HR looked into Michaels history and approached some of his previous managers who still worked for the firm. All of which sung his praises. HR then brought the matter to Bernadette`s boss Trevor who called Michael in to his office. Trevor understood many people with Aspergers dislike confrontation. So when Michaels manager asked Michael what had been happening he explained everything. Trevor instantly knew it was true. Trevor pulled Bernadette up on what had been happening, he then enforces stricter constraints on her. To monitor who was doing what work. Within a month Bernadette announced she had been offered a job in another company and gave her resignation in. Michael confided to Trevor he felt Bernadette had not learnt her lesson and would continue to to take advantage of employees who felt they could not say no. Trevor said he could do nothing regarding her new employer but was glad the new procedures would prevent anything like that happening again as he truly understands they need to adapt to people with high functioning autism and he values all his staff and didn`t want future managers abusing their power.

Conclusion of Michael`s story

Michaels story clearly describes an organisation and manager that prides itself in its desire to `adapt to people with high functioning autism` and even `values all its staff`, and how a manager that feels no need to adapt her management style to her staff and views `her job as a temporary step towards a higher position` has managed to slip under their radar. The manager `Bernadette` clearly feels she has found an easy ride and when confronted with Michael`s refusal to accept her work she goes about discrediting him. What is interesting with this story is how HR quickly questions her accusations which result in Trevor`s actions. Even though Trevor, Bernadette`s boss has not closely been watching the developments in the department he clearly understands the staff in the department, as he does not question Michael`s version of events. Instead he quickly acts and then `enforces stricter constraints on her. To monitor who was doing what work.` The new procedures give her a clear message but also appear fair to all parties. So if she is not doing anything wrong the new procedures would also portray that. Once the procedures are in place they would stay in place for new managers in the future. This confirms Trevor`s statement regarding adapting his organisation to his staff that he values is congruent. The head of services, at the Prospects employment service at the NAS confirms he feels organisations in the United Kingdom do appear much more willing to change procedures and adapt to staff with ASD than other countries. He commented that this may be down to recent legislation and media coverage of people with ASD.

Non Management and Co-Workers Support

The most common theme throughout the interviews was co-workers support due to managements lack of direction and role. Out of all the interviews there was eight scenarios given and six family members or co-workers offering support or having concerns. The interviewees involvement in the scenario depended on their connection to the employee with ASD at that time. Some family members and friends only offered an a shoulder and advice, others worried of potential issues. Friends supported where they could however many co-workers went above and beyond their duty. The story of Carlos exemplifies how co-workers take over the managers day to day role of managing their staff when their manager is unable or unwilling to to do so.

Carlos`s story

Carlos is in his late 50`s and has always worked at the Riverside factory. He sweeps the floor and helps organize the inventory. Claire does not think he has been diagnosed with anything but he shows many signs as having high functioning autism. Carlos manager Lee looks after everyone one of his side of the factory floor. Lee is very busy and many of his staff feel he is overworked, and therefore is not about much, which we all like and understand as it means we can just get on with our work. So therefore they make an attempt to get on with things and only go to him when there is something they can not fix themselves. When there is anything important Lee calls everyone together to announce the news, he treats Carlos like everyone else. as he does everyone else. Only giving praise when someone does something especially important or there is a problem that needs addressing. Lee appears to be aware Carlos acts immature but do not seem willing to understand him and his problems. Carlos finds this type of management difficult. He likes to receive recognition for work done and reassurance when there is change. For instance when he does something good and is proud he does not get regular feedback from his manager, so now he walks around the factory and shows his co-workers and seeks their feedback. This pulls them away from their work however as he is very cheerful and sweet by nature his colleagues happy oblige. He panics and worries when there is any change and then moans to his co-workers. Claire believes he moans because he is too scared and daunted to confront the issues. However his colleagues again are willing to help as he dances when wants help because he is nervous and doesn`t like to ask. and they do not like to see him stressed and anxious about anything. The day after his mum died he went to work, saying he didn`t know otherwise, and it was his colleagues and not Lee who explained he did not need to come in that day. His coworkers also give him advice and support on his private life such as when he had toothache and would not to go the dentist and when his cats had kittens and he wanted to keep them all. Also co-workers that are new to the firm that do not understand Carlos laugh at him however once they get to know him people seem to get maternal towards him. Carlos seems unaware of what is happening, and thinks he is liked by everyone. His colleagues have told him to stay close to them and to avoid new staff in order to protect him. As he is so liked by his colleagues they would feel fine if Lee did treat him with extra care and support. Claire feels he would be happier and have greater peace of mind if his manager was more caring. However Lee shows no sign of stepping up. Claire has had conversations with her co-workers about fears for when he retires as he is coming close to retirement age.

Conclusion of Carlos`s story

Although there was many examples given throughout my interviews the story of Carlos really spoke out to me as a perfect example of how co-workers can feel maternal and want to offer support when they feel there is a lack of support needed. Many of the other interviews nonetheless had different elements also showed the empathy and kindness as Carlos`s did. Lee the manager is described as being `very busy` and `overworked`, and still `appears to be aware Carlos acts immature but do not seem willing to understand him and his problems`. Claire goes on to describe the general attitude the staff have to Lee`s level of work saying `we all like and understand as it means we can just get on with our work. ` Which leads to question if the staff being so supportive of Lee`s overburden are they perpetuating Lee`s lack of support for Carlos. It could be interpreted that they are shielding him from the extent of the situation. Nevertheless the situation is encouraging them to act more as a close knit team supporting Carlos and uniting them as when they describe their ` fears for when he retires`. Per contra their ongoing support `pulls them away from their work` which more than likely is effecting their productivity and quality. Lee may be overworked, yet it is still his job to look after all his staff. If his staff are taking on his duties of managing Carlos that is no different than if he asked them to write up one of his reports. Just because his staff are happy to take on this duty does not mean he is not taking advantage of their good nature and he is not neglecting and depriving Carlos of having a manager.

Attitudes towards different behavioural patterns The most recurring theme identified out of all the interviews carried out was comments regarding attitudes towards the different behavioural patterns displayed by individuals with ASD. Overall it was mentioned eleven times out of the twenty-two scenarios given. This theme also stands out more than the rest of the themes as each interviewee that mentioned this theme did so with a lot of thought and attention. Many of the other themes have been mentioned in passing, as if the interviewee is unaware of its potential impact however with this theme each interviewee seemed conscious of its potential severity if left un-addressed and allow to fester. The story of Dylan is used as the basis for this narrative which quotations taken from many of the numerous examples given.

Dylan`s story

Dylan is in his mid twenty who still lives with his foster parents. Dylan wants to work, but has kept his ASD diagnose a secret as he is fearful of having a label and wants to be treated like everyone else, but his foster parents are hesitate as when he gets frustrated it quickly escalated and turns into anger management issues, which can make people get scared. Dylan has never hurt anyone but someone that doesn`t know him could think his threats were serious. When he was young and got bullied at school he would occasionally say he wished he know the bullies home address as he would send them anonymous hate mail so they would feel fear, and think before they picked on him again. When he left school and started to get depressed his parents set him up with a voluntary job in the charity shop at the top of the road. The staff seemed more understanding and supportive of him when he would get frustrated at work however he would still come home angry. It was then his parents encouraged him to join the local drama club. Here they felt he could learn patience and understanding. When he joined the drama club he meet Alice. Dylan was convinced Alice was a movie star from the Saturday afternoon movies he watched with his foster mum when he was little. Even when his foster mum explained Alice could not be that actress as the actress died fifteen years earlier Dylan found it hard to believe and kept asking Alice. Alice thought it was charming and sweet of him so let it go. Other members of the drama class thought it was strange and would laugh at him and call Alice by the actresses name which only confused Dylan more. During rehearsals for their up and coming play the director Stephanie decided to give Dylan a small role where he had a handful of lines to say. As the group was small he would be on stage for many scenes but would be making up crowd numbers. He would regularly get confused and when they were short of time in rehearsals they would quickly jump from one scene to the next and this only confused Dylan more. He was happy to ask for help when he got confused which irritated his fellow actors and director. Dylan also suffered from hygiene issues so standing with a group of people as a crowd only made everyone laugh and distanced themselves from him. Even his friend Alice tried to explain he needed to wash and listen more when directions were given by the director but as the opening night was getting closer everyone`s tensions were high. Just like everyone else Dylan was also getting tense he was regularly confused during rehearsals and everyone was being short with him. So he wrote the director a note explaining his frustration and anger that no one was explaining what he needed to do. Using words like empathy, and saying `how do you think he felt` wasn`t helping. He just wanted to be told how and what he should be doing, how hard it that to do. The director should direct. Without realizing the wording in his note could easily be interpreted as a death threat to the director because he got angry. The next day Dylan overheard Stephanie the director on the phone to his foster parents. His foster parents then sat him down and explained the note he had written Stephanie was bad and had upset Stephanie a lot, and She had wanted to drop him out of the play. However they had explained the situation to Stephanie and she had changed her mind and he could stay but he had to explain to Stephanie as soon as he got confused and not to let his anger get out of control again. Dylan understood and his parents dropped him of later that week at the next rehearsal. After his parents left he overheard the fellow actors talking about his letter to Stephanie and saying they couldn`t be bothered with him. They ignored him when he asked questions. Alice and Stephanie were the only ones talking to him now. Stephanie, the director has privately taken Alice to one side and praised for the way she is with Dylan. As Dylan really wanted to do well with the play and was still finding it hard to understand what was expected of him, he managed to find Alice`s home address and thought he should visit her one day. So one night out of the blue , he visited Alice once at home unannounced but she asked him to leave because of the death threat had made her scared of him. She lived alone and felt venerable. Although she did not invite him in he seemed happy to stand on the door step and chat. After five minutes and Dylan showing no signs of going she lied and told him she had to phone someone and he had to leave. Dylan did not see through her lie so happily left saying he would visit again soon. Alice then felt her friendship to Dylan had got to much for her so she made excuses to distance herself as she could not have him turning up unannounced again. Eventually the play went ahead and Dylan was very good. He remained confused and feeling alienated by the other actors but surprised everyone when after the play he announced he would stay on with the drama group and do another play. Stephanie was now just starting to understand how to word things to him and she felt confident that is acting skills had improved and was thinking about giving him a small but significant role in the next production.

Conclusion of Dylan`s story

Dylan`s story elucidate the variations of reactions to different behavioural patterns. It panoply`s his foster parents care and protection which concurs with other family members views from other interviews. It presents Alice`s reaction and how she starts of viewing Dylan as `charming and sweet` and how later on her opinion of him has changed to feeling `scared of him`. The fellow actors in the drama club started of `laughing at him` and after hearing about the note they `couldnt be bothered by him`. Dylan`s relationship with Stephanie is what I find truly interesting. We are not really told anything about how Stephanie views Dylan at first. Reading between the lines she has given him numerous roles in the play even if he is just part of a crowd. Therefore it appears she has no negative assumptions about him. We are not told how she reacts to the fellow actors laughing at him or her reactions to him thinking Alice was a dead movie star. Stephanie`s relationship to Dylan becomes apparent after he sends her the threating note. Her response was to call his foster parents this shows she is aware even though he is in his `mid twentys` that he needs to be treated differently. Following her conversations with his foster parents Stephanie decides to keep him in the play even though the note has `upset her` and her initial thoughts were ` to drop him out of the play`. Stephanie continues to support Dylan and even praises Alice for the way she is with Dylan. This confirms Stephanie understands Dylan needs to be treated slightly differently, and implies Stephanie has changed the way she manages Dylan. There is still no mention of how she handles the rest of the actors indifference to Dylan but the fact she pulls Alice to one side suggests she is trying to handle it discreetly. At the end of the story Stephanie feels more confident in her management style of Dylan and is even seeing an improvement in his acting ability even though he is still up against not so supportive colleagues. It would be fascinating to revisit Dylan in a year of two and see if his acting colleagues have also learnt how to work with him and how a less hostile environment would impact on his acting.

Confrontation / Miscommunication and Alienation

Nine examples were given from the interviewees that either mentioned confrontation or miscommunication. None outright mentioned Alienation however hearing the stories it was the by product of the miscommunication and fear of correcting this miscommunication. In the stories already mention both Ursula and Dylan felt isolation as colleagues and co-workers distanced themselves because of a combination of confrontation and miscommunication. Some interviewees only mentioned the miscommunication or confrontation as there was laughing or bullying and the interviewee did not think the person with ASD was aware they were being laughed at or we disliked by other employees. Some went further into depth and described serious confrontation issues like Ursula`s story were the lack of confrontation escalates the ill-treatment which can the denouement of the person with ASD feeling no choice except to quit. Bobby`s story draws from many examples given and chronicles the confusion and alienation many staff with ASD are described from the interviews having experienced. Bobby`s story is a good illustration of how small miscommunication events and lack of confrontation can lead to great upset and feelings of isolation for the staff with ASD.

Bobby`s story

Bobby is a computer genius, and is an intelligent man in his 40`s. He is excellent at his job but who`s social skills are less advanced. This does not normally cause a problem as he works part of a small team and the majority of the team are similar to Bobby. They designed and now maintain the software the rest of the organisation uses. Due to their dedication to being perfectionists the software rarely plays up so the are left to their own devises and gently tinker with the software and make minor improvements. The rest of the organisation review them as having no patience and are difficult to work with. When the organisation was doing a 360 degree staff appraisal, an anonymous colleague said about the team He tries to treat them equally however admits that subconsciously when able to choose who he works with he chooses people he finds easiest. He says he has seen other colleagues doing the same. Says not many people are keen to take up training as they are not very good at communicating so the whole process is a bit backwards. As a result the team has become very clicky. HR tried to address this, however every attempt has failed. It was not that the team did not want to interact with the rest of the organisation they were unable to act differently, and the way they act can appear strange to everyone outside the team. For example Fred one of Bobby`s team dances when wants help because he is nervous and doesn`t like to ask for help. However everyone one inside Bobby`s team understands Fred`s way and as result he feels more comfortable asking them, so tries not to ask anyone else. Although the team understands and works well together they do try to interact with the rest of the organisation, they regularly attended work does and when a manager Jessica had a BBQ at he home and she would invite Bobby and the rest of the staff. They attended. This was very hard for them so they went as a group. The invite confused Bobby as he felt the manager viewed him as a friend. But after the BBQ Jessica did not treat Bobby any different. When asked why Bobby didn`t question this with Jessica. He said he `couldn`t` and the thought petrified him. He just didn`t like confrontation. A week after the BBQ Jessica approached Bobby and asked him to get the software to do something different, but the software was unable to do that particular job. Bobby tried to explain this but couldn`t get his point across. Jessica was less technical so needed it explaining in non technical words. Bobby got very frustrated which resulted in him breaking down into tears while at work. This confirmed to Jessica that Bobby was hard to work with. Michael who worked in the same department, same floor but a different team from Bobby accidentally bumped into Bobby in the toilets while Bobby was crying. Michael wanted to help, as Bobby had always been helpful to him when he had technical issues. Bobby explained the software problem to Michael who agreed to go approach Jessica and explain the situation to her. He tried to get Bobby to go with him but Bobby refused to go saying he would rather suffer and go without than make any sort of confrontation. Michael ended up being the go between. Since then Bobby always gets Michael to check all his emails before sending, and Michael sits in with all Bobby`s meetings. As Michael understands people with high functioning autism and is willing to be a bridge between them and `normal` people he has been given promotions as his particular firm. Bobby and his team appear happy to have Michaels support, and communication to and from the team seem much improved, even though they are still viewed as outsiders from the rest of the staff in the organisation.

Conclusion of Bobby`s story

Bobby`s story confirms that humans seek out people they can relate with. As the anonymous colleagues explains when he is `able to choose who he works with he chooses people he finds easiest.` Bobby and his team are also doing the same. In the example of Fred, he feels `more comfortable` asking his team and therefore `try`s not to ask anyone else`. By not focussing on this attitude can lead to a `them and us` mentality, which is what is described as happening in Bobby`s organisation. HR are shown as noticing this and attempting to rectify it however their attempts are described as being unsuccessful. Whether Jessica`s invite to her BBQ was specific to Bobby`s team or whether it was a general invite to all staff is unclear. We do not know if it was her intent to appear as Bobby`s friend or if it was Bobby`s interpretation all the same Bobby`s refusal to approach Jessica on this subject leaves us with only speculation. However Jessica is portrayed in the story in a neutral manner, even when she requests the software to do something different we are told she is `less technically minded` so it is understandable that her request may be unachievable. We are not told her reaction to Bobby bursting into tears. Due to his deep desire to `suffer and go without than make any sort of confrontation` it can be assumed she is unaware how upset he is. Michaels intervention happens at a critical moment for Bobby. At that precise moment Bobby can not hid his upset, which gives Michael and insight that Bobby and his team only show to each other. Michael seeing Bobby at such a venerable moment clearly has a profound reaction to Bobby. He agrees to Michael`s help and is willing to continue to accept Michaels help as since then he gets Michael to check all his emails before sending. The organisation they work for appear to have acknowledged this breakthrough with Michael who ends up receiving promotions in order to support Bobby and other staff similar to Bobby. Even with Michael`s support Bobby and his team are still not fully accepted in the organisation however a sense that a life-line has been put in place is strong.

Stress and Anxiety

Stress and anxiety were mentioned in eight interview examples. The severity of each example was felt by the interviewee and they all felt a need to support and minialize the impact. Although there was numerous examples to choose from Cecilia`s story is a perfect example of how the actions of a manager can have direct impact on all employees but also how much more an employee with ASD who struggles with change can easily and more considerably feel stress and anxiety by their managers actions. Ceilia`s story gives an example of a manager that does not acknowledge the different needs of someone with ASD and an example of a manager that identifies and adapts their management style and as the person with ASD is the same in both examples it gives a transparent comparison.

Cecilia`s story

Cecilia has always worked in administration. She likes the way everything has a home and there is a logical process to dealing with it. Nothing else in life is as organised or as structured as admin. For the last fifteen years she has worked for the local government. She likes it there as she can get her head down and get on without anyone ever noticing her. Its nice to feel invisible and lost in a crowd. Many of her supervisors and some of her managers she remembers training them when they first arrived, therefore she feels settled and accepted. Cecilia has shun away from any many promotion opportunities, as she does not like or want stress. She wants an easy life. Her behaviour can sometimes be strange. She never talks up in meetings, and if she was walking down a corridor and someone was walking the other way she would turn and face the wall. She rarely gave eye contact when she spoke to you and only spoke when she absolutely needed to. However as the person that trains you is normally the first person you get to know, and she has trained most people she works with they have all accepted her for who she is. As she has been there many years and feels part of the furniture, it wouldn`t be the same without her. New people quickly realize that they should not tease or laugh at her, as if something goes wrong she knows how to fix it. Over the years Cecilia has had many managers and had to deal with lots of change. Cecilia hates change. One day a rumour went around that there was going to be some big change. No one knew anything it was all speculation. She started to worry. Ruby, her manager treated her just like everyone else Ruby kept quite and did not substantiate or dismiss the rumours. Cecilia fretted and fretted and over the next few months got herself into deep distress. Each night when she went home we agonized over what was going to happen. She thought of every possibility. Cecilia would phone her family and ask them what they thought would be happening. They tried to calm her down but nothing worked. Every morning she would go in desperate to hear any news so she knew what to expect but also fearful of any news. She said she voiced her worries to her co-workers but they could not nothing as they did not know anything. Cecilia felt unable to ask Ruby direct. Ruby had never spoken direct to Cecilia except to ask her to do some extra work, or double check someone else`s. Weekends were worse, spending most of her weekend fearful of what was going to happen on Monday, she would worry so much Sunday night she was often physically sick. A few weeks later her manager called a group meeting and confirmed something was going to happen and they would be told as a group when they needed to know. Ruby continued to refuse to comment. These non-announcements stressed Cecilia more, her coworkers regularly tried to reassure her. After three months Ruby called a meeting, she confirmed the change was going to be a restructure of the internal mailing system, it would only mean the first and last ten minutes of the day would be changed a fracture. Upon this announcement Cecilia felt a weight lift and the climax of months of stress resulted in her taking a few days of work to recover. Everything seemed settled after that until last year. Again rumours circulated that big change was on the horizon. This time before the day was out Cecilia was called into Sharon`s office. Sharon was Cecilia`s new manager. Cecilia felt a little stress but no more than normal, she was used to being called into Sharon`s office. Sharon told her she like to keep in touch with all her staff and as Cecilia avoided works events and did not eat in the cafeteria Sharon felt her office was the best way to keep in touch with Cecilia. Once Cecilia was seated Sharon explained the rumours that something was going to change was true. Sharon explained she didn`t know much herself but as soon as she knew she would tell me Cecilia to stop her from worrying. She said she would do her best to minimalize the change for my Cecilia and she should approach her if she got worried or stressed. Of course my Cecilia never approached the manager but felt so much relief knowing her manager was trying to help. Sharon asked Cecilia to keep what she told her secret until it was time to tell everyone else, rumours help keep some people on their toes but she knew that was not the case for Cecilia. Cecilia left the office feeling special. When she heard rumours she still worried but Sharon kept her word. She pulled Cecilia to one side and gave her the heads up even if it was only moments before a group meeting. The change ended up being major restructuring, with teams being mixed up and the whole office being reorganized. Sharon explained she couldn`t prevent the changes but she would ensure Cecilia`s desk would not be moved. Everyone else moved and the people sitting next to Cecilia changed but she kept her word. Ceclia`s desk was the only desk that never moved. Cecilia held on to this consistent element and the combination of that and the communication and care her manager gave her meant she handled the change so much better. Cecilia still felt anxious and still took a few days off when the desks were being moved but she was not sick every Sunday, her work was not affected, and even her co-workers (that were unaware of her meetings with Sharon) commented on how calm she appeared. Unfortunately a few months after the change Sharon moved to a different department but before going she explained to the new manager how special Cecilia was and how to look after her. Cecilia occasionally bumps into Sharon in the car park and in the lift. They don`t talk but Cecilia does not face the wall when Sharon walks down the corridor.

Conclusion of Cecilia`s story

Cecilia is described as working in her organisation for fifteen years. The story explains how she is viewed as part of the furniture. Co-workers have accepted her ways and therefore it seems realistic that a new manager could be unaware of extent of her issues.

Celia`s first manager Ruby technically handles the change the way many managers would. She knew it was not transformational change so gave it little attention hoping the staff would not focus on it and trust her to inform them when they needed to know. We are told Cecilia choose not to express her concerns to Ruby and we are given the impression that non of Cecilia`s colleagues informed Ruby the extent of Cecilia`s worries. As far as Ruby is concerned everything is going well. Ruby and Cecilia do not have a close relationship so it is viable that Ruby does not pick up on Cecilia`s worries.

Cecilia`s second manager Sharon appears to believe in a more flexible management style. Not only does she treat Cecilia different she also does comments that not everyone responds the same way and had seen that in Cecilia. Sharon had noticed that Cecilia did not attend work events and did not eat in the cafeteria. The story implied that prior to the change Sharon had already built up a relationship with Cecilia as Cecilia was used to going into Sharon office. This is the opposite of Ruby`s relationship with Cecilia.

Sharon also appears to have recognized Cecilia want to feel invisible. Accordingly she discreetly takes Cecilia to one side each time she discovers more about the change. After the change has happened Cecilia`s co-workers comment on how well she handled it and appear unaware of the extra care Cecilia received. Furthermore when Sharon leaves the department not only does she prudently make the new manager aware of Cecilia`s needs but later when they bump into each other in the car park and lift Sharon makes no attempt to force Cecilia to acknowledge their relationship.

Another important component to Sharon`s success at elevating Cecilia`s anxiety is Sharon only promised what she knew she could deliver, and she made sure she fulfilled her promise. If at any point Cecilia felt Sharon`s word was not one hundred percent true their relationship would have dissolved instantly.

Analysis

Combing data from a range of diversity and management style literature with primary data collected from in-depth and semi-structured interviews this section of the report aims to produces a current view of the relationship between employees with ASD and their first-tier managers.

From the interviews it is apparent that organisations and upper management wish to embrace diversity. As this report is focussed around first-tier managers relationship interviewees were not asked specifically about higher management or organisational intent however as the interviews were in-depth and semi-structured some interviewees mentioned a higher level of hierarchy. Out of the four examples given three described upper management as embracing a management style that wishes to support employees with ASD. One mentioned his organisation and higher management as realizing they need to adapt, and one speculated that the organisation was either unaware or uninterested.

This confirms Gaze opinion that many organisations do want to embrace diversity. However both authors describe organisations are not fully understanding how to embrace this, citing legal obligations as their main motivator. The head of services, at the Prospects employment service at the NAS additionally back up this opinion. He said organisations in the United Kingdom are very supportive and willing to amend their procedures and attitudes to instigate change towards becoming a more accepting and embracing multifarious organisation. He agreed legal obligations have encouraged this change in attitude but felt that was not the major instigator. Instead referring to media and a recent change in sociological perspectives. He supported this opinion by quoting different countries who use their equal opportunity laws as a quota to meet instead of a motivation to embrace a new wave of workforce evolution. Contrary to the United Kingdom, where an organisation who understands and implements procedures to support such staff then continues to welcome further staff with ASD.

Sadly this report observes the good intentions of the organisation and senior management is not always filtering down to first tier managers. From the interviews conducted there was almost double examples of bad management over examples of good management.

The reasons behind the bad management are varied and from the data collected from the interviews are generally done without malice but out of lack of education, protocols and training. Each of the ethnographic fictional science stories given all give a different reason why the manager either failed or succeeded in their care of the employee with ASD. The next section of this report will look at theses in further depth and in parallel with the literature review.

Manager unaware

Two examples were given in the theme narratives when a manager surveyed their staff from a far which resulted in a distorted view. Ursula`s story in Bullying and Teasing was a clear example of this. Her manager upon seeing Ursula eating alone, not attending work functions and not interacting much with her colleagues assumed it was Ursula not be willing to fit in. Where in reality it was signs that Ursula was being bullied and needed her managers support. According to the NAS (www.autism.org.uk) many people on the autism spectrum struggle with social communication and interaction. This can result in `social isolation` brought on from a lack of understanding of small talk and fear of a repeat of previous bad experiences.

Lack of protocols to protect

The head of services, at the Prospects employment service at the NAS said from his experience the majority of managers want to do a good job and are willing to adapt their management style towards employees with ASD. Occasionally some managers have no intention of adapting and changing or are unaware of what needs changing and how to do it. This is why organisations need to set up procedures and protocols to protect their staff. The story of Bernadette confirms this, HR and Bernadette`s manager want to support all their staff with and without ASD. There are many profit and non-profit organisations that specialize in this arena from NAS, Remploy (www.remploy.co.uk) to individual consultants. From my experience writing up this report these lay experts are more than willing to support and guide, as they all understand the risks of lack of protocols.

Under prioritized / distraction

Academically there is confusion over the employee care element being a line managers job or if it should be HRM`s responsibility (Martins 2009) (Anonymous 1994) (Keegan, Francis 2010). This confusion can result in some managers not embracing the caring element (Cunningham et al. 2004) (Whittaker, Marchington 2003) as they see it as a distraction from their other duties. The story of Carlos describes a manager that is overburdened and leaves his staff to manage themselves. Many people without ASD will be grateful of a manager that lets them get on with things and is not always watching. However the NAS (www.autism.org.uk) Employer fact sheet states many people with ASD require a well structured environment where they receive `concise and specific instructions` with `sensitive and direct feedback`. In the case of Carlos, because he did not receive this from his manager he went searching for it from his co-workers, which would have resulted in their quality and productivity being negatively affected.

Thought staff would copy manager

From the theme narratives there was two examples of when a manager displayed good management practice of an employee with ASD, and hoped other employees would follow by example. The director Stephanie in the story of Dylan effectively shows a manager that learns and adapts her methods of management and achieves a greater connection with the person with ASD who then goes on to flourish. Stephanie assumes the other actors under her would copy her behaviour, unfortunately they do not. The head of services, at the Prospects employment service at the NAS backs up the NAS Employer fact sheet which confirms the necessity to `help other staff become more aware`.

Lack of knowledge

While carrying out the interviews, interviewees would regularly say their manager treated their coworkers with ASD like everyone else. You can see this in the theme narratives of Urusla, Carlos, Bobby and Cecilia. Autism is classified as a disability that requires specialized support, both the NAS and Remploy (www.autism.org.uk) (www.remploy.co.uk) to name just two recommend training and education to better manage such individuals. As organisations (www.cipd.co.uk) (Gaze) and managers do want to embrace and support such staff this is definitely an area that requires further attention.

Lack of relationship

The Employer fact sheet produced from the NAS recommends allocating a mentor or buddy to an employee with ASD. They believe this could help nip future problems in the bud as the mentor / buddy could build a relationship with the employee with ASD, and could also offer reassurance during stressful times (www.autism.org.uk). This strong relationship would certainly have help in the story of Cecilia with her first manager. Cecilia`s second manager knew a relationship was an important corner stone in tackling the stress and anxiety issue. Mullins (2007) also identifies relationships as a key skill in the workplace.

Conclusion

Bassett-Jones (2005) Mindell (1995) Harris (2008) and Flanagan (1997) all confirm line managers are best positioned to care and manage their staff. Bassett-Jones (2005) goes further saying it is the managers duty to understand their staff. Many of the behaviours and reactions of the persons with ASD described in the ethnographic fictional science narratives are officially recognized by the NAS which states Autism is a `lifelong disability` (www.autism.org.uk), and the United Kingdom equality laws states an organisation has `the duty to make reasonable adjustments for disabled people`. Then it would deduce that a manager needs to prioritize and understand the these obstacle their employees with ASD have and make the necessary reasonable adjustments to their management style for that employee.

Failure to do so could result in repetition of issues previously and currently faced by gender and ethnicity minorities in the workplace. Even with decades of anti-discrimination legislation and organisations having zero tolerance to sexism and racism statistics still confirm both minorities are still penalized (Adams 1999) (Katz, Moore 2004) (Hansard Society Commission 1990) (Reznik Prevatt 1988). The equal opportunity laws already implemented in the United Kingdom designed to protect people with ASD and the organisations intent to embrace this minority, mirrors the laws and organisations zero tolerance to sexism and racism, therefore unless lessons are learnt from gender and ethnicity discrimination similar scenarios could easily manifest on people with ASD.

Some of these scenarios are already present. Both gender and ethnic minorities have felt under valued, alienated and been given the worst jobs with little support in the work place (Berry 2010) (Katz, Moore 2004). All the theme stories taken from interviews carried out all display one if not all of these traits. The story of Bernadette and Ursula both show how manager and co-workers have wrongfully delegated work to people with ASD. These examples are almost identical to Webster`s (1990) comment on how male employers would impose on women in ways that they knew their male employees would not have accepted. Also Arnesen (2007) on discussing issues people of dark skin had to deal with is again almost identical as he describes abuse from managers, and general discriminatory racism treatment.

Articles regarding racism describe how discrimination is not always intentional. Cultural issues may not be identified and a managers continual lack of awareness could magnify a small problem (Anonymous 1999) (Miserandino 1998). Again the stories of Dylan, Bobby, Ursula and Bernadette all describe a lack of understanding that gets magnified. That something non discriminatory can easily turn into something with dire consequences. The head of services, at the Prospects employment service at the NAS said he has heard of some cases where people with ASD have been violently attacked. Another article on racism tells how much discrimination is not obvious, as it can be both conscious and unconscious (Carbado, Gulati 2004). Katz and Moore (2004) conclusion of the `comfort factor` being a significant element does tie in with interviews carried out. In particular to Bobby`s story, where his anonymous colleague explained how he subconsciously chooses people he finds easiest to deal with to work with. Which ultimately discriminates against the person with ASD as they are not being offered work opportunities when they may be the best person fit to do the job. With managers ignoring even the slightest comment or reaction suggests the behaviour is acceptable and therefore directly encourages it to continue (Katz, Moore 2004).

Back when the papers on sexism and racism were written the poor and pejorative conditions were not reported (Arnesen 2007), making the extent of the issue unidentified. Which is similar to how many of the interviewees described how the people with ASD would not complain or go to senior management. The difference now from then is technology and support systems are more advanced so there are greater number of ways to reach out to employees that are being neglected or abused, such as through organisations such as Remploy (www.remploy.co.uk), NAS, emails, HRM policies. Also generally organisations are more willing to hear and respond then they used to be (Phillips, Taylor 1980).

Many of the changes recommended to businesses to cater better for employees with ASD are similar to standard good business practices and cost very little if anything to implement. For instance Kofodimos (1991) paper on Stylefex management would accommodate staff with ASD and staff without, as it is about tailoring management style around the employee. Kofodimos (1991) believes Stylefex works best when all staff work with this ethos and not just the manager. There are many good examples of companies that have successfully used such models. For instance a company such as Specialisterne based in Denmark and the United Kingdom has approximately 75% of its employees with ASD. Their business model is called `The Dandelion Model` and focusses on changing perception`s, understanding individuals and meeting their requirements`. The theory of adapting around individual needs is not new. Adair (1979) model Action-centred leadership mentions meeting individual`s needs and attending to their personal problems. Therefore with specialist training from experts such as NAS and Remploy (www.remploy.co.uk) and good business practices, there is not reason staff with ASD can not flourish at work. However organisations need to acknowledge and support the line managers as without the relationship between the staff and the manager this equilibrium will not be achieved.

Further Research

This report has idenfied the importance of a managers relationship with employees with ASD, and the reprecousions if this relationship is missing or is weak. Now this has been identified further research is needed to offer managers the tools needed to build this relationship. It would be fascinating to follow a number of managers as they learn about ASD and try to build this relationship. To see learning curves and reactions to change from a 360 degree perceptive. Then to break down the data and put together a model to guide more managers into taking this important step towards embracing an important part of their workforces.

In addition as only a small number of interviews were carried out for this report it would be beneficial to increase the number and break down by location. With the Untied Kingdom`s policy on immigration greatly impacting on the workforce of today, and as already highlighted different countries and cultures have different attitudes and approaches to diversity and equality, it be intriguing to see how this impacts on co-workers empathy and support. In addition different regions consist of multifarious demographics. Some areas have greater retirement communities, some do not evolve as quickly as others for instance country villages. This is taking into account it would also be interesting to compare other countries views on employees with ASD as more companies are now interacting on a global level due to the development of the internet.

Another level of great importance which would benefit from further research would be how the gender and ethnicity of someone with ASD impacts on their integration. Some of the gender and ethnicity reports detailed how an overlap greatly affected the majorities view. From the interviews there did seem a clear divide between employees with ASD being nurtured and liked to employees being disliked and snubbed. To delve further into identifying reasons for this divide could help busy managers identify the best way to support these individuals.

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