Post on 10-Jan-2017
Finding the ValueMy Experience as an Anthropologist at a
Consultancy Firm
My Practicum Setup Southern Growth Studio
Consultancy Firm Growth Strategy and Innovation Design Thinking Methodology Business/Design Anthropology
My Practicum Setup Design Thinking
Empathy Define Ideation Prototype Test
Research Questions The Studio’s client “Children’s Hospital” Who participates in the fitness events of
interest? What are the differing motivations for
participation? What motivates participants to fundraise for
Children’s Hospital? What are the differences between those who
fundraise and those who do not?
Research Questions What interactions do participants/fundraisers have with
Children’s Hospital before, during and after participation/fundraising? When and how is the marketing strategy landing with
current and potential participants? Where are the gaps in interaction and what are actionable
steps to improve effectiveness? How can fundraising be increased?
Where are the opportunities for improvement in fundraising?
Who is more or less likely to increase or decrease fundraising?
Responsibilities Data collection, management, and analysis Report writing, consolidating, editing, and
disseminating Designing, developing, organizing, conducting, and
presenting ethnographic research using anthropological tools and methods
Organizing, managing, coordinating, and facilitating on-site ethnographic teams, the team member data sharing, and relevant reports generated in relation to ethnographic research
Duties Conducting intercept and in-depth follow-up
interviews with fitness event participants Sharing the data received from these
interviews with fellow studio members Recoding data from fellow ethnographer
intercept/follow-up interviews Analyzing data to create personas,
participant journey maps, and ethnographies Creating certain aspects of the final
presentation for the client Planning, organizing, developing, and
facilitating workshops, ideation and co-creation workshops, and abbreviated design thinking sessions
Methodology Gather “ethnographic” data from 9 fitness
events Intercept interviews on-site at fitness events
Interview guides were created as loose roadmaps The goal was to ask about fundraising or lack
thereof Also to discover what they did in their free time
Attempt follow-up interviews One survey for one fitness event Systematic observation at fitness events
Approx. 250 Interviews
Approx. 250 Interviews
Approx. 250 Interviews
24 personas 24 journey maps 1 extensive ethnographies
9 fitness events 3 fitness categories
Results
Theoretical Lens Design
Intercept interviews Observation at fitness events Survey (one event)
Half of Weber Individuals believe they know why they act
certain ways Does not attempt to situate actions in cultural
context
Theoretical Lens Goffman’s “Presentation of Self”
Individuals participate in certain roles Based on the information gained
about those with which the individual is interacting
Verbal elements can be manipulated easily
What individuals “give off” are harder to manipulate
The observer always has the advantage over the actor
Theoretical Lens Cultural Models
D’Andrade Cultural models (schemas) Objective Models explain without
value Melanoma and warts are cancer
Moral Models put values on ideas, actions, objects Melanoma is bad cancer, but
warts are benign
Theoretical Lens Cultural Models
Dressler The variables of interest are culturally based Individual knowledge is distinguished from
cultural knowledge by shared, inter-subjectivity Cultural Consonance Finding the cultural models would have been a
worthy objective
Theoretical Lens Geertz’s “Thick Description”
Understanding by outsider’s requires context Behaviors in isolation are shallow or worse
misunderstood Investigating behaviors as they happen with
regard to the presentation of self and cultural models can help increase depth of understanding gained
Applied to business/design anthropology “Ethnographic research places the consumer in a
wider context that explains why people do what they do, not only what, and also provides a deeper understanding of the value of certain products and services in people’s lives” (Baba)
Conclusion Goals Today
Highlight the methodology of my practicum View the Studio’s approach through theoretical
lenses Highlight how the methodology could be
improved Demonstrate some knowledge gained during my
training Open for Discussion
Any of this The mechanics and outcomes of my practicum
Questions?