"And Then She Said": Office Stories and What They Tell Us about Gender in the Workplace    

This article calls for a rhetorical perspective on the relationship of gender, communication,and power in the workplace. In doing so, the author uses narrative in two ways.First, narratives gathered in an ethnographic study of an actual workplace, a plasticsmanufacturer, are used as a primary source of data, and second, the findings of this studyare presented by telling the story of two women in this workplace. Arguing that genderin the workplace, like all social identities, is locally constructed through the micro practicesof everyday life, the author questions some of the prevailing assumptions about genderat work and cautions professional communication teachers, researchers, and practitionersagainst unintentionally perpetuating global, decontextualized assumptionsabout gender and language, and their relationship to the distribution and exercise of power at work.

Weiland Herrick, Jeanne. Journal of Business and Technical Communication (1999). Articles>Collaboration>Workplace>Gender

The Effect of Technological Innovation on Organizational Structure: Two Case Studies of the Effects of the Introduction of a New Technology on Informal Organizational Structures    

This article looks at how two offices changed their informal work relationships and patterns in response to a major technological innovation in their field. This inductive study involves a cross-case analysis with field studies covering a two-year period. The research applies the models suggested by social action theory to help explain outcomes. By the end of this study, one office had lost its funding and was eliminated, while the other has survived and grown. The article examines whether the differing organizational responses to new core technology were related to each office's ability to survive.

Kahn, Russell L. Journal of Business and Technical Communication (2000). Articles>Workplace>Technology>Collaboration

The Fox and the Hedgehog Go to Work: A Natural History of Workplace Collusion    

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.

Sewell, Graham. Management Communication Quarterly (2008). Articles>Management>Workplace>Collaboration

How to Get Out of a Slump, and Handle Pressure Situations Calmly

It turns out that you can get out of a slump or handle pressure situations comfortably by merely changing your facial expressions. I have been trying this over the past several days and have been completely stunned with what happens.

Johnson, Tom H. Tech Writer Voices (2008). Articles>Collaboration>Workplace

If You Want Something Done Right, Don't Do It Yourself

When you get fed up and do decide to blaze your own trail, don't forget to take some friends along with you. You never know when you're going to run into a wild past participle that you need help taming.

Allen, Jennifer. Boston Broadside (1992). Articles>TC>Collaboration>Workplace

Improving the Writer-Developer Relationship  

Many technical communicators work in environments where their contributions and value-add to business are not well understood. This perpetuates a lack of respect for the technical communication profession on the part of the technologists with whom we work. By improving our overall work processes and practices, we can change the perceptions of those around us for the better, improving our relationships and increasing the quality of our contributions. We can also begin to see technical communication as a practiced profession equal in importance to the professions of the technologists with whom we work.

Colvin, Richard D. and Virginia Beecher. STC Proceedings (1999). Articles>Workplace>Collaboration

The Influence of E-Mail as an Interoffice Communication Tool in Small Organizations    

E-mail has significantly impacted the way we communicate in business, possibly going so far as to affect the social structure of organizations. One under-explored effect of e-mail is how it impacts communication in smaller organizations. Given the ability of regular face-to-face interaction, is e-mail necessary to boost communication? A report of employee attitudes in one small business did provide an opportunity to observe the impact of e-mail on communications and employee attitudes. As a result, it is suspected that interoffice e-mail may serve to link formal and informal communication channels, particularly in terms of including managers to the informal communications network.

Adrian, C. Mitchell. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication (2001). Articles>Workplace>Collaboration>Email

Instant Messaging in the Workplace  

Proposes six guidelines for employee use of instant messaging.

Hoffman, Jeff. Intercom (2004). Articles>Workplace>Collaboration>Instant Messaging

It's Not What You Know, It's Who You Know: Work in the Information Age  

We discuss our ethnographic research on personal social networks in the workplace, arguing that traditional institutional resources are being replaced by resources that workers mine from their own networks. Social networks are key sources of labor and information in a rapidly transforming economy characterized by less institutional stability and fewer reliable corporate resources. The personal social network is fast becoming the only sensible alternative to the traditional 'org chart' for many everyday transactions in today's economy.

Nardi, Bonnie A., Steve Whittaker and Heinrich Schwarz. First Monday (2000). Articles>Workplace>Collaboration

Learning at Work: The Role of Technical Communication in Organizational Learning    

Concludes that technical support is an important audience for customer documentation and a source of knowledge. Proposes that technical communicators produce documentation that meets the needs of technical support and taps into that knowledge.

Wahl, Scott. Technical Communication Online (2003). Articles>Collaboration>Workplace

Managing Conflict

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.

Harris, Kerri. Writing Assistance (2007). Articles>Management>Collaboration>Workplace

Negotiation Techniques

Most of us are involved in negotiating in some form or other on a daily basis. Here is a look at the process of negotiation and tips you can use to improve your technique as you progress through the process.

Harris, Kerri. Writing Assistance (2006). Articles>Business Communication>Collaboration>Workplace

The Rules of Digital Engagement

For contract web workers, consultants, and freelancers who work with far-flung collaborators, multiple clients, and constantly shifting teams, the rules of digital engagement--the way we interact with each other and resolve conflict in virtual space--are constantly changing. As we adapt to new ways of collaborating, we must also learn how to communicate effectively, set expectations, and build team confidence in an evolving work environment.

Follett, Jonathan. List Apart, A (2008). Articles>Web Design>Collaboration>Workplace

Sensemaking and Identity: The Interconnection of Storytelling and Networking in a Women's Group of a Large Corporation    

Based on the action research model of inquiry, this article is an interpretive ethnographic case study, exploring the power of narratives as a sensemaking device for members of a women's resource network in a large corporation during a time of significant organizational change, and the influence of storytelling on the networking practices of its members. Data are based on participant observation, formal and informal interviews, focus groups, and document analysis, including presentations, meeting notes, and e-mail correspondence. Drawing on the concepts of sensemaking, identity construction, and habitus, analysis of the members' stories suggests three key conclusions: reliance on collectively constructing stories; use of stories to deal with ambiguity and anxiety; and use of stories to construct and regulate identity. When viewed through a narrative lens, these results illuminate the interconnection of storytelling and networking strategies in a women's resource network that provides a hybrid of both expressive and instrumental benefits.

Bird, Shelley. JBC (2007). Articles>Collaboration>Workplace>Gender

Situated Learning in Cross-Functional Virtual Teams    

This paper reports an interpretive study of three cross-functional teams in a single company. The teams were virtual because each was composed of workers located in a small southern U. S. town and a northern U. S. city. The conceptual framework of situated learning within communities of practice guided the interpretation of transcripts of interviews with 22 managers and team members. The results suggest that virtual teamwork creates special demands that require workers to devise local practices for coordinating their work with remote team members. Through different combinations of remote and face-to-face communication, using a variety of communication media, the learning of work practices became situated in the virtual community rather than imposed by managers or specially designed coordinating technologies.

Robey, Daniel, Huoy Min Khoo and Carolyn Powers. Technical Communication Online (2000). Articles>Collaboration>Workplace>Online

Sustaining Communities of Practice in the Workplace: A Case Study  

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.

Fisher, Lori H. STC Proceedings (2004). Articles>Collaboration>Management>Workplace

Teaching and Practicing Teamwork in Industry and Academia  

The purpose of this paper is to help educators and trainers design realistic working environments for team writing assignments and, thus, to prepare students to function on high-performance teams in the workplace. This paper describes differences and similarities between academic and industrial team working environments. It focuses on the kinds of tasks teams are asked to perform, the time and other constraints under which teams operate, the types of considerations that go into selecting people to participate in a team, the members' expectations about teamwork, the rewards used to recognize effective teamwork, and the role of the manager or course instructor. This paper offers suggestions to address some of the key challenges.

Kleid, Naomi A. STC Proceedings (2004). Articles>Education>Collaboration>Workplace

The Use of Humor, Metaphor, Psychology, and Sheer Zaniness to Defuse Volatile Situations, Lower Your Blood Pressure, and Support Stress Management in Technical Communication: Real-World Applications of M4A4Z4 Theory  

This workshop explores the creative use of humor as a de-stressor in the often deadline-driven, pressure-filled world of technical communication, while also addressing the inherent risks involved with this strategy. Three specific techniques involving metaphor, psychology, and incongruity are exemplified in the opening presentation. Participants then form teams to apply these techniques and other strategies to relieve stress in volatile business/technical scenarios.

Voss, Daniel W. STC Proceedings (2004). Articles>Collaboration>Workplace

Use Body Language to Deliver Your Message  

One of your most effective means to communicate with team members may not involve words. See why senior editor Matthew Osborn believes body language can say it all.

Osborn, Matthew. TechRepublic (2003). Articles>Collaboration>Communication>Workplace

Don't Fight Over Your Home Page

Most organisations spend most of their design time focusing on the homepage, often in tense negotiations with different departments, each jockeying for prominent positions in the global navigation. There’s more politics here than the appointment of a Fianna Fail junior minister.

Veale, Laurence. IQcontent (2006). Articles>Web Design>Collaboration>Workplace

Effective Websites: The Responsibility of the Whole Organisation

Building an effective website is often seen exclusively as the job of the web team, and viewed as a design or technical issue. However, having worked with many different organisations, we would argue that often what stops them improving their website is the organisation itself. Developing an effective website often requires organisational change: it requires a culture where people at all levels in the organisation adopt behaviours that make a ‘good user experience’ an important goal. If the organisation is not focused on providing a good user experience, then the web team will be unable to build an effective website.

Burton-Taylor, Sarah. Usability News (2006). Articles>Web Design>Collaboration>Workplace

Unmanaging Knowledge - How to Tell the Boss to Back Off

You’ve got a pretty good boss, yet he or she still heeds the traditional creed of command and control. But it doesn’t work for you. You’re engaged in knowledge work and you’d like to tell the boss to back off. What do you do? Explain it to the boss first chance you get. Here’s a good way to do it.

Ehin, Charles. Smart People (2009). Articles>Collaboration>Workplace

Integrating Social Media Into Existing Work Environments: The Case of Delicious    

This article offers an example case of technical communicators integrating the social bookmarking site Delicious into existing work environments. Using activity theory to present conceptual foundations and concrete steps for integrating the functionalities of social media, the article builds on research within technical communication that argues for professional communicators to participate more fully in the design of communication systems and software. By examining the use of add-ons and tools created for Delicious, and the customized use of Rich Site Syndication (RSS) feeds that the site publishes, the author argues for addressing the context-sensitive needs of project teams by integrating the functionality of social media applications generally and repurposing their user-generated data.

Stolley, Karl. Journal of Business and Technical Communication (2009). Articles>Workplace>Collaboration>Social Networking

Exploring Negative Group Dynamics: Adversarial Network, Personality, and Performance in Project Groups    

Most previous social network studies have focused on the positive aspects of social relationships. In contrast, this research examined how the negative aspects of social networks in work groups can influence individual performance within the group. Accordingly, two studies were conducted to make this assessment. The first study examined the effect of negative relations and frequency of communication on performance among student groups. The second study investigated how the Five Factor Model of personality and position in adversarial networks interacted to influence individuals' performance. Although results of the first study indicated that frequent communication with others could make a person more likeable, consequently helping him or her perform better, the second study showed that those individuals disliked by others were less likely to achieve a good performance rating, despite their conscientiousness, emotional stability, or openness to experiences.

Xia, Ling, Y. Connie Yuan and Geri Gay. Management Communication Quarterly (2009). Articles>Collaboration>Workplace