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
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