There's No Holidays in the Funeral Business: Exploring Dialectical Tensions in a Funeral Home

Author:

*  Holly A. Hirsch (Texas A&M Univ)

Abstract:

This paper explores the ways in which rituals and stories enable employees at a rural, family owned funeral home to understand and attempt to embrace both poles of underlying dialectical tensions. The primary tensions include inclusion/exclusion, life/death, and dependence/autonomy. Specific stories and rituals are used to illustrate how organizational members understand and struggle with these tensions.