Relocating the Value of Work: Technical Communication in a Post-Industrial Age    

This article analyzes the location of “value” in technical communication contexts, arguing that current models of technical communication embrace an outdated, self-deprecating, industrial approach subordinating information to concrete technological products. By rethinking technical communication in terms of Reich's “symbolic-analytic work”, technical communicators and educators can move into a post-industrial model of work that prioritizes information and communication, with benefits to both technical communicators and users.

Johnson-Eilola, Johndan. Technical Communication Quarterly (1996). Articles>TC>Assessment>Theory