UNSPECIFIED. (2004) 'You can checkout anytime, but you can never leave': Spatial boundaries in a high commitment organization. HUMAN RELATIONS, 57 (1). pp. 75-94. ISSN 0018-7267

Full text not available from this repository.

Abstract

This article suggests that the concept of organizational boundaries evokes a spatial metaphor While the scant literature exploring the social geography of organizational life has pointed to the power-laden nature of spatiality, it does so only within the workplace. Our article maintains that the very boundary separating the inside from the outside of organizations is an equally important instrument for controlling labour. In light of the permutations that this boundary is currently undergoing, a field study is presented identifying aspects of a culture management programme aimed at significantly reorganizing the meaning of the inside/outside spatial divide among call-centre employees. This entailed a two-way process in which typically 'private' spatial practices are drawn into the site of production and organizational norms are encouraged outside work. The implications that these techniques have for employee autonomy are raised as important concerns.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor > HD28 Management. Industrial Management H Social Sciences
Journal or Publication Title:	HUMAN RELATIONS
Publisher:	SAGE PUBLICATIONS LTD
ISSN:	0018-7267
Date:	January 2004
Volume:	57
Number:	1
Number of Pages:	20
Page Range:	pp. 75-94
Identification Number:	10.1177/0018726704042715
Publication Status:	Published
URI:	http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/id/eprint/7634

Data sourced from Thomson Reuters' Web of Knowledge

Request changes to a record

Actions (login required)

View Item