Assignment Paper

How do Organizations create courageous spaces that lead to employee confidence, which in turn develops into a courageous organization. Sub questions a. What is courage. b. What is a courageous space? How can organizations create Courageous spaces and why is it important for organizations to creat courageous spaces? The objectives are outlined in the proposal.
Please find below feedback from the Research Proposal. I will appreciate a step by step approach of the dissertation writing. We can start with the following and build on it over time.

1. Abstract
2. Introduction
3. Dissertation outline
4. Defining Courage and establishing Courageous spaces in comparison to Brave Space
5. Literature review (should be at least 5500 words) I am happy to work with your suggestions on the layout or structure but the full dissertation should be at least a minimum of 10000 words excluding references and bibliography.

1. Let’s focus on developing your literature review before we proceed with the
research.

2. Question: What is the difference between a ‘courageous space’ and a ‘brave space’, if anything? Notably, Google Scholar does not yield any relevant results for a search on ‘courageous space’. You need to present comprehensive definitions of the concept/s at the outset if this piece of research is to make sense.

My Comment: There is no difference except that we will call this space courageous space to be different from Brave Space from Pedagogical to Business related. Brave spaces refer to students and lecturers while courageous space will refer to employees and leaders/management. We can start by defining what courage is and linking the characteristics of courage to a work environment that is created and calling it a courageous space instead of a brave space which tries to address overcoming of fear in organization which subjects employees to conforming to the rules and politics of the business. Defining courage leads us to addressing one of the Objectives of this research because once courage is defined we can then establish whether it is feasible to create a courageous space or not. We will be able to understand whether it is possible or not. Has creating Brave spaces also worked from a pedagogical point of view? If it hasn’t worked then how do, we expect courageous spaces in organisations work. What can be done differently?

3. Reading through your literature review, I get the sense that the concept of a brave space emerged in the field of education and pedagogy, not business and management. With this in mind, you will need to justify exactly why and how it is that the concept is relevant to our field.
My Comment: The concept is relevant to the extent that is addresses human behaviour in the face of fear, and how staff or employees show up in the face of uncertainty (VUCA). and in organizations which translates into Organization behaviour. Are staff free to express themselves, emotions, ideas. This will enable employees in organizations to be more creative and innovative and raise matters of concern that would be detrimental to the operations of the business as an on going concern.
4. Of the references you include in respect of brave spaces in the field of business and management, it seems they are all practitioner (rather than academic) references. On the one hand, this means that this extant research may be of questionable reliability. It might also apply that the concept of a brave space is little more than empty rhetoric. On the other hand, it means that your research may be the first academic piece of work in the field, and this will make it distinct (and if you feel that it is empty rhetoric, your research could be dedicated to critiquing the concept).
My Comment: I would like it to be a distinct Academic study but I would also like to evaluate whether creating Brave spaces in educational sector has been successful. If not what can businesses do differently in light of the findings.

How does “Group think” and “Whistle Blowing” enable or disable the creation of these courageous spaces.?