Poster presentation engineering culture
2
Main Themes Kunda exposes the intentionality of Tech company's management use of various methods of normative control to propagate its claims as a familial work environment that operates informally and allows for a flexibility which promotes individual responsibility as the primary one’s career success. A rewarding and life-long employment is the company’s promise in exchange for one’s personally commitment of their creativity and initiative in the process of producing products that are marketable and successful in generating revenue. Kunda establishes that pervasive efforts of Tech, from a well-espoused ideology that involves “a moral purpose” as part of its daily culture where repetition of Tech’s s mask an elaborate and subtle form of normative control in which the members' minds and hearts become the target of corporate influence for the pursuit of corporate, and by chance individual, revenue. “Engineering Culture: Control and Commitment in a High-Tech Corporation” by Gideon Kunda What is the book about? Where? Silicon Valley, SysCom When? 1990s (6 months of field work) Who? Kunda, MIT student, Grade 2 administrative support and Grade 4 tech workers support (management) How? Participant observation ethnography Why? Opportunity to study corporate power Metaphor (Morgan) Theory Commentary Organization as economy Transacti onal cost theory ‘Give & take’ – transactional (Williamson) Hard work in return for appearance of security Organization as power and politics Power Game (Mintzber g) Power = “getting things done the way you want them done” Power is wielded through ‘informal’ ritualised messages (e.g. lunchtime seminars, annual picnics, etc.) Organization as ‘family’ (or ‘culture’?) Similar to Z Organizat ions (Ouchi) Proceed based on intimacy, subtlety and trust BUT – dark side of the ‘family’ – can be a veneer for abuse or control Methodology Critique “Going native” dangers – too close, friendships, unrepresentative sampling 2-Year write-up period in Tel Aviv. No further contact with sources Focused on tech workers. Ignored support workers, mostly female & non-white. Organizational Theories Kunda, G. (2006). Engineering culture: Control and commitment in a high-tech corporation. Temple University Press.
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Transcript of Poster presentation engineering culture
Main Themes
Kunda exposes the intentionality of Tech company's management use of various methods of normative control to propagate its claims as a familial work environment that operates informally and allows for a flexibility which promotes individual responsibility as the primary one’s career success.
A rewarding and life-long employment is the company’s promise in exchange for one’s personally commitment of their creativity and initiative in the process of producing products that are marketable and successful in generating revenue. Kunda establishes that pervasive efforts of Tech, from a well-espoused ideology that involves “a moral purpose” as part of its daily culture where repetition of Tech’s s mask an elaborate and subtle form of normative control in which the members' minds and hearts become the target of corporate influence for the pursuit of corporate, and by chance individual, revenue.
“Engineering Culture:Control and Commitment in a High-Tech Corporation” by Gideon Kunda
What is the book about?Where? Silicon Valley, SysComWhen? 1990s (6 months of field work)Who? Kunda, MIT student, Grade 2 administrative support and Grade 4 tech workers support (management)How? Participant observation ethnographyWhy? Opportunity to study corporate power
Metaphor (Morgan) Theory Commentary
Organization as economy
Transactional cost theory
‘Give & take’ – transactional (Williamson)Hard work in return for appearance of security
Organization as power and politics
Power Game (Mintzberg)
Power = “getting things done the way you want them done”Power is wielded through ‘informal’ ritualised messages (e.g. lunchtime seminars, annual picnics, etc.)
Organization as ‘family’ (or ‘culture’?)
Similar to Z Organizations (Ouchi)
Proceed based on intimacy, subtlety and trust BUT – dark side of the ‘family’ – can be a veneer for abuse or control
Methodology Critique “Going native” dangers – too close, friendships, unrepresentative sampling 2-Year write-up period in Tel Aviv. No further contact with sources Focused on tech workers. Ignored support workers, mostly female & non-
white.
Organizational Theories
Kunda, G. (2006). Engineering culture: Control and commitment in a high-tech corporation. Temple University Press.
