http://tc.eserver.org/dir/Articles/Management/Collaboration/Workplace A listing of the most recently indexed works about Articles and Management and Collaboration and Workplace in the field of technical communication. en-us Copyright (c) 2005-08 by the EServer. All rights reserved. tclib-editorial@eserver.org (TC Library Editorial Board) webmaster@eserver.org (Geoffrey Sauer) http://tc.eserver.org/images/newlogo.gif http://tc.eserver.org/dir/Articles/Management/Collaboration/Workplace http://tc.eserver.org/31718.html http://tc.eserver.org/31718.html Conflict is characteristic in any situation that brings diverse groups together to manage tasks and obstacles. Nowhere is that more apparent than in business environments based on hierarchical structures where teams are inherited and divergent objectives create barriers to effective teamwork. Conflict resolution is among the many tasks delegated to managers, yet it is often the most difficult to master. http://tc.eserver.org/31688.html http://tc.eserver.org/31688.html The author argues that an ironic approach to collusion can help shift the focus of resistance away from the relatively rare events surrounding implacable opposition or total unanimity to the quotidian aspects of workplace politics. Collusion is characterized as an outcome of organizational politics conducted between the traditionally opposed parties of radical industrial sociology (i.e., managers and workers) under the guidance of an ironic mode of cognition. Irony is depicted as a foxlike way of gaining 'a perspective on perspectives,' which provides a means of understanding stalemate, accommodation, and collusion by showing how opposing ideological positions are indebted. It also illuminates the moments when collusion breaks down and resisting parties become implacably opposed hedgehogs (one position prevails over the other), leading to overt conflict and resistance. http://tc.eserver.org/29889.html http://tc.eserver.org/29889.html The expanding definition of technical communication requires an organization with a multidisciplinary set of skills (ranging from editing to visual design to user interface design to usability testing to programming) to meet the new demands. While the members of such a multidisciplinary organization have common goals, they also have unique and specialized needs for education, communication, and shared practices based on their specific skills. Nurturing, developing, and sustaining these distinct skills requires an infrastructure that supports divergent communities of practice, yet still encourages cross-pollination of ideas and integration of processes toward a common goal.