Taylorism, targets, technology and teams - compatible concepts? Evidence from a US call centre

Article


Hingst, Raymond D. and Lowe, Kevin B.. 2008. "Taylorism, targets, technology and teams - compatible concepts? Evidence from a US call centre." International Review of Business Research Papers. 4 (5), pp. 157-165.
Article Title

Taylorism, targets, technology and teams - compatible concepts? Evidence from a US call centre

ERA Journal ID35942
Article CategoryArticle
AuthorsHingst, Raymond D. (Author) and Lowe, Kevin B. (Author)
Journal TitleInternational Review of Business Research Papers
Journal Citation4 (5), pp. 157-165
Number of Pages9
Year2008
Place of PublicationMelbourne, Australia
ISSN1832-9543
1837-5685
Web Address (URL)http://www.bizresearchpapers.com
Abstract

Taylorism, targets and technology form a potent mix in call
centres where groups of individuals are asked to perform as
“teams”. In this paper we explore how ‘task’ oriented
concepts interact with the ‘interpersonal relationship’ realm in an environment where group life dominates the notional foundation of a call centre’s organisational structure.
Tuckman’s four stage model of sequential group development
serves as the theoretical lens through which the role ‘teams’ play in the working environment of a large call centre is examined.Our analysis of structured interviews conducted in an outbound, financial services call centre in the southern United States reveals the mechanisms by which agents have interpreted their ‘team charter’ to focus on individual achievement of increased remuneration levels. The interplay between these variables indicate that reward mechanisms associated with simple Taylorist targets, imposed on the entry level call centre agents, mitigate against meaningful group development. The advancement through promotion based on individual performance to more challenging, less target based
work, is in sharp contrast to their initial training period where ‘team building’ is an essential ingredient of skills acquisition.

Keywordsleadership, team processes, group processes, group dynamics
ANZSRC Field of Research 2020380109. Industry economics and industrial organisation
350503. Human resources management
Public Notes

File reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher/author.

Byline AffiliationsSchool of Management and Marketing
University of North Carolina, United States
Permalink -

https://research.usq.edu.au/item/9yx99/taylorism-targets-technology-and-teams-compatible-concepts-evidence-from-a-us-call-centre

Download files


Published Version
Hingst_Lowe_IRBRP_v4n5_2008_PV.pdf
File access level: Anyone

  • 2556
    total views
  • 481
    total downloads
  • 1
    views this month
  • 0
    downloads this month

Export as

Related outputs

Improving the retailer industry performance through RFID technology: a case study of Wal-Mart and Metro Group
Ali, Omar and Hingst, Ray. 2018. "Improving the retailer industry performance through RFID technology: a case study of Wal-Mart and Metro Group." Krishnan, Archana (ed.) Cases on quality initiatives for organizational longevity. United States. IGI Global. pp. 196-220
Adapting videoconferencing as a medium conducive to the promotion of learning and teaching
Hingst, Raymond D.. 2005. "Adapting videoconferencing as a medium conducive to the promotion of learning and teaching." Association of the Pacific Rim Universities Distance and the Internet Conference 2005. Vladivostok, Russia 06 Oct 2005
Autonomic and sense and respond logistics: evidence from the USA and UK
Gunter, Greg and Hingst, Ray. 2011. "Autonomic and sense and respond logistics: evidence from the USA and UK." AIAC 14: Building on History for the Future. Melbourne, Australia 28 Feb - 03 Mar 2011 Melbourne, Australia.
Speaking with one language for humanitarian assistance: uniting the different voices during disaster relief operations
Hingst, Ray. 2015. "Speaking with one language for humanitarian assistance: uniting the different voices during disaster relief operations." Nooriafshar, Mehryar (ed.) Language, Culture and Technology in a Connected World Symposium (sLCT 2015). Toowoomba, Australia 01 Jun 2015 Nicosia, Cyrpus.
Beyond the borders: the three Ts of contemporary protocols for efficient teleworking
Neary, Liz and Hingst, Ray. 2015. "Beyond the borders: the three Ts of contemporary protocols for efficient teleworking." World Review of Business Research. 5 (3), pp. 42-60.
Beyond the borders: the three Ts of contemporary protocols for efficient teleworking
Neary, Liz and Hingst, Ray. 2014. "Beyond the borders: the three Ts of contemporary protocols for efficient teleworking." Bhuiyan, Md. Mahbubul Hoque (ed.) World Business, Finance and Management Conference (WBFM 2014): Research for Progress. Auckland, New Zealand 08 - 09 Dec 2014 Melbourne, Australia.
The influence of the military posting cycle on group formation and team development in the Australian Defence Force
Hingst, Ray. 2012. "The influence of the military posting cycle on group formation and team development in the Australian Defence Force." Morley, Michael J. (ed.) 11th World Congress of the International Federation of Scholarly Associations of Management. Limerick, Ireland 26 - 29 Jun 2012 Dublin, Ireland.
'Sense and respond' and 'autonomic' logistics: a review of US and UK developments
Hingst, Ray. 2011. "'Sense and respond' and 'autonomic' logistics: a review of US and UK developments." Australian Defence Force Journal: journal of the Australian profession of arms.
Community learning: member's stories about their academic community of practice
McDonald, Jacquelin, Collins, Pauline, Hingst, Raymond D., Kimmins, Lindy, Lynch, Bernadette and Star, Cassandra. 2008. "Community learning: member's stories about their academic community of practice." 31st Higher Education Research and Development Society of Australasia Annual Conference (HERDSA 2008). Rotorua, New Zealand 01 - 04 Jul 2008 Sydney, Australia.
The future of family life for the working poor
Hingst, Raymond D.. 2007. "The future of family life for the working poor." Advocate: Newsletter of the National Tertiary Education Union. 14 (1), pp. 24-24.
Autonomic and sense and respond logistics: the 'foxhole to factory to foxhole' continuum of combat service support
Hingst, Ray and Gunter, Greg. 2010. "Autonomic and sense and respond logistics: the 'foxhole to factory to foxhole' continuum of combat service support." Australian Army Journal. 7 (1), pp. 57-69.
Call centres, recent history - where have they come from and how did they get here?
Hingst, Raymond D.. 2004. "Call centres, recent history - where have they come from and how did they get here?" 2nd National Call Centre Research Conference. Churchill, Australia 19 - 20 Aug 2004 Melbourne, Australia.
Project sustainability management and technology
Gunter, Greg and Hingst, Ray. 2009. "Project sustainability management and technology." 6th Annual Project Management Australia Conference (PMOz 2009): Projects Sustaining the Future. Canberra, Australia 10 - 12 Aug 2009 Sydney, Australia.
Autonomic and sense and respond logistics: the 'foxhole to factory to foxhole' continuum of combat service support
Hingst, Ray and Gunter, Greg. 2008. "Autonomic and sense and respond logistics: the 'foxhole to factory to foxhole' continuum of combat service support." Puri, Vinod and Filippidis, Despina (ed.) Land Warfare Conference (LWC 2008): Force Protection in the 21st Century - Deter, Detect, Disrupt and Defeat. Brisbane, Australia 27 - 31 Oct 2008 Canberra, Australia.
Call centres in the mainstream and 'trade' media - 'Where did they come from and how did they get here?'
Hingst, Raymond D.. 2004. "Call centres in the mainstream and 'trade' media - 'Where did they come from and how did they get here?'." International Employment Relations Review. 10 (2), pp. 1-28.
Face value
Hingst, Raymond D.. 2008. "Face value." HR Monthly.
Autonomic logistics: an infrastructure approach
Hingst, Raymond D. and Gunter, Greg. 2007. "Autonomic logistics: an infrastructure approach." The Third Australian JSF Advanced Technology and Innovation Conference (2007). Melbourne, Australia 10 - 11 Jul 2007 Canberra.
An exploratory study to determine students' perceptions of the value of interaction in an Australian classroom context and the perceived impact on learning outcomes
McDonald, Jacquelin, Birch, Dawn, Gray, Anthony, Gururajan, Raj, Hingst, Raymond D. and Maguire, Michael. 2005. "An exploratory study to determine students' perceptions of the value of interaction in an Australian classroom context and the perceived impact on learning outcomes." CRLL 2005: What a Difference a Pedagogy Makes: Researching Lifelong Learning and Teaching. Glasgow, Scotland 24 - 26 Jun 2005 London, United Kingdom.
On the compatibility of Taylorism, targets, technology and teams - evidence from a US Call Centre
Hingst, Raymond D. and Lowe, Kevin B.. 2007. "On the compatibility of Taylorism, targets, technology and teams - evidence from a US Call Centre." Hoque, Mohammad Ziaul (ed.) 7th International Business Research Conference. Sydney, Australia 03 - 06 Dec 2007 Melbourne, Australia.
Perceptions of working life in call centres
Hingst, Raymond D.. 2006. "Perceptions of working life in call centres." Journal of Management Practice. 7 (1), pp. 1-9.
Tuckman's theory of group development in a call centre context: does it still work?
Hingst, Raymond D.. 2006. "Tuckman's theory of group development in a call centre context: does it still work?" 5th Global Conference on Business & Economics. Cambridge, United Kingdom 06 - 08 Jul 2006 Lynchburg, VA, USA.
Twentieth century management theory in today's organization - how relevant is a forty-year-old model in the contemporary context of a call center
Hingst, Raymond D.. 2006. "Twentieth century management theory in today's organization - how relevant is a forty-year-old model in the contemporary context of a call center." Kantarelis, Demetri (ed.) 2006 Business & Economics Society International Conference. Florence, Italy 15 - 19 Jul 2006 Worcester, Massachusetts, USA.