Whalen2002

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Whalen2002
BibType ARTICLE
Key Whalen2002
Author(s) Jack Whalen, Marilyn R. Whalen, Kathryn Henderson
Title Improvisational choreography in teleservice work
Editor(s)
Tag(s) EMCA, Ethnomethology, Work, Computers, Labour, Technology, Teleservice, Customer service, Institutional conversation analysis
Publisher
Year 2002
Language
City
Month
Journal British Journal of Sociology
Volume 53
Number 2
Pages 239–258
URL Link
DOI 10.1080/00071310220133322
ISBN
Organization
Institution
School
Type
Edition
Series
Howpublished
Book title
Chapter

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Abstract

This naturalistic study of the ordinary work practice of sales representatives employed by the call centre of a large office‐equipment company focuses on the actions of those sales reps during their calls with customers. We show how this work performance is organized through an improvisational choreography of action involving not only the turn‐by‐turn interchange with customers on the telephone but also the concurrent utilization of a variety of tools and artefacts. While ‘improvise’ and ‘choreograph’ may appear to be conceptually incongruent, our analysis demonstrates that even though these teleservice workers recurrently fabricate their actions out of materials and means that are conveniently on hand, the convenience is often carefully arranged to afford such extemporaneous composition. Finally, we conclude from this analysis that the traditional topics of ‘work routines’ and ‘routinization’ need to be respecified in order to take into account how any ‘routine’ is a contingently produced result (and in this centre, a craft‐like performance).

Notes