How does a telecommunications company function when its right hand often doesn't know what its left hand is doing? How do rapidly expanding, interdisciplinary organizations hold together and perform their knowledge work? In this book, Clay Spinuzzi draws on two warring theories of work activity - activity theory and actor-network theory - to examine the networks of activity that make a telecommunications company work and thrive. In doing so, Spinuzzi calls a truce between the two theories, bringing them to the negotiating table to parley about work. Specifically, about net work: the coordinative work that connects, coordinates, and stabilizes polycontextual work activities. To develop this uneasy dialogue, Spinuzzi examines the texts, trades, and technologies at play at Telecorp, both historically and empirically. Drawing on both theories, Spinuzzi provides new insights into how net work actually works and how our theories and research methods can be extended to better understand it.
Author(s): Clay Spinuzzi
Edition: 1
Year: 2008
Language: English
Pages: 240
Cover......Page 1
Half-title......Page 3
Title......Page 5
Copyright......Page 6
Contents......Page 7
Acknowledgments......Page 11
1 Networks, Genres, and Four Little Disruptions......Page 13
Networks......Page 16
Disruption 1: Anita Thinks Geraldine Is Slacking......Page 20
Disruption 2: Darrel Thinks Gil Is Being Unreasonable......Page 24
Net Working......Page 28
Genres......Page 29
Disruption 3: Abraham Threatens to Fire Workers......Page 30
Disruption 4: Jeannie Talks Past Local Provisioners......Page 35
The book's trajectory......Page 40
2 What Is a Network?......Page 43
One dog's death......Page 44
Two ways to build a network......Page 45
Telecorp’s Technological Network......Page 48
Telecorp’s (Spliced) Actor–Network......Page 51
Telecorp’s (Woven) Activity Network......Page 54
Heterogeneous......Page 58
Multiply Linked......Page 59
Transformative......Page 60
Black-Boxed......Page 61
Five events......Page 63
Solution 2: The Uniform Regimen......Page 66
Garrisoning the Passes and Interrogating the Locals......Page 70
Conclusion: what is a network?......Page 72
3 How Are Networks Theorized?......Page 74
The first stroke......Page 76
Weaving a network: activity theory's account......Page 79
An Engelsian View: The Science of Interconnections......Page 80
Mediation......Page 81
Structure of Activity......Page 82
Contradictions......Page 84
Variation 1: Chained Activity Systems......Page 86
Variation 2: Overlapping Activity Systems......Page 89
Boundary Crossing......Page 91
Summing Up......Page 92
A Machiavellian View; Or, Sympathy for the Devil......Page 93
Actor–Networks......Page 96
Mediation......Page 98
Problematization......Page 100
Enrollment......Page 101
Reversible Black-Boxing......Page 102
Summing Up......Page 104
Genuine differences......Page 105
Common ground......Page 106
The case of universal service......Page 108
Articulation 1: universal service as the principle of interconnection......Page 110
Regulation as the Alternative to Competition......Page 114
Articulation 2: universal service as total market penetration......Page 115
Articulation 3: universal service as universally obtainable slates of services......Page 119
Local articulations: universal service in texas......Page 122
Even more local articulations: universal service at telecorp......Page 128
Contradiction 1: Exclusivity or Interconnection?......Page 130
Contradiction 2: Business or Public Utility?......Page 131
Summary: What Do We Learn from a History of Contradictions?......Page 134
Splicing universal service: an actor–network theory analysis......Page 135
Translation 1: From Disunity to Unity......Page 136
Translation 2: From Unity to Universality......Page 139
Translation 3: From Universality to the Rising Tide......Page 141
Summary:What Do We Learn from a History of Translations?......Page 142
Weaving and splicing telecorp......Page 143
New Relationships with Other Telecoms......Page 145
Conclusion......Page 146
5 How Are Networks Enacted?......Page 147
Modular work......Page 148
Net work......Page 149
Net Work and Informational Capitalism......Page 150
Net Work and the Information Age......Page 152
Net Work and the Informatics of Domination......Page 153
Three senses of texts......Page 156
Inscriptions......Page 157
Genres......Page 158
Boundary Objects......Page 159
Case 1: following an order......Page 161
There Was No “Order”......Page 163
There Was No Transportation without Transformation......Page 164
There Was No Single Genre......Page 165
Summary: Following an Order......Page 167
Following the Money in Cash Posting......Page 168
Following the Money in Credit and Collections......Page 170
Case 3: following the substitutions......Page 175
Summary: Following the Substitutions......Page 179
Case 4: following the workers......Page 180
Conclusion......Page 183
6 Is Our Network Learning?......Page 185
Learning net work: the problem of discontinuity......Page 186
Apprenticeship: “You Never Ever Do a Partial Connection”......Page 189
Formal Telecorp Training Sessions: “Nine Times out of Ten…”......Page 192
Documentation: “I Need to Do It from This Day Forward”......Page 194
Trial-and-Error: “Willing to Get Your Hands Dirty”......Page 196
Summary: Making Sense of Learning Measures at Telecorp......Page 197
Theorizing learning for net work: activity theory's contribution......Page 198
Theorizing training for net work: actor–network theory's contribution......Page 202
Heterogeneous......Page 204
Black-Boxed......Page 205
Conclusion......Page 207
7 Conclusion: How Does Net Work?......Page 209
Multiply Linked......Page 210
Black-Boxed......Page 211
Implications for Workers......Page 212
Project Management......Page 213
Black-Boxing......Page 214
Strategic Thinking......Page 215
Implications for Researchers......Page 216
How do we develop activity theory for net work?......Page 217
How do we cope with net work?......Page 219
Data collection......Page 221
Flow Diagrams......Page 222
Role-Ordered Matrices......Page 223
Works cited......Page 225
Index......Page 239
