Open AccessNow You See It and Now You Don't: Consequences of Veiling Relational Work
Author(s) -
KREEGER LISA,
HOLLOWAY ELIZABETH
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
ethnographic praxis in industry conference proceedings
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1559-8918
pISSN - 1559-890X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1559-8918.2008.tb00092.x
Subject(s) - outsourcing , work (physics) , unintended consequences , knowledge management , focus (optics) , information technology , public relations , sociology , business , computer science , political science , engineering , marketing , mechanical engineering , physics , optics , law , operating system
This paper offers findings from a study of relationship formation in Information Technology (I.T.) outsourcing services and explores the conditions in which relational practices are veiled by the work designs, tools, business lingo, and even media representations of Information Technology outsourcing services. Veiling describes the way the language and focus of these elements have taken over and permeated organizations to levels where the aspects of relational work are obscured. As a result, relational skills are delegitimized, work is slowed down, conflict results from incorrect assumptions, and inefficient technology is tolerated. We identify intended and unintended consequences, on individuals and organizations, of relational veiling as a strategy that emerges in response to the everyday realities of the workplace.