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Mark Francis Rouncefield

'Business as Usual': An Ethnography


Everyday (Bank) Work.

of

Thesis submitted to the Department of Sociology for the Degree of


Doctor of Philosophy, Lancaster University, December 2002.

'

,
11 '

Dedication

To my mother, Grace Rouncefield, who worked for many years in a bank not unlike that
described here; and to my children Katy, Ben and Alys, hoping that their bank accounts
will always be healthier than mine.

"The point is that it is almost everybody's business to be occupationally


job
keeping
take
that
the
of
everything utterly mundane;
people
on
ordinary;
that no matter what happens, pretty much everybody is engaged in finding
it
is
is
is
how
that
what going on usual, with every effort possible"
only
(Sacks, 1984: 419).

Declaration
No part of the work containedwithin this thesis has beenused in the context of any other
application for a degree or other qualification with this or any other university or other
isnstitute of learning. Some parts of the thesis and/or the data it refers to have appeared
previously in the following published articles:"

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Blythin

S. and Rouncefield M. (1997) `Evaluating Groupware in a business


environment' in ACM SIGOIS (special interest group office information systems)
Bulletin December 1997.
Blythin, S., Hughes J. and Rouncefield M. (1997) "'Never mind all that ethno' stuff:
what does it mean and what do we do now? " Ethnography in a Commercial Context. '.
`Interactions' May-June 1997 ACM Press.
Blythin, S., Hughes, J., Kristoffersen S. and Rouncefield. M. (1997) `Recognising
`success' and `failure': towards the `illuminative'
evaluation of groupware'. In
Proceedings of Group '97, Phoenix, USA.
Blythin, S., Hughes, J., O'Brien, J., Rodden T. and Rouncefield M. (1997) `Designing
with Ethnography: A presentation Framework for Design'.. in Proceedings of
Designing Interactive Systems '97 ACM Press Amsterdam.
Crabtree, A.,. Nichols, D., O'Brien, J., Rouncefield M. and. Twidale M.
(2000)Ethnomethodologically-Informed Ethnography and Information System Design
in
for
American
Journal
Society
Information
Science,
51(7),
the
of
pp666-682.
Harper, R, Randall, D. & Rouncefield, M. (2000) Organizational Change in Retail
Finance : An Ethnographic Perspective. London Routledge.
Hughes, J., Kristoffersen, S., O'Brien J. and Rouncefield, M. (1996) `When Mavis
met IRIS' Ending the Love Affair with Organisational Memory. in Proceedings of the
19th Information systems Research seminar In Scandinavia, Lokeberg, Sweden 10-13
August 1996. Gothenburg, Gothenburg Studies in Informatics, Report 8, June 1996,
Vol 2, pp 767-787.

Hughes, J., Kristoffersen, S., O'Brien, J., and Rouncefield, M. (1996) "The
organisational politics of meetings and their technology - two case studies of video
supported communication" in Kautz, K and Pries-Heje,J. (eds) (1996) Diffusion and
Adoption of Information Technology.London. Chapman& Hall.

Hughes, J., O'Brien J., Randall, D., Rouncefield M. and Tolmie P. (1999) 'Virtual
Organisations and the Customer: How `virtual organisations' deal with `real'
customers". In Proceedings of the UKAIS (UK Academy for Information Systems)
Conference York April 1999
Hughes, J., O'Brien, J., Randall, D., Rouncefield M. and Tolmie P.(2000) 'Virtual
knowledge and the customer: How `virtual
organisations,
organisational
organisations' deal with `real' customers.' - Information Systems Review. Vol 1,2000
pp43-58. ISSN 1471-6089
Hughes, J., O'Brien, J., Randall, D., Rouncefield, M., Rodden T. and Tolmie P.
(1999) Getting to know the `customer in the machine'. in Proceedings
Group'99
of
Phoenix, Arizona, ACM Press. pp30-39.

5
"

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Hughes, J., O'Brien, J., Rodden, T. and Rouncefield. M. (1995)"They're supposed to


be fixing it" requirements and system redesign. in Thomas, P (1995) (ed) CSCWV
Requirements and Evaluation. London. Springer.

Hughes, J., O'Brien, J., Rouncefield M. and Tolmie P. (2001) `Some `real' problems
No.
1.2001
Vol.
16,
Mork
Employment'.
Technology,
`virtual'
'.
'New
teams.
and
of
-

Hughes, J., O'Brien, J., Rodden, T., Rouncefield, M and Sommerville I. (1995)
in Proceedings of
Presenting ethnography in the requirements process `Requirements Engineering `95. IEEE Press 1995.
Hughes, J., Rouncefield, M. and Tolmie, P. (2002) The Day-to-Day Work of
Standardization: A Sceptical Note on the Reliance on IT in a Retail Bank - in
Woolgar, S. (ed) (2002) Virtual Society? technology, cyberbole, reality. Oxford.
Oxford University Press.

Martin D. and Rouncefield M. (2002) "Making the organisation come alive": talking
through and about the technology in remote banking. - to appearin the HCI Journal .

Randall, D., Hughes, J., O'Brien, J., Rodden, T., Rouncefield, M., Sommerville I. and
Tolmie, P. (1999)'Banking on the Old Technology': Understanding the organizational
for
in
issues.
Communications
Association
Information
`legacy'
the
of
of
context
Systems (CAIS): Managing the organisation and technology change aspects of
Business Process Reengineering (BPR) and Legacy Systems.
Randall, D., Hughes, J., O'Brien, J. Rouncefield M. and Tolmie P. (2000) 'Memories
Are Made Of This': Explicating Organizational Memory. - in Edwards, J and Kidd, J.
(eds) proceedings of KMAC2000 The Knowledge Management Conference, Aston,
Birmingham. Operational Research Society. pp255-264. ISBN: 0 903440 210

Randall, D., Hughes, J., O'Brien, J., Rouncefield M. and Tolmie P. (2001) 'Memories
Are Made Of This': Explicating Organizational Knowledge and Memory. - European
Journal of Information Systems10, pp113-121.
Randall, D., Hughes, J., Rouncefield, M., Gill, A. and Espejo R. (1996) 'Combining
Methodologies For Core Process Re-design' In Proceedings of the 3rd European
Conferenceon BPR, Cranfield, February 21-22 1996.
Randall, D., O'Brien, J., Rouncefield, M. and Hughes J. (1996) `Organisational
Memory and CSCW: Supporting the `Mavis' phenomenon'. In Proceedings of OzCHI
96, Hamilton, New Zealand.

"

Randall, D., Rodden, T., Rouncefield M. and Sommerville I. (2001) Remembrance of


Designs Past: Legacy Data, Organisational Memory and Distributed Design. - in
Henderson, P (ed) Systems Engineering for Business Process Change. Volume II.
London. Springer-Verlag

"

Randall, D., Rouncefield, M., and Hughes J. (1995) 'Chalk and Cheese: BPR and
in
CSCW. ' - in Proceedings of the
informed
ethnography
ethnomethodologically
Fourth European Conference on Computer-Supported Cooperative Work ECSCW
`95. Dordrecht. Kluwer. pp325-340.)
Rodden, T., Rouncefield, M., Sommerville S. and Viller S. (2000) 'Social Viewpoints
(ed)
for
Systems
in
P
(2000)
Engineering
Business
Legacy
Systems'.
Henderson,
on
Process Change.London. Springer-Verlag. Pp151-163.

"

6
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"

Rouncefield, M., Hughes,J., Rodden,T and Viller. S. (1994) `Working with `constant
interruption': CSCW and the small office. ' - in `TheInformation Society' Volume 11,
pp173-188.
Rouncefield, M., O'Brien, J., Hughes J. and Rodden T. (2000) `Ethnography,
communication and support for design.' in Christian Heath and Paul Luff (eds)
(2000) 'Workplace Studies: Recovering Work Practice and Informing System
Design'. pp 187-214.CUP, Cambridge.
Tolmie, P. John Hughes and Mark Rouncefield (2002) Representing Knowledge:
Instances of Information Management the British Journal of Sociology.
Tolmie, P., Hughes, J., Rodden T. and Rouncefield M. (2000) Representing
Knowledge. - in Edwards, J and Kidd, J. (eds) Proceedings of KMAC2000 The
Knowledge Management Conference, Aston, Birmingham. Operational Research
Society. pp 116-127

Contents

Abstract:
Acknowledgements:

10-12

Chapter 1: What's It All About?

13-23

Chapter 2- Beautiful Vision: 'It's (Bank) Life Jim but not as we know it'

24-68

Introduction: Sociological Approachesto the Study of Financial Services


Financial serviceorganisationsas instantiationsof global economicchange
Financial serviceorganisationsand organisationallife.
Financial Servicesand Information Technology.
Discussion:Sociological Accounts and the'missing what' - the disappearingphenomenaof bank work.
Understandingbank work as a'social construct'.
Understandingbank work: sociological v lay accounts.
Ethnomethodologicalapproaches:the interestin the everydayworld.
Membersas rule users
Bankwork and accountableaction.
Bank work and categorizationwork

Chapter 3 "No Guru, No Method, No Teacher" - Ethnomethodologically

Informed Ethnography

Introduction: researchmethods
What is ethnography?
What is involved in 'doing' ethnography?Relying on the 'kindnessof strangers'.
Ethnomethodologicallyinformed ethnography:'Welcome to the Dark Side'.
Real world, real time action - being'lead by the phenomena'
Observingfeaturesof social organisation-'practical action'
Attending to the lived detail of everydaywork
Everdaywork as accountableand cooperativeactivity
Ethnography,Banking and ComputerSupportedCooperativeWork (CSCW)
Ethnographerat Work.
Questioningthe method:someproblemsof ethnography
Ethnographyand Reflexivity

69-114

Chapter 4: The Work of Lending Money

115-157

Chapter 5: Working With/Through

158-199

Introduction: Lending Money


Lending as Selling: turning `tellers' into 'sellers'.
The Lending Process:Lending Interviews
The Lending Process:Monitoring and Control
The Lending Process:technologiesof accountability.
The Lending Process:Practical,Rational Decision-making.
Lending on 'Campari and Ice'
Rational Decision-makingand CategorizationWork.
Decision-makingas practically oriented.

The 'Technology'

Part One: Banking on the New Technology.


Introduction: Technologyand OrganizationalChange.
Technology and OrganisationalContext
Everyday Use of the Technology.
Expert Systemsand Workflow.

8
Databasesand'the customerin the machine'.
ManagementInformation Systems
Part Two: Banking on the Old Technology: `legacy' systemsin use.
Part Three: Banking on the Old, Old Technology- Paperwork
Conclusion:Technology,Knowledge and'Skill'.

200-240

Chapter 6: Working With Customers

Introduction: CustomerFacing Work - From Tellers to Sellers.


CustomerFacing Work - Interviews.
Talking Through The Technology- TechnologyMediated CustomerWork
CustomerWork: Working the Phones
CustomerWork: the work to make the video-link work
CustomerWork: the `Virtual Customer' - the `Customerin the Machine'.
Dealing With the Customerin/through the Machine.
CustomerWork, DemeanourWork and Emotional Labour: 'Give Me An Overdraft Or The Pony Dies'

Chapter 7: `Keeping Everything Utterly Mundane: Working


Routine `Vork, 'Routine'.

to Make
241-258

Routine Work
Routine work and the checkingroutine
Routinising, sustainingand automating'routine
Routine Work and the Pursuit of Standardisation
Routine and the developmentof ManagementInformation

Chapter 8: `Why Must I Always Explain? ' Explicating

the Social

259-303

Organisation of (Bank) Work

Ethnomethodologyand (lack of) Ambition


Ethnographyand the Problemof Generalisation
Planning,plansand procedures
Distributed Coordination
Coordination,Interruption and the working division of labour
Coordination through artefacts
Coordination and Paperwork- documentswithin socially organisedwork activities
Awarenessof Work
Awarenessand modal transformation

Chapter 9: 'What's the Big Idea'? Power, Responsibility


Accomplishment of Organization.

and the
304-336

Meetings and the Accomplishmentof Organization.


Background:meeting customers.
Managers'Meetings:ManagementInformation
Power, responsibility and sundrymatters
Power, Responsibility and a Working Division of Labour

Chapter 10: 'Enlightenment:

Don't Know What It Is'

Introduction: Modest Claims of Added Value


Technologyas a Resource
Legacy Problemsas OrganisationalProblems
'Skill' in EverydayBank Work
OrganisationalChangeand EverydayWork
Conclusion:In Defenceof Ethnomethodology

Bibliography

337-350

351

Abstract
Mark Francis Rouncefield
BA (Hons) Social Studies; MA (Education); MA (Contemporary Sociology); PGCE;
PGCIT; RSA.
'Business As Usual' An Ethnography of Everyday (Bank) Work

Thesis submitted to the Departmentof Sociology for the Degreeof Doctor of Philosophy,
LancasterUniversity, December2002.

Ethnomethodology has long complained that sociological studies of work inevitably


'miss' something in their accounts - the 'quiddity' the 'haecceity' of everyday working life.
This thesis attempts to provide such details through an ethnomethodologically informed
involved
in
banking
in
bank
in
`high
the
the
work
mass
market
a
street'
ethnography of
UK. The emphasis in this study is not on `theorising' such work as exemplars or
indicators of more general, universal theoretical trends, but on seeking to understand such
activity 'from within' through the provision of `thick descriptions' of mundane work.
Important to this study is the notion of routine, of ordinariness, of `business as usual' in
the accomplishment of everyday work. This is facilitated through the use of an
informed
ethnographic approach, with its emphasis on immersion
ethnomethodologically
in a social setting and making visible the `real world' sociality of a setting by producing
detailed descriptions of `workaday' activities. The data and analysis focus on the routine
activities of lending money; the use of technology to support everyday work; 'customerfacing' work and how the successful, routine, achievement of these activities is a
final
The
accomplishment.
part of the thesis is concerned with
collaborative, effortful
considering some more general sociological themes through a renewed examination of
the fieldwork data. It considers what kinds of generalization might be drawn from
ethnographic data and, through explicating some data on organizational meetings,
considers how a distinctively ethnomethodological approach might sociologically address
the topic of `power'.

10

Acknowledgements
"One of the passages most often turned to by anthropologists in their initial run-through of ethnographies is
the acknowledgements. This section, which rarely extends beyond a page or two, is considered to be among
the less serious, less substantial parts of ethnographic texts. " (Ben-Ari 1995: 130)

This thesis was a long time an awful long time in the writing and therefore, and also
in consequenceof my experienceand belief in the value of collective writing, I have a lot
of people to acknowledgeand thank.
First of all, and most importantly, I would like to thank my supervisors and friends, John
Hughes and Tom Rodden national living treasures both. Most of all I thank them for
rescuing me from teaching and giving me a job that I continue to find fascinating and
challenging, but also, and importantly, for not `nagging', whilst, paradoxically, `nagging'
just enough to ensure this thesis got finished (much to everyone's surprise).
As an intellectual magpie I have borrowed (and stolen) from all that I have encountered
over the many years this thesis was being assembled. For brief mention, John Hughes, has
long been a mentor to me, and like Rumpelstiltskin, has regularly turned my straw into
brief
Every
`for
to
reference
gold, and more.
mention', `and more' and the casual
interjection (and importantly, and this is no easy matter) are living testimonies to his
continuing stylistic influence.

Tom RoddenI would like to thank for introducing me to:


" The rhetorical value of the three part argument
"
"

The importance of precision and concision in interdisciplinary work


The use of the bullet list for emphasis

Such thanks I also extend to my friend Jon O'Brien - now amongst the endlessarmies of
professional analysts - for his support in fieldwork and paper writing, his driving and
during
our tours of Scandinavia(it was food poisoning not drink), and, of
medical skills
course,the authoritative use of'such'.

I have many good reasons to thank my friend, colleague and long-time driving companion
Dave Randall. For, probably unknown to him, in my other role as chauffeur to the
famous, I carefully listened to his cogent, stream of consciousness, orations on the state of
ethnomethodology, ethnography and sociology in general during our many trips around
this and many other countries. (The `Wall of Sound' tour of Sweden remains a particular
favourite). In a nutshell, many if not all, of the better ideas considered in this thesis are
undoubtedly his -'in a nutshell' is obviously his phrase too. I also thank Richard Harper
for
his
'not
just
for
introducing
phrase
any
old
numbers',
me to the word 'prolix' and his
continuing sceptical support.
And Peter Tolmie I would like to thank for his company during fieldwork, for the
cheerful acceptance of the theft and mangling of his fieldwork data and ideas, and the
introduction to the work of Harvey Sacks and his literary
style, in particular the
convoluted and complex sentence (underlined in green by the grammar checker). And the

11
bold use of `and' as anything other than a conjunction and appearing nowhere near the
middle of a sentence.
I thank Andy Crabtree for some interesting discussionsand, for his, generally fruitless,
hereby
I
keep
absolve
to
the
attempts
me on
ethnomethodological straight and narrow.
Andy from any responsibility in this regard; and for the scarcity of references to
`immortal incarnate society', the general paucity of `in and as ofs' and the complete
is
`probativeness'
in
`lebenswelt
though
expression
thesis
one
this
absenceof any
pairs'
I may well hang onto.
I would also like to thank `my friends in the North' - especially Rob Procter and Roger
Slack. Mark Hartswood, and Alex Voss. I particularly thank Rob for his friendship, some
insightful comments on my work, for the guitar practice and who could forget (or
draw
for
I
to
Girl'.
Roger
his
`Brown-Eyed
thank
on
allowing me
recognise)
version of
his encyclopaedic knowledge of ethnomethodology, his invariably thoughtful ideas and
but
I'd
it's
blindingly
`of
(meaning
`of
obvious
course
the world weary use of
course'
better state it anyway).
Although ethnomethodologists have a reputation for being 'grumpy old men' in my
blunderings through ethnomethodology I have always, inexplicably, been treated more
kindly than I probably deserve and I would like to thank Graham Button, Dave Francis
friends,
Other
for
the
Sharrock
Wes
cotheir
years.
patient and careful advice over
and
It
Like
(`Tell
It
`TeamEthno'
fellow
travelling
of
members
authors, powerful arguers and
Is') should also be mentioned including Lucy O'Brien, Karen Clarke, Terry Hemmings,
Dave Martin, Liz Marr, Lou Armour, Guy Dewsbury, Phillipe Rouchy, Steve Viller,
Adrian Mackenzie and Dave `It's the owner not the dog' Calvey.
Most of my time at Lancaster has been spent in the Computing Department - currently
boasting six ethnographers - and I thank the department for its continuing support for
'ethnographic studies of work'. Personal thanks for their help goes to Ian Sommerville,
John Mariani, Jo Mackie, Alan Dix, Chris Needham, Paula Robinson and Aimee Doggett.
The fieldwork reported in this thesis was financially supported by a number of EPSRC
SEBPC
including
'SYCOMT';
'Legacy'
Projects
the
Research
the
ESRC
project;
and
Virtual Society? Research programme and recently the 'Dependability' and 'Equator'
Interdisciplinary Research Collaborations. I thank them not just for the financial support
but for the opportunities they provided to work with some very clever people. I also
different
I
from
the
tolerance
the
goodwill
experienced
at
amazing
and
staff
acknowledge
fieldwork sites over a long period of time - and thank Steve Blythin and Roger Scowcroft
for facilitating fieldwork access.

Finally, and importantly, significantly, meaningfully, I thank my family for their


toleranceand support of an 'observationalscientist'who regularly fails to notice important
things - like haircuts - and who's untidinessis probably a health hazard. Over the last few
been
have
I
unbearableto live with - even the cat is avoiding me. Most of all I
weeks
must thank Caroline Warbrick, to whom I am more than 'reflexively tied' and 'inextricably
linked' and who continues to fascinate, charm and annoy me (but that's love). Caroline

12
provided the main support and inspiration (alongside the usual motivators of shame and
guilt) to complete this thesis - and, in the process, tolerated endless repetitions of 'Gimme
Shelter' (a song that seemed appropriate at the time for a thesis that seemed "just a shout
away" - though since I finished I seem to have been playing 'Don't Think Twice Its
Alright' rather a lot... ).
Of course, I am aware of the potential of such "acknowledgements'
passages to create
images of ethnographers
I
a
end
with
should
so
perhaps
social
persons,
of
me
as
warning from Ben-Ari: "acknowledgementsare a device for building trust between the ethnographer
and her or his readersand for underpinning the authenticity of the main part of the ethnography" (Ben-Ari
1995:151). He might say that -I couldn't possibly comment.

13

Chapter 1: What's It All About?


A crusty old man walks into a bank and says to the teller at the window, "I want to open a damn checking
account. "

To which the astonishedwoman replies, "I beg your pardon, sir; I must have misunderstoodyou. What did
you say?"

"Listen up, damn it. I said I want to open a damn checking account, right now! "
"I'm very sorry sir, but we do not tolerate that kind of language in this bank. " So saying, the teller leaves
the window and goes over to the bank manager to tell him about her situation.
They both return and the manager asks the old geezer, "What seems to be the problem here?"
"There's no damn problem, " the man says, "I just won 50 million bucks in the damned lottery and I want
to open a damn checking account in this damn bank! "
"I see," says the manager, "and this bitch is giving you a hard time?

There aren't many jokes told about banks, banking or bankers. Those that exist (and I
have looked) rely for their humour, as in the example above, on the stereotypical
stuffiness and respectability, if not downright dullness, associated with bank work. (There
is another joke that involves a frog and a bank but I'll tell you that later). This thesis is
in
full,
dullness
bank
the
and
of
glorious, technicolor detail,
concerned with
work,
through providing an ethnomethodologically informed ethnography of the work involved
in mass market banking in a `high street' bank in the UK. Unlike other, and previous,
bank
work, clerical work, `white-collar' work and so on, the emphasis in this
accounts of
`theorising'
is
on
study
not

such work as exemplars or indicators of more general

theoretical processes such as class formation, deskilling, patriarchy, consumerism or


whatever, but on seeking to understand such activity through the provision of `thick
descriptions' of the practical, everyday, and, yes, frankly dull, accomplishment of the
work. To use a phrase from Garfinkel et al (1981), and to coincidentally make it sound far
more interesting than it really is, I am concerned with 'extracting the animal from its
foliage'.

But let's

not get carried away with this account of the everyday and

14
overwhelming tedium of working in a bank. To the bullfighter, fighting bulls is routine,
ordinary everyday work. To the rock star, `sex, drugs and rock and roll' is part of the
familiar,

mindless (if enviable) monotony associated with touring, practicing

performing;
bewitched

to the Dowayo of Cameroon, interrogating


(Barley

1983) is just

another, routine,

and

is
discover
to
who
a cactus
`matter

of course'

activity,

collaboratively accomplished and so on. As Sacks (1984) recognized:


"it is almost everybody's business to be occupationally ordinary; that people take on the job of keeping
everything utterly mundane; that no matter what happens, pretty much everybody is engaged in finding
only how it is that what is going on is usual" (Sacks 1984: 419).

This notion of routine, of ordinariness, of `business as usual' and its importance in the
accomplishment of everyday working life is a motif that recurs in one form or another
throughout this thesis.

Like all good arguments this thesis is in three parts. The first part is concerned with
setting up the basis for the debate by documenting other relevant work in the area;
outlining the very different approachadoptedhere and detailing the method by which the
data
and
collected. In Chapter Two - Beautiful Vision: 'It's
setting was researched
(Bank)life

Jim but not as we know it' -I

review some of the available, relevant

sociological literature on bank work. The review argues that these studies, by and large,
ignore the everyday

world

of `doing

bankwork';

the routine,

trivial,

practical

accomplishment of work, sacrificing this - if sacrifice is the right word for not attempting
to do something you have no interest in - to focus instead on more general, theoretical
issues such as `deskilling'; theoretical interpretations of the impact of new technology and
so on. Such theoretical accounts raise a number of issues in that, put simply, these

15
be
`do
it
little
to
`studies
work'
tell
means
about work, or what
us very
of work'
putative
The
know
it'.
but
life
Jim,
from
Trek,
`its
is,
borrow
Star
not as we
a phrase
at all - that to
task of this thesis will be to presentjust such an account -a `study of work' - through the
use of ethnomethodologicallyinformed ethnographictechniques.

In Chapter Three - 'No Guru, No Method, No Teacher' -I


ethnomethodologically

informed

ethnography highlighting

present an outline of
the principal

virtue of

`real
its
the
to
world' sociality of a setting producing
visible
make
ability
ethnography as
detailed descriptions of the `workaday' activities of social actors within specific contexts
[Hughes et al 1992; 1993]. It is this objective that is the rationale behind the method's
insistence on the development of an `appreciative stance' through the direct involvement
focus
The
investigation.
in
the
of ethnomethodologically
setting under
of the researcher
inspired ethnography is on the investigation of doing the work, work in the raw, work as
it is done, and in the ways in which it is done in actual practice, as opposed to work in
idealised form. This focus has proved an important analytic tool for the examination of
work

as

lived

experience.

In

contrast

to

other

sociological

approaches,

distinct
inspired
to
the
attends
closely
character, the
ethnography
ethnomethodologically
lived detail, of the work in the setting, giving priority to the fact that these persons are
doing `authorizing a bank loan', `bouncing a cheque', `setting up a Standing Order',
`serving a customer' and so on. This draws attention to the multifarious
specifically,

distinctively,

activities that

comprise these particular tasks, and, thus, gives detailed

for
to
the
characterisations of, and seeks understand
particular circumstantial conditions
their accomplishment. This also points to the warrant for ethnomethodologically informed

16
ethnography - that of `probativeness' or `faithfulness to the phenomena'. Of course, this
methodological approach has attracted numerous critiques both from within and without
the ethnographic tradition, concerning ideas about `bias', `interpretation',

`reflexivity'

and more. It will be argued that in general, most of these criticisms miss their target,
primarily

because

they

are often

based on a mistaken

view

of

an

what

ethnomethodological approach entails, its view of social action and the social actor or
how an ethnomethodological

argument gets constructed.

As Sharrock and Anderson

(1986) suggested, some time ago (and the position does not appear to have changed much
since then):
"criticisms do not even start to addressthe issuesif they are made on the basis of the very assumptions
from which ethnomethodologyhaswithdrawn its attachment"(Sharrockand Anderson 1986:99)

Ethnomethodological studies are characteristically `data driven' Sociology and the second
part of the thesis is concerned with presenting and explicating the data on some features
of everyday work in the bank. As the fieldwork, on which this thesis is based, lasted for
well over six years, necessarily much data has been omitted. Huge swathes of material,
from field notes and tapes, documenting the detail of the routine administration

of

accounts, culled from weeks spent in `Records', the `Deads' and `Mandates' section; the
long hours spent in the Entries Handling Unit watching cheques and payment vouchers
being machine processed, have all been unavoidably expunged from this account. There
have also been some `thematic' omissions. In particular, the organisation of time and
space in service organisations (Urry 1986); a more detailed account of managerial work
(Tolmie et al 1998b) and material on accounts of `failure'

have unfortunately

been

17
excluded'. The focus in this section - the recurrent theme - is the idea of a working
division of labour and its egological organisation. The emphasis throughout is on
providing accounts of `working' through the detail of the fieldwork notes and the
interweaving, interlocking and repetition of notions about the characterof everydaywork.
Ideas that recur in the field notes about calculation and decision-making (not just any old
numbers), about routine and the utterly mundane character of `business as usual', are
its
if
basis
the
that
repeatedon
something'sworth saying probably worth sayingtwice2.

Chapter Four is about the work of lending money, presenting a range of observations
about the lending process over time and across the different organisational units of the
bank. It examines the multifarious activities associated with lending money, that is; the
initiation

of the `lending';

responding to inquiries; carrying out lending interviews;

lending
to
the
paperwork
and
computerwork
sanction
requisite
and
completing
coordinate
lending
finally,
the
of
control. This chapter outlines a number of important
process
and,
issues. Firstly, there is the concern to delineate features of visibly, accountable 'rational
decision-making' in lending work. To what extent are lending decisions and `decision
rules a simple calculation; a product of 'gut feeling; ' a outcome of notions of precedent,
'fairness'; or formulas such as 'campari & ice'? How do these decisions come to be
perceived as 'rational'? What 'work' must be accomplished in order for decisions to be

1Unfortunate in the sensethat a study looking at the useof spacewould haveaddressedthe `changing
public face' of the bank over
time, its changesin `style' and enabledme to usea numberof photographsto do a rather different ethnographymuch in the style of
Harper's (1992) and therebyallowed me to addressthe relationshipbetweenvisual imagery (those 'thin descriptions') and
ethnomethodologicallyinformed ethnographyperhapsin the way a numberof writers have looked at text and ethnomethodology.
(Watson2000). Similarly the work on managerswas the focus of an entire project and producedsome interestingmaterial on everyday
managementwork, local logics, the developmentof metrics and standardisationand so on that seemedrather different to conventional
sociological accountsof managerialwork. The work on 'failure' -I was sentto observetwo 'failing' units (and endedup observingfar
more) - was interestingbut probably remainsorganisationallysensitive.
21 owe this point and insight to Tom Rodden

18
accepted as 'rational'? Some features of ethnomethodological

here,
analysis relevant

include membership categorization devices; and the dependence of rules and concepts for
their meaning on the `form of life' in which they are embedded - the reliance on commonsense knowledge of social structures. Looking, for example, at the work, activity and
decision-making associated with `making a loan', `accounts in trouble' or `possible cases
of fraud', illustrates that what gets to be a `good loan' a `fraud' or a `bad account' is a
matter of the cultural, organisational, attitudinal and temporal features of the practices of
bank work. While much has already been written about calculation; of interest here is the
in
this context a mixture of
that
particular organizational circumstances
make calculation
the `entrepreneurial' (Anderson et al 1989) and the `administrative'.

in
interest
financial
of
area

services is the use of

Information Technology, in various forms such as workflow,

relational databases and

An important

developing
and

for
decision-making.
computer support

Chapter Five - `Working

With Technology -

in
technology
general - not simply those expert programs that seem to explicitly
addresses
linked to the decision-making process but also other forms of computer support. These
include the databases of customer notes, the history and working of an account; and the
way in which these multiple sources are used to facilitate particular kinds of executive
action. The emphasis here is on technology understood as a `socio-technical' system that
incorporates the technology (of various kinds) into the everyday, working world. This
ensures a focus not just on the technology, the computers etc but on the knowledge, skills
and understanding brought to the technology by those who use it within

socially

Despite the emphasis on, and massive investment

in, new

organized activities.

19
technology, much of the bank's work is conducted through `legacy' systems and the
complications - such as `lying to the machine' - ensuing from necessarily continuing to
use systems that have been effectively rendered obsolete by organizational change are
documented and analyzed. The point of this focus is that it forces an attentiveness to the
ways in which technology actually gets used. From the point of view of working with the
varied collection of good, bad and indifferent technologies banking staff have to address,
as a practical everyday issue, what the machine can do, the `normal, natural troubles' that
arise, routine short-cuts and so on. Finally, the massive and continuing predominance of
an even older technology - paper - is reported and discussed in terms of the `affordances'
of paper.

Documents

are organizational

objects

representing

and displaying

organizational activities and what documents mean, what they refer to, has to do with
their place within the organizational setting and its activities. This notion of affordances is
then deployed to revisit, and address, some old debates on the relationship between
technology, organizational change and skill.

Chapter Six -'Working

With Customers' examines the everyday `customer-facing' work

interviewing,
dealing
banking
`keeping
the
the customer
phoning,
with
of
public
and
satisfied' - in terms of the `emotion work',

`demeanour work' or `emotional labour

(Hochschild 1983) involved. To some extent this focus is a product of simple observation
or 'gross observability'.
Ethnomethodology

But it also reflects a concern that Sociology (and perhaps

too) appears to deal very poorly with the 'sentimental', the non-

rational, non means/ends aspects of everyday life - and involving an unreflexive 'buying

20
into' of Sociology's version of what rational action might be. As Williamson

(1989)

writes:
"The fact that people are alternately happy and sad, full of optimism or disappointed, envious, jealous,
despairing, proud, self righteous, angry or composed hardly seems to matter.. the people whose lives are
charted in the annals of social science are incapable of hate or of sympathy for their fellow men. "
(Williamson 1989: 110)

And it seems to me a feature of 'unique adequacy' that the individuals portrayed by


sociological theory should be recognisably human and that otherwise, like dog-shit on
lingers.
Sociology,
is
the
that
your shoes,
sense of unease,
something
not quite right with
Without suggesting, that Banks are emotional hothouses, because self-evidently they are
is
interest
here
in the various forms of `display' and management of emotion,
the
not,
`doing being normal' etc routinely deployed as part and parcel of everyday work. In a
time of intense competition amongst service providers banks have been quick to latch
onto the idea of the evident `display' of service. Urry (1986) suggests that receivers of a
particular service expect:
"efficiency, friendliness, but not over friendliness, not to be patronized, not to be sexually or physically
threatened,predictability and someaccountability".

This service ethos was enforced within the bank by the `Mystery Shopper' programme

and reflected, perhaps, in the slogan `smile, your next customer may be the Mystery
Shopper'. The use of terms like `emotional labour' and `demeanourwork' is intended to
indicate the idea that this requires `work'. As the fieldwork was conducted during a time
of massive organizational change and redundanciesit is hardly surprising that issuesof
`morale' and `organizational nostalgia' (Gabriel 1993) becamerelevant. While evidently
not, or only rarely, an emotional arena it was evidently and observably the case that
emotions were both managedand displayed as part of everyday work - and in ways that

21
Anderson
in
literature
As
the
the
of
work.
are rarely addressed
on
sociology
conventional
et al (1987) note:
"business life does not take place in a sealedcompartment,set off from the rest of social life.. it is sheer
folly to seek to filter out the purely rational from the contaminatingly social aspects".(Anderson et al
..
1987: 157)

Nevertheless the bulk of observations suggest that life in the bank is generally carried out
in a reasoned, considered, reasonable fashion. How this comes to be the case is examined
through the work of Wieder (1974) and `telling the code'.

The final chapterof this `data' sectionconsiderswhat `standsbehind' the work of lending
`routine'
`the
to
talking
to
the
technology,
work
make
routine,
customersmoney, using
is
Pentland
(1994)
in
`keeping
the
what
would
mundane'
everything
utterly
which
ways
term an `effortful accomplishment'. It therefore details some aspectsof what might be
bank
keeping
date;
but
jobs
`boring'
the
to
the
within
essential
records
up
seenas
more
the relentlesschecking regime, making surethe technology works and so on.

It has been said before (Harper, Randall and Rouncefield 2000), - and unfortunately is
likely to be much repeated - that those who have chosen the ethnomethodological path are
disappointment
to
some
with their parent discipline, Sociology. And yet
used expressing
they may still persist in presenting their work in the, usually forlorn, hope of `parental
least
or
at
recognition. (We don't want to borrow their car, just not get locked
approval' out and asked to justify ourselves all the time). The final part of the thesis represents just
such a `forlorn hope' (and it may be significant that historically the 'forlorn hope' was an
action in which nobody expected to get out alive). In chapter eight -'Why

Must I Always

22
Explain' -I

tease
issue
`generalisation',
to
trying
the
to
of
problematic
address
attempt

it
is
to
`generalise'
it
to
possible
the
and
whether
out
problem of what
might mean
detailed
from
life
ethnographic
generalise about some characteristics of organizational
in
The
everyday
activity
work.
generalizations concern the character of plans and planful
fieldwork
findings
I
the
the
then
of
main
work.
present some of

framework
a
using

developed as a presentational mechanism and organised around three main dimensions:


`Plans and Procedures'; `Distributed Coordination' and `Awareness of work'. `Plans and
Procedures'

is
how
to
organisationally
work
refers

supported through plans and

formal
descriptions,
job
instruction
organisational
and procedures,
schedules, manuals of
charts, workflow
`Distributed

diagrams and so on, so as to produce the orderliness of work.

Coordination'

in
fact
tasks
that
to
the
complex
performed
work
refers

the
context of a
operations
within
as
activity,
of
of
patterns
as
part
settings are performed
division

Finally,
labour.
of

`Awareness of work'

points to the way in which the

`visible'
involves
those
the
or
of
activities
nature
making
activities
of
work
organisation
`intelligible' to others doing the work.

Continuing this theme, in chapter nine - `What's the Big Idea? - the fieldwork
how
demonstrate
to
to
ethnomethodology might
attempt
observations are reassembled

Using
data
'meetings',
`power'.
that
favoured
the
topic
that
on
sociological
address
Boden (1994) argues
".. remain the essential mechanism through which organizations create and maintain the practical activity
of organizing.... " (Boden 1994: 81)

I documentsome of the interactional featuresof informal - middle managementmeetings


concerned with developing metrics for the organization - and more formal or 'ritual'

23
meetings - the annual customer review - to highlight the work involved and required to
'ritual'.
'routine'
or
routinely accomplish such organizational work as

I examine the

fieldwork data to see how and in what ways 'power' might be an appropriate description
description
documented
interactional
the
a
and what such
of
various
accomplishments
turns upon. Of particular interest is what might be seen as the 'breaching moments' of
'power'
focus
is
The
as
the
of
accomplishment and employment
refusal and rejection.
on
incumbent
in
'power'
interaction
the
of
roles; and
as
management
meetings;
an aspect of
the display of and orientation to power in terms of organising and constituting hierarchy
in interaction.

However, - and it is an important 'however' - it is also stressed that

documenting and displaying the social nature of power within everyday bank work is not
if
be
ironicise,
Sociology;
to
this
`discovery'
to
would
members, since
certainly not
of
a
instead,
like
It
the rest of this thesis,
their
and
represents,
accounts.
ordinary
not sneer at,
in
distinctive,
look
that
to
activity
a
examine
at
and
a simple choice

sociological -

'Enlightenment:
fashion.
final
What
It
The
Don't
Know
chapter
ethnomethodological Is' - without making any grandiose claims, attempts to suggest some ways in which this
financial
have
to
and
appreciation
our
understanding
of
services
contributed
study may
(if
and,
perhaps
unlikely),
research
approaches
work, ethnographic

ethnomethodology

and Garfinkel's (2002) pedagogic prize:


"Our pedagogic prize is a specifying phenomenon of social order of immortal ordinary society. The
phenomenon is this: An astronomically massive collection of phenomena escape from accountability of
the great recurrencies of ordinary activity. They escape whenever and wherever formal analysis is used
to describe them. They escapejust in any actual case that formal analysis is used to describe them. They
do not escape because poor descriptive methods are used. To the contrary, the same careful methods of
formal analysis that are used to describe them are the means of their escape." (Garfinkel 2002: 133)

24

Chapter 2. Beautiful Vision: "'It's


(Bank)life Jim, but not as we know it".
"If one was to read the entire literature of the sociology of work, one would find out very little about the
work that people actually do, about the work that is the stuff of their daily lives." Sharrock & Anderson
(1986: 85)
"theoretically generated formulations that typify the `sociology of work' at large fail to address the details
of how that work is `put together', or organised in the actions and interactions of those who perform it as a
real time phenomena. Thus Marx's description of alienation refers to work per se in capitalist society and
has nothing to say about the way in which recognisable categories of work are assembled in the real time
actions and interactions of workers". (Button & Harper 1996: 264)

Introduction:

Sociological Approaches to the Study of Financial Services.

This chapter is not a conventional `literature review' for while I undoubtedly outline a
whole range of studies I am more concernedwith simply documenting and describing,
rather than critiquing some of the existing sociological research on banking and bank
work. Of course, in doing this I will be attempting to do contrastive work, though not an
invidious comparison,in order to set up the basis for my own research.But this is not as
it
unfair or unreasonableas may appear.One take on this is that of `ethnomethodological
indifference'; I really don't `care less' - though (to be fair) such indifference has often
struck me as the indifference of the cat to the mouse that it has already half-killed,
dragged around, toyed with, shat on and left bleeding in the dirt. To correct this
impressionlet me say there is no `straw man' being createdhere in order to make detailed

25
methodological

Ethnomethodological
criticisms.
or epistemological

indifference3 cuts

both ways - abstaining from all judgements of `adequacy, value, importance, necessity,
practicality'

etc -requires

that I do not present a conventional

critique

of how

`better'
data
(mis)interpreted
the
or whether other,
conventional sociological research
interpretations are possible. Instead I attempt to present these studies in their best light, to
indicate the range of themes and theories they address and develop. Undoubtedly they are
`good work', making a phenomena of order `instructably observable' - as Garfinkel
(1996) writes:
'Almost unanimously for the armies of social analysts, in endless analytic arts and sciences of practical
(Garfinkel,
the
formal
status
of
good
work'
and
are
accorded
work
assure
good
analytic procedures
action,
1996:5)

There is, perhaps, some (unintended) irony here in the clash between the formalities of
presenting a thesis that is necessarily and conventionally situated within an appropriate
indifference'
'ethnomethodological
demands
literature
that
the
of
and
academic research
'naughty advice' (Garfinkel 2002). As Garfinkel argues however ethnomethodological
indifference is a policy that has been consistently (even wilfully)

misunderstood. It refers

to an indifference to the policies and methods of formal analysis. Its point is, " to be
indifferent to the problem of social order as it has been traditionally

in
terms of
posed

3 There is, perhaps,some(unintended)irony here in the clashbetweenthe formalities of presentinga thesisthat is necessarilyand
conventionally situatedwithin an appropriateacademicresearchliterature and the demandsof'ethnomethodological indifference'- that
'naughty advice' (Garfinkel 2002). As Garfinkel argueshowever ethnomethodologicalindifference is a policy that hasbeen
consistently(evenwilfully) misunderstood.It refers to an indifferenceto the policies and methodsof formal analysis.Its point is, " to
be indifferent to the problem of social order as it has beentraditionally posedin terms of formal institutions and rules: Not to be
indifferent to the problem of social order per se." (Garfinkel 2002: 26) Such'ethnomethodologicalindifference' was then a featureof
the original conductof the research,simply accomplishedby immersingmyself in the fieldwork rather than the library and any
(supposedly)relevant social scienceliterature.As Lynch (1999) suggests'indifference' suggestsa senseof detachmentbut this is not
the sameas classicnotions of'value-freedom' since it is an attitude that extendsto the notions of scientific rationality that sociologists
conventionally draw on for their stanceof neutrality. As Lynch argues:"there is nothing heroic about indifference.It doesnot require
an effort to purge the soul of all prejudice, or the performanceof a techniquethat controls or rules out sourcesof bias. It is not a
matter of freeing oneselfof mentalitiesthat are inherentin any ordinary situation; insteadit is a matter of explicating suchsituations
with a full attentionto their ordinary accountability.In other words, ethnomethodologicalindifference is not a matter of taking
somethingaway, but of not taking up a gratuitous'scientific' instrument:a social sciencemodel, method or schemeof rationality for
observing,analyzing, and evaluationgwhat membersalreadycan seeand describeas a matter of course." (Lynch 1999:221)

26
formal institutions and rules: Not to be indifferent to the problem of social order per se."
(Garfinkel 2002: 26) Such 'ethnomethodological indifference' was then a feature The
studies outlined here all produce something very different to what I will be attempting they are all `good work', but we don't have to and are not required to `buy into' them for as Armour (1997) indicates:
"Ethnomethodology does not dispute these achievements.
instructed in"' (Armour 1997: 31).

Ethnomethodology asks'what are we being

Ethnomethodology suggests that these studies' standard sociological emphasis on financial services work as
socially produced, shaped and constructed in various ways stands the risk of 'hiding the phenomena'.
Instead of examining what it is to work in a bank; what it is that makes working in a bank the recognisably
distinct phenomena it is understood to be, and thereby different from other kinds of work, these studies
present an analysis of the forces that allegedly shape that work. And each setting becomes just another, one
more, area in which to observe societal forces and processes (of whatever kind) at work. What begins as a
sociological concern with bank work becomes a vehicle for general sociological theories and interests.
"Ethnomethodology

or anybody else is invited to read a literature with a tradition displaying lines of


studies which are singled out, perhaps for renewal, perhaps for attaching to a study in progress, or perhaps
for an attempt at synthesis with others even radically different others. And what the ethnomethodological
question attempts to do in return is to show that despite the well known problems which exist within
sociology it nonetheless is able to do that which it sets out to do unavoidably. And it does so unavoidably
because its 'technologies' ensure its phenomenon. And that is sociology's great achievement". (Armour
1997: 31)

Examining this `formal analytic' literature then, it is readily apparent that banks, and
financial services more generally, have increasingly been the focus of sociological
investigation. In the face of massive economic, social and cultural change, Financial
Services have been seen to be at the sharp end of global economic transformations;
transformations that have themselves been the subject of sociological investigation. These
include processes of `deregulation' and the emergence
of `universal' banking (Canals
1997; Smith & Walter, 1997); transformations

in employment

legislation

and the

27
emergenceof flexible working patterns(Knights & Tinker 1997); changesin the natureof
consumerism (Burton, 1994); the growth and deployment of new theories of change
management such as Business Process Re-engineering (BPR) (Cowling & Newman,
1995); and the development and widespread implementation of new technological
infrastructures (Spinardi, Graham & Williams, 1996). The overall effect of these
banks
has,
to
to
make
multifarious changes
some observers, combined
according
exemplarsof `post-modern' organisations.

These changes have been the subject of significant sociological enquiry, and findings
from the banking industry have been used in turn to refine and develop sociological
theories of organisations and organisational behaviour. So, by way of illustration, some
in
has
different
how
de-regulation
have
out
played
on
countries, rereported
authors
for
the
sociological theory to acknowledge the diversity of culturally
need
emphasising
defined patterns of business relationships (Lash and Urry 1994; Morgan and Knights
1997). Others have examined the impact of `organisational'

cultures on organisational

change, (Knights & Tinker, 1997); and improvements to Callon's theory of translation
have also been provided through reference to change in the banking industry (Bloomfield
and Vurdubakis,

1997). A number of different, though inter-related,

Financial Services research can be distinguished.

approaches to

Although following different lines of

investigation, what most of these studies appear to have in common is a notable concern
with pursuing a particular theoretical research agenda rather than displaying any interest
in detailing the actual `work' involved in Financial Service organisations. These studies
and their varying research agendas followed are briefly outlined to provide a contrast with

28
the ethnomethodologically

informed ethnographic approach of this research with its

emphasis on uncovering

the details of everyday

working

life

within

financial

organisations. Of course, this point about pursuing a particular theoretical agenda is not
just a feature of the study of financial institutions but about the relationship between
sociological theory and empirical studies in sociology more widely. To the extent that this
represents a classic ethnomethodological comment on constructivist sociology, and to the
extent that studies of financial

institutions

display these problems and issues this

be
in
this chapter.
will
also
explored
argument

Financial service organisations as instantiations

of global economic change.

One type of study involving banking or financial services has come from those
financial
services organisations as exemplars or instantiations of
researchersconcerned
patterns of global economic change. There are a number of different strands to this
particular line of research.Firstly there are thoseprimarily interestedin studying financial
organisationsas part of a wider project of outlining and instantiating recognisablefeatures
of global economic change and its consequentimpact on organisational and social life.
This is seen, for example, in Lash and Urry's (1994) exploration of notions of reflexive
accumulation and aesthetic modernisation. More generally it occurs in a number of
accounts of the impact of global change in different countries (see, for example Burton's
(1994) discussion of banks as exemplars of globalisation of the economy; see also Lash &
Urry's

(1994) account of globalisation,

changes in the capital

market and the

organisational formations in Japan; Germany and Anglo-American cultures).

29
In `Economies of Signs and Space' Lash and Urry (1994) advance an account of
economic growth in modern industrial

`reflexive
based
of
on a process
societies

accumulation' suggesting it provides a better account of contemporary socio-economic


flexible
flexible
frameworks
accumulation
than
specialisation,
processes
other
such as
by
Post-Fordism.
Lash
Urry
these
that
characterised
other approaches are
and
and
suggest
for
the
failing,
to
inadequacies
recognise
example,
a series of conceptual and empirical
importance of services (in that a reflexive economy increasingly involves services such as
banking, insurance, stockbroking and so on) in contemporary economies; the extent to
Finally
fundamental
become
have
knowledge
to
information
growth.
economic
and
which
insufficient
frameworks
emphasis on consumption and, relatedly,
place
other explanatory
fail to understand the extent to which cultural/symbolic processes, including an important
both
have
design,
to
production and consumption.
permeated
aesthetic component related
Lash and Urry portray this process of reflexive accumulation as having a number of
information;
in
knowledge
their conception
and
since
and
on
characteristics; an emphasis
being
is
(as
is
to
there
cognitive)
purely
emphasis on
opposed
aesthetic
partly
reflexivity
the design process. Aesthetic reflexivity

both
to
applied
production and consumption

`niche'
(for
just
itself
the
areas
of
marketing
example of
obvious
with
not
concerns
financial services to students and so on) but with the growth of individualism

more

generally. This embraces the notion of the enterprising consumers:


"the semioticizationof consumptionwhose increasinglysymbolic nature is ever more involved in selfconstructionsof identity". (Lash and Urry 1994: 15)

As Burton (1994) notes, one feature of financial service innovation in the 1980s was the
use of market segmentation to identify the financial needs of particular population groups
financial
create
products to meet their perceived needs.
and

30
".. a life cycle analysis of financial service needs would acknowledge that families and individuals at
different stages in the life cycle have diferent financial requirements. The segment described as 'full nest 1'
is one in which the youngest child is under 6 years of age. The emphasis would probably be on building
up the family home, and the household is likely to be short of cash
this market segment
people
within
....
tend to be interested in newly advertised products, either home or child related. " (Burton 1994:37)

Lash and Urry claim that such `economiesof signs and space' they identify as currently
pervasive do not lead inevitably and inexorably to the kind of pessimistic futures
suggested by a number of writers but instead ".. open up possibilities for the recasting of
meaning in work and in leisure. . ". The increasing aestheticization of material objects in
both production and consumption seen in increasing design component of goods is,
purportedly,

evidence that those same individuals

becoming increasingly reflexive

partly

subject to space economies are

as a consequence of declining trust in `expert

systems' (that would include, for example, bank managers and financial advisers) and
partly as a product of increased individualization. As already mentioned their emphasis is
on `aesthetic reflexivity'

instantiated in the centrality of design intensive production

where the focus is on expressive component of a commodity (or service)rather than its
utility

having
from
"a
the
significance
component
goods of the culture industries to the
-

managed heart of flight

attendants ...

"-

exemplified

within banking and financial

service organisations in the tailoring of financial packages and the (heavily marketed but
largely fictitious) notion of `personal service'.

Within this general approach to an understanding of financial services a


number of
researchers have provided an outline of the main changes within the banking system,
focusing

on three major interlinked

processes of securitization;

deregulation and

electonification. Securitization, the raising of money through the issue of equities, has

31
contributed to the growth of pension funds and insurance companies which have become
major

in the capital

actors

Electronification

markets

and as providers

refers to development of `expert'

of financial

decision-making

services.

packages and

computer trading systems in a number of financial markets. Deregulation has a number of


different

features. Within the capital markets it concerns the abolition of exchange

controls and the `Big Bang' of the late 1980s which opened up dealing privileges to
financial institutions. Within banking in general deregulation refers to the increasingly
competitive nature of financial service provision which is attributed to a range of factors.
The political

emphasis on market forces in the 1980s has encouraged deregulation,

though the extent and character of deregulation

is disputed4 (Lllewellyn

1987).

Government policies since 1979, the lifting of exchange controls; allowing banks to move
into the mortgage market; 1986 Financial Services Act 1986 and the Building Societies
Act have resulted in increased competition in the financial services sector. There is some
debate over whether increased competition is the product of deregulation with some
(Llewellyn

1987) suggesting that re-regulation or change in regulatory mix is a more

accurate concept and that regulation has become more formalised with an increasing
number of regulatory bodies. There is little dispute however that the retail market for
financial

services is increasingly

competitive

-a

product of banks' entry into the

mortgage market (a monopoly of building societies until 1986 Building Societies Act)
and Building Society entry into money transmission, credit cards and unsecured loans.
Effects of deregulation have even wider implications

which have become ever more

Somesuggestthat regulation hasbecomingmore formalisedand explicit through


regulatory bodies..

32
apparentrecently by allowing, for example,retailers (Sainsbury's; Marks and Spencer's)
to competein the financial servicesmarket. Anderton (1995) arguesthat such firms have
strategic advantagesin the provision of financial services through the existence of an
establishednetwork of shopbranches.

Another,

though

related,

theme is addressed by those concerned with

developments/changesin the economy and its impact on organisationalform - clearly


seen in debates on post-Fordism and `postmodern' forms of organisation (Clegg 1990);
theories of the `flexible firm'

(Piore and Sabel 1984) and more recently in ideas about the

`virtual organisation', `virtual teams' and so on. (Gristock 1997 but see Hughes et al
1999; 2001) Many of these, often nebulous, arguments have been drawn most sharply
into focus in the literature on the sociology of work, management and organisations,
has
been
discussion
there
recently
an
extensive
of emerging new forms of
within which
the organisation of work which are seen as a responseto major structural changesin
contemporary advanced industrial societies. Among the changes which have been
identified include a weakeningof the welfare state,an increasingdependencebetweenthe
state and capital, the breakdown of the mass market and the need for new forms of
production,

in
changes
consumption

patterns and life styles, major technological

innovations, the globalisation of firms, and so on (Atkinson 1986; Bagguley et al, 1990).
However, just as the notion of the `flexible firm' and its empirical validation has been
criticised, so too whether financial service organisations are moving toward or are best
understood from the perspective of the `flexible firm' is similarly the subject of some
dispute. (Burton 1994; Rajan 1987)

33

Financial

service organisations

and organisational

life.

".the love of money is a male affair" (McDowell 1997:212)

A second group of researchers evince an interest in researching, in detail, particular


features of organisational life and behaviour as indicators of more general economic and
organisational structures and changes. This is perhaps most obvious in the `traditional'
studies of those who have been primarily interested in bank workers as instantiations of
`white-collar'

workers. Historically

this can be seen in the early work of Lockwood

(1958) and `The Blackcoated Worker' although it is a tradition resurrected by more


by
Stovell et al (1996) that specifically
recent studies

examine the `work' of clerks

(although the emphasis is primarily on pay, conditions and status rather than actual work)
and relate it to theories about changes in the class structure of modern capitalist society.
Essentially similar approaches are adopted by those whose interest is in aspects of
`alienation' and clerical work; and in more recent studies (Halford and Savage 1995) on
the career structure of bank clerks relating them to notions of social change and the
concepts of `ascribed' and `achieved' status. In part this is because banks have provided
a rich resource for documentary research and consequently have enabled the historical
examination of change.

Other studiesin this category could include the various debatessurrounding the issuesof
`skill'; managerial control and `resistance' following Braverman (1974) and applied to
financial service organisationsin the work of Smith (1989) and Smith
and Wield (1988).
A number of writers have used the issue of skill related to
changing organisationalforms

34
(notably flexible specialisation) to examine employment patterns within bankwork.
Discussion of the model of the flexible firm and the extent to which it matchesthe reality
increasing
bank
is
numbers of part-time
of
work
predicated on evidence suggesting
for
however,
in
banking.
There
such employment
other explanations
workers
are,
patterns. Rajan (1987), for example, suggests a tiered recruitment

strategy and

labour
internal
demise
the
market.
the
of
segmentation of the workforce as a product of
Burton (1994) however argues that increased competition

between financial service

has
(of
taken
has
place
that
staff)
permanent
enskilling
and
meant
reskilling
organisations
in order to market bank services. Furthermore her suggested explanation for the changes
in employment is in terms of the `feminisation'

fashion
In
the
a
similar
workforce.
of

Bertrand & Noyelle (1988) present an historical account of employment in financial


1960s
banks.
In
the
this
`deskilling'
linking
the
view
changing position of
with
services
banks
Tayloristic
for
1970s
a
approach of
who
pursued
of
expansion
were periods
and
deskilling. Increased competition in the 1980s however has resulted in an emphasis on
in
in
increase
skills
especially
sales and marketing,
workforce
qualitative growth and
interpretation
into
Any
`turning
(1994)
tellers
Burton
of
sellers'.
standard
calls what
is,
`deskilling'
in
in
financial
terms
straightforward
consequently,
of
services
employment
in
increase
by
the numbers of part-time workers who are usually
the
complicated
excluded from more highly skilled positions.

Finally there are a number of studies that have examined features of the working and
domestic life of women workers in clerical occupations in financial organisations and
in
debates
these
to
the
related
studies more general
on patriarchy,
position of women the

35
class structure and so on. In 'Transformed by technology? The Changing Nature of
Women's 'Traditional' and 'Non-traditional'

White-collar Work' Karen Hughes suggests

that new technologies are reshaping the gendered nature of white-collar

work in the

financial and business service sectors. As computers have developed from specialised,
primarily calculating devices towards being a generic clerical technology -a 'secondwave' technology - so Hughes (1996) examines the relation between the introduction and
use of new technologies, changing and gendered employment opportunities and changing
gender divisions within

the workplace that, she claims, have become increasingly

important in recent years. Concerned with the impact of new technology on women's
white-collar work and the extent to which they are reshaping the intersections, and gender
divisions,

between different

types of white-collar

work

Hughes argues that the

widespread, if not universal, use of computers, allied to the increase in the extent and
expanse of female working;
".. have significant implications for debates on gender and technology.
( and) portend a growing
..
potential to reshape traditional gender divisions, and job content, which have been structured along
specific occupational and gender lines. " (Hughes 1996: 228)

Hughes' account builds on the work of Baran (1988) to identify and take account of the
growing proliferation and capacities of technologies to reshape work in the financial
services sector. She suggeststhat the restructuring of work has brought about complex
outcomesfor female workers such that the deskilling and elimination of some,traditional,
clerical, areashas taken place alongside the emergenceof new'para-professional'jobs.
Not only has new technology had a direct impact on female employment in the financial
servicessectorbut there are also indirect consequencesarising out of the re-negotiationof
existing work divisions, the shifting interconnectionsbetween men's and women's work

36
and ongoing processes of change. In this way the evolution of new technologies, and the
management strategies guiding their implementation,

are impacting on the gendered

nature of task divisions and job content. Her conclusion is that as a product of developing
computer use and changing job content:
" women workers are at the centre of fairly complex processesof change,being directly and indirectly
..
affected by technological and organisational restructuring in ways that are not always immediately
apparent." (Hughes 1996:250)

Although not concerned with mass-market or retail financial services McDowell's (1997)
'Capital Culture: Gender at Work in the City' makes the bold claim that; ".the love of
money is a male affair"

(McDowell

1997: 212) and, through a case study of three

in
investigate
City
banks
London,
the
to
the 'embedded and
of
goes
on
merchant
embodied' character of work and the multiple ways in which masculinities and feminities
are constructed in the financial workplace. McDowell

suggests that despite increasing

in
the City, occupational sex
employment
numbers of women obtaining professional
stereotyping and the institutional and everyday structures of workplace interactions have
conspired to maintain and reproduce various forms of gendered inequality. In this view
pervasive social attitudes about women's work, the particular and changing circumstances
of the City of London in the 1980s and early 1990s, and the innately 'masculine' culture of
British banking have combined to ensure a restricted range of gender opportunities. The
explanation for this unfortunate position lies in the linkage between an analysis of
material structures of power and the subjective constitution of the self.
".. both the embeddedness of patterns of domination and subordination in the institutional and
organisational structures of the City and its constituent organisations, and local or small-scale daily
interactions - the everyday 'doing' of gender and gender relations are part
City
the
construction
of
of
women as different. " (McDowell 1997:204)

37
McDowell's conclusion is that while certain 'feminine' characteristicsmight be desiredin
bank employeesthese characteristicsare not necessarily attached exclusively to women
and:
"Feminine characteristicsin a masculinisedbody may offer the best of all worlds. After all, if femininity
is a masquerade,men can be womenjust as well as, if not betterthan, women." (McDowell 1997:208)

In 'Restructuring Organisations, Changing People: Gender and Restructuring in Banking


in
'cultural
turn'
(1995)
M.
the
Savage,
S
'
Halford,
explore
and
and Local Government.
Sociology

and empirically

apply it to debates about the restructuring

of female

for
banking.
The
including
this
in
point
starting
of
organisations,
a
number
employment
1993)
&
Thrift
1992;
Leyshon
&
Scott
(Cressey
from
a number of studies
analysis comes
its
impact
in
1980s
banking
British
the
documented
have
on
the
and
that
restructuring of
banking labour markets. The banking sector responded to the globalisation of financial
in
1980s
financial
deregulation
the
through
legal
a major shake
services
of
and
markets
intense
financial
between
financial
that
competition
produced
services sector
up of the
Scott
Cressey
&
One
to
change,
according
aspect
of
organizational
service providers.
(1992) and Leyshon & Thrift (1993) has been that banks have both reduced and changed
their demand for labour, by segmenting their workforce,

thereby accentuating the

distinction between core and peripheral workers. At the same time the loss of jobs and the
breakdown of traditional career structures has produced a crisis in employment relations.
Of particular interest to Halford and Savage has been the increase in the numbers of
women moving into managerial and professional employment and they explore the issue
of whether new forms of management, emphasising innovation, flexibility
for cultural change have been adopted as a result.

and the need

38
it.. we use evidence from a recent study of changes in one British bank to explore the links between
organisational change and gendered employment relations, and we consider whether new forms of
organisation and management represent the modification, or even erosion, of long-standing patriarchal
employment relations" (Halford and Savage 1995: 101)

In their study of female employment in'Sellbank' they point out the segmentation of the
labour force whereby much of the employment of women in the new servicing centres has
been in routine and part-time processing work. However, they also argue that changing
gender relations of employment within Seilbank are considerably more complex than the

marginalisation of women in the peripheral workforce since evidently women are also
moving into more senior jobs as a consequence of changing assessmentsof the
desirability of particular, 'gendered'qualities.
the restructuring process itself is important as a process in which the qualities, and especially the
..
gendered qualities of particular positions .. are subject to re-definition and contestation. This restructuring,
we suggest, has opened up new spaces for women, although they are contested. " (ibid: 106)
"

In their analysis Sellbank has, in recent years and as a product of re-organisation,


attempted to undermine the traditional, masculine, authoritarian culture of branch
banking.
".. the traditional banking culture was a male one. The underlying assumptions were that banks were
respectableinstitutions that peoplewould be preparedto trust with their money. Bank staff had to cultivate
a sober,reliable image,which drew upon masculineand paternalisticimagery." (ibid: 107)

However, in the new climate of intense competition for customers between financial

service organisations,and the move towards the selling of financial products, this image
underwentmodification as part of the vital processof attracting customers.
".... Embedded within the shift to a sales culture is a rethinking of the types of staff-qualities valued by the
bank. Part of this has involved a re-evaluation of the masculine ethos of banking. "(ibid: 108)

This development has not been entirely or absolutely advantageousto women and their
employment prospects.Given the softening or feminisation of the image of banking, the

39
branch
distant
image
'the
the
manager'
male
against
authoritarian
associated
with
reaction
and the need to appear accessible to customers, women have become more visible, or
occupy more visible positions in Seilbank. However, these are not necessarily the most
highly regarded or rewarded positions. Given the increasing competition in the financial
services sector, Seilbank has also, and necessarily, put increasing emphasis on new types
This
looking
forward
being
'pro-active',
new culture
so
on.
and
of managerial qualities, of
endorses 'competitive masculinity', defined as ".. a way of relating to the world wherein
forms
for
In
becomes
the
older
while
consequence,
control'.
everything
an object of and
forms
have
been
devalued
dominance
of
and undermined, newly emergent
of male

Sellbank
be
In
those
areas
of
where the
can
also
perceived.
organisational masculinity
hard
'performance',
work and competitiveness are regarded as particularly
of
virtues
important, and rewards correspondingly high, male managersremain predominant. The
involve
forms
the continued subordination of women
masculinity
of
managerial
new
less
in
'risky'
in
those
or' challenging' areasthat
are
concentrated
women
since, contrast,
reflect women's responsibility and supposedtalent for 'domestic' affairs. They conclude
that:
" alongsidethe decline of traditional male dominancenew forms of organisationalmasculinity appearto
..
be emergingwhich might allow a new form of male hegemonyto be re-constructed." (ibid: 118)

While restructuring has opened up new employment opportunities for women within
banks, the newly-emergent forms of managerial masculinity may entail women's
continued subordination.

40
The empirical account of employment and organizational change at Sellbank is designed
to put forward a sympathetic critique and reappraisal of the theoretical framework of
Bagguley et als (1990) 'restructuring paradigm'. Their main criticism is that restructuring
studies mistakenly tend to treat organisational restructuring as conceptually separate from
gendering processes. This approach elides the way in which embedded gender cultures
within organisations can themselves contribute to restructuring. Halford and Savage argue
for a revised approach to organisational restructuring that emphasises that restructuring
should be understood in terms of the social and cultural practices and the internal political
and cultural dynamics internal to organisations. Such practices construct particular
qualities as desirable or undesirable; however, restructuring is also tied up with re-

defining and contesting the sorts of personal qualities organisational members are
expectedto possess.In contrastto traditional restructuring theory that views restructuring
as something that simply happens to people, rather than as something that happens
becausesomepeople chooseto make it happen,Halford and Savagearguethat people are
not mere passive recipients of organisational strategies but are able to contest and reinterpret them. Consequently although restructuring, both within Sellbank and more
widely, may appear to undermine traditional forms of masculinity, men have begun to
mobilise around alternative forms of masculinity, especially 'competitive masculinity' that
appear organisationally desirable. Such an analysis questions the dualism of 'structures'
and 'agency' in restructuring theory in which restructuring can only 'impact' on gender
relations. Halford and Savage'sapproachdevelopsthe concept of 'embodiedrestructuring'
(Lash and Urry 1994) which emphasisesthat within service provision it is difficult to
disengagethe restructuring of the work from the apparent
restructuring of the people who

41
do the work. When service provision is intimately related to the characteristicsof service
providers, the result is that the very processof restructuring is bound up with redefining
the workforce:
"organisationalplacesneedto be seenas embodiedand
...
process"(Halford and Savage1995: 102).

genderingis of major significanceto this

In this fashion, the economic imperatives of increasing competition and deregulation,


commonly regarded as the rationale for restructuring, are mediated with the result that
concerns to improve profitability

are tied up with re-defining employee characteristics

and the ways in which these might be deployed inside organisations.

Financial services and consumption.


A third set of interests may be differentiated by reference to a major concern with
is
that
the consumption of financial services as opposed to their production
consumption,

(Urry 1990). Here the interest lies in developments in the relationship between
for
the
economic
change
and
consumer
and
can,
example, be seenin work
organisations,
(1994)
Urry
Lash
and
on aesthetic reflexivity and, more obviously and specifically
of
in
(1994)
financial
Burton
`Financial
Servicesand the
the
to
services,
research
of
related
Consumer' and her accountof the changefrom `tellers' to `sellers'. ( One other (perhaps
bizarre but valuable and informative) addition to this category would be Hochschild `s
(1983) work on debt collectors (see also Rafaeli and Sutton 1991; Sutton 1991) Thus
Greenland (1994) writes of the recent changesin banking regimes that have highlighted
the importanceof the customerand personalrelations;
"Personal relationshipswith customersare highly desirablefor financial service institutions as they can be
actively cultivated to promote image and stimulate cross-selling. This cementing of the image of the
business-customerassociationhas been termed relationship marketing. In the impersonal atmosphereof a

42
be
fully
interchange
it
is
ATM
telephone
that
the
aware of the
will
personnel
or
non-branch
unlikely
customers financial needs and they certainly will not have face-to-face experience experience, derived
from an established face-to-face relationship to back up such knowledge. Clearly the branch environment
has a valuable and continuing role to play in the retailing and financial services" (Greenland 1994: 21)

Such relationship banking has also been advocated by Heffernan (1996) as a way of
resolving the `informational imbalance' between bank and customer since such a contract
involves "improving

information flows" and "flexibility

Similarly,

of responsibility".

Harvey, Lefebrve and Lefebrve (1997) suggest that financial service organisations have
responded to increased competition
strategies, employing

by devising diversification

(and deregulation)

increasing amounts of technology

and assimilating

business

ideologies that are more commonly associated with manufacturing industry rather than
services. This emphasis is continued in Wilson's (1996) study of `Zenbank' that outlines
how financial service activities have undergone major changes following
including

"the offering

financial
broader
range
of
of a new and

deregulation

services to its

development
`superior
has
been
".
There
the
of
on
quality'
a
concentration
customers
financial

products tailored

development of financial
reflexivity'.

towards customer life styles - in effect tailoring


products towards what Lash might identify

the

as `aesthetic

Another, associated, development within `Zenbank' has been the introduction

of an `account profiling

system' intended to ensure consistency of evaluations and

decision making amongst geographically

dispersed personnel dealing with complex

financial products, whilst also providing

important managerial feedback. As Wilson

suggests the system while "providing the capabilityfor

staff to use its resources in a

proactive and autonomous manner" also provided to bank management an "enhancement


of the means of monitoring staff ' (Wilson 1996: 11)

43

Burton (1994) in `Financial Services and the Consumer' considers the issue of whether
banks have become more consumer oriented and outlines the current debates on the
relationship between producers& consumers,in particular whether we are witnessingthe
arrival of `new times' with a new emphasis on individualism and consumer choice
associatedwith the movement from massto the post-Fordist, individualised consumption
describedby Urry (1990).
rather than production is dominant as consumer expenditure further increases as a
proportion of national income; new forms of credit permitting consumer expenditure to rise, so producing
high levels of indebtedness; much greater differentiation of purchasing patterns by different market
segments; greater volatility of consumer preferences; the growth of consumers; movement and the
being part of a `mass' and the need for producers to be much more
of
consumers
against
reaction
...........
consumer driven, especially in the case of service industries and those publicly owned; the development of
many more products each of which has a shorter life.... " (Urry 1990: 277)

"consumption

Neverthelesswhether post-Fordist consumption and consumer sovereignty actually exist


is a matter of considerable debate (see for example eg Keat (1991)) since clearly
producers attempt to shape and control consumer choice through marketing and
advertising. In a similar fashion whether financial service organisations have become
more consumer orientated is also debateable.Changesin the consumption of financial
servicesare the product of a range of complex social, economic and political processes.
Financial service producers have also gone to considerable lengths to retain existing and

attract new customers;


"There has evidently been a shift from
organisational cultures which were conservative, reactive and
cautious, and where the main element of the job was administration. Contemporary financial service
personnel are required to be proactive, entrepreneurial and possess ahigh level of interpersonal skills and
marketing expertise. " (Burton 1994:5)

Meanwhile the creation of a host of regulatory bodies and the growth of various consumer
groups such as `Which' and `Watchdog' alongsidedaily newspaperfinancial columns has

44
had the effect that the mass media has critically

both
financial
assessed

service

institutions and their products in the public sphere.

Aldridge (1998) 'Habitus and cultural capital in the field of personal finance', though
borrowing from Bourdieu, adopts a similar approach and agrees with Burton (1994) that
the 'cultural project' to promote marketization has not shifted power to the consumer or
created an informed public of sovereign consumers rich in cultural capital. Trends such as
extensive branch closure have reduced consumer choice while technical developments
have augmented producers powers to cherry pick customers and omit the undesirable or
less credit-worthy

customers. The commodificatuion

of financial

services has also

like
Spencer's
Sainsbury's
Mark's
to enter the personal
and
and
enabled companies
financial services sector, marking a shift not from producers to consumers but from
begins
by
Aldridge
to
retailers.
suggesting that
new producers and
established producers
sociological studies of consumption have generally operated with the 'communicative act
paradigm - that treats the consumer as motivated to consume by the desire to convey
messages to others about their identity or lifestyle - and contrasts this with the traditional,
more instrumental, approaches of classical economics. This becomes relevant in the
despite
the growth of a customer orientation within financial services the
that
analysis

is
highly
dubious. While it may be the case
transfer
to
the
of
of
a
power
notion
consumer
that the customer's sense of 'loyalty' to any particular bank is in decline, as is the
intergenerational transmission of such loyalties, and these blind loyalties are being
replaced by a more calculative orientation this not amount to a transfer of power. Using

45
the pensions scandalsof the 1980sas a case study Aldridge suggeststhat the victims of
mis-selling were:
".. the passive privatised purchasers groups that lacked the cultural capital to resist those that avoided
..
..
the dangers were not more virtuous or intelligent but had access to cultural capital; they were better
advised, better informed and had a sceptical habitus which enabled them to resist an otherwise
overwhelming cultural imperative". (Aldridge 1998: 57)

Financial Services and Information

Technology.

Although obviously linked to other interests and approaches there are a number of
research studies that focus principally

on aspects of Information

Technology,

the

economy and organisational change. Whilst not covered fully here (but the subject of

anotherchapter) it is possible to discern a number of different yet interlinked approaches.


Some are primarily interested in the role of IT (in various forms) in producing or
enhancing global economic and social change, that is, for example, in producing an
`information society' (Webster 1995). The work of Lash and Urry (1994) and Bilderbeek
and Buitelaar (1992) present financial service organisations as important examplars of
organisations at the forefront of IT implementation and innovation, an approach that
perhapsreachesits apogeein the futuristic prognostications of Sweet (1997) with ideas
on `off-planet' banking. Other approacheshave a more `down-to-earth' focus on the
impact of IT on specific aspects of work, working life and behaviour (Cressey and Scott

1992; Smith and Wield 1988; Fincham 1998;)

Central to this general approach is the assertion that changes in the nature of work in
mature industrial societieshave been increasingly intertwined with the deployment of IT.
Information

Technology, especially systems that can facilitate

groupworking,

46
(Zuboff,
decision
making,
of
coordination and communication
flexible
in
the
to
change
element
more

and responsive

1988) is seen as a key


forms of organisation.

Collaborative work, a central feature of distributed organisations, has increasingly moved


from a `physical'

distributed
basis
the
to an electronic
advent of widespread
with

introduction
by
highlighted
developments
the
(Robins,
1992)
Such
within
are
computing.
development
desktop
the
of
projected
organisations of email,
video conferencing systems,
databases
1991)
(Rheingold,
the
of
of
expansion and use
and
virtual reality environments
distributed
internationally
documents
electronic networks.
across
running
electronic

Information technology is sometimes(often) the sourceof considerableimaginative hype.


Nevertheless, it is a commonplace that many if not most diagnoses and `solutions' to
This
technology.
tremendous
emphasisappears
on
emphasis
organisational changeplace
in supporting new organisational forms for the coordination and control of work, in
facilitating

in
knowledge
the
creation
and
conversion;
a greater reliance on

decentralisationof organisational structures;in the creation and support of more flexible


in
intra
and
encouraging a greater
and extra organisational relationships;
patterns of
responsivenessto the consumer.

Sociological Accounts
bank
of
work.
phenomena

Discussion:

'missing
the
and

what'

disappearing
the
-

"Virtually all the studies in the social and administrative sciences literature 'miss' the interactional 'what' of
the occupation studied". Lynch (1993: 271)

To most observers it is clearly a considerable achievement of the various sociologists


working in this field to demonstrate that the work of financial institutions is socially

47
in
by
influenced
a variety of socio-historical
some
way
constrained
shaped,
and
produced,
forces and processes such as patriarchy, capitalism and so on. While certainly not
do?
do
these
these
the
and
analyses
questioning
achievements,
question arises what work
highlighted
is
by
identified
The
and
what
ethnomethodology,
missing?
obvious problem
in the quote above, is that the phenomena of interest in financial service work have
instead
bank
banks
disappeared.
In
these
work,
and
of
mysteriously
sociological accounts
distinct
banks
interactions
the
that
the
recognisably
make
of examining
activities and
phenomena they are understood to be by those who work in them, a theoretical analysis of
the forces which allegedly

shape that work and those institutions

instead takes

incidental
in
just
becomes
In
the
the
another
area which to
process
setting
precedence.
observe such forces and processes at work.

The utility of sociological theory in general is based around claims to provide a clearer
understanding (often an 'explanation') of a situation or a problem.

The range of

financial
to
accounts
and
approaches
servicesjust outlined are
sociological
understanding
no exception, being used by numerousresearchersto locate financial serviceswithin the
rhetoric of the socio-political

framework in which banking and finance is 'socially

constructed', reflecting underlying currents within wider society. However, a number of


dilemmas arise out of this methodological choice to attempt to give explanatory accounts
of social life. Researchers attempt to produce explanatory accounts but appear more
involved in questions concerned with the form of explanation, addressing sociological
rather than social issues to produce sophisticated or credentialised stories that are
regarded as professional improvements on everyday analysis. Many of the problems of

48
sociological accounts of financial services work centre around this desire to construct
theoretical and 'explanatory' accounts of social life. The problem is that they 'lose their'
phenomena' - the real world, real life experiences of people as they go about their
everyday work in financial service organisations. As Atkinson (1978) commented some
time ago:
"For at least a century, sociologists have dreamed of producing descriptions and explanations of social
phenomena that would exhibit some of the rigour and general applicability achieved by natural scientists
The suggestion that this has been a dream is not intended to ironicise or ridicule the discipline for its
failures, nor to propose that the aim of accumulating a corpus of systematic knowledge about social order
is somehow mistaken or not worthwhile. Rather it is to draw attention to the fact that sociologists still
have a great deal of trouble in convincing a more general public that their 'expert' claims about how the
social world works should be taken any more seriously than those of anyone else". (Atkinson 1974: 168)

It may well be that financial services work is a difficult and complex subject, and
researchingit equally so, but the problems sociology attempt to tackle revolve around an
overwhelming concern not with the phenomena itself but with internal, sociological,
theoretical, debate.In an unfortunate likeness to playground disputes this often amounts
to little more than who has the best theory, the deficiencies of other theories, what other
theoreticians should do, and the possibility or otherwise of producing an overall 'big
Not
do
and
so
on.
only
picture',
such sociological accounts appear to fail as scientific
explanations; they also support the common complaint that Sociology's depiction of
social life is utterly impoverished, that 'homo sociologicus' neither laughs nor cries
(Williamson 1989). When sociologists examine banks or bank work (or almost anything
else for that matter) they seem to discuss things that ordinary people find hard to
recognise.For in thesetheoretical accountsthe everyday realities and activities associated
with financial services'work disappear,causingpeople to reflect (to steal that well-known
phrase from Star Trek) "Its life Jim, but not as we know it". This is partly becauseof

49
requirements for 'objective' data, measurement systems, consistency across investigators
etc. and the consequent replacement of the phenomenon by artefacts of method. Such
troubles are known about by any competent sociologist. Sociology in general knows of
these problems but presumes that the problems are theoretical in the sense that their
'problems' in getting a fit between theory and 'the world' lies in the sophistication (or lack
it)
of
of their theories. As Watson (1994) comments;
"The seen but unnoticed backgrounds of everyday activities are made visible and are described from a
perspective in which persons live out the lives they do, have the children they do, feel the feelings, think
the thoughts, enter the relationships they do, all in order to permit the sociologist to solve his theoretical
problems. " (Watson 1994)

When really their problems lie in the fact that they have made the phenomenon
disappear.

This refers to what Garfinkel calls the 'haecceities' (Garfinkel 1991), the 'things', the
doings, the 'thisness and thats' that characteriseordinary activities for those engagedin
them seem to disappear whenever sociological theories and methods are brought into
play. These difficulties will remain for so long as we search for explanations of the
realities underlying commonsensicallyavailable appearancesof social order in preference
to an examination of how such appearancesare interactionally produced, managed,
recognisedand used as if they were 'the facts of the matter'. What is ignored are the lay
methods and interests that make up the 'what' of situated practices themselves.There is
absolutely no seriousmention or description of what bank work such as administering an
account, making a loan or dealing with an angry customer actually consists of as a
practical endeavour.As Lynch (1993) suggests,

50
"Virtually all the studies in the social and administrative sciences literature 'miss' the interactional 'what' of
the occupation studied'. For example, 'studies of bureaucratic case workers 'miss' how such officials
constitute the specification of a 'case' over the course of a series of interactions with a stream of clients;
studies in medical sociology 'miss' how diagnostic categories are constituted during clinical encounters;
and studies of the military 'miss' just how stable ranks and lines of communication are articulated in and as
interactional work" (Lynch 1993:271).

What is missed in these accounts is what-is-happening-now

or the actual and see-able

business of doing bank work. The everyday activities of working in a bank become just
another tool for illuminating a favoured sociological theory. These sociological accounts
of banking and bank work take an extra-mundane position, the social 'scientific' stance, in
order to claim theoretical status for its statements. The result is that real worldly activity
becomes what Lynch calls "a docile matrix for exercising a theoretical will" whereby the
theoretical will provides the framework into which any 'real world' phenomenon will 'fit'.
In systematically turning away from ordinary understandings of the 'workaday world' of
banking that sociology generates its specialist insight. Sociological accounts of bank work
generally relate to specifically sociological concerns and any claims to insight are based
upon sociological categories and concepts, often in direct contradiction to those used by
people

engaged in the course of their

ordinary

everyday

work.

In contrast,

ethnomethodology rejects the kind of abstract theorising epitomised by these particular


accounts of bank work and more generally practiced by the 'world wide social science
its
and
armies of social analysts'.
movement

The point, then, is to reject, to be indifferent to, theoretical explanation to concentrate


instead on understandingthe work in all its detail. Understanding a setting is a matter of
describing the practices whereby the members of that setting make it understandableto
one another rejects the practices of coding and classifying the ethnographic record

51
through the application of pre-definedand `externally-' or `theoretically-derived' analytic
frameworks. Furthermore it rejects the claim that `an understanding' of social
organisation is achieved through the construction of the kinds of sociological narratives
explaining the real-world, as Crabtreeet al (1999) make plain:
"Ethnomethodology is not in the business of explanation as that notion is understood in the social
sciences. The business of explanation - of abstracting from witnessed appearances and constructing master
narratives or models according to the rules and procedures governing the production of factual knowledge
of a calculable status - trades on, offers accounts of and about, rather than makes visible, the social
practices in and through which members produce and manage the daily affairs of a setting. Thus
ethnomethodology eschews explanation and urges the researcher to treat practice as a topic of inquiry
through and through rather than a resource for building explanatory constructs" (Crabtree et al., 1999: 670)

Ethnomethodology refuses to theorise practice. It offers no theories as it has no work for


them to do. In eschewing

the explanatory/theoretical-impulse

characteristic

of

conventional social scientific working, ethnomethodology treats ethnographic study as an


opportunity to produce descriptions of the situated practices constitutive of a setting's
activities. Of course any such description will possess elements of generality with almost
any kind of work - in that work generally involves such things as giving and receiving
orders, documenting and recording and so on. The attention to detail is concerned with
what makes this work 'bank work' - that the documents are concerned with the transfer
and accounting of money for example - and not just 'bank work' in general (since again
there will be areas of similarity) but work in this particular bank (X plc) at this particular
time.

Understanding

bank work as a 'social construct'

"It is a standard objective of sociologists


to establish that actions are social, their analytic apparatus
..
being specifically designed for delivering the (nowadays)
routine sociological surprise, that matters - such
as illness, death, sex, entertainment, knowledge - which (allegedly) no one supposed were social are, in
fact and after all, social
it does not require the sociological theorist's
special efforts to make actions out
....
to be social since - at least for ethnomethodology their social character is built into them from the
start. "
(Sharrock and Anderson 1991: 169-170)

52

Another critique derives from the evident strong attachment to constructionist accounts.
In explicating the various ways in which bank work is a social construct the various
theories highlight the social features of what, on first consideration, might appear as a
in
There
purely economic phenomenon.
are self-evident, political, advantages adopting
this position. As Hacking suggests, "it canstill be liberatingsuddenlyto realizethat somethingis
But
35).
(Hacking
1999:
is
human
the
things,
society"
constructedand not part of
natureof
of people,or
the metaphor has grown tired,

if not tiresome,

in
dangers
there
such
are
and

constructionist accounts. Asserting that something is a social construction often tells us


indicating
it
is
frequently
little.
Instead
the analyst's superior
way
of
used as a
very
ironicise
to
thereby
ordinary members accounts. As an
serves merely
expertise and
examplar of orthodox sociology, the approach offers competing accounts of peoples'
flawed
by
lay,
that
their,
out
are
versions of 'what is really
experience
pointing
accounts
going on'. As Sharrock (1995) reminds us:
"social constructionism places itself firmly within sociology's long and central tradition of `debunking',
from which ethnomethodology fundamentally and rigorously dissents. It is the characteristic purpose of
social constructionism to demonstrate that something is not an x (e.g. a `natural', `biological', `real' or
`factual' matter but is, instead, a social construction. The social constructionists, then, seek confrontations
with the understandings that the members of the society have, continuing the long and standard
sociological tradition which maintains that the members of society do not know what they are doing. Thus,
constructionism is, with respect to its conception of the relationship between its own analytic exercise and
the conduct of member's understandings, unreconstructed in respect of the mainstream sociological
apparatus". (Sharrock 1995)

Ethnomethodologyon the other hand does not seeany real distinction between orthodox
sociology and members accounts because the sociologist is a member of society first and
professional sociologist second. The apparently technical language of Sociology trades
upon the fact that the social world is an already interpreted intersubjective world, known
in common.

53

These sociological

approaches to understanding bank work, like other constructive

accounts, are involved in the search for a correspondence between theoretical objects and
the referents of those objects in the world 'as it really is'. This view rests upon a
distinction between the 'world as it appears to be' (to the everyday person, or workers in
the bank, for example) and the 'world as it really is' (as revealed by the expert
sociologist).

The model's epistemology

is therefore largely a version of realism

lies
behind
the
that
a material reality not
of
appearances
observable world
suggesting
be
'real'
The
direct
but
to
can
observed.
what
observation
which explains
accessible
explanatory, objective

and invisible

social reality of social and cultural forces and

but
life
backs
Ordinary
behind
the
that
goes
on
of actors.
seemingly operate
processes
behind people's backs, unknown to them, other, real forces are determining the shape of
dope'
'pre-programmed
judgemental
highlights
'cultural
Such
the
or
approach
an
society.
dope' status of people. This suggests that, in essence, people don't really know what they
are doing; that people think X is the case, when 'really' it is Y. The model argues then
that many of the features of bank work, from organizational arrangements to gender
divisions in employment practices are socially produced or constructed. But saying this
less
for
is
to
than
the
some activity or other not socially
rather
meets
eye,
when
amounts
constructed or socially produced? As working concepts 'social construction' and 'social
production' are rhetorical devices often, as in these cases, with a self-evident political
purpose.

54
The constructivist-analytic

approach is an attempt to show what lies behind the

appearance and, as such, constitutes what Schutz (1967) called a 'correspondence theory'
between appearances and the independent

existence

of the 'real' object. As a

correspondence theory of reality, the model argues that social structures may exist
independently of our knowledge of them. We discover this underlying reality through
logico-empirical

procedures (scientific

method) which serve as rules by which any

observer can obtain an accurate view of real objects independent of one's circumstances.
An alternative

is the Schutzian 'congruence view of reality'

that is taken up by

ethnomethodology. In this view the terms 'perceived object' and 'concrete activity', or
'object' and 'appearance' are synonymous and interchangeable. The perceived object is the
concrete object. In the correspondence theory the objective character of relevant objects
and events is given by the operations of the theory, the theory serves the function of
organising the possibilities of experience, with one of many objective worlds. In the
congruence view, however, there is no disjunction between experience and reality and so
no reason to seek a correspondence between them. Ethnomethodology
methodological

move of treating everything

makes the

as socially constructed and hence the

problem of correspondencedisappears.Nothing lies behind or has greaterreality than our


experiences. The problem of finding a fit between theory and reality does not exist.
Rather, the task is to reflect upon our experiences of the world. The social world is
continually constituted in experienceas an endlessseriesof activities that are considered
rational, factual or whatever attributes may be accorded them. So, the phenomenonfor
investigation becomesthe methodsby which experienceis found to be
factual
or
rational,
whatever.

55

Understanding

bank work: sociological v lay accounts.

Despite theoretical and methodological disagreements within Sociology there is fairly


widespread

agreement that Sociology

is capable of producing

descriptions

and

explanations of social phenomena - like work in financial services organisations - that


the
in
accurately represent or correspond with the actual events
world. Moreover, such
sociological

kinds
the
to
the
of
accounts of
social world are regarded as superior

descriptions and explanations that are available to and routinely used by ordinary people
in making sense of their everyday lives. In part this is because:
"everyday methods of practical reasoning are in some sense'flawed', and hence are to be avoided, or
repaired, modified or otherwise cleanedup for the purposesof doing professional sociology" (Atkinson
1990:452-3).

Sociology

provides

scientific

demonstrations

that

supersede

commonsense

understandings. In ethnomethodological terminology they are now engaged in an ironic


sociology by imposing a standard exogenous to activities-in-a-setting.

At issue is the distinction between professional accounts and lay accounts and the
distinction between the sociologist as a sociologist and sociologist as a member of
society. As far as ethnomethodologyis concernedorthodox sociology offers competing
accounts to ordinary members lay accounts, pointing out that lay accounts are flawed
versions of 'what is really going on' and, thereby, producing an ironic sociology. In
attempting to adopt an extra mundane position, to stand outside of that which it is
explaining, sociology produces special understandings that ironicise those of the

56
participants in the setting, through the application of an "external standardto members'
cultural knowledge".
"This externalstandardis, in all probability, derived from the formal categoriesor proceduresof science,
being
in
idealised
All
this
them.
too
understandings
or worse, an
often
results commonsense
version of
deemedprimitively deficient, superficial misconceived,inadequate,interested,stereotypical,mystificatory
by the (idealised) scientific
in
is
inferior,
degenerate
yielded
short
of
an
what
naive
or
version
approach." (Watson, 1994: 173)

The distinction between the view of the world generated by the theorist (in which social
fact
life)
is
(in
is
`problem')
the
of
a
which social order
and
member of society5
order a
it,
in
(1994),
Watson
As
distinct
the
puts
character of social reality.
views of
comprise
in
for
the
some theoretical
ordinary
experience
of
orderliness
seeking explanations
from
`life
be
the
the
as usual' character of
estranged
sociologist
must
either
construction,
in
for
have
these
treating
situations
as
need of some
some motive
everyday scenes, or

extra-mundaneexplanation.
".. a special motive is required to make them [everyday scenes] problematic. In the sociologists' case this
`special motive' consists in the programmatic task of treating societal member's practical circumstances,
its
from
include
the
the
character
morally
necessary
many
of
view
of
member's
of
point
which
background features as matters of theoretic interest." (Watson, 1994)

Button and Sharrock (1991) identify this 'special motive' in action in comparing and

contrasting the theorist's and the member's approach to understanding the everyday
environment, where the member is concernedsimply with the practicalities of life whilst
the theorist, the sociologist has a rather different focus.
"Both the theorist and the member of society, then, are attempting to conceive the actor's environment.
Simply the actor seeks to identify his/her external environment for pragmatic purposes. The actor seeks to
understand what that environment is and what principles regulate its workings, in order that his/her actual
circumstances may be adjusted by his/her actual requirements. The theorist is of course seeking a
generalised understanding of the actor's conduct, and presumes that this will be a function of the
environment, and not only of the actor's perceived environment, but of the properties of the environment
itself.. " (Button and Sharrock 1991)
' It is worth noting here Button and Sharrock'sobservationthat "Ethnomethodology's
equivalent of the `social actor' is not a person
equippedwith any definite, specifiableensembleof understanding,skills principles etc. but simply someonewho is left to get on with
his or her own affairs." (1991.141)

57

Ethnomethodology(and most individuals) readily observethat memberscommonly have


no trouble with seeing-at-glance,'what is going on' in the situations in which they act.
That members, under the auspices of the 'natural attitude' can see-at-a-glance'what's
going on' turns attention to "the reflexive way in which identities of persons, actions,
things, and 'contexts'becomerelevantly and recognisablypart of an unfolding 'contexture'
of practical details". (Lynch 1993:30) However, sociological accounts turn how things are

seen under the auspices of the 'natural attitude' into how things are seen under the
auspices of their particular sociological theory with the result that any differences become

by
'false
to
the
theory
within
resort
consciousness'or
problems
and
resolved
analytic
'ideology'. Members' views are regardedas flawed, deficient or incomplete and in need
of remedy by sociological accounts. However, Sharrock and Button (1991) argue that,
'social reality' for the purposes of sociological theorising is not the samething as 'social
reality' for the purposes of everyday life. They are incongruous in that memberscannot
(without some rather bizarre results), under the auspices of the natural attitude,
systematically adopt the sceptical stance found under the auspices of the theoretical
attitude. While the view from daily life may different from the view from sociological
theory this does not mean that they are competing views and there is no need to accept the
privileging of the sociological theorists standpoint over the actors.

Sociology's claim to 'discover' that social life is patterned,regular and orderly, also entails
the further claim that this patterning, this regularity, this orderliness is deemed to be
obscureduntil revealed by meansof the correct, sociological, method of investigation. It

58
is the methods of sociology that, so they claim, brings the pattern, the regularity, the
orderliness of social life into view. These patterns are believed to be undetected by social
actors since actors have only a partial view and these views may themselves be
ideological

interests, views based on false consciousness, or just plain irrational.

Ethnomethodology on the other hand does not see any real distinction between orthodox
sociology and members' accounts because the sociologist is a member of society first and
professional sociologist second. The sociologist unavoidably relies upon and trades in the
ways of talking and commonsense understandings of ordinary members; trades upon the
fact that the social world is an already interpreted intersubjective

world known in

common. Furthermore:
"Ethnomethodology does not set out to provide a specific mode of comprehending society, a theoretical
framework within which a substantive conception of society is to be construed, but determines (instead) to
inquire into the comprehension of society, into the ways in which social life can be understood and
described when seen from within by members, or when seen under the auspices of the idealisations of
social science" (Sharock and Watson 1988:59).

Ethnomethodological

approaches: the interest in the everyday world.

This thesis takes the ethnomethodological stance as a starting point for its analysis of
financial services work. As Armour (1997) suggests:
"As a non-ironic sociology, ethnomethodology takes seriously the great questions of sociology: How do
actions recur and reproduce themselves? How is it that interaction displays properties of patterning,
stability, orderliness? How does social life get organised?" (Armour 1997)

For ethnomethodology

this orderliness is worked at and developed from within the

activities. Our interest is in the 'everyday life world' of banking. Schutz (1964) tells us
that this everyday world:
" is the province of reality in which man continuously participates in ways
which are at once inevitable

and patterned.There everyday life-world is a region of reality in which man can engagehimself and which
he can changewhile he operatesit by meansof his animate organism. At the sametime, the objectivities
and events which are already found in this reality (including the acts and the results of actions of other

59
men) limit his free possibilities of action.... The world of everyday life is consequently man's fundamental
and paramount reality". (Schutz 1964)

Ethnomethodology looks at how this world of daily life is experienced from within
treating social facts as interactional accomplishments and social order as a local
production.
"Where others might see "things", "givens" or "facts of life", the ethnomethodologist sees (or attempts to
see) process: the process through which the perceivedly stable features of socially organised environments
are continually created and sustained" (Pollner 1974:27).

Ethnomethodology focuses on the 'local production of social order' - how participants


within the settingslocally produceor accomplishthe production and recognition of social
action:
its attention is less on the participants acting than on the actions and settings themselves. For
"
..
ethnomethodologyparticipantsare 'members',membersare coursesof action', settingsare 'self-organising'
and the identities of actions-and-settings
are mutually constituted"(Hester and Eglin 1992).

But ethnomethodological studies do not lead to the disappearanceof the phenomenon


becausethey explicate the methods members themselves use as they routinely and in
taken for granted ways display their knowledge of and understanding of the facticity of
the social world as organised and ordered. Ethnomethodology involves a fundamental
revision of sociology's traditional views on social order, of the sorts of questions to be
asked about it, and of the kind of empirical researchto be done. Ethnomethodological
studies of work are therefore fundamentally different from those undertakenin the name
of conventional sociological theory, as Button and Harper (1996) state:
"From an ethnomethodological position the practices through which people organise their work-related
actions and interactions are of a different order of phenomena to work-practices as portrayed in the
formulations of sociological accounts In ethnomethodological studies, work
practices are part of a species
of the `... detailed and observable practices which make up the incarnate production of ordinary social
facts
(Lynch et al., 1983:206).. Within ethnomethodology, work-practices
in
its
detail
in
and
constitute,
...
the face of the unfolding contingencies of work, the temporal order of work and the ordinary facticity of
domains of work. On the other hand, sociological accounts of
work-practice are formalisms that stand on
behalf of the actions and interactions of members, subduing the interactional details
of work to the
imperative of a sociological theory. In such accounts the
concept of work-practice has more to do with the

60
work of producing sociological explanation than it has to do with the work that the explanation accounts
for. "(Button and Harper, 1996)

Thus, the ethnomethodological agenda stands outside of the realms of competing theories
and versions of the world and carries this agenda over into the world of the study of work
practice

Members as rule users

Another recommendationby Garfinkel is to treat membersas practical rule-using analysts


rather than as cultural dopes who are rule governed. Rather than stipulate what rules
membersare really following or governedby, ethnomethodologytries to locate the 'seen
but unnoticed' rules which members might be orienting to and using to recognise and
produce orderliness in some setting. In other words, ethnomethodology wishes to make
statementsabout rules and practices that could warrantably said to be oriented to by
members.Thus the theoretical question is not why in principle social order is as it is but
how for practical purposesare particular manifestationsof social order achieved.

In viewing membersas practical rule using analystsrather than 'pre-programmedcultural


dopes ethnomethodologyadoptsa conception of the social actor as a'rule-user', oriented
to rules in the course of action and designing particular actions to be in accord with rules.

This contrastswith standardstructuralist sociological views of the actor as one who has
internalised his/her culture as a set of rules prescribing normative behaviour, and whose
actions are then'rule-governed'- a version of the actor describedby Garfinkel as 'the preprogrammed cultural dope'. This clearly has relevance for sociological investigations of
any setting where rules appearto play a prominent part in the organisation of everyday

61
banks.
As 'rule users'membersmake use of commonsense
work - such as, stereotypically,
knowledge (what everyone knows) of social structures and thus they might be
characterisedas practical sociologists - and lay and professional sociological theorising
for
bank
in
In
the
their
the
are epistemologically equivalent.
everyday work,
course of
example,people have to figure out what othersmean,make their own actions accountable
to others as part of the eminently practical processof getting work done.

As Garfinkel (1967) demonstrates, common understandings are practical, interpretive


achievements rather than measurable, shared agreements.
be they attain the status
"Apparently no matter how specific the terms of common understandings may
..
but
for
insofar
the
conditions
carry
along
stipulated
an
unspoken
agreement
persons
only
as
of an
understood etcetera clause. Specific stipulations are formulated under the rule of an agreement by being
brought under the jurisdiction of the etcetera clause. This does not occur once and for all, but is essentially
bound to both the inner and outer temporal course of activity and thereby to the progressive development
of circumstances and their contingencies .. Not only can contingencies arise, but persons know as of any
Here and Now that contingencies can materialise or be invented at any time that it must be decided
whether or not what the parties actually did satisfied the agreement .. That the work of bringing present
circumstances under the rule of previously agreed activity is sometimes contested should not be permitted
to mask its pervasive and routine use as an ongoing and essential feature of 'actions in accord with
common understanding'. This process, which I shall call a method of discovering agreements by eliciting
of imposing a respect for the rule of practical circumstances, is a version of practical ethics. " (Garfinkel
1967: 73.74)

This relationship between a common understanding or a rule and its application on any
particular occasion of use is clearly applicable to bankwork, most notably in making
lending decisions, determining fraud, monitoring creditworthiness etc, and comprises the
'work of bringing present circumstances under the rule of previously agreed activity'.
Thus, for example, the 'lore of lending' that is self-evident in banking activity resides in
its application rather than in manuals, process maps, action sheets and so on. Within the
bank lending officers, monitoring

officers or other institutionally

relevant personnel

62
decide in each particular case what 'in the end' and 'for all practical purposes' really
happened,what the casemight be. At every consideration new 'evidence' may be found
and previous decisions overturned so that lending lore, the 'rules' of lending are not
simply followed or invoked but made each time they are used. This perspective of
members as rule users rather than rule followers features heavily in Suchman's(1987)
'Plans and Situated Actions: the problem of human-machine

communication'.

She

suggests that: 'plans are resources for situated action but do not in any strong sense
determine its course'. Plans are accomplished activities.
different

This produces a radically

sense to `routine' work. Such an approach highlights

the open texture or

indeterminacy of rules and concepts such as 'creditworthy', 'debt', 'bankrupt', 'fraud' and
indexical
highlights
features
It
the way rules and concepts
the
accounts.
also
so on and
of
depend for their meaning on the 'form of life' in which they are embedded, what Garfinkel
(1967) would refer to as members' reliance on 'common-sense knowledge of social
structures.

Bankwork

and accountable action.

The orderliness of society is highly visible. Without any special effort people can see
what is going on at a glance and what they have to do. Members share bodies of
knowledge, etc. but these are a 'seen but unnoticed' background of common
understandings.The orderlinessof social life is the achievementof ordinary social actors,
the outcome of what they do, and their commonsenseknowledge of social structures.
Recognisablefeaturesof an activity or setting and their display are 'locally' producedand
produced in the ways the activity is being done by those engagedin it. That somethingis

63
recognisable as 'this' activity or setting - that it is regarded as `bank work' - in the first
place is a local production.
".. activities whereby members produce and manage settings of organised everyday affairs are identical
with members' procedures for making those settings "account-able".. When I speak of accountable, my
interests are directed to such matters as the following. I mean observable-and-reportable, i. e. available to
members as situated practices of looking-and-telling. I mean, too, that such practices consist of an endless,
ongoing, contingent accomplishment: that they are carried on under the auspices of, and are made to
happen as events in, the same ordinary affairs that in organising they describe; that the practices are done
by parties to those settings whose skill with, knowledge of, and entitlement to the detailed work of that
accomplishment - whose competence - they obstinately depend upon, recognise, use and take for granted:
and that they take their competence for granted furnishes parties with a setting's distinguishing and
particular features, and of course it furnishes them as well as resources, troubles, projects and the rest".
(Garfinkel 1967: 1-2)

Ethnomethodology involves the study of members' methods of making sense conceiving


social action in terms of methods of producing and recognizing 'sensible' social actions
and settings. Members produce their actions in such a way as to make them 'accountable'
as those actions, they design their actions so as others may identify them as what they are.
Being a competent member of a setting means being able to engage in ways that are
recognisable, observable-reportable,

by others. Action and accountability

cannot be

separated but are inextricably linked in the 'endless, ongoing, contingent accomplishment'
of activity. For ethnomethodology members use their commonsense cultural knowledge
in simultaneously producing and recognising settings and courses of activities. That is, in
the course of producing

'orderly phenomena' members exhibit

their commonsense

knowledge of social structures and events in and as such commonsense knowledge is


put
to practical use. In this way, ethnomethodology's non-ironic sociology explicates rather
than downgrades members' knowledge being concerned with examining members'
knowledge and language use as topics of, rather than just
resources for, inquiry. This
distinction between topic and resource (Zimmerman
and Pollner 1970) though questioned

64
in recent years (Lynch 1993)points to the way in which ethnomethodologyendeavoursto
how
those
in
to
themselves
and
oriented
settings
are
seek out what participants particular
featuresenter into actions and accounts.In this way members'meanings'becomea topic
imposed
for
inquiry
set of
mapping out a sociologically
of
rather than resources
relevances.

In studying members' methods - the 'machinery'

that constitutes members' cultural

do
do
they
to
them
what
competence enabling
- ethnomethodology

displays an

indifference to mainstream sociology's fundamental concern to explain why it is that


how
description
it
it
do.
Instead
the
happen
of
they
on
things
replaces with an emphasis
as
people accomplish activities:
"Ethnomethodology does not take as its puzzle the fact that people act in stable, regular ways (such that
how
it
is
different
but
like
keeps
behaving
that the
the
have
that)
them
one
of
the
quite
of
what
problem
we
discoverable
discoverable,
is
and
recognisable
and
and
of
conduct
recognisable
stability and regularity
from within its own midst." (Sharrockand Watson, 1988:62)

Ethnomethodology's analytic frame is not based around an explanation of why things are
happening the way they are, but how it is that ordinary members of society are organising
This
thereby
their
orderly
social
phenomena.
constitute
courses of action
matters such
findings
that
to
analytic
work
undertake
produces
avoids sociology's problematic claim
is
that
that
the
stipulating
whilst
social
world
not the
social world,
systematically
about
its
in
upon
reasoning
unexplicated
and
still
relying
practices
rigour,
yet
source of analytic
ways. Rather than producing sociological theories, ethnomethodology attempts:
to describe the operational theories, or theories-in-use, that members deploy in attending to the
appearances of their surroundings, in constructing their situated courses of action" (Sharrock and Watson,
1988: 127)
"...

65
This involves documenting how and in what ways members produce and account for
social phenomena,rather than the proceduresof sociology in this regard. As Wittgenstein
argues:
"The difficulty -I might say is not that of finding a solution but rather of recognizing as the solution
something that looks as if it were only a preliminary to it .. This is connected, I believe, with our wrongly
expecting an explanation, whereas the solution of the difficulty is a description, if we give it the right
place in our considerations. If we dwell upon it, and do not try to get beyond it. " (Wittgenstein, Zettel quoted in Heritage 1984: 103).

This is an analytic choice emerging out of Sacks' observation that persons are `workable
things in society' despite the fact that they are exposed only to "small and random
sections of a culture". Ethnomethodological investigations document the ways in which
learning
life,
from
the
within
organise
actual
scenes
of
everyday
members
occurrences,
'the ropes' - 'the ropes to skip and the ropes to know' as they go along. As Sacks
is
culture
so arranged such that people:
comments,
"... come out in so many ways much like everybody else and able to deal with just about everybody else
Tap into whomsoever, wheresoever, and we get much the same thing.... We get an enormous
...
generalisability because things are so arranged that we can get orderly results, given that for members
encountering an ordinary environment they have to be able to do that, and things are so arranged as to
permit them to". (Sacks 1984: 22-23)

Bank work and categorization work


Another feature of an ethnomethodolical approach relevant to the analysis of bank work
is 'member categorization analysis', the use of 'membership categories' and what may be
assumed about them ('category predicates') in producing and recognising 'sensible'
occasions, actions and talk. This focus directs our attention to the methods by which
financial settings and situations such as a phonecall to the bank, interactions with a
cashier or service desk, lending interviews etc are socially organised. It also highlights

66
the methods by which particular actions within retail financial service settings such as
rulemaking

identifying

and enforcing, accusing, complaining,

'suspicious' persons,

negotiating, examining, judging, etc are produced and recognised

It is in the "categories and common sense understandings internal to a social setting that
the identity of social actions are decided" (Button et al 1991). While sociologists can
describe
they
the
they
activities
come up with
respecify categories of activity, whatever
found
in
identified
the
terms
to
within the setting;
of
categories
explain are
and attempt
they constitute what Zimmerman and Pollner, (1971) call an "occasioned corpus of
intelligibility
its
identified
is
it
is,
features".
What
as,
what
settings
an activity
words,

is done pre-theoretically.

It is decided

in terms

in other

of the commonsense

found
No
therein.
internal
the
matter
categories
to
the
understandings
setting and with
institutions
financial
services
what the sociologist goes onto say about

or the work

therein, the formulation of their phenomena will necessarily involve the invocation of
bank
is
Sociologists
to
that
the
say
want
manager
not
may
socially prescribed categories.
'administering
'lending
just
money'
or
merely or

accounts' or whatever but is being

historically
by
determined
and
reproducing
partially

specific political

and ideological

it
is
for
it
is
in
However
the
the
seeing
activity
only
commonsensically
what
structures.
first place that makes possible sociological theorisation. Seeing that the activity is bank
is
indispensable
to understanding and depicting the socially
else
work and not something
found
'Commonsense'
invokes an orientation
the
of
activities
within.
character
organised
to matters that members are entitled to adopt and expect of others. Going into any bank
involve
the
activities would not
and observing
members spending much time wondering

67
how to classify the people there. Being in the bank provides relevant ways of classifying
the people there as managers, cashiers, customers and so on. This commonsense
sociological work is not something to be improved upon with the addition of 'proper'
is
it
describe
(1991)
As
Sharrock
Button
theory.
such
work
sociological
would
and
socially provided, socially sanctioned and done for practical purposes, for making sense.
That is, it is a feature of our culture that the categories managers, cashiers, customers are
the pre-theoretical and indispensable categories which are relevant to the organisational
setting bank" and the organisation of activities within that place.

As far as ethnomethodology is concerned, the socially prescribed ways of talking and


looking and commonsenseunderstandings facilitate the doing of sociology and it is
precisely because our descriptions of activities are socially organised in the pretheoretically available ways they are that sociological inquiry is possible at all.
Sociology's accessto its subjectmatter, its phenomena,and their subsequenttherorising is
dependent in the first place on ordinary, everyday, commonsensecompetencies.What
sociologists assume to be 'superior', 'more accurate', 'scientific', 'rigorous', and 'more
sociological' descriptions are in fact mere versions and no better (or worse) than any other
response to the question 'what is going on?' The central problem for the constructivistbank
sociology
of
work is how to bridge the gap between theory and real worldly
analytic
practice. General sociological practice ignores or glosses over the intricacies of everyday
practice in financial service settings preferring accounts of the broader social, economic,
historical
and
contexts in which bank work takes place. The justification

for this is a

belief that organisational behaviour of various kinds cannot be


understood without

68
referenceto wider issuesof globalisation, deregulation, restructuring, gender and so on.
In this view the actual lived detail of real time, real world everyday work appearsat best
as surplus detail or worse as a possible sourceof contamination of the data becausewider
and more important issues get buried in the detail of everyday routine. But to treat these
detailed intricacies of everyday work in this way is, according to Garfinkel, akin to
complaining; "that if the walls of a building were only gotten out of the way one could see
better what was keeping the roof up" (Garfinkel, 1967: 22). The focus of this thesis is

precisely on thesemundanedetails of everydaybank work and interactions.

69

Chapter 3 "No Guru, No Method, No


Teacher" - Ethnomethodologically
Informed Ethnography.
"Whatever humans do can be examined to discover some way they do it" (Sacks 1984: 22)
"Observers neither stimulate nor manipulate their subjects. They do not ask the subjects research
questions, pose tasks for them, or deliberately create new provocations. This stands in marked contrast to
researchers using interview questionnaires, who direct the interaction and introduce potentially new ideas
into the arena, and to experimental researchers, who often set up structured situations where they can alter
certain conditions to measure the covariance of others.... Observers follow the flow of events-observation
in the natural context of occurrence, among actors who would naturally be participating in the
ocurs
..
bound by predetermined
interaction, and follows the natural stream of evryday life
observers
are
not
..
..
categories of measurement response, but are free to search for concepts or categories that appear
meaningful to subjects." (Adler and Adler 1998: 80-81)

"When in doubt collect facts." (Barley 1983:3)

Introduction:

research methods

"Just-in-any-actual-case immortal ordinary society is a wonderful beast. Evidently and just in any actual
case, God knows how it is put together. The principal formal analytic devices currently in hand, of paying
careful attention to the use, the design, and administration of generic representational theorising - models,
for example, get a job done that with the same technical skills in administering them lose the very
phenomena that they profess ... [The] immortal ordinary society evidently, just in any actual case ... is
only discoverable. It is not imaginable. It cannot be imagined but is only actually found out, and just in
it
is
done is everything it can consist of and imagined descriptions cannot capture
The
way
case.
any actual
this detail". (Garfinkel 1996: 7- 8)

This chapter provides some detail of the research method - ethnomethodologically


informed ethnography - deployed in this researchto discover some of the features of
`immortal ordinary society' - everyday work in banks - and documents some aspectsof
the analytic purchasethis approachbrings to the understanding of `real time real world
work'. As the previous chapter indicated this emphasison `real world, real time' work
standsin rather stark contrast to many sociological accountsof social life in general and
(perhaps) the everyday world of work in particular. Conventional sociological accounts

70
does
"homo
in
sociologicus'
only
which
not
portray a world

neither laugh nor cry

(Williamson 1989) but he does not seem to do much that looks like work either. This is a
familiar
tedium and repetition of routine
the
and
relentless
world not only stripped of
in
but
which the practical accomplishment
a world
work,

of work, the skills and

jobs
is
largely
bring
to
their
absent.
competencies that workers routinely and visibly
Consequently, although there are many sociological studies `of work', they often seem to
have very little to say about the actual work which goes on within the setting under study
`insurancework'.
`bankwork'
this
or
work
- about what makes

In the process both the

is
in
fashion
the
accomplished effectively
work
which
worker and

'disappears'; into

is,
be
'attentive'
desire
The
to
the
therefore, one of the
to
work
theoretical abstraction.
informed
In
to
for
a
the
ethnography.
contrast
ethnomethodologically
of
use
motivations
common sociological attitude which views specific social settings as sites of generic,
abstract `social processes' the ethnomethodologically

informed ethnographic approach,

by contrast, is particularly focused upon the distinctiveness, the specificity, of the settings
under study.

What is ethnography?
"The concernto balancedetailed documentationof eventswith insights into the meaningof thoseeventsis
the enduringhallmark of ethnography." (Fielding 1994: 154)

Ethnography is a qualitative orientation to research that emphasises the detailed


in
The
settings.
occurring
move towards naturalistic
of
people
naturally
observation
is
his
Malinowski
in
to
and
generally
attributed
observational methods anthropology
during
house
in
Islands
Trobriand
being
the
under
arrest
particular circumstances of

71
World War 1- and then other anthropologists such as Boas. The main motivation for
adopting the ethnographic approach was the conviction that only through living with and
experiencing 'native' life in their own environment could a researcher really understand
that culture and way of life and move away from the notion of anthropology as 'strange
tales of far away places. Within mainstream Sociology ethnography has often been
presented as a methodology of last resort - used primarily for obtaining information about
groups and culture - usually 'deviant cultures' - that are impossible to investigate in other
ways. The sociological adoption of broadly ethnographic approaches is generally, though
not universally, traced to the `naturalistic stance' of the Chicago School6.

Perhaps the main virtue of ethnography is its ability to make visible the `real world'
sociality of a setting. As a mode of social research it is concerned to produce detailed
descriptionsof the `workaday' activities of social actors within specific contexts [Hughes
et al 1992; 1993]. It is a naturalistic method relying upon material drawn from the firsthand experienceof a fieldworker in some setting that seeksto present a
portrait of life as
seenand understoodby those who live and work within the domain concerned.It is this
objective which is the rationale behind the method's insistenceon the developmentof an
`appreciative stance' through the direct involvement of the researcher in the
setting under

investigation. It is, as Fielding (1994) suggests;

6 Harvey (1987) for example,


questionsboth the ideaof a Chicago'school' and what he terms the methodologicalmyth of Chicagoas
the "bulwark of ethnography".He suggeststhat the pre-1940Chicagotradition was only broadly ethnographicin
orientation rather
than specifically concernedwith participant observation.The Chicago sociologists,Harvey (1987) argues,practised
methodological
eclecticism,while later ethnographicresearchwas to be infusedby the'insider perspectiveof the subject'(Becker,1979),naturalistic
perspectives(Coleman,1969)andthe'proto-phenomenologicalskepticismof Blumer and Wirth (Harvey,1987).

72
"a stance which emphasised seeing things from the perspective of those studied before stepping back to
`never
Native
American
that
detached
one
should
the
adage
of
assessment..... mindful
make a more
156)7
1994:
(Fielding
in
his
have
moccasins"'
walked a mile
criticise a man until you

The intention of ethnography is then to see activities as social actions embedded within a
day-to-day
in
the
domain
through
activities of
and
and accomplished
socially organised
in
is
It
the
to
this
ways
which participants
everyday
access
participants.
which provides
it
is
lives
the ability
their
and
working
understand and conduct

of ethnography to

by
its
(the
it
is
participants
archetypal users) that
perceived
understand a social setting as
its
forms
its
Although
take
chief
can
a
variety
methods
of
ethnographic
appeal.
underpins
immersion
in
detailed
(prolonged)
is
the
the
the
setting,
and
researcher's
characteristic
its
`real
that
conversations
and
activity
practices,
comprise
of
circumstances,
observation
world' character.

What is involved

in `doing'

ethnography?

Relying

on the 'kindness

of strangers'.

"When you marry, marry a lady anthropologist.Shewill have beentrained for years never to interrupt you
and to say only just enoughto keepyou talking." (quoted in Barley 1989)
"The purpose of ethnographic analysis is to produce sensitising concepts and models that allow people to
see events in new ways. The value of these models is to be judged by others in terms of how useful they
find them.. " (Hammersley 1992: 15)

The aim of ethnography is to assemble an account of the way in which people manage
lives
by
their
trying to obtain an 'insider's' view.
as
actors,
natural
social
and organise
This necessitates the fieldworker becoming involved in the setting and the activities being
studied in order to gain the same perspective, as far as this is possible, of the actors
concerned. This counteracts the temptation when studying others' lives to read things into
them. This is the reason why ethnography insists on approaching the investigation of a

This, of course,hasthe addedadvantage(as the old joke goes)that when you do eventually come to speakyour mind you're a mile

73
setting without theoretical preconceptionsas to what will be found, since the social world
is not organised in ways that analysts and researcherswant to find it. Ethnographersdo
not want to impose a framework on the setting but to discover the social organisational
properties of that setting as it is naturally exhibited. However, things that are familiar are
extremely difficult to seeclearly becauseof their very familiarity. The apophthegm,'It is
not the fish that discoversthe water' aptly capturesthis feature of ethnographic enquiry;
drawing attention to the difficulty of seeing things which are 'right in front of one's eyes'.

In terms of the practicalities

of ethnographic

work, Evans-Pritchard,

the famous

anthropologist,wrote of how he sought some insight on how to do fieldwork from other,


noted anthropologists and received advice that amounted to little more than 'don't drink
the water and leave the women alone'. While this remains very good advice it should also
be understood that ethnography is neither an esoteric procedure requiring immense
amounts of training, nor is it searching for things that are hard to find. Nor, however, is it
simply 'hanging around' - or as Button and King (1992) put it, "hanging around is not the
point". While much of ethnography does involve `hanging around' this is not its point but
a means of achieving the objective of uncovering the sociality

of work. Much of

ethnographic practice is simply about presenting oneself as a reasonable, courteous and


unthreatening human being who is interested in what people do and then shutting up,
watching and listening. Ethnography requires simple abilities, including an ability to
listen, show an interest in what people do and what they have to say, and tolerate long

away and you've got his shoes...

74

boredom.
Ethnography is an immensely ordinary activity requiring ordinary,
periods of
mundaneskills.
" The important thing about the ethnographer is not that he or she brings particularly arcane skills to the
collection of data [many of those are the skills of office administration, cataloguing and classifying
documents and records], but that they bring the willingness to pay attention to people's activities, to attend
in detail to how people actually go about their affairs, however ordinary and otherwise unremarkable these
affairs might be. " (Hughes and Sharrock 2002)

What an ethnographer does is what any other person in the organisation being studied is
likely to do - watching, talking, sitting in meetings, learning their way around the
organisation. And it is not difficult. The data is not hard to find, the fieldworker does not
need to look for it, it is right there in front of them. As Sacks (1984) puts it "there is order

at all points. ". Consequently there is no need to suffer the fieldwork agonies so well
describedby Agar (1980):
"You arrive, tape recorder in hand, with a grin rigidly planted on your face. You probably realise that you
have no idea how your grin is being interpreted, so you stop and nervously attempt a relaxed pose. Then
you realise you have no idea how that is being interpreted. Soon you work yourself into the paralysis of
the psychiatrist in the strip joint - she knows she can't react, but she knows she can't not react. It is little
wonder that sometimes people hide in a hotel room and read mysteries. " (Agar 1980)

For most fieldworkers - for me - these agonies are rare and short-lived, soon to be
replaced by the very different agony of the 'fieldwork junkie' and there is certainly
in
Becker's (1963) 'becoming a marijuana user' learning to recognise,
something
learning to appreciate- that resonateswith the experienceof fieldwork.

In terms of how to behave, while a researcher cannot cope with every personal
idiosyncrasy there are some commonsenseprinciples of conduct for the ethnographer.
Theseprimarily involve recognisingthat for those in the setting their commitment to what
goes on there is their business,their job, and the fieldworker, no matter what his or her
personal inclinations are, must respect this. The point of fieldwork is to understandthe

75
to
This
the
attentiveness
stringent
requires
setting.
social organisation of activities within
is
like
DuBois,
Blanche
do,
for
have
the
generally
to
ethnographer,
say and
what persons
does
While
`kindness
this
the
not require an exaggerated show of
of strangers'.
reliant on
interest in the (often) boring details of what people do - and banks, like many offices
frequently are boring places, it does require avoiding prejudgements about what is of
interest and what is not. The ethnographer accesses'what is going on' in a setting through
the mundane competences we have developed that routinely allow us to learn about new
forms
of social organisation.
and
cultures
unfamiliarity

The apparent 'strangeness' or initial

in
helping
has
field
the ethnographer reveal and
analytic
utility
an
a
site
of

document the methods by which members `just do it' when it comes to everyday,
is
facilitating
initial
The
of
a
setting
consequently
as
strangeness
regarded
mundane work.
the necessary distance required to 'make the ordinary

extra-ordinary'

enabling the

familiar
the
to
strange yet recognisable.
render
ethnographer

In terms of what the fieldworker collects by way of data - experience shows that this is
the least of the problems of ethnography and anyway will be dictated not by strategic
by
flow
but
The
the
the
of
activity
considerations,
within
setting.
social
methodological
'data' is often lying around in plain sight but no one has bothered to collect it up. There is
nothing special to look for, nothing to find that is hidden. Hughes and Sharrock (2002)
suggest that:
" Another simple truth about ethnography is that, given access, you can very quickly collect far more data
than you can ever possibly use: a day's work can generate several hours of audio or video tape recording.
Nor is there really much meaning to the idea that some things are crucial data - ethnography is a pretty
diffuse exercise with [characteristically] vague objectives, if indeed, they can be called objectives at all:
often the aim is just to see and hear as much as you can, and to get as good a record of what you can see

76
having
is
it
is
data,
the
to
hear
In
though
there
all
sense
the
no
all
setting
as
possible.
ethnographic
and
data." (Hughes and Sharrock 2002)

The ethnographer's job is to listen to the talk, watch what happens, see what people do
be
documents
it
it,
down,
to
tape
can
recorded, and so
record what
when, anywhere,
write
include:
be
The
things
that
conversations,
and
recorded
collected
sorts of
can
on.
descriptions of activities, diagrams of places, job descriptions, memos, notices, graffiti,
transcripts of meetings, war stories and more. It is not that such materials have any
intrinsic value; the material is valuable insofar as it can be made relevant or useful for
Making
it
the
activities8.
of
sense of the materials
social
organisation
can
say
about
what
find
is,
trying
to
the sense
of
making
any
sense
or,
worse,
a
matter
course,
not
of
collected
directed
However
is
if
had
they
the
observational
one
sense.
research
only
as
materials
of
toward some research objective. Its purpose is to develop an understanding, an analysis of
fieldworker
has
While
the
that
some
relevance.
needs to go into a setting with as
a setting
few conceptions as to what will be found there, this is a posture designed to further a

1The hardesttask is to analysethis massof material,to find out what it all amountsto and the following preceptshave beenuseful
'aidesto a sluggish imagination'.
Precept1: Assumethat the world is socially organised- and show how this orderlinessis accomplishedin the setting.
Precept2: Seethe setting and its activities as socially organisedfrom within - assumethat the setting and its activities make senseto
the participantsand uncover and explicate that understanding
Precept3: Understandthe setting and its activities in terms that members'understandand use- look at the actual activities as they
actually occur during the courseof the work.
Precept4: Examine activities in all their detail
Precept5: Treat activities as situated- activities are not isolatedeventsbut situatedwithin a context which informs their senseand
their character.
Precept6: Attend to the 'working division of labour' - although individuals perform activities, theseare often embeddedin interaction
and cooperationwith others.Understandinghow this moment-to-momentcoordination achievedis one of the tasksof analysis.
Precept7: Tasks and Activities are Sequenced- our activities are,typically, sequencedif only in the highly generalway that activities
follow one anotherin someseries.Thus, we get up in the morning, brush our teeth, have breakfast,get ready for work, go to work, etc.
However, in the caseof many activities, this sequencinghas strong implications in that the sequencingin integral to the interactional
senseof someactivity.
Precept8: Attend to the Egological Organisationof Activities - it is peoplewho do things not organisations. Actual work is performed
by a personwho hasto determinehow their activities fit into their responsibilities,their relevances,and how this will fit with that of
others.
Precept9: Don't draw a distinction betweenexpert knowledgeand practical knowledge- avoid the tendencyto underratethe skills and
competenciesinvolved in eventhe most routine of taskssince'routineness'is very often the result of the experiencedand practised
graspof complex skills.
Precept10: Don't treat settingsas equivalent- this is a caution againstspuriousand unwarrantedgeneralisation.

77
researchaim, in this caseunderstandingparticular aspectsof the everyday, routine work
of a bank.

Given the very varied researchobjectives in the projects that stimulated this research,
ethnographic methods were utilised, deployed and adapted in a variety of ways. These
ways often dependedon very practical or serendipitous aspectsof the researchprocess
such as the complexities of obtaining fieldwork access.This variety of uses does not
constitute an obvious research typology, such as those that are frequently produced for
participant observation studies9, nor is it mutually

exclusive. Instead it suggests an

orientation to a range of practical factors such as; available time `in the field'; and the
availability and suitability of existing data. The different uses of ethnography identified
(Hughes et al 1994) includelo:

"

Re-examinationof previous studies:Here previous studiesare re-examinedto inform


initial thinking. So, for example, the observation of the paper record keeping in the
specialised 'Mandates' section was preceded by a more general perusal of 'paperwork'
studies. Another example was the 'Evolution of Legacy Systems' project that required
revisiting previous ethnographic studies on the use and replacement of technologies
within the bank.

"

'Quick and dirty' or 'lightweight' ethnography: Here brief ethnographic


studies were
undertaken to provide a general but informed

sense of the setting. Many of the

observations started off as 'quick and dirty' studies before evolving into 'concurrent'

For examplethe common distinction betweenovert and covert observationor Gold's (1958) typology based
on various identified
relationshipsbetween'observation' and 'participation'.
10Thesetypes of usageare
primarily a product of and relate to the useof ethnographywithin `design' projects.

78

ethnographies.Perhapsthe best exampleof this was a short study of what was regardedas
a 'failing' Customer Service Centre in London that took place over a week, although this
took place in the context of having already spent a number of months in another, less
problematic CustomerService Centre.
"

Concurrent ethnography:This is the idea of an ongoing ethnography that adaptsits


focus over time. Here design is influence by an on-going ethnographic study taking place
at the sametime as systemsdevelopment.In the SYCOMT researchproject, for example,
after a period of general observation of everyday work the research focused on the
Lending process and the design of systems to support lending across the organisation. As

thesewere developedand deployedfurther studiesinformed the iteration of design.


Evaluative ethnography:Here an ethnographicstudy is undertakento verify, validate
formulated
design decisions. Perhapsthe best example here
a
set
of
already
or evaluate
was a series of ethnographic studies on the use of a video-conferencing facility within
bank.
the
sectionsof
These categories should not be read as if they were mutually exclusive ways of using
ethnography;someof the usescould be, and were, harnessedtogether and the differences
betweenthem seenas differencesof emphasisrather sharpdemarcations'

" Design,as in so much else, is a matter


of respondingto contingenciesof various kinds. What is also important to note is that the
schemarecognisesthat designobjectivesare themselvesvarious and that this will have a bearing on the role of ethnography.In other
words, while not necessarilybuying into the picture of the designprocessas a seriesof discrete,clearly delineatedand phasedsteps,it
undoubtedlyhas different objectivesat different stagesand, accordingly, implications for how designneedsto be informed by relevant
information about the domain.

79
Ethnomethodologically informed ethnography: 'Welcome to the Dark Side'.
"I want to encourage the sense that interesting aspects of the world, that are as yet unknown, are accessible
to observation. " (Sacks 1992: 420)

Ethnography is not in any sense a unitary method but is a gloss on various and different
analytic frameworks - thus there are, for example, Marxist, Feminist, and Postmodern
ethnographies. While
characteristics

of

`ethnomethodological

`ethnomethodologically
section

is primarily

ethnomethodologically

there have been a number

of attempts

ethnography'

to document

(Dingwall

1981)12

the
or

inspired ethnography' (Silverman 1985) in general terms, this


concerned
informed

with

documenting

the `analytic

purchase'

ethnography and, in consequence, its utility

of
for

describing and understanding everyday organisational activity. While an ethnographic


stancearguably entails some minimum orientation, of viewing the social world from the
standpoint of its participants, one approach to this, is the ethnomethodological one, in
which member's methods for accomplishing situations in and through the use of local
rationalities becomes the topic of enquiry. For ethnomethodologically informed
ethnographic enquiry, members and their subjective orientations and experiences are
central. Observation focuses on the places and circumstances where meanings and
coursesof action are constructed,maintained,usedand negotiated.
"We are concerned with how society gets put together; how it is getting done; how to do it; the social
structures of everyday activities. I would say that we are doing studies of how persons, as parties to
ordinary arrangements, use the features of the arrangement to make for members the visible organized
activities happen. (Garfinkel 1974).

In ethnomethodologically informed ethnographic research on work the understanding of


any work setting is derived from the study of that setting itself, rather than from any

'=Dingwall (1981) for exampleoutlines the following


characteristics;accomplishingsocial order; specifying actorsmodels; suspending
a moral stance;creating 'anthropological strangeness'and depicting stocksof knowledge.

80

highly structured model or theory of work organisation or work processes;that is it ties


itself closely to the observed data, it is 'data-driven'. A central precept of
ethnomethodologicalethnographyis to aim to find the orderliness of ordinary activities,
by
by
them
taken-for-granted
an orderliness accomplished
social actors, unreflectively
and constructedwith their common-senseknowledge of social order.

The purpose of ethnography is then to display the'real world' social organization of


activities. Ethnographic studiesfocus on'real world, real time' activity, following courses
just
is
happen.
This
that
that
they
showing
not
some
requires
socially
action
as
setting
of

how
detail
just
in
but
to
show
organised

it is organised. The relevance of an

lies
in
fact
informed
the
that this respecification of
perspective
ethnomethodologically
in
draws
be
to
the
way
which
orderliness
can
attention
viewed, inter alia, as a
sociology
feature of the sensemaking proceduresparticipants use in the course of their work. In
documenting how work is socially organised research reveals facets of mundane
how,
for
individuals
example,
are enabled to work because of their
organisation,
its
linkages
their
task
constitutes
and
of
what
with other tasks - the `egological'
awareness
division of

13.
labour
In

acknowledging the `situated' character of work ethnography

displays how even in the most apparently routine activities workers need to use their
judgement and discretion in response to the various contingencies that arise. Furthermore,

real world, real time activity is not necessarilyconfined to the specific, immediate, locally
boundedsituation. The senseof what a personis doing here and now is dependenton how
that activity is situated within a whole set of understandings about organisational

81
institutionalised
processes,

The
organisational
so
on.
and
patterns,

is
then,
context,

relevant to the work-in-hand and ethnography's concern with the organisational context
in
to
is
for
how
reflected
the
and
organisation are relevant
of work
a concern
aspects of
is
in
to
bank
The
the
relevant
case
our
organisation on-going everyday, routine work.
In
the
local
in
consequence
the
consideration.
a
practical
as
work situation
and reflected
knowledge
local
that
involves
tacit
tasks
and
skills
of
a range
accomplishment of work
formal
invisible
by
be
models of processes or procedures, often going
rendered
may
become
by
the
themselves;
visible only when
skills
which
may
workers
unrecognised
fail
deliver.
breakdown
to
and
or
organisations
routines

Real world, real time action - being 'lead by the phenomena'

When used from an ethnomethodologicalstanceethnographic work involves a renewed


have
frequently
become
beneath
look
the
which
obscured
at
phenomena
and unprejudiced
14.
layers of theoretical abstractionand speculation It setsout;
"to treat practical activities, practical circumstances, and practical sociological reasonings as topics of
empirical study, and by paying to the most commonplace activities og daily life the attention usually
in
learn
them
their own right" (Garfinkel
to
about
as
phenomena
events,
seeks
extraordinary
accorded
1967)

The aim is to observeand describethe phenomenaof `everyday life' independentlyof the


preconceptions of conventional sociological theories and methods. In this approach
"For more on the 'egological' division of labour seeAndersonet al (1989)
14Emersonand Pollner, however,arguethat: " the overlap of genealogies,concernsand prefixes might lead one to expecta cordial
relationshipbetweenethnomethodologyand ethnography...both perspectivesare informed by the interpretivetradition, concerned
with the lifeworld, respectthe point of view of the social actor (hence'ethno-'),and typically eschewquantitative and theoretical
approaches.. despitethe similarities, however,the relation hasnot beencongenial..." They go on to arguehow over the yearsthe
boundariesbetweenethnographyand ethnomethodologyhavebecomeblurred and that recent attemptsto integrateEM and EG
(Silverman 1993;Gubrium and Holstein 1997)suggestthat once pronounceddifferencesmay be dissolving into an integrated
methodologicalsensibility. They also say howeverthat ethnomethodologychallengeskey aspectsof ethnographictheory and practice.
it faults ethnography" for being both too involved in andtoo removedfrom the social worlds it studies,and for ignoring the
that
..
problematicsof its own efforts to representsuchworlds" and that "self-deconstructingaspectsof EM provide good reasonsfor EG not
to embraceEM initiatives too enthusiastically EM insightscan be usedselectively to heightensensitivity to fundamental
..
methodologicalissuesand to augmentappreciationof the practicesof both subjectsof ethnographyand ethnographersthemselves".

82
observations are `led by the phenomena' rather than by the concerns and requirements of
a particular theoretical, sociological standpoint. This means, in effect, that one takes an
`unmotivated' approach to the activities, looking just to see what people are doing, rather
than seeking to identify things which are `sociologically interesting in them. Ethnography
recognises a great temptation when studying others' lives to read things into them but
social world is not always organised in ways that analysts and researchers want to find it
and ethnography resists imposing a prior analytic framework on the phenomenon. This
involves

dispensing with conventional

sociological

preconceptions

that there are

numerous things that people are doing that are trivial and not worth observing, that are
trivial in a sociological sense, i. e. do not matter with respect to the kinds of things
sociologists think are important about a given activity. It does not seek to explain the
orderliness of work activities as the result of factors external to that setting, such as
`power', but treats activities as necessarily activities-in-a-social-setting

proposing that

members display an everyday attentiveness to the socially situated character of their own
and each other's actions. The mere fact that people are doing it justifies the attention
being given to it by an ethnomethodologically

motivated ethnographer. In this way the

`false starts', `glitches', `diversions', `distractions', `interruptions',

`digressions' which

are aspects of all activities are notable features of the phenomena, not, so to speak, `noise'
to be eliminated from the data in order to reveal `essential' or `sociologically

relevant'

aspects of the data.

In ethnomethodologically informed ethnography the phenomena which are to be


investigated are to be studied in their character as `phenomena of everyday life'
as

83
`everyday' occurrences for those who are involved in the activities in question, and the
investigator is, therefore, seeking to ascertain what the phenomena mean for them.
Ethnography assumes that the setting and its associated activities make sense to the
by
interest
is
in
descriptions
the
parties to the
participants and
of activities as understood
decide
investigator
is
for
descriptions.
It
to
to
the
what
setting as opposed
analysts'
not
things are, what matters, what is important, or trivial, but to ascertain how things are
judged in that way by those who are doing them, to examine the familiarity

with and

understanding of these matters possessedby those who must live with them. In studies of
the kind that ethnomethodologically motivated ethnographers make the concern is with
the depiction of `the working sensibility'

of those under study. The interest is remote

from the kinds of general reflections that someone in an occupation can produce, and
much more engaged with their consciousness and attention when they are `at work': what
kinds of things do they take for granted or presuppose in going about their work, what
kinds of things do they routinely notice, what kinds of things are they `on the lookout'
for, how do they `tune themselves in' to the state of being `at work',

what are the

frame
how
`serious
do they react to the things that occur
their
of mind',
constituents of
within their sphere of attention, what objectives are they seeking to attain in their
reactions to whatever occurs, and by what means - through what operations - will they
seek to accomplish those objectives in adaptation to these unfolding circumstances. Thus,
attention is focused - in a way that is otherwise almost unprecedented in sociological
studies - upon the study of doing the work The emphasis is on work in the raw, work as it
is done, and in the ways in which it is done in actual practice, as opposed to work in
idealised form.

84

Observing features of social organisation -'practical

action'

"People who are constantly asking `why' are like tourists, who stand in front of a building, reading
Baedeker, & through reading about the history of the building's construction etc etc are prevented from
seeing it". (Wittgenstein 1998: 46)

The features of everyday social organisation that ethnomethodologically informed


ethnographybrings to the study of work, technology and organisationswould `typically'
include some notion of the visibility of social organisation; an explication of the world
known in common and the intractable practicality of action. This approach involves
attending to the work and the accountable character of work, attempting to take work
is
that
as work and not as the manifestation of some grander speculativetheory.
seriously,
The ethnomethodologically guided orientation to ethnography begins from the point of
view of the social actor acting within a socially organisedenvironment. The presumption
of a `world known in common' is an assumptionabout the mutual orientation of members
of society in the mundane construction of daily life and is treated as a condition of
ordinary concerted action. The relevance of this to ethnography is that the multifarious
ways in which the world is assumedto be 'known in common' are apt to be taken-forbe
to
treated as things that are of such patent obviousness and familiarity
granted,

that

they need not be paid direct and explicit attention. But the investigator is not merely
seeking to capture the standpoint and experience of the participant in the setting in respect
of the things which that participant

might note, explicitly

comment upon or pay

significant attention to, but also looking to identify those things which the participant is
not explicitly attending to, but is nevertheless depending upon. These are the `seen-but-

85
have
but
features
the
the
which
setting
unnoticed'
of
organisation of conduct within
presupposed, taken for granted status.

Ethnomethodologically
practical

informed ethnography is the study of people who are engaged in

action. It is assumed that this is the orientation that pervades the world of

done,
life.
life
In
things
to
and that their
everyday
everyday
getting
people give priority
action is therefore organised with respect to the necessities of practicality, that they are
is,
in
doing
it
done.
The
takes
to
the
thing
of
observation
get
purpose
whatever
engaged
therefore, to identify the specific activities in which participants engage to deliver some
is
by
dictated
the specificity of the
those
the
activities
character
of
specific end, and
circumstances. The essence of practical action is the need to do whatever is to be done
involves
just
therefore
the adaptation of the course of
these
circumstances, and
under
action to the exigencies of its circumstances. Hence the concern of the ethnographer with
the interplay of standardisation and specificity, of the way in which those involved in
social settings seek to achieve standardisation of ways of acting, to engender articulated
and structured procedures for carrying out relevant types of social action, but must, at the
same time, enforce and implement these in contingent, unforeseen circumstances that
may be more or less tractable to compliance with those standardisations. This accounts
for the concern with organizational plans and procedures, and with the way in which the
`idealisations'

of courses of action and their circumstances, must be articulated with

`actualities'. This engenders the desire to gain (fieldwork)

access to the ways in which

work is done in practice, and motivates the noticing of the ways in which people achieve
(or fail to achieve) conduct in accord with the standardisations that they seek to

86
implement. This gives a reasonfor putting the exigency and variability of practice into a
from
be
lacking
in
fieldwork
many
prominent position
studies, one which would
for
that
because
those
sociological approaches,
contingenciesand variabilities would not,
approach,be consideredsociologically significant.

Attending to the lived detail of everyday work


"it is every field researcher's experience that their sense of the definite character of the organisation of the
`field', and their sense of the activities they witness within it, develop together over the course of their
involvement in it. Starting out with only vague notions of how `such places' conduct themselves, and in
the sure knowledge that there are many things going on before them now which they cannot adequately
comprehend. They develop, over the time of their inquiries, a considerably fuller sense of what the ways
of the setting are and of the character of the occasions that they witness, the two going of course, hand-inhand." (Sharrock and Anderson 1991: 165)

In advancing`ethnomethodologicallyinformed' ethnographyand contrastingit with other


and different approachesin Sociology, our emphasis is on `relevance', with why this
approachis particularly relevant to informing ethnographic studies of work, technology
and organisations.Thus, it is a simple fact that many sociological approacheswould not
be motivated to do ethnographicstudiesat all, and that others which were motivated to do
so would not - for their own good reasons- consider the practicalities of activities worth
differentiation
is
Another
that many sociological approaches are
point
of
noticing.
inclined to shift attention away from the activities that are the very businessof the setting
under investigation. As was suggestedearlier, the case of studies of work is a leading
for
example, though there are many sociological studies`of work', they have very little to
say about the work which goeson within the setting under study.

87
It is a commonplace sociological attitude to view specific social settings as sites of
generic, abstract `social processes' - for example `social control' or `domination' or
`surveillance'. Sociology's purpose in surveying actual social settings is consequentlyto
minimise the differences between them, to abstract from the data ways that exhibit the
commonality of such processes, to make the case that these are generic. The
ethnomethodologically

informed ethnographic approach in contrast, is particularly

focused upon the distinctiveness, the specificity, of the setting. This is becausein the
organisation of practical conduct, though there may be abstract, general similarities
between one setting and another, it is nonetheless unavoidable that one must come to

terms with the particularities of the setting if the day-to-day affairs of the setting are to be
carried out. In terms of many sociological strategies for generalisation, the fact that
in
are
engaged
a particular kind of work is only an analytically incidental feature
people
of what they are doing, is only a concrete instantiation of abstract, generic and formal
processes, which means that there is little investigative motivation to attend to the
practicalities of work activities, to attendto the nature of those activities as realisationsof
the kind of work that they are. In contrast, the ethnomethodologically motivated approach
has every reason to attend to the distinct character of the work in the setting, to give
priority to the fact that these persons are, for example, `authorising a bank loan', or
`completing a Standing Order' and for directing its attentions to the activities which

distinctively
specifically,
comprise those particular types of activity, and, thus, to give
detailed characterisations of, and to seek to understand the particular circumstantial
conditions for, carrying out those activities in actual cases.The relevance of this to our
understandingof work, technology and organisationshas been, then, in the engendering

88
describing
done,
to
thus
how
directed
the work gets
and
toward understanding
of studies
the detail and intricacies of working practice for their own sake.

Everday work as accountable and cooperative activity


Ethnography is interested to understand how people make sense of mundane activities
how
For
`accountable'
how
to
ethnomethodologists
they make those activities
others.
and
through
which
the
mechanisms
represent
social
world
of
sense
making
people go about
is
As
is
the
continually
order
social
created, ordered and sustained.
social structure
in
involved
'practical
a
sociologists' are
constructed and reconstructed, members, as
for
if
taken
granted, process of analysis, so that they are able to act successfully
constant,
in relation to others for everyday, practical purposes. Members must be able to make the
social organization

of their mundane activities

visible,

`accountable',

'observable-

is
The
to
that
going
to
of
what
use
make
sense
members
methods
each other.
reportable'
on, are publicly
particularly

is
Consequently,
for
the
observer.
ethnography
available resources

attuned to revealing cooperative aspects of working

life - how people

face
in
they
the
their
of
contingencies
as
and
circumstances
arrangements
reconfigure
arise.

Social activities - and this includes bank work - are concerted activities involving
different people - often very many people - fitting their activities together in quite
from
itself.
The expression`accountable'characterof
the
within
activity
complex patterns
in
the
to
this
refers
process
of
concerting
work,
with
way
which people engaged
activities
in an activity have to organisetheir own actions in ways in which other participants can

89
have,
in
it.
Participants
therefore,
doing,
to
they
actions
social
can
adapt
are
and
see what
to make visible the identity of their actions, to enable other people to identify those
intentions,
identify
to
their
such that they can response
actions, and
also
purposes and
in
the
This
their
to
them
reciprocally,
actions,
own
appropriately to them.
align
enables
bank
for
So,
jointly,
that
they
a
robbery
example,
activity
are
collectively, accomplishing.
is a collective endeavour in which both the robber and the cashier have to recognise, and
`accountable'
The
the
their
character of
of
respective
roles.
notion
recognisable,
make
be
identified,
degree
to
to
the
so
as
which activities are organised
activities emphasises
is
important
The
that other
the
that
they
are.
point
as
activities
and
understood
recognised
how
is
being
done
they can respond appropriately
thus,
consider
and,
can
see
what
people
to align their own actions in the unfolding drama.

That social activities are concerted is a commonplace, if not the raison d'etre, of
Sociology. However, the concern to understandjust how such concerting takes place (as
how
to
takes
plae),
people manageto make their activities
opposed why such concerting
fit together whilst doing those sameactivities, appearsthe province of ethnomethodology.
Its concern with the question of how concertedactions are concerted, and the associated
emphasisupon the `account-able' characterof work, has combined to give studiesa focus
in
the
ways
which the pattern of complex activities are `made visible' to those
upon
in
those
to
the
activities,
out
carrying
ways which people placed within some complex of
action can figure out what is happening around them and how they can fit their own
activities into that complex (both when, for example, the pattern of activity is a localised
one, within their visual field, where the participant can directly monitor those activities

90
hand,
do
the
decision
to
other
to
on
next and when,
as what
which are relevant to their
immediately
they
in
distributed
cannot
they are engaged patternsof
activities, and where
in
know
but
to
need, nonetheless,
monitor the activities of other, collaborating, parties
doing,
their
to
own
shape
those
so
as
are
others
specific
sense
what
some more-or-less
into
the relevant pattern.
activity

The emphasis upon the accountable character of activities explains another relevant
the
focus
fieldwork,
the
the
to
concerting,
this
work
on
cooperative
approach
aspect of
articulation

(work).
from
(work)
the
activities
within
of activities

This involves an

interest in how work is accomplished under distributed conditions and of the role of
`awareness' - the ways in which workers can attune themselves to the state of the work
immediately
integrate
those
their
of other
or
remotely
with
activities
own
and
process,
has
This
in
the
often
of
sense
making
machinery
explication
work process.
participants
invoked work activity as a manifest `working division of labour' (Anderson, Hughes and
Sharrock, 1989). Ethnography seeks to understand the organization of work, its flow and
the division of labour from the point of view of those involved in the work. Because work
division
labour
through
and
within
a
of
work activities are
settings are organised around,
in
how
interdependent.
Understanding
their
as
members
coordinate
work
seen
necessarily
real time, moment-by-moment,

how they orient to the `working division of labour' to

is
feature
Hughes
(Anderson,
Sharrock,
1989),
doing
they
a
and
are
make sense of what
flow
(rather
Ethnography
than the
the
approaches
of
work
explication.
of ethnographic
disembodied idealisations of 'workflow') as an accomplishment, a collective achievement.
Consequently it requires examining the actual flow of work, not some idealised version

91
of it. Individuals perform their tasks within the context of others similarly doing their
tasks, within sequencesof activities, but the actual work requires individuals to determine
how
display
this
how
fits
into
their
their
their
and
relevances,
and
responsibilities,
work
will

fit with that of others. Anderson, Hughes and Sharrock, (1989) call this an
its
the
organization
and
a view of
world of work

`egological' viewpoint;

from the

While
individuals
their
others.
activities with
perspective of
cooperating and coordinating
individual

workers have individual

individuals-as-part-of-a-collectivity,
organise the distribution

tasks to perform, they are also, and necessarily,


and much of their work consists in the ability to

into
individual
tasks
an ongoing assemblage of activities
of

is,
division
labour'.
Individuals,
`working
that
orient to their work according
of
a
within
to `egological' principles and their own `horizons of relevance' but have to be attentive to
the work of others in order to organise the flow of work in a coherent way. This focus has
for
important
tool
the examination of work as lived
analytic
arguably provided an
experience, providing

important clues as to both how work was accomplished and,

perhaps, why work was done the way it was.

Ethnography,

Banking and Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW)

This research study had its origins in a number of specific

computer supported

cooperative work (CSCW) projects in which the banking sector was seen as a sector for
the investigation of a range of issues to do with technology, organisational change and
more. Within sociology ethnography has been deployed to study an array of topics. In
CSCW it has primarily

focused upon the study of work and settings for which new

technology is being designed with the intention of informing

that design (Hughes,

92
Randall and Shapiro, 1992; Heath and Luff, 1992; Suchman, 1983). Ethnography, and
has
informed
acquired some prominence
ethnography,
especially ethnomethodologically
(not to say notoriety) in recent years within the study of CSCW. Ethnographyhas gained
both
distinction
to a general
fieldwork
that
could
contribute
some
as a
method
distributed
design
in
in
to
the
of
a variety of contexts and
understanding of systems use
into
incorporate
the
(Hughes
1992).
Efforts
&
King
to
ethnography
systems
and shared
belated)
(unfortunately
have
had
do
design
to
the
realisation,
much
with
process
system
in
do,
has
design
designers,
though
to
that
the
much
success of
mainly among system
complex ways, with the social context of system use. A number of well publicised
`disasters' (The London Ambulance System, the Taurus System for the Stock Exchange
for example) suggested that traditional

methods of requirements

elicitation

were

inadequate, or in need of supplementation, by methods better designed to bring out the


in
design,
This
`turn
the
to
the
settings.
social'
character
of
work
organised
socially
interest in the role of social science theories and approaches in informing design arose out
informing
design
dissatisfaction
with
existing
methods
of
as offering overly abstract
of
life.
design,
is
If
'satisficing
the
of
of
social
as
a
analyses
nature
activity'
and simplistic
more of an art than a science, dealing with messy indeterminate situations and 'wicked
before
designers
then
can solve a design problem they need to understand
problems';
some basics - such as what they are designing, what it should do and who should use it
and in what circumstances. It was argued that methods needed to be more attuned to
data
in `real world' environments; that is, settings in which systems
relevant
gathering
were likely

to be used rather than in laboratories

or other artificial

and remote

environments. The 'turn to the social' recognised a new kind of end-user, a `real time, real

93
world' human being and consequentlydesignersturned to the social sciencesto provide
them with some insights, some sensitivities, to inform design. Ethnography with its
emphasison the in situ observation of interactions within their natural settings seemed
eminently suited to bringing a social perspectiveto bear on systemdesign.

With its emphasis on the `real world' character of work settings ethnography is often
contrasted with what are commonly regarded as unrealistic and unsatisfactory notions
about both systems and the users of systems that tend to be proffered by more traditional
methods. Traditional methods of system design perhaps owe far too much to the needs of
engineering and, as a consequence, important aspects of the `real world'

of work are

obscured, misrepresented or ignored. It is in this respect that `analytic approaches', Task


Analysis, or Office Automation for example, are found wanting (Shapiro 1993; Suchman
1983) representing an intrusion of the `engineering mentality'

into areas where it is

inappropriate. The analytic deconstruction of work activities into ever more finely grained
components removes the essential `real world' features which make them practises within
a socially organised setting. This complaint attacks the individualistic

slant of the

cognitivism which underlies `analytic approaches' by acknowledging the implications of


the observation that, as already suggested, work is, typically,

collaborative.

Though

performed by individuals, the various activities that constitute work are performed within
an organised environment composed of other individuals and it is this that gives shape to
the activities as `real world' activities. Thus, the focus of ethnography is on the social
practises that enable the very processes which `analytic methods' identify but which they
decontextualise. It is through the social practises that ethnography
identify
to
and
seeks

94
describe that work processesare established and are, accordingly, rooted in socially
achievedsetsof arrangements.

Such an approach also meshes with the growing use of information technologies within
inexorably,
life.
increasingly,
As
are adopted and
and seemingly
working
computers
diffused into the world of work and organisation, there is a growing awareness that the
for
distributed
computing poses new problems
ubiquitous nature of networked and
design, requiring

the development

and deployment

of methods that analyse the

Systems
are used within populated environments
character
of
work.
collaborative, social,
that are, whatever 'technological' characteristics they may have, 'social' in character and
thus the intent of CSCW to design distributed and shared systems means that this social
dimension has to be taken into account. Requirements elicitation has to be informed by an
its
(Goguen
1993).
`real
the
and
organisation
of
work
world' circumstances
analysis of
The virtue of ethnographic approaches comes from the `grounded' recognition that
in
highly
instruments
incorporated
into
as
working
a system of
computers are enmeshed
into
flow
the
of
circumvented,
rejected
particular ways - used, misused, modified,
in
in
lies
One
the
these
the
usages
revealing
myriad
virtues
of
ethnography
of
work.
context of `real world' work settings; furthermore being,
"more capable than most methods of highlighting those 'human factors' which most closely pertain to
system usage, factors which are not always just about good interface design but include training, ease of
use in work, contexts full of contingencies which are not the remit of system design-even though design
may be concerned with developing a completely new system, understanding the context, the people, the
skills they possess are all important matters for designers to reflect upon... " (Button & King 1992).

The advantagesof using ethnographic methods in CSCW for studying work lie in the
`sensitising' it promotes to the real world character and context of work; in the

95
opportunity it provides to ensuresystem design resonateswith the circumstancesof its
use. In attempting not only to document or describe activities but also in accounting for
them ethnography seeks to answer what might be regarded as an essential CSCW
question as to what to automate and what to leave to human skill and experience.
Ethnographic methods thereby assist in the delineation of work design `problems' as a
consequence of greater knowledge of the social organisation of work - the recognition

that `problems' need to be placed (and resolved) within the context of the work setting
and not someabstractmodel of the work process.

Ethnographer at Work.
"The main rule is that methodsthat rely on retrospectiveaccountsof social order cannot reveal members'
methods. The method used must preserve the details of local order production "over its course" for the
analyst." (Garfinkel 1967:6)
"... the investigation of the rational properties of indexical expressions and other practical actions as
contingent ongoing accomplishments of organized artful practices of everyday life. " (Garfinkel 1967: 7)
"Ethnomethodology's studies make vastly more sense when understood as inspections of the ways social
scenes have visible coherence to even the most casual of witnesses, the ways in which the presence of
social order can be readily detected within them; with the ways social order is exposed to even the most
passing of glances.. and reciprocally, the ways in which within such scenes the activities of individuals can
be given definite sense, trajectory and motivation relative to the `transparently' organised properties of the
scene." (Sharrock and Button 1991: 163-164).

Ethnomethodology has consistently pointed to a yawning gap - the 'missing interactional


what? - in sociological studies of work that consists of all the missing descriptions of
what occupational activities actually consist of and all the missing analyses of just how
practitioners actually manage the workaday tasks which, for them, because they are
workaday,

are matters of mundane yet serious and pressing significance.

'ethnomethodologically

For the

informed' ethnographer there is no other place to 'stand' in order

96
to document, describe comprehend any setting than 'from the inside'. As Garfinkel
in
immersion
"Ethnomethodologists
the
that
argues:
require
generally use methods
situation being studied. They hold it as an ideal that they learn to be competent
6).
2002:
(Garfinkel
"
they
practitioners of whatever social phenomena
are studying.
Immersion in the milieu is a (if not the) fundamental aspect of the ethnographer'swork
and, in consequenceI spent considerabletime developing 'unique adequacy'- learning to
recogniseand understandthe activities and eventsthat comprised the workaday world of
bank staff. In this fashion the daily, mundanebusinessof bank work, the conversations,
become
intelligible.
and
acronyms
asides

In getting to grips with, 'getting the hang of, the life of bank work I coincidentally (and
deliberately through attending training courses)learnt various aspectsof banking practice
loans,
including
'securities',
In
that
customer
making
relations
and
so
on.
completing
sense ethnography presents the 'worm's eye' view of the world - there are no
conventionally 'important people' in this thesis. As P.J. O'Rourke (1989) reminds us,
did'nt
get where they are by telling researchersthe truth - nor could I ever fall
such people
for the sociologists delusion -a variant of the Network Anchor-Creature self-conceit' that
lets them; "believe Mikhail Gorbachev will suddenly take them aside and say, "Strictly
between you and me, on Wednesday we invade Finland" (O'Rourke 1989: 12). In some
ways this is a necessary feature of ethnomethodologically

informed ethnography - that

clumsy and cowardly phrase (Hughes 2001)15 - since arriving at an understanding of the

"s"I still cringe at this inelegantand not very brave


phrase"Hughes(2000).

97
documenting
'worm's
'from
the
eye' view - producing thick
social order
within' requires
descriptions of everyday activities, describing the haecceities of situated action, the
materials used, the reasoning deployed etc - the 'shopwork' and 'shoptalk' (Garfinkel
(2002). The ethnography (and perhaps the skill),

then, consists in observing and

describing how everyday bank work is achieved, how bank staff observably and
facts'.
As
'reality
together
to
the
of social
reportably act
produce
objective, orderly,
Lemert suggests (in Garfinkel 2002): ".. ethnomethodology imposes the obligation to
study the utterly practical methods by which notoriously ordinary people compose the
rational grounds of their social orderings. " (Garfinkel 2002: xi) Whatever the arguments
surrounding analytic approaches to the study of work, the primary challenge would
in
field.
be
least
for
develop
(at
the
to
to
competence
some vulgar
me)
appear

Ethnomethodologically informed ethnography' requires looking at how people conduct


their work in real settings, interested in exactly how work is socially organised in that
setting. This means looking at the actual working division of labour as routinely and
ordinarily manifestedin person's meaningful orientation to their work, not work as some
idealised conception - "..the focus is on embodied, endogenous,witnessablepractices."
(Garfinkel 1967: 7). Despite some heroic conceptions of the ethnographer
derived
-

largely from Social Anthropology - the work is fundamentally dull and boring - like work
is for most people. The overwhelming emphasis of routine ethnographic work
describing the mundanefeatures of everyday work - comes right up against the fact that

98
The
for
1953)16.
dull
if
has
(Mills
work
most people
a generally
not unpleasant quality
thankless task of the ethnographer is simply to report in adequate detail how people go
about doing what they construe as the things to be done. As such ethnography is very
much a practical activity the fieldwork material - collected using a field notebook and a
tape-recorder - was not dictated by strategic methodological considerations but by the
flow of activity within the setting. It simply involved recording what anyone was doing,
for
by
does
demand
Evidently
this
moment
any special or arcane skills
moment.
not
obtaining access and information - just everyday politeness - "do you mind if I watch you
work? '; "what did you do then?" and so on. Despite concerns about contamination of data,
Hawthorne effects etc by and large, in this kind of setting, people have to get on with
their work - and this is exactly what they did. As Hughes (2000) notes, despite the
apparent lack of method, the fieldworker

cannot really fail for even a few days of

fieldwork - and I was in the bank for many months over the course of six years - is likely
to produce an excess of material. The practical (and not to be underestimated) exercise
then becomes one of gathering the accumulated materials and assembling them into a
reasonably account of the work in the setting as a `real world,

real time'

set of

arrangements.

Like every other ethnographer 'immersed' in a setting it was my experience that my


understanding of that setting, and what was going on within it, developed gradually over
the course of the fieldwork. Like everyone else I had vague notions of how banks 'work'
16"For most employeeswork hasa generally
unpleasantquality. If there is little Calvinist compulsion to work amongpropertyless
factory workers and file clerks, there is also little Renaissanceexuberancein the work the insurance
of
clerk, freight handleror
departmentstore saleslady Suchjoy as creativework may carry is more and
limited
to a small minority". (Mills 1953:219)
more
...

99
but equally was willing to acknowledgethat there were many things which I could not
fuller,
fieldwork,
developed,
And
I
the
a
adequately comprehend.
over
course of my
so
more informed sense of what the ways of bank work were and of the character of
everydaybank work.

The materials presented in this thesis are abbreviated combinations of the field work
notes and transcribed tapes - designed to describe just how particular activities, assessing
flow
in
loan,
the
to
telephone
of
as
of
and
a
call, are accomplished
responding
a customer
everyday work activities. As part of the fieldwork I also, and necessarily, accumulated
drawings of settings, printouts, copies of manuals, thrown away notes and so on'7.

However, the data presentedhere are abbreviated (tidied-up) notes and transcripts since
there is here no attempt at conversational analysis and its detailed annotation and
representationsystem.I was not especially interestedin how conversation'gets done' but
in how work

'gets
done'.
Of
the
of
was
a
which
conversation
part
course an
-

appreciation of natural languageis central to the study of any work since work-practices
are made available as accountable phenomena - phenomena that may be seen and
described - through the naturally occurring talk of parties to the work. But my interest
was not (and is not) in understanding features of talk and the turn-taking process but what

doing
members are
when they take turns at talk, where talk is treated as an instrument
that people use to get their activities done. Indeed, it might be, it has been, argued

"I also did somephotographingand videotapingof someof the


activities within the bank - largely to try to documentthe variety of
skills simultaneouslyrequired of even the most mundanetask. However, the video cameraproved unreasonablyintrusive and, in any
case,failed to capturemuch of the activity. Moreover, sincethe bank was naturally sensitiveto the kind of materialsthat might be
captured- eg screenswith customerdetails - this work was halted and the material destroyed.

100
(Crabtree 2000; Lynch 1993) that conversationanalysis does little to provide an account
details
in
for
the
the
of work-practice we are
of
place
of
orderly work of any setting
been
the
having
like
through
looks
instead
passed
presented
with what work-practice
18
workings of the turn-taking machine.

Questioning the method: some problems of ethnography.


Ethnography

is not a method without

been
have
well
problems, many of which

documented (Randall et al 1994) generally focusing on the `standard' concerns of `getting


in, staying in, getting out' as well as issues of access and `gatekeeping', reliability,
does
indeed,
is
to
Ethnography
claim
not
and,
not,
on.
and
so
validity and generalisation
be, a methodological panacea'9; though (perhaps fortunately) many of the critiques are
directed at sociological, as opposed ethnomethodological,

variants of ethnography. In

As Crabtree(2000) argues:"CA conductsits daily businessnot through the explication of the observablyorderly work of the street
but rather,through theproduction and interpretation of signs (Garfinkel and Wieder 1992).In other words, and as Lynch (1993)
notes,when pressed,CA is only "logically empirical". Its technologiesof production, particularly transcript notation and (of late)
Interaction Analysis (Jordanand Henderson1995),lend an illusion of rigorous empirical work which hides a very conventionalart...".
"The value of ethnographyin designis a matter of controversy(cf. Anderson,1994,1995, Rogers, 1995) and as we have consistently
argued,that there are no panaceasfor the problemsof design.We can only expectethnography(or the sociology that may be
associatedwith it) to have a modestutility to designand the role of ethnographyas we have practisedit is primarily as an
informational input into design,and, as such,only one sourceof such information. The input can be of critical value insofar as it can
advisethe designerof actual practicesof work and may clarify the role that actual practicesplay in the managementof work, matters
in
design
has
CSCW
by
In
be
the
as
a
position
on
role
of
as
much
ethnography
captured
other
methods.
normally
not
which may
emergedin can be expressedin its ability to make visible the everydaynatureof work. As Suchman(1995) writes ".. ethnographies
provide both generalframeworks and specific analysesof relations among work, technologyand organization. Workplace
ethnographieshave identified new orientationsfor design:for example,the creation and useof shared artifacts and the structuring of
communicativepractices. " Suchman1995:61)
This is, in fact, a sociologically partisan conceptionof ethnography,and is by no meansuniversally shared,but it doeshavethe
advantageof focusing upon the specific and detailedorganisationof activities which are carrying out and, thereby, upon the very
activities which designersare concernedto understand,analyseand reconstruct.It is the ability of ethnographyto describea social
setting as it is perceivedby those involved in the setting (the archetypal'users') that underpinsits appealto designers.In particular, it
offers the opportunity to reveal 'needs' or 'practices' of userswhich they may not be awareof - becausethey take them so much for
grantedthat they do not think aboutthem - or which they cannotarticulate - becauseof the bureaucraticor power relationshipswithin
which they are placed.As part of the initial processof requirementscapture,ethnographyis valuable in identifying the exceptions,
contradictionsand contingenciesof work activities which are real conditions of the work's conduct but which will not (usually) figure
in official or formal representationsof that work. The assumptionis that it is for designersto draw designconclusionsfrom the results
of ethnography.The kinds of changesto designthat will result from this approachare intendedto have an incremental ratherthan a
comprehensivelytransformativeeffect. There is no intrinsic designsignificanceto the resultsof an ethnographicstudy, for such
significance must be relative to the natureof the designexerciseitself, to the purposes,conceptions,methodsand plans of those
making the design.Ethnographyshould be done independentlyof design preconceptions,distancing itself from the preoccupations,
enthusiasmsand orientationsof the designer,refraining from looking at the setting and its affairs 'through designer'seyes'. While
there may be a tension betweenthe designer'sand the fieldworker's roles, this is a positive feature,somethingessentialfor good
design,through highlighting the difference betweengood abstract design solutions and goodpractical design solutions.

101
practical terms, and historically, ethnography has generally been limited to small scale,
well defined and usually quite confined contexts, well suited to the observational
techniques employed. Consequently, problems can arise with the method's application to
large scale, highly distributed organisations
in
this
case a multi-national
-

bank with

hundreds of offices across the country. Similarly, in small scale settings there tends to be
a clear focus of attention for the participants, who are typically few in number, and in
which there is a relatively clearly visible differentiation of tasks at one work site. Scaling
such inquiries up to the organisational level or to processes distributed in time and space
is a much more daunting prospect. In a similar vein, historically ethnography has been a
`prolonged activity'

and whilst `quick and dirty' approaches have been developed the

time scales involved in ethnographic research are often unrealistic in a commercial setting
where the pressure is typically for `results yesterday'. Moving out of the research setting
into a more commercial one also raises different sets of ethical responsibilities as well as
making access to sites more vulnerable to the contingencies of the commercial and
industrial world. Ethnography insists that its inquiries should be conducted in a nondisruptive and non-interventionist manner, principles that can be compromised given that
much of the motivation for IT is to reorganise work and, as part of this, often seek to
displace labour.

Since the 1970s, and particularly in recent years, the use of ethnography as a legitimate
and viable research method has been challenged on various grounds - in particular that it
privileges a white, western, male 'gaze'.

102
"The questions were political, epistemological and methodological"; who gets to say what about whom,
and Why? What are the interests and motivations behind alleged ethnographic 'realism"' (Edles 2002: 145)

From within anthropology, ethnography has been accused of promoting a colonialist


attitude (Said 1978) telling us more about the researcher, and their (usually his) attitudes,
than the cultures they purport to describe. Within Sociology this kind of attack and
charge - in this case of 'androcentricity'

by various
has
been
(endlessly)
repeated
-

feminist writers (Reinharz 1992; Clough 1992) who suggest that ethnographies have
mainly been conducted by males and are about males ignoring the role of women in the
social setting. Clough (1992) for example suggests that an 'Oedipal logic' pervades
traditional,

realist ethnography, an ethnography that is effectively

saturated with

'unconscious desire' - the desire to 'probe and penetrate' the world.

From within the ethnographic establishment Hammersley(1992) has argued that the
tendency to treat ethnographic description as involving simple reproduction of the
phenomenadescribed is misleading and mythical. He stressesthat such description is
always selective. Consequently, and following the 'reflexive turn', he suggests that the
relevances and values that structure any ethnographic description must be made explicit.
While it may be the case that ethnography retains an incoherent conception of its own
goals and may frequently be a vehicle for ideology, such problems can be accepted
without abandoning ethnography or its claims to represent phenomena - what he terms
"subtle realism".

While ethnographyhas always beensubjectto criticism from quantitative sociologists,as


Brewer (1994) notes, it has recently come under attack from sociologists
sympathetic to

103
the method - the ethnographic critique of ethnography. This critique questions the
reliability

be
descriptions,
to
texts
artefacts,
of ethnographic
and shows ethnographic

line
force.
Continuing
in
this
their
to
of
skillfully manufactured
persuasive
order construct
argument the postmodern critique of ethnography question its claims to 'neutral realism',
detail
does
in
that
the
or
not merely uncover
writing ethnography
arguing
researcher
reality but creates it in the interpretive process of creating the text since 'reality' does not
exist to be discovered. The "textuality" debate has historical roots in philosophy and
critical theory but has recently culminated in the "ethnographies as texts" movement and a
lack of confidence in cultural description, what Marcus and Fischer (1986) refer to as a
"crisis of representation" and Hammersley (1992) as a "crisis of fragmentation" in the
ethnographic tradition. Clifford (1986), for example, argues that ethnographic writing is
determined contextually, rhetorically, institutionally, generically and historically and that
these "govern the inscription of coherent ethnographic fictions" (Clifford 1986: 6). In this
describes
'naturalist'
'the facts of the matter'
that
the
merely
notion of a
ethnography
view
should instead be regarded as, "an insidious discursive strategy whose underlying purpose
is to assert authority, dominate and maintain privilege" (Edles 2002: 151). The reaction
against 'naturalistic ethnography' - 'postmodern ethnography' - involves a mixture of
literary styles, fiction and poetry as part of 'faithfully' representing the lived qualities of
the domain. This response may also be seen as a reflexive

device, collapsing the

distinction between 'object' and 'subject' thereby facilitating ways of ensuring that authors
write themselves into the text. This 'self-reflexive turn' takes a number of guises but often
appears to take a confessional form whereby researchers document their own actions,

104
attitudes and prejudices and consider how this might have impacted on the setting they
investigate.

This postmodern, constructivist challenge to naturalistic or 'naive' ethnography and the


subsequent demands for `reflexive' ethnography, with a more self-critical and sceptical
informed
has
by
been
those
who conduct ethnomethodologically
orientation
challenged

2000).
(Sharrockl995;
Slack
ethnographies
"The fact which has impacted upon both anthropologists and sociologists is that ethnography is, in
is presumptively
to
important respects, perhaps even in essence
exposed
as
such
writing,
and,
..
...
deconstruction, to having its hidden agenda revealed, to its constituent texts being revealed to be selfdefeating compositions". (Slack 2000)

Dicks and Mason (1998) suggest that recent writing on ethnography has focused on
form
in
it
the
to
of contingency, multicomplexity
reflecting
more attuned
making
vocality, intertextuality, hybridity, and so on. They identify two aspects of 'post-paradigm'
demarcation
in
of ethnography's object of study and
particular -the
ethnographic enquiry
its mode of presentation - as areas of vociferous debate.
"Particularly in the decade since the publication of Clifford and Marcus's Writing Culture, uncertainties
over its subject matter, its method, its medium and its intention have all been publicly aired" (Dicks and
Mason 1998)
In documenting
strategies,

Dicks

the 'retreat
and Mason

of the author'
(1998)

development
the
and

argue that ethnography

is riddled

of a range
with

of textual

radical

doubt.

"Strong authorial narratives seem increasingly to be a risky venture, open to charges of ethnocentrism
through their claims to an authority that appears spurious and ill won..... Claiming the title of 'author'
suggests an egoistic desire to cover the ethnographic 'subject' with one's own fingerprints, thus obscuring
or repressing its diversity and complexity". (Dicks and Mason 1998)

At the same time there has been the questioning of the category of 'the field', with its
notion of easily identifiable spatial, geographical and cultural boundaries.

105
As suggested earlier, postmodern constructivist
sociology's

longstanding

ethnomethodology

and notorious

fundamentally

located
be
within
challenges can

tradition

of `debunking',

dissents. Constructivists,

from

which

seek to dispute the

'commonsense' understandings that members of society have, often amounting to the


doing.
The
know
do
task
they
that
are
suggestion
what
not
members of society
constructivism sets itself is, of course, to challenge members' understandings, to show
how they are wrong and present alternative, and authoritative, conceptions of both the
be
how
to
that way. These studies claim to show that what
they
things
got
are and
way
is
death
disability
for
that
to
a
or
example
as
commonsense
or
obvious
appears members
physical and biological

interpretative
but
instead
kind
the
of
are
nothing
event -

death
disability
differently
be
that
that
therefore,
so
or
constructed
can,
constructions,
becomes asocial

construction'

(Woolgar;

Shakespeare 1993). Sharrock (1995), following

Bittner, views this development as part of the reaction against the concept of `objectivity'.
"The reaction against `objectivity' was to move in a `subjectivist' direction, to denounceall notions of
..
objectivity, and to purport to root social phenomenain and to explore the dimensions of subjectivity.
Thesetendencieswere, in effect, to deny the existenceof social reality, to make social reality a matter of
individual determination- it was up to individual's to define social reality asthey will". (Sharrock1995)

The result of this move, however, has been a shift away from a careful concern with the
research setting and its members to a focus on the researcher and the research act itself and the subsequent endless 'navel gazing', 'confessional tales' and piss-poor attempts at
poetry (or jazz).

The constructivist view contrasts with ethnomethodology's approach of indifference, that


attempts neither to undermine nor to support the everyday realities to which the members
subscribe but to investigate, describe and understand them. As Sharrock (1995) argues:

106
"Bittrer, arguing on behalf of ethnomethodology, sought to distance it from just those tendencies, and to
do so by arguing that the retreat from `objectivity' as defined by those in the positivist traditions should
not be toward `subjectivity' but toward `realism' - not realism, in the metaphysical sense, of asserting the
existence of an external reality, but `realism' in the phenomenological sense of faithfulness to the
portrayal of its subject matter, a devotion to capturing society as it is actually experienced `from within. "'
(Sharrock 1995)

Bittner suggests that fieldwork strategies that have focused on detailing the experiences of
the researcher are inclined to perpetuate that impoverishment

in the portrayal of

members' experience and represent a move away from a faithful

description and

rendering of the experience of members. At the same time such ethnographies neglect the
differences in the nature of the experiences of fieldworker and member. The supposition
that `social reality' is somehow grasped through the elaboration of the fieldworker's own
awareness fundamentally misrepresents the very nature of the fieldworker's experience
and motivation - as merely a 'visitor' that can return to a previous life.

In this way

phenomena, the everyday occurrences in the setting, are divested of their massive sense
of reality to those who routinely and necessarily inhabit that setting. Bittner's argument,
that the ethnographic turn to 'subjectivity' involves increasing, almost exclusive, emphasis
on the fieldworker's

experience and point of view has been readily confirmed by the

growing chorus for `reflexivity'

in sociology in general and ethnography in particular.

(May 2000; Woolgar and Ashmore, 1988). However, the focus on the fieldworker's
standpoint as the focus for consideration of social reality is engendered tends to overlook
the extent to which the fieldworker's point of view is a peculiar one. While ethnographers
may attempt to sensitise themselves to members' points of view, as Sharrock reminds us:
".. the fieldworker's occupation of that point of view is a temporary
matter, .. The fieldworker does not,
however, characteristically occupy the point of view The fieldworker
simulates certain aspects of that
..
view, but adopts it only for the purposes of the research, and as one which is freely taken up and from
which it is equally possible readily to withdraw" (Sharrock 1995).

107
have
they
is
to
'native'
for
In contrast, memberstheir
point of view not something which
In
the
freely
take
exchange.
or
they
abandon
up,
may
a contingent relationship, one which
life,
is
they
'native
their
something
bank,
for
the
of
view'
the
point
example,
setting of
it
`take
to
'play'
have to take very seriously and not somethingthey can
with or relate on a
Bank
instance,
for
to
in
a
or leave it basis.' In the bank, the ways which matters appear,
Manager - for example in terms of loans, overdrafts, repayments and so on - are
in
involved
the
for
situation
for
Manager
organisationally
the
others
and
mandatory
distributed
highly
As
bank
binding
(legally)
a
work.
ways of
these are the objective and
in
its
(and
Manager
bank
is
particular
the
acting
officials)
all
the
on
reliant
organisation
Bank
fails
if
he
to
be
disciplinary
it
personnel
indeed
accordingly.
act
matter
can a
ways (and
dreams
then),
in
a
adopt
their
playfully
not
often
except
cannot,
rule
as a general
be
`could
idea
happen
things
the
that
just
different point of view
to see what would
and
is
otherwise' a possibility too childish entertain.

As Gould et al (1974) note, there are particular problems in ethnography's claim to


describe events as they are seen or experienced by social actors. Asking people to explain
informants
into
doing
turns
they
members
are
what

(Sacks 1992) and produces a

'perspective of action' (Gould et al 1974) whereby settings are made meaningful to


in
in
'perspective
than
naturally
action' where meaning unfolds
a
outsiders rather
difficulties
interaction.
Furthermore,
there
some
are
occurring

involved in seeking to

understand the actor's perspective.


"They treat as a 'perspective' what actors on most occasions view as the way the world is. The field
worker, then, does not produce a description from the actor's point of view, but a description of the actor's
point of view from the point of view of a sociological observer. This is true even if the observer seeks to
empathise closely with actors' concerns and meanings. As a consequence, field-work descriptions tend to

108
depict social life as perceived events and meanings, ignoring of distorting the lived reality of actor's
worlds. " (Emerson 1981: 357)

The emphasis in recent ethnographic writing on the 'reflexive' experience of the


fieldworker, in that the fieldworker's history, attitudes, sexuality etc impacts on their
perception of the setting - leads to an under-estimate of the extent to which the
experience of those under study possessestraits of depth and stability. In these
circumstances, notions that `it could have been - it could be - otherwise' are sociological
fantasies. However, to critique constructionism is not a recommendation for accepting
accounts at face value. Ethnomethodologically informed ethnographers choose instead to
adopt a stance of 'indifference' to such questions, so issues of questioning or supporting
an account do not arise. Thereby issues of truth and falsity and the endless debates of

objectivity/subjectivity, the possibility of value neutrality, the researcher-researched


relationship and more are avoided. When consideredfrom the viewpoint of sociological
research, 'social reality' is clearly not the samething as 'social reality' for the purposes of
everydaylife. As previously suggested,the actor cannot, under the auspicesof the natural
attitude, systematically adopt the sceptical stance found under the auspices of the
theoretical attitude - we accept,rather than systematicallydoubt, everyday appearances.

However, this concern with the 'native's point of view', with the difficulties of
uncovering, displaying and understandinga setting and way of life that is different, if not
alien to the researcher,can also produce some unfortunate arguments about both how
ethnographic researchcan be done and who is entitled to do it. The argument begins by
suggesting, often quite rightly, that particular people's experience of research'on' them
has often been less than happy. It is suggestedthat conventional
ethnographic methods

109
ignore the thoughts, feelings and views of those they are researching such as women, the
disabled, ethnic minorities and so on thereby becoming one further aspect of
disadvantage.(Dartington et al 1981;Miller and Gwynne 1972)
"Disabled people have come to see research as a violation of their experience, as irrelevant to their needs
and as failing to improve their material circumstances and quality of life" (Oliver 1992: 105)

What is required, so the argument goes, are empathic research methods, deployed by
those sympathetic to and experienced in the particular setting because, and here comes the
extra twist, the researchers are themselves 'members' - disabled, women, from an ethnic
minority.

So the argument seems to shift from one about methods to one about who is

warranted or entitled or qualified to conduct research. Again, it has to be acknowledged


that this is hardly a unique argument but draws, for example, on long standing issues in
feminist research and the critique of'malestream' Sociology. This includes disputes about
just
is
investigated
but how research is conducted, arguments about 'objectivity'
not
what
'subjectivity' etc involvement of the 'subject' in research; 'rape models' and so on.

Fortunately,
refusing

ethnomethodologically

informed ethnography avoids these debates by

to buy into many of the dichotomies

of traditional

Social

Science -

objective/subjective; structure/agency; etc - that create many of these problems in the first
place. In our view, the production of valid and useful ethnographic accounts relies
initially

on the satisfaction of the unique adequacy requirement. This insists that the

develops
researcher
a vulgar competence in the setting itself, in order to understand life as
practitioners themselves comprehend and practice it and to be able to describe in the
language of the setting. As Garfinkel and Weider (1992)
put it:,

110
" for analysts to recognize, or identify, or follow the development of, or describe phenomena of order in
local production of coherent detail the analyst must be vulgarly competent in the local production and
reflexively natural accountability of the phenomena of order he [or she] is 'studying"'. (Garfinkel and
Wieder 1992:. 182)

As Crabtree (2001) argues the issue is one of

`probativeness'(Garfinkel and Wieder

1992) of descriptive adequacy. In this case at least understanding culture requires little
more than a mundane competence in the practices of the domain such that the researcher
can deliver an account that is intelligible to competent members. This is far from arguing
that anyone who is not a bank worker (scientist, disabled a woman) is unable to write
about, analyse, discuss, theorise etc these matters. As Jeff Coulter said (in a different
though related context):
"This crap has got to stop. What is the issue here? Ian Hacking's fine book, 'The Social Construction of
What?' goes a long way to this disabusing of sealedoff - esoteric - and thus, off-limits 'competence"'.
(Jeff Coulter cited in Crabtree2000)

In'On the Demise of the Native' Sharrockand Anderson (1982) point to someof the other
kind
behind
The
this
the claim to exclusive accessto a
of
of
approach.
argument
problems
research setting confuses experience with understanding since it suggeststhat unless
researchers possess the same 'frameworks of meaning' or experience, they cannot
appreciatethe everyday reality of membersand their researchis correspondingly flawed.
But this position - that, in this case bank workers share a 'culture' that is different and
inaccessibleto others - is not only ludicrous but less afinding of researchthan an a priori
principle. It is an assumption,not a discovery. Furthermorethe idea of a bank 'culture', of
a sharedset of meaningsand understandingsshould be the endpoint of the analysis,what
it seeksto demonstrate,the end product of serious and sustained enquiry and not what
enquiry is simplistically predicated upon. Essentially the problem is posed as that of

111
is
'alien'
In
this
all encompassing and people are
view
culture
culture.
understanding an
in
is
into
consequence,
and,
poured
somehow
regarded as empty vessels
which culture
The
both
knowing
doing
things.
the
ethnographer cannot
same
and
people end up
if
it.
However,
is
because
he
this
we suspend this a priori
culture
not part of
understand
discover
into
that what appear
that
well
and
may
culture
status and make serious enquiries
to be, or are represented as, massive cultural differences are, in fact, no more than
is
bank
Understanding
in
the
things
culture'
not akin
are carried out.
ways some
variations
to 'Wittgenstein's

lions', but simply different ways of doing the same old thing and

daily
lives
do
in
because
that
our
we
much the same things we
understand
something
have cups of tea, use the computer, and so boringly on. Furthermore, if as Sharrock and
Anderson (1982) suggest, the task of research is to demonstrate how culture and shared
in
bank
is
'native'
the
this
the
the
then
case
as
as
workers
well
achieved
understanding
into
is
be
In
'what
this
culture.
circumstance
as
enquirers
should
regarded
researcher
by
for
becomes
the
the
the
as
well
as
native
researcher
and
methods
a problem
going on'
focus
is
the
of research.
achieved
are
which understanding
".. the stance that treats the native as an expert in his culture, knowing what he is up to and
unproblematically recounting that to the researcher, may not be of much use. If we begin by positing that
is
have
discover
to
going on - what events and activities mean - then we can
what
and
researchers
natives
treat meaning as an achievable phenomenon and understanding as a risky business. It is these
contingencies and risks that natives and field workers have to deal with. " (Sharrock and Anderson
1982: 135)

Ethnography

and Reflexivity

Coffey (1999) in `The Ethnographic Self, Fieldwork and the Representation of Identity'
argues that 'the self, and ethnographic subjectivity, as a pervasive feature of ethnographic
enquiry have been ignored in the presentation of ethnography as an objective naturalistic

112
form of research. Her focus is on the interaction
researched and how; "fieldwork

between the researcher and the

intimate
identities,
relations, an
shapes and constructs

is
increasingly
its
Her
popular one,
an
argument, and
emotional self and a physical self'.
that only by focusing on the researcher can the dualities that shape research and sociology
be overcome. The ethnomethodological

take on reflexivity

different. The fact that the term `reflexivity'

is, not surprisingly, rather

formulations
in
Garfinkel's
of
earlier
appears

its
between
does
indicate
that
use
and
contemporary
affinity
any
not
ethnomethodology
For
in
for
`reflexive
talk
ethnography'.
ethnomethodologists the
example,
employment
of,
notion of'reflexivity'

is best outlined in Garfinkel's classic description of accountability:

"In exactly the ways that a setting is organised, it consists of members' methods for making evident that
settings' ways as clear, coherent, planful, consistent, chosen, knowable, uniform, reproducible
connections, - i. e., rational connections. In exactly the way that persons are members to organised affairs,
they are engaged in serious and practical work of detecting, demonstrating, persuading through displays in
the ordinary occasions of their interactions the appearances of consistent, clear, chosen, planful
arrangements. In exactly the ways in which a setting is organised, it consists of methods whereby its
members are provided with accounts of the setting as countable, storyable, proverbial, comparable,
picturable, representable - i. e. accountable events" (Garfinkel, 1967: 34)

For ethnomethodologistsfashionable concernswith `reflexivity' are an irrelevance since


is
fixated
interest
on production problems, the ways practices are produced and
our
is
fixation
identify
The
orderliness,
and
our
on visible
observations
and
reproduced.
describe "grossly observable" phenomena - available to just about anyone. While for
many sociologists the issue of 'reflexivity' is endlessly fascinating, inviting all kinds of
fundamentally
amounts to `navel gazing', for ethnomethodologiststhe reflexivity
what
issue is entirely different since the emphasisis not on reflexivity of actors but reflexivity
of accounts.

113

Slack (2000) argues that debateson reflexivity have "missed the need to ground their
claims in the life world of society members". Slack makes the important distinction
between what he terms 'essential' and 'stipulative' reflexivities. He suggests that
stipulative reflexivity, "a sociological achievement', has been the main concern of
sociological researchers concerned to remedy members' versions of everyday life by
attention to the analysts perspective; "what counts as reflexivity is an achievement of the
sociologist for sociology". Such an approach is based on a 'correspondence' epistemology
facilitates
'reflexivity'
What
the
whereby
or
correct
views
such
permits
of
social
world.
.
versions fail to recognise is that, in a In contrast the ethnomethodological approach to
reflexivity

to
attends
members' reflexivity
-

- essential reflexivity

language
natural
practical

members' observable-reportable

and is grounded in

actions. This emphasis,

in
grounded
a 'coherence' epistemology, argues that there is no need for a sociological redescription and is offered as "the only way out of the postmodernist, structurational and
textual maze is to attend to the practical essential reflexivity of society members"

To briefly conclude this argument - and this chapter the ethnomethodological endeavour
lies in describing how members (not researchers, or sociologists) manage to produce and
recognise contextually

relevant

structures

of

social

action.

The

warrant

for

ethnomethodologically informed ethnography is that of `probativeness' or `faithfulness to


the phenomena' - that the description of the situated organisation of that activity in its
detail makes that real worldly

activity mutually intelligible.

The description should

consist in the wittnessable 'methods' of practical reasoning employed to accomplish


activities. Ethnomethodology can thereby avoid the sorts of dilemmas that perplex other

114
As
dualism's
both
fascinate
'mainstream'
the
that
social
science.
sociologists,
and perplex
Sharrock(1995) writes;
"the conduct of ethnographies as we do them does not leave us exposed to the charge that we are
perpetuating a now outmoded practice of ethnography, one which, in the light of relatively recent
developments in sociology, stands revealed as perpetuating the illusion that there is a reality `outside the
text, ' that there is a `real world' out there to be studied. We have sought to do no more than illustrate that
our own lines of argument are not elaborated in ignorance of those recent developments, but, to no small
extent, in defiance of them... " (Sharrock 1995)

115

Chapter 4: The Work of Lending Money.


"You have to have a letter from the Pope to get any unsecured borrowing round here" (A Branch Lending
Officer)
(written at the bottom of the
"REMEMBER -A COMPLAINT CAN BE A SALES OPPORTUNITY"
"Complaints Handling' sheet and taped to the Enquiries Desk in the banking hall. )
"She may be as rough as a bear's backside but you can trust her to pay the money back" (A Branch Lending
Officer)

Introduction:

Lending Money

Everyday work in financial institutions - specifically banks and building societies- has
dull,
boring,
been
the
as
epitome
of
characterised
pernickety and tedious
stereotypically
in
BBC
Mainwaring'
`Dad's
Army';
`Captain
The
the
production
and
character
of
work.
the epithet `banker' as a token of abuse(where the rhyming qualities of the word may
job)
features
less
important
than
the
the
are testimony to this association. Money,
of
seem

in contrast, is interesting - though what is evidently missing both from this account and
the lives of those it documentsis, however, much referenceto `money' - at least money
of the folding or clinking sort - and `real' money was noticeable largely by its absencein
the fieldwork. (Sometimesstereotypesreally do resonatewith `reality'). Neverthelessthe
bank during the period of the fieldwork was reportedly moving towards a `selling culture'
and this chapter presentsa variety of observationsof the movement towards this `selling
culture' and the consequent emphasis on the process of lending money. The `lending
interpreted
is
fairly widely here to include a range of types of `borrowing' and
process'
their associated activities. This includes the initiation of the `lending'; responding to
lending enquiries; lending interviews; completing the requisite paperwork and

116
lending
finally,
lending;
the
to
of
process
and,
computerwork
sanction and coordinate
(for
lending
`types'
both
In
this
the
of
a variety of
control.
way
observations cover
`relationship
lending
lending
lending,
business
to
worthy'
and
example mass
small
lending
different
the
process.
customers),and
aspectsof

The organisational context for a consideration of the lending process was one where, like
financial
institutions
other
many

in the UK and elsewhere, a transformation

of the

`traditional' organisation of banking services was in progress and organizational change


This
less
was primarily
continuous.
appeared more or

to enable the organisation to

become more competitive but also to align it with perceived developments in managerial

have
infrastructure
Banks
technological
and modern working practices.
philosophies,
been faced with increasing competition in the financial markets, not just from their
traditional competitors but new entrants who seem to be 'cherry picking' customers.In
these circumstances, the bank where the research was set, like many, comparable,
financial service organisations identified a requirement to change the culture of the
`administrative
its
from
traditional,
predominantly
culture' to what was
organisation
been
This
had
`service
culture'.
and selling
strategic plan
regarded as a modern
implementedin various ways; through generaland comprehensiverestructuring involving
the centralisation and standardisationof processes;and through more experimental and
radical modes of businessinvolving innovative uses of information technology. For the
bank, the most significant organisationaldevelopmentinvolved the centralisationof `back
office' processingand the creation of specialist centres,such as Lending Centres,Service

117
Centres,and SecuritiesCentres,all servicing `high street' Customer Service Branchesall
lending.
in
important
impacted
the
of
process
on
ways
of which

Although presenting a very brief and inevitably limited range of observations, this chapter
is
Firstly,
to
there
issues
concern
a
that
to
pursuing.
seem worth
a number of
points
delineate the features of what is deemed to constitute 'rational decision-making' in loan
feeling'
'gut
decisions
lending
To
or a product of
of
a
product
what extent are
sanctioning.
How
ice'?
'campari
&
formulas
'fairness';
such as
or organisational
notions of precedent,
do these decisions come to be perceived as 'rational'? What 'work' (the integration of
paperwork and `computerwork',

instantiated in the form of report writing

or verbal

be
in
for
decisions
be
to
to
accepted as
order
accomplished
explanations and so on) needs
'rational'?
accountably
visibly,

Lending as Selling: turning `tellers' into `sellers'.


Financial service organisations have increasingly moved from a largely passive and
Whilst
function
towards
an active, sales oriented organisational culture.
administrative
don't
in
"we
just
in
the
terms
give
sell
we
comment,
as
seen
such
stark
not always
in
it
this
the
they
stages
of
certainly
early
seemed
clear,
want"
people what
transformation, that some staff were unprepared for, and unhappy with, this change.

Despite the evident, and growing, emphasison sales and selling it was also singularly
evident that many staff were neither comfortable with nor confident in their ability to sell.
Despite the invocations to sell that appearedon various documents,on bulletins postedon

the wall and so on, opportunities to sell were seldom approachedwith anything

118
box
box
`spot'
One
the
this
was
prosaic example of
resembling eagerness.
-a cardboard
bank
for
to
products
selling
with spots on - that staff were supposed place opportunities
that they had `spotted' in their everyday work. Throughout the more than eight weeks of
fieldwork this box remained resolutely empty. In part this was a product of the older
felt
the
been
that
had
emphasis
staff
they
recruited
administrative culture under which
`doing
their
in
they
were
that
accounts
people's
administering
on sales was unreasonable,
job', a job that did not, until recently, involve sales. Also, many staff felt embarrassed
less
knew;
this
though
selling
was
regarded
view was absent
where
selling to people they
negatively:

"we act as a jog to customers'memory".Paradoxically,

the older administrative

image of the Bank, an image that seems to hinder the selling culture, in which the bank
independent
builder',
"a
`GP",
someone
who
was
as
relationship
manager was seen as a
by
Bank,
the
trustworthy,
as a positive asset to selling.
seen,
was also
and

One area where selling opportunities clearly existed was at the Enquiry Desk. Indeed,
there was a notice on the undersideof the Enquiries Clerk's desk providing prompts about
introduced
be
how
for
to the customer:
these
might
selling and
opportunities
Change of job? What happens to your pension?
Change of Name? Are you getting married? How about a mortgage?

Selling activity was not, however, particularly noticeableand there did not seemto be any
image
(which
Bank
`hard
the
an
wished to avoid) nor even
sell'
was
seen
as
evidenceof a
be
heavily
interviews
Even
'selling'.
to
the
potential
customers
seemed
with
any obvious
biased towards information giving, `compliance' and responding to customer enquiries.

119
Opportunities to sell were not eagerly sought. The fieldwork extract below is a
comparatively rare, and imperfect, example:
Customercamein to cash a cheque..
Cashier: "Is this your only account?Do you havea current account?"
Customer: "No"
Cahier: "Well this one's very low interest, do you pay tax? ("No ") You're only getting I% on this, we
do have other accountsfor instance...pays 4% and can be openedwith 2, if you've got time on your
way out ast at the customerservicedeskand they'll adviseyou"

Stamps up cheque and as she hands it back; "This was a good account when they came out but now
they've gone right down. "

Despite this rather gloomy outlook, and indeed management's opinion that, "not many
people are good at selling", it was also evident that some individuals within the branch
were confident and competentat selling, most obviously those that specialisedin selling,
20
financial
the
adviser and the mortgage adviser. The emphasis on `spotting' sales and
`closing deals' disguises the way in which a great deal of `selling' involves routine
administrative activities; activities in which the Branch staff are very competent.
Although the `selling' activities of the dedicated mortgage adviser in the branch, for
example, were commonly visualised in terms of `interviews' (telephone and face-to-face)
much of her work seemed to consist of routine form filling, pack assembly and interview
illustrates
This
preparation.
a point documented in a later chapter, that much `selling'
activity involves, and is dependent on, routine administration and paperwork with little or
no guarantee that the sales effort will actually result in a sale. Selling activities included
completing 'warm leads'; contacting 'introducers'; picking up on 'spots'; scanning the
printouts; and interviewing potential mortgage holders These in turn were dependent on
.
informal cooperative work involving
Clerk:

a range of other personnel such as the Records

120
TheMortgage Adviser is chasingleads,looking at joint accountswith different names, "they're usually
joint
just
"they've
their
Clerk
Records
the
closed
room,
shouts across
saving up to get married",
account...they're both moving back to their parents".

Sales appeared most relevant where they formed an integral part of some routine process
in
Notepad
Interview
the
'
`sales?
the
which,
the
appeared on
annual review where
such as
in
is
Assistant
below,
the process of completing:
Business
Manager's
a
extract
'Well, sales is just something that we've got to think about, whenever we're looking at an account to see
if there are any services that are appropriate to them,.., business insurance we're just offering to
dont
lot
to
the
A
think
in
because
coming
of
the
of
people
marketplace.
we are competitive
everybody
Bank to ask for business insurance, so we're just saying to people, we can get a quote for you.. "

Furthermore, it also appeared that the Bank itself, in its routines and software, was
For
its
it
to
to
the
to
staff pursue21.
active selling role wanted
perhapsalso unable adapt
database
to
the
Adviser
to
Mortgage
actively
search
relational
the
unable
was
example,
`spot' potential customers (which was provided by Regional Office) but instead was
forced to develop and rely on a range of haphazard and time consuming search
techniques.One instance,of the Mortgage Adviser attempting to prepare for a 'First time
Buyer Initiative', illustrates some of these issues, as well as exemplifying (ultimately
deployment
local
knowledge.
informal
the
team
of
working and
unsuccessful)
1. Since she would be away on a training course in March, when the initiative was due, she was trying
to get a customer base
2. Discussion with Assistant Manager about building up a customer base from records; asking about the
characteristics of the information available;
"Can I chase back in your records of what's been opened recently?... I want to see if they are in rented
accommodation or with their parents... also joint accounts with different names-they're usually saving
up to get married" ?

3. -looking at personal loans info...

"They used to put all personal loans in an open book but now they dont. so I have to try and get the info
another way... what there is is new personal loans but that's going to be very time consuming"

20
21

It is possiblethat the existenceof such specialistsinhibits other staff from attempting to sell.
At a trivial level this meant,for example,that if a mortgageenquiry camefrom a non-customer,the Mortgage Adviser - one
of the principal individuals involved in selling activity - had to useher own bank accountto generatethe necessaryletter and
marketing templates.Or, anothertrivial, but laborious example,the MortgageAdviser was unableto use the computerto storeand
updaterecordsof the progressof her leads,relying insteadon a card index.

121
4. Scanning computer printout by age; she has just thought how to use the computer (printout). scanning
by whether they are homeowners, tenants etc.
5. Phones upstairs to Lending explains the marketing effort - asks to be notified if he comes across any
examples of certain age living in rented accommodation.
6. Colleague shouts across, "Another one might be a change of address..when they tell us at the desk "

7. Goes to talk with colleaguesabout how she can search the databaseand which databases(printouts)
would be mostfruitful

The Lending Process: Lending Interviews


With the implementation of `Delivery Strategy' lending control passed to the Lending
Centre.

Consequently

the Lending

Officers

in the Customer

Service Branches

concentrated on the more `customer-facing' aspects of the lending process. Quite clearly
they had a high regard for their ability to meet the customer `face to face' and glean
appropriate and relevant information. This was counter-posed to what was seen as the
predominantly

`rule driven'

and impersonal approach of the Lending Centre and,

accordingly, great personal, professional value was placed on this `relationship building'

important
in developing an overall view
Interviews
their
work.
aspectof
were regardedas
of the customer, their plans and intentions and the prospect of generating sales22.In the
course of the interview the Lending Officer endeavours to build up a picture of the
business
its
the
customer,
and likely borrowing or other financial product needs.He also
needs to display considerable skill in `demeanour work', in, perhaps, pacifying the
customerwhilst at the sametime putting the Bank's point of view. He also has an agenda
issues,
in
his
he
that
of
number
outlined
notes,
wants to address,but in a reasonably
-a
subtle manner.In the extract that follows the Manager is concernedat the level of debt of
a customer whose businessinvolves buying and repairing televisions and videos. As he
prepares for the interview he peruses the customer file, accessing the working of the

122

has
This
the
(an
836
that
poor
customer
shows
enquiry).
customer's account on screen
'risk grades' (RG) for both his business(RG 8), and private (RG 9) accounts (the worst
RG is 9). Looking at the 'customer brief he can see that the bank has given him a 7k
loan and both his accountsare currently overdrawn (O/D). The customer brief from the
Lending Centre tells him to: "pin him down re: info"; "give specific guidelines or he will
not comply".
but
does
them
he
buys
them
in
"It
tellies
up and sells
Talking about customer and videos,
old
seems
..
its not going anywhere this one.. its worse than last time.. "
Looking through printouts to find extent of borrowing - uses computer - ".. he's about 12.5K .. no
he's
don't
know
if
facilities
made any
we
submitted,
show excess, no accounts are
security, all the
profit.. "
"I think this guy will think he hasn't got a problem .. and if I go in too hard he will
Looking at file
..
Manager)
feeling
he
(the
don't
I
last
that
interview
the
it
in
previous
two
get
the
notes..
as me..
perceive
has taken the guy to task. to account.. after being given an OD of f4k .. you'd expect his account to be
back down to 3.5k by now.. "
Looking at account on screen
Looking at file re: arrangement fees -finds he has only paid for 6 months.. "he's not paying the right
interest rate.. "

Chat about taking a 2"d mortgage.. ".. we could talk about a 2"d mortgage.. I don't think we want to do
that.. it dependson what his accountslook like.. "he should get it (mortgage)from elsewhere.."

"Putting my hard head on this is not the kind of account we're looking for .. started in 1992.. fairly time
consuming.. "

The Manager has made a set of issues to try and bring up in the forthcoming interview.
These include the importance of obtaining some 'quick figures' of the assets and liabilities
is
The
it
income
business
to
the
the
profitable.
the
and
extent
which
of
and some notion
of
income
for
include
the
to
the
required
reduce
raising
of
suggestions
a
number
notes also
level of debt and therefore the risk the bank is exposed to - this includes re-mortgaging
the house and selling assets. The Manager takes these notes as well as the customer brief
into
interview
the
the
the
account
room.
of
workings
of
customer's
printouts
and
Manager (M): '. we were wanting to see what the business was like have you bought accounts? "
..
Customer (A): ':. yes, last year's accounts"

M: ".. shall we start by looking at themthen?..do you want to talk me through them?"
22

This is quite apart from any suggestionsreceivedfrom the Lending Centrevia the interview notepad/customerbrief.

123
A:
of..
I've
each
numbered
M." looking at accounts ".. is this what you decided to do? "
A: ".. yes my last accountant charged me 750.. "
Chat about accountants and charges etc

page

..

there's

24..

M asksabout tax - looking atfigures ".. is this up to date now?"


A: ". no, I've got this year's to do.."
Ms '. so really.. if we look along the bottom line.. we come out with sales of 12.5K and that's offsetby
12.7K (outgoings) and that's beingfinanced by an increase in the bank debt.. what do you think of
..
this yoursel.. "
A: ':. I've cancelled my personal insurance.. "
M." pointing at figures - ".. thats your parts thats your vehicle expenses thats your rent.... if you look
..
..
feasible
is
it
to
into
figure)
line
(pointing
not
the
eating
your
profit..
thats
obviously
at
rent
along
..
..
work at home?.. "

A; ':. not really.. " chat about the work.


M.- ".. if you get 50% of your sales by people knocking on your door?.. "
I'm sure if we tried we could get those down.. "
M carries on looking at figures -' bank charges
..
.
Carries on looking at figures for phone bill etc..
M. " ".. I think you need to do something to try and improve these figures (pointing)
..
but the only place that can comefrom is the Bank. "

its not a big loss

M: ".. would you sayyour day isfully occupied?.." Chat about slackperiods.
M.- ".. if you wanted to push that figure (pointing at `sales) up by about 3=4K a year.. how could you
do that given that you know your business better than me.. "

A: talks about working later and taking on more business..


is a
M: ".. so you're doing more business than what you were last year
see
so
what
we
should
..
reduction in the O/D (pointing).. but we haven't.. "

A: ".. you have actually.. when I saw Mr Z (the previous Manager - chat about charges) .. had those
chargesnot gone on we'd be alright.. "
does that (pointing) include tax?
(writing down figures)
M." ".. can I just take a note of thesefigures
..
..
(looking at figures) No I've missed that one completely.. (adjusts
that's a separate column
no?
..
..
..
.
figures to include tax
this increases the loss) ..that's no good is it?.. "
...

Going through the current position - chat about debtsA says how he is owed moneyfrom some months
ago.. going through the figures, assetsand liabilities, credit and debits - businessappears to be worth
about 400..

M.- ". what's your opinion of how the business is going yourse.7.. you've drawn out 6000 (as wages)
..
its not a vast amount, you'd earn more if you were employed. "
A: ".. I have applied for a job but I'm too old.. I say it every year but I feel that this year we should
make headway.. "
(chat re: cutting insurance).. it all helps but
M." ".. you don't think there's a chance of getting a job?
..
you've got quite a way to go to turn it into a profitable business.. "
M.- ".. do you price your jobs right? what I'm thinking about.. we've got a few other TV repair chaps..
..
I'm trying to work out where the
they're managing to turn in a profit that gives them a good lifestyle
..
difference W.. is it the volume of the work?.. or the prices?
Chat about prices

M: ".. how doesit fit in with your competitors?"


A: ".. 1 don't know.."

124
M." "I'm sure you're providing a good service its just whether its profitable enough you need to get a
..
..
healthier position
to see the business return to profit to continue to give the business the
we
need
..
support of BigBank
Gets list.. (notesfor interview)
M." ".. lets have a think about a few other bits and bobs.. we've got the 4.5K on the business account..
we've also got the private account I'm just wondering
things are getting a little bit out of hand.. its
..
..
just switching funds have you got any outside funds?
..
A: ". yes.. we 'vejust paid 900 off the mortgage.. "
M." ". (looking at figures) house is worth 65K? have you got anything in mind in terms of reducing
..
..
the excess on the account? "

A: ". yes I've got some things to sell.. "


M." ".. I was thinking of something a bit more.. "
A: "I've got an outboard engine.. "
M." ".. the boat.. is that getting used? You're fairly attached to that I'm just trying to work out where
..
we can go really.. "
M." " Where I'm coming from really.. is that the business isn't actually making enough profit.. to give
you a decent income.. and to pay BigBank its money back.. if we don't do anything the tendency is for
that (pointing) O/D to increase. R (previous manager) mentioned the possibility of security?

A: 'No"
M." ':. we're lending on an unsecuredbasis on paper you haven't the ability to pay back what we've
..
lent you.. so we've got to make it more secure.... A 2ndmortgage over the house the other way is to
..
raise moneyfrom another source.. and refinance the thing on a better basis.."
Customerasksabout interestrate on loan.
M." ".. we can't get the interest rate down.. becausethat is basedon the perceived risk, your interest is
on the low side..
M. " 'There's a couple of alternatives.. raise some money from elsewhere.. the other is for us to agree an
O/D reduction program..
Loking at interest figures
have you thought about approaching them (the building
M." ".. any thoughts about what I've said?
..
society) to discuss a small increase? "
M. " "Where do we go from here? we've agreed that you need to get your profit up.. we agree that your
..
O/D is a bit on the high side... (discussion on 01D).. I wasn't planning to put it down to 3.5K today but
I wasn't planning to leave it at 4K for 6 months.. "

Discussfinancial plans
M. " " We need to be seen to be making some progress to getting it down a bit.. do you think we can get it
down to 3.5K within 2 months? from the Is' May we'll reduce the facility to 115K.. can you work
..
within that?.. "
M. " "..your private account.. you'll get it into credit within the next week or so?. Let's hope this year is a
better year for you"

Over the course of the interview the manager skilfully weaves into the conversationthe
topics he wishes to cover and focuses the interview on the issues he wants to address.
Despite the interjections of the customer the complaints about the chargesor the rate of
-

125
interest - the manager directs the conversation along the lines of gaining information
begins
his
to provide suggestions
business
then
the
and
accounts
and
customer's
about
form
in
taking
bank's
for
the
a
assets,
the
of
selling
exposure
risk
and guidelines
reducing
The
institution
financial
debt
to
so
on.
and
the
another
second mortgage, transferring
in
in
lie
`managing'
the
Officers
deployed
by
Lending
conveying
conversation,
the
skills
in
finance
do
on,
so
to
and
and risk assessment
with
a range of complex messages
balancing and manifestly displaying concern for the customer with an interest in the
Bank's position.

The `skill' that Lending Officers routinely deploy in their customer interviews, as well as
the detailed `local knowledge' of their customers and the running of their accounts goes
decision-making,
in
despite
Bank,
developing
the
the
that
to
understanding
an
some way
down
for
to
and
so
risk grades
on, often comes
range of sophisticated computer support
`gut feeling' or as one CSB Lending Officer put it; "in the end do you trust him to pay the
lend
him
band
like
`for
back?..
"
that
either
a couple of
you
or another
a one man
money
fairly
"or
Grades)
him
(Risk
because
they're
trust
another
meaningless..
yet
you
grand
..
"a lot of it is just gut feeling.. the only other thing you've got is how the account has run
historically and income and expenditure breakdowns and they cant tell you anything.. ".
..
Lending on `gut feeling' -a combination of data, experience and knowledge - clearly
benefits from detailed knowledge of the customer and is a persistent feature of the
fieldnotes;
".. we know him quite well., its not a bad account but we've been bouncing on him like nobody's
business..the Lending Centre.. they take the view that they're a control situation one letter then they
..
bounce. As a branch we take a more practical view
little
be
that
tend
to
of
sympathetic..
more
a
(LZZ)excess... fXX. after bounced cheques and charges
he's only about 100 over his limit.. he's
...

126
brought it on himself really-he should've phoned. The Lending centre.. much more rule driven the
WE058 - tells you what to do and is quite strict and sometimes those principles are carried over
..
computer notes Jt doesnt give any feeling as to the actual customer.. you've got the risk grade.. but
does that translate into trustworthiness?.. "

The Lending Process: Monitoring and Control


"We're going to bejumping up and down with these customers and kicking arse" (Lending Officer)
"You've got to look at this, its ridiculous.. he said we want to take out another loan to pay off our existing
loan and have a holiday.. " (Lending Officer)
"Our advantage over our competitors is that we have the opportunity to monitor the trend of performance
through our close association with a customer... the stage at which we can successfully manage-out risk
situations is paradoxically whilst the customer's business still seemspotentially viable. "(In Bank Manual)

Despite the supposed emphasis on sales the majority of Lending Officer's time was
devoted to issues of `lending control'.

In part this was because of the reasonable

perception that the majority of their work, from `actioning' the WE008 to answering
dealt
phonecalls,
with customers who `needed controlling'. This contributed to an
existing work culture - feeding off apocryphal tales of `bad lending in the 80s' - in which
risk assessment and control was paramount. This provides (at least part of) the context for
the Lending Officer's overheard remark, "You have to have a letter from the Pope to get
any unsecured borrowing round here ".

Observations in the early phase of the research illustrated that most Lending Officers
began their working day by looking at and `actioning' the We008 printout `out
of order
-

accounts' - making decisions on whether to send letters of concern to the customer or


return chequesunpaid. Much of this work was comparatively routine and by the second
phaseof the fieldwork a large proportion of this activity had effectively been automated
through the introduction of the WE058 -a computerised system for dealing with
establishedaccountsthat have gone `out of order' (detailed in the next chapter). Despite

127
the implementation of the WE058 process, the emphasis on `control' and `checking' in
the form of a managerial perusal of printouts such as the WE008 (now accompanied by
checking the WE058) - still remained an important, daily, routine task for those in the
Lending teams;
1. Looking at the '8s'
2. talking to Lending Officer "I've had a fax. she always pays in.. "
Next:
1. Another 8- using calculator and screen - 'Inquiries'- Security synopsis' - 'customer ledger balances'
he's
(overdrawn)
he's
"..
6700
I'm
if
to
customer
with
no
security..
checking
notes'
see
reached that
level before.. (using machine).. he has been to 7114 before"
Next:
1. Talking to Lending Officer about account on '8s'
Lending Officer: "They should pay in on Monday.. Region have agreed" (Shows Regional sanction.
Because its outside DP (discretionary power) the account has gone to Region for approval).
2. Checking that limits have been marked on..
3. Checking 'linked accounts' - to see if there are funds to cover the shortfall
- checking that accounts
are in the same name and funds available

These brief extracts (culled from many) illustrate how lending control involves
monitoring, checking and evaluating both human and machine generateddecisions. So,
for example, she keeps the rest of the lending team informed when people who have
appearedon the `8' - account out of order - have indicated that they are `paying in', and
where she has Regional sanction for exceeding her discretionary power. She checks
whether a customer had reacheda certain level of debt before, since, if this was not the
case, this may be an early indication of further troubles to come in the form of hardcore
debt. Further checking - `limits maked on', `linked accounts' takes place in anticipation
of possible problems.

The consequencesof this `checking' process and the `procedural implicativeness' and
`accountable' characterof the various items of paperwork for the different organisational

128
units is further illustrated in the next extract, where a member of the Lending Team in the
Lending Centre is looking at an Appraisal Form that has come from one of the Branches;
AssistantManager - looking at Small Lending Appraisal Form - ".. someholes in this one.. we've never
had accounts..never seen a profit in the account.. we've had some control problems.. we gave him a
businesscard before getting a new guarantee. " "The Branch Manager has not justified his actions on
the report - so I'll follow this up with a phone call.. " Making note to Branch managerre: file.

Here the Assistant Manager, taking a `Lending Centre view' is obviously unhappy at the

way this lending appraisal has been handled becauseof the lack of accounts,the control
problems and the failure to give reasonsfor agreeingto the loan. This loan - clearly made
on `gut instinct' - needs to be written up in a way that makes it organisationally
accountable.

Lending control was also the locus for various forms of teamwork or 'constellations of
assistance'. In this next extract, for example, the Assistant Manager of the `Non-Personal'

team has been overviewing the WE008 (accounts out of order) printout - as he comes
acrossa specific action he talks acrossthe table to the Lending Officer involved. Here the
Assistant Manager's initial sense that the Lending officer is adopting a 'strict' view of an

overdraft, given the small sum involved soon developsinto a discussion- available to the
rest of the team - into the conduct of the account and the nature of any previous action.
The Assistant Manager has to balance the interest of the Bank, the standard procedure for

dealing with `out of order accounts' and some notion of `fairness' to the customer and
much of the activity is primarily concernedwith developing a persuasive'account' for that
decision
Assistant Manager (AM):
Account...

I think you may have been a bit harsh on FF, XX, check out the Business
..

129
I dont think there's much on the Business
Lending Officer (k7Q: Me being harsh, I cant imagine that
...
Account.. there's 700 over on the..
its a little bit (harsh) I don't know
AM:.. is he? he's only gone 50 over on the other, that's all
..
...
..
whether you've written to him before ...
XX. I think we've returned before...

AM., oh we will havereturned before-whetherat the 50 level...


..
AM:... its 3 months since we've written to him.. do an LC letter (letter of concern).....LCHI will do in
this case...

This account also illustrates the way in which some sort of `organisational memory' of
lending decisions and customers is constructed trhoug teamwork 'in the telling'; in a
fashion similar to Berger & Luckmann's (1967) account of the social construction of
marital memories. A similar 'remembering' occurs in the following extract, where an
interview brief is being prepared for the branch concerning the owner of a take-away
restaurant.
ZZ.- I've seenthis before we'velent to thesepeople before let me check...
...
....
later.
it
ZZ: No, it's not the same people, but it is the same restaurant
they didn't make a go of it either
...
...
went to IDRD (Insolvency & Debt Recovery).

The Lending Officer discussesthe brief with the Assistant Manager, a discussion which soon involves
other membersof the teamas they consider issuesof insuranceand security.
ZZ talking to Assistant Manager.. "do you think this comment is fair enough?.. (reading from brief).. on
the issuesfor the proposition... 'whilst we note comments on last report that business may be seasonal
previous owners of the business did not make a success of the business, account at IDRD, and conduct
of the account since opened gives great deal of causefor concern.. "

AM "yeah.. certainly not give the OD"


..

" I've put that on there.. I think they're going to have to consolidate it but on strict credit working
and full security "
AM: " concerned at the lack of turnover through the account... I dont think you've got a cat in hells
chance of turning it around. "
ZZ

ZZ: "I dopt"

AM: get a charge on the lease.. even if its of minimal value.. it will save him flogging it on and
disappearing.... just put lease question mark.. tie him into the business if nothing else... question terms
of lease.. we've lost money on that business once- I've no intention of losing it again..
ZZ: I think we've already lost it quite honestly
AM: well, no more then shall we say..

The extent to which such `local knowledge' was retained, even in the large Lending
Centres, was a regular and impressive feature of the fieldwork observations ".. from
-

130
her
lady
have'nt
Z
I
dealt
him
for
he's
Mrs
is
thats
an
old
memory.
with
ages..
verypernickety....
..
knowledge,
local
Nevertheless,
despite
impressive
displays
"
these
everyday
of
nephew.
work in the new, large, Lending Centres was far more obviously, openly `rule-driven',
based on the careful implementation of organisational plans and procedures. There was a
far greater reliance on decision making software, particularly in the form of credit rating to the extent that over-riding the machine was regarded, more often than not, to be a
decision
likely
f
90%
"A
`no'
is
its
to go
that
the
overridden
and
machine says
mistake..
down the pan.. "... loans `down the pan' have reduced considerably since the introduction
of machines.. ".

It would, however, be unfair to suggestthat there were enormous differences in general


approach or customer `empathy' between the CSBs and the Lending Centres - after all,
in
had
in
Lending
Centre
for
Branches
those
the
the
originally
worked
of
example,
most
the statementfrom a Lending Centre Officer that, ".. we're going to bejumping up and
down with thesecustomersand kicking arse..", was soon followed by, "this is the nasty
part of the job ..phoning someone up and telling them they're not getting what they
want... ". What was clear, however, was that Lending Officers in the Lending Centrewere
much less free and much less likely to take an idiosyncratic view of lending proposals.
Orienting to the `rule driven' nature of their work, using the rules as resourcesfor action
and the close teamwork and team discussionsinvolved resulted in a commonly accepted
`view of the world'. While it was generally felt that the branches shared this general
outlook it was also believed that the branches greater personal knowledge of their
customerscould, quite paradoxically, result in `bad' lending decisions. As one Manager

131
in the Lending

Centre

said:

"you look at these notes and you see all the signs (of a bad account)

quoting from manager; 's comment in file

"there is no option but to continue our support.. well who says

so? "

The Lending

Process: technologies

of accountability.

"If its not on ISS it hasn't happened"(Sign in the Lending Centre)

Given that the division of labour in bureaucratic organisations like banks is often a
division of responsibility and accountability it is evident how the technology in the bank
can be viewed as 'technologies of accountability' (Suchman 1994; Bowers, Button and
Sharrock 1995).
"By technologiesof accountability,I meansystemsaimed at the inscription and documentationof
activities to which parties are accountable not only in the ethnomethodological sense of that term
(Garfinkel and Sacks 1970), but in the senserepresentedby the bookkeeper's ledger, the record of
accountspaid and thoseoustanding." (Suchman1994)

The record of dealings with the customerprovided by the databaseand the history of the
workings of the accountprovided by the various screensin the accountspackageprovide
an account of and visible commentary on the efficiency and propriety of the work of
institutional
various
members. The screensprovide a stratified, standardisedrecord of
work documenting the activities of both the customer and various organisational members
in their dealings with particular accounts. Glancing at an '836' or 'customer notes' screen
will enable a manager, for example, to see, at a glance, the status of an account and
calculate whereabouts in the organisational and temporal cycle of events that account
might be.

132
The lending process was organisationally supported, and accountable, in various ways -

Computer
following
in
fully
documented
support
the
chapters.
some of which are more
included specialised programs like Fileserver or GAPP (Grading And Pricing Program)23;
history
held
ISS,
the
databases
and working of an
or
on
of customer notes
as well as the
in
Lending
This
BAF.
the
the
inquiry)
displayed
(an
836
sign
seen
explains
on
account
Centre "If its not on ISS it hasnt happened". The following

Business
a
shows
extract

Manager's Assistant carrying out a 'GAPPing' exercise prior to the Manager's visit to the
company;
1. Gets screen - 'Customer New Record' -fills
company's accounts)

in details from GAPP data input form (obtained from

Screen 'Customise'- (name)-fills in details


3. Screen - "BusinessDefinition' - (asks the room) "What doespharmacist go under?" - discussion"try that one" - clicks on various titles - "whats other?"
4. Screen 'Audited Management Accounts' - "do you put a minus in here if its in brackets? " "Yes - it
will print up then" -filling in details from form.

5. Screen - 'Management Details' - (series of questions - yes/no clicks) - managementassessment;


financial monitoring; trading environment;short termproblems;
6. Screen - 'Facility Summary' - 'New Customer facility' - as each section of the screen is entered
'help/explanation' messagesappear at the bottom of the screen

7. Prints out - 'Risk Analysis Summary - gives risk grade and ratings on facilities (what should be
charged)

It is important to recognise that GAPP was simply an addition to the existing risk
had
in
`devices'
previously
senses
merely
automating
what
assessmentand pricing
- some
24
(and
be
done)
done
been
continued to
manually. The fact that GAPPing, although
incorporated into the lending processappearedas a mere additional check in that process
decision-making
less
important
integral
it,
GAPPing
to
that
than
a
seemed
as
meant
rather
device than as a `security blanket' for decisions already made. The starting point for

23

Both 'GAPP' (Grading and Pricing Program') and the 'Risk Grading' on 'Fileserver' had beenintroducedto support
everydaydecision making and to improve the speedof processingthereby giving staff more time to be 'pro-active' in selling
24
There were someadditional featuresof the programwhich, becauseof its recent introduction and apparentnovelty,
appearedto be unused.

133
negotiation (particularly over pricing) with the business concerned. As an Assistant
Manager said; "you cannot say straightaway..just becausethe computerprogram says 1% higher...you
cant just impose a 1% rise ...you've got to use it as a tool... "you've got to sum up how much the overdraft is

" This position - of using the software as a resource to confirm rather than
andwhatever..
determine decisions, as a post-hoc rationalisation - may have arisen as a consequenceof
the inclusion in the program of `non-financial' information which could significantly
influence the risk grade obtained and which was dependent on the Manager's store of
local and anecdotal knowledge; eg "are there any signs of creative accountancy?"; "are
25
".
It may also represent a reflection of managerial
there any anecdotal signs of problems?

information
the
and
scepticism
experience
about
provided; an awarenessof the variety of
techniquesthat could be employedto disguisethe `true' nature of an account.It may also,
as Feldman and March (1981) suggest, be a reflection of the fact that much of the
information used in the Bank had been collected primarily for `control' rather than
decisionmaking - that is, it is gatheredin a `surveillance' rather than a `decisionmaking'
mode. As Feldmanand March (1981) suggest;
"When strategicmisrepresentationis common,the value of information to a decision maker is
compromised....Individuals develop rules for dealing with information under conditions of conflict.
Decision makersdiscountmuch of the information that is generated.
" (Feldman& March 1981: 177)

There was an awarenessof how accountscould be managedto misrepresenta business's


trading position; and similar scepticism about `business forecasts' (especially when

2'
Such 'anecdotal' evidenceshould not, however,be sneeredsince in at least one instance double
glazing firm - no
-a
indication of trouble was revealedby any of the computerpackagesor printouts
and only becameevident when the firm appearedon
the `receivershipand liquidation' perusalform and the Customsand Excise askedto be paid with a Building Society cheque...

134
produced by the businessitself and so on26.Above all, the main point to make about the
decisionmaking processand the usageof information (whether on paper or computer) is
(1989)
information.
Harper
As
the
the
appreciating
careful, and skilful consideration of
information,
Interpretation
`its
the
of
persistently reminds us,
not ust any old numbers'.
decisionmaking
and

from the information,

was dependent on certain,

`nuanced'

expectations, as illustrated in this extract:


" what's the companies trading performance been like? quite good, whats its proven track record from
..
audited figures? thats quite good, surplus resources in the company, retained profits in the company...
thats quite good. What about the product that they're dealing with? do we consider thats the sort of
that can be moved on and sold...... it shifts So, the product, the siting, the company, proven
thing
..
...
record, management; what do we think of the management? pretty good, pretty switched on,
everything about it looks OK"

What is, perhaps, revealing in this account is the way in which computerwork meshes
with the paperwork through the `modal transformation' of information in order to produce
an orientation to the numbers that guides decision-making (and how cumbersomeand
singularly unenlightening the whole process often appeared to be). Nevertheless,
computer systemswere clearly an integral part of work and decision-making; for example
the use of BAF (an `836') to obtain information on the working of a customer's account
over time and the use of ISS database (Customer Notes) to reveal general customer
account history. This usage is illustrated in the next extract where a Personal Account
Manager is considering a loan application;
1. Personal Loan Application - faxed - looks at contact card to see what contact has taken place; asks
Assistant.. 'did he phone direct... ' (Imp for point score' and assessment of unit)
2. Does BAF enquiry to check account; how it operates runs to balance; regular salary;
looks
at
RG (risk grade); looks at turnover, debt and credit
Does a `BL' enquiry to see if anything else
outstanding - will show all accounts that are linked eg.joint accounts.
3. Asks Assistant to do credit scoring on Fileserver.

26

It was not, however, the situation that Feldman& March (1981) describe,where, "Decision makerslearn not to trust overly
clever people,and smart peoplelearn not to be overly clever" (Feldman& March 1981: 177)

135
Customer contact cards to cover Data Protection Act.
Waiting for credit score.
Next.
1. Has got credit rating.
2. Using screen -filling in details of loan repayment using calculator to work out fees.
3. Looks at computer printout
4. Has worked out different loan rates Personal Loan Rate and Business Rate (lower)
5. Phoning - 'Is Mr X at home? ' (no, he's at work)

8. Getsphoned back - explains - no problem with the loan - outlines number of options - personal loan;
managedrate loan

In this instance the computer system is used to ensure the creditworthiness of the
customer and therefore the ability to repay any loan. This is achieved both through the
expert credit scoring software and the perusal of the account on screen.Whilst this may
seemstrangewhen considering `calculation', there is a simple `physical' elementto this the account `looks right'. On screen it has the `shape' of a decent account in both the
physical and metaphoricalsense.The Manager can `see' at a glance, by the appearanceof
the columns of numbersthat documentthe working of the account, that the customerhas
a regular salary (a regular monthly payment is marked). He can seethat it runs to balance
is
debit
balance
in
`numbers
days
the
outstanding
no
each
month
and
columns
of
-there
credit' and `numberof days overdrawn' appearreasonable.What `reasonable'meanshere
is that if `number of days overdrawn' had shown an increasing tendency
that
the
column at the far right of the screen showed increasingly large numbers - the suspicion
might have developed that this was an account (and a life - for lending decisions are also
`moral' judgements) potentially

`out of order'. In these circumstances, the reasoning

would go, any loan agreed would be simply, and temporarily, supporting a life-style that
was already out of control. Managers are also aware, however, that customers know how
credit scoring works - that an account can be run in an exemplary fashion, and therefore

136
into
bills
that
for
for
loan,
by
it
and running
paying
a
using anotheraccount
make eligible
debt. This is the reasonfor the `BL' enquiry on linked accounts.

in
in
bank
they
the
lending
engage
In this sense the work of
teams and managers
when
lending control involves a continuous (and ingenious) struggle to keep a customer's
from
information
financial
In
`on
this
paper records
track'.
obtainable
process
account
financial
database,
interrogating
from
the
criteria are not so much
and
customer
and
`uncovered' or `given' as they are continuously reconstructed. In the interview manager
information
financial
data.
Financial
takes
relevant
construct
and customer collectively
his
through
the
the
through
questioning,
manager,
questions asked;
shape

elicits

information corresponding to the outcome he is already considering (whether to accept or


in
his
jurors
(1967)
Garfinkel
loan
As
the
noted
study
of
request).
reject
- the outcome
in
be
(in
has
decision
before
this case)
to
then
the
that
appropriate,
couched
comes
financial terminology and justification.

It is certainly evident that many of the questions

invite pre-selected answers. While it might be suggested that managers/lending officers


do not listen or are biased towards a pre-supposed diagnosis, such an objection assumes
that some kind of objective data is there to be found by a manager if only he would listen
is
data'
however
'historical
document
What
the
that
the
are not
observations
properly.
Garfinkel
in
As
but
the
through
manager-customer
contact.
are
produced
and
givens
(1967) suggests;
"For the practical decider the `actual occasion' as a phenomenon in its own right exercised
overwhelming priority of relevance to which `decision rules' of theories of decision making were
without exception subordinated in order to assess their rational features rather than vice versa"
(Garfinkel 1967: 103)

137
The kinds of data that lending officers and managers work with in their interviews are
then decidedly not produced in order to create a 'true' image of financial accounts.
Managers are only are too well aware of the rough and ready character of the techniques
for
Risk
GAPPING
in
for
instruments
So,
technology
the
or
using
example
and
available.
influence
data
kinds
the
they
can
and
manipulations
of
are entirely aware of what
grading,
eventual outcome. They therefore regard the product of the exercise with some suspicion
just because the Risk grade is good the loan is secure. It is even debatable whether
that
managers would be interested in obtaining any such 'true picture' - particularly
involved

excessive effort

(Garfinkel's

(1967) 'administrator's

problem').

if it

As they

frequently stated they were mainly interested in a few 'quick figures', a quick picture of
the position under consideration. This is because such managerial work is directed at
finding

the answer to what Garfinkel (1967) has called the "practical

problem par

in
do
do
`What
"'
So
to
their
work
on
next?
managers,
customer
accounts
not
excellence:
for
images;
difference
"true'
to
the
they
to
attempt
create
a
meaningful
create
attempt
decision.
involves
into
lending
This
hand
transforming
problems
purpose at
- making a
is
one that matches existing routines
manageable problems - and a manageable problem
is
What
the
the
counts
of
customer's
as
solution
problem
a result of the
or procedures.
outcome of the transformation;

and equally what counts as the original problem is

during
this process.
redefined

The Lending Process: Practical, Rational Decision-making.


"You usually find that the decision you makefrom your gut is the one you go with. "

138
"For thepractical decider the 'actual occasion' as a phenomenonin its own right exercisedoverwhelming
priority of relevance to which 'decision rules' of theories of decision making were without exception
subordinatedin order to assesstheir rational features rather than vice versa" Garfinkel (1967)

This last section is concernedto document some of the features of what is seen,by the
bank to constitute 'rational decision-making' in lending work. To what extent are lending
decisions a product of 'gut feeling' or a product of notions of precedent, 'fairness'; or
organisationally prescribed lending formulae? How do these decisions come to be
perceived as 'rational'? What 'work' (the integration of paperwork and `computerwork',
report writing or verbal explanations and so on) needs to be accomplished in order for
decisions to be acceptedas visibly, accountably 'rational' - both locally and to Regional
Office? The Social Scienceshave long been concernedwith understandingand modeling
'decision-making'. Stereotypically, they approachthe problem of decision-making as one
of choice or selection - given that there is a set of conceivable meansto a given end, how
should an actor select the appropriate means. This selection problem is generally
in
approached terms of optimization: given certain information and certain criteria how
should the `rational' actor make the most efficient and effective decision - one that
desirable
certain
maximizes
outcomes - such as ensuring that loans are repaid, and
minimizes others - such as loans are not defaulted.

Within the bank the Lending Processhad already been re-specified in order to address
the historic legacy of an unacceptably high number of 'bad' decisions when loans had
`gone bad'. Within the Bank while the PIF was regarded as the `Bible' of Bank
procedures, the mnemonic `CAMPARI & ICE' supposedly constituted the `Ten

139
Commandments' (character; ability; means; purpose; amount; repayment; insurance;
interest; commission; extras) of lending decision-making.

Although it was a formal,

sanctionable mechanism for assessing lending proposals - occupying centre-stage in the


lending manual; observation suggested that attention to its details, as opposed to its
general spirit, was relatively rare27.As one informant said "if you start to thinklike Campari&
Ice-you'rejust going to get boggeddownin thousandsof things...itsjust commonsensereally". It was in

the appreciationof this balance,betweenapplication and non-application of `the rule' that


in
lending
The
least
`skill'
`skill'
the
the
resided.
other part of
was the
of
at
part of
construction of a rationale to justify decisions. In the following extracts Business
Managers are making lending judgements supported by the kind of local and informed
knowledge of their customer that might be regarded as being 'in the spirit 'of `Campari
first
instance
is
Manager
increase
in
Ice'.
In
Business
the
the
considering
a
and
very small
lending to a doctors' practice which is `in trouble' and under Regional sanction and
judgement
in
discretion'
favour
`managerial
to
a
make
of granting the loan.
exercising
1. Been to see some Doctors who have business account with the Bank Asked for an additional fXXXX
for computer to sanction purchase. Outside DP (discretionary power) (since under Regional
asked
...
Sanction - Agreed - because business is entirely satisfactory - GPs with turnover X.X7 - profit XXXK
for such a paltry sum;
to
tell
them
to
reasonable
wait
not
"I've worked in Regional Lending for 6 years and I know how it works.... you've got to put into context
my background, the amount of the loan... "
2. Looking at report to Region - checking for spellings etc - report phrased to support decisions

As she explains, the businessis satisfactory,the loan is small - "its not reasonableto tell
them to wait" - and her experienceat Regional Office enablesher to draft the proposal in
form
it
that
will
a
make acceptable.

2'

In fact when the fieldworker was first madeawareof it his informant, though an experiencedmanager,had `forgotten'
preciselywhat someof the letters in the acronym stood for. Of coursethis doesnot meanthat they had 'actually' forgotten, its very
familiarity may have madethe details of the mnemonicdifficult to accuratelyrecall. It is also indicative of the fact that'campari & ice'
was but one factor that had to be taken into accountwhen making lending decisions.

140

In this next instance the Business Manager is considering a request for a 100K loan to a

because
keen
for
is
building
is
loan
he
It
to
that
of the
make
quite
college
more
a
work.
Bank's perceived commitment to community and educational projects. However, there
legal
few
the
the
precise
position of the college
are a
problems with
accounts and
(whether it actually 'owns' the buildings it resides in - affecting its ability to offer security

for the loan). What seems significant here, is the `skilful' way in which `teamwork',
paperwork and computerwork are interleaved and procedures interpreted in the light of
`local knowledge' and `local logics' to accomplish the work in a fashion acceptableto
both the Bank and its customer;
1. Considering100K loan to X college -for more building

2. Looking at draft accounts - has been looking at accounts and liasing with college for some time some problem over ownership of land.
3. Developing some questions for answers from college - agreement in principle to loan with some
conditions -fixed price contract; staged payments; site visits.

4. Discussionof criteria for borrowing


5. Eileen (assistant)- GAPPing accounts

6. Interruption - instructions for GAPPing - talk about problems.


7. Phoning college - arranging papers - Principal not available
College
legally
borrow
the
the
they
to
problem
over
another
constitution
of
whether
are
allowed
money etc - lending - problem of powers of college to borrow money. 3 main worries - land; powers;
ability to repay - re: 40K deficit.

8. Calculating depreciation.
9. Using computer- BAF- to work out possible repayments..

10. Inquiries menu - repayment info menu - various options = O/D; loan fixed term; loan
-fixed
repayment; actuarial structured loan (BDL) - types in figures - 23Kper annum.

Meanwhile the Business Account Manager's Assistant (who sits at the desk next to him)
is also working on this account preparing the essential paperwork. She is assembling the
data so that the accounts can be 'GAPPed' run through the `Grading and Pricing Policy'
software program which will give an indication
appropriate levels of remuneration to negotiate;

of the likely

level of risk and the

141
1. Balance sheet carding - taking college accounts and putting onto balance sheet card - `Balance Sheet
Carding for individuals and Firms' when finished will put on screen and then GAPP them
2. Problem with GAPPing advice from Region applies to Polys and Unis not Colleges
4. Using screen - 'update financial accounts' enters figures from balance sheet onto screen
6. Still entering data onto screen looks at figures produced
7. Looking at guidelines from UKBB on Colleges
8. Interr - Bus Man- has found doset of accs show a surplus - management figures - "Which shall I
enter? " "I dont know "
9. Back looking at instructions/guidelines
10. GAPPed - Risk Grade 6- "I just followed the instructions I'll send it to Region now and they can
play around with it"
Next.
1. Still working on college report/interview preparation.
2. Discusses with Bus Man - rates for loan; had phone conversation with principal re: land; talk about
alternative uses etc (alternative uses of buildings and land etc - effects valuation for security) (tape)
3. Filling out 2 loan forms - 50K OD; 150K 10 yr BDL.
4. Calculating rates for loans
5. Bus Man dictating letter to college - Assistant still filling out forms.
7. Back filling inform
8. Asks Bus Man to sign and then she 71 key it in. Gives him to sign looking at form "its a matter of
interpretation isn't it? " -filling in managerial details.

In this extract we see a good example of how the `rules' of lending and the technology
associated with it are used as resources whereby what the rule is and how it is to be used
in this case is worked out and modified in the process of its application. This is not
`breaking the rule' but following the spirit of the rule much as Bittner identified `gambits
of complianced' (Bittner 1965). And to those in the bank this was hardly surprising though there may have been some disagreements about the end result. Its not just
Wittgenstein

that recognises that no rule can specify all the circumstances of its

application. What is instantiated in this extract is a practical working out of Garfinkel's


(1967) `etcetera' clause. In likening the 6t' Form College to a Polytechnic rather than a
school the bank staff are drawing on their understanding of what kinds of things 6`hForm
Colleges `do' in order to achieve some kind of fit between the category of `educational
establishment' and the lending `rule'. In this way they are orienting to the rule - using it

142
as a resource that makes their decision organisationally accountable. It is not ignoring the

rules but a skilful use of the rules -a `gambit of compliance' (Bittner 1974)"
"Extending to the rule the respectof compliance,while finding in the rule the meansfor doing whatever
needsto be done, is the gambit that characterisesorganisationalacumen"(Bittner 1974:78)

143
Lending on `Campari and Ice'
What was notable about the lending acronym `Campari and Ice' was the way in which
these factors were self-evidently not slavishly followed but oriented to and used with skill
decision.
lending
for
Regional
'case'
(often
judgement
to
to
office)
a
and
assemble a
Lending Managers often used CAMPARI

& ICE retrospectively

already made on 'gut feeling' or on their apparently 'intuitive'

to justify a decision

deployment of lending

`lore' developed over the years. As one Lending Manager put it, "You usuallyfind that the
decisionyou makefrom your gut is the oneyou go with ". What is gut feeling but a folk-term that
recognizes
information?

the experiential

and emotive

dimension

of some particular

body of

As one particular Area Manager, who had himself been a Business

Manager for many years said, tapping his chest: "at the endof the day...it's got tofeel right in

here".The work then becomesaccounting for that decision in ways that can be seenand
`rules'
organizational
with
objectives
such as
manifestly
complying
and
as
understood
'Campari and Ice'. The following extract instantiates the manner in which lending
judgements are made and supportedby the kind of local and informed knowledge of their
is,
`Campari
in
Ice'.
that
the
spirit
of
and
arguably,
and
customer
" this As a limited company account and it works very well.. I did look at the 836 and the 838 printout
..
again to see this utilisation of an account, see what its doing (looking at printout) ... it works very well,
no excess there is there at all, no excess days, .. thats a very important part of information produced
from the computer system,.. number of days in credit is important so its not in overdraft all the time,.. so
in discussion we go down and we talk to them about how the company works, the modus operandi of
...
their trading businesses so that I could get a feel and get a handle on how it operates, get a feel of what
the management is like, .. because seeing the operation, talking to them, trying to ask questions and get
a feel as to how good they are, and they're pretty switched on these guys... they know what they're doing
to get that picture over to an obscure lender who's stuck up there in Regional office"
and its dcult

The important point about this extract is the recognition that the application of lending

rules effectively takes place after a decision has already been made on `gut-feeling'

144
because, "they're pretty switched on these guys". Much of the activity is then primarily
concerned with developing a persuasive 'account' for that lending decision to Regional
Office, based on the knowledge that these are precisely the kind of indicators that
officials

at Regional Office will be looking for and expecting. In this sense then

`CAMPARI

& ICE' is less an 'organisational calculation' device for making lending

decisions than a template for accounting them, and in much the same way as Garfinkel
(1967) portrays the process by which juries account for their decisions. As such it
resembles an active process of `calculating'

a 'folk logic' (Buttny 1993: 49) "a logic for

rather than the more static and rationalist


action,that is, what is right, moralor at leastacceptable'
concept of `calculation'. As Buttny writes,
".. negotiating and coordinating diverging logics is more complex than simply applying a general rule to
a particular situation. "(Buttny 1993: 167)

Business or Lending Managers do not need total recall of `CAMPARI

& ICE' to get a

sense of when lending decisions are `wrong' and the suspicion and discovery of 'fraud'
provides particularly instructive examples of the remembrance of similarity, of cases as
being 'like this'. The Bank's 'Action sheets' outline a whole series of possible frauds
including money laundering and 'cross-firing' and the various warning signs that staff
be
for
large
large
dormant
transactions;
alert
should
such
as
cash
sudden
activity
over
or previously inactive accounts; and so on. In this extract a Lending Officer is discussing
a recent suspected case of money laundering;
".. she came in supposedly a company director with a salary of 20 thousand
bank
with
no
existing
..
...
told the branch she was on 20 grand a month
had an
account.. it just didn't add up
she
she
..
..
American passport and said she was the director of an American
company.. and she wanted investment
advice and all the rest of it.. and I didn't like the look of it.. and I said we ought to report it to Fraud..
because she also said that once the account is open
in some cash and draw out a draft
to
wanted
pay
..
to pay for a BMW.. and I didnt like it and the Manager at the time his eyes were all lighting up
...

145
because he saw all these sales in the background he said its alright
I phoned directory enquiries
..
'never heard of it'
it was just a number of things why hadnt she got an account or a letter of
..
..
introduction?
the fact that she wanted a draft so quickly, it stank of money laundering..
..

This is very much in the fashion of Orr's (1990) 'war stories', anecdotesof experience
that serveas a vehicle for calculating:
"because of their situated quality
the context
the war stories are situated in that they combine
with
...
..
of specific situations. The contextual information demonstrates the claimed validity of the facts of the
story, guiding the integration of those facts to the hearer's model" (Orr 1990: 175)

In this limited account of the casethe Lending Officer discussesmethods for inferring,
from appearances,the probability of fraud. Following Sacks (1972) we can see these
methods as comprising at the least two components; the organization of the field of

operation as a 'territory' of normal appearances'- what a normal account looks like over
the course of its running; what people of a certain status might expectably do or have as
possessionsand so on - and the deployment of an 'incongruity procedure' -a set of
expectations as to what is not 'typical' for the setting.

Rational Decision-making

and Categorization

Work.

A slightly less serious example concerns the preparation, by the Lending Centre of an
interview brief for the branch concerning the owner of a 'takeaway' restaurant. Since a
previous account (an Indian Restaurant at the same address) went to IDRD (Insolvency &
Debt Recovery) the Lending Officer is particularly interested in issues of insurance and
security, especially as, in this case, the suggestion is that the owner's religious beliefs
prevent him from taking out insurance cover.

146
One of the Lending Team (ZZ) tells the Assistant Manager that "the previous owners of the business did
not make a success of the business... account at IDRD.. and conduct of the account since opened gives
great deal of causefor concern.. "
Assistant Manager: "yeah.. certainly not give
the OD"
..
ZZ: " I've put that on there.,I think they're going to have to consolidate it but on strict credit working
and full security "

The point here is that what occasionstheir concern over the account is the recognition of
a similarity, in this instance,betweenthe accountsof the previous owner of a businessat
the sameaddresswhich eventually went bankrupt, and those of this owner. That is, there
is a particular kind of `calculating' going on, akin to categorizing and cross-referencing28.
What repeatedly comes through in the fieldwork transcripts of lending and control, is
practical membership 'categorization' work, the production, utilisation

and display of

various categorization devices as practical and ongoing accomplishments.`Membership


categories' as first outlined by Sacks(Sacks, 1974) are classifications or social types used
to describepersonsor phenomena.Thesecategoriesare linked to form natural collections
or membership categorization devices becausethey are commonsensically or `naturally'
in
famous
`go
Sacks'
`the
baby
to
together'
assumed
as
sentence
cried the mommy
picked it up' - so, for example, mummy, daddy, baby etc form part of the collection
`family'. Within the bank the three most obvious categories are `credit worthy', `not credit
worthy' and `potential fraud' although there are clearly variations within these and, on
occasion other categories (for example those used in the `Managing Local Markets' sales
drive) may come into play. Here the identification of `relevance' in the varied activities

associatedwith identifying the 'worthwhile accounts'or 'sales opportunities' or 'accounts


in trouble' or 'accounts to be managed-out'involves members' methods of membership

28

Nevertheless,no facility exists in their systemsto cross-referenceautomatically in this way, and recognition of the problem
comesentirely from the accumulatedexperienceof one of the team

147
categorization for recognizing identifications of, or references to, particular financially
relevant phenomena.

Financially

include
activity
relevant phenomena

through the

account, details of the acquisition or loss of recent business, or the availability of other,
unknown, funds or sources of income. It also includes notions of financially appropriate
behaviour - such that, for example, someone wanting to borrow money to buy a BMW
would normally have a bank account and a recommendation from their former bank. It
ideas
for
again
about membership of relevant charitable
also,
example, encompasses
organisations - hence the instructions in the bank manual on spotting businesses about to
go bankrupt to consult their local Rotarians or Businessmen's Clubs.

These methods involve the use of bank staff's knowledge of acts, actors and their
contexts, - money, businessmenand the commercial world - organised as membership
devices,
categorization
membership categories, (rules of application) and category
predicates. Category predicates - or category bound activities which include rights,
expectations,obligations, knowledge, attributes and competences- are activities that are
expectably and properly done by persons who are the occupants of particular categories.
Armed with this knowledge Lending Officers and Managers involved in lending control
and monitoring make `worldly interpretations' (Driessen, 1997) of the significance of the
items occurring in the customer file and on screen. Perusal of the customer record also
involves what Sacks (1974) terms, 'incongruity procedures' or geographies of suspicion.
As the Lending officer looks at an account on screen or on a printout the stacking up of
figures on the right hand side of the representation
'numbers
days
overdrawn' of
graphically, and `at a glance', illustrates an 'account in trouble'.

148

Decision-making

as practically

oriented.

With its interest in the ways in which the world is made orderly, ethnomethodologyis
but
decisions
in
the
are mad,e
which
way
obviously concerned with understanding
derives its senseof the matter from the recognition that `decision making' is `no special
topic' but is involved in the organisation of practical coursesof action. It therefore treats
decision-making as somethingthat is a feature of the courseof action, taking place in and
factors
involved
itself.
In
this
the
the
the
action
view,
of
course
organisationof
as part of
in making a decision and, crucially, what a decision amountsto, is revealed in the course
is
interwoven.
Decision-making
interaction
as various calculative rationalities are
of the
treated as practically oriented. The practical question is how different calculations or
invoked
in
they
the
as
are
and
articulated
each
other
are
articulated
with
considerations
decision-makingprocessitself. As Anderson et al suggest:
".. in the lifeworld of business, calculation and organisation are not so much segregated as harmonised
in and through the motifs of competent practical action" (Anderson, Hughes and Sharrock 1989: 102)

One, relevant,

example of this is in Zimmerman's

(1974)

'Fact as a Practical

Accomplishment' that considers how the factual grounds for action are established. Both
in this case and within the bank the interest is in what is it that confers on a particular
for
fact
its
'determining'
(given
that
or
computer
of
paper
screen
authority
matters
of
piece
matters of fact need to be 'determined' in the practical, right here, right now sense).
Determining matters of fact is difficult, given that lending applicant's stories cannot, and
usually are not, taken at face value.

But neither can an application

be summarily

dismissed. Relevant evidence must be assembled and arrayed to show whether certain

149
eligibility

for
in
Ice,
have
been
(in
`Campari
theory
example,
practice,
and
criteria
met

what investment borrowers were making in the business proposition).

Judgements must

be made both about what evidence might be required in any particular case and what
Officers
Lending
Clearly,
evidently
to
weight
put on any particular piece of evidence.
for
'investigative
Zimmerman
stance', adopted as a method
adopt what
would call an
'thoroughgoing
facts
the
though
the
the
evincing
necessarily
not
of
matter
establishing
is
by
knowledge,
by
This
Zimmerman.
experience and
supported
stance
scepticism' noted
documents
history
investigations
the
that
of
customer's
and so on can
of
an understanding
information
useful
produce

that perhaps runs counter to any initial

impression. As

Zimmerman writes:
"When a document is rendered problematic in a given case, the document producing activities of which
it is a part are made accountable as orders of necessary motives, necessary actions, and necessary
procedures which may be used to analyse the features of the case and reach a determinate and
warrantable decision. It is the artful accomplishment of personnel that they are able to provide such
accounts which sustain the organizationally required use of documents over the manifold contingencies
of everyday investigations. " (Zimmerman! 974: 143)

So, for examplein the caseof the potential fraud:


".. she came in supposedlya companydirector with a salary of 20 thousand with no existing bank
..
...
account.. it just didn't add up "

Lending Officers and Managerswithin the bank, as they go about their everyday work of
making decisions about loans face a particular practical problem - the achievementand
display of `proper' calculation. In this work, display of the use of and reference to
existing documents,screensand expert systemsis one component of the job; part of the
routine work which goesinto making a systemof calculability operate.Various aspectsof
calculability are seen to be operating in the examples outlined above, for example,

150
calculability

in relation to the determination and fixing of interest levels, fees etc. The

variety of ways that assorted calculative rationalities

interweave in the context of

negotiations over agreeing the loan, account management, servicing the loan etc is also
be
loans
`good'
Manager
Not
to
that
the
can
ones
make
attempt
notable.
only must
repaid and on which the bank is receiving appropriate fees and interests. But he must also
consider how the loan can be represented to others - Regional Office and conceivably
Head Office - in such a way that the calculative rationality is both visible and acceptable.
Acceptable, that is, in terms of complying with the bank's rules. The essence of everyday
practical work for Managers consists of making `good' loans, which in turn requires
evaluation of lending opportunities and consequent representation within a system of
Within the Bank this was epitomised in the acronym `campari and ice'

calculability.

(character, amount, means, payments... etc) which was generally supposed to guide
lending decisions. However, as documented, the very components of `campari and ice'
haphazard
themselves
often
unpredictable,
and subject to rule of thumb. As the
were
from
lending
interviews
the
show, all that was required in guiding `gut instinct',
examples
dirty'
figures,
from
few
'quick
interview
and
pulled
was a
or a variety of paper and
electronic documents, in order to provide the basis for a decision.

The fieldwork

examples illustrate

the practical,

everyday

working

out of loan

propositions. The emphasis is not on components of `campari and ice' or the premiss of
calculability

but
Managers
do
fit
the
that
to
their
on
work
make
activities
with the
-

various `organisational terms' associated with calculation and calculability. This involves
grappling with the sheer practical difficulties of determining which figures are required

151
for the purpose, knowing how to manipulate and represent them. It is not simply a
in
done
be
figures'
is
'in
then
the
should
what
working out
and
question of seeing what
terms of loans, interest and repayments. 'What is in the figures' is something that has to be
is
integral
document
this
of
part
an
use
computer
and
worked out and represented, and
by
Business
Manager
figures
the
So,
for
the
the
produced
various
example
process.
figures for being overdrawn, the amounts covered by insurance policies, the requirements
for debentures etc are themselves the product of a series of `accounting procedures'.
These procedures make up a system of calculation and are designed to give a picture, a
is
business
being
loan
is
being
is
how
run, a
paid off, a
an account
representation, of
functioning. But the picture, the representation, that they give is certainly not clear and
in
interpretation
is
to
a number of ways and therefore the product
unambiguous and open
kinds
of managerial work:
and
continuing
of various
".. in the context of the working business' day to day decision making .. things are unpredictable,
..
haphazardand subject to rule of thumb. The most that can be hoped for, and really all that is needed,are
a few'quick and dirty' figures on which to make a judgement.." (Andersonet al 1989:105)

As the examplesshow, one of the central features of managerial work centreson various
kinds of documentary co-ordination and condensation (Anderson et al 1989). This
involves the 'modal transformation' of paper and electronic documentssuch that one set of
materials (such as a screen-basedaccount of an interview) is turned into another set (a
form)
in
highly
labour,
based
Appraisal
distributed
division
the
that
so
others,
of
paper
can work on them. Others within the bank- such as the Lending Centre or Regional Office
have
figures
for
in
lending
to
these
the
work
on
and
with
example
appraisal or
interview brief.

152
"... the modal transformation achieved by work of documentary coordination and summary facilitates
..
the processes of interpretive calculation without which such decision making would not have the
character it has....to achieve a consistent set of documentary representations so that any comparisons
will be meaningful and useful for those that have to work with them.. " (Anderson et al 1989:)

The 'formatted character' of the lending brief, that is, its list of figures to be collected,
calculated or commented on; and its perceived priority, the logic applied and steps set out
in procedure and followed are built into the system of calculability. They are part of the
way in which an organisational system of calculability is made to work. In this way sets
of `calculables', objects to be manipulated in calculations, are produced. The figures
arrived at in the course of the Business Managers work therefore - and, more importantly,
the implications

of them, are rather more than the simple end product of a set of

straightforward calculative procedures. But what exactly they are has to be worked out
and worked up in detail through various `accounts' - such as reports to Regional Office;
Lending Appraisal forms, conversations across the desk and so on. The figures are
from
produced
a range of interactional and organisational contingencies. So, for example,
Harper's (1989) phrase of 'not just any old numbers' refers to the fact that'meaning' is
attached to the figures produced by calculative processes. Moreover, bank staff in
general, and lending officers in particular, are used to dealing with the complexity of
numbers. They commonly distinguish, for example, between 'true' and ledger' balances on
accounts and recognise that numbers can be interpreted in a variety of ways. However, at
issue here is not just the classic issue of the nuanced interpretation
of the numbers - but
that some sets of numbers, some ranges of numbers get treated differently.

That is, there

is a range of numbers within which calculation is


easy and another range in which it
becomes difficult

for
techniques
and
a
range
of
accommodating that difficulty.
-

So for

153
but
in
others,
television
the
easy;
repair man's case was relatively
example, calculation
for example the case of whether a debentureshould be taken over a 'rag trade' business,
are far more complex.

Data gathered mutually elaborate one another (the pattern of deposits and withdrawals
indicated by the 836 print-out, the large cheques for round amounts, the customer
However
knowledge
the apparentand acquired solidity of
on
suspected).
past
notes/local
financial information can continually be undone as new data can come to the fore,
Team
Lending
For
the
the
example
members
of
when
emerging pattern.
conflicting with
husband/wife
discovery
look
linked
the
to
of
a
with massive credit
accounts
at
are urged
'he's
in
influence
the
a
of
classic
and
apocryphal
notion
an assessment - epitomized
can
God to this Bank'.

In the everyday ebb and flow of working life in the bank the strict

become
to
criteria
noticeable only when things go
application of rules or explicit attention
lending
be
justified.
Moreover,
the
to
practices
of
managers
and
officers
need
wrong or
data
There
criteria.
are cross cutting systems of
and
concerned
with
solely
are not
relevance and strictly

financial

be
overruled because of the practical
criteria may

for
demand
from
(such
the
the
time
situation
as
example
an
urgent
exigencies of
taxman). In the same fashion, and for the same organisational reasons routines are
sometimes overridden

because they are time-consuming.

commented 'its easier just to phone Regional Office-

As one of the managers

if the need is for a quick decision.

The fieldwork on Lending documents a series of expectable or ordinary troubles -a


suddendemand for increasedlending, an account going 'out of order' - whose solution is

154
These
in
to
their
problems
available
practices.
readily
members and as a part of
working
do not normally occasion recourseto anything other than the usual solutions - examine
the account, send 'letter of concern'and so on - they are 'normal, natural troubles'. These
in
their
soluble
and as a part
problems and
solutions are normal and natural and putatively
of everyday work. The local logic of problem solving involves membersin:
"sift(ing) through locally relevant possibilities
their own agendas and
social
actors
use
..
understandings to produce "answers" that are then fitted to 'questions'. "(Boden 1994)

Such local logics invoke a planful searchthrough a seriesof candidatesolutions sincethe


Lending Team or Managers cannot do just anything to make the problem go away. Other

is
to
these
their
candidate
solutions
not a
so
and
solution
are
not
amenable
problems
for
In
these
circumstances, example, how to lend money to a Sixth
normal or usual one.
Form College? How do you respondto someonethreatening to kill their pony?, workers
have to find and evaluatepossible solutions quickly, taking into considerationthe present
situation, the resourcespresently available, as well as, ideally, any (possibly long-term
and remote) consequencestheir activities might have. Such situated problem-solving
initially
in
that
are
workarounds
specific to the situation at hand but may become
results
part of the repertoire of used-before-and-seen-to-workcandidate solutions. They may be
further generalisedthrough processesof social learning as workers sharethe various 'local
logics' with colleagues.

The essenceof this argumentis that the existenceof a formula such as `Campari and Ice'
and the manual of proceduresfor applying the formula, mask the way in which reasoning

155
is shaped by contingencies and the `skill' that goes with recognising, identifying and
addressing such contingencies. These circumstances influence how the `formula' is
applied in specific cases,what determinesthe extent or limitations of its applicability, and
the requirements for making any formula `work' and, importantly, be seento work. As
Anderson et al (1989) suggest the figures which are fed into any such formula as
'Campari and Ice', and on which crucial lending decisions rely, have much in common
with'wild eyed guestimations':
"This work involves grappling with the sheer practical difficulties of determining which figures are
wanted, pulling them out, and then knowing how to manipulate them and assess their product. "
(Anderson et al 1989: 105-6) " success depends upon managing the interplay between precision and
..
interpretation in calculation. ". ( Anderson et al 1989: 121).

Thus the requirements for strictly accurate calculation may be relaxed in the light of the
importance of local knowledge about the customer or their business. The use of
judgement in the operation of whatever calculations are available is part of the everyday,
practical work of the Manager. This is what Anderson et al (1989) call 'customized
accounting':
have to be able to apply the principle to the case to see what is really wanted as opposed to
.
what is asked for, set out in the rules, or whatever. This divination of the intention behind the sets of
rules and requirements is another aspect of the interpretive character of the system of calculability"
(Anderson et al 1989: 133).
"(workers)

As such it involves 'reasoning with the system' - for example and as documentedin the
fieldwork notes,'what is a Sixth Form College like -a school or a University? It involves
kinds
various
of recognising and reasoningabout similarity and difference; where a rule
should apply and where it can be over-ruled - that this `rag-trade' businessworks very
but
that at this level of risk the bank needsto protect itself by taking a debenture.
well

156
Lending decisions are then the products of socially organized accounting work and as
such are `accountable'. Firstly in the sense that the documents on which decisions are
based - the printouts, customer notes etc are available as objects of debate and reinterpretation, and, in the case of loans that `go bad' certainly will be called upon in the
financial autopsy that follows business failure. Secondly in that lending decisions and the
paperwork and documents that accompany the decision are effectively 'displays' of the
find
depend
them
to
to
to
them
can
say
or
methods used produce
what
anyone
mean
will
on interpretation of the displays. In these circumstances the Manager must keep in mind
exactly what others (those in Regional Office) might make of his interpretation of the
information.

The knowledge that anyone working within the system possessesand uses is what Pollner
(1987) calls a locally organised corpus -a body of knowledge that makes itself available
to those in the setting - knowledge of how to do these calculations with these materials in
this organisation. But while there are available sets of instructions and guidelines - in the
PIF - for idealised lending decisions real world, real time lending decision-making can
rarely conform to such idealised procedures - except in the post-hoc rationalisations of
report to Regional Office. The general orientation to the system of calculation as a display
is that it should be applied consistently to all like cases and one task of Managers using
the available documents is achieving first this match of like with like and then attempting
to achieve consistency between them. Such an achievement is visibly on display as an
'account' in the final lending appraisal form, allowing others (in Regional Office) to
follow it to see how the decision was arrived at, why the figures came out as they did and

157
hence how far they need to be taken into account, can be relied on, and so on. In this
sense,lending decisions, as part of a process of making a system of calculability work,
have also to address what, for any particular circumstance of lending, constitutes
To
the
some this
and
calculability.
margins of probability
correctness,allowable error,
has
instinct'
'gut
it
is
down
instinct'.
that
'gut
To
this
to
reliance on
precisely
comes
others
display
is
is
in
This
there
the
the
of
such
an
emphasis
on
why
past.
produced problems
'proper' calculation:
"the primary orientation of such estimations is that the system of calculation should be applied as
consistently as possible to all like cases. The knowledge is put to work in achieving first the match of
like with like and then the consistency between them". (Anderson et al 1989: 137)

In her discussion of decisions and decision-making Boden (1994) suggeststhat classical


theoretical treatments often confound our understanding of these organizational
decision-making
is
located
in
instead
fine-grained,
that
sequential
suggesting
phenomena,
is
Of
'local
logics'.
Within
the
the
notion
of
activities.
particular
relevance
organisational
logics
lending
local
are deployed to provide 'routine' but
such
everyday work of
neverthelessskilful responsesto both expectedand unexpected'normal natural troubles'.
Local logics serve to focus attention on the social aspects of problem solving and the
local realisation of rationality. Identifying and discussing such local logics also signals a
from
is
the
that
notion
rationality trans-situationalor mentalistic in character.
move away
The notion that rationality is something overarchingthe setting and external to it in some
manner is problematic since it elides the 'lived work' of doing rational problem solving.
As the fieldwork extracts suggestthis has more in line with how we do this here and now
with just what is available than with some ideal-typical formulation external to the

158
setting. What comesto be seenas rational is a situated achievement- this doesnot mean
that anything goes, rather it meansthat for somethingto be rational it must be accountable
in terms of what Sacks (1992) has called 'why that now?' The notion that rationality
somehow resides in the head is equally problematic since, as the fieldwork documents,
the selection and implementation of candidatesolutions is thoroughly social in character.
It is interactively achieved and made accountablethrough its sociality. Members of the
Lending Team or Managersmay well be asked to account for this or that decision - and
they may well be asked "what were you thinking of? " - but those seeking such accounts
look to the achievement - was it a good loan or a bad loan, was it `properly bottomed'
and so on - as opposedto what has been in their headsat the time. In other words, things
become rational in the ways that they are made accountable, and making this or that
accountableis a social process,focussingon what one has achieved.

159

Chapter 5: Working With/Through


'Technology'

The

".. IT will turn servicesfrom highly labour intensive, paper shifting, minimal technology activities into
..
fully-fledged tertiary mechanisedindustries,with massive leaps in labour productivity in a comparatively
short period of time - hence the analogies which some writers draw with the Industrial Revolution.."
(Blackburn et al 1985)
" if you go and speak to our systems people they would say there are parts of the software that they still
don't know how it works because the original inventors of the package have long left the Bank.. now and
again they still change parts of it and it has effects that nobody foresaw... there's a branch... which has
been closed a long time but we have to keep it open because when they tried to close it in the Bank's
books. the computer records.. it threw all sorts of things out... and they haven't found a way yet of closing
this branch out in the Bank's books ...the computer still thinks this branch is open on a daily basis" Bank
Manager talking about the computer system.

Part One: Banking on the New Technology.

Introduction: Technology and Organizational Change.


This chapter documentsand reflects on the deployment and use of technology within the
bank using the fieldwork observations to provide an empirical grounding to recent
debatesabout the role and impact of new technologies on organisational life. Despite
debate about their precise character, changesin the nature of work in mature industrial
been
increasingly
have
intertwined
with the deployment of IT. (Scott Morton,
societies
1991)

Information

Technology is seen as a key element in organisational

change,

especially IT systems that can facilitate coordination and communication of decision


making, and support skill and knowledge (Zuboff, 1988). As distributed and collaborative
work has increasingly moved from a `physical' to an electronic basis the advent of
widespread distributed computing and its convergence with communications has become
widely accepted as an increasingly

important feature of work in a wide variety of

160
domains.(Robins, 1992) Such developments are highlighted by the introduction within
organisations of such technologies as email, desktop video conferencing systems, the
expansion and use of databasesof electronic documents,distributed electronic networks
(Intranets),the emergenceof `groupware' and so on.

Financial institutions have long been in the forefront of the use of distributed computer
in
in
begun
have
to
they
explore,
conjunction with major changes
systems and recently

the organisation of banking services, the increased use of IT to support aspects of


decision-making, quality control and customer services. These new IT systems - accounts

information
databases,
management
systems and so on - are
packages,expert systems,
intendedto incorporate greatersupport for shared work since organisationalcentralisation
is
IT
co-ordination,
and
support
requires
much
greater
consequently seen as
necessarily

essential.Information and communicationstechnologies are thereby commonly regarded


in
for
change
management
programmes
such
as,
example, businessprocess
as essential
re-engineering (BPR). Although BPR can be variously characterised as a recipe for
fundamental change or as a more modest and progressive refinement of business
objectives in terms of core processes (Harrington,
universally

seen as critical29. Other studies similarly

facilitating

organisational

change (Applegate

1991), the role of IT is almost


ascribe a central role to IT in

1994; Ciborra

1996; Karsten 1998))

stressing its capacity to, analyse and disseminate information as part of the coordination
of work activities. Davenport (1993) for example suggests,

29
In particular, IT is significant becauseit is capableof magnifying the accuracyand the scopeof measurement.Thus,
"Measurementsare key.If you cannot measureit, you cannot control it. If you cannot control it you cannot manageit. if you cannot
manageit you cannot improve it. " (Harrington, 1991).

161
".. the use of IT for process innovation (is) a virtual necessity" and ".. although it is theoretically possible to
bring about widespread process innovation without the use of (IT), we know of no such examples. "

Such an emphasison technology is hardly novel;


"The relationship betweentechnologyand societyhas beenan enduringconcernof sociology sincethe
first stirrings of what becameknown to later generationsas the Industrial Revolution awakeneda rather
innocent awarenessamong somethinkers that here was a force that could transform human life forever."
(Ackroyd et al 1992)

Since at least the work of Marx, technology, and the social impact or shaping of
technology has held a central position in many sociological debates.
"Modem industry rent the veil that concealed from men their own social process of production, and turned
the various, spontaneously divided branches of production into so many riddles, not only to the outsiders,
but even to the initiated. The principle which it pursued, of resolving each process into its constituent
movements, without any regard to their possible execution by the hand of man, created the new modern
science of technology. " (Marx 1967Capital Vol 1: 486)

The future of work, it has been suggested,is intimately connected with the future of
involve.
is
little
this
there
might
technology, although
consensusabout exactly what
Castells(1996) for example,in his vision of an `Information Society' suggeststhat:
"The maturationof the information technologyrevolution in the 1990shastransformedthe work process,
introducing new forms of social and technical division of labour. .... By the mid-1990s the new
informational paradigm, associatedwith the emergenceof the network enterprise, is well in place and set
for its unfolding" (Castells 1996:240).

Despite, or (more likely) because of, the proliferation of theoretical positions, this debate,
frequently amounts to little more than a strong, often political

and moral, rhetoric.

Characterised increasingly in simplistic terms of utopian and anti-utopian perspectives on


technology (Kling

1992), various writers suggest that the future will

somehow be

determined,for good or evil, by new technological developments.


"Authors write about changes in technology and social life with a range of analytical and rhetorical
strategies. They bombard us with their glowing vision of technical wonders able to rapidly manipulate
large amounts of information with little effort -- to enhance control, to create insight, to search for
information, and facilitate cooperative work between people. Others concentrate on a darker social vision
in which computerization only serves to amplify human misery
dependent
on complex
people
-technologies which they do not understand, or doomed to routine work, because computers have usurped
the interesting intellectual tasks." (Kling 1992)

162

As Kling (1980; 1992) notes these different analysessharecertain common conventions


by presenting essentially similar narratives of a universalized, homogenized future. Just
as Marx historically posited the combination of technology and a particular form of social
relations (in part facilitated by the potential of technology when used within these
relations) as integral in the exploitation of the proletariat and the emergenceof a new
form of society; so, more recently, Braverman (1984) arguesfor the degradationof work
and the deskilling tendenciesof capitalist systemsof production as a constituent of the
broader political and economic context within which technology is developed.In contrast
(1974)
'utopian'
Bell
such
as
suggestthat IT will create a world of work that
more
writers
is more skilled, creative and flexible, heralding the demise of alienated wage labour. In
their discussion of the proposedarrival of 'the information society', they posit the role of
new forms of technology (information technology) in the constitution of a new class of
workers ('the information worker'), new forms of work and new forms of social relations.

Other analyses of technology and social relations adopt a 'micro' approach. Social
constructivists such as Bijker (1995) provide an account of technoloy which sees the
technological artefact as socially constructed, emerging out of choices and negotiations
between relevant social groups. In this approach the shaping of technology is a complex
matter and not simply a direct translation of economic and political imperatives. Although
this approach specifically promises greater attentiveness to the phenomeon of technology
in its own right, in practice many of these accounts are simply reassertions of standard
sociological positions with regard to standard sociological categories of power relations

163
such as class and gender. Once again the tendency appears to be that the technology
disappearsin the processof abstracttheorising and polemic. In a similar fashion the 'actor
network' approach of Law (1984,1987)

and Latour (1987) and others promises much.

Collapsing any distinction between 'the social' and 'the technical' these writers replace
these categories with the notion of physical and social 'actors' involved in the
developmentof technological systemsthrough their assemblyinto a 'network'. However,
apart from a truly appalling prose style, there are a number of empirical and conceptual
problems with the claims of this approach.The ways in which webs of technical and nontechnical actors form 'networks' - structuresof social action - rarely receives the kind of
empirical attention such claims merit. Similarly in well worn sociological fashion the
ignores
largely
the lived detail, the content of the technology as it
actor network approach
is routinely encountered instead it continues to attempt to transform the senseof the
phenomenaunder considerationin the interestsof developing 'theoretical' insights.

These generally theoretical accounts are noticeably characterisedby the absenceof any
details of the active use of technology. Despite all the critical attention given to
technology in these studies there is a noticeable absenceof in-depth empirical work on
how it is that technology is actually used in practice. Instead the imagined effects of
technology have been discussedwith little in supporting empirical evidence from studies
of technology in use. In the attempt to generalise,to theorise, many of the details of how
technology is actually used in real settingshas been lost. Perhapsthe first steptowards an
understanding of technology and working life is then to insist on rigorous empirical

164
be
Diagnoses
to
subjected to close empirical
observation.
of organisational change need
examination as Ducatel (1992) writes;
"We would expect communications innovations such as computer networks to affect organisational
relationships. However, the changes caused by computer network communication will be hard to predict
beforehand. Any changes will be as much a reflection of organisational culture as a product of the
technology in itself... The absence of an a priori direction in which the technology will take organisations
makes the empirical investigation of how computer network technology is being implemented of the
utmost importance and urgency. " [1992: 166]

Despite the developing organisational emphasis on IT most attempts at understanding


`technology in use' have been strongly theoretical, leading in many instances to what
Button (1993) calls "the case of the disappearing technology".
new technology

(Knights

& Willmott

Even empirical studies of

1988) have failed to address the details of

technology in use. Instead they have focused on the role of the technology in producing
from
derived
themselves,
which
or
workplace
configurations,
are
particular managerial
generally theoretical treatments of organisational life.

The important point is that many of these studies are not interested in the technology at
all, or the work involved in using technology, other than as just another exemplar of a
sociological theory of reality at work. As Button (1992) suggests:
"The general run of sociological interest in technology is said to be less concerned with questions
concerning the constitution and organisation of technology than it is with using technology as a platform
from which to observe the constitution and organisation of the structural arrangements of society....
instead of examining what it is about human activity and human interaction that makes technology the
recognisably distinct phenomena it is understood to be by those who design it, make it, use it.... an
analysis of the posited shaping forces can end up taking precedence, and technology itself can thus
become merely another incidental arena in which to observe them at work. "

Despite their claims to involve empirical investigation of technology at work what all
these studies do is to theorise the phenomena through the analytical categories and
procedures favoured by each particular sub-disciplinary
Hughes (1995) comment;

'perspective'. As Randall and

165
"Empirical sociology has demonstrated an extraordinary unwillingness to address the details of work and
its activities
Typically, the conventional sociology of work takes for granted the details of the work
......
itself in favour of rather gross typifications, which, it is argued, display the social character of the work
...
What these do not do is tell you about what the work consists of except as decontextualized `examples"'.
(Randall and Hughes, 1995: 144)

Recently, however, and notably within the developing field of Computer Supported
Cooperative Work (CSCW) a number of researchers have begun to conduct
become
has
Here
"technology
the
technology
a
study
of
use"
ethnographiesof
at work.
topic in itself. These 'workplace studies'have an interest in the use of technology related
to understandinghow work gets done and generally provide detailed descriptive accounts
in
As
technologies
a
complex
set
of
organisational
as
situated
relationships.
of workplace
Orr (1996) puts it they;
"describe skilled practice, show how varied and demandingis the work when seen in detail, and then to
..
show how often things developfrom that practice". (Orr, 1996)

Heath et al (1993; 2000) suggest there is a need for these studies because our relative
ignorance of the social organisation of the uses of technology in collaborative work
settings "mayhaveprofoundimplicationsfor the successof technologieswe are attemptingto develop"
(Heath,Jirotkaet al., 1993).This criticism has been one of the central motivations for the kind
of workplace studies that attempt to 'take the technology seriously', that is to study the

details of work and technology use in detail. This chapter attempts to describe some of
the real world practices whereby technology use is enmeshedinto a `system' of work. It
details how, in highly particular but nevertheless generally applicable ways, the
technology is used, misused, and rejected in the `flow' of activities-being-done. Of
interest here is the notion of `intentionality'; that usersactively construct a concretesense
of the objects they are working upon in order to get their activities done. The
intelligibility of an object in the course of accomplishing some activity is a continuous

166
in
indicate
how
Fieldwork
thereby
what ways usersmake
and
achievement.
observations
'
Consequently we may
information.
the
thereby
senseof
machine and
produce relevant
by
technology
to
the
use
explicating the
of
come understand
real world organisation
social practiceswhereby members' observablymake senseof their activities.

Technology and Organisational

Context

Organisational decisions to deploy any IT system are clearly products of particular


interpretations
of the social and organisational context of work,
organisational
incorporating notions of efficiency, profit and so on. This includes what might be
both
`macro-organisational
a
context' of
as
and
conventionally
glossed
conveniently
institutional policies, politics and economics and a `micro-organisational context' of the
`practicalities' of local work organisation. IT systems are generally introduced and
developed in accord with a range of organisational, managerial and local priorities and
in
to
themselves
that
subject
change
even,
are
and may
policies; priorities and policies
Williams
(1996)
be
in
Procter
As
instances,
and
conflict.
argue:
some
"The workplace experience.. highlights real constraintsin the way that systemsare developedand used,
and in particular, the conflicts of interest which surround the design and use of IT systems at work"
([Procter and Williams 1996:450).

Similarly Yates' (1989) historical analysis describes how changing organisational


demandsfor technologies, for complex and formal communication systemsinteract with
the development of new managerial philosophies to produce particular deployments of
technology for coordination and control, creating a complex, multi-layered relationship
between developing technologies, organisational requirements and evolving managerial
philosophies.

167

Like many other financial institutions in the UK, and elsewhere,the Bank implementeda
transformation of the `traditional' organisationof banking servicesprimarily to enablethe
organisationto becomemore competitive. It was also an attempt to align the organisation
with perceived developments in managerial philosophies, technological infrastructure,
modem working practices, and increasing competition in the financial markets. To meet
this competitive challenge,the Bank saw a need to changethe culture of the organisation
from its traditional, predominantly `administrative culture' to what was regarded as a
modern `service and selling culture'. This strategic plan was implemented in various
ways; primarily through a general and comprehensive restructuring involving the
centralisation and standardisationof processes;but also through more experimental and
business.
Both of theseapproachesinvolved considerableIT support for
of
radical modes
organisational developments. The most significant organisational development involved
the centralisationof `back office' processingand the creation of specialist centres,such as
Lending Centres, Service Centres, and Securities Centres, all servicing `high street'
Customer Service Branches. This required considerable investment in developing and
banking
the
retail
configuring
platform. In addition there were a seriesof more innovative
IT initiatives, undertaken as pilot projects, exploring the possibilities of remote access
through video-links to specialist advice; the electronic transfer of documentsbetweenthe
Bank's highly distributed sites and so on. As is common in commercial circumstances

thesesystemswere effectively 'parachuted-in'to the particular locations3o


"Bannon (1996) usesthis term to refer to "the literal "dropping" technology
of
onto an unsuspectingpopulace,and then watching
what happens". He also comments"While such an approachcan on occasionbe fruitful and provide evidencefor completely
unexpectedusesdevisedby the populace,in general,the lack of relation betweenuserneedsand the technology provided usually

168

Everyday Use of the Technology.


"It is curious that more attention has not been focused on the ways in which individuals actually
accomplish their work in environments highly dependent on new office technologies "(Blomberg, 1987)

Although usage of the technology was task specific, throughout the bank two 'workhorse'
database
and
a
relational
were commonly available and
an
accounting
package
packages,
a regularly observed feature of routine, everyday work. Instances of these two packages
in everyday use come, for example, from the new Lending Centres created by 'Delivery
Strategy' to perform the lending control functions previously carried out at branch level.
Here the work is organised by the creation of a number of separate lending teams which
division
is
labour
branches.
This
division
a
of responsibility,
also
of
service particular
instantiated in the lending limits attached to each position. Observation of everyday work
in the centres revealed a developing history of using the technology to inform decisiondecisions.
intents
to
those
to
make
purposes
and
all
and
making and eventually -

The 'routine' lending monitoring and control work of the Lending Teams centred around
dealing with the daily computer printout (the WE008) that detailed the accountsthat were
"going out of order". This entailed examining each identified account, firstly by calling it
both
how
to
the account had historically beenmanaged
the
see
accounting package
up on
being
Next
the relational database was used to peruse the
currently
run.
and was
customer'snotes to seethe history of the customer relationship, what action, if any, had
been taken in the past, whether 'concern' letters had been sent, chequesbounced, and so
results in the total abandonmentof the technology." The point to make is how common such an approachis in commerciallife, and

169
on. Finally a decision would be made on what course of action to take. By checking the

working of the account and the history displayed in customernotes as well as viewing all
the relevant post and letters, the lending team ensured that work on the 'out of order'
printout took place with full knowledge of the circumstances of each account. The
following extract from the fieldnotes illustrates the everyday, routine use of printouts in
teamwork; the relationship between printouts and computer use; the extent of checking
knowledge.
deployment
local
tacit
the
and
and
of
3. Looking at printout - accounts going out of order
15.Logging in for details of Account. - using Account Number from printout.
16. Usesyesterday's printout -compares with to-day's
17. "1 know I spoke to him the other day and I want him to send me an income breakdown.. know he's got
.1
a cheque guarantee card - he's cashing them in a local newsagent. "
19. Decision making - looking at screen - when payments come in; extent of OD (overdraft) in the past "because we haven't written to them since last February..... I could bounce his cheque. I'll send an LC
(letter of concern). "

Here the accountspackageand the databaseare being deployed and combined with local
knowledge

-"I

in
decision
to
to
him
day
"come
to
the
order
a
about the
spoke
other

lending
initiating
different
is
By
the
the
account
officer
enquiries
on
able to see
account.
"whenpaymentscomein" for example, whether a regular salary cheque is likely to be paid

into the account within the next few days, and whether there are likely to be any regular
in
form
direct
debits or standing orders that will
the
the
of
account
payments out of
potentially worsen the financial position. Similar an enquiry regarding the working of the
account over the previous six months or year will provide a picture of the "extentof OD in

thepast" and give the lending officer some clues as to whether the current circumstances
are unusual or, for example, confirm a picture of growing 'hard debt'. Finally,
examination of the relational databaseof 'customernotes' furnishes a synopsisof dealings
how this may be necessarilythe case.

170
with the customer and a justification for any proposed course of action. In this particular
be
lending
the
that
the
could
returned unpaid customer's cheques
case
officer suggests
"I could bouncehis cheque". However, since such an action is usually either a reaction to
long
the
of
a
period of negotiation and graded
end
product
unusual circumstances or
different
in
this
last
haven't
February....
""because
case a
warnings we
written to themsince

is
in
form
'letters
the
the
to
of
concern'
regular warning cycle of
of a return
reaction,
probably merited.

A further illustration of this kind of work comes in the following, very brief, extract
is
interrupted
by
his
Lending
Manager
Assistant;
where a
2. Interruption - Assistantshows him screenand discussescase - asksfor a decision - talks about decision
him
limit
he'll
be
"whatever
"
it..
to
we
give
up
-

Here the Assistant is dealing with a customer who has asked for an increase in his
overdraft limit and accessesscreens detailing the working of the account over the
includes
figures
for
'risk
This
the
the
and
year.
giving
grade'
previous six months
customer,highest and lowest levels of credit and debit on the account,number of days the
account is in credit, commission, interest and so on. The screen readily reveals that
whenever the customer has been given an increased limit on his overdraft within a
limit
been
has
time
that
reached,as the managersays, "whatever
relatively short period of
limit we give him he'll be up to it.. ". The decision then becomes one of whether the
account can sustain a new overdraft limit or whether the account is effectively drifting
into a position of 'hardcore' debt. This decision in turn is facilitated by accessingother
screens such as 'linked accounts' (which will reveal whether the customer has other

171
indications
in
'customer
that
that
the
accounts
are credit) and
notes' screen
will give some
bank.
dealings
business
the
the
of
customer's
with
and

This final extract highlights the interconnectionsbetweenthe different software packages


as they are used in the everyday work of decision making - in this case the decision to
'bounce' (return unpaid) customer cheques. It also highlights the implicativeness of these

for
bank.
for
both
for
Manager
the
the
and
other
work,
other
sections
within
actions
1. Doing 'out of order' accounts printout.

2. Calls up screen- entersaccountnumber.

3. Decided to bounce - customer had phoned and was sorting it out - Branch phoned about outstanding
tax bills - had changed decision.
4. Writes on printout - underlining - adds notes in margin for action by Assistant "He's supposed to be a
good account - but I know he isn't -I know because I've spoken to him on the phone"

5. - to look at on Monday - to send chequesback as 'late returns- highlights to see if items likely to be
paid in/cleared on Monday.
6. Interruption - phone.
7. Working through printout using screen - customer interview notes.
8. - shouts across the room - to someone in Debt Recovery about the account.

Here the Lending Manager is dealing with an account in trouble and, having been

informed by the local branch of an outstanding tax bill on the customer's account,
reverses his previous decision to allow the customer to 'sort it out' and determines to
'bounce' instead. This decision will have been shaped by perusal of the historical
bank's
dealings
in
the
the
the
and
with
of
account
customer
workings
- particular whether
the escalating programme of 'letters of concern' to the customer has been followed
through. Having made the decision to 'bounce'the Manager then shows his awarenessof
the three (actually four) day clearancecycle for chequesso that chequesalready in the
system can physically be found and returned. He also needsto record his decision in the
'customer notes' and takes the opportunity

to inform Debt Recovery - to whom the

accountis being transferred- about the circumstancesof the transfer.

172

far
became
Bank
implemented
Strategy'
the
As `Delivery
throughout
everyday work
was
implementation
based
`rule-driven',
the
of organisational plans
careful
on
more obviously
Thus
there
becoming
technology.
increasingly
the
on
use
of
reliant
and procedures and
kinds
decision
far
for
making software,
of
various
greater reliance on
example, a
was,
(for
the
form
in
the
that
to
machine
the
over-riding
extent
of credit ratings,
particularly
Similarly
if
decisions)
in
lending
a
mistaken.
not
was regarded as exceptional,
example
large proportion of the routine work on the `out of order accounts' in the mass market was
WE058)
(the
introduction
the
through
of
a
new
printout
-a system
effectively automated
for dealing with accounts that had gone `out of order' that essentially
`computerising'

involved

the existing manual process. In the case of the WE058 the printout

level
indication
details
of
the
of
what
customers account working and an
of
contained
identification.
`C',
`D'
`B',
in
form
`A',
the
of an
concern was appropriate -

`A', for

is
the
that
customer
the
uncleareds
against
overdrawn
account
was
example, was where
had funds paid into their account but they had not yet cleared (when cheques for example
`B'
be
the
in
where
was
the
unpaid)
still
returned
could
and
system
clearing
were still
.
had
but
income
the
`good'
account
account, with a reasonable
account was regarded as a
become overdrawn because its credit zone needed to be increased. "C' accounts were
level
limit
the
to
their
of
given
maximum possible overdraft
where customers were up
their income and, in consequence, leeway was more limited tending to take the form of
loans.
`D'
accounts were "thecrud - basicallyall we do with themis bounce,bounce,
consolidation
bounce".

173
`Actioning' possibilities for 'out of order' accountsconsistedof four `letters of concern'
(two `soft' and two `hard') followed by returning chequesunpaid and recalling `plastic' further
involves
the
Each
these
work
with
of
cheque guarantee cards and so on.
technology. The Assistant usesthe accounting packageto instigate a balance enquiry to
be
discover
that
there
to
could
are any savings
whether
see the state of the account and
have
database
to
he
the
Then
to
a
the
transferred.
customernotes
examine
relational
uses
look at the history of the account, and to see if there has been any recent contact with the
had
be
for
that
the
there
saying
customer
phoned to say
a note
could
customer example,
they would be `paying in' tomorrow. If a' letter of concern' is to be sent the Assistant will
for
for
letter
`LCH1'
template
the
to
the
concerned
computer
produce a standard
use
balance
letter
`hard'
the
the
the
and
will
enter
account
and
one
example produces
Manager's extension number.

Expert Systemsand Workflow.


In recent years financial institutions have begun to explore the increased use of networked
IT to support decision-making, quality control and customer services and various expert
for
informational
been
have
provided
programs

databases, risk grading, and decision

here
bank
has,
been
for
The
that
the
to
research
reported
refers
a
years,
making.
number
in
its
business delivery strategy, changes heavily dependent on
undergoing major changes
IT systems to facilitate decision making, co-ordination, and the flow of work. The point
of this section, then, is to pay some attention to the technology and to highlight how these
systems are utilised as part of everyday, routine work. The emphasis is also on relatively

174
`new' technologies

`expert'
on
new
-

programs and 'workflow'

systems recently

introduced into the bank.

As part of the implementation of 'Delivery strategy' a number of new `expert' software


(grading
GAPP
The
bank's
in
and pricing
specialisedcentres.
programswere placed the
The
Centre.
Business
to
the
for
software
example,was a recent addition
policy) machine,
`Risk
it
the
Office
from
to
Regional
had
calculate
and was used
come
on this machine
Grade' of Businesses. This in turn influenced lending decisions and the pricing policy
that should be adopted on a customer's business account. GAPP was an attempt to
be
done
been
(and
had
to
continued
previously
automate and thereby standardize what
done) manually, often appearing as a mere additional check. What is also interesting
bank
is
(1997)
Berg
the
that,
technology
notes,
the
as
within
use of'expert systems'
about
in order to make systems 'work', actual working practices have to be 'disciplined', in order
to fit the requirements of the system. For example, data input into the system has to be
routinised,

standardized

and objectified.

In this context

rationality,

including

decisions,
is
locally
so
achieved as
sound
and
on,
measures,
standardization, objective
part of the work process:
" how can we ever begin to try to tell the computer just when the basic rules apply and when they might
is
begin
has
Wittgenstein
to
say
something
explicit
why
we
we
often
cannot
even
make
argued
not.. as
..
`equal' or not: we shrug our shoulders and simply say `we do that this way"'(Berg 1997:)

Another recent expert program was `TecSec', a workflow system introduced into the
bank's Securities Centre for the taking and maintaining of securities. Workflow
is
documents,
information
the
or tasks are
of
procedures
where
automation
management
in
from
to
one participant another a way that is governed by rules or procedures.
passed

175
The 'workflow' approach has diverse origins drawing, for example, on scientific
flows
their
of
on
emphasis
management and systems analysis perspectives with
information around organisations; as well as the longstanding tradition of office
automation. (Abbott and Sarin 1994) Conventional wisdom suggests that particular
organisationalforms, those with extensivepaperwork and standardisedprocesses,such as
in financial services best accommodateworkflow systems. (Mintzberg 1979; Ramage
1994). The rationale behind the creation of specialised Securities Centres lay in the
requirement for technical accuracyin the taking, maintaining and releasing of Securities.
When carried out in the branches,Securitieshad been a job entrusted to relatively high
grade staff, and the comparative rarity of certain types of security meant that accurate
completion was always problematic. By concentrating Securities in a specialisedcentre
by
developing
branches
the
of
a
and
appropriate software, it was argued
servicing
region,
that the processcould be completed far more speedily and efficiently using lower grade,
lower paid staff. One consequencewas that work in the Securities Centre seemedfar
in
intense
branches;
than
that
the
encountered
more
an intensity related both to the
complex nature of the work and the use of new software - `TecSec' - that effectively
drove much of the work.

The process of taking, maintaining and releasing securities generally involved the
preparation of legal documentationand getting the forms executed. While the Branches
completedthe initial paperwork most of the work was done by the SecuritiesCentreusing
the new software package,`TecSec". After the Branch filled in the forms they were then
checkedby the SecuritiesCentre, typed into the system and then the software essentially

176
drove the whole process through the release of `formalities' which directed the staff in the
`doing
Centre
Securities
the
in
For
the
the
workers
various procedures.
completion of
in
the
between
interactions
involved
themselves,
workers
other
a complex series of
work'
Branches, the software, and the paperware. In the Securities Centre then, the work was
fashion
in
to
the
driven
by
production
the
a
similar
and,
software
computer
obviously
line, involved routinisation

through the stepwise completion of circumscribed tasks.

Indeed, the software was based upon and instantiated just this feature of the work seen as
its
Despite
defined
the
this
work,
routinisation of
and specified steps.
a series of clearly
practical accomplishment

depended upon dealing with various contingencies which

invariably occasioned the need to consult files or colleagues, to refer to past actions, and
knowledge
informally
is,
drawing
that
the
that
and
expertise
of
was
pool
upon
so on;
in
`routine'
Further,
the easy completion of
the
teams.
the
appearance
of
available within
is
being
interweave
the
to
matter
of
an
achieved
able
procedures
complicated
what are
includes
the
which
not only the technology
work environment
resources available within
knowledge
but
A
files
the
the
and
of
others.
experience
regularly observed
also
and
feature of the day-to- day work of the teams was its dependence on various formal and
informal team working and small constellations of assistance that were regularly drawn

day.
during
the
that
the
the
contingencies
various
arose
address
and
resolve
upon
Consequently,despitethe apparently`computerdriven' nature of the work, successfuljob
knowledge
independent
is
dependent
heavily
on
activities
and
of the software
completion
package,and the further up the job hierarchy, the more obvious this becomes.

177
Finally, many of the newer software packages were a response to the organisational
restructuring within the bank and the emphasis on developing a service and customer
centredculture. Within the SecuritiesCentre this emphasison the customerand customer
best
`lying
to the
legacy
in
bizarre
the
as
characterised
phenomenon
satisfaction resulted
based
Centre
in
The
the
around a workflow
was
machine'.
new expert program used
`formalities'
involved
It
Securities
the
the
of
various
completion
process.
model of
before allowing workers to move on to the next stage in the program. Workers were
formalities
before
had
indicate
the
they
they
to
that
all
on
each
screen
completed
required
This
be
(by
to
to
the
the
proceed
next.
rigid workflow model
machine)
would
permitted
On
it
happened
however,
that workers
problems.
occasion
create
occasionally
would,
before
formalities
later
to
to
completing the earlier ones, when there was
on
needed move
in
the
to
such
model
as
when
a
strict
workflow
customer
was engaged a
a need subvert
'mortgagerace'. In thesecircumstancesit was a common practice for workers effectively
to `lie to the machine' - that is to tell the machine that formalities had been completed
information
into
had
be
to
the
to
the
to
they
enable
work
progress
and
not entered
when
the system.

Databases and 'the customer in the machine'.

The 'customer'is oriented to in various ways by financial service organisations,and more


on this is included in the next chapter. Here particular interest is with the representation,
development and deployment of the 'customer in the machine' and how this impacts on
and is brought off in everyday work. The interest is in how the technology within the
bank, by giving accessto a customer'saccount or relationship history, or through 'expert'

178
programswith their typifications of customerbehaviour, was regularly brought into play
as an aspect of everyday customer work. Such technologies, and their representationof
the customer 'in the machine' appearedto be routinely deployed as an integral aspectof
cooperating with the customer; as a factor in the configuring and reconfiguring of
customer behaviour; and as an element in relationship management.The accounting and
databasepackagesprovided an obvious representationof the customer in terms of the
history of the working of an account and the varied dealings with the bank and its
products. Expert programs similarly incorporated and depended on a whole series of
models, predictions and scenarios of customer behaviours such that the 'customer in the

machine' could be depicted as a complex but ultimately knowable and, importantly,


predictablebeast.

In these circumstanceswhat becameimportant in such customer work was orientation to


the technologies containing the customer record. Attentiveness to the `customer'
represented in organisational records and attentiveness to unravelling the history of the
customer's account and complaint using the available technology become especially
important for organisational

actions. The importance of the electronic record was

manifested in the mundane fact that practically every instance of customer contact began
with the provision of an account number so that details of account working or customer
notes were available before the customer came 'on line'.

Skilled use of technology and in particular the careful and skilled perusal of the 'customer
in the machine' were regularly used to support such features of everyday work as the

179
`managing out' of 'difficult, and non-profitable customers. The technology readily makes
available

'warning
know
how
'read'
to
them
to
those
signs' of
who
-a number
-

"frequent, urgent requests for increased facilities"; "cheques issued in round amounts, in
dated.
This
to
the
points to claims as to the predictive power
sequence
same payee, post
'Action
fashion
Bank's
information.
In
the
the
technology
the
a similar
usage of
of
and
'kitelaundering;
'cross-firing'
frauds
or
sheets' outline a whole series of possible
- money
flying; 'tizzy hunting' and the 'flip-over fraud' that staff need to be aware of as they peruse
deployed
being
daily
basis.
In
the
this
machines
are
normatively as
case
accounts on a
for
The
'in
the
the
signs
machine'.
various
warning
record
part of a moral assessment of
'money laundering' for example, (large cash transactions; sudden large activity over
dormant or previously inactive accounts; large CHAPS payments immediately followed
by transfer out or request to draw the proceeds in cash) require an awareness of features
of the electronic record.

This is revealed in the following

fieldwork

extract where a

Manager is passing an account over to a Lending Officer;


it was an account I picked up ages ago (as problematic).. we've reported it... every3 or 4
Manager: "...
.
months have a look at it.. there's some big entries going through at the moment.. two cheques going
there are big payments
through for two and a half thousand pounds .. Fm sure its money laundering..
going abroad.. now the account had been dormant for 12 months.. and then it suddenly started... "
LO: "I don't think its money laundering..! think they're trying to siphon off.. I think its cross-firing.. "
Manager".. yeah he was.. but all that was a while ago and then it went very quiet in the last 6 months..
this money that's going through.. they're doing something"
Manager: ".. but I don't know what exactly and why.. there's two cheques this last week for S grand.. so
just keep your eye open.. I'm sure there's something happening there.. "
LO" 'There's always been something fishy there.. '.
Manager: ".. to me it.. stinks.. something must be going on.. "

The manual of warning signs for 'cross-firing' demandsa similar sensitivity to variations
in the electronic record. Increasingturnover out of all proportion to the type of account;a
substantialunclearedposition; credits containing chequesfor large amounts,a number of

180
cheques for round amounts; cheques which cannot be regarded as cleared within the
normal clearing cycle; are all important

indicators that can be derived from the

`depiction' of the customer `in the machine'. However, a moment's consideration of this
in
As
important
facet
technology.
the
was suggested the
reveals an
of such subtle uses of
previous chapter, the numbers representing certain kinds of activity on a customer's
account have no absolute significance in and as of themselves. Rather it is the situated
arrival at some kind of meaning for those numbers, according to whatever relevances are
currently being brought into play in a particular set of circumstances that provides any set
of numbers with their significance.

Management Information Systems


The reorganisationof the Bank was initiated through the redistribution and centralisation
of functionality and as the scale of the functional units increasedissues of management
information
became
paramount, particularly in the identification and
control and
labour
information
Management
costs.
calculation of
serveda variety of purposesand had
in
but
been
collected
a
variety
of
ways
previously
as the move toward larger and more
geographically dispersed units progressed various forms of electronic monitoring became
increasingly

important.

sophisticated monitoring
monitoring

One example of this is the varied reports available

via

software used in the various telephone `call centres'. The

kit, positioned on the Manager's desk, provided a real-time display of

inbound, outbound, available and unavailable phones with times attached to each and was
daily
basis to monitor staffing, for example, to ensure sufficient staff were
on
used
a
available to cope with peak periods of activity. Each `operative' was represented on

181
inbound,
by
block
block
indicating
the
their
the
status
as
present
screen
a
colour of
outbound, unavailable, etc. - while on the manager's screena series of calculations and
indicators appear.These changein accordancewith the state of the service, for example:
`grade of service' (a calculation based on speed of response, waiting times; calls
abandoned,etc.), `queuing time' (in seconds.), `calls abandoned',`total calls abandoned',
`calls recorded', `average answering speed'. Each indicator can be examined in more
detail. The equipment will show, for example, how long the caller was waiting before
they abandoned-5 secs.10 secs.and so on.

Managementinformation from this systemwas initially provided in the form of a number


of computer generatedreports; for example an `agent report' provides details of what
individuals are doing throughout the day in terms of whether they are available or
unavailable for calls, how many calls they took, averagetime of calls, etc.. Thesereports
were then used to create spreadsheets,again as part of a managementinformation pack,
information
for
higher
in the management
the
those
summarises
effectively
which
hierarchy. However, what requires recognition is the `work' and decision making
involved in the accomplishmentof managementinformation. Despite the use of relatively
bald
figures produced need considerable
the
monitoring
software,
sophisticated
interpretation before they can have any value as `management information'.

So, for

example,one managerpointed to someof the figures and commented;


"his % time was low because he kept wandering round the ofce.. I came in with a ball of string and tied
him to his chair... his times are better now", "her time on the phone was low because she came in and then
went out to work with another team", or commenting on the figures for grade of service, "we try to keep it
above 90%... last Monday it fell to 72% -... - three staff were on holiday and three were sick.. we couldn't
answer the phones any quicker ... last week I promised them cakes if they got the GOS (grade of service)
up to94%.. "

182

Above all, the main point to make about the decision making process and the usage of
information (whether on paper or computer) is concerned with appreciating the careful
consideration that needs to be given to what the figures mean in terms of the actual events
and circumstances which they index. That is, as was suggested in the previous chapter
is
information,
information,
based
decision
the
that
making sense of
on
and any
making
dependent on certain `nuanced' understandings that are frequently a product of the local
knowledge of the available personnel and the particular circumstances of their work.

The careful construction of management information becomes a resource for both


rationalising future work and increasingly to predict or anticipate volumes of work and
staffing. The description is not simply a description of a certain body of work done over
a certain period of time. It is a description that necessarilyinforms their understandingof
just what the work they are doing might amount to.

Subsumed within it are

representationsof what a normal amount of work to be received and got through might
consist of, revealed in both periodic totals and averages.Inevitably the production of an
`adequate'description of the work requires some sort of previous knowledge of just what
`adequacy',in the terms of the organisation,might amount to. The totals, percentagesand
so on that together make up the 'ManagementInformation' amount to more than merely a
`truthful depiction of the work we did'. The pragmatic value of such number work
residesin the way it comesto inform work allocations through understandingsof what is
and isn't practically achievable,and to provide for rationalisations of particular instances
of failure or success.

183

All of the above reveals the extent to which ManagementInformation is not something
that unproblematically resideswithin the computers,to be accessedat the simple push of
a button.

In fact Management Information is a `representation' of the work of

individuals, teams, and whole sectionsthat has to be worked up and achieved in a rich
interweaving

of computer-based materials, and paper documentation.

Management

information was one way in which managerssought to practically achieve a displayed


orientation to the much vaunted principle of standardisation; to provide `adequate'
do
in
their
the
that
staff
particular circumstancesof accountability; and
accountsof
work
to arrive at practical decisions as to how to distribute work.

The practice of

mathematising and rendering real work phenomenaopen to further transformation and


manipulation in `standard' and `generalisable' terms made Management Informati
issues,
for
for
discussion
the
of
other
example, to do with performance and
resource
staffing.

Part Two: Banking on the Old Technology: `legacy' systems in use.


"The scenario is all too common: An application has served the business needs of a company for 10 or 15
years. During that time it has been corrected, adapted, and enhanced many times. People approached this
work with the best intentions, but good software engineering practices were always shunted to the side
(the press of other matters). Now the application is unstable. It still works, but every time a change is
attempted, unexpected and serious side effects occur. " (Pressman 1997: 790)
"Its like a ghost... a Lending Centre that doesn't exist anymore.. " IT Coordinator

"That's why Group IT spells git" IT Coordinator.

Information technology has often beenthe subject of quite unreasonable`hype' and quite
unrealistic expectations. Sweet's

(1997) comment, "somethingelse we may have to wave

184
"
30
in
bank
know
it,
its
the
is
to
years,..
next
to
the
as we
alreadyon wayout andpredicted vanish
goodbye
(Sweet1997:30) and its accompanying scenarios of `off-planet' banking, remain, of course,
inspired journalistic
videoconferencing,

fictions

and even relatively

developed technologies

banking
booths,
Internet
are currently
and
video

such as

still largely

business
first
institutions
financial
Instead,
the
of
among
wave
were
experimental.
since
basic
deal
their
their
to
a
great
of
operations
organisations
computerise many of
functioning

is now dependent on what are increasingly ageing systems. Despite the

emphasis on 'new' technology such technology dates very quickly

to become 'old'

technology, a 'legacy' system, and a problem for those required to use it. `Taking the
technology seriously' requires that we address the impact of `legacy' issues on everyday
working and organizational life.

Of the main `workhorse'

systems in use, BAF, the accounting/bookkeeping

package

dated from the 1960s, and, "had bits bolted onto it"; while the more modern relational
database dated from the 1980s. This system was seen as `dated', `slow', prone to
friendly'
breakdown,
`user
and not
unpredictable

and the fieldnotes document how it

`went down' or `went slow' on a regular basis. Occasionally this was for considerable
in
frustration
little
ingenuity.
These criticisms
time
and
resulted
great
and
of
not
a
periods
remained, at least to some extent, with the updating of the system from `dumb terminals'
to a `Windows' environment since this in itself failed to address some of the major legacy
concerns. So, for example, for the IT Coordinator problems with the relational database known as ISS - were a regular, often daily occurrence. The following extract is a fairly

185
typical example - here he has been phoned by one of the staff to be advised that the
systemhasjust crashed:
"Its crashed.. what all morning?.. so you cant do anything and you have that for how long? OK"
"1'11just try and get into ISS myself. doesn't it come up with any error messages?"

Advisesuser to close ISS down and try again. "I cant get on it myself at the moment"Asks around the ofce
"Is anyonehaving anyproblems with ISS?" Chorusof 'yeses"

711 ring Service Line"


Phoning Service Line - to see if failure is across all sites. "That's very unusual.. its engaged.. and there's a
lot of lines going into there.. it means there's a hundred million people trying to get in at the same time"
On phone - to another IT unit explaining problem "We're having a problem with ISS and its effecting all
the users here.. I've just tried to get through to Service Line but surprisingly enough its engaged which is a
bit unusual so i just wondered if you could take a look for us and see if there's a problem.. "
Discovers there's a problem at the one of the data centres -" it tends the data centre we're on.. I need to
send an email out to all users to let them know.. "

The accounting packageis regardedas a particular, and typical legacy problem. This is
cogently illustrated by the 'problem of the phantom branch' related by one managerin a
commentthat resonateswith the concernsof Pressman(1997):
" if you go and speak to our systems people they would say there are parts of the software that they still
don't know how it works because the original inventors of the package have long left the Bank-now and
again they still change parts of it and it has effects that nobody foresaw... there's a branch... which has
been closed a long time but we have to keep it open because when they tried to close it in the Bank's
books. the computer records.. it threw all sorts of things out... and they haven't found a way yet of closing
this branch out in the Bank's books the computer still thinks this branch is open on a daily basis"
...

Whilst this may appear an exceptional, if not ridiculous, example, essentially similar
circumstances would arise on a regular (if not predictable) basis. This is detailed in the
following extract from the fieldnotes where a Manager provides a familiar explanation for
the failings of the direct debit system on the newly installed retail banking platform. In so
doing he also indicates some of the organisational concerns and skills and training issues
that arise as a consequence of technological legacies.
1. Regular Payments screen - comparing screen to confirmation of customer's instructions
2. Reg Payts Direct Debit Type I screen hesitates
-

3. Manager -

Wehave a situation here...

Screen has originator as GE Capital Bank letter says Dixons


- correspondence to customer quotes
Dixons and reference number However only information bank has ((goes to Regular Payments
screen
and points to entry)) refers to GE Capital Bank..

186
4. Problems with Direct Debit system - Set up by two experts some years ago - No longer contracted to
work for the bank - System now isn't user friendly - To put matters right would involve large resource and
expense so they make do with what they've got

The persistent problem of the multisort code facility is an interesting example of the
it
legacy
issues
towards
the
new ways of working since was
emergence of
with
movement
issue
that simply would not have arisen prior to the attempt to reengineer and refocus
an
the organisation.

The problem with the multisort

code facility

emerged from the

integration of a number of branches into one massive regional lending centre. As the new
Delivery Strategy was implemented it became a cause of increasing and regular concern.
The multisort code facility was central to the role of the Lending Centre as a regional
lending centre integrating and absorbing the lending functions from a large number of
lending
its
branches
At
smaller
centres.
and
simplest it enabled them,
customer service
for example to send the same templated letter to a number of people whose accounts were
drawn on different branches without having to do the job in batches and change the sort
code each time. The issue surfaced with monotonous regularity in the daily work of the IT
Coordinator. In the course of a three week observational `shadowing' the multisort code

issue was a persistent irritation - the following simplified transcript from a day's
how
issue
the
reveals
of the multisort code capability was returned to
observations
throughout the course of the day. It also illustrates the way in which legacy issuescan
impact on each other because of organisational priorities. In this case the multisort
impacts
on the `violations log' that acts as a primitive monitoring and measuring
problem
device of the efficiency of the unit and is overviewed by Group Audit.
1. "we've got a problem with sortcode... we have multisort code capability here but this number
..
..
becauseit did'nt have multisort code capability before it came here its having difficulty cannot add a
....
variable sort code.."

187
2. Phoning another IT unit.. ".. not accepting a normal variable sortcode.. we can key it as an internal sort
code but then it doesn't do what we want it to do.. can you think of anything?.. "

3. Explaining problem.

4. Phoning Service Line "enquiry re: multisort code keying explains.. "currently not in variable sortcode
table. ". (Looking through papers while on phone.. at form - 'Sanctioning for Main Sort Code' - problem
re: sanctioning for migration of N. E Lending Centre - sanctioning form that allows them to key data for
remote branches. )
':.. VSC is not valid for multi sortcode keying.... its obvious that we're not on it.. "
5. Service Line phoning back re: sortcode problem
".. do we still do this through
machine..
using
..
Regional Ofce?.. the problem is this sortcode. ". explaining problem to IT Services
6. ".. so we just go through Region and they should be able to sort this problem out?. ".
(still on phone about 'violation issues)
7. Has to go through Region to get capability to multisort code.. will impact on violations printout
8. Explaining -"Its my understanding it was the bies".. original bies not set for multisort code keying..
'The bie's nothing to do with it.. right"
9. Phoning Regional Ofce.. re: multisort code keying "
to do something at your end.. "
we
need
you
..
(some problem re: who's responsible) "
10. Gets letter re: reporting lines "I'll just read that out again.. "
explains rang Service Line - who said he had to go through Regional Office.. gets fax number.. explains
issue again..

11. Later.. composingletter.. altering headingtemplate.. letter re: multi-sortcodecapability


12. Printing letter - getssent of to RegionalOffice files copiesof letter away
..
13. In the afternoon he gets anotherphonecall about the multisort codesand again explains the problem
"Its like a ghost... a Lending Centrethat doesn't exist anymore.."

Another example of the way in which organizational factors increasingly impinge on


what seems a straightforward technical issue became apparent in the concern over
`customernotes' on the relational database.The relational databasewas purchasedin the
1980s and itself required a huge effort in transferring paper based records onto the
system. However, this was prior to the massive restructuring of the bank and the change
in focus from the administration and security of accounts to a new emphasis on sales and
customer service. This new emphasis was heavily reliant on developing a sophisticated
database on customers in order to offer them appropriate financial products. In these new
circumstances the field sizes allocated to customer notes suddenly became inadequate for
the amount of information required. Similarly the move towards standardisation and
uniformity of service provision that led to the development of an organisational library of
templated letters to be sent to customers also created legacy problems. Again it was

188
discovered that in some instancesthe space allocated was insufficient and resulted in
important details being left off the letter, details that were thought to be essential in
conveying a senseof'quality' customerservice.

These kind of problems are not, of course,unfamiliar in organisationswhich were at the


forefront of computerisation and whose systems are rapidly nearing the end of their
effective life. "Legacy' as an issue is easily identified with ageing and creaking
indication
is
This
of the unwillingness of those
an
mainframes.
not necessarily
is
but
for
development
to
the
an
make
appropriate
of systems
changes
responsible
indication of just how difficult it is to modify systems in use upon which the work
depends,not to mention the problems of technical complexity. In significant respects,
is
because
This
technological.
these
organisational
as
as
much
as
are
so
such
problems
they direct attention to the needto reorganisework and implement new technologiesin a
more integrated way and `legacy' concerns can arise quickly out of the organisational
context of use even with the newer software packages.

The way in which legacy issues emerge over time as a feature of organisational
restructuring

was also manifested in a number of concerns over the security of

information.

The organisational emphasis on the development of a customer focused

selling culture - `turning tellers to sellers' - was reinforced both by the introduction of
sales targets, a `mystery shopper' program and customer satisfaction indices and by
constant managerial admonitions. This new organisational emphasis on customer service
had the unforseen effect of rapidly highlighting

some of the legacy issues of the old

189
technology - in particular the clash between the demands of customer service and the
bank
beginning
At
staff
the
of our observations
more traditional requirements of security.
beginning
in
branches
to
'dumb
the
experience some
terminals'
and
were still using
in
been
had
database
data
In
such a way
the
set
up
system
particular
problems with
entry.
that if there was no input for about 30 seconds the screensaver came on and unless the
data page had been completed that data would be lost and need to be re-entered. The
justification

for this was on the grounds of security - needing to protect customer's

confidential

details. However, with the new focus on customer service came an

index
'Mystery
in
the
the
and
satisfaction
measured
via
customer
expectation - reflected
Shopper' campaign - that phones would be answered 'within three rings'. Inevitably this
impacted on data entry and data loss. Within the Securities Centre of the bank this
legacy
in
bizarre
the
the
satisfaction
customer
resulted
and
customer
emphasis on
illustrations
`lying
These
brief
to
the
as
machine'.
phenomenon already characterised
legacy
the
that
there
underscore
point
concerns are not
examples
are many more
and
intimately
in
in
focus
but
being
the
technological
also
organizational
sense
of
merely
in
in
to
the
any changes
everyday accomplishment of work and responsive
wrapped up
working circumstances and priorities.

Part Three: Banking on the Old, Old Technology - Paperwork.

One of the major transformations of modern society is the advent of the bureaucratic
organisation in which administration by records assumedthe essential role that it now

190
has.31More particularly, this involved a routinisation of record keeping through, for
example, the standardisedformatting of documentsto reflect the `rationalisation' of the
application of policy and procedures. One of the major implications of this was the
embedding of organisational actions in the processing of paper records so that, in
significant respects, paperwork was the work. Work becomes, that is, a matter of
following set routines as specified in the formatting of the document and the document's
relationship to other documents and other activities. 'Technology' therefore is not
restricted to computer systems and within the bank, despite the massive investment in

features
in
the
the
systems
one
of
most
noticeable
computer
and applications
of work
bank, perhaps typical of offices generally, was the sheer volume of paperwork. While
has
innovation
in
been concernedwith replacing manual
the
systems
much of
computer
systems of record production, maintenance and use; the variety of forms, folders and
printouts covering each desk, and occasionally the floor, within the bank, mocks the now
dated vision of the 'paperlessoffice' (Zisman, 1977; Ellis and Nutt, 1980; Ellis, 1983).
However, it would be unfair to see this as an ironic commentary on the over-weaning
ambitions of technological innovation since there are no benchmarksto assessthe extent
to which, with the massively increased volume of business, what the amount of
have
been
would
without computerisation. As a Manager proffered: "How much
paperwork
paperwork would there have been without computers? ... in Liverpool.. you had a supervisor and three staff

dealing with three letters,A to C. "

"The classic study of this is still Weber (1947)

191
in
its
important
role
Nevertheless, the sheer amount of paperwork raises
questions about
that
to
largely
it
work
adjunct
than
unnecessary
seeing as a now
work activities rather
for
is
is
What
the
be
dispensed
that,
clear
technologies,
the
with.
appropriate
could, given
bank, and probably for many other worksites, paperwork is an integral feature of the work
itself. Paperwork is, of course, not simply the production of paper but of `records',
`invoices',

`forms', `letters', and so on (Hughes and King, 1993; King and Hughes,

1994), and is, accordingly, linked to issues of accountability

and blame. As one staff

member commented:
"..the computershave only been brought in to assist in what we've always done...we're so worried about
be
backup...
there
that
the
can
as
a
so
somebody
trail
that
paper
the audit
people always want
always
blamedif somethinggoeswrong."

One example of this comes from the Lending Unit and the daily 'Out of Order' printout.
Each day the Unit is provided with an `Out of Order' list, that is, a computer printout of
involves
limit.
'Actioning'
have
the
their
account
calling up
credit
exceeded
people who
its
A
to
the
terminal
the
account
see,
and
customer's
assess,
working.
a
of
profile
onto
decision must be made whether to allow the account to go further overdrawn, to send a
letter expressing the Bank's `concern' and asking the customer to get in touch, or to
involves
The
going
and
on
cheques
standing
orders.
process
generally
suspend payments
through the printout, examining each case and making a decision whose implementation
involves further work and workers. It is one of the ways in which the interdependencies
within

a division

of labour are achieved. Records are not, therefore,

commentaries on activities

detached

but integral features of them, possessing a procedural

implicativeness for the actions of organisationally relevant others because they represent
organisational events and, in this way, is tied to the production and the performance of

192
organisational activities. Thus, and using the example of the `Out of Order' process,
working with the print out produces further work, that is, `actioning' relevant accounts.
This producesmore recordsthat serveas an archive recording actions completed.Records
are consequently part of transformation processesby which one set of organisational
actions initiates others.

The emphasison paper, as it is in so many other organisations, is closely linked to the


need for a visible and reproducible audit trail and to questions of accountability should
these arise. Records,that is, are normatively regulated. The `completeness'of the paper
record acts as an audit-trail; providing an outline, rationalisation and justification for
administrative decisions.This trail is valuable not simply or merely for the attribution of
blame but through its `proceduralimplicativeness' - informing and guiding the actions of
others - an activity assistedby its `at-a-glance-visibility'.

Conclusion: Technology, Knowledge and 'Skill'.


"The general run of sociological interest in technology is said to be less concerned with questions
concerning the constitution and organisation of technology than it is with using technology as a platform
from which to observe the constitution and organisation of the structural arrangements of society" (Button
1993:3)

This chapter has folowed Button's (1993) demandto 'take technology seriously' and such
attention or 'attending' (Sharrock and Anderson 1993) carries considerable analytic
import. What this chapter has been concerned with is the understanding, the analytic
purchase to be gained on the use of technology when presented through ethnographic
studies of technology in use. Conventional analysesof technology, when they examine

193
technology at all have focused on relatively simple issuesof 'productivity' or technology
and 'skill'. However, this final section attempts to move beyond this narrow focus to
consider issuesof organisationalknowledge and skill, the affordancesof technology and
the relatedrole of technology in coordinating collaborative work.

Technology and 'skill'.


"to argue the teller's job or the bank manager's job has been deskilled by technology is simply absurd"
Austrin (1988)

The relationship between technology and 'skill' continues to be the subject of profound
academic and professional interest. For example, a range of 'labour process' studies,

have
from
(1974)
in
Braverman's
to
sought
work,
analyse
stemming
and relate changes
skill requirementsto wider organisationaland societal changes.This was originally, and
particularly, with regard to the large-scale trend toward replacing craft skills with
technology in manufacturing but increasingly the argument has been extended to
professional and service organisations(Edwards 1979). From within this perspectivethe
becomes,
bald
"have technological developments made
about
question
skill
rather
banking a skilled, a deskilled or a reskilled job? " However, such a simplistic association
of deskilling, degradation and routinisation of work with increases in technology argued
for by such `labour process' theorists has not been supported by, inter alia, studies of
banking. Rajan (1988), for example, argues that IT has not brought about universal
deskilling but has resulted instead in the work of middle managers and clerks becoming
more skilled. Similarly, Bertrand and Noyelle (1987) identify the emergence of new set of
competencies

in banking

and the development

of new skills

`reskilling'
-

`compensatory skilling' (Penn, 1990) associated with changing market conditions.


-

or

194

Looking at the changing skill requirements in banking, the general suggestion made by
these writers is that the emphasis on technology is misplaced. Procedural and technical
by
interpersonal
be
increasingly
to
competencies are
supplemented
skills
required
customer assistance, problem solving

for
knowledge
of new
need
- with an associated

fieldwork
from
What
the
and complex products.
emerges

is the inadequacy of any

is
from
fieldwork
`skill'.
The
free
the
message
account of
simplistic, singular and context
if
be
is
`unpacked'
`skill'
but
to
that
that
concept
needs
a
rather complex
suggests
- not
dumped back into the conceptual and historical dustbin from which it drags itself at
be
in
intervals.
While
terms of skill and skill
can
analysed
work
clearly
painfully regular
interweaving
ignore
the
tends
to
of skills in work; the
requirements, such an approach
for
task completion as well as the context in which
used
variety of approaches and skills
skills are exercised. As Darrah (1994) suggests the concept of skill requirements
`decomposes' workers and jobs into sets of skills that are deemed essential for the work
but ignores both how most jobs are multi-skilled as well as the way in which skills mesh
together. Workers in financial services routinely perform complex collaborative tasks
deploying a range of skills and technologies and the ability to manage such complexity
for
is
essential
many forms of everyday work. In this context talk about
and collaboration
'skill' becomes problematic if not pointless.

Continuing to explore this relationship between technology and skill another relevant
sociological approach to skill is informed by debateson skill as a form of knowledge.
Whilst a classic 'labour process'perspectivemight suggestthat human skill is replacedby

195
being incorporated 'in the machine' a rather different approach seesknowledge as often
partly informal, tacit and the product of the acquisition of the culture in which a particular
work activity is accomplished (Collins 1987). What this highlights are the subtle but
it
being
involved
in
thereby
to
essential competencies
able make
making senseof, and
available to others, what is `going on'. This is connected both to the idea of `local
knowledge' already documented,and to more generalnotions of 'awareness'and could be
described as the competencies required for `mutual intelligibility'

on the part of the

members of a work team. This involves the ways in which, to put it generally, `X's
problem' can be seen as `something I know about'. Thus, and for example, using the
workflow system in the Securities Centre is not simply a mastery of the specific skills
incorporated in it - knowing how to use the screens; knowing the difference and the
implications of land being `Registered' and `Unregistered;knowing what `voting rights'
amount to, for instance. It is also knowing and being able to rely upon the fact that others
in the team also know the relevance of such knowledge for the work being done. As has
been shown in other contexts (Harper and Hughes, 1992), this kind of competence is
informalities
involved in performing work activities. This
to
a
whole
range of
essential
includes 'knowing where others are in their work', `getting round the inadequacies of the
system', and so on and is hardly encapsulated by static notions of 'skill'.

A final problem with such a simplistic

'skills' based approach to work and workers


-

particular when the emphasis is on the replacement of human skill by technology - is the
assumption that particular skills are important because they are seen as vital for the
performance of a particular task. This suggests that there is, effectively, only one way of

196
for
task
any
and
which, consequently,a particular, often technical,
completing
particular
however,
is
deemed
Research
a whole range of
and observation reveal,
skill
essential.
personalisedapproachesto work among any group of employees- the way they prioritise
work, how they go about diagnosing and solving a range of procedural problems - and
Furthermore,
in
bank
this.
the
to
observation suggeststhat
workers
are no exception
`skill' is commonly regardedas important for very specific reasonsat very specific times
and is therefore inconsistently defined; that is, it is defined differently in different stages
in
hierarchy.
Skill
by
different
the
the
working
groups
requirements
of
work process or
in
in
through
a
and
particular
social
context
and, many
are constructed
a social process
it
is
important
it
is
that
to describe and understand.
this
this
context
ways,
process and
Work context influences and shapesboth the opportunity and the motivation workers
have to exercise skills that may be regarded as important. It is, perhaps, for this very
`selling'
bank
has proved difficult.
the
the
that
a
culture
within
creation
of
reason
Turning, "tellers into sellers" requires rather more than new technology, executive
it
`visions'
in
or
slogans
requires
an
organisational
statements,
context which
mission
technological and selling skills becomerelevant to the work.

Finally, in this context of 'unpacking' skill, it is interesting, if nothing more, to note how,
be
the
to
site,
skills
each
work
necessary
a `good' Controller, a `good' Assistant, a
within
`good' Doerl, and so on would readily be identified. For example, `good' Controllers
have
to
expected
commonsense; an awareness of the Bank's rules; communication
were
skills, an ability to talk with customers - specifically (or more precisely) the ability to say
`No'. As one Assistant Manager summarised:

197
"... they have to know what they are talking about... to apply commonsense to every decision along with the
Bank's rules (to) get the Bank's viewpoint across (they) have to be able to get (the Bank's) viewpoint
...
.
across politely and concisely... (I) don't like to hear raised voices or struggling to say 'No'... I've got to sit
here... knowing that they can be left and relied upon to do that job. "

This comparesquite interestingly with nineteenthcentury notions of the 'good clerk;


" Business is a definite, narrow pursuit for fixed ends, and those who conduct it look in their clerks for
business talent. Does he know a bargain when he sees it? Is he a good mental calculator Is he brisk and
plausible? Is he good at a push for rapid and accurate work? Such are the questions asked - such the
qualities sought. These are the faculties which make clerks into merchants, and merchants into
millionaires; it is these which will enable the discontented clerk to earn more than eighty pounds a year. "
(Orchard 1871: 43)

In contrast, contemporarydefinitions of the `bad' Controller focused on indecision, being


unable to make lending decisions themselves but always referring them 'upwards'
requiring the `comfort factor' of higher sanction. Without making too much of these
membersnotions of skill what is interesting is the absenceof any referenceto use of the
technology. While a range of `technical' competenciesor knowledge, such as knowing
the technical procedures,both paperwork and computer work, that need to be followed
was fundamental to everyday practise, this kind of technical competence- particularly
that associatedwith using the computer - was often simply taken-for-granted. What this
further suggestsis that approaching an appreciation of technology through a relatively
narrow conception of skill is likely to produce limited answers. It is not that the skills
involved, for example, in being able to use the different systems are unimportant they
are clearly essential - but so too are a range of skills or, better, competencies, involved in
everyday working within a team or working with customers and so on. Consequently, our
interest needs to be directed to the utilisation of technology within these specific contexts.

There are a number of things that might be said about the sociological accounts of
technology and skill just outlined. One is concerned with the way the argument about

198
technology, skill, deskilling and so on is set up in such a way that the neglect of
technology becomesalmost inevitable. A secondconcernsthe headlong and precipitate
rush to theorising as the route to understandingtechnology as an aspectof organisational
life. In contrast, the focus in this chapter has been on empirical issues.It is not that the
it
did
(and
did
training,
some
the
technology
clearly
skill
and
everyday use of
not require
information
The
in
this
across
this
spread
of
and other chapters).
examplesof
skill appear
the two major software systemsconsiderably increasedthe complexity of accessand use
both
having
into
to
systems,with their accompanyingpasswords
out
of
and
go
with users
is
just
largely
It
that
the
theoretical and
to
enquiries.
and menus, answer quite routine
in
little
furnishes
insight
into
how
'skill'
the
the
us
with
way
of
of
unspecified notion
technology actually got used.It doeslittle to explicate 'skill in use'. As Button states;
"Recognising that technology is a socially produced phenomenon directs attention to the details, the
haeccities of its production and allows the work through which technology is socially produced to be
inspected for its distinctive character..". (Button 1992)

It is visibly and routinely a matter of course that skilful use of the technology is a
in
bank.
feature
Specific
the
work
of
everyday
programs - the accounts
prominent
database,
the credit scoring system - are activated, screens the
relational
package,
customer notes, the '836' - are accessed,enquiries made, information read or printed out
and so on. Technology and its use, or technology in use constitutes an unnoticed, taken
for granted aspect of such routine, everyday work. From the point of view of
organisational members the social organisation of the technology is experienced as a
normative social order. For everyday work to be accomplished certain activities
associatedwith the technology - entering details of customer contacts onto `customer
notes' for example - have to be carried out in predictable, accountable ways. It is in

199
orienting to this order of activities that technology is accomplishedas more than a piece
of hardware but as a system of socially organised activities. This everyday work, the
institutional
takes
a
particular
place within
processing of routine casesas routine cases
and bureaucratic locale whose proceduresencompassa range of requirements,including
requirementsfor use of the technology. So, for example, the databaseof customer notes
have
interview
date;
be
kept
'limits
has
be
to
to
to
marked on accounts;the
and
up
notes
initiated
has
be
is
for
issue
This
to
the
and
cards
so
on.
a calculable
procedure
of credit
and largely predictable set of activities. Indeed the predictable nature of these activities
becomes a resource for management as within the bank each activity has a set of
associated `reasonable expectancies' as to the time taken to complete them. This
predictability is a fundamentalfeature of the division of labour.

Technological'Affordances'.

A rather different, and perhapsultimately more fruitful, approach to 'taking technology


is
by
Anderson
Sharrock
(1993)
in their heuristic adaptationand
suggested
and
seriously'
deployment of Gibson's (1979) notions of affordance and information pick-up and their
suggestion

that; ".

we can treat ... phenomena such as technological artifacts as affording knowledge

Following
interest
been
designed
in
having
this
the
this
suggestion
with
possibility
mind".
andas
then becomes how the different technological information systems within the bank, the
accounts package, the relational database and the securities workflow

systems for

example, are constructed so as to afford such organisational knowledge as the working

division of labour by which tasks are performed. The notion of affordance used here
treats perception as embeddedin particular cultural practices where simply being fully

200
enculturated members of the bank means being able to use the technology. For example
being able to use an '836' screen of account activity over the past six months, to see
unproblematically that this is an account in trouble, heading into hard-core debt, in need
of a consolidation loan or whatever.

Becoming a member of the Bank and becoming

familiar with the organisation, 'learning one's way around' involves learning how to 'pickup' organisational information from the environment.
".. organisations and other collectivities can be seen as constructions or social artifacts which are designed
to provide their members - those who are competent in their ways - with the means to see at a glance,
grasp unthinkingly, recognise immediately what is going on around them" (Anderson and Sharrock 1993)

The environment of the commercial bank is, of course, heavily technological, and while
Anderson and Sharrock explicate the ways in which the ecological organisation and the
everyday use of paper baseddocumentation in the modem office affords organisational
knowledge the focus here is on computer technology and its everyday use. The notion of
affordance and information pick up highlights the organisational relationships into which
systems are introduced. These organisational relationships - such as that between
functional units such as Lending Centres, Customer Service Branches and Service
Centres, or between different organisational roles and responsibilities within a single unit
such as the Securities Centre, are effectively embedded in the IT system once it is in
everyday use. Such everyday, skilful usage of the technology affords organisational
knowledge in the sense that;
".. knowledge is not to be considered apart from the situations and courses of action within which it is
deployed Knowledge and action are conjoined.
The connection between knowledge and action is
..
defined in constitutive terms. Patterns of knowledge and patterns of action define each other. Hence
knowledge is seen as social through and through. " (Anderson and Sharrock 1993)

201

Chapter 6: Working With Customers.


"The classical model of bank work involved customersand staff in face to face trust relations. Banking
was thus far from an exclusively impersonalset of accountingcalculations and ledger entries. It was, and
to a declining extent still is, basedon intensive and often long standing personal relations."(Smith and
Wield 1988)
"BAD banks never know who you are, even if you've had your money in them for fifty years.. Banks used
to look like marble temples, or even like the grander sort of Episcopal churches. Now they look like
lower-middle-class motel offices with mock-friendly housewives in charge, who still don't have a clue
who you are." (Fussel 1991)
"There has evidently been a shift from organisational cultures which were conservative, reactive and
cautious, and where the main element of the job was administration. Contemporary financial service
personnel are required to be proactive, entrepreneurial and possess a high level of interpersonal skills and
marketing expertise. " (Burton 1994:5)

DO'S
Listen and don't interupt
Apologise
Deal with complaints immediately
Complaints Handling Instructions

DONTS
Argue
Blame others

Ignore complaints

Introduction: Customer Facing Work - From Tellers to Sellers.


"Smile - Your Next CustomerMay Be The Mystery Shopper"
(Sign on door leading into front office))
Training Manual On Relationship Selling

(traineesare expectedto acquirethe following skills)

"Identify the skills and knowledge neede to build a successful relationship


Identify appropriate interpersonal skills
Demonstrate basic selling and interviewing skills
Appreciate a customer's point of view in a sales situation
Deal with objections more effectively"

In recent years the financial service organisations have made much of the ideology of
`customer service' - reflected in phrases such as 'the listening bank!; 'the bank that likes to

say yes' etc. Equally, many critiques have been applied to this new `ideology'. (Burton,
1994). Arguments of this kind normally take the form of assessmentsof the balance of

202
interaction
between
take
as a
power
producer and consumer, and seldom
customer
starting point for analysis. In contrast, the details of these interactions, what happensin
'customer-facing'work, are very much the focus of this chapter that examinesinteraction
with customersas a set of `meaningful behaviours' rather than analysis of the customeras
has
in
financial
The
is
document
how
to
consumer.
services
aim
customer-facing work
been, and is being, done; how customersare oriented to in the process of dealing with
everyday requestsand problems. The emphasisis on the everyday realities of everyday,
mundane, customer 'work' and the contingent and skilful nature of such work in an
institution undergoing large-scale organisational change. Despite these changes the 'work'

it
facing
always was - the managementof customer
customer
much
what
of
work remains
behaviours.
in
face
The way in which that is achieved,
the
confidence
of unpredictable
however, may be changing in the sensethat the medium through which interaction is to
be managedis less and less often the medium of face to face talk.

Much has been made in the literature of the move from a `telling' to a `selling' culture,
(Burton 1994) whereby the banks and building societies have recognised their profit
sources and begun to pursue them vigorously. In so doing, they have attempted to
transform the organisational culture. That this transformation

has not been

straightforwardly effected is reflected in commentssuch as; `its very difficult


after
all,
...
you usually know thesepeople ... some of them are evenyour friends
and
suddenly
....
there you are trying to sell them something. 'and, `its embarrassing
I'm not used to this
...

' suggests that the transition from one `culture' to another was anything but
unproblematic. The dominance of the `horizon of relevance' involved in dealing with

203
different
it
difficult
to
to
mode as
a
switch what are regarded
customer queries makes
(people
'operators
Liason
its
Telephone
As
the
who
own relevances. one of
selling - with
"I'm
in
Call
Centre
the
the
not very good at sales...unless
answering
phone) stated:
work
its obvious..its OK in the eveningwhen I know I'm ringing out-but unless its obvious its
is
before
is
know
I
".
Which
exactly why a complaint rarely a salesopportunity.
gone

Customer work has both an instrumental and expressive aspect. While staff resolve
uncertainty, suggest sensible courses of action, sell appropriate products they are also
required to engage in appropriate 'demeanour work' or 'emotional labour' (Hochschild
1983) learning the right `pitch' for the voice, learning to respond to difficult enquiries,
flow
learning
to
and so on. In this respect, and as noted by
and
maintain customer
Hochschild (1983), demeanourwork (Goffman, 1971) has become a managementissue.
Rules about how cashiersexpressthemselveswere and are implicitly and explicitly set by
management.There is, for instance,the general expectationthat workers have to defer to
customersin terms of courtesy, etc. and a set of guidelines for dealing with complaints
that includes 'listen and don't interupt', 'don't argue and so on. The Trainee Manual also
includes sectionson customer handling skills - 'Appreciate a customer'spoint of view in
is
which
staff
expectedto display as part of their promotion strategy.
a sales situation" At the bank, management strategy to foster customer handling skills included the
'Mystery Shopper' programme where bank staff would pretend to be customers and

204
contact staff to assesstheir ability of operatives to deal politely and effectively with
'problems'32.

In order to perform their work adequately and comfortably,

be
visibly
staff must

Hughes,
(Randall
to
confidence
and
competent
manufacture and maintain customer
1994). This is manifest in the way, for instance, staff routinely explain as they go along
the steps they are taking, what enquiries they are making of the screen, to whom they are
telephoning, and so on. Competence is evident in the way the flow of interaction is
by
in
interactions.
This
minute
minute
means
routine,
gaps,
maintained, without obvious
maintaining

eye contact with the customer, making pleasant conversation, whilst

simultaneously dealing with a screen display and navigating through a customer database.
This routine display of competence goes largely unnoticed as important elements of the
transaction process. But maintaining customer confidence has enormous consequencesfor
the flow of work. Customers can behave in (organisationally)

unpredictable ways and

knowing
in
deal
have
to
customer
without
advance what their requirement
with each
staff
in
do
be.
Customers
their
requirements
can and
structure
a variety of ways, many of
will
them not organisationally recognisable. Customers cannot be relied on to produce their
questions in a fashion that is consistent with the institution's order of things, cannot be
relied on to furnish all relevant information, and the nature of their questions cannot be
predicted. In interacting with such customers, staff must lead them through the processes

32However,whilst it placedconsiderabledemandson staff, customerwork was also a major sourceof work satisfaction:"I like
working with the public .., it's the thing I like aboutthejob ... you work much harder,mind, and when you get an awkwardone it can
ruin your whole day ... but when they're nice,which about90% are,well it's what I enjoy ...""We're hereto makelife easier..I
actually found myself saying that to a customerthe other day".

205
necessaryfor the completion of their transaction, and engagein the `demeanourwork'
that is part of the servicecustomersexpect.

Competent working, and the concomitant maintenance of customer confidence then

becomesa matter, in the caseof face-to-faceencounters,of interpreting the existing rules


and procedures and deploying local and personalised knowledge in order to get the job
done. This local knowledge can take a variety of forms, but includes for instance
knowledge of customers. Knowledge of customers is an invaluable resource for doing the
demeanour work that gives customers confidence.

Names, knowledge

of family

circumstance,enquiriesafter relatives, etc. are all used as a meansto ensurethe `flow' of


the transaction.Such an understandingof customerprofiles becomesextremely important
in dealing with recalcitrant customers, with customers' inability to comprehend
procedures, and so on. Managing the customer requires appreciably more than simply
dealing with routine transactions demanding a skill in eliciting necessary information
from the customer and 'trying to keep the customer satisfied' (Randall & King 1994) is a
matter of juggling a complex and potentially conflicting series of demands.

Customer Facing Work - Interviews.


While

customer contact is increasingly

mediated through

the telephone

some types of

customer facing work remain. Business Managers, -'people with 2 sets of qualities...character ambition; interest; enthusiasm. coupled with an analytical mind and interpersonal skills - ability to
generatea dialogue with people '-

for example, manage a portfolio

are expected to have a range of interpersonal

of business customers and

skills. Much of their time is spend in face-

206
to-face contact with their customers, and an important element in their work is building
and preserving a personal bond with their customers that simultaneously acknowledges and balances their different interests and objectives. In day-to-day terms the `balancing'
work of the Business Manager consists of the practical task of mediating between the
business customer and the requirements set out by the bank. In effect, it is a process of
transforming the particular requirements of the business customer into the organisational
criteria required by the bank and interpreting, translating, the requirements of the bank
into actions understandable and acceptable to the customer.

The expressed focus of `relationship management' undertaken by Business Managers is


the fielding of routine inquiries and requests as they arise, and engaging in regular
reviews of accounts to ensure they are being run in the most effective

fashion.

Relationship management is, of course, a gloss for what can be a subtle blending of
customer requirements and those of the bank. Moreover, this has to be done under
conditions of ongoing change in which procedures, responsibilities, and routines are not
always settled but have to be `worked out' in the course of regular business. But `regular
business', is rarely routine to the point of being a simple and straightforward application
of instructions. Much of a Business Manager's interaction with a customer, for example,
is focused upon the `Annual Review'.

This is an interview with a customer in which

progress over the past 12 months is reviewed and decisions made about how to make the
most of their relationship over the coming year.

A substantial part of a Business

Manager's work is preparing for or responding to this interview.

Customer files - which

include such documents as the most recent Appraisal Form, recently issued Advice of

207
Borrowing Terms, any recent letters, and a computer-derived Customer Brief - have to be
browsing
through
interview
Prior
to
the
while
a
short
spend
will
a
manager
examined.
this file and making notes of anything he particularly needs to cover. When a manager
loose
`plan'
him
he
takes
with regard
to
then,
of
sort
some
with
goes out
visit a customer,
file
his
based
from
the
bank
and other
that
of
to what the
upon
reading
customer,
requires
documentation.

The customer also brings to the interview a set of formal or informal

is
dependent
to
Evolving
the
a considerable
relationship
maintaining
and
requirements.
degree upon how a fit between these requirements is negotiated and achieved within the
interview with each party to the interaction negotiating and `working out' what is possible
in the circumstances.

In the face-to-face interaction that is the interview, the outcome that is achieved is
interactional
(Harper
in
is
through
that
everyday
competences
and
achieved
something
Negotiation,
1996).
King,
Hughes,
1993;
Hughes
et
al,
over the running of the
and
becomes
a matter of establishing a set of shared
on,
and
so
schedules
account, repayment
1978:
266).
(Sacks,
relevances

The Annual Customer Review is then a matter of

it
demands
(though
negotiation and accomplishment and not merely a matter of making
is
It
that
not that such an unfortunate situation cannot occur
seem
way).
may sometimes
but that swapping ultimatums is not an everyday part of customer interviews.

As one

manager put it, they do not want to `seem rude', rather, what seems to regulate such
interviews is a principle of politeness. This sense of each party to the interaction having a
be
for
but
has
is
to
taken
worked at
granted
shared set of relevances not something simply

208
throughout the conversation. In the following extract the manager (M) and his customer
(C) begin by swapping stories about lottery wins.
AbbreviatedFieldwork Notes33:

So what are you lookin for for this year then Graham, be- becoz it is due for the Annual Review
now y'know
C:
I'm, I'm lookin for a lottery win
M:
Hehhehhehhe
C.
1 won on Saturday
M.Did you really? A tenner?
C:
No. Four numbers
M:
Right. I've had four numbers before

M.-

Without being too Machiavellian,

such a display smooths the path of the upcoming

interaction as well as, perhaps, rendering the products of the interaction not just generally
but personally accountable such that the outcomes gain credence through the extent to
which they are attributable.

But the manager is not there to swap stories but has a

financial agenda to address, a question that arose out of the Review with this customer the
previous year:
Just, just changin tack slightly, coz I know this was a question that came up last time errm, it went
up to Region this time last year as well didn't it. It's a question of en- environmental issues. Now, you
don't process, You only process frozen st uf don't you?

M.-

The manager requests some indication of what the customer will want from the bank over
the coming year - the sufficiency of the `current limit'. In the process he artfully attaches
the topic he's really interested in - that he does not want the overdraft limit to go any
higher:
M."
I- I mean is the current limit enuff... or not? I mean
...
I'll be honest with ye, And I'll be straight with ye I wouldn't really want to be going much higher
C:
No, well l don't

33These6eldnoteswere collectedby PeterTolmie as part of the Virtual Society?Project.

209
In this Annual Review, because it is an 'Annual Review' as opposed to a casual
is
Manager
it
is
the
that
controlling the
conversation
evident, and mutually recognised,
discussion in the sense of managing the introduction

of the topics for discussion.

However, whilst the manager displays an assumption that he is the one who can put
forward new topics for discussion, it is also important that these should not appear as
limit':
`current
The
the
the
about
question
ultimatums.
manager asks

"is it `enuff? " "or

be
"1
"
to
wouldn't really want
not? and receiving no answer stipulates own preferences going much higher".

As has already been suggested in a previous chapter the use of numbers in negotiation,
calculation and decision-making is a complex affair, a resource upon which the parties
can draw to construct stories, represent appropriate understandings, or set out projections.
M.that, you were sort of creeping up there to twenty thousand in May
can
see
right
so
you
...
C:
Yeah
M."
and then it started to go down a bit back up again in October then down again back up again in
December which is when we spoke

C:

Yeah

and it's, almost nothing for .. period but on the same side, y- your best position was getting higher
and higher up to there. It did start to run down, to here but it hasn't run down to the levels it has done in
previous years
If you look back to the previous year - This is exactly the same sort of printout for the previous
M."
year, you can see that there is a much heavier utilisation on both sides. That's credit. So during the year
That last year you were significantly
C:
Big difference
M:
Yeah.
tells me is y'know despite what, your views were in terms of that
that
so
what
actually
..
stock position at Christmas, that seems to tell a slightly different tale
At

The manager uses the printouts he collected prior to the interview to orient the
conversation. Obviously this is not an everyday, casual conversation. It is quite explicitly
understood by both parties to have important consequences for future relationships and
consequently displays an orientation to future courses of organisational action. Evidently

210
Business Managers exhibit a clear orientation to their own perceived role as `interviewer'
and the customer as the `interviewee'; labels that are embedded within their respective
organisational

affiliations.

In the context of a customer interview,

managers use

formulations (Heritage and Watson, 1979; Garfinkel and Sacks, 1970) summarising the
content of the discussion and orienting to future action, explicitly projecting what each
just
the
done.
These
to
be
has
has
not
an
orientation
reveal
will
said,
agreed,
party
implicativeness of what they are doing but also to how those courses of action can best be
be
in
the
the
to
terms
of
what
manager
perceives
rendered relevant and accountable
Bank's objectives.

During the course of the interview

the manager produces a

formulation relating to missing management figures and the apparent problem revealed

by the printouts:
So, as far as trading's concerned, y' y still think you're bein profitable errm, obviously, the, the
M:
figures that, you can get me, on the management might just throw some light on why this has occurred
with this ten to fifteen thousand change

C:

Yeah,well itsa, utsabig differenceain't it?

The manager indicates his requirement for the customer to provide him with the
because
impact
discrepancy
figures.
These
the
apparent
essential
may
are
management
on the profitability

of the business and hence the nature of the bank's support. The

customer recognises this potential trouble, and explicitly summarises and approves the
manager's perspective by acknowledging that it is "a big difference". Formulations are
used by participants to summarise their understanding of the interaction so far and what
implicativeness it might have. Since formulations in this particular context are likely to
have serious financial consequences, it is important that agreement is reached. The `art'
of relationship

in
then,
the accomplishment
management resides

of recognising a

211
customer's individual requirements and making these somehow fit with the organisational
objectives of the bank.

Customer facing work may be unpredictable but this does not mean that customers are
unmanageable, for they are demonstrably managed, and are managed in ways that
indicate the sometimes hidden skills of ordinary operatives. One such way is through the
use of `local knowledge' - that is, a particular knowledge of the circumstances of the
customer, their business and their account. The `skill'

of customer facing work

demonstrated here, then, is a constellation of knowledge and technique. This includes


knowledge of the bank's policy on business lending, of the balance of risk, of this
customer's handling of their accounts, and the deployment of techniques for, in effect,
demonstrating that the decision is a reasonable one. In other words, and despite an
emphasis on procedure and the range of sophisticated computer support, the decision
comes down to this Manager's instincts concerning this customer. In this respect, as has
already been suggested, Managers often speak of `gut feeling' or as one put it; "in the end
do you trust him to pay the money back?.. ". However, decisions of this kind are not made
cavalierly, with disregard for bank policy and procedure but must, demonstrably, be seen
to be in accordance with policy.

Talking Through The Technology Technology Mediated Customer Work


"people... talk their way to solutions, talk themselves into working agreements.... talk their organisational
agendas .... through their talk they not only reproduce the institutionalised arrangements of the
organisation and its environment, but significantly create and recreate fine distinctions that actually make
the organisation come alive. " (Boden 1994: 52)

212
During the last decade mass market financial service organisations such as banks have
increasingly been seeking to take advantage of technological developments to improve
(or standardise) interaction with their customers. This includes the telephone, off-line
Internet
technologies
through
as
on-line
new
such
software packages and more recently
banking and videoconferencing

systems. Interestingly,

while

such interaction

is

geographically remote it involves a more direct link between the customer and the
interaction
bank.
Where
by
the
once
was through talk and the
computer systems utilised
it
is
for
forth
forms,
common
customer and clerk to view
now
use of
credit slips and so
and interact directly with a computer system.

Like the manager's interview described earlier, and face-to-face customer work, in these
technologically

mediated circumstances customers and operators need to work on

developing a common understanding, a reconciliation, of customer needs and banking


requirements. This generally entails the operator coordinating the interaction through
'accountable'
'observable'
that
the
their
system
of
and
and
such that
own
work
making
customers can see what they are doing, and can adapt to it. Operators in particular have to
'the
identity
those
their
the
of
of
actions
and
machine', to enable customers to
make visible
identify those actions, such that customers can response appropriately to them, and can
integrate their own actions, reciprocally, in the complex pattern that they are jointly,
collectively, engendering. This includes circumstances where participants are engaged in
patterns of distributed activities, where they cannot immediately monitor the activities of

collaborating, parties but need,nonetheless,to know in some more-or-lessspecific sense


what those others are doing, so as to shape their own activity into the relevant pattern. In

213
technologically

language
mediated customer work operators perform as mediators of

between various forms of technical language (of the technology or of banking) and the
`language of the lifeworld'. At the same time operators act as mediators of the technology
it
their
to
and
talking
through
the
technology
they
actions
accountable
make
so
as
as
use
thereby making accountable, making 'visible' the workings of the technology, making the
technology'at home with the rest of our world' (Sacks 1984). As Lawrence (1995) notes:
"We see the operator's task as mediating between two interaction contexts, one social and one
technological. The two contexts are linked to two different forms of discourse - the discourse of everyday
life and the discourse of technical interaction".

Customer Work: Working the Phones


This section is concerned with explicating some features of telephone banking, describing
the artful and often subtle ways by which the operator conveys different features of the
it
for
interaction
the
to
to
the
their
orient
customer
getting
with
requirements
system and
their business done. In weaving between the 'different worlds' of the customer and the
bank, the operators contextualise their interaction with the system in terms of artefacts by
the
their
customer
cards
possessed
and
representations on
chequebooks, credit
'scripts'.
facilitates
'scripts'
Banks
One
this
that
as a
are
process
employ
resource
screen.
interaction
for
to
their
with customers (Bowers and Martin
operators
organise
means
2000).

Organizational attachment to the use of scripts derives principally

from their

for
interactions
for
So,
standardizing
customer
and
streamlining
potential
processes.
example, scripting can be used to minimise the time taken to authenticate the customer
(Bowers and Martin 2000), or, by opening the conversation with a request for an account
These
it
towards
small
customer
requirements.
rapidly
number, ensure
progresses

214
changes,when multiplied acrossthe thousandsof daily calls, were consideredto have
positive effects on the overall call-handling rate. The script below, for example, was
attachedto every computerin a Lending Centre- with one portion of the scripts - opening
statements - sellotaped to one side of their PC and the other portion - closing statements -

sellotapedto the other.


Telephone Script attached to computer in Lending Centre
"Good morning/afternoon.. Lending Centre speaking.. how can I help you? "
On handover: "Hello Mr/Mrs/Ms.. I understand you would like to discuss.."
Closing: "Does that answer your query?"
"Just before you go in order that we can ensure our records are up to date.."
"Is there anything else I can help you with? "
"Thank you for calling.... Goodbye"

Below a set of more specialisedscriptedresponsesis detailed, designedfor maintaining a


conversationand overcoming common objections to a personal financial review. In each
case of a 'common objection' (the left hand column) the conversation is maintained by
'asking it back' ("are you too busy? " etc) followed

by phrases to play down the

importance of an objection and provide a reasonable, plausible explanation. The interview


then has a scripted finish that confirms the customer's satisfaction - "surely that sounds
doesn't
it? "
reasonable

215

Objection

Consider whether you


can 'ask it back'

Opening phrase

Explanation

Confirm Satisfaction

'Not interested'

Consider whether you


can'ask it back'

Consider whether you


can 'ask it back'

Having met with our


..
PFA, they can see that
there is real worth in
having a financial
12
review
every
monthsor so..
This is advice.. of the
highest
standard
without any obligation
or your part.

Surely that sounds


reasonabledoesntit?

'Can't afford if

Thats alright many of


our customershave felt
exactly the same way.
However..
down
(Play
importance)
I can appreciate why
that would concernyou
however (Handling)
..
they do go through a
income
full
and
expenditurebreakdown
to ensure funds are
available (Apparent

. our adviser will visit


you
at
a time
convenient to yourself.
A quick review will
only take around 45
minutes

How doesthat sound?

That soundsreasonable
doesn'tit?

agreement)

'Too busy/notime'

Consider whether you


can'ask it back'

I can appreciate how


busy you are however..
(Play
down
importance)

Of course these scripts do not implement themselvesand require considerablework by


bank staff; firstly to recognisethe 'objection' and ascertainwhat category of objection it
falls into and hencewhat script' to adopt. So, for example, is the responseI'm making the
tea' to be classified as 'too busy' or 'not interested'. Similarly the staff have to recognise
occasionswhen they might need to depart from the script, when 'asking it back' is likely
to provoke an angry reaction. That classifications, and scripts still require 'work' is
is
it
the everyday 'work to make the classification work. Such work is of
unremarkable -

various kinds. Demeanourwork is one obvious aspect of this as staff strive to maintain
customer interactions while simultaneouslyengagingwith the system.Another feature of
this work is the local, collaborative nature of talk. While the scripts suggest staff are
supposedto ask the questionsexactly as they appear,if customersdisplay frustration or
reluctance, operator's may need to rephrase scripts so as not to appear to question the

216
for
information.
is
because
just
This
requests
customer's competency.
questions are not
They have other interactional import about competencies and expertise on both sides i. e.
they are accountable social actions. Interactions with customers are unpredictable;
information
do
the
relevant
customers
not necessarily supply all

and may have an

idiosyncratic view of services and artefacts. Classification and scripting is an attempt to


deal with this. However, this does not always fit with the view customers have of
processes. Since bank staff are the interface between the customer and the organisation
they need understandings of both the organisational processes and practices and of
customers everyday knowledge of what to expect. This knowledge is essential if they are
to translate the customers needs, reports, requirements into something that fits with the
information
the
the
and
organisation
requirements of

technology, which tends to be

designed around the organisationsprocesses.Bank staff utilise their knowledge of both


banking and more everydayor mundanefinancial reasoningto mediate betweencustomer
conceptionsand categorizationsof what they wish to achieve and how such requestsneed
to be formed for the organization. This is done, for example, through working up vague
customer requests into organisationally relevant processes and actions. Usually the
implicitly
is
customer

guided through the process by the ordering of fairly standard

questions - 'can I have your account number', 'what standing orders do you have', and so
on. Over repeated contacts (in situations where customers are regular) this offers the
possibility of gearing customers in to organisational process.

217
Customer Work: the work to make the video-link work:

This section is concerned with documenting aspects of the latest development in


customer-facing work in the bank - the use of video-conferencing facilities. RATE
(Remote Access To Expertise) was a pilot project intended to explore the use of a

commercial videoconferencing packagein addressinga number of issuesconsequenton


organisational

change. There was a particular

concern that the centralisation

of

knowledge and expertise and the `deskilling' that accompanied it would mean that the
local, 'high-street', Brancheswould be unable to deal with customer queries.RATE was a
feel
belief
to
that
the
to
that they were speaking
customer
needed
response management's
to an `expert', thereby building confidence in the Bank which would hopefully then be
extendedto the purchaseof other bank products. There was also some interest in whether
the `face-to-face' contact provided by the video link would representan improvement on
the telephonein facilitating sales.The video link was consequentlyintroduced to alleviate
by
the
the re-organisation of work by providing
problems
produced
of
some
instantaneous,direct and visible accessto expertise.It was not just the customerwho was
from
benefiting
this system. As one of the operators commented, the system
seen as
would be an aide to sales because; "you can stare them in the eye and watch them
blink ", 34

The main component of Project RATE was the telemedia kit


ISDNcommercial,
-a

based, desktop videoconference system, with dedicated database and communication

" In actual fact, becauseof the siting of the cameraon top the
of
screenthis was exactly what the operatorcould not do. In order to
give the impressionof 'looking the customerin the eye' operatorshad to look at the camerarather than the screenon which the
customersimageappearedand thereforethey could not seethe customerat all.

218
software - which had been installed in the `Telehelp' section of the Insurance section of
the Bank. The role of the `Telehelp' team was to provide insuranceadvice. The video link
was set up between the Insurance Centre and ten local Branches. As part of the pilot
project potential customers were encouragedto try the equipment at the branch and a
seriesof action sheetsoutlined the processfor branch staff to introduce the equipmentto
the customers, containing such advice as;
"Greet the customer: "use your normal day to day dialogue when greeting the customer and include the
..
purpose of using the videolink.. the benefits of using the videolink.. the interview is confidential.. you
will be with them during the interview"
Familiarise the customer with the equipment: "Reassure the customer that they dont have to press any
keys or use a mouse - you will be doing all of that.. give the customer time to adjust to seeing themselves
on screen ..explain that the microphone will pick up their normal voice volume - no need to shout! "

"Explain to the customerthe 'odd' behaviourof the video window"

An example of the system's use is presented below in a simplified extract from the
fieldnotes;
1. Using videolink - introductions - host at branch; customer.. Operator using headset - customer using
speakers
2. Using screen -filling in details on form - asking customer questions - name; initials; date of birth,
occupation;post code - then tells customeraddress- street/road - (say that this impressescustomers)asks
for housenumber..
3. Transferspolicy information over - explains that this will take a few secondsand will make her image
break up/gofuzzy a bit - asksto checkif its OK
4. Goesthrough policy -filling inform on screen- and asking customerquestions- building and contents;
rebuilding costs; accidental damage; contents; accidental damage; insurancefor items when taken away
from home..
5. Transfers quote over - explains again about the image breaking up.
6. Goes through the figures - gives details on policy - what it covers in addition
food;
frozen
cycles;
f2million owners liability; - and outlines repayment details (over 12 months; 6 credit charge)
7. "Do you know roughly what you are paying at the moment? "
8. Offers to print out quote - to take away and compare.

9. Takesdaytime telephonenumber- "in casewe needto contactyou for any reason"


10. Gives 'official data protection script' - readsfrom card placed on desk in front of screen.
H. Transfers features and benefits' of policy
12. Ends

The original RATE technology included a video link; document sharing and a
whiteboard. However, over time experiencewith the kit resulted in reducing usageto a
simple video link and screentransfer of documents. This gradual modification was the

219
product of the perceived necessityof skilfully and `seamlessly' weaving machine usage
into the everyday work of giving advice, conveying information and selling policies.
Another, highly visible, feature of the work was the extent to which the staff were
required to `talk through the technology', to prepare the customer for the technological
experience. This necessitated, for example, alerting the customer to what was going to

happennext; that `the screenwill go fuzzy'; that `it will take a couple of secondsfor this
information to be transferredto you' and so on. This required giving an `account' of the
be
in
that
transaction
could
easily understood and accepted.It also
a manner
ongoing
involved explaining the everyday meaning of technical insurance terms. Both of these
activities, and the use of 'scripts' to alleviate the problem, are illustrated in the following
abbreviatedfieldwork extract:
1. Preparing PC] for use. - in response to call from branch
2. Call through on link - 'what can I do for you? '

3. Branch intros customer

4. Takes customer details - using screen -filling inform on screen - surname, initials, postcode, house
number
5. Transferring info - explains about picture going fuzzy'
6. Buildings insurance - asking questions - rebuilding costs etc

7. Transferring info - explains about screen 'going fuzzy' again - talks about features and benefits' additional insurance.freezerfood; 2 million owner liability etc - makespostman and slate joke.
8. Outlinespaymentmethods(appearson screen)- 'what are you paying now? '

9. Printout - 'to take away and compare' - gets daytime telephone number `in case we need to contact you
for any reason'
10. Transferring features and benefits screen

Apart from preparing the customerfor the screen`going fuzzy' the operator also deploys
one of the standard `jokes' for explaining the importance of a 2million owner-liability
feature in the policy. In so doing she mediatesbetweenthe technical insuranceand legal
languageof `owner liability' and the everyday world through the device of "what would
happen if one of your slatesfell on the postman's head when he was delivering? ". The
operator thereby contextualises, through the use of a mundane example, the

220
issues
in
is
being
Of
the
of
course
such
circumstances which
conversation
conducted.
`translation' and of coping simultaneously with both the technology and the customer
happens with other technologies and in other contexts but the difficulties that ensue
should not be underestimated,as Randall (1994) notes;
"interaction with the screensin the courseof the interview causeda number of difficulties officers
....

report that they have considerable difficulty in conducting smoothly flowing conversations with their
clients. In the words of one of them: `It's the seconds in between... you have to make conversation and
keep it going even when you make a mistake otherwise your customer loses confidence in you. But the
screens strike you dumb...... all of a sudden you've got this THING in front of you"' (Randall 1994)

What seemed significant about the video link was the sheer frequency and regularity of
this kind of `demeanour' work. Accomplished use of the technology required that much
of the operator's time was actually and essentially occupied with reassuring the customer
and navigating them through the work. This is not, particularly, to criticise the technology
but to recognise the skills involved.

The extracts also document the considerable amount of `work to make the Video Link
work'. For the operator this principally consists of demeanour and `face' work to make
the customer feel at ease. Throughout the operator is engaged in extensive and skilful
`demeanour work' consisting of exaggerated smiling, nodding and facial gestures as well
as varied conversational asides and `jokes', maintaining a sensitivity to the customer's
both
the technology and the information on insurance. This is accomplished
of
reception
whilst the operator is simultaneously completing the insurance details. This is a complex
task since in order to `look' at the customer the operator has to orient herself to the
camera on top of the screen and cannot actually see much of the screen - containing the
customer's image and the document - in front of her. Giving an account of the ongoing

221
transaction so that it will be understoodand acceptedincludes conveying an impression
of the bank's policies as `quality' policies, (and therefore not the cheapest).That this is
fieldwork
illustrated
in
is
the
extract when
not a simple or straightforward process
next
the operator suddenly finds herself dealing with an `awkward customer'. In this instance
the operatoreffectively and noticeably `freezes' her `body language' but begins to engage
in extensive explanation and justification of the details of the policies, and thereby
effectively displaying her `expertise'.
1. Phone - 'live' call (a 'real' customer' not a training exercise)
2. Puts on headset - brings up screen of branch and assistant.

3. "Hello... (looking at camera)..turn the screenslightly"

"My name is...1 need to take some information (gives standard script on information).. is that OK? " (Some
problem here - later emerges that the customer said "No" and "if you send me details of any insurance
I'm going to contact my PFA (Personal Financial Adviser) (At this stage the operator freezes' and
becomes veryformal and exact in what she says)
"Obviously that's why we ask at the beginning"
4. Explaining about transferring information and picture freezing
5. Asking for details and filling in screen - surname; initials; date of birth; occupation (mature student
"what subject are you studying'); postcode - gives street; number of house.

6. Explains what the insuranceis - not connectedto Life InsuranceDepartment.


7. Transfers information over - "Can you just check that that's correct? " - explains about postcode and
address- stores it at this end

8. Going through details - rebuilding costs; buildings and contents; accidental damage; items taken away
over 1000; total taken away from home at any one time - "we have a minimum sum of 2500 - I'll quote
you for that" "I'll transfer that - its just a premium indication..

9. Paying the policy - "I can print off the quotation - put somedetails on the screen in front of you some
of the benefits..
10. Going through screens-printing options.
11. Asked question - answers "what do you mean? - if you have an alarm if its an alarm with a service
contract you can have a 5-10% discount.. Is it approved by NACODS? - then you can have a 10%
discount. There is an endorsement you must sign that the alarm must be switched on then there is a
theft excess of 250 - some people don't like it.. "
12. "Im going to amend your quote to have the discount for having an alarm"
13. Customer asks question about letting out another property
let
"Is
it
to professionals? "
14. Gets details ofproperties.
15. Customer asking questions - operator explains about going back to amend policy.
16. Asked question - "There is another one I can use. "- using screen cover choice
house
let.
is
that
-for
17. Transferring data.
18. General chat about video link "You wouldn't want to see mefull size "
19. "Printing of quote for you now"
20. Answering questions - "H. (branch assistant). will give you one of our information packs.. "
21. "Good-bye "- call ends.
22. "What a prat" Explains what the customer (a Physics postgraduate) was saying about the kit
-that the
mike was too big; the picture too small; he didn't like the delay; felt it was outdated. "1 didn't like him..!
let my feelings get the better of me.. "

222

As these examples show, operatorsare required to interleave interaction with customers


between
They
technology
technology.
the
the
talk
through
and mediate
and
must
in
instantiated
They
(often
technology).
the
customer and organisational perspectives
interaction
in
demeanour
to
with the customerwhile
a
meaningful
engage
work maintain
in
introduction
However,
demands
the
technology
to
the
the
of new
of
system.
attending
financial services in the context of customer-facing work, whether telephone banking,
has
banking,
between
bank
Internet
the
the
not
re-written
relationship
and
video-links or

its customers. Instead it has but the development of new routines and competenciesin
'talking through the technology', becoming part and parcel of the continued maintenance
facing'
`customer
Thus
trust.
of
characteristics
customer
work evidently do not relate
of
only to face-to-face encounters.Everyday work in financial service institutions has been
technology mediated for a very long time and even relatively `state of the art'
technologies such as video conferencing are utilised in the context of some quite
traditional interactional arrangements.

Customer Work: the `Virtual Customer' - the `Customer in the Machine'.

Much of the force of changesin institutional policy acrossthe bank has beento reducethe
degreeof customer unpredictability through proceduralisation, and to reduce the amount
of face-to-face interaction itself. This shift is not entirely unproblematic in that it
problematisessome issueswith respectto responsivenessto the customer and `customerfacing' work. In what follows the emphasis is on providing some detailed instancesof

223
actual everyday working with customers in a highly distributed commercial organisation.
This section examines `customer-facing'

work in situations that do not involve actual

presence or face-to-face communication, situations that are, arguably, typical of the 'postintriguing
issues
bank.
It
the
to
of
of cooperating with
modem'
attempts
address some
`absent' customers, with cooperating with the `customer in the machine' that are
consequent on both the massive organisational changes and concomitant changes in
consumer behaviour.

As already indicated, the bank from which these fieldwork

observations are drawn, had embarked on a transformation of its `traditional' organisation


to enable it to meet the increasing competition in the financial markets. As the bank began
its reorganisation there was a recognition of some of the tensions that would develop
between a policy of centralisation and a desire to continue to appear as a local `high
street' bank particularly as this might impact on its avowed policy of customer service.
This tension manifested itself in a number of ways, most notably in the conflict between
`relationship management' (in the sense of managing accounts according to what was
`known'

about the customer as the product

of a longstanding

relationship)

and

management according to expert risk grading and assessment packages. It could also be
seen in the tension between responding to the customer and what might be seen as 'reconfiguring the customer'. To some extent (but not absolutely) this was resolved at the
level of the account with accounts deemed `core' or `mass market' being largely managed
`by the machine'. However, even important business accounts were subjected to various
expert risk grading packages and to formal accounting processes. At the same time,
customers in the mass market were still liable to make complaints that demanded a
personalised, managerial response.

224

Standardisation, of course, brings many benefits. As one Lending manager put it,
"...whether you go into a branch. or apply for a loan. in Manchester or in Southampton.. you should be

how
involved
developing
to
This
accounts
a set of expectations as
treatedthesameway..".
should be handled; a set of expectations that emphasisedthe application of standard
in
knowledge
drawn
The
the
that the move towards
up
strategic plan was
procedure.
implicated
forms
some reconfiguration of the customer- some
standardised
necessarily
attempt to control their responsesin the progressiveabsenceof the `visible competence'
work that had beentraditionally done in such circumstances.It was heavily dependenton
the idea that `organizational competence' would rely on extensive use of IT through
application in data analysis and processing, communication and decision support. The
centralisationprocessitself required much greaterco-ordination, and IT support, network
databases
and `expert' systemswere seenas essentialin
systemsof accounting,relational
the bank's promotion of the `virtual customer' as representingnew organizationalpolicy.

In the context of the bank, it was the managers who had to balance and resolve at a
practical level the tensionsinvolved in reconciling the centralisation of processeswith the
decentralisation of customer service; the centralisation of administration and record
keeping with the decentralisation of `selling'. Managers were obliged to reconcile
organisational realignments with changes in consumer behaviour the most notable of
which was the relative disappearance of the customer from the banking hall with the

increase, for example, in telephone banking and the use of ATMs. As one manager
commented;

225
".. whereas in the past the branch manager could stand in the banking hall and recognise ten of his
customers.. now he might not know any of them.. ". For the branch manager this creates an interesting
problem; "If you take out the non-customers and you take out the business customers, and you take out the
runners... if you take out that lot, then you take out the customers of other branches, I'm actually seeing
very, very few of my own... customers. So then we got to say `where are the rest of them? ' because I can
produce a printout that says I've got fourteen thousand customers. And that was the answer to it: `How
well do you know your customers> `Not very well" Some of them have credit balances of twenty, thirty
*
thousand pounds. And we never see them. We've never even heard of them... "

This branch manager could see - `in the machine' - that he had 14,000 names, 14,000
customerson a computer printout, but most of them he never saw. Yet the computertells
him that they are his customersso they must be there. The problem then becamehow do
you sell your products to someoneyou never see?

For the bank one answer to this problem was a strategy entitled `Managing Local
Markets' (MLM). At the point of application MLM is computer driven with customers
being categorised into 5 basic categories A+, A, B, C and D- with the A+'s being the
"super accounts" and the Ds being the ones that "cost money to run".

These categories

were based upon a thorough knowledge of the customer's dealings with the bank, the
nature of their credit balances, the running of their account, credit cards, investments,
mortgages, insurance etc. In practice it was found that there were large numbers in the B
and C categories, so further classifications were applied. Customers were variously listed
as being: `Retireds';

FIYAs (Financially

Singles); and Mid-Markets,

Independent Young Adults);

BOFs (Better Off Financially)

YSs (Young

and WOEs (Well

Establisheds). This process of categorization was explained in the following

Off

fieldwork

extract where a manager is talking about MLM.


"

"If you want to classes them A pluses are the super accounts they buy our products they leave
balanceswith us they borrow moneyoff us and then it chamfersdown as you go through the Bs
and the
Cs down to the Ds which actually cost me moneyto run
....

226
So the aim of the game now is a to keep and make happy the A pluses and A customers... What we
...
did with the others, with the Bs and Cs We can't attack them all... What the bank's now done is said
'Right, lets categorise them into market segments So we've got quite a hefty bunch of Retireds quite a
Young
Adults
Independent
bunch
Financially
YSs
FIYAs
and
they're
of
and
reasonable
what's called
Young Single characters
For instance the mid-market group, aged from thirty one to fifty five They will want mortgages, they
different
loans,
types
they
they
they
card,
will
want
credit
want
will
will want pensions,
want personal
focused
but
in
Very,
the
we've
never
they
past
of account,
will want advice
very profitable group,
down on that particular part of the group
then what we intend to do is to literally look at these very narrow groups so we may actually go
and
....
to the computer - which we've never been able to do before - and that's something where we may
actually be able to say 'Right what we want to have a look at, we want to have a look at those
customers which are classified as Mid-Market, that are aged between thirty one and thirty three,, that's
this little group, that have a risk grade. of one to five on their account so that we know they're good
accounts, and that perhaps live in a particular area ... So we can go away and say can we have it
something in the region of say fifty accounts We can then look at fifty accounts in a lot more depth
So it's very, very very much tighter
than the old printout
..
But what we need to do is to be a lot lot smarter In the past we may have written to a mass of midmarkets and not bothered about age So now what we're doing is we're actually saying' Right, well,
the expected, or the anticipated, move is, people usually move around thirty three You know, the kids
have been born, they're moving home around thirty three, might want to save money And so we want
..
to formulate a letter and say 'Look, I think we can do something for you' We would deal with the
people we wouldn't normally see

In this long extract the Manager explains the basic thinking behind, and the everyday
initiative.
Through
MLM
the
a processof classification and categorization
operation of,
loans,
different
they
they
they
types of
personal
will
want
credit
want
card,
will
want
sales
possible
between
thirty one and thirty three
to
that have a risk grade of
aged
account particular groups ...,

know
five
that
they're good accounts, and that perhaps live in a particular
their
to
so
we
on
account
one

be
identified.
This
in
drives
targetting
their
process
allows
can
much
more
sales
area- we
can then look at fifty accounts in a lot more depth than the old printout .. o it's very, very very much tighter

has
MLM
them
to
that
they
allowing
access
customers
would
normally
a
never
see.
number of important implications since computer derived models of market segments are
being used to devise a whole set of organisational and marketing rationales that underlie
an increasing number of management activities and decisions and the way these are
achieved. Additionally

there are efforts underway to arrive at ever better depictions of

customers within the machine. There are at least two important aspects to this. One is

227
the representationalissueof the nature of such virtual customersand how they are arrived
at and engagedwith from day to day. The other is the question of how managers(and
others) negotiate some sort of `fit' between `virtual customers' and the `real' customers
they seeover the counter or talk to on the phone.

Dealing With the Customer in/through the Machine.

The distributed working consequenton `Delivery Strategy' obviously made attention to


important
an
aspect of everyday working.
and
of
processes
routine
an understanding

However, routines typically involve the use of judgement, regardlessof the strictures of
organisational strategy. In the caseof the Bank, centralisation, whether explicitly or not,
re-designedjobs so that they would need to depend less and less on local knowledge.
This was due to the increase in the number of accounts and the introduction of more
in
dealing
formalities
with accounts.However, `local knowledge' remaineda
procedural
feature
in
the
the new centres,albeit more often in the context
of
observed
work
regularly
of organisational competence. Where `visible' competence was required, as on those
have
be
fielded, constant referenceto the record
to
occasionswhere customercomplaints
was one of the means by which the reconfiguration of the customer is attempted. This
next case,observedin the Lending Centre, unfoldeded over several hours and involved a
businessmanwhose accountcardshad `beeneaten' (retained) by an ATM becausehe had
exceeded an agreed overdraft limit.

The businessman, who was clearly very angry,

claimed that somebody at the Lending Centre ('Mark') had already, verbally agreed an
increase in his overdraft limit. Initially, examination of the account took place when a
branch rang becausethe customerhad complained:

228
"I've got.. branch on the phone.. card retained.. " explains case - "a high risk grade account..
No,
liar..
I
he
"
"he
Mark
said
a
calling
me
you
the
said are
agreed...
said
we've got all
markers on..
"
I'm just trying to determine the facts
..

"

Interr:

"
"
"

"he's now gone into Wiganbranch and is playing merry hell"


"he doesntwant to speakto us I dont think he wants to "
...
Manager goes with staff to her workstation to look at the account (836) on screen - using screen to
examineworking of the account
"I think he's trying to pull a fast one..
Dave: "As far as I'm concerned (its) `No
"
Bank
its
branch:
"I've
Wigan
to
talked
against
policy..
talking
to
manager..
my
woman

"
"
"

Nevertheless, and because the customer has complained, the need to deal with him over

the telephone is paramount. A few hours later, then the Manager calls the customer,
having already spent some time perusing the customer's account and various other
holiday
him
`Mark'
for
that
tells
that
the
roster
was on
staff
example
applications holiday when the customer claimed they spoke to him. In a very skilful fashion the
Manager uses the technology to mediate between the `real' customer, angry becausehe
in
`the
in
the
to
customer
and
machine'
presentedon screen
cannot get access any money,
terms of an account with a borrowing and relationship history. As he talks on the phone
he has the customer's file on the desk in front of him and the customer's account on
he
the
call proceeds usesthe computerto check on details of the account:
screen,and as
"

"
"

"
"
"
"I

Manager is preparing to phone customer re: complaint.


working of account prior to call

Using ISS (relational

database) to look at

"Hello Mr X. my name's.. do you want me to spell thatfor you? How can I help you?

OK she's told me a lot of the info.. I understand we've sent a couple of letters (he can see that this is
the case from 'Customer Notes' on screen) .. you've been into.. branch and its (the card) been retained
and you went into Wigan branch (to complain).
You spoke to someone called Mark I understand.. normally what happens. if you ring up and we agree
interview note to that effect..
we
an
mark
..
I'm not doubting what you're saying but the only person called Mark was on holiday., we have'nt got a
Mark on my floor..
You're saying it was definitely last week?.. if you had had the conversation but there's no interview
note to say it (checking machine)
know you spoke to Mark on 8th February (looking at Customer Notes).. but you say you spoke to
Mark since then.. and there's no notes on this at all"

In this potentially fraught customer interaction the Manager uses the accounting and
databasepackageson screento carefully managethe situation and display a mastery of

229
the details of the workings of the customer's account. He then carefully explains the way
forward, again using the technology,weaving it into his telephoneconversation:
"

"

"

"Its a two way process.. if you tell us ahead of time.. rather than having no money in the account
have
it
in
a
to
that
you
wasnt
when
cheque
you
put
and us expected pay.... yeah
was a
..
conversationwith someoneat the Lending Centre.. for us to bear with you (to let them exceedtheir
agreedborrowing terms)... they haveto mark a limit on the account..
but did they agree a specific limit?

we dont know what happened..now we have to sort it out today..

"I

know maybe a few years ago the bank said we'll bear with you.. the way the system works now
is you have to stay within an agreed limit.. we have to mark the limit ahead of time.. (otherwise
account will automatically appear as 'out of order')

"

using machine

"

"
"
"
"

"
"
"
"

doing
"I'm just getting some info on the screen.. (looking at account)
what
sort
you
of
work
are
..
at the moment? .. what sort of turnover?.. OK. thats not what's been going through the account
recently has it?.. seasonal... (using machine - customer notes) .. I take your point.. I'm just looking
at some of your customer notes..

What'syour businesscard limit at the moment.. cos that was increased back in Decemberwasnt it
haveyou sent a businessplan?
yeah..
..
The things to dofor today.. we can look at increasingyour limit.. the re-issue of your businesscard
(new)businesscardfor you..
the
and
getting
of
a
..
If we were looking to increaseyour limit what would you want it increased to? you dont have to
..
have it increased. if you have chequesto pay in.. we wont allow any chequesunlessits coveredby
the cleared balanceof your account..
We're just not going to bear with you if the limit is 400 and the balance is showing 550 (O/D)..
we're not going to be paying out..

the thing is with having a businessO/D the minimumfee is S85..


if we agree an increaseit will befor 12 monthsbut thefee will be f85..
how
look
business
to
to
then
at
your
card.
as
need
quickly we can issueone..
we

lets just (using machine).. you stand at


balance on uncleareds is 791 OD against a limit
your
..
of 400 .. until cheques cleared.. when did you pay cheques in? (yesterday) .. they're not going to
clear until Thursday

"
"

is this in cash or is this in cheques?


thats
this
week...
..
(looking at screen) the highest balance I've seen is 800 OD which is well in excessof your 400
..
limit..

"

do you have any other cards?.. credit cards..


..

"
"

I'm not sure.. if we agree to return your cards.. how quickly we can return them..
. know
3000

"I
(writing on p/out on desk).. on
to..
which
you requested
we
would'nt
agree
yeah..
..
top of the you've got at the moment.. we're talking about 1100? you'll still have to agree a
..
..
limit with somebody.. OK.. what limit do you think will be sufficient?
the
some
of
uncleareds will
..
it doesnt mean you
come off anyway .. I think if we agree a ;C1300 limit.. for a 12 month period
..
have to use all that..

In this case,then, the Manager is dealing, through the technology, with a customerhe has
never seen,negotiating a `fit' betweenthe customer representedin the computer records
and the (angry) customeron the phone.This is `businessas usual', a processfacilitated by

230
frequent reference to the electronic customer record and accompanied by a number of
instancesof what might be termed `demeanourwork' (Randall and Hughes 1994; Randall
in
interaction
the
difficult
the
1998).
Despite
over
comes
what
the
of
nature
potential
et al
fieldnotes is the orderlinessof the flow of work, a flow that is a self-explicating, locally
in
tasks,
through
Its
of
a
collection
running
consists
orderliness
managed production.
in
to
Notes
Customer
`836',
the
manner
and
responding
a
routine
etc
accessing
instance
first
In
the manager provides an account of the
the
they
arise.
contingencies as
bank's decision. This entails referencing other individuals who have dealt with the case.
This can be heard as firstly presenting an organizational `front' to the customer, and
(the
by
the
to
customer notes) to point out that whatever
record
referring
secondly,
`Mark' may have said, it has not been recorded. Thus, without disputing the customer's
bank
Following
it
is
that
the
this,
policy
relies
on
record.
established
of
events,
version
the Manager uses a number of devices to reconfigure customer behaviour to the new
funds
in
before
the
there
that
are
sufficient
account
withdrawing
of
ensuring
regime
involves
information,
directly
issuing
This
to
either
referring
machine
cheques.
or
money
has
in
fact
done
him,
things
the
various
such
now
expected
customer
of
or asking whether
limits
before
limits
exceeding
and
on
new
spending
existing
as getting an agreement
supplying requisite financial

information

on request. This process is facilitated

by

frequent reference to the customer record and is accompanied by a number of instances of


`visible competence' work.

The other interesting feature of this example is how it hints - "I think he's trying to pull a
fast one.."- at how some customers have adapted their own behaviour in responseto

231
being,
features
distributed
(the
they
perceive as
most extreme example
what
of
working
of course, fraud which in a number of casesis actually dependenton certain aspectsof
distributed working). The important point is that in this case knowledge about the
customer and his situation is derived from machine-basedinformation, and the `visible
competence'work in question is designedto produce an acceptableinterpretation of what
that information means.The managerattemptsmeet the substanceof customerneedsand
requests even though it involved negotiating standard procedures. What comes across,
and contra many of the tales in the literature about the evils of Taylorism, is that local
knowledge is still used, and used with judgement and skill, to expedite the subtleties of
the work which 'following procedureto the letter' would ignore.

Fieldwork observations within the bank document then, how cooperation with the abstract
in
is
the
the
customer
machine
actually achieved in an organisation that
representation of
is moving towards more and more intensely IT-mediated work. Whilst some accounts see
the customer-configuring
individuality

practices inherent in standardisation

as threatening

the

of the consumer, others embrace the possibilities of new technology as a

hope for further empowerment of individual consumers. But the picture we have painted
here is an altogether more mundane one. New technology, despite its attribution as an
agent for change, has become a tool through which to achieve `business as usual'. The
introduction of new technology in the bank, both in the context of customer-facing work
and in interactions with `the customer in the machine', has not so much completely rewritten

the relationship

between the bank and its customers as necessitated the

development of new `routines', and new competencies. These competencies relate to the

232
continued maintenanceof trust and to the continued production of decisions in particular
setsof circumstances.

Customer Work: Configuring

The Customer

Managers routinely talk about how the organisation is keen to configure its customers to
the bank's way of doing things; aiming to "train the customer to do the work of the
bank". One of the professed aims of the strategic planning

of financial

service

organisations has been the reconfiguration of customers such that their behaviours and
interactions are rendered reasonably predictable. With the growing amount of information
compiled and used at a bank-wide level there is a commensurate attempt to formalise and
standardise the formats for the presentation of information

(Randall et al., 1995) and

behave
in
to
that
customers
efforts
ensure
a way that will facilitate such a uniform

approach. At the heart of this `configuring the user' (Woolgar 1991) lies the notion that
both customers and staff can be trained to behave in ways that are organisationally
beneficial. In the caseof `real' customersentering the bank this amountsto ensuringthat
they join the right queue,make single enquiries, ask questions `in the right order' and so
on. However, such a belief runs counter to the commonplaceeveryday observationthat,
even if not all customersare awkward, many are. The `art' of bank work resides in the
accomplishment of a customer's individual requirements and making this fit with the
more standardised requirements of the bank. A great deal of that work is conducted
through talk and is accomplished through acknowledging a customer's needs and (as the
`scripts outlined earlier suggest) then presenting an appropriate formulation
needs for the customer to ratify. Bank staff traditionally

of these

perform this mediating role

233
between the customer and the bank, explaining, translating and so forth. In the modern,
keen
banks
Consequently
to
is
this
are
competitive climate,
regarded as expensive.
if
is
business.
It
to
their
a customer
preferable
configure customers
way of conducting
in
formulates
hand
details
their
their
to
requests such a manner
and
phonesup with
ready
that the operator can carry them out without need for clarification. This involved
developing a set of expectations as to how accounts should be handled; a set of
expectations that emphasisedthe application of standard procedure as opposed to the
for
So,
the
past.
example, a standard set of templated
more personalised approachesof
letters were developed to send to accounts that were `out of order', accompaniedby a
`script' to be usedwhenevercustomerscomplained;
did we not write back
"complaint.. she wants to know why we bouncedthe sameday shepaid in... ""..
line
her
late?..
day
take
the
too
normal
with
and seehow it goes.."
was
and say same

Of course this did not guarantee that customers would respond to what were effectively
informing
letters
customers of the state of their account in the same
computer generated
impersonal way. For example, one customer responded to a computer generated letter in
the following manner;
"Might enquire as to what particular charm school gaveyou your wonderful way with sarcasmand
.1
barefacedcheek! Youwere bloody rude... I demand,by return an apology".

Which brought this response:


".. we haven't got time to write those kinds of letter.. because of volume and we are process driven we
..
haven't got the time to make exceptions.. we know the Bank will stand by us.. because its rule driven.. it
works because we're dealing with sheer volume.. we're not being asked to get involved deeply with every
customer who comes on the phone.. "

234
Customer Work, Demeanour Work and Emotional Labour:
Or The Pony Dies'

'Give Me An Overdraft

"For most employees work has a generally unpleasant quality. If there is little Calvinist compulsion to
work among propertyless factory workers and file clerks, there is also little Renaissance exuberance in the
work of the insurance clerk, freight handler or department store saleslady ... Such joy as creative work
may carry is more and more limited to a small minority". (Mills 1953: 219)
Notice in Branch:
' be polite, attentive and friendly
"is
times
there
at
all
we
offer
privacy
and
always
anything
must
ask
.
..
else I can help you with? "
Customer Notes: Interview Notes (on screen)
(Date) "Customer phoned re: account - annoyed that Bank continues to charge when overdrawn. Advised
charity and having difficulties raising monies.. "
(Date) "Further to previous note - customer rang again and this time threatened to go to the local
newspapers with a story as she said she would have to put a pony down as they were unable to pay"
Manager comments". you're just in a no win situation.. they just keep threatening.. they won't listen they
just slam the phone down. Its frustrating because you know they're bucking the system.. and you're
personally being blamed.. I think she's a bit unstable.. "

Customer confidence comes from the seamless and apparently unproblematic way in
which bank operatives are manifestly, demonstrably, able to do the work necessitated by
customer demands and thereby to produce an orderly flow of transactions. For operators
to be seen as competent requires them to engage in a significant amount of demeanour
work - or 'emotional teamwork (Randall and Hughes 1994). In the act of processing
transactions, the competent operative must routinely `weave' use of the technology into
the flow of interaction with customers such that the relevant expertise and skill is made
visible - whilst smiling. While traditionally

considerations of `emotion'

have been

missing from accounts of organisational life, with its emphasis on the `rational', and by
implication `non-emotional', actor. And while equally clearly banks are not supposed to
be emotional hothouses, `emotion work' the managing, control and occasioned display
of appropriate emotion - was also clearly part of `doing the work'. This appreciation that
banks, like other organisations,

are not simply

manifestations

of the

'rational

235
Gubrium
however
does
the
total
and
embracement of what
not
require
organisation'
Holstein (1997) call 'emotionalism'. To do so would be to advocatejust another version
fast
Sociology
'reflexive'
the
intense
'navel
and
gazing' characteristic of so much
of the
descent into confessional accounts and poetry. Nor is it to accept the criticisms of
its
developed
have
this
(Douglas
1977)
and
that
perspective
within
ethnomethodology
suggestion that:
"ethnomethodology.. seriously shortchanges the heart and soul of everyday life by conceptualising the
world in terms of constitutive processes, neglecting interaction's affective dimensions .. (leading)
being,
life
from
further
the
the
of
of
and
sheer
animatedness
scenic
presence
away
sociologyfurther
and
..
in particular the feelings that enduringly suffuse action" (Gubrium and Holstein 1997: 57).

The issue is not that ethnomethodologyconsidersthat love, hate, anxiety, disorder, truth
for
(1984)
life
Jayyusi
irrelevant
to
the
as
writes,
social
study of
etc are
".. it is the very structure of our language and speech, as well as the logic of our activities, the weave of
our practices, that generates the possibility of divergent moralities, of both agreement and disagreement.
This weave is the foundation of the complexity and diversity, as well as the orderliness and
conventionality, of social life. " (Jayyusi 1984: 19)

The issueis how we are to understandthe phenomenaand its relevance.

The fieldwork took place during a period of intense organisational change; changethat
involved unit closuresand redundancy,and it was a common observationin the fieldwork
both
branches
both
the
that
management
and
staff
of
volunteered observationson,
notes
were concerned with, the issue of `morale'. This is not, perhaps, surprising given the

major reorganisation that the Bank is going through and the uncertainties, particularly,
3S
jobs
that such changes tend to generate. Above all the specific changes, and
over
acknowledged as central to them, was the perception of a change in the `culture' of the

"Despite many years of researchinto the effects of morale on work performancein a variety of work settings,no generalconsistent
relationshiphas beenfound. It is probably misleadingto treat morale as a unitary conceptbut, rather, one which alludesto or draws

236
Bank involving a movement away from its traditional function of `administering
little
to
be,
it
While
exaggerated
a
toward
perhaps,
may
an emphasison selling.
accounts'
it
Bank,
loss
the
be
was
to
about
that
there
almost a collective senseof
seemed
suggest
There
deal
was also a
the
that
there
and
uncertainty.
of concern
certainly
case
was a great
senseof what Gabriel (1993) calls `organisationalnostalgia" - reflecting not necessarilya
longing to return to some mythical past but discontent with the present and the perceived
direction of the future. However, regardlessof this issue of morale, the businessof the
bank had to continue and individuals working in the various sections of the bank were
but
forms
had
to
of
embark
alternative,
on
various
no
expected, and sometimes
demeanour work or emotional control. This was not simply a feature of Bank policy,
`a
be
in
"smile,
the
the
mystery
shopper"
may
comment
customer
or
your next
reflected
complaint is a sales opportunity'.

Demeanour work - often translated or interpreted as

`smiling down the telephone' - was a regularly observed feature of the customer contact:
1. On phone - re: charges - and Bank policy;
"I'm sorry that you; re disappointed with our service... if I can be of any further help..
..
2. Using screen while on phone... giving details of acc over phone...

"I will pass on your commentsto my manager....its not so personal as in a Branch...I'm sorry about
that..i (I can be of any assistance.."
3. Call ends- saysto colleagues- "You cant get a word in edgewayswith him.. "

The skills deployed by bank staff in `managing' the conversation, in conveying a range of

do
finance
to
with
and risk assessmentand so on, in balancing and
complex messages
for
interest
in
displaying
the
the Bank's position
concern
customer
with
an
manifestly
should not be underestimated.This is illustrated in the following, extracts. In this first
extract a Lending Officer has just carried out an interview with a customer for a
upon a diffuse collection of terms which describethe affective responsesto work. Their relationship to work activities and their

237
loan
into
debts
loan'
single
a
'consolidation
the
consolidated
are
customers
all
where
has
discovers
interview
that
Following
the
she
she
with an agreed program of repayment.
having
is
the
form.
Her
that
signed
the
concern
to
wrong
complete
asked the customer
because
for
being
be
form
monies
overdrawn
the customer will
wrongly charged
wrong
So
".
down
"she
to
into
be
sign
especially
the
came
account, moreover
going
will not
demeanour work is demanded as she phones the customer to explain:
1.
2.

3.
4.

You're going to be ever so cross with me.. you have to sign a new form..
..
I've phoned our Lending Centre I explained the cock-up I've made .. they're going to mark
..
that on (record it on the database to ensure she does not pay any excess charges) .. so you are
fees
to
excess
get any more
not going
I'm terribly sorry.. I could always drop the forms of'.
Finishes phone call - "I can be such a creep when I want to be.. "

This next example of demeanour work comes when a customer, clearly worried about the
had
interview
in
for
has
to
his
stroke,
recently
a
comes
an
who
and
account
of
working
is
instance
In
the
the
this
emphasis
on
checking
with
and
reassuring
overdraft.
an
arrange
by
that
the
the
and,
setting
up
credit
account
a
zone,
ensuring
of
working
about
customer
the customer's principal concern (that his insurance premiums are not `bounced') is
accommodated.
LO: "Right.. how can we help you? "

C: It might be somethingor nothing... (showsstatement)...hows me doodah?.. me account?"

LO: Using machine - accesses account.. "currently its in credit... " (shows screen) "is that more than you
thought? "
Chat about car insurance.. customer concerned about whether his car insurance premium had been paid
LO: Using machine.. " who's it with?.. no, thats not gone out yet so you'll have to take it out of your
balance..... ..

C: ".. I paid somein"

LO: "Yes that balance includes... did you pay it in after 3: 30?.. would you like me to print you a mini
statement? "
C. ".. I'm not thick but this half of the head (pointing) isnt working"
LO: "Thats alright "

Customershowsbank statement

LO: "This only goes up to February. "

C. "But there's nothing untoward?..." (No)

performance,however, remainsan open and empirical question.

238
LO: "So what are you wanting the overdraft for? "
"
have
it
I
out?
be
paid
thought...
not
1
you
would
C: "1 thought was going to
short on me premium... and
LO: "Generally.. if you had'nt enough funds we'd return it .. I'll tell what we'll do.. we'll see what's
(using
has
let's
it........
few
days
if
gone
out...
see
what
in
the next
and see you can cover
going out
for
"
XX..
has
debit
Gas..
direct
British
a
cheque
to
out..
and
gone
machine).. your

C: (looking at statement)"Bear with me..I dont trust meself."

LO: "We'll see what's going out and if it'll leave you short.... have you thought of having a credit zone? ..
forms?
I'll
the
fill
those
get
you
200
one
of
out
to
we
shall
overdrawn?
your account can go up
..
..
form.. "
LO: "You'll just have to fill this form in.. " Filling inform.. "What's your current address? ... so you get..
just
for
it'll
just
200
I'll
you
will
cover
any
mishaps..
that
you .. so
agree
each month off your pension?..
"
facility
I'll
today
for
date
account
this
your
that
on
mark
me...
sign and

Such 'emotional labour' was not simply a product of individual activity but could be seen
in `emotional teamwork' - in group responsesto and discussionof calls, serving both as a
indicator
While
kind
of
group
solidarity.
not making
of
releaseof emotion and as some
it
life
in
importance
for
the
of emotion or emotion work
organisational
any great claims
does seema regularly observedfeature of everyday work in the bank. Occasionally it can
be quite dramatic too, not just in terms of happeningssuch as bank robberiesor frauds but
loan
in
documented
applications or overdrafts everyday circumstancessuch as refusing
the extract below. Here managersin the Lending Centre are effectively being threatened
that if they refuse to extendthe overdraft to a horse and donkey sanctuary(whose account
is run without charge but which is expectedto remain in credit) - one of the ponies will
die and the paperswill be alerted.
1.
2.
3.
4.

Customer Notes: Interview Notes (on screen)


(Date) "Customer phoned re: account - annoyed that Bank continues to charge when overdrawn.
Advised - charity and having difficulties raising monies.. "
(Date) "Further to previous note - customer rang again and this time threatened to go to the local
newspapers with a story as she said she would have to put a pony down as they were unable to pay"
Manager comments". you're just in a no win situation
they won't
they just keep threatening
..
..
listen they just slam the phone down. Its frustrating because you know they're bucking the system..
and you're personally being blamed.. I think she's a bit unstable.. "

239
in
both
the
Emotion
is
difficult.
handle
public
this
But getting an analytic
management
on
20r'
the
(1983)
that
by
Hochschild
is
century
who suggests
and private sphere outlined
has seenan increasein'emotional labour' - the creation of a mood to maintain or sustaina
days'
'have
labour,
the
the
a
nice
smiles,
commercial relationship and that such emotional
jobs.
As
in
behaviour
forms
become
have
sheputs
a
number
of
of
expected
effectively
etc
from
fieldwork):
findings
the
the
(in
that
the argument a way
resonateswith many of
".. service workers usually have face to face or voice to voice contact with the public. They create and
labour
do
in
I
feeling,
to
they
engage
call
emotional
so
what
and
maintain a relationship, a mood, a
(Hochschild 1983: 440).

She suggests that the concepts of 'emotional labour', 'feeling rules' and emotional
for
indicate
features
the
potential
of many aspects of service work and
exchanges are
her
In
from
taught
both
the
the
are
self.
study
airline
stewardesses
and
work
estrangement
to 'really work on your smiles', are trained to 'relax and smile' whilst hiding their 'real'
by
debt
Hochschild
The
from
the
collectors
studied
provide a
passengers.
emotions
from
ideology
'the
Far
in
the
the
customer
of
emotion.
of
management
complete contrast
is always right' debt collectors deliberately try to deflate customer status in an attempt to

securerepayment:
".. for the flight attendant, trust must not give way too easily to suspicion .. the collector on the other hand,
must not let suspicion give way too easily to trust" (Hochschild 1983: 112)

What is interesting about these contrasting characterisations is how easily the fieldwork
display.
According
both
to
to
management
and
emotion
approaches
support
observations
circumstance bank staff could be seen to be both'smiling

down the phone' 'establishing

trust etc and manifesting suspicions that customers were 'out to get them'.

In Hochschild's view customerfacing work and accompanyingemotions are governedby


in
laid
in
bank's
the
which
workers
out
manual of procedure,
a set of normative values,

240
blame
interupt',
'don't
'don't
into.
been
These
have
bank
the
sets of rules socialised
interactions
facing
details
'apologise'
their
the
customer
of
and so on - explain
others',
'codes'
(or
'code'
display.
there
The
the
'emotion
as
rather
their
norms,
management' and
are different

is
both
fraud
for
a
on)
and
so
sales,
complaints,
approaches required

descriptive and an explanatory device, providing simple ways of interpreting actions and
behaving. The codes appear in the bank's manuals, they are posted on walls and staff are
know
(rather
in
their
display
them)
than
them
to
of
as
part
merely
competence
required
fact',
is
'social
Durkheimian
for
The
a
a moral order,
code
promotion.
performance review
in
fact
life.
indisputable
Through
for
behaviour,
of
observations
an
proper
a set of rules
the bank we see the 'code' developing, being worked out in practice, and explained. The
in
for
Simply
is
'binding'
transgress.
those
who
working
punishments
and produces
code
the bank requires that the existence of the code is something that must be acknowledged,
taken into account and recognised for what it will and will not allow workers to do.

It is questionable,however (as Wieder (1974) points out), whether this normative 'code'
facing
behaviour.
focus
is
If
'lived
the
the
reality' of
on
customer
explicate
can really
fruitful
Wieder's
be
draw
facing
to
approach may
on
work, perhaps a more
customer
(1974) accountof the 'convict code',to examinehow bank staff construct and make use of
'the code' as a resourcein the course of their mundane interactions. (It may however be
extreme to liken the bank's injunctions to the `convict code' - but the analysis may be
worth pursuing for a while). In this view 'the code' is used as displays, or 'accounts' of
actions. Here the 'rules' for customer interaction are not somehow external to the setting
but constitutive of some of the ways in which people act within the setting - "..part of the

241
'telling
In
the
".
this
fabric
code' the
view
activities
up
make
of action which
seamless
be
bank
for
that
an appropriate
might
suspicion
workers suggest
example, when
as,
is
harsh'
is
`being
debate
they
whether someone
stance; or when
- not simply reciting
in
the
the
joint
Bank
but
of
rules
and
make
use
construct
staff
actions.
sharing
rules
discussions,
the
interaction.
In
team
or
over
space
their
or
across
a
work
various
courseof
by
the
define
to
bank
by
reference
perform
actions
making
and
staff
or
email,
phone
`code'. This includes accounting for their own actions in terms of conformity to the code,
interaction
displays
by
those
it
is
to
the
as
or
accounts
of
what
parties
used
and as such
be
for
defending
Reference
'obviously'
to
the
thereby
or
code
can
used
are.
actions
defeating a proposed course of action and for accounting for one's actions in an
is
directed
in
fashion
In
the
this
conversation
not
only
a particular way
way.
acceptable
but other 'codes'of practice that supposedlytypify customer interaction are brought to the
fore. As Wieder writes:
"The code then, is much more a method of moral persuasion and justification
life.
(1974:
175).
'
Wieder:
way
of
an
organized
of
account

than it is a substantive

Thus everyday phrasesformulate what is going to happen- `kicking arse' - what hasjust
happened;provides an account of and a motive for what is said and attemptsto direct the
familiar
lines. As Heritage (1984) argues,
conversationalong organisationalrelevant and
this analysis;
"vividly demonstrates that where sociological research encounters institutional domains in which values,
rules or maxims of conduct are overtly invoked, the identification of these latter will not provide an
explanatory terminus for the investigation. Rather their identification will constitute the first step of a
study directed at discovering how they are perceivedly exemplified, used, appealed to and contested. "
(Heritage 1984)

242

Chapter 7: `Keeping Everything Utterly


Mundane: Working to Make Routine
Work, 'Routine'.
"The logic of work routinization is simple, elegant, and compelling" (Leidner 1993: 1)
From the Banks manual:
"Learn the bank's instructions... the more efficient you are, the less likely you are to be deceived and the
Bank to sustain a loss..
Use a little common sense.. If something seems out of the ordinary or illogical do not be afraid to refer to
an appointed member of staf. "
"The regular or routine features of encounters, in time as well as in space, represent institutionalized
features of social systems. Routine is founded in tradition, custom or habit, but it is a major error to
suppose that these phenomena need no explanation, that they are simply repetitive forms of behaviour
carried out 'mindlessly'. On the contrary, as Goffman (together with ethnomethodology) has helped to
demonstrate, the routinized character of most social activity is something that has to be 'worked at'
continually by those who sustain it in their day-to-day conduct". (Giddens, 1984: 86).

From thefieldnotes:
"Where's thef***ing the signature?" "Sendit back "
"We piss a lot of people off becausewe do things right... in the old days.. a big customer could phone up
for money...and whenever they phoned it was singing, dancing and taking your clothes off.. when we
came here and they phoned up and said can we have 2 million today I said 'No'...... We do things right,
we do things by the book and it upsetspeople ... "

Routine Work
"Routines occupy the crucial nexus between structure and action, between the organization as an object
and organizing as a process".(Pentland1994)

There are many different sensesof the word "routine". Depending on whether it is used as
a noun or an adjective it can refer to the capacity to perform recognisable patterns of
action or judgement about the properties of such an action, such as its repetitive,
standardised or perhaps "mindless" character. Within organisation theory early notions of
routine emphasised a fixed pattern of individual

behaviour in response to a defined

stimulus (March and Simon 1958) - routines were regarded as essentially automatic,

243
idea
deliberation
This
that routines were automatic
or choice.
executed without explicit
involved
decision
in
all
making
of
man
which
against
economic
model
was a reaction
an
for
knowledge
In
ethnomethodology routines are
contrast,
and optimal choice.
perfect
effortful accomplishments, forming part of the reaction against the Parsonian notion of
behaviour
dopes')
dopes'
(or
`judgmental
`cultural
whose
was predetermined
people as
by social structure. Here the argument goes that routines are neither mindless nor
automatic, but an effortful (even if apparently effortless) and practical accomplishment.
So even the most routinised kinds of encounters, such as fast food service (Leidner, 1993)
exhibit a considerable and possibly unforseeable amount of variety and consequently
require effort on the part of the participants to accomplish successfully.

However, it is not the intention of this chapter to enter the (routine) debate about the
its
is
Instead
purpose
of
routine
actions.
character
much simpler (or routine). It has
indeed
it
been
is
longstanding
suggested,
a
already
stereotype,that bank work is `dull',
boring and routine. But such dullness is not an inherent characteristic of the work but is,
paradoxically, an accomplishment,an achievement of those who do the work. Like the
vision of the swan effortlessly gliding over the water ignores the desperate paddling going
on underneath so the apparent ease with which some kinds of customer facing bank work
is accomplished ignores the activities of those who strive to produce this appearance of
ease. What this chapter sets out to do is document some of this `work to make routine
work routine', to detail how it is that some bank work can take on the character of
`routine'. As Crabtree (2001) argues;

244
"the skill and judgement involved in accomplishing routine work is usually `invisible' to people located
higher up the organizational food chain and to other analysts (lay and professional) abstracted from actual
work. Nonetheless, routine activities and the exercise of judgement co-exist at all levels of the
organizational hierarchy. " (Crabtree 2001)

Perhapsthe most cogent summaryof this idea is found in Sacks' (1984) statement,whose
repetition forms the backboneof this thesis:
"The point is that it is almost everybody's business to be occupationally ordinary; that people take on the
job of keeping everything utterly mundane; that no matter what happens, pretty much everybody is
engaged in finding only how it is that what is going on is usual, with every effort possible". (Sacks, 1984:
419).

Obviously much of the work in banks is self-evidently and stereotypically `routine'. Here,
for example, is a fieldwork extract from observation of the 'Deads' desk in the `Records'
`beads'
deals
Centre.
Service
Customer
the
with winding up the accountsof
section of
deceasedcustomers, a pernickety and particularly unpopular job, and illustrates the
'routine' nature of the work as well as some characteristics of this routine, the constant
interaction, the 'modal transformations', between various kinds of paperwork and
computerwork;
1. Using printout/letter and form - 'deceased customer action list' - death certificate.
2. Filling in boxes on form.

3. Phoning - whether branch has account,


4. Getsletter saying customerhas died

5. Looking at printout - using calculator - calculating funds in account,


6. Filling in more details on standard form - highlights top of form - action - puts in envelope.
7. Using screen -filling in sections from form - death certificate etc.
8. Interruption - phone.
9. Entering details of deceased into screen.
10. Getsform - 'Action Request Deceased Customer' -filling in action request sheet,
11. Highlights sections ofform.
12. Has a standard memo -filling in details from other documents.
13, Interruption -phone - takes down details. Continues,
14. Interruption - phone.
15. Completing standard memo - discussion - "that will that we've got that we're appointed executors"
discussion about wills - need to see latest copy of wills.
16. Still filling in memo - gets details from printout.
17. Puts printout in folder with letter -

245
The obviously routine nature of work in banks, however, often obscuresthe considerable
amount of effort that goes into what might be characterisedas the `work' to make routine
its
is
driven
by
Even
`routine'.
technology
the
the
work
more
obviously
where
work,
factors,
is
least
is
dependent
the successful
on
a
range
of
not
of
which
completion
routine
Centres,
In
Lending
the
technology.
the
new
given the enormous size of the
of
working
in
investment
base
(over
the
customers)
and
a million
consequent massive
customer
technology, much of the `routine' work consistsexactly in ensuring that the technology is
functioning appropriately. This is the job of the Technology Coordinator. One aspectof
his work, essential to the everyday working of the Lending Centre, is illustrated in the
fieldwork extracts below. In this first extract he has been motivated by the `escalation'
log -a list of problems with the system - where one of the staff has been unable to use
the systembecauseshekeepsgetting an error messagethat her `identity' is incorrect.
"
"
"
"

"
"

Looking at escalation log - email messageK has been unable to access 'Fileserver'(a computer
application) becauseher user identity is wrong - needsto changeit.
Goesto seeK- explains- has to log her off the systemto correct.
Back - using machine- to changeK's user id on 'Fileserver'
Sets her up on Fileserver - now has to set up what applications she's allowed to use "I'm going to give
her credit scoring and I'm going to give her personal loans"

Next has to 'migrate' herfrom a VDT to a workstation


Goesto seeK "Hopefully that will be sorted.."

One of the Technology Coordinator's tasks is to ensure that people's `identities' and
`profiles' on the system are correct - so that the system will allow them to perform certain
tasks without generating an error message. In this next extract he is driven by a printout the `833' - that documents instances of people carrying out tasks that they have not
officially

been given the `proficiency'

to do. The extract also illustrates how those

246
involved in ensuring the smooth and routine flow of everyday work have resourcessuch
as manualsor `help lines' to assistthem.
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
"

"

Has askedteamleadersfor staff identities andproficiencies they should be allocated


Using machine, APT code - allocate profile type - now adding proficiencies to individual staff
members.

Tries to allocate CS - charge security - but system will not let him as he does not have that proficiency
himself.
Goes to see Centre Boss to get allocated proficiency - explains how to do it.
Back at machine - new proficiencies have appeared on his profile
Allocating proficiencies re: list provided by team leaders
Looking at 833 printout - "This one's puzzling"
Looking at process manual - looking up usage of proficiency codes - thinks he finds reason for the
problem (and the large number of error messages on the 833) "that changes everything.. I might have
to start giving everyone RO to get this (833 printout) down"
Phoning Service Line to check,

Another feature of the `work' to make routine work `routine' was documentedin the early
how
lending
lending
decisions are placed within a context that
that
showed
chapter on
decisions
a matter of being seen to be following routine. Much of the
makes such
in
accomplishing routine work resides in the practice of making it
observed work
`accountable'to others as visibly complying with - "following routine'. Similarly dealing
with the everyday contingencies,with eventswhich appearbeyond the routine - and with
inevitable
the
question of `what do I do now?' - often appearsto take the
confronting
characterof attempting to place the `contingencies' within a `routine' context - `what is
this similar to'? `who do I usually approachwhen I don't know what to do?' and so on.
For some, such as Assistant Managers, working with their own teams, his involves
placing work into a context in which it becomes`routine'. That this is what we usually
(routinely) do in this circumstance.In the following instance, for example, the following
comment (overheard by the entire Lending Team) regarding providing a Gold Card to a
TV `personality' reminds the team that despite his celebrity statusthis remains a routine

247
"its
has
as
for
only
to
of
creditworthiness:
criteria
routine
satisfy
and
credit
card
a
request
25K.
to
he's
hasn't
he
fashion...
latest
going
that
not
we're
worth
satisfied us
good as the
"
Card..
Gold
him
a
give

The Transmission Officer at the Business Centre, in his provision of a range of computer
information,
the
requisite
printouts containing

is another example of providing

the

`administrative context' in which routine decisions can be `routinely' made. As part of the
for
for
business
for
Manager's
the
example,
small
customers,
review
annual
preparation
for
`activity
is
Officer
through the account', the
Transmission
monitoring
the
responsible
involves
This
facilities
in
the perusal and careful
the
the
used.
process
turnover
year and
following
forms
is
documented
in
the
and
consideration of a range of printouts and
extract;
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
"

Looking at WE038 - transmission activity on an account (gives an account of the activity through the
in.
issued
autopay etc).
paid
cheques
account Applies formula - by hand - to calculate costs
Gets WE675 printout - review of charges on the account - monthly and quarterly.
Sends statement to company.
Outline of charges - `we;re now telling them more information all the time.. "
Data amendment to BAF (computer application) - has to go through Branch
Interruption - answering phone..
Gives Business Manager - 'Transmissions on Autopay Form Review' - comments of cost saving via
autopay Using screen - cleared balances
Looking at '838' and '841 printouts - use in conjunction with WE038.
838 - measures/records turnover in past year; highest and lowest balance;
841 - activity through the account.

This monitoring activity also includes the perusal of a variety of printouts and forms
that attest to the Business Centre's position in a network of interlocking relationships.
These routine working relationships, with the Branches,with Regional Office, with the
other specialisedcentres,form part of a systemof distributed coordination that effectively

248
his
bank.
Manager
Consequently,
the
the
the
with
constitutes
work of
as well as assisting
work in interviewing customers the Transmissions Officer through his monitoring and
in
facilitates
dealing with other
Manager
the
the
routine work of
coordinating work, also
is
his
in
in
This
Regional
Head
Office.
Bank
the
superiors
and,
particular,
and
of
units
most obvious, given the move towards a selling culture in the Bank, in the supervision
and monitoring of some aspectsof the salesprocess, illustrated in the fieldwork extract
below;
1. Looking at sales figures (come from Regional Ofce) - each manager has sales targets. Business Centre
gets them all because they monitor them.
2. Separates documents - highlights all branches in the Business Management Area.
3. Looking at figures on sales performance - columns on plan' 'allocated" potential'
4. Gets blank form - writes in what has been achieved

5. doescalculation on commercialsavings- usescalculator to checkfigures - enteredmanually onform.


..
6. Has achieved 'Q' (half target) in mostareas - has to write in when 'Q' will be achieved
7. Phones -X - comes up to explain how to calculate on the form -forms given to Manager to monitor
them.

The Transmission Officer exemplifies how some people's daily work largely consistsof
helping to make work routine for others by ensuring that they have available to them all
the latest information, printouts etc. and in a form that is useful to them for whatever
decisionsthey might have to make. Consequently,the appearanceof `routine' in the easy
completion of what are complicated procedures,the smooth transition from one step to
is
another, an achieved matter. It consists of being able to interweave the resources
available within the work environment. In an information-rich environment such as the
bank, the critical property of information is its availability. Information permeatesthe
environment, in reports, print-outs, and monitors as well as, less obviously, in the
affordances of people and equipment. The bank as a work site is laid out in ways that
influence the capacity of those doing the work to make reciprocal senseof each other's

249
is
but
to
is
Information
required
work
at-a-glance
sometimes
often
available
activities.
for
in
format.
So,
it
information
the
that
example
an
and
present
appropriate
assemble

Transmission Officer knows that certain types of information - on activity through the
business
Manager's
Similarly
the
to
the
annual
review.
account - are required prior
Assistant knows that when the Manager goes on his annual review interview he will
information
documents
giving
on the running of the customer's account as
require certain
Lending
know
Centre
the
that they
and
similarly
opportunities;
well as possible sales
brief.
Information
`interview
to
their
seeking practices are associated with
provide
need
is
information
by
information
that
environment
an
ensuring
maintaining
managing and

is
One
bank
it
is
to
to
the
analyzing
approach
routine
needed.
work of
available when
consider the rhythm of the work - the broad temporal pattern of the work iterated over
time (Zerubavel 1985). Many different rhythms contribute to the regular temporal
is
in
bank.
There
the
an annual cycle associated with customer
organization of work
diarised
for
`chasing'
securities
requisitions
are
reviews;
every four weeks; the
account
is
four
days;
cycle
chequeclearing
"Tuesdays is always quiet" - Monday is moderate - Thursday is a busy day generally - "because they pay
(cheques) in on Monday - (cheques) clear Tuesday - Wednesday (cheques are) at paying Bank - Thursday
they come back(f they have been bounced). "

The relevanceof theseworking rhythms is that they orient memberstowards both present
information
future
likely
and
activities
and
needsin the course of doing their work so that
current activities carry an orientation towards anticipations of future events.

250
Routine

work

and the checking

routine

Notice in MandatesSection:
Notice Over 5000 cheques!!
Check words and figures don't differ

Checkdatesand any alterations are signed


Do UV light checkand water test over 25k

Check signatures to mandates - if any problems refer to relationship manager (RB Enquiry)

When considering the overall work of the bank and what features of the practical
accomplishment of the work seem significant, the most striking is the prevalence and
importance of routine; one feature of which is the predominance of both manual and
computerised checking procedures. An example of predominantly

manual checking

procedures comes from the 'Foreign' section of the Service Centre where they deal with
the transfer of large amounts of money, and checking procedures are particularly
rigorous. Here the `culture' of checking was a particularly noticeable and notable feature
of the work (where the observed `rule' appeared to be that the `closer' one came to
money; or the more expensive mistakes became, the more extensive the checking
regime). Thus, as part of their daily routine they would check each other's work. In using
electronic transfer machines they would be required to have their entries checked and
authenticated both by the machine and by their colleagues;
"
"
"

"
"
"
"
"
"
"

"

Doing a CHAPS -given CHAPS machine -puts in password.


Checks number.
Checks date.

ChecksBranch.
Checks Acc No. info.
Checks amount.
Checks currency code.
Checks payment date.
Checks security level.
Checks security No. again. Challenge
- gets response - enters into machine (ECB). Provides
authentication - writes on back ofform - ready for keying into machine. Gives back to colleague.

Checkedby authenticationofficer and releasedby machine checksauthentication.


-

251
The predominance of routine and the checking regime is especially noticeable in units
in
because,
Mandates
Centre
Securities
the
the
many ways, checking
section,
and
such as
for
Centre,
for
Securities
The
their
the
existence.
rationale
and authentication provide
in
involved
is
the taking, protection, maintaining and releasing of securitieson
example,
loans and indemnities and generally involves the preparation of legal documentationand
from
field
illustrate
intensity
forms
Examples
the
the
the
of the
notes
executed.
getting
largely
driven
the
the
and
computer
nature of much,
procedures
persistentchecking
work,
though not all, of the work. :
1.

2.
3.
4.
S.
6.

Looking at 'Outstanding Worklist' - once keyed in computer immediately releases certain procedures formalities'- certain questions. Gives questions on screen -Y or N answer.

Security has to be revalued every 4 years- "its automatically picked up from the date I put in - we
facesheet
letter
from
Branch
fill
"
in..
the
they
with
and
questions
a
valuation
request
Printing letter that tells the Branch which % of the valuation they can take.
Prompt at bottom of screen- saying its complete- so double-checksit.
Goes back into 'Enquiries & Prints'
Selects 'Blank Forms & Letters'

7. Choosesletter to send off.

Back to main screen - 'Current Formalities' - more questions.. "once you reach a certain point.. it will
go to the Assistant Manager to check..appears in checking file"
9. Checking that paper matches the screen.
10. Goes off & gets form. Formality has prompted him to go to Land Registry - to ensure no adverse
entries on Land & from entries already keyed in it prompts what to put on the form - appearing on
screen - "Complete the Application for a Search (K16) using these details" - gives address to sendform
to..

8.

H. Fills inform asper screen- usesstampfor addressof bank.

12. Goes back to screen - been given ref no. - sends off to Plymouth to see if any adverse entries on the
Land.. "because we cant answer a question it puts it in the diary.. " (can complete it only when form
returned from Plymouth.
13. Going through screen questions on Fire Policy - when answers questions screen comes up "releasing
formalities"
14. Back to screen - working through questions - "releasing formalities"
15. Going through 'work measurement' tally....
16. On screen - "You have reached a checking stage: Now pass file to checker... Remember! Do you need to
tally Work Measurement? ".

As the observations move up the hierarchy of workers and tasks this checking process
becomes more complex and prolonged, and while much of the work has been
incorporated into the software far more `work' seemsnecessarybefore respondingto the

252
in
from
far
Similarly,
the
takes
computer
place away
more work
computer prompts.
interpreting and checking the forms and in consulting and checking with others. This was

illustrated in the issues surrounding `independentlegal advice' as a consequenceof the


`O'Brien' court judgement. Basically this involved ensuring - 'checking' - that all the
have
house,
for
loan,
those
to
a
such
as
a
and
all
who
might
signatories a security offered
an `interest' in such security -a tenant or children over 18 - have received `independent
legal advice', that is, independent from the `main' signatory. Otherwise they must
formally, and in very specific language,state that they refuse the offer of ILA, that they
in
balanced
state of mind, and the like. The minutiae of
a
were under no undue pressure,
this processwas quite extensive, including, for example, that signatories had signed for
themselves,that the namescorrespondedto the signatures,that the wording of any refusal
was sufficient and more. Consequently, despite the routinisation of the work through
its
depended
dealing
accomplishment
practical
upon
computerisation,
with the various
despite
Consequently,
that
the apparently `computer driven' nature
arose.
contingencies
of the work, successfuljob completion is heavily dependenton activities and knowledge
independentof the software.

Routinising,

sustaining and automating 'routine'

This final section looks at how routine itself has been subjected to standardising and
automating (even, bizarrely routinising) tendencies.Firstly, by considering how everyday
routine is sustained and accomplished through what might be characterised as `knowledge

work' or `organisationalmemory'. This involves the notion that for something to remain
`routine' various conceptually distinct forms of knowledge work - knowing how to do

253
is
to
from,
knowing
this
knowing
similar
case
to
what
or
get advice
who
something,
interest
The
increasingly
(and
be
technologically)
supported36.
to
organisationally
need
here is less in the debatesabout technological support for 'organisational memory', or
in
1997)
1996;
(but
Randall
than
`organisational
et al
see
memory' as such
even
delineating the kinds of `remembering' and 'knowing' that routinely take place in an
have
for
import
these
the
the
maintenance of routine.
and
context
organisational
(Bannon and Kuuti, 1996) Understanding 'knowing and remembering' as contextual
is
here,
'what
the
as
going
on
now'
of
context
requires an understanding
fundamental
involves
'remembering'
This
that
a
recognition
accomplishmentof members.
is, as the field notes illustrate, a processwhere work has to be done by participants to the
do
How
decide,
identify
'how
in
to
to
remember'.
people
or accomplish,
exchange order
know
is
One
it
is
to
to
this
that
they
and
remember?.
way
of
approaching
need
what
distinguish between various practical kinds of 'knowing' and 'remembering' in
how,
knowing
knowing
knowing
life
(Coulter
1991).
and
who
similarity
organisational
-

For an institution popularly characterisedas the epitome of a bureaucraticorganisation,it


discover
had
documented
Bank
hardly
to
that
the
that
several
manuals
surprising
was

M
Conceptslike 'knowledge management'and `organisationalmemory' refer to the retention and provision of organisational
histories,knowledge,competenciesand skills in order to provide continuity acrossthe organisationover time, and through periodsof
organisationalchange. Clearly organisationsrequire forms of record keeping,processmaps,formal accountsof who doeswhat when,
and so on, and systemscan be designedto augmentand supporttheseprocesses.Ideasabout'organisationalmemory' and similar
notions (the'learning organisation'etc), arosein very specific socio-economiccircumstancesof recession,redundancyand
redeploymentthat servedto arouseanxietieswithin organisationsaboutthe skill and knowledge they were losing. Information systems
were seenas an organisationalsolution to the unforeseenconsequences
of 'downsizing', `releaseopportunities', 'leaning up' or similar
'weaselwords' that were usedto refer to the loss of knowledgeand experienceon the part of organisations.IT was seenas a potential
solution to this generalproblem by building systemsthat could retain and 'remember' crucial elementsof the organisation'spast.As
organisationsrespondedto the recessionthrough 'downsizing', etc., the concerndevelopedthat in sacking,redeployingor retiring
workers, often the oldest and most 'knowledgeable' workers, organisationswere, in effect, 'losing' experienceand knowledge.One
way of thinking about the problem was that of organisationalmemory. Or, to put it more brutally, "how can we sack Mavis (as the
stereotypicalolder, female worker who 'knew the routine', 'knew how to get things done' etc) and (effectively) keep her brain?"

254
'know how' and that might be viewed as formal aspects of `organisational memory'.
These repositories of information such as the 'PIF' (Products in Focus), the `Action File'
`Bible'
Sheets,
the
Action
the
as
regarded
commonly
were
or

of Bank products and

however,
It
them
to
actually
see
was
rare,
available.
universally
and
were
procedures,
being used or being used with any great fluency or expectation of success - like the
Gideon's Bible they seemed to be kept in a drawer. This highlights the gap between
is
done'
One
`get
to
things
actually
required
pertinent
and
what
codifications of procedure
issue concerned the availability of local expertise - the `Mavis' phenomenon (Randall et
bank,
female)
(normally
In
1996).
the
the
within
experienced
context of everyday work
al
workers

frequently

acted as commonly

consulted

repository

for organisational

knowledge. Having been with the bank for twenty or thirty years, often working in
different departments they were frequently rsorted to as `fonts of all knowledge'. They
form,
kind
in
'what
I
the
to
questions
of
of
situation
am
now
answers
economic
provided
instruction'.
identify
Consequently,
I
the
the shouted question,
that
appropriate
can
such
'how do you do XYZ' followed with some qualifying comment, such as, 'you know, when
' can be answered either with a potential solution, or with a relevant question, 'what do
...
form
is
knowing
Y?
'
A
knowing
X
'who'
related
of
and
remembering
you mean? .... or
concerned with `displays' of knowing that feature the deployment of 'local knowledge'
and'local logics', and where the emphasis is on the characteristics of individuals involved
in the process. Both these examples are interesting for understanding the maintenance of
routine because they are frequently

enlisted to circumvent

or speed up otherwise

cumbersome procedures by, as it were, invoking the 'spirit' rather than the 'letter' of the
procedure through `gambits of compliance' (Bittner, 1965). Regardless of the existence of

255
formal organisational procedures for managing, the real world problem is often to do with
`who knows',

or `who decided'

or `knowing

form
Another
of
can'.
who
a man

being
`like
is
this', or remembering similarity
that
as
cases
of
remembering
remembering
because
lies
in
for
difference.
Here
the
of
suggesting a course of action
routine
value
and
is
before.
have
Again
have
this
important
that
those
the
gone
with
similarities a case may
invaluable.
`Mavis'
may well prove
a circumstance where

Routine Work and the Pursuit of Standardisation

Having documentedthe everyday 'work to make routine work routine' at the level of the
individual worker it should also be obvious that such practices, in the form of
'standardisation'were an organisational concern throughout the Bank. Having embarked
involving
long-term
organisational
of
systematic
modernisation
changes
programme
a
on

in organisational structure and working practices, technology and culture ensuring the
development and maintenance of 'routine' was crucial to the everyday working of the
Bank. A key problem for the Bank as a highly distributed organisation was how to codistributed
work, and provide workers with some sense of what their
ordinate
in
relation to others. In the Bank the solution was to emphasise
responsibilities are
process-drivenarrangementswith a high degreeof specification of task accompaniedby a
intention
The
was to standardiseas many processes
pervasiverhetoric of standardisation.
despite
that
the centralisation of functions, and despite the lack of coso
as possible
location of staff, there would be some assuranceof an identity of service and practise
acrossthe distributed sites.

256

This emphasis on standardisation was made manifest in a wide variety of the bank's
activities

including

process modelling,

checking,

the creation

of Management

Information, and the attempt to routinise and standardise decision-making.

One of the

key elements in the pursuit of standardisation in the bank was process modelling.

Here

the specification of tasks was an attempt to ensure rationalisation and standardisation.


The diagrammatic representations of workflow embedded in process maps were intended
to provide a definitive version of the division of labour and in this way achieve a more
predictable and clear specification of the work processes in the bank and thereby help the
Underlying
goals.
process modelling was the notion
organisational
of
other
achievement
that to achieve the prescription of a task and its consequent absorption into 'routine',
be
somehow
rendered uniform and predictable. The problem, then,
must
everything
became effectively one of how to go about standardizing knowledge so that it could have
a general applicability.

A prime conception at play in process modelling

definitive
tasks
that
together
of
a
sequence
make
up
a
prescribing
practice'.

is that of

version of 'best

However, the actual achievement of any process map makes it clear that all

is
formulation
'best
The
`best
are
negotiated
products.
a
practice'
of
practice'
versions of
locally
is
best
This
maps
are
sensible
affair
and
process
versions
of
practice.
situated
not to be read as any kind of criticism of the local (as opposed to universal) efficacy of
such maps. However, process maps are not systematic, rational, scientific deductions of
the most efficient

process.

Rather they are contingent objects of negotiation

and

experimentation amongst members who primarily attend to local, situated concerns and
understandings. In this way not only doesfollowing a process map involve arriving at the

257
is
(Suchman,
1987);
'sense
the
the
making of such plans an equally
within
plan'
situated
is
for
This
the realisation of a rangeof planning
of
significance
accomplishment.
situated
activities throughout organisational life and the way they promote `knowledge' through
co-ordination and arrival at a senseof mutual relevances.

Routine and the development of Management Information


".. when I press my button.. I know how many lines he's got on his printout.. I know how many people he
needs .. I get a picture of the Lending Centre when I come in in the morning without having to ask
people.. " Lending Centre Manager on the value of Management Information.

Perhapsthe most explicit pursuit of standardisationin the bank was the developmentof
ManagementInformation and its attendantmetrics. Tasks were timed and measuredand
'ReasonableExpectancies'of time taken to realise some specified task were developed.
Such metrics were then applied in the allocation and monitoring of work. Management

Information provided membersof the Bank with a meansto practically achieve displayed
orientations to such things as standardisation,to produce `adequate'accountsof the work
they do, and to arrive at practical organizational decisions. However, the use of such
information drew on commonsense understandings and knowledge to arrive at an
appropriate and meaningful numerical depiction.

Prior to its massive organisational restructuring the Bank instituted a Productivity


Management Programme, designed to realise a number of benefits including the
measurementof productivity and efficiency, and to assistmanagementin the allocation of
staff to work tasks. Every day, the Assistant Manager in each section completed a PMP
sheet of work pending and then calculated, how much work there was to be done, and

258
how many hours (and hence staff) were required. Every staff member completed a Daily
Work Management sheet detailing what they accomplished and how much time each
least
in
documents
to
These
theory
then
allocate work,
took37.
at
used were
activity
identify backlogs and bottlenecks. The process seemed to generate a considerable amount
in
its
`reasonable
it
failed,
expectancies'
of
estimations
since
cynicism
and
of aggravation
interruption,
for
factors
tasks,
to
time
taken
to
the
as
account
such
particular
perform
of
it
Bank's
'selling',
fatigue.
Ironically,
the
was
recent emphasis on
perhaps, given
error or
in Sales (and other areas requiring customer contact) that PMP seemed of least value. As
it;
Manager
expressed
a
`you dont know whether its going to take you ten minutes to explain the product and sign it up to the
depends
knowledge...
half...
hour
it
the
customer's
upon
prior
and there is no such
and
an
or
customer
thing as selling one product to one customer... one goes through the whole range of products that you've
for
is
that customer... and that's where
think
the
then
you
right
product
out
what
pick
and
got available
PMP does not work".

This concern with the monitoring and measuring of work also featured, following reUnder
large
in
the
centres.
programmes such as `TOPIX' and `Hours
new
organisation,
by Design' the intention was to develop metrics that would enable managers to predict
different
different
jobs
business
for
times
the
at
of
year. As with the
staffing requirements
earlier

PMP programme

there was a continued

emphasis on backlogs

and the

measurement of work. Here, for instance, we can see a Manager in the Lending Centre
depiction
is
'backlogs'.
Of
importance
the
to
achieve
a
numerical
of
particular
working
distinction between'actual staff hours' and'hours earned'. This recognises the way that the
work measurement system in the Bank provides a particular

allowance for certain

do
hours
but
tally
the
these
actual
not
necessarily
precisely
with
worked.
activities,

37

Eachjob has a work sheeton which the staff memberrecordsthe work done and the time taken. As might be anticipated,

259
Sorting through MI papers - Looks at the calendar under his keyboard and writes `PIE 27/2'
Ending 27/2) on 4-Weekly Total printout
He then continues to write on a sheetfrom his notepad:
PIE 27/3
PIE 27/2
Hours Earned/ASH* %
Actual Staff Hours (ASH) %

(Period

He comments that the figures for the backlogs don't relate to any specific allowance - He needs to see if
they are retaining the backlogs at a 'manageable level' - He admits it's 'not rocket science' - He is just
using it to give him an idea

The development and use of management information turned upon achieving a practical

'fit' between the information and the activity to which it was applied (monitoring the
backlogs). The development of information of this kind offers particular affordancesin
relation to standardisation. Through seeing all work as ultimately reducible to figures and

individuals,
it
is
the
work
of
way
of
representing
a meaningful
possible to mathematise,
further
inherently
to
transformation
the
open
up
and
predictable,
render
unpredictable
(Lynch,
1990).
With
the above example, for instance,a
of
everyday
work
contingencies
into
body
transformed
of
work
was
a potential number of hours of actual work
variable
through the application of a 'standard' expectation (a `reasonableexpectancy') of how
long such work might reasonably be expected to take, and having an impact upon
subsequentwork allocation and staffing. This mathematisation of 'knowledge', of real
work phenomenaso that it is renderedopen to further transformation and manipulation in
`standard' and `generalisable' terms makes managementinformation a resource for the
discussion of other, routine organizational issues. Simultaneously, management
information served as a thoroughly mundane resource used in various kinds of routine
decision-makingembeddedin everydayworking practice.

there were someproblemsin acceptingthe accuracyof thesecalculations,as indicated in this excerpt from the fieldnotes,"Went
through worksheetwith X..and calculated that 12 hours work doneyesterday.Only in for 9 hours so had to rework it. ".

260

Chapter 8: `Why Must I Always


Explain? ' Explicating the Social
Organisation of (Bank)Work
"... the reported phenomena are only inspectably the case. They are unavailable to the arts of designing
and interpreting definitions, metaphors, models, constructions, types, or ideals. They cannot be recovered
by attempts, no matter how thoughtful, to specify an examinable practice by detailing a generality"
(Garfinkel 1991: 16)
"Far from carrying us to the conclusion that ethnomethodology thereby proposes that social actions are
inexplicable (say) that `causes' cannot be identified, we note that ethnomethodology says pretty much the
opposite. Namely, that persons' actions are all too readily explicable and that causes often can be found,
but that such explanation and cause finding is, itself, part and parcel of the self-same scene in which
actions occur. " (Sharrock and Anderson 1991: 164)

Ethnomethodology and (lack of) Ambition


In these final chapters I want to point to, to draw out, some general conclusions about
life
from
that
this particular study. This is a
emerge
of
organisational
characteristics
dangerousmove and may well end in tears. I came relatively late to ethnomethodological
'conversion' and so have only recently been struck by the seeming lack of ambition, or
better overwhelming modesty, of so many ethnomethodological studies - especially
ethnomethodological studies of work - that apparently makes them disappear without
trace within the wider Sociological community. Of course I recognise, and admire, the
desire for careful, rigorous research; and have little real concern about the rest of
Sociology, but after Garfinkel and Sacksmetaphorically 'split the atom' is all that remains
endless,small-scale repetition? To paraphraseLuke Rhinehart ( 1971) in 'The Diceman',
has ethnomethodology become, like life, "islands of ecstasy in an ocean of ennui, and

after the age of thirty land is seldom seen. At best one paddles from one well-worn
sandbar to the next, soonfamiliar with every grain of sand"? And whilst recognising that

261
it is a trivial and childish comment who can have failed to be disappointed by
'ethnomethodologicalstudiesof work' (Garfinkel 1986) that are confined to truck wheels,
Kung-Fu and transcription practices? Trivial and childish maybe but a disappointment
by
it
is
disappointment
tempered
the existence, and continued
though
a
nonethelessdevelopment,

of a large canon of (perhaps more appropriately

labelled)

`ethnomethodological studies of work' (Anderson, Hughes and Sharrock 1989; Bowers et

Sharrock
Heath
Button
1994;
Harper
1993;
Button
1991,1993;
Hughes
1995;
and
and
al
1991
1991;
Shapiro
et
al
and more).
al
et

Yet the ability to make informed, general comments about the social world has never
been beyond the remit of ethnomethodology.So, and for instance, and of some relevance
to this thesis, one example of this might be Bittner's suggestionof the methodical use of
organisationalrationalities - as a gambit of compliance; as a model of stylistic unity and
as a corroborative reference (Bittner 1965). Another example might be Lynch's (1993)
discussion of epistemic themes and 'epistopics' ('vernacular themes that "went to college

development
back
the
educated"')
and
of a programme of investigation that
and came
concerns "the primitive structures of accountability that make up the instructable
reproducibility of social actions". Of course I don't share Rhinehart's ennui, and in this
hope,
by
I
concluding section
re-visiting the fieldwork, firstly, to indicate some general
conclusions,some generalisations,about the characterof organisational life that might be
derived from this ethnographic study. Secondly, in the final chapter, I hope to
demonstrate how this approach to research, and its findings,

might enable

262
(mistaken)
informed
to
to
standard
some
respond
ethnography
ethnomethodologically
sociological critiques.

Ethnography

and the Problem of Generalisation

There is little doubt that the issue of the generalisation of research findings has plagued
ethnographers - and specifically

ethnomethodologically

informed ethnographers (and

'lived'
importance
Insisting
the
to
the
the
on
of
attending
years.
especially me) - over
details of work as it is actually done in `real time'; reporting on the day-to-day social
in
it
happens,
the
context
which the work tasks are accomplished,
of
work
as
organisation
how skilfully

the work activities get done, etc; all this detail has, apparently been

inadequate because the fundamental requirement is to 'generalise' findings from one


particular

research setting to other, unknown (perhaps unknowable)

settings. The

has
been
interpreted
do
in
from
to
this
reluctance
various
pigways,
ethnographer's
headedness, to obsession with the intricacies of data, to the suggestion that ethnography
cannot make any generalisations at all because it is too rooted in the particular. But
do
can,
and
produce generalisations (Sacks' work on
ethnomethodology
ethnography and
conversation

for example is one of the most generalisable pieces of research in

Sociology). In fact the ethnographer's seeming modest reluctance is, perhaps, far more
associated

with

a range of conceptual

confusions

surrounding

the notion

of

'generalisation', and what `work' we might reasonably expect generalisation to do. As


Benson and Hughes argue:
"despite its aspirations to become a generalising discipline, sociology's 'general descriptions of social
phenomenanot only fail to capturerigorously the particularities of thesephenomena,but has to secureany
such connection by resourse to the familiar ad hocing features of common-sensereasoning such as

263
illustration, epitome, claims to typicality,
126)

A particular

to representativeness, and so on" (Benson and Hughes 1991:

feature of this is the confusion of the social science use of the term

is
it
associated with prediction, statistics, causality and theory
generalisation, where
development and ordinary language use of generalisation, where the concern is perhaps
more with issues of general expectation, sensitivity or 'typicality'.

Here, in the case of

form
is
a
of the `documentary method':
use,
everyday
generalisation
" treating an actual appearance as `the document of, as `pointing to', as `standing on behalf of a
presupposed underlying pattern. Not only is the underlying pattern derived from its individual
documentary evidences, but the individual documentary evidences, in their turn, are interpreted on the
basis of `what is known' about the underlying pattern. Each is used to elaborate the other. " (Garfinkel
1967: 78)

In suggestinggreaterambition for ethnomethodologicallyinformed ethnographythere is a


need to clarify some of the confusions surrounding the issues of generalisability.
Underlying the queries are a number of anxieties about ethnographic research and the
nature of generalisation,and some of these are outlined, but not resolved here. One issue
be
characterisedas the `typicality problem'. That is, was the study done during an
might
Is
for
time?
the
office
period
of
studied,
exceptional
example, typical of a great many
other offices or was it peculiar in some way, a one-off? At issue here is whether, and to
what extent, the bank studied in this ethnography is in some sense 'typical' of other banks,
other financial service organisations or other distributed organisations. To what extent can
the findings be generalised to other financial service organisations or, more widely, other
non-banking organisations. Does the study have something more general to contribute
than a massively detailed study of a single organisation at a particular time and place?
The problem of course is determining,

and measuring, what might count towards

'typicality' - what is a typical bank? Is it a measure of turnover, customer base, functions

264
by
banks
Or
that
there
are
activities
are characteristically performed
or what?
- such as
lending or administering money - that make them identifiable as banks?

A related issue is the `numbers issue' which suggeststhat a single case study of a bank
hardly seems a sufficient basis upon which to ground any generalisation about banks or
is
`typicality'
The
to
the
on
numbers
related
emphasis
organisations more generally.
in
it
is
that
seen as a possible solution to the question of whether any particular
problem
situation, bank, lending interview etc is unique, a `one-off or standard, `business as
features,
in
interest
is
The
that certain activities or acts
the
of
particular
regularity
usual'.

if
feeling
The
this
that
general
goes
of
unease
might
abate
argument
appear regularly.
how
is
(though
banks
exactly
many open to dispute). In terms of
were studied
more
empirical generalisationand classification whilst logically there may be a need for more
than one case (if indeed it can be agreedwhat a case is) quite how many are required is
difficult to specify. There is no particular number of cases that makes classification
permissible, except for in statistical sampling. In the caseof theoretical generalisation- at
least in the Natural Sciences- the number of casesis rarely an issue (except perhapsin
the case of refutation). In Sociology it is difficult to see the `numbers problem' as
lingering
is
than
that
than
more
a
unease
and
a
vague
suspicion
case
anything
more
one

required. While this may make sense for a number of reasons, such as reassurance,
checking results, exploring further, etc., without a clear sight of what the problem is, it
be
difficult
would

sufficient

to go much further and determine how many more cases would be

forty-two?
two,
one,
-

As Benson and Hughes remind us: "the

ethnomethodologicalobjective is to generateformal descriptions of social actions which

265
(Benson
"
features
display
them.
the
the
and
of
machinery
which
produced
and
preserve
Hughes 1991: 131) If the point of ethnomethodology is to explicate the machinery by
which social action - making lending decisions, using computers, dealing with customers
how often, how many times, an action occurs and is studied is, at best,
done',
`gets
then
marginal to whether the description of the `machinery'

is adequate or not. Further

instances do not provide any more evidence, or warrantability

for the description - just

(1991)
further
As
Benson
Hughes
and
suggest:
examples.
more,
"This is not to say that other cases, other data, are of no use, but that the number of instances, the quantity
of the data, is irrelevant to the grounding of the description of the machinery'. (Benson and Hughes 1991:
131)

Lastly there are concerns about 'abstraction', which is a demand for a means of
generalisingfrom particular studiesto situations that have not yet been studied but which
are similar enough to be treated as coming under the aegis of some abstract generalising
device. This form of abstraction licenses treating a new situation as equivalent in some
involves
being
This
a
of
a
class.
member
nominating some criterion that can be
way, as
into
together
to
group
elements
a class. The procedure requires determining that the
used
be
that
to
are
classified are sufficiently
elements

alike in relevant respects to be so

classified. Here we are concerned with the issue of whether, for example, 'financial
service organisations' are sufficiently

alike to constitute a class, or 'banks' or 'lending

teams' or 'managers' so that research findings have a more general relevance. The point
here is not about the difficulty

of creating effective classifications - but what kind of

involves.
A classification
generalisations classification
allocating

involves the use of a rule for

elements to cases and even though the rule may well be derived from

theoretical considerations, the key process is the application of the rule to categorise the

266
in
is
these
It
informative
in
that,
these
elements,
respects
saying
relevant
ways.
elements
in
being
like
belonging
be
be,
to
treated
one another
a class, as
as
can
whatever they may
is
the
Classificatory
through
achieved
these
generalisation
properties.
respect of
here
The
to
problem
this
main
procedure createan empirical generalisation.
application of
is
because
is
This
there
theoretical
the
not simply
generalisation.
notion of a
arises with
but,
dispute
theory
more
at
all
constitutes
a
about whether ethnomethodology
some
importantly the relation of theoretical generalisations to empirical instances. The
but
be
described
is
issue
here
theory
a
ethnomethodology
might
as
not
whether
particular
it
be.
kind
theory
might
of
exactly what

For whilst ethnomethodology might

(controversially) be describedas a descriptive theory or a theory for the understandingof


it
be
doubt
little
life
that
there
cannot,
and
will
not,
characterised as an
seems
social
it
disavows
indeed
(Garfinkel
this
theory
and
specifically
explicity
stance.
explanatory
1967) And certainly the objective of ethnomethodologically informed ethnography is
but
theories
to
explanatory
or
causal
what might be characterised
explicitly not produce
as `perspicuousviews' of settings38.

Ethnography is a method of investigating social settings in order to uncover their socially


is
for
Its
a researcherto enter a domain to gather materials
organisedcharacter. rationale

39

Whether ethnomethodologyis a `theory' or not is dependent,of course,on how a 'theory' is defined. Certainly somepeople
regardethnomethodologyas a theory - ""As theory, then, ethnomethodologyproposesan extant orderlinessin concreteactivities that
is impervious to formal analytic derivation and that thereforerequiresa different form of analysis" (Maynard and Clayman 1991:388)
This doesseema little like 'it's a theory Jim but not as we know it". Perhapsa better approachto this issueis that of Bensonand
Hughes(1991) and their suggestionthat rather than producing sociological theories,ethnomethodology:".. attemptsto describethe
operationaltheories,or theoriesin use,that membersdeploy in attendingto the circumstancesof their surroundings.." (Bensonand
Hughes 1991: 127). As Button and Sharrock(1991) point out, both actor and theorist are attemptingto understandthe actor's
environmentbut their motivations and orientationsdiffer and this setsup the standard,if mistaken, position for the theorist to claim a
better take on reality. It may be easierto conclude,like Sharrockand Watson (1988) that ethnomethodology"does not standwithin the
sameconceptionof theorizing, doesnot affiliate itself to the receivedtradition of theorizing, but stepsoutside of that.." (Sharrockand
Watson 1988:58) In rejecting a coomitment to explanatorytheorising ethnomethodologyturns towards explication and the provision
of 'thick descriptions' (Ryle 1971).

267
in order to construct an account of its social organisation as seen `from within'. This
rationale of 'social organisation from within' draws on the fact that members of society
have their own conceptions of social life that enter into social life itself and are not
description
it.
human
investigate
The
of
sciences
a world whose
an
observer's
merely
in
it
inhabit
through
the
that
those
constructed
and
sense
accord
are
who
phenomena
them. The regularities of social life, observedand documentedthrough ethnography,are
not the causal regularities with which the natural sciences deal but, instead, are the
product of the members of society using their own knowledge of their world. For
kind
important
be
found in social life is rule-governed
to
of
regularity
one
example,
financial
include
list
Such
transactionssuch as writing cheques,using
could
a
regularity.
credit cards or obtaining loans. Understanding these regularities does not require a
general theoretical scheme.Rather, understanding(if not enlightenment) arrives through
describing the complex of activity within which the activity occurs and to which it
belongs.This is often a matter specifying the rules that are constituent of it; rules that are
known to the people doing the activity, for they themselvesare acting in terms of those
rules (lending on Campari and Ice).

In these circumstances the issue of generalisation changes. The ethnomethodological


conception of social researchis very different from other sociological approachesthat,
perhaps, attempt to ape natural sciences. Given the immense orderliness of the social
world that is the focus of investigation, this orderliness,its regularity, is there in advance
of, and independently of, any social scientific accounts,theoretical or otherwise, that we
might produce of it. As Sacks(1984 arguespeople:

268
"... come out in so many ways much like everybodyelse and able to deal with just about everybodyelse

Tap into whomsoever, wheresoever, and we get much the same thing.
We get an enormous
...
...
generalisability because things are so arranged that we can get orderly results, given that for members
encountering an ordinary environment they have to be able to do that, and things are so arranged as to
permit them to. " (Sacks 1984: 22-23).

The task of the sociological investigator is to describe that orderliness. The issue of
theory does not arise. Generality is then achieved, as has already been suggested,through
uncovering the `machinery', which is highly generalisable because this is how, for
done'.
bank
As Bensonand Hughesput it:
work'gets
example,
"... in characterising some action, some setting, the description is warranted by showing how the
`machinery' described can `reproduce' the data at hand. The evidence for the description is to be found in
the activities described rather than, as in variable analysis, in the procedures of mathematisation. " (Benson
and Hughes 1984: 132)

Ethnography is just such a method for uncovering how a series of recognisable activities
'get done'. In the case of the bank an important part of answering the question, `how are
things done?' - how are loans arranged for example - might consist of showing how rules,
lending rules for example, are followed (given that rules cannot be formulated to contain
lesson
The
they
to be drawn is that we do not necessarily need
that
might mean).
all
theories in order to produce highly generalisable findings.

In ethnographic studies of work it is perhaps `typicality'

but
in
typicality
not
a statistical
-

sense - that is the appropriate mode to think about generalisation. Ethnographic research
looks for are exemplars, instances, illustrations,

perspicuous

viewpoints,

grossly

'observables' etc. from which to see what the activity is about, what its 'rules' are, how the
'machinery' works, how it gets done. This is not making an argument that there
could be
such a thing, say, as a `typical office' or a'typical bank' or a'typical bank manager' except
in a colloquial sense. After all, the injunction of ethnography is to examine the details of

269
some activity on a case by case basis so making any commonalities between `office' a
matter of investigation. It is in this sensethat Garfinkel's comments - "... the reported
phenomena are only inspectably the case. They are unavailable to the arts of designing
definitions,
They
ideals.
interpreting
types,
models,
constructions,
or
metaphors,
and
how
be
by
an
thoughtful,
to
attempts,
no
matter
cannot
recovered
specify

examinable

practice by detailing a generality" (Garfinkel 1991: 16) - should be understood.


However, insofar as an `office' or a bank is a culturally recognisable kind of place, and
'managing a bank' is a culturally recognisable kind of activity, we are already, and
unavoidably, trading on widely held understandingsabout the social organisation of the
(1991)
Anderson
Sharrock
As
argue, as with so many of the conventional
and
world.
dichotomies that characterise Sociology, ethnomethodology does not acknowledge the
separationof the particular and the general. Instead, ethnomethodologysuggeststhat it is
impossible to assemblea collection of observableoccurrences,instances,without already
having introduced a some element of generality that identifies the actions completing a
loan application `bouncing' a cheque and so on - as what they so observably and
obviously are. Particular social actions are irreducibly, cannot be other than, events in a
identified
be
or understoodoutside that social order. As Rosenhan
social order and cannot
(1973), in `Being Sane in Insane Places' so graphically demonstrated, what I am doing
now, writing,

in the social context of the mental asylum gets transformed into, gets

viewed as, `obsessive writing behaviour' (but then perhaps we are all suffering from
`schizophrenia in remission'? ). The important point is that the very description of any
specific occurrence has built into it significant generality. It is the generality that allows
one to see what an action is in the first place. That because this action is taking place in a

270
bank and this person is a Lending Officer and that person is a customer, this `obsessive
The
in
loan
is
`opening
behaviour'
`filling
account'.
particular
application'
or
an
a
writing
Customers,
Lending
Officers,
inextricably
these
the
connected;
people general are
and
because
doing
definitely
those are the sort of
these
things
this
on
occasion
whatever - are
things that such people do. To take one further example: Horace Miner's (1956) famous
(spoof) article `Body Ritual Amongst the Nacirema' - so beloved of introductory
Sociology courses. In this paper Miner presents an anthropological study describing a
body,
loom
by
human
is
dominated
`the
health
the
that
appearance
and
of which
society
as a dominant concernin the ethos of the people' and to which are devoted various rituals
is
is
As
Nacirema
American
household
`shrine'.
the
that
soon
as
spoof
revealed
and a
`shrine'
(the
bathroom)
become
the
the
then
associated
rituals
with
all
society `washing',
`shaving',
taking and storing medication and so on. Miner's
as
understandable
invocation
look
is
to
carefully at society, to render the familiar
as
an
article generally used
`anthropologically strange' but it also illustrates the point about the particular and the
identifiable
that
actions
are
only
particular
as the actions they are from within
general the social situation of which they form a part. In these circumstances the issue of
be
is
Sharrock
As
thought.
as
might
as
grave
not
and Anderson suggest:
generalisation
"Ethnomethodology does not, therefore, confront the methodological problem of generalisation at all in
the way that sociologies construing their enquiries as inductive must do: the generalisability of social
actions is not in need of solution through logico-empirical methods, for it is already (so to speak) resolved
in the phenomena themselves, resolved through the social organisation's own procedures, and the
ethnomethodologist's own capability to make generalised description depends entirely upon his/her own
competence in the management of everyday affairs. " (Sharrock and Anderson 1991: 162)

The purpose of this section is then to attempt to develop some general understandingof
organisational work and especially bank work, using the `framework' of the social

271
The
in
(Hughes
1995).
developed
COMIC
the
et
al
of
work
project
organisation
framework was initially developed as an essentially practical, presentational device for
in
fieldwork
how
the
the
observationsof
work
organising and understanding vast array of
the bank `gets done': and for presenting the material to management at the bank in a
format.
deploying
developing
framework
I
In
this
and
provisional
am attempting
relevant
to steer a difficult course between choices, common to ethnographic observation and
is
between
The
the accusation that ethnography is simply `hanging
choice
analysis.
around' with the consequent suggestion that its findings are entirely idiosyncratic,
fortuitous and inconsequential;and the over-systematisationof a `cookbook' approachto
fieldwork and analysis, effectively defeating the entire purpose of the ethnographic
in
is
The
this
to understand the 'planful' character of
chapter
emphasis
approach39.
organisations;to consider some featuresof planful activity and to illustrate how this motif
of planful action resonatesthroughout the fieldwork observations.The componentsof the
framework, plans and procedures, distributed coordination and awarenessof work are
outlined as heuristic devices to display the massiveorderliness of organisational activity,
indeed
definitive of, what it meansto be 'an organisation'.
these
are characteristicof,
since

39
Of courseit is entirely possiblethat the heuristicsoutlined and usedfor an essentiallypractical presentationalpurposecould
be usedin the form of a 'checklist' or'things to look for' which would obviously defeatthe entire purposeof the
ethnomethodologicallyinformed ethnographicapproach.To which one can only respond,like Tony Soprano,"don't be stupid.. not
even in the short term".

272
Planning, plans and procedures
"yes we like the set up, we like the products, we like the marketing, we like the management, we like the
account, we want to help and we want to do it, we can see the reasons why he wants to do it, and we have
confidence "Business Manager talking about a Customer Account

One of the more obvious and prominent ways in which distributed coordination is
is
institutionalised
through
achieved
plans and procedures and their `situated
interpretation'. This refers to a wide range of formal procedures which, in the Bank,
would include, for example, `how to do an Annual Review'; `How to SanctionA Loan';
`How to Write A Report' and so on. The step-by-step processes for the accomplishment
of a procedure which would be contained in manuals such as the PIF, the Lending Manual
and the Action Sheets and so on. As coordinating mechanisms within socially organised
`real world, real time' work activities, 40their explicit point is to co-ordinate the work of
people in order that separate work activities and tasks come to have a coherence and,
typically, through this meet other goals such as efficiency, meeting time constraints, and
so on.

The relevance of plans to human action has been famously outlined by Suchman (1987).
She presents a powerful critique of the user modeling and planning-based approaches to
design, suggesting that: 'plans are resourcesfor situated action but do
not in any strong sense
determineits course".Her central argument is that plans do not thoroughly determine in
advance and causally direct in every detail courses of action. A plan is an abstract
construction that needs to be to be applied in specific circumstances. Plans do not simply

40

It is important to point out herethat there is no assumptionthat all the items in the 'variegated collection of phenomena'are
usedin the sameway - it may also be important to note that someof theseitems, for example,certain of the action sheets,are usedto
overcomesomeof the problemsemanatingfrom the fact that the Bank and the computersystemdo not operatein `real time'..

273
`execute themselves' nor is the relationship between the plan and the action it directs a
have
Plans
studies
empirical
activities
and
numerous
are accomplished
mechanical one.
highlighted the gulf between abstract idealised plans and their situated accomplishment 'war
in
(1996)
Orr's
the
stories' of photocopier
accounts
of
noticeably
perhaps most
technicians. As Selznick (1948) argues:
"The formal administrative design can never adequately or fully reflect the concrete organization to which
describe an empirical
it refers, for the obvious reasons that no abstract plan or pattern can
exhaustively
...
totality. At the same time, that which is not included in the abstract design ... is vitally relevant to the
itself.
" (1948: 25)
formal
development
the
of
system
maintenance and

This reflects both an observedempirical reality about organizational life and a desire to
in
that
the
and
competencies
are
required
skills
even the most routine of
avoid underrating
tasks. From this viewpoint `routineness' is observedto be an accomplishmentproduced
through the everyday, practisedexerciseof complex skills. Such an approachinvolves an
acknowledgementof the `practical rationality' - what Boden (1994) calls 'local logics' and
'local knowledge' - exhibited in day-to-day conduct which, in turn, problematises
`idealised' notions of rationality.

This perspective upon plans and action had particular significance for the office
1970s
the
that viewed clerical work - such as much of the work
of
automation movement
documented here - as simply `routine', involving the repeated execution of planned
procedures and thus a prime candidate for automation. Typical of this researchwas a
characterisationof offices according to the levels of routinenessthey were said to display
and characterisationsof clerical work as mere and predefined `reactions' to inputs:
" Once a clerk is told about a situation, s/he can consult a predefined procedure (formally or informally) to
determine what action should be taken by the organisation. The organisation does not rely on the clerk to
decide what to do; instead the organisation provides a procedure which instructs the clerk how to react to
the situation. " (Zisman, 1977).

274

The problem that most effected office automation research was the problem of
demonstrated
Various
the rich and complex nature of supposedly
researchers
exceptions.
`routine' activities and the skilled and cooperative decision-making and negotiation
between
be
important
discrepancies
done'.
There
`get
to
the
to
appeared
work
necessary
the formal office procedures that supposedly governed office work and the practical
focusing
by
This
demonstrated
by
upon
staff.
was
office
action as actually carried out
how workers creatively solved `exceptions' and dealt with contingencies.However, these
field studies also showed how it was often necessary -

all -

in order to get the work done at

to deviate from plans and improvise or `ad hoc' procedures in the light of the

exigenciesof someunfolding situation.


"The Office Automation research ran into problems because it embedded models of work in systems as if
they were computer executable versions of what actually happened, of how work was actually done. The
status of these models was transformed from being a resource -a resource which may provide a reference
point, a grounding, a basis for discussions, a coordination mechanism and so on- into being a constraint
upon how things could be done. Office automation systems have not had the impact or acceptance that
was initially expected because such systems implemented an information flow that was idealised and
neglected the work needed to make the `flow' possible in the first place". (Pycock 1999)

Consequently,as a result of her ethnographicstudies

Suchman(1983) was able to

different
illustrate
`routine'
importance
to
the
sense
and
of an
a
radically
suggest
ethnographic orientation to the status of procedural plans -

an orientation which sees

them as accomplishedproducts.As shenotes:


"the procedural structure of organizational activities is the product of the orderly work of the office, rather
than a reflection of some enduring structure that stands behind the work" Suchman (1983).

The work of Suchman and others illustrated how important it was to consider the `fit' of

thesemodels with the ways in which work was actually done. The problem they revealed
was that of `automating a fiction'. It is people that do the work in organisations,not

275
idealised models.
improvising

It is the everyday judgement

of workers,

in interpreting

and

standard procedures, that gets the work done and makes it routine. This

issues
hoping
(in
led
facing
has
to
the
those
to
of
model
a
greater
awareness
experience
order to support) cooperative work.

An emphasis on supporting work with resources

it
influenced
has
been
by
this understanding of the status of
than
automating
merely
rather
Schmidt
(1997)
As
and
plan
representations.
writes:
model
"In a way CSCW can be said to have been born with these concerns. The office automation movement had
already given way to disillusionment, and artificial intelligence was increasingly being confronted with
unfulfilled promises. At the same time, a number of critical studies had demonstrated that the problems
were deep rooted: office procedures were of a different nature than presumed by the protagonists of office
automation. The general conclusion of these studies were that such constructs, instead of dctermining
action causally, serve as `maps' which responsible and competent actors may consult to accomplish their
work. Thus, Lucy Suchman's radical critique of cognitive science .. and the `situated action' perspective
she proposed has played a significant role in defining the CSCW agenda and has become a shared frame
of reference to many, perhaps most, of us. For good reasons, then, dcsigners of CSCW systems have been
advised to treat them with great caution. " (Schmidt 1997)

Plans and procedures are primarily about coordination. However, within this general
characterisation there are some important issues (and some mis-understandings)which
needfurther consideration.Much of the critique of the planning model in CSCW, namely,
that plans are ineffective, arises from misinterpretations of Suchman's (1987) work, in
do
follow
idea
the
that
people
not
particular
plans because,in actuality, they arepost-hoc
rationalisations of courses of actions. Suchman's critique is directed, however, at the
notion that there are mental plans that operate as causal determinants of subsequent
courses of action. The essenceof Suchman's critique is that the plan is an abstract
construction which will, at the very least, require articulation with, and application to, the
specifics of the circumstances in which it is to be followed. In this extract from the
fieldnotes, for example, a Business Manager's Assistant is assembling the necessary

276
information, from the customerfile and the computer record, prior to an annual review by
the Manager. However, she is encountering difficulties and having to make a decision
is
fits
the
the
the
she
using;
of
software
package
parameters
case
about whether
"I did that this morning, it was one we had slight problems with because we only GAPP accounts with
facilities in excess of 20, but 1 came to put it on the machine, and they've actually got a business card limit
have
I
key
GAPP
facilities
into
to check
5000
the
those
two
so
machine,
cant
actually
of
and negotiations..
GAPP
is
facility
have
GAPP
I
into
it.
Because
I
the
the
Region
to
to
only
can
put
still
make sure
with
15000, the overdraft facility, but (arguably? ) it is over 20 so it still needs a GAPP grade... '

Following the plan' will consequentlyalways involve more than can be specified within
it. The construction and use of plans in `real world, real time' activities do not typically
involve the supposition that literally everything must be spelled out in minute detail.

Instead, `practically' and `characteristically' plans are `recipient designed', that is, spelled
follow
for
familiar
to
them
to
those
to
who
are
are,
example,
with the
out an extent which
follow
in
in
involved,
them,
to
trained
they
the
tasks
are
sufficiently
which
circumstances
Nor
does
indicate
host
the
considerations.
making
any
of
other
possible
of
plans
a
and
follow
they
the
that
course
of
actions
which
specify
will,
of
necessity,
expectation
through. Indeed, the point of plans is often to direct courses of action to maximise the
despite
Here,
the
that
that
action
will
ensue
of
contingencies
courses
arise.
can
chances
for example,is a BusinessAccount Manager talking about the Bank taking a debentureas
increased
facility
the
to a company. It thereby
of
an
of
process
providing
overdraft
part
illustrates the way in which plans are practically accomplishedin the courseof the work;
" this is a limited company account and it works very well,.... (looking at file/printouts) and computer
..
..
down and we talk to them about how
information, yes, used to quite a degree..... a limit of 50K,
we
go
...
the company works, the modus operandi of their trading businesses so that I could get a feel and get a
...
handle on how it operates, get a feel of what the management is like,
it all comes into the decision..
making process ....because seeing the operation, talking to them, trying to ask questions and get a feel as to
how good they are, and they're pretty switched on these guys... they both know, they talk about these
deals, they know what they're doing and its difficult to get that picture over to an obscure lender who's
...
stuck up there in Regional office, thats why recommendation is so important ...(pointing to form) `what do
you feel about the management? ' (questions on form) .. this isnt a business turning out widgets or pine
tables or whatever, where you can actually see the production line and you might be able to do a cash-flow

277
forecast etc etc you cant do that in this case, its a business of opportunism really, if he sees a good deal
...
...
he'll want to go and buy it, thats what hes got his limit for of 50K and thats why it swings back into
credit.... they're switched on .. helps with the decision making, the accounts are good, ... although they're
a bit stale from last year ... and it so happened that they came up with another proposition whilst we were
there... he (the customer) said "I'd like a 100(K) as standby and if something comes up ".... well, ..that was
over `dp' (discretionary power) ...we're in for a total exposure of 140K, ...overall, ... so we're then left
with do we lend him 100 grand? ...decision making process, what's the companies trading performance
been like? quite good, whats its proven track record from audited figures? thats quite good, surplus
..
resources in the company, retained profits in the company. .. thats quite good. What about the product that
they're dealing with? do we consider thats the sort of thing that is. that can be moved on and
sold.... (discusion of business) ... it shifts .. So, the product, the siting, the company, proven record,
management; what do we think of the management? pretty good, pretty switched on, .. everything about it
looks OK, so we want to go ahead and do a recommendation, we've got to go up to Region because its
over those limits. Look at security, yeah, the Bank should have a debenture because we're principally
lending, well we're lending on the company, we have got security we've got a guarantee and its backed
up by deeds... we've got security for about 50 grand, which covers that (pointing at file) ... we've gone up
to say that we'd like a debenture, we want to recommend this, we want to say that we will do it, we would
have liked 1994 accounts, we have'nt got them, but we still think we should go ahead with it (interruption
breaks
for
debenture)
Ass
tell
to
to
off
prepare
paperwork
we'll go for a debenture, we'll recommend
this, we want to do it, (we've) made the decision as far as the recommendation goes, strengthen it up by
the security side, of having the guarantee for 50 and we'll have the debenture as well which we'll value,
have to take a% of assets, but, we should have a debenture, if it all fails we want to put a receiver in
...
..
and take that stock.... we'll put that (debenture) as a condition of sanction... and I think thats right, .. we
should have a debenture now, we're lending 50, .. on any limited company account any lending over about
10 grand, or any lending over 5000 we want security anyway, and we really want a debenture as well, so
we ought to have it at 50, i.. if we're then going to double it up perhaps now's the time that we go for it,
that was the nub of all that lot (points to notes) is to say yes we like the set up, we like
that we take it,
so
...
the products, we like the marketing, we like the management, we like the account, we want to help and we
want to do it, we can see the reasons why he wants to do it, and we have confidence ...that it wont slip up
to be hardcore, I mean that would be disaster would'nt it? if he had 100,000 of stock on the bloody shelf
that he could'nt sell. .. its what you think of it is'nt it? what you think of the management... we think we
should do it (make the loan) but Bank policy says we should have a debenture.."

The extract also demonstrateshow plans often include `fail safe' devices to cope with
by
`not
things
to
are
going
plan'
specifying arrangementsfor adaptation
situations where
of the plan to exceptions, unforeseen circumstances,even extensive revision. The plan
incorporates
mechanismsto overseethe implementation of the plan and enforce its
also
requirements, in this particular case that if the loan `goes bad' because they hold a
debenturethey can "put a receiver in and take the stock". These are organisedresponses
to 'normal, natural troubles'. Similarly in this next extract, a `troublesome' account, the
range of possible responses to different situations is outlined and discussed by the

278
BusinessAccount Manager. This illustrates the way in which workers need to be able to
respond,to adapt `the plan' `on the fly' in the face of changing and urgent demands;
"if the fellow wanted SK. and he said what is your decision? I would have said I'll let you know in a few
days time, I'll have to consider it..! would'nt say to the customer, 'I've got to go to the Bank, because I'm
the Bank. it doesnt matter whether its me or someone else I'd say I'll let you know, if he wants a decision
urgently, . then L. try and do it by phone, we dont like doingthings like that because the Bank likes things
in writing... if that was the case and it does happen from time to time, you take your fax down, say you'll
let him know, consider them, try and get your fax in a logical order and your recommendation becuase the
Bank will always want a recommendation from the manager, always, you cant dip out of it, you've got to
come down one side of the fence or the other, even if you dont make the decision you've got to come up
with a recommendation so... if he said,, I want to issue this cheque for 6000 now ..I would have taken the
details down, I would have made my decision that I was not going to recommend that, I would'nt want to
give him 6000 unless I had a clear exit route and assuming that nothing else had changed .. ('exit route =
repayment route) .. (pointing at file) .. here 's the exit route for the excess which was granted in May,
actually ... and the repayment route.. and the repayment of that excess was going to come from this loan,
well these things are finite-you're going to come to the bottom of the barrel, he's running out of things..
so if he wants another 6000 OK well where's that going to come from, well, he's got these house proceeds,
well thats all in the future... I would have gone to Region ... my recommendation is no we dont do that.. "

Another feature of plans and procedures is that they develop and are modified, they
unfold, in real time. What the plan agreed,what interdependenciesthere are, only become
clear as the coursesof action specified in the plan unfold, creating additional workloads
in terms of coordination and the awareness of work. So, for example, as the `relationship'
between the Personal Accounts Management team and its customers develops they
respond. They respond to the changing contingencies, of the arrival of `plans and
priorities' forms; of reports from PFAs and so on, as well as changes in the circumstances
of their customers, moving house, retirement, redundancy and more.

As the application of IT becomesmore entwined with the complexities of organisational


working, so the challenges facing IT systems designers increase and recent empirical
researchcontinuesto emphasizethe potency of Suchman'soriginal insights. Observations
in the bank, for the example, continue to show how planned activities are subject to

279
from
how
`worldly
the
situated and
working processemerges
contingencies' and
various
resourceful activity. The findings support a contingent view of planning and scheduling
that emphasisesthe incompleteness of knowledge and the arbitrary, uncontrolled or
for
is,
implementation
The
that
of a plan
affect action.
unanticipated circumstances
issues
formulation,
in
bank
to
concerning the
produced
response
manager's
example, a
`local logics' of day-to-day management.This is done in the knowledge that managers
for
decision,
in
be
be
to
that
or
a
make
a
case
can
seenand
account
ways
required
may
In
this
complying
with
organisational
as
manifestly
objectives
and
rules.
understood
be
less
device
for directing production
Suchman
argued,
plans
can
originally
a
sense,as
than a template for accountingfor it.

Some of the misunderstandingsand misrepresentationsof Suchman'swork are detailed in


Schmidt's (1997) paper 'Of maps and scripts: the status of formal constructs in
cooperative work'. In what is, perhaps best, seen as an extension and exploration of
Suchman'swork, Schmidt suggeststhat the role of formal constructsin cooperativework
few
CSCW researchershave attempted to adequately
that
and
remains misunderstood
addressthis issue:
"the prevalent understanding in CSCW of the status of formal constructs in cooperative work is
problematic. The empirical evidence for the received understanding is not as robust as we may have
believed and there is evidence from other studies that indicates that formal constructs are not always as
feeble and ephemeral as we may have taken for granted". (Schmidt 1997)

He points to the successof various workflow technologiesto suggestthat:


"the role of formal constructs is more differentiated than generally taken for granted. They not only serve
as `maps' but also as `scripts"' and that: "Instead of merely observing in case study after case study that
procedures are impoverished abstractions when confronted with the multifarious and contingent nature of
practical action; it is necessary to investigate precisely how they stipulate the articulation of cooperative
work, how they are interpreted and used, designed and adapted by competent actors `who have to live with
them from day to day"'. (Schmidt 1997)

280

Schmidt also points to some of the methodological issues that arise from ascribing
'ceremonial status' to constructs such as plans. He suggests that much of the debate
implies that membersof the organizational settings take formal constructsliterally - as if
for
doing
be
to
work.
exhaustive specifications
constructs such as plans are supposed
When set up this way it hardly comes as a surprise when empirical findings suggest
(1965)
Bittner
points out:
as
otherwise since,
`..rational schemes appear as unrealistic normative idealizations only when one considers them literally,
i. e., without considering some tacit background assumptions that bureaucrats take for granted. ' Schmidt
further argues that "the putative contradiction between the formal constructs and the actual practice of the
engineers may be the investigator's own construction and that the design of these constructs presumes the
observed practice". (Bittner 1965)

But it is questionablewhether this, the contrastbetweenformal and informal action, is the


draws
but
Suchman
the problems of embedding such
to
our
attention
which
aspect
main
featuresin systemsand expecting them to implement themselves.

In his paper Schmidt proposes continued detailed empirical investigation, suggesting that

there may be differences in the use of formal constructs both between small and largebetween
This,
routine
and
and
non-routine
work
activities
settings
settings.
scale
and
Schmidt suggests,limits the extent to which we can generalize about plans and situated
action. Schmidt goes on to consider Suchman's study of the accounting office and her
argument that procedures rather than shaping action provide criteria for judging how
day.
He arguesthat;
the
the
turn
should
out
at
end
of
work
"This interpretation of the case is not supported by the published data. The study presents an analysis of a
recover from breakdown. It does not attempt to demonstrate that prescribed procedures do not - in some
form and to some extent - determine the handling of routine cases; it does not even attempt to give an
analysis of how prescribed procedures are used in routine cases.... the authors do not take into account the
fact that the situations studied are beyond the `jurisdiction' of these constructs, that is, beyond the
operational conditions for which they had presumably been designed". (Schmidt 1997)

281

Using the examplesof the checklist and the kanban system,- and checklists are prevalent
different
lead
Schmidt
bank
to
that
conclusions
the
rather
studies
other
suggests
within
Rather
in
by
than
formal
how
work
activities.
everyday
to
actors
are
used
constructs
as
being Suchman's 'maps' such formal constructs act as 'scripts' -a precomputation of

interdependenciesamong activities that, at critical points, provides instructions as to


required next steps:
"The kanban system thus determines action in a far stronger sense than the map of a traveler determines
the traveler's movements ". (Schmidt 1997)

Another argument that derives from Suchman'swork on the problematic status of plans,
hinges on the 'plan in the machine' and the 'essential incompletenessof instructions'. As
Suchman describes it, system development work consists of the `mapping' of a use
into
is
transformed
that
a system specification and then a programme executable
purpose
is
instructions
for
in
`plan
to
The
through
the
users
conveyed
providing
machine'
plan.
the `step-wise' accomplishmentof procedure. But no account of the embodied practical
instructions
to
realise
actions required

is provided in the course of instruction.

As

Garfinkel (1967) indicates with the term `irredeemableincompleteness'of instructions, a


is
how
instructions.
Suchman
to
relates
considerableamount of work required carry out
this can result in a fateful interactional impasse.
between people and machines requires essentially the same interpretive work that
characterises interaction between people, but with fundamentally different resources available to the
participants. In particular, people make use of a rich array of linguistic, nonverbal, and inferential
resources in finding the intelligibility of actions and events, in making their own actions sensible, and in
managing the troubles in understanding that inevitably arise. Today's machines in contrast, rely on a fixed
array of sensory inputs, mapped to a predetermined set of internal states and responses. The result is an
asymmetry that substantially limits the scope of interaction between people and machines. Taken
for the design of interactive
this asymmetry
seriously,
poses .. outstanding
problems
machines. [Particularly] the problem of how to lessen the asymmetry by extending the access of the
machine to the actions and circumstances of the user". (Suchman 1987)
"Interaction

282

Thus, in using a computer, one aspect of making senseof things in the production of
information is the ability to discriminate quickly between relevant information and
`noise'. Such expertise becomes important given that users' errors and failures are
constituted with referenceto their interactions with the machine. Consequentlywhen the
user does succeedin producing an action, they must then interpret the machine response
and utilise this interpretation as the basis for subsequent action. Typically users make a

from
design
The
of the systemprojects the courseof the users'
menus.
of
selections
series
actions as the enactmentof various proceduresfor doing the job. The total sequenceof
procedures constitutes the `plan in the machine' which has been implemented as
have
different
However,
and
system
a
user
relationship to the plan. The plan
programme.
determinesthe system's behaviour, but the user is required to find the plan as the product
of a set of procedural instructions. Even when presentedwith instructions that `anyone'
follow,
be
to
understand
and
able
practical troubles still arise and users
should
characteristically rush to premature and often mistaken conclusions about what has
happened,what is happening,what the machine `meant', what the machine `is thinking',
and so on. This is because the descriptions contained in instructions are always subject to
further definition and elaboration. Instructions rely on the ability of the recipient to do the
implicit

work of anchoring descriptions to concrete objects and actions. Successful

instruction

following

consists in constructing

a particular

course of action that is

accountable to the general description that the instruction provides -. that is, people are
rule users rather than rule followers. It is clear, however, from the observations of use that

many usersfail to find the implicit plan

283
In some ways the skills involved in 'following a plan' become visible only 'in the breach'.
A simple example of just such a 'breach' provides a demonstration of some of the
in
involved
using computer systems even when dealing with apparently
complexities
everyday or `routine' activities; in this case a bank clerk transferring an account from one

branchto another.
Abbreviated Fieldwork Notes;
1. Transferring an account... looking at follow up screen.. 'Transfer Associate Products'..
2. Looks at PIF (manual) for Enquiry code...
3. Enters Customer Product History Screen...
4. Looks at PIF again..
5. Writes details on form..
7. Types into Update Account Transfer' Screen..screen shows error.. quits it..
8. Types into Transfer Accounts Between Branches Screen-gets same error message as before.. "get
lost "..

9. Looks at PIF again..

10. Types into Update Associate Product Screen... Transfer Customer..


11. Crossesfingers.

12. "It works "

This is not a particularly profound example. Here a worker is simply trying to transfer an
account from one branch to another for a customer who has changed address. The
is
that she has never done this procedure before and so is attempting to use the
problem
manual (the PIF) and the 'Action Sheets' to find out what to do. However, using the
manual does not resolve her problem since she is not sure exactly how to transfer the
account, which particular screen to use - does she use the 'update account' screen, the
'transfer accounts between branches' screen or the 'update associate product' screen? The
answer is not intuitive and nor, apparently, is the manual especially helpful in this case
but eventually, through trial and error, the task is accomplished. What this extract
identifies are some specific aspects of technology in use. It describes some of the real
world practices whereby technology use is enmeshed into a `system' of work, and how, in

284
highly particular but nevertheless generally applicable ways, the technology is used,
is
interest
here
in
Of
`flow'
the notion
the
of activities-being-done.
misused,and rejected
of `intentionality'; that users actively construct a concrete senseof the objects they are
in
done.
intelligibility
The
in
the
technology
to
their
activities
of
working upon order get
the course of accomplishing the transfer of an account is a continuous achievement.
Members make sense of the screen responses and prompts and the directions of the
based
knowledge'
is
`recipe
`what
to
on',
upon
a
mosaic
of
out
going
work
manual
(Schutz 1964). In this instance the 'recipe knowledge' is initially

insufficient

for the

but
false
hand
or premature actions are not simply a product of
such
purpose at
impatience and inexperience. Nor is this a simple instance of the fact that goals do not
designers.
implied
by
(Suchman
1986). Those who are
the
those
manual
always match
be
disadvantaged
because
have
technology
to
the
they
can
especially
new
not
relatively
build
knowledge.
`recipe'
have
had
They
to
type
experience
a
stock
of
sufficient
yet
only
limited experience and resources with which identify possible actions and interpretations
relevant to accomplishing goals and addressing queries, and, as a result, the strategies

they adopt are often local and fragmentary. In this instance the clerk is unsure as to her
does
because
know
how
to characteriseher problem in a way that is
she
not
action
next
appropriatefor the program. She cannot'follow the plan' becauseshe is unsurewhat plan
is
following
be
transferring
she
she should
a product, updating a product or updating an
account? - the machine gives her little indication, other than error messages,what it is
doing and she is unable to interrogatethe machineto ask what is happening.

285
This aspect of interaction with 'the plan in the machine' is highlighted in Button and
Dourish's (1996) accountof'technomethodology'. As they note:
"What computational abstractions share with the abstractions of natural, everyday interaction is that they
are organised to reveal certain things (and hide others) for certain purposes. What they do not share with
the abstractions of everyday activities is the observable-reportable nature of everyday action .." (Button
and Dourish 1996)

The key property of human action is the way in which it is made 'accountable' is
it
happens.
behaviour
But
not
abstract computational
observable and reportable - as

it,
fashion.
describe
in
'Technomethodology',
Dourish
Button
this
as
and
accountable
involves more than a call to design computer systems so that people can understand them

but is intended to build upon the indexical or situated characterof action to make system
behaviour 'accountable'.
"In other words, a user will encounter a system in myriad settings and circumstances, and will attempt to
find the system's behaviour rational and sensible with respect to whatever those infinitely variable
circumstances might be, ... What this implies, then, is that the creation of an account for a system's
behaviour is not a "one-off' business. It cannot be handled once-and-for-all during a design phase
conducted in the isolation of a software development organisation in Silicon Valley. The creation of the
in
in
happens,
instead,
every
circumstance
which the system is used, because the account and the
account
circumstance of the use are intimitely co-related". (Button and Dourish 1996)

They suggestthat to managethe relationship between the user's work and the system's
information
is
to
there
provide
a
need
users
with
more
action
about how the systemgoes
about performing the activities that have been requested.They point to the requirement
for systems

to - "provide cues as to not only what the system was doing, but why it was being done, and

what was likely to be done next, uniquelyfor the immediate circumstances". This thereby offers the

possibility of a 'plan' that explains itself as it is implemented - and as the television


character Blackadder might say "that would be as cunning as a fox that had just been
appointed Professor of Cunning at Oxford University".

286
One of the clearest articulations of plans and planning comes from Dant and Francis
(1998) who suggest; "Within both organisationalsettingsthere are a variety of ways in which the
formally rationalistic'planningsystem'and the contingent,member-managedprocesses
of 'planning-inThey
distinguish
following
in
intertwined
the
implicative".
which
ways
andmutually
action'are
planning systems and plans are part continuing action - all of which have been readily
observed in the activities of the bank over the course of the fieldwork.
1. "Plans provide a context for treating together different types of organisational activity".
So routine activities within everyday banking work
the
such
as
administration
-

and

monitoring of customer accounts can be linked in to specific projects such as sales drives.
2. "Plans can articulate local priorities

and policies for the organisation".

For example

linking the very different work of individual teams within any particular unit of the bank.
3. "Plans provide a resource for linking the activities of related organisations". This is
most clearly the case where the bank sees itself in competition with other financial service
providers or where they are attempting to 'manage out' (get rid of) a troublesome account.
4. "Plans situate the organisation within its larger organisational context". So individual
units or centres within the bank are able to relate their activities to 'BigBank' as a whole.
Increasingly this is explicitly the case through various forms of productivity management,
the balanced business scorecard and so on.

5. "Plansprovide a meansfor managing thepublic relations or face' of the organisation".


This is evidently a strong feature of organisational life within the bank through, for
example,the 'complaints handling' instructions, and the scripting and proceduralisationof
customerfacing work.

287
6. "Plans provide an occasionfor articulating values". So, for example, the complaints
handling procedure includes the (in)famous injunction 'a complaint can be a sales
for
injunctions
'spotting sales'in the completion of routine forms.
the
opportunity' - or
As Dant and Francis (1998) conclude:
" the notion of rational planning in organisations is not a 'myth', but that it must be seen as a situated
practice. In these and other ways, formal plans are oriented to contingently and given particular meaning
and significance within the'situated rationality' of social action. " (Dant and Francis 1998)

Nevertheless, the successful accomplishment of a `plan' is dependent on the practical


understandings about what the plan specifies in these circumstances, using these
resources, these people, and so on. Although plans may be presented as abstractions, as

forth,
in
form
Bank
the
taking
the
of
procedures,
and
so
manuals, as statements
of the
`PIF, the `Lending Manual' and the `Action Sheets' - the `just what' it takes to realise
them is a practical matter of `making the plan work' through all the various and inevitable
is
It
that
such activities which maintain the plan by dealing with
can
arise.
contingencies
`thosethings which arise', `the things not planned for', the `things which suddenly come
from
`deviations'
that
the plan can be accommodatedto sustainits `spirit'.
so
even
up'

As the studies of the Bank have shown, real time, real world work often involves the
utilisation

of `local knowledge'

and `local logics', commonly interpreted as `cutting

corners' or `bending the rules', to support the overall objectives of the rules or the
procedures. For example, the fieldwork

extract cited earlier, of a Business Account

Manager setting up a loan for a college is an illustration of the working out of a 'local
logic' as the Manager searches for away in which the loan can be justified and'accounted'
as a reasonable decision. Similarly, 'local knowledge', particularly of the expectations of

288
Regional Office was a regularly observed feature of work in the BusinessCentre. Work
`routines' involve the considerableexerciseof judgement and the deployment of a variety
is
discretion
`typically'
Such
the
`skills'.
concerns circumstancesunder which a routine
of
to be strictly followed and the circumstancesunder which modifications or `short-cuts'
for
`gambits
(1965)
the
(Bittner's
be
through,
example,
of
compliance')
employed
may
knowledge'.
following
informal
`local
In
the
teamwork
example a
or
utilisation of
BusinessManager outlines the actions taken on an accountthat is 'under report';
"this account is under report to regional office-so strictly where its under report, as opposed to a grant
limit.. (explains difference) I have a discretionary limit to what I can lend.. anything over those figures I
have to go to Regional office where you might get an account that is within your discretionary lending
..
limits-but it may be in trouble, it may be paff, it may be at risk. and if you feel that that is the case then
you are duty bound to report that to region as a risk of loss or as an unsatisfactory account.... (Risk grade
9) if its risk grade 9 and you're lending then it might well be considered bad.. but if the general trend and
the general uncertainty of your exit route and your repayment and the viability of the whole thing-if you
say .. I'm concerned about this.. its under my dp but I consider this to be at risk this is totally
unsatisfactory then you're duty bound to report that to region as unsatisfactory and when that happens
they come back to say that they've taken it under report... (looking at notes) ...I think they did at an earlier
stage-then instead of being as a grant limit it comes back as report with a max... so we in jargon .. talk
about an account being under report with a max.. if its a max then it would be considered as at risk or
unsatisfactory which is what that is.. If its under report.... 1 as a branch really have no discretion whatever
I cant let that drift up over whatever that max is for anything, I've no discretion at all. having said that,
..
that max was 31750.... and I've, in listening to him and talking to him, and I've put a little note on
screen... I've said he could go to 32, so I have exceeded what I should do, but only by 250, but what I did
do, to save paper and generating a paperchase. I just rang a fellow at Region and said. 'look, you know
..
this is what the score is, I've agreed he can go from that to that (pointing at file) for the remainder of that
term and thats my max, I dont propose to come up with a written thing will you make a note of it in your
..
own files up there and will you give me verbal sanction that I can increase that limit on the computer to
32000 for the remainder of that term, so he said yes.... now ordinarily under a under report account you
would'nt do that but for 1250 its not worth the managerial time doing it...... I went back to read what had
been said, read the paperwork, read the Regional sanction, read what the terms are, got a feel of what
..
the Bank's feeling was on the account, .. looked at what the arrangement was for the payment of that
excess and then considered what he was asking, was that another. I wasnt going to increase the Bank's
exposure anymore whatever unless there was a guaranteed repayment source for that bit.. by increasing
it by 250 thats marginal... "

By placing plans, procedures and decision-making within its social and organisational

context, plans come to be seenas elementswhich enable workers to make senseof their
own work and that of others and to come to a decision about future courses of action.

289
What this emphasises is the importance of seeing how and in what ways plans and
the
into
highly
that
interwoven
up
make
set
of
phenomena
a
variegated
proceduresare
for
in
How
example, plans and procedures
and what ways,
social organisation of work.
formulate
in
How
the
they
work's
to
the
what
ways
and
of
work.
sequentiality
are related
interdependencies.How and in what ways they identify `troubles' of various kinds. How
failure',
`subject
`open
to
in
they
of
criticism',
make work accountable,
and what ways
and so on.

Having presenteda critique of plans and the planning model for failing to acknowledge
hardly
it
is
'work
in
the
to
perhaps
plan work';
make
the myriad ways
which people
be
to
equally sceptical about similarly stilted, rationalistic models of
surprising
decisionmaking. As Feldman & March (1981) note models of strictly rational
decisionmakingcreateexpectationswhich are rarely met in practice;
".. For example, relevant information will be gathered and analysed prior to decisionmaking; information
be
decision;
information
be
in
in
decision
for
that
examined
available
will
will
used
making
use a
gathered
before more information is requested or gathered; needs for information will be determined prior to
be
is
irrelevant
decision
Studies
information
to
information;
that
of the use
a
will
not
gathered.
requesting
different
1981:
however,
(Feldman
March
in
information
a
somewhat
picture"
and
reveal
organisations,
of
172)

In fact studies of organisations,and the Bank is no exception to this, consistently suggest


that information often appearsto be gatheredfor its own sakewithout having any obvious
decisional relevanceand;
"'Much of the information that is used to justify a decision is collected and interpreted after the decision
has been made, or substantially made...Much of the information that is gathered in response to requests for
information is not considered in the making of decisions for which it was requested" (Feldman and March
1981: 174)

290
To someextent observationsuggeststhat this attenuationbetweenthe gatheringof
information and its utilisation

in decisionmaking is minimally

incorporation of plans and proceduresinto a computer system.

by
the
affected

291
Distributed

Coordination

"I just followed the instructions - I'll send it to Region now and they can play around with it" Fieldwork
Notes

Distributed coordination refers to the various ways in which the coordination of people
41
feature
An
is
`real
time'
tasks
as
a
routine
of
work
accomplished
world, real
and
important, if commonplacefeature of all work settingsis that tasks, activities and, persons
are embeddedwithin an organised ensemble of some kind. Both the activities and the
people who perform them are interconnected,and in the caseof the Bank in general and
the Business Centre in particular, they have to be treated not as isolated activities and
persons but as part of some organisation of activities and persons. The point to
emphasisehere is that the coordination work of the Admin Manager and the Transmission
Officer in the Business Centre, for example, does not consist in any one feature of the
work but is deeply, and inseparably, implicated in the procedural details of all work
activities. Much of this coordination work consists of distributing relevant information for example, through the different Manager's Assistants- to relevant parties and keeping
this flow of information going as a routine state of affairs. Thus many aspectsof work in
the Bank, whether in the traditional branch or in the specialised centres such as the
Lending or BusinessCentre, are explicitly concernedwith coordinating interdependencies
of various kinds in order to `get the work done'.

41

Although, interestingly, one of the Bank'smain problemsof distributed coordination centresaround the fact that its computer
systemdoesnot operatein'real time' - so, for example,money can be paid into an accounton the sameday as chequesare bounced.
Similarly the chequeclearancesystemdoesnot operatein'real time' so, for example,if a WE008 showedan excesson agreed
facilities, lending control neededto be cognisantof the fact that funds that were in clearing and might, theoretically put an account
back within its facility, might also be 'bounced'.

292
Coordination,

Interruption

labour
division
the
of
working
and

One of the strong featuresthat has been noted about working within a division of labour
in which the tasks performed by an individual form an interdependent part of a larger
As
is
'the
by
done
of
organisation'.
tasks
egological principle
others,
sequence of
Anderson et al (1989) note:
"From the point of view of an actor in a division of labour, working through the endless stream, getting
things done, means doing-what-I-do and passing tasks on to others so they can do what they do. "
(Anderson et al 1989: 161)

What this notion draws attention to is the fact that, from the point of view of a person
learning,
labour,
division
the
the
work
requires
accomplishment
practical
of
of
within a
knowing about, knowing how to use, that information, those artefacts, those files, etc.,
that are relevant to the work. This is not simply a matter of implementing some mental
finite list of relevant items but, invariably, a matter of exercising judgement in light of the
during
that
the course of an ordinary
arise
various contingencies and uncertainties
`horizons
division
labour'
`working
Each
day.
within
operates
of
person within a
working
information,
in
events,
persons,
which
of relevance'

incidents, knowledge, and so on,

dealing
depending
in
upon,
and
with, work's eventualities.
out
and
move

However, the concern is with issues of 'consociation', with the 'gearing into' the social
(1989)
As
Anderson
et
al
write:
world of work.
labour are encountered and
"We want to move
to the exploration of how activities in a division of
.....
perceived by those working within it...... As soon as we make this turn to the division of labour as an
encountered phenomenon, what becomes prominent at the mundane level is not integration but the
fragmentation of activities and task performance. That is to say, on a day to day basis, as one is immersed
in it, the division of labour is experienced not as a coherent, integrated totality but as stream of
differentiated and discrete tasks-to-be-performed. " (Anderson et al 1989: 159-160)

293
This `egological principle' is both illustrated by and yet is rather more than one workers
comment;

"I just do things I don't think about it" since it is precisely


.....

this ability

to `just do

things' assistedby an awarenessthat `theseare the things that I do' that enablesthe work
to get done. The detailed understanding that `this is my work', that `these are the
handing
for
before
I
to
that
accomplish
on
someone else' enables workers,
processes
interruption.
to
evaluate
any
example,
quickly

The phone call; shout; personal approach

can be seen as either `their problem' or `not their problem but someone else's problem';
as information

that is relevant to, that impacts on, their work or not. In the Lending

Teams, for example, the Controller

`knows' that he/she will be `interrupted'

by the

Assistants with requests for advice, with information about accounts that will enable work

to be completed. The Controller also knows, however, that phone calls are not `his/her
problem'; that `actioning' the printouts - and anything connected with this `actioning'
been
decision
has
is
his/her
his/her
is
It
made
not
generally
once
problem
and
so
on.
from
fieldnotes,
the
therefore
that whatever the overall intentions of the
clear,
interruptions
appear to play an important part in `articulation work' - the
organisation,
meshing of particular work processesand tasksto produce some finished `product'.

Coordination

through artefacts

"its a pretty meaty file I dont know it.. so I have to very quickly look and try and sort of acquaint myself
with whats going on and whats been arranged "Fieldwork Notes

Coordination can also be a feature of specifically designedor evolved artefacts.As Yates


(1989) describes, memos, files, standard forms, etc., evolved to solve problems of

`distributed coordination',

as organisations became larger and the problems of

294
42
increased.
forms'
These
`standard
correspondingly
managementand control
are readily
apparent in the Bank. In the Bank in general the 'WE008' printout - the out of order
initiating
between
the
artefact,
as
such
an
and
coordinating
accounts- acts
various actions
branchesand the different specialist centres.A specific example from the BusinessCentre
would be the interview notepad and the various standardforms completed as part of the
preparationsfor a customer's annual review. Such artefacts facilitate the coordination of
tasksby embeddingdescriptionsof the task, along with other relevant information, within
the format of a document as `instructions', as `items required'. This makes available to
those who know how to use the artefact, what the implications are for the actions of
instructions
for
institutionally
These
identified
as
sets
artefacts
serve
of
a
set
of
others.
persons- the `BusinessManager's Assistant', the `RecordsClerk' and so on - to perform
in
tasks
and,
addition, serve as a check on whether or not thesetaskshave been
particular
performed.

Given the central role of coordination within cooperative work the identification of the

features of work that promotes coordination is clearly important. Notable coordination


features include the ability to monitor the activities of others and accessto shared and
readily available information much of which is accomplishedthrough paperwork. Within
the bank historically (and still to some extent) the `completeness' of the paper record"
acted as an audit trail; was valuable not simply or merely for the attribution of blame but

42
See,for example,Weber (1947) and the developmentof the office, filing systems,records,and so on.
43 Certainly in comparisonto the computerrecord, although it was interestingthe
extent to which the 'paper' in a customer'sfile
hascome increasinglyto consist of computerprintouts - customersnotes,balances,'836s' and so on. This is partly a reflection of the
increasingrelianceon IT; partly becausesomecomputerinformation cannot be reaccessed;and partly becauseof the various
'affordances' of paper.

295
through its procedural implicativeness in informing and guiding the actions of others. The
important
form
files,
forms
in
the
constituted
an
of
printouts and standard
paper records
component in the individual worker's `sense of organisation' - enabling them to quickly
do
This
had
happened'
but
`what
`what
to
was
next'.
of
also
only
obtain a grasp not
illustrated in the fieldnotes where Business Manager explains how the various forms and
lending
history
(in this case one of over-borrowing)
notes presented a particular

and

thereby shaped his decision not to let the account `drift up' over its maximum borrowing
allowance;
1. Looking at file (Buinesss Manager.. - off sick) - emergency (phone call from customer) - doesn't know
the file. Customer is heavily borrowed and not generating the income.

Discussion of case-.. Well, its a bit of a problem really becauseI dont know thefile you know, and its a
,
have
know
look
file
dont
I
I
it..
to
so
very
quickly
and try and sort of acquaint myself with
meaty
pretty
been
because
in
time
arranged
a
short
space
of
on
and
whats
going
whats
-. But basically, he's heavily
borrowed. (showsfigures/folder) forget the money on clients accounts becausethat's not his money but
..
he's got a private loan account of 38k a businessloan account of 20k and businessoverdraft umm..of
..
29k there's a lot of borrowed moneythere.. on a businessand clearly he's having dculty in servicing it
all ..now I dont know what they were all for.. I really..I meanI would if it were my ownfile I would know
it having done it and researchedit.. I couldfind out by reading it-but doesntreally have too much time to
do that.......
he was heavily borrowed, or he is heavily borrowed and clearly he's not generating the income to
so,..
....
deal with that umm, (the Business Manager).. has had a couple of discussions with him (looking at file)
...
at least a couple, probably a few.. and the latest, the last thing agreed was... There are also other
negotiations going on .. to deal with this huge amount of borrowing.. of. which gets a bit complex umm,
he's actually paying in 1000 today and he will finish up at 31435 and 1 said he can go to 32000 so he will
have a few hundred pounds leeway but you know, isnt it ridiculous saddling-saddling themselves with
..
..
(looking through file)
totally overborrowed... "
all that level borrowing..... its ...

Coordination

and Paperwork - documents within socially organised work activities

Paper documents, records, - the Interview Notepad, the Customer Brief and the like, are
often `glosses' of the work which goes into their production. It is in knowing what the
record represents which provides for its situated use within the setting. 'Knowing what the
record represents' means knowing about the work that produced it, what it means within
this activity, within this organisation and how it might be used. It is to know what actions

296
be
how
Form
Small
Lending
Appraisal
follow
from,
this
related to
may
and
say, a
should
What
file
BAF
ISS,
the
so
on.
and
such
as
using
and
customer
other work activities documentsmean, what they refer to, what they might indicate, has everything to do with
their place within the organisational setting and its activities. Documents are
be
displaying
can
and
and
organisational
activities
organisational objects representing
44
features:
following
by
social
characterised the
integral
documents
to socially organisedpatternsof work
are
0
0

documents are representations of organisational objects and actions

documents
are sedimentationsof an organisation's activities
0
"

documentsare shared

"

documentaccessis normatively regulated

implicativeness
have
documents
a
procedural
9
be
documents
to
tend
part of a collection
0
"

the senseand import of documentsrelies upon local organisationalknowledge

"

documentsare mattersof inquiry


What thesepropertiesare intendedto emphasiseis that documentshave their place within
the organisational

setting and its activities.

orderliness of activities

within

Documents are integral features of the

a highly complex and dynamic division

Documents attend to the requirements of the

of labour.

'egological division of labour' by

representingwhere 'the organisation'is, in an organisationally accountablemanner.

'If All the World's a StageAre Documentsthe Script?, COMIC Working Paper,Departmentof Sociology, Lancaster
University. The list here is a selectionfrom that found in this working paper.

297

Passingthrough the organisation, documents- such as the Small Loan Appraisal Form in
has
handled
document
the
that
and
a number of cases
make
plain
who
additions
gather
document
be
In
has
been
the
taken
as
a
result.
such
cases
can
seen as a
what action
`stratified trace' of the activities of the organisation and can be interrogatedto this effect
by those with practical knowledge of the organisation itself - such as `Group Audit'. Such
for
division
tasks
suitable
co-ordinating
of
an
order
across
a
complex
system
generates
a
labour, by making them socially available. This co-ordination of tasks is socially
accountable. The position, state, or non-appearance,of a given document is meaningful
to personnel within their egological organisation of work and enables those with practical,

into'
`gear
knowledge
the
to
the progress of these coof
workplace
readily
contextual
Such
their
tasks,
adjust
working
patterns
accordingly.
and
ready `availability'
ordinated
facilitates
information
is
the
where
organisation
concerning
also
a certain degree of
of
flexibility, allowing personnel to respond to a myriad of contingencies. Thus the use of
documentsand the informal interaction which surroundsthat use can be seenas integral
in
elements the generation of the orderliness of activities through the employment of
knowledge.
everydaypractical

As a `mechanism of interaction' (Schmidt 1993) the various forms of paperwork act to


facilitate the coordination of work but the actual process of `doing the paperwork' itself
requires

various

transformation'

coordinating

activities,

involving

the `meshing'

and `modal

(Anderson et al 1989) of other paper and computer information.

One

is
this
the `Interview Notepad' which, designed to be used as part of the
example of
annual review and for lending interviews, involves the Business Manager's Assistant in

298
the lengthy perusal of other records, the `scorecard', records of past reviews, the
information
`GAPP'
She
836
the
to
then
and
so
on.
uses
a
range
of
printout
computer

in
dimension
The
Assistant
to
the
the
temporal
consider
records,
of
also needs
account.
balance
latest
Manager
to
the
the
the
that
to
of the
goes
review
with
ensure
particular,
in
is
in
have
indicated
Also
this case
the
way
which
records
may
consequences,
account.
that the level of the facilities on this and linked accounts may take it outside the Business
Manager's `discretionary power'.
"There's nowhere on this interview notepad for putting down all the balances, so I tend to put the
balances on a separate sheet, they come up on the customer brief (computer printout) but I tend to get the
briefs out a couple of days before (the computer ones) so I try to get the balances out the following day
if any of the partners or directors have got private accounts we need to get
(So that they are up to date).
...
that information out as well, because again its .. if its got any facilities in their own name it could take it
depends
facilities
is
discretionary
it
this
their asking for but the
within,
what
powers,
outside ....
.
..,.
facilities as they are at present can extend for a further year without having to go on up to Region. "
...

The customer record is not, however, always particularly enlightening or informative,


reflecting, perhaps, in their comments, the changing organisational culture of the Bank
historical
emphasison the administration and managementof accounts.- as
and an earlier
found
following
in
in
the old-style paper records:
the
statements
reflected
"he gave the impressionof being a highly respectableand hardworkingyoung man';
"appears to be highly respectableand capableof managingher own affairs "
"in 1989 he also said he would take his account elsewhereand therefore it appears he has a tendencyfor
complaints".

The massive, continued predominance of paperwork re-emphasises points made in earlier


chapters about the role of paperwork in the routine, daily organisation of the work's
activities. To repeat the point, the issues are not simply to do with the `affordances' of

paper- its `at handedness',its manipulability, its `easiness'of use, its ready availability as

299
information
but
the
that
the
paperwork
traili45
with
also
associated
are
so
on,
and
audit
an
contains.

Awareness of Work
The final perspective on the social organisation of work, and one closely involved with
'Distributed Coordination' is 'Awareness of Work'. This refers to the way in which work
tasks are made available to others and the important role that this plays in the `real world
is
involves
Clearly
this
theme
time'
various
a
which
of
work.
organisation
social
real
interactional

subtleties and constitutes a major aspect of the means through which

The
is
tasks
everyday
practical
matter.
various ways
as
an
achieved
coordination of work
in which `awareness' is developed, in which work is made public and available to others,
division
distributed
in
ingredients
`doing
the
of
of
a
socially
work'
as
part
are essential
labour. So, for example, the layout of the different offices and within them the individual
development
is
`ecology
the
of
of
an
awareness'
which
consequential
permit
workspaces,
for the performance of the work activities. Many of these affordances arise simply
because of the co-location of a collection of people doing `much the same things' or who
is
it
for
just
Being
interdependent
to
activities.
able
ask
advice
when
are performing
is
dealing
`all
as
passing,
with
an
when
one
emergency
needed, updating colleagues

`s

This is a complex issueconcernedwith the interweavingof Bank policy, the law (data protection, rules of evidenceetc), security
and so on - it is, however, debateablewhether this is an irresolvableproblem. Of particular relevancefor the Bank are the issuesof
duplication, where much of a workers activity centreson simply copying information - name address,accountnumberetc - from one
form to another;an activity that could be reducedby the appropriateuseof a relational database;and the issueof 'modal
transformation' in which information recordedin one way is transformedinto information relevant to anothertask which also involves
transforming the modeof recording.A classic exampleof this would be where customerinformation provided on a paperform is
transformedby inputting the information onto an electronicdata basewhich can also be usedfor other purposes.Understandingsuch
transformationsin relationship to particular work activities may assistin thinking about the designof CSCW systemsin respectof the
regulation and managementof types of information. This also resonateswith the concernto reducethe overheadof coordination.If the
cost of coordination is 'too high' it will either becomean end in itself at the expenseof the work (which may be what hasoccurred
with the developmentof the points system),or becomea such an 'inconvenience' that it haslow priority

300
hands are needed', and more, are all informal, often intermittent, events that are
facilitated by appropriate spatial layouts of work areas. Similarly, the visible state of
desks,where someoneis within the spatial setting, working through a pile of paperwork,
furnishes information about what the person is doing, where that person is in the stream
is
information
Such
that
busy
how
others can
they
so
available
so
on.
are,
and
work,
of
`on
behind',
how
it
is
`we
the
the
are
themselves
going,
whether
work,
stateof
on
update
top of it', etc. The point about such affordancesis that they representarrangementswhich
`doing'
day-to-day
in
be
the
of work.
can used

Other ways in which the awarenessof others' work is made available and visible, often
`at a glance' is through the various `mechanismsof interaction. In the BusinessCentrethe
Customer
Interview
Notes,
Appraisal
Forms,
WE008;
forms,
the
the
the
the
various

Folder, and different sectionsof the computer databasesuch as CustomerNotes are both
the focus for work and a visible, a publicly available, record of work that has been done
do,
done.
In
be
these
to
representations
other
words,
what
among other things,
or remains
is make the work `visible' so that it can be `taken note of, `reviewed', `queried', and so
be
it.
display
that
They
the
others
may
aware
of
on
so
work
put
on.

Awareness and modal transformation


One features of the coordination of activities is the way in which information

goes

through modal transformations in which it is re-represented in a different form. One


illustration of this is the way in which information is extracted from the computer records

301
from
GAPP
from
ISS,
taken
the
program,
various computer printouts and
using
or
on

from the customer record and inserted into the Appraisal/Interview Form. What the
is
in
facilitate
do
this
transformations
coordination through appropriate
case
various
deeply
is
is
information'.
Although
`basic
that
this
the
a process
representations of
involved in coordination, it does so by making the work available to others in a form on
do
is,
the
the
that
that
they
can
others
work within
work so
representing
work;
which
theirs. In these cases,they serve to routinise the work by using standardproceduresand
done
do.
So,
for
formats
tasks
the
the
the
tasks
to
of
and
one
representing
standard
in
is
it
formatting
the
way
which
can proceduralise representation and,
of
properties
through this, represent the work to others for particular purposes. The format - that is,
how to complete the Appraisal Form, how to complete a GAPPing exercise; how to
functions
instructions
Form
Sheet
Assessment
Balance
and
so
on,
as
set
of
a
complete a
in both its creation and its use.

The various forms in use in the bank are designed to collect standard information, to
information
is
In
information
to
this
the
that
the
and
control
comparable
provided.
make
information
in organisations
to
the
the
they
problem
of
assembly
of
are solutions
respect
identified by Garfinkel (1967).

That is, it is a classic example of the 'administrator's

is
is
information
its
`value'; the worth of
The
what
needed
and
problem
problem'.
involved
in
its
issue
information
to
the
the
an
with
reference
effort
collection
collecting
highlighted in the earlier section on decision making46.Nevertheless despite the obvious
Nevertheless,the attemptto get peopleto comply with formats is often a disciplinary matter; that is, an attemptto ensure,
by laying out a seriesof proceduresto be followed, (for examplein the Action Sheetsor the Landing manual),that the personswho
needto comply actually do so.

302
benefits of standardisedprocessesand formats; the format does not always, in itself,
local
it
is
in
`sense
that
the
these
circumstances
of
work' and
convey an adequate
knowledge and a range of interactional skills are deployed to help `make senseof the
how',
becomes
'know
`skill'
`awareness
is
in
to
It
that
or
this
akin
of
work'
a
sense
work.
involved
in
In
the
competencies
making senseof, and thereby
particular
competency.
being able to make available to others, what is `going on'; competenciesrequired for
`mutual intelligibility' or `mutual awareness'on the part of the membersof a work team.

Awareness of work and the sense of organisation.


"I would'nt say to the customer,`I've got to go to the Bank. (to get a decision) becauseI'm the Bank."

What should come acrossstrongly in the observationsis the ways in which workers in the
bank orient to the `ordinariness' and `routine' character of the work and its setting.
Settingsare organisedto provide for their recognition as the events-in-the-orderthat they
for
GAPPing
Interview
for
Notepad
So,
the annual
an
account,
an
preparing
example,
are.
review, or writing a report to Region, are organised to provide for the `awareness of

in
done
`visibility'
the
their
their
as
ways
which
ensure
recognisability,
and
work',
In
a wider and more general sense workers within the various
actions-that-they-are.
Bank
the
are aware of their work as part of some larger institution
of
centres
offices and
`the
Bank'.
The
the
their
that
are
work
of
and
activities
represent
very
work
and
job
`bank
their
titles of `TransmissionsOfficer' or
them
as
workers',
characterisationof
`Business Account

organisationally

Manager'

and so on, calls them into play as people who are

have
and
people
who
organisationally
positioned

prescribed

responsibilities and tasks. As one BusinessAccount Manager put it ... "I am the Bank".

303
Bank staff are aware of the fact that they are working within a system that transcends
their here-and-now. Bank staff clearly saw themselves as integral, interlocking
componentsin an extendeddivision of labour within which they could locate their work.
They are aware of the fact that their unit is but a location within a system of banking
(even
beyond
hence
beyond
UK
`lending
`folk
the
the
the
tales'
region
of
which extends
in the 80s'). They are aware of the fact that they work within a bureaucratic structure of

work organisation, subject to a managerial supervision from Regional and National


division
labour.
fact
They
the
that
situated
within
a
complex
of
and
are
aware
offices
of
their working is dependent upon various types of computer and administrative support

locations
branches,
Securities
the
the
such
as
at
other
particular
of
workers
activities
and
Centre,Regional Office and so on - within the wider Bank network.

Linking thesethree ideasof distributed coordination, plans and proceduresand awareness


`egological
is
the
the
of
notion
organisation' of a working division of labour. As
of work
division
labour
becomes
the
phenomenon,
of
not so much a smooth,
an encountered
highly integrated and planned framework but a fragmentation of activities, tasks and
is,
immersion
in
division
labour
That
a
of
on a day-to-day basis is
performances.
experienced as stream of differentiated and discrete tasks-to-be-done, of forms to be
be
'GAPPed' of Interview Notepads to be preparedand so on.
to
of
accounts
completed,
Individual performancewithin a `working division of labour' is consequentlyboundedby
`horizons of relevance' which formulate concerns relevant to the tasks to be
accomplished.

304

Chapter 9: `What's the Big Idea'? Power,


Responsibility and the Accomplishment of
Organization.
".. ethnomethodology is much more concerned with coherence rather than causality, so naturally its efforts
will seem pathetic if they are understood as an attempt at the task of `causally explaining social action'. "
(Sharrock and Anderson 1991: 163)

This chapter revisits some of the fieldwork observations to address a topic, commonly
regarded (by other sociological

orientations)

as problematic

in ethnomethodological

accounts of social life, the topic of 'power'. The argument is that ethnomethodology, with
its apparent fixation

on minute features of face-to-face

social interaction

and the

techniques of capturing and cataloguing them, has nothing to say, indeed can have
nothing to say about the wider social structures within which these interactions take place.
Ethnomethodology,

so the argument goes, cannot 'do' power. Ethnomethodology

stubbornly refuses to 'get the big picture' or buy into the 'big idea'. In focusing exclusively
on face-to-face interaction ethnomethodology, according to its critics, effectively denies
the overwhelming reality and power of social structures and forces in people lives and the
links
between
causal
such forces and the appearance of everyday life. Of
explanatory,
course ethnomethodologists do not have to buy into or accept such a characterisation of
their work and, to the extent that they ever respond to such critiques they do forcefully
reject them. It is not as if `power' is a `discovery' of Sociology - unveiling the existence
is
`at
`no news' to members as if they need to be told that the person
work'
of power
they are dealing with is their `boss'. But often there is little rejoinder to such critiques,
perhaps because experience has taught that, given that ethnomethodology

itself is

305
frequently mis-characterized, maligned and misunderstood, any response is likely to meet
brick
head
banging
fate.
there
Like
seems an
sometimes
against
a
wall,
your
a similar
inordinate relief in just stopping. Amongst the `armies of professional sociological
`crack
(1993)
to
Lynch
`fictive
that
argues enables sociologists
consensus'
analysts' the
on'

with

their

work,

is a courtesy

rarely

extended

to

ethnomethodology.

Ethnomethodologists have always been willing to concede the value of other approaches
and that ethnomethodology

is a different

sociology rather than an improvement on

Sociology:
"it would make absolutely no sense for ethnomethodology to urge other sociologies to improve
themselves by taking on board its concerns" (Sharrock and Watson 1988: 60).

And ethnomethodologists have grown accustomed to having their analyses, methods, and
dispute.
Such
to
their
criticisms
open
sanity,
even

are often conducted against a

background completely lacking in any reference to Garfinkel or Sacks - or indeed any


other ethnomethodologist.

Since ethnomethodology

is supposedly dealing in, if not

peddling commonsense, then - commonsense, a `different' commonsense, is apparently


all

that

is required.

`Ethnomethodology

Growing

tired

of

effectively

teaching

undergraduate

101' every time they defend their work it is hardly surprising that

for
being
have
developed
`grumpy old men'.
a reputation
ethnomethodologists

In this chapter then, the fieldwork data is re-examined in the sense that (this time through)
the interest is not the standard ethnomethodological concern with describing how work
'gets done', with describing the 'machinery. Instead the focus, the special motivation, is on
be
description
interactional
'power'
the
an
appropriate
might
of
various
what ways
accomplishments depicted in the observations and what such a description turns upon. Of

306
in
'power
depicting
'power'
interest,
in
terms
action' are
and
of understanding
particular
is
focus
The
'breaching
then
be
the
moments' of refusal and rejection.
seen as
what might
on the accomplishment

and employment

of 'power' as an aspect of interaction

in

display
incumbent
the
'power'
the
of and
and
roles;
management of
as
meetings;
orientation to power in terms of organising and constituting

hierarchy in everyday,

'workaday', interaction. In this chapter, I want to use the fieldwork

observations, to

explore, and hopefully correct, some of the misunderstandings about ethnomethodology's


position with respect to power in organisational

life.

The focus of investigation is

`meetings' and the intention is to look at some examples of meetings, formal and
informal, to see what they can say, from an ethnomethodological point of view, about the
social life of organisations.

Meetings and the Accomplishment

of Organization.

".. meetings remain the essential mechanism through which organizations create and maintain the practical
activity of organizing. They are, in other words, the interaction order of management, the occasioned
expression of management in action... " (Boden 1994: 81)

In The Businessof Talk: Organisations in Action Boden, (1994) highlights meetings as


the `very stuff of management'and then proceedsto document both the accomplishment
of meetings themselves and the role of meetings in the accomplishment of the
hyperbolic
While
the
cavil
we
might
with
claim that meetings are the `very
organisation.
be
little
doubt
there
that meetings are a frequent, and often
can
management',
stuff of
complained about, feature of organisational life. They are certainly not an incidental
facet of the manager's working day. In which case it can be no surprise that a

307
sociological understanding of managerial work should give some attention to meetings
in
them.
on
and what goes

Boden goes on to suggest that `meetings are where organisations come together' (1994:
81). Her own interests are in the organisation of the talk and the interaction that takes
place within
organisation.

meetings and the ways in which that talk produces and reproduces
`For managers, talk is the work',

and the patterning of this talk `has

(1994:
for
the
the
and
of
production
reproduction
organisation'
enormous consequences
79-80).

Other literature concerned with the study of managerial work (Stewart, 1967,

1976; Mintzberg, 1973) has similarly acknowledged the salience of talk and face-to-face
interaction. Such studies have, however, been criticised to the extent that they `ignore the
institutional'
in
their
setting and that:
of
managerial
work
political realities
"A striking point about empirical studies of managerial work in capitalist enterprise is their disregard for
its institutional formation and significance. In general, the institutional conditioning and consequences of
independent
bracketed,
for
is
treated
taken
granted,
or
as
an
variable"(Stewart,
either
work
managerial
1989: 3).

Willmott

(1987) similarly

stresses structural and political

factors in managerial work

following Giddens' structuration theory (Giddens 1976,1979,1984)

in arguing that work

in
individuals
be
involved
terms
the
the
of
strategic
conduct
of
and as a
analysed
should
institutional
the
product of

order (Willmott,

1987: 258).

To reinforce the case he

from
Nichols
(1977:
Beynon's
122)
Living
and
ethnographic
study,
reproduces a vignette
with Capitalism, in which a manager is seen reflecting ahead on how he will handle a
difficult

disciplinary meeting with a man who is perpetually late for work.

excerpt, the manager reflects:

Within the

308
"... Now, if I get a bit of trouble - now take an example, perhaps a serious case of a man who has been
perpetually late. Now, I'm the manager, and its my function to manage. Its my function to discipline this
particular man. But I have to deal with the steward. So, what do I do? I take the shop steward aside and tell
him that in half an hour's time this man Smith is going to walk into this room. That I'm going to stamp
and bang the table and tell him I'm going to put him out on the road.

Then I'll say to the shop steward,`and what you can do will be to intervene at this time. Make the casefor
the man.And we'll agreeto let the man off with a caution'...
Now the man comes in and I bang the table and the steward says `Come on, Mr. Brown. Couldn't you
give him one more chance?' I relent. The shop steward gets out of the meeting and says to him `I've got
you off this bloody time but don't expect me to do it again'. You see the shop steward gets his ego
boosted.He gets what he wants and I get what I want. That's what good managementis about." (Nichols
and Beynon 1977: 122)

This vignette can be taken as an illustration of a practical social interaction that


constitutes the institutional order in action, in particular the exercise of power used as a
strategic tool in the management of workers. It instantiates capitalist structures of
dominance in which managementhave the right to discipline workers. Supposedly,the
illustrates
interactional
the
strategic
case
practise of power, how the managerinvokes his
derive
from
the system, and how he incorporates the shop steward into the
that
rights
disciplinary regime. In this fashion both accomplishthe task of persuadingSmith to keep
to the rules by laying out the consequencesof any future failure to conform, effectively
be
late
'or
Smith
to
else'.
not
warning

What is interesting in Willmott's

account and his use of the vignette is that while he

accepts the report of the interaction for what it is, namely a disciplinary occasion and one
repeated, no doubt, time and time again within organisations. But he wants to go further.
Like many sociologists he wants to claim that behind it lies a `real' explanatory, objective
reality of social and cultural forces and processes of which, in the main, social actors are
unaware.

It is its refusal to contemplate

Ethnomethodology

from

what

it

refers

just
to

such a move that distinguishes


as

`constructivist

sociology'.

309
Ethnomethodology takes seriously the great questions of sociology: how do actions recur
interaction
is
it
How
displays
that
themselves?
properties of patterning,
and reproduce
life
is
How
However,
organised?
as a non-ironic sociology
social
orderliness?
stability,
it insists, as a methodological injunction, that this orderliness must be seen as arising from
it
done
by
This
to
that
the
those
the
cannot
parties
activities.
activities and
means
within
take a Willmott-like

step by invoking

explanatory

mechanisms `external'

to the

interactional episode.

Background:

meeting customers.

"Meetings are where organizations come together. They may be preceded, arranged, complemented,
augmented and cancelled by other forms of organizational communication such as telephone calls,
memoranda and reports, but meetings remain the essential mechanism through which organizations create
and maintain the practical activity of organizing. They are, in other words, the interaction order of
management, the occasioned expression of management-in-action, that very social action through which
institutions produce and reproduce themselves. " (Boden 1994: 81)

This section of the chapter presents some examples of formal and informal meetings looking initially at the relatively formal, even ritual, meetings of a bank managerand his
(1994)
formal
As
Boden
notes,
such
meetingsare officially convened,have an
customers.
organizationally defined agendaand are a "matter of record". These meetingsprovide the
discussion,
for
the
correction and transmission of various kinds of
opportunity
in
information
below
handling
the
As
the
organisational
cases
concerning
of
accounts.
already outlined, organisational restructuring within the bank - 'Delivery Strategy' involved a separationof front and back office processing with the latter being devolved
into functionally specialisedunits. This processwas extended by further restructuring
'Building The New Retail Bank' - that createdspecialisedregional centresresponsiblefor
hundreds of thousands of customers. Not surprisingly, such changes have had a

310
1997;
bank.
(Hughes
the
impact
al
et
on working culture and practices within
significant
2002)

As statedearlier, one of the major changeswas to pass lending control from the old High
Street branches to Lending Centres which serviced a number of Customer Service
Branches - as the old High Street Branches became. These latter concentrated on the
handling
involved
lending
This
the
facing'
the
`customer
process.
of
aspects
more
interviews for loan applications and reviews of customers' existing facilities. Within the
branches the Lending Officers clearly had a high regard for their ability to handle the
impersonal
driven'
`rule
`face-to-face'
to
the
and
predominantly
as opposed
customer
Great
Centre.
Lending
the
personal and professional value was placed on
of
approach
this `relationship building' aspectof their work. However, the work was no mere flashing
deal
After
but
involved
all
the
of
work.
a
great
preparatory
teeth
smooth smile,
and
of
different
forms
have
different
in
requirementsas well as representing
and
customerscome
different kinds of risk to the bank. Accordingly, Lending Officers did not meet the
from
information
but
`cold'
collected
and
collated
a number of
use
of
made
customer
be
had
to
to
the
customer,
as
someone
who
particular
sourcesand assembledas relevant
dealt with here and now. An example of carrying out a customer interview is illustrated
in the following fieldwork extract:
The Manager's Assistant is preparing for an interview as part of the annual review of lending facilities.
"I've been through thefile - I've spent half an hour on it - and jotted down some ideas as to what to do... what's best
for the customerand what's bestfor the Bank.. but you can never anticipate thesethings.."
In thefile the Manager's Assistant is examining there is a variety of forms and printouts; - thefact that a file has been
sent indicatesthat there are lendingfacilities of over f5K
Interview Notepad - "This camefrom Chester - they deal with the account on a day to day basis and if the customer
telephones.... they sent thefile down with the noteson the Interview Notepad.."
TheNotepadhas a numberof sectionswith a variety of notationsfrom the Lending Centre;
"Key issuesat last review - has all info beenreceived?

311
Requestfor expenditurebreakdownwith a view to establishingwhetherfurther consolidationfeasible..
fXK agreed 6m - nofurther Xs (excesses)to be seen...BDL Trfs, Int & Chgs to be covered - to pay in min of LXXX
...
pm...
A number of areas on the Interview Notepad are highlighted to bring them to the attention of the Branch Lending
Officer;
"Full fees to be takenon review..."
"BDL (BusinessDevelopmentLoan) - to consolidateexisting BDL and overdraft over 3 years - CARE - refer to age of
customers."
Also in thefile are a number of computerprintouts including a WE836(a record of the working of the account); and a
Customer Brief (WE055). Included in the Customer Brief is details on active facilities; repayment arrangements;
security; interest details; lending history and manager's commentsand a brief summary of interview/telephonenotesin this case that,, "He is a difficult and aggressive man but has never been known to lie to us." and "We have
suggested...that it is wasteful to run the account at a level in excessof the agreed limit.., we will seeka limit sufficient
to cover the current situation and to prevent the future arising of ecessfees and to put the account back on its
reducing course."
The Manager's Assistant also has his own notes with an outline of the points he wants to raise and takes thefile, his
PIF and a calculator into the interview.

Stress is laid upon developing an `overall' view of the customer quite apart from any
suggestionsreceived from the Lending Centre. In the course of the interview reported
below, the Manager's Assistant [AM] builds up a picture of the customer while, at the
same time, displaying skill in pacifying the customer and putting the bank's point of
view. He has an agendathat he wants to address,but it is not a fixed agendaand he wants
to introduce certain topics - income and expenditure; levels of profitability; reduction of
the overdraft; the extent to which the customer is vulnerable to interest charges;and the
for
facilities
fee
banks
the
in
the
presenting
arrangement
viewpoint
a reasonablysubtle
issue
being
to
to
respond
able
as they arise.
and
manner,
AM:: "1 dont think we've spoken before.. "
C: "1 usually deal with Mr X... 1 got a letter to review facilities... I usually ignore that and then I get
another one..so I rang Mr X.. anyway, it doesnt matter to me who I see.. "
Chat about people who have retired. chat about Bank profits...
C: ".. it doesnt make money?.. even though you have these massive charges..? I'm not having a go at you,
but you know its a nonsense.. "
C: ".. looking at the situation
had a BDL
it got rejigged eventually because I had capital in a
we
..
..
private account... the problem is the residual OD facility.. I keep getting into this position where the
account charges come on.. he agreed to do a refund .... but to my mind it was'nt enough - he certainly
didnt take off what he charged in the first place.. "
AM: looking at file - "lets just have a look" (reads from file) "agreed a refund of LXXX that was... "
..
didnt
C: "I
think it was enough... "

AM: "Have you worked out with respectto your properties how muchprofit you're making?"
C. ".. what I hope is.. "
AM: "Have you actually worked out what your break-even point is with your properties..? "
C: "Its all viable.. not fortunes but certainly enough to sort all this lot out.. "

312
AM. - "I'm trying to work it out from your point of view.. "
C: There was a background before we rejigged.. back rates.. now we are in a position where we can
increase.. I hope to be able to clear this in about 18 months.. "
AM. - "You're happy about profitability but you cant quanta it in terms of what occupancy you need to
break even"

AM: "So if you've 5 out of 6 occupiedyou'll break even?"


C: `I anticipate being able to reduce it if not clear it within 18 months.."
AM: "What the whole XK? there's no problem about the XK. but there's a number of thingsyou need
..
to bear in mind. " (chat about interestrates) "
AM. " "What's your longterm plans? "
C: "Just sell them and get the capital back. "
AM. - " there's one thing that I had thought about.. the facility you've got at the moment.. I dont think there
will be any difficulty in renewing it... arrangement fee for renewing OD .. you're looking at a 170
arrangement fee.. There is an alternative ..pooling existing loan and OD into a new BDL.. "
C. " No.. under no circumstances.. "

AM: ".. let me tell you what the benefits are and you can discuss it... no annual arrangementfee fixed
.
interest.. you know that it finishes.. I had'nt appreciatedthat you intended(to pay off the loan) "

C. "At our age there needs to be a finite finish to it.. 1'm not pleased about this 170 by the way.. its a bit
naughty.. "
it involves
AM: ". its a standard fee there's no reason why there should be a different scheme involved
..
..
the same amount of paperwork.. which was why I considered the BDL ..next year if you've got the
facilities down.. so is the arrangement fee..."

Over the course of the, admittedly difficult, interview the Assistant Manager has
issues
in
his
brief.
`interview
Having
the
outlined
most
of
addressed
successfully
business
"if
5
break
6
the
the
of
you've
out
of
profitability
occupied
you'll
established
hope
be
loan
be
"I
",
to
the
that
will
cleared
existing
able to clear this in about
even and
18 months" he quickly ascertains that the customer is unlikely to "consolidate existing

BDL ", as the Interview Brief suggests.After the interview the Manager's Assistantwrites
based
`results'
the
a
computer
report as well as completing some paperwork - the
onto
up
`Small Lending Appraisal Form' - in which the course of the interview is outlined and
the agreementobtained in reducing the current overdraft noted. Details are also included
fees.
The
fairly
detailed,
`remuneration
to
the
talk
customer
sensitive
notes
on
of
are
-

instance,
in
this
the amount is outside his discretionary power to award
particularly as,
loans and therefore has to be sanctionedby the Lending Centre.

313
The skills used in `managing' the interview require a careful balance of assessingthe
bank's
in
light
to
this
the
financial
the
customer
conveying
of
policy,
position
customer's
from
the
dealing
customer,and should not
or
otherwise,
emotional
any
response,
with
and
be underestimated. Theseskills are further illustrated in the following extract. Again this
is a formal meeting where the Manager has to consider an approachto borrow money to
from
he
looks
Customer
Brief
Prior
the
hairdresser's
to
the
at
meeting
shop.
purchasea
the Lending Centre along with some Interview Notes as well as a file containing a range
his
has
He
also
own set of notes which consists of a set of
of computer printouts.
between
borrow
the
the
to
the
money,
people
proposing
relationship
concerning
questions
borrower's
to
the
the
contribution
purchase,serviceability
the
prospective
account,
use of
business
hairdressing
issues
to
debt,
a
as
connected
and an outline of some
of the
he
is
His
thorough
since
especially
considersthe requestas
preparation very
proposition.
from
borrowers.
lack
due
the
the
`non-starter'
to
contribution
obvious
of
any
a
LO: "What can 1 dofor you? "

C: ".. been hairdressing for 10 years... we've seen premises.. we were enquiring about money.. "
LO: "Where is it? "

C: `Its on I usedto be manageresssof the hairdresser's on the corner of the road.. I've got 500 clients
...
I cant expandanymore.. this is the only way I can expandthe business.."

LO: "What figures are we talking? "


C: ".. 68K.. the Building Society say its worth 65... we think it'll come down.. "
LO: "..first question - what have you got to put into it? "
C. ". my own home.. thats all.. we have'nt really got any ideas.. "
LO: "For a commercial proposition to get oJJrthe ground we're looking at a third.. the Banks have had
their fingers burnt in the past.. (explains) ... its 20K.. or something like that.. "
C. "There's no way round it? "
LO: "No.. thats the first thing that any Bank will ask.. "
C. "I have got 15 thousand on my property.. "
lenders will only give you 80%"
LO: "How much is your mortgage?
most
....
C: "So we have to get 20K.. "
LO: " Not necessarily - speaking as a cautious banker .. we're interested in your commitment to the
business if you're raising money on your property.. (but) you're looking for the Bank to raise it all...
..
I'm being honest with you.. you'll incur a lot of expenses.. (and) you cant get a domestic mortgage on
it... (also) I'm talking off the top of my head (but) its a lot of money for a hairdressers.. the business has got
to service that.. "
C: "
the reason we went for the place .. I know the area .. (and) it was kitted out as a hairdressers
..
(describes)... You think that's quite expensive? "

314
LO: "You know more about hairdressing than me.. I understand its tight on margins.. "

C: " there's a lot of chimneysround there we have'nt thought about it.. my husband's a barrister.. and
..
..
he said it's a bit dear.."

LO: "Did you produce somefigures? "(Looks at forms)


C. " This is what we take a week each individually.. "
LO: Has anyone looked at it? "
C2: "My husband's a surveyor and he looked round it.. "
LO: "He thinks its worth it? "

C2: "He did say 58.. do you think if we got a more realistic figure we would stand a chance?"
..
LO: " There's nothing wrong with purchasing property.. (but) 1'd be thinking more on the lines of 30..

if it was 30 and you were putting in 10 then I'd think of


The first question on my pad is the contribution
..
it... 11
C: (talking about current mobile hairdressing job and why she wants to move into a shop) "I start at 8: 30
Im just running around.. "
..
LO: "What do you turnover a week?.. "
does 350.. "
". talking about how much is needed.. we'd have
C: " (I put) about 450 in the Bank and
..
..
to do 850 a month which I could'nt see as a problem (chat about flat attached to premises and letting)
..
we're talking about hairdressing in a shop compared with mobile.. "
LO: "You've got precious little overheads.. "
C: Yes.. but eventually for piece of mind and a bit of a life I thought it was the right thing to look into.. "
LO: ".. that was the starting point getting a third.. I think there are a lot of properties (talk about shop)..
..
have you not thought of letting somewhere? "
C: "Where do you look? "
LO: "Estate Agents... "

C: (talk about leasing, terms of lease ) ".. could lose a lot.. "
..
LO: ".. but conceivablyyou've lost lessthan if you were servicing 60K of debt..."
C: " OK.. so if wefind somethingdifferent and get a bit of a contribution its worth coming back?"

LO: "It depends where you get it from.. can I ask you one question about your accounts... " (talk about
changing name) another point.. are you paying in your takings into your private account.. it looks to me as
if this is a business account.... you should'nt do it.. could we make a separate appointment (to discuss
this).. "" Do you think I've been hard? "

C: "You've beenhard.. I wont sleep tonight now. "

LO: " I'm going to play Devil's Advocate.. its (the proposition) a lot of debt to have around.... cheer up..
it could befor the best"

Discussionabout accounts.
LO: "1'm not prepared to let you use a personal accountfor businesspurposes" (Goes to get diary to
arrange another interview.. makesappointment.. gives customerforms on BusinessAccounts)

After the interview.


LO: " You've go to be cruel to be kind.. there's no way I'm going to lend the 68K with no contribution
from them
the risk is all with the Bank.. ( after looking at the) initial contribution I did'nt delve any
..
further if they're not putting anything in its not worth going into any other questions. The problem is I
..
...
know her account is crap.. there's an enforcement order on... its a waste of time I spend an hour going
through them.. (the proposition) was'nt really thought through.. (its) back of a fag packet stuff.. "

In this interview the Lending Officer clearly establishes the bank's basic position on
lending to business propositions `for a commercial proposition to get off the ground
we're looking at a third.. its 20k.. or something like that". He also outlines other aspects
of the bank's position; "we're interested in your commitment to the business...you're

315
looking for the bank to raise it all ".

Of course this is a `routine'

rejection of the

proposition, but it is not rejected out of hand - these people are, after all, customers and
may well come back with a better proposition

or a desire for other bank products.

Admitting his role is to play `Devil's Advocate', in amongst the rejection is some good
advice; "you can't get a domestic mortgage (on a commercial property) " and "it's a lot
of money for a hairdressers" and "have you not thought of letting somewhere? ". The
`skill' that Managers routinely deploy in these routine customer interviews, illustrates
Boden's point that meetings,
"must, at least in part, be seenas symbolic affairs, not only becausethey are ritualized and patternedbut
becausethey function as routine yet vital, face-to-face encounters in a bureaucratic and technocratic
society that has long since surpassedthe practical need to gather actual people into close proximity. But
both the words 'ritual' and 'routine' needto be observedin action, where it immediately becomesclear that
they take a considerableamount of work just to continue to look routine and run as smoothly as the term
ritual would suggest".

The meeting is then an accomplishment:


"turn by turn and topic by topic, and organizationalactorsdisplay considerablefluency in
everydayconversationalprocedurestowards multiple goals".

utilising

Managers' Meetings: Management Information


"Caught in a meeting and connectedthrough a seriesof interactions acrosstime and spaceare the people,
ideas,decisions,and outcomesthat makethe organization". (Boden 1994)

This next section considers less 'ritual' or formal meetings - examining middle managers
details
for a management information pack. Within the bank
to
work
out
some
meeting
the move toward more distributed coordination meant there was a growing emphasis on
producing detailed information about work processes. One of the key tasks of managers
was to organise and monitor the work and to present this to appropriate personnel in the
organisational

hierarchy.

Accordingly,

throughout

the reorganisation

there was a

persistent emphasis on producing indicators of work and performance and the MIP

316
(managementinformation pack), as one particular way of constituting such information,
in
The
work.
production
managers'
role
was assuming a greater

of management

information involved the occasionedassembly of information so that it `told a story': a


story that served to represent the work.

`Management information'

does not reside in

in
from
be
had
but
to
a process of
materials
various
worked up
some computer,
`documentary coordination and condensation' (Anderson et al, 1989: 126). It involved an
interweaving of computer-based materials, paper documents, discussions, statistics, notes,
is
in
is,
however,
There
into
`a
the
transformation
way
which
no
prescribed
story'.
etc.
done. The material that is assembled is the product of various work processes - in

Moreover,
the
informal
the
the
what
of
organisation.
section
within
meetings
particular
in
it.
This
its
is
the
that
process
of
assembling
story
unfolds
up
so
worked
report will say
is illustrated in the following abbreviatedfieldwork example where two middle managers,
Dave and his assistantChris are developing a managementinformation pack for the Head
boss,
Ian
Head
Ian,
Centre
to
to
to
their
the
so
as
enable
make
a
presentation
and
of

Office (ie. His 'bosses'):


"Chris is talking about what management information is required and looking at a hand-written outline of
the kinds of categories and calculations he thinks they should include. On one sheet of paper he has
(reasonable
RIE
'non-utilisation
ideas;
periods,
expectancy) how many calls could
of
written a number
we have taken?, 'what does the productivity gap equate to in man hours, speed/quality/control', industry
has
he
divided
On
the sheet into columns as the precursor for producing
on.
another
so
and
comparisons'
'calls
Heading
the
columns
categories
such
as
are
offered, 'staff required for 100% calls
spreadsheet.
a
handled', 'staff required for 90% calls handled'. A series of comments are written down the side - these
figures
date
discussion
base
basis
X';
form
'do
later
their
the
to
certain
as
at
with
customer
of
of
are
..
divergence?
final
has
'.
A
in
to
to
of
staff
see
numbers
sheet
model
a complicated calculation
put
we want
Whilst this is going on Dave is looking at the
by which they might obtain a measure of effectiveness
...
BBS (Balanced Business Scorecard) (as it will be important that the measures reflect elements of the BBS
both for the section and him personally) and at a basic set of management information spreadsheets that
they produced last week for the managers' meeting which forms the basis for this current MI pack
...
Chris uses the computer to get an Excel spreadsheet on screen - 'AOBT accuracy' (advice of borrowing
terms) - they then chat about the layout of the spreadsheet.

C:.. you might evenwant to have a column on here.. what the modelsaysand the divergence..
..
D: Yeah.. well I'd like that..

317
C: figures for comparison against the model.. the divergences.. what we're going to have at the bottom
..
figure
figure
from
the
figures
or
that..
the
average
of
staff..
or
maximum
there are two
you can pluck
.
..
both

D:.. that would be goodfor hour by design would'nt it.. becausewe'd know what days we were going to
be busier..we'd know when to put the staff in.. OK
C:.. its really a modelfor predicting what we needfor the rest of the year..so we can set that up and see
what he thinks of that..
D: Yeah.. that sounds good.

The talk centres on how much information they need to display and how to present it,
C. Its giving us non-utilization periods.. its giving us sanctioning work there...
D: Let me just suggest one thing why don't we do it in a slightly different order.. it makes it neater ... so
.
90% effective we then know how many staff we've had..

C:.. I think use 40for the time being.. you don't want to put it in too high or it'll look like we'vegot loads
of spare time....

D: Yeah -I think we'll go for 40.. or just show it as 50 say and then by doing other work in the afternoon
they're not taking any calls.. they're making up for it there..
..
C: I think that is going to give us most of the things they were mentioning in the (Management
Information) meeting.. so I'll draft these.. take copies in tomorrow morning.. ask is this what he wants
he
information
is
there
wants in the pack..
other
any
and

D:.. which heprobably won't know but he'll send us a way with somethingto do..

The emphasis is on 'totals ; totalling columns because "... all he'll (the Centre Manager) be interested in
is that (pointing at total) ". They then work together setting up the various 'macros' (calculations) for the
for
its
that
the
talking
predictions
suggestion
the
making
with
use
about
spreadsheet,
of
parts
various
"that would be good for 'Hours by Design "'(a new initiative on hourly working within the Bank). They
but I think we need the graphs
then turn to the MI figures they produced last week - "these are great ...
(the
detailed
figures)
doesn't
".
They
he
(the
box
Manager)
that
then use
all
need
comments
and a
...
last
they
the
week
to
produced
spreadsheets
the computer
access
Looking at spreadsheet 'Phone Teams Performance Summary'
C. So what I'll do now then.. I'll set that up..

D: OK
C: and that up
D: OK

D: So what we're going to show .. we're going to show three teams like that.. you've just got to copy and
paste it in..
C: I've already copied and pasted that into team two.. exactly the same.. is that what you mean? Is that
right?
D: Yeah.. so you show March say, and it shows team one, team two, team three
then you can do a
and
...
but
bottom..
document
the
the
can
you
put
summary
at
can't
you
summary
..
C; could cut and paste it
.....
..
D: So could you put team one team two, team three summary.... and what you could do month on month is
you just paste over it..

C: Yeah.. I'll get themput on now.. at least we'vegot somethingin draft to take into Ian tomorrow..
D: Wecould do with thatfigure from the other documents.....do three and the summary..

C. I'll. just give a few options.. he can decide what he wants..


D You can pull all that up and across.. we're going to show him like four lots of four sheets.. so which
.
way would you do it?

C: He might want cumulativesas well..


D: He might yeah.. he might.. interesting
C: It all dependson what he wants us to show him really.. the amount of information.. we can show him
what he wants..
D: Yeah I know but we can say thats asfar as we've got..

318
C: I'll bash on and put a summarytogether

D: Do it over two sheets.. you do it in whatever format.. do A, B, C in the order I've said.. I've been asking
seven months for this..

One of the guiding principles of the exercisedocumentedabove is that work activities can
be representedby figures. But again theseare not just 'any old' figures Harper (1989), nor
is this 'any old' story but figures and a story developed for a particular purpose, in this
Office.
Centre
Regional
Head
Manager
for
Centre
to
to
the
the
the
work
of
present
case,
The story they are constructing is about `how busy' they are, how many staff they needto
be 100% effective, what work they are doing when not taking telephone calls. This is an
important story since it may effect the staffing of the unit and therefore they want to be
is
be
It
is
how
Head
Office.
the
to
the
to
story might
presented
story and
careful as what
in this sensethat the managersare not merely `collecting the figures' for, at the same
time, they are involved in a processof determining `what figures should be counted"what
is
forth.
It
imply
figures
the
team,
the
they
of
so
the
performance
and
about
mean', what
it
is
determining
`just
Assembly
involves
that
the
tell.
that
what
story'
numbers
a process
information
the
management
of
organised

corpus

(Pollner,

remains a locally

1987).

organised matter, and a locally

As the managers

themselves

suggest, the

is
information
a matter of understanding the `state of affairs' as, say,
standardisation of
`normal',

as `routine',

as `not a crisis',

and so on.

At the same time achieving

standardisation of management information required coming to an understanding of why


the figures - such as for 'call handling' - are as they are, that is, looking for organisational
information
The
`management
is
related
reasons.
not simply a description of
and work
informs
description
but
just
done,
the
that
necessarily
understanding
a
of
what the
work
work being done amounts to. Such an understanding subsumes understanding what the

319
in
figures,
terms of achieving organisational
the
mean
not
only
percentages,

goals

importantly,
for
`at
but,
`this
this stage
they
what
unit,
and
mean
regarding performance
light
They
`in
its
development',
and
such
considerations'.
are among the
of
such
and
of
day-out
day-in,
bank
in
in
the
the
the
can
go
about
rendering
personnel
which
ways
into
do
by
they
the
the
an order
work
assembling
materials
vagaries and contingencies of
determine
`what
decisions
be
But
`assembled
the
to
to
this
order'
need
made'.
and using
it
has
be
`plausible'
the
to
to
of
account
work
activities
which
refers,
a
story constructed
and this means that what the story tells must resonate with stories told previously, with
in
bank's
the
those
elsewhere
as
with
produced
organisation.
as
well
subsequent ones

Power, responsibility

and sundry matters

So far examples of two kinds of meetings have been presented: the relatively formal
bank
loan,
between
the
of
and
a
representative
customer
concerning
a
and a
a
meeting
between
his
informal
a
manager
and
staff about the construction of a
meeting
more
Management Information Pack.. Too much importance should not be attached to the
distinction betweenformal and informal for much the kind of reasonsthat Bittner reviews
in his classic paper, `The Concept of Organisation' (Bittner, 1965). The focus of the final
section is in exploring the kind of critique about the neglect of `power' and other socioeconomic forces voiced by Willmott and others. It is probably no surprise that the
concepts of power and responsibility were no part of the original motivation behind the
because
is
Not
power
unimportant in organisational.life - such a view would be
study.
but
because
had
indeed
I
doubt
in
that
no
explicating everyday work there
very strange
would be no difficulty in finding instances of power and its related phenomena as

320

fieldwork
Any
features
the
that
work.
everyday
examination
of
notes reveals
of
ordinary
their omnipresence in a variety of ways. The rationale behind this confidence is
into
insight
based
the
the
than
possession
of
some
secret
upon
methodological rather
is
based
If
the
the
anything,
confidence
upon what anyone
world.
social
of
ontology
knows about organisationallife.

In a recent paper, Button and Sharrock (2002) point out that much of Sociology is
concerned to understand, explain and repair the macro and micro manifestations of power
has
done
for
is
It
which
surfaces,
and
very many years, in a number
a
concern
relations.
few,
but
debate,
from,
Giddens'
the
to
agency-structure
a
mention
ranging
of guises
hermeneutics
`double
and
and, of course, the micro-macro
of
structuration
notions
distinction.

The standard move is to place Ethnomethodology

on the micro side of the

jibe
by
does
it
fail
into
divide
that
the
to
take
not
only
accompanied
power
conceptual
dealing
incapable
basic
it
is
but
that
with
of
such
and fundamental sociological
account,
fare. As Button and Sharrock argue there is no particular reasonwhy Ethnomethodology
is
it
but
is
for
topic
the
that,
special
relations
no
point
cannot examine power
unlike
it
is
`no special topic'. Again this is not a denial of what
sociology,
most of conventional
is seemingly obvious to the majority of sociologists but a methodological move deciding
that `what power relationships amount to will be a matter that is itself displayed in the
particular circumstancesof this interaction between thesepeople for whatever purposes,
done somehow'. Accordingly the data is examinedto seehow and in what ways `power'
might be an appropriate description of various interactional accomplishments and what
such a description turns on. To anticipate: of particular interest is what might be seenas

321
the `breaching moments' of refusal and rejection within meetings, the managementof
incumbent roles and the display of and orientation to hierarchy.

The first point to reiterate and insist upon is that the members of the bank - as with any
other work environment - are aware off their work as part of some larger organisation`the bank' - and their place within it. The very characterisation of them as `bank
`Business
Officer',
Account
job
`Lending
Manager', and so on,
titles
their
or
of
workers',
calls the organisation into play as persons who have organisationally prescribed powers,

hierarchically
tasks
and
who
are
positioned within the organisation.
and
responsibilities
They are aware that thesefeaturesof their work are reflected in the physical layout of the
Centre, the places they occupy during the working day and the relationship of these
building,
in
done,
the
things
to
as
where
such
places
particular
are
etc.
others
places
Indeed, it would be hard to think of ways in which the managerscould be unawareof the
fact that they are working within a systemwhich transcendstheir here-and-now,since so
fact.
do
They
know
to
this
that they work
they
exactly
work
attests
at
much of what
in
labour
documents
have
division
the
to
they
of
as
manifested
various
a
complex
within
in
processand send elsewhere the organisation, the information that has to be gathered
decisions
forwarded,
have
the
that
they
those
that
to be deferred to
can
make
and
and
fact
They
higher
the
that the Lending Centre at which
etc.
are
aware
of
authority,
some
they work is but one of a number and that they, along with others, are subject to
supervision from Regional and National offices.

They are aware of these because so

do
life
`preparing
their
they
of
everyday
as
part-and-parcel
working
of
what
much
figures for Region', `following national guidelines', `preparing for a loan interview',

322
`checking loan securities', etc. alerts them to this characteristic. They are aware of the
fact that their work is dependenton various kinds of computer and administrative support
and the activities of workers at other locations - particular Customer Service Branches,
the Securities Centre, Regional Office, and so on - within the wider organisation of the
Bank. Indeed they would be stupid not to notice or be aware of it - and Managersare not
stupid.

Those working in the bank clearly saw themselvesas integral to an extendeddivision of


labour within a distinct organisation. Such knowledge is, of course, variously distributed
in
Depending
the
the
who
work
organisation.
upon their interestswhat
among
personnel
the personnelknow in any detail about the organisation is likely to be organisedin terms
of what they see as relevant to their work with other matters somewhat more distant in
terms of their horizon of relevances.The Lending Manager, for example, needsto know,
and in detail, various matters to do with his job but not in the same detail or in the same
bank.
CEO
Such knowledge is not fixed as some
the
the
of
way as a cashier or
it
is
by
`occasioned'
Rather
situations, changeable through experience
corpus.
permanent
and by deliberation as well as by organisational policy.

It is at this point that we can

importance
the
of the methodological move cited earlier, namely, to
perhaps appreciate
seek to understand

social phenomena,

circumstances of their production.

such as `power',

from

within

the local

It means that such `macro' phenomena as the `wider

instantiated
much
organisation' are not so
within local interactions - as we might say that
falling down is an instantiation of the law of gravity
but,
`called
forth'
rather,
and so,
reflexively, make an interaction an instance of a particular kind of social activity.

323

Take the extract involving Dave and Chris assembling the MIP. Dave and Chris are
`middle managers' in the Regional Centre. Dave is senior to Chris and is, in effect,
Chris' `boss'. Above both of them is Ian. In short, they are part of a set of hierarchical
job
descriptions,
in
including
their
a
myriad
of
ways,
respective
relationships as specified
organisationalrights and obligations, remuneration,to whom they are answerable,and so
if
did
facts
indeed,
know
be
It
they
these
about their
not
surprising,
would
on.
relationship to each other, and that these relationships involved what we would
colloquially have little hesitation in describing as `power', that is, the ability of a person
to `tell others what to do', albeit in this case an ability circumscribed within the work
building
As
task
the
they
an MIP, the transcripts show how they are
of
go about
setting.
in
hierarchy
this
their interactions with one another
organising and activity constituting
and with others, such as Ian and Head Office. They orient to their relationship as an
asymmetric one as indicated in the following exchanges:
C:.. you might even want
to have a column on here.. what the model says and the divergence..
..
D: Yeah.. well I'd like that..

C: I'll bash on and put a summarytogether


D: Do it over two sheets..you do it in whateverformat do A,B,C in the order I've said.
..
Similarly

their (complex)

power relationship

to the Centre Manager is also brought out - that he is

dependent on them to interpret his wishes and provide him with the materials he needs to present a'success
story to Head Office - as shown in the fieldnotes.

C:.. I think use 40for the time being.. you don't want to put it in too high or it'll look like we'vegot loads
of spare time....
D: Yeah-I think we'll gofor 40..
C. I think that is going to give us most of the things they were mentioning in the (Management
Information) meeting.. so I'll draft these.. take copies in tomorrow morning.. ask is this what he wants
and is there any other information he wants in the pack.

324
"... all he'll (the CentreManager) be interestedin is that (pointing at total) ". "theseare great ...

I think we need the graphs and a comments box


...
figures) ".

but

he (the Manager) doesn't need all that (the detailed

C: I'll. just give a few options.. he can decidewhat he wants..


C. He might want cumulativesas well..
C. It all dependson what he wants us to show him really.. the amount of information.. we can show him
what he wants..

None of the above examples are dramatic instances of the exercise of power. On the
contrary they are mundane and very ordinary in their invocation of a hierarchical
is
known
by
between
to
the
to
the
and
exist
exists,
parties
occasion,
which
relationship
them. It is a relationship that is unproblematically acceptedas `this is the way things are'.
Nor is it a relationship which has just at that moment been established between them. It is

`extended in time and space"back" before a particular verbal exchange and "forward"
into the life cycles of [the] organisation' (Boden, 1994: 215). Power is something that is
locally accomplishedin action and whose coherenceand very recognisability as `power'
is only understandablein the situated `grammar' of its achievement.So phrasessuch as:
"No..

under no circumstances..": ". its a standardfee.. ": ".. Let mejust suggestone thing. why don't we do it in a

slightly different order?

" - taken from the extracts, do not in themselves indicate `power at

description
for
is
`going on' becausethe words, the
Power
acts as an appropriate
work'.
tone with which they are said and, most importantly the setting, the coursesof action, the
relationships, within which they occur act as documentary evidences of the mundane
exerciseof `power'.

Moving on to a different kind of relationship, this time between the bank's relationships

features
its
different
become relevant. The hierarchical and power
customers,
with
relationship betweenBank Managersand their customersis, of course,the stuff of legend

325
Captain
instantiated
in
TV
Mainwaring.
As
such
as
characters
a number of studies
and
have
fieldwork
documents,
(Burton
1994)
financial
this
suggested
services
and
on
developing customer relations is perceived as high priority. This is a domain that this
bank, along with other retail banks, has given enormous attention to in the strategiesfor
change.

Hitherto,

as Smith and Wield

(1988)

suggest, `The classical model of bank work

involved customers and staff in face to face trust relations. Banking was thus far from an exclusively
impersonal set of accountingcalculations and ledger entries. It was, and to a declining extent still is, based
The
banking,
however,
long
intensive
era
of
mass
retail
standing
and often
personalrelations'.
on
slowly

but surely eroded the importance

of personal relationships

in favour of more and

impersonal
implemented
to support decisionmechanisms
and
were
more
procedures
making of various kinds including those involving customers. However, the idea of
47
is
forgotten.
Quite the contrary. A major plank of the bank's
personal service not
strategic plan was to enhance its service to customers in part to retain and gain new
for
in
to
the
enhance
market
new products such as insurance and
customers and part
mortgages. But the emphasisof customer service was infused with rules and procedures,
been,
in
have
the
they
which
reflected
shift
as
always
responsibility for many customer
servicesfrom the local branchto the Regional Centres.

In the extracts documenting interactions with bank officers and customers some of the
nuancesof customerservice relationshipscan be seen. So, for example, in the caseof the
request for a loan to buy a hairdresser's shop, the account offered by the customers is
47Least of all in advertisingwhich, if taken literally, one might believe that every customerhas their
very own bank manager. Sadly,
or not dependingupon one's point of view, no bank hasthe resourcesto contemplateeven an approximation to such a stateof affairs.
Indeed,the conundrumfacing the retail banks is to somehowmarry the major organisationalchangesand cost cutting to copewith
increasedcompetition with the idea of personalservice.

326
have
The
by
that
they
to
of
elements
overlooked.
evidently
a
numner
reference
rejected
logic
by
the
the
the
of
customers - undercutting
account offered
manager clearly rejects
their decision by reference to a range of factors that they need, and clearly have failed, to
does
Lending
Not
in
he
the
back
fag
"its
only
states an aside consider - as
of a
packetstuff'.

Officer reject their request,he `demands' that they stop using their personal account for
business purposes

"I'm not prepared to let you use a personal account for business purposes"

But

this

is

8
is
done
for
`out-of-hand'
It
`organisational
`personal'
rejection.
nor
an
rejection,
a
not
by
deemed
Loan
Officer
The
to
the
to
task of the
this
they
apply
are
request.
as
reasons'
Lending Officer is to implement these policies and the rejection takes place by referring

to a rule, a formula, for evaluating loans:


LO: "For a commercial proposition to get off the ground we're looking at a third.. the Banks have had
their fingers burnt in the past.. (explains) ... its 20K.. or something like that.. "

C. "There's no way round it? "

LO: "No.. that's the first thing that any Bank will ask.. "

However, creditworthiness is a judgement that is not simply or unproblematically


it
is
judgement,
Instead
to
a
a calculation, that turns on a complex
attached a person.
interweaving of various factors. Theseare to do with the proposal being put, the standard
rules of the bank regarding such proposals, security for the loan, as well as whatever
Officer
in
Lending
light of the information `to
the
the
makes
of
customer
estimation
hand', much of it gleanedfrom the bank's own records of the customer. So, for example
in the first extract, with an aggressivecustomerwho 'is sensitiveto fees':
C: "I'm not pleased about this 170 by the way.. its a bit naughty.. "
AM: ". its a standard fee there's no reason why there should be a different scheme involved.. it involves
..
the same amount of paperwork"

'$ Though this may not make the customerfeel any better about failing to get a loan.

327
And it is here that the links between power and responsibility become obvious - both in
the sense of responsibility to the organization by ensuring its lending policy is carried out
but also in terms of responsibility to the customer in ensuring that any proposition is
in
lies
'ritual'
Indeed,
these
the
part of
nature of
meetings
precisely
properly evaluated.
that they are thoroughly prepared (if not scripted) and considerable work goes into
making such meetings 'routine'. Of course rejections in these meetings are not one-sided:
AM: " there'sonething that I hadthoughtabout..thefacility you'vegot at the moment..I dontthinkthere
will be any difficulty in renewingit...arrangementfee for renewing OD .. you're looking at a 170
fee.. Thereis an alternativepoolingexistingloanandOD into a newBDL.."
arrangement
..
C: " No.. under no circumstances. "

Here, then, is a breach, where a customer has refused the proffered advice, and this
illustrates the problematic character of power relationships at work. On the one hand the
bank has the power to grant or refuse loans or overdrafts, but on the other it still has to be
it
is
it
to
the
to
to
administering
customer
whose
money
and
responsive
whom
wishes
is
financial
This
'customer-service'
a
products.
environment. These 'power
sell even more

identified
be
over the course of the interview as managerand customer
relationships' can
financial
data - through a processof acceptance,rejection
relevant
collectively construct
in
hairdressers
financial
As
information take
the
the
seen
example
was
of
and negotiation.
shape through the questions asked; the manager, through his questioning, elicits
information correspondingto the outcome he is already considering (in this caseto reject
the loan request). As Garfinkel (1967) noted in his study of jurors - the outcome comes
before the decision that then has to be couched in appropriate, (in this case) financial
terminology and justification. But the manager is not the only person come preparedto
the meeting or with some preferred outcome. And these are not just casual chats these
people are having. They are taking place within the bank, in a bank interview room,

328
forms with the banks logo are being exchanged, looked at and commented on and,
demand
from
that
them - with the
are
signing
papers
certain
actions
occasionally, people
implied threat of the possible loss of their house.The 'visibility arrangements'displaying
to the participants the larger social complexeswithin which they are situatedcould hardly
be clearer (although admittedly much of it is in `small print'). Of course, it is in such
its
bank
between
the
and
customers- though not only in such relationshipsrelationships
that are to be seen the strategic conduct of individuals as a product of the institutional
identifies.
kind
Willmott
In
institutional
finance
this
that
the
the
case
order of
order of
capitalism and an exercise of power. And, certainly, this can be seen in this and many

other transactionswithin the social order. In part such actions are what is meant by the
it
is,
interaction
`institutional
to
that
that
and
put
simply,
order';
patterns
of
of
an
notion
by
treated
members as recognisably and accountably activities that appropriately
are
belong to, are part of, the financial order. But this does not license, as a requirement of
interaction
theory,
that
such
patterns
of
are definitively exercisesof power
sociological
in
in
know
the
sense
which
members
witnessable
except
and understandthis: a comment
which needssomefurther explication.

Power, Responsibility

and a Working Division of Labour

Willmot's critique of accountsof everyday manifestationsof power -a critique sharedby


deny
the
they
to
way
appear
many - concerns
what are often treated as self-evident
sociological truths, namely, that the ordinary patterns of social life are but manifestations
of `forces' of which ordinary members of society are unaware. As should be apparent
from the extracts, there clearly is an awarenesson the part of the participants to the

329
interactions, that they are part of a division of labour, a set of working arrangements
day-to-day
These
their
work.
are what their working practices consist
which constitute
in. They are arrangementsthat are variously instantiated in such things asjob definitions,
in
knowthe
tacit
as
well
as
understandings
and
contracts, salaries, and responsibilities
how of `this is how X is done'. Hence the term `working division of labour' to direct
in
to
the
actual
ways
which work activities are done and how they are
attention
by
is
division
labour.
The
to
the
that
parties
work
of
others
with
of
point
coordinated
that although businessmanagers,personnel officers and such like can, and do, produce
more formal depictions and representationsof divisions of labour, the obvious point is
that thesedo not apply themselveswithin any organisational setting. Rather they have to
be applied by particular personsin referenceto particular circumstancesand with and to
49
other persons Further, such formal depictions often give practical instantiation of that
feature of modem organisations first elaborated by Weber namely, `regulation by
system'.

In contrast,the notion of a `working division of labour' is intended to capturethe sense


of the work as experienced- as mundane,ordinary and moment-to-moment - by parties
to that division of labour. From this point of view, work is not encounteredas a set of
discrete tasks involving chunks of data and distinct procedures, but is more like a `free
flowing gestalt contexture 50with activities overlapping, moving through foreground and
background in responseto, and constituting, the situation as it develops. It is through a
"The samepoint can be madeaboutthe kind of strategicplan which set in train the decadeor more of organisationalchange
which
the bank embarkedupon in the 1990s. These,too, had to be 'worked up' as practical arrangements.
00This phraseis John I lughes'.

330
collectively

developed, negotiating and evolving knowledge and practise that

organisational work is achieved. The orientation of the individual within the social
organisationof the work is not primarily to the work as a whole, but rather to the tissue of
connectionsand separationsas they fan out from any particular position. The orientation
to the working division of labour is an "egological" one (Anderson et al., 1989),
concernedwith engagingone's own activities, the boundarieswith the activities of others,
and the technology and other resourcesat hand, in terms of `decisions-that-I-can-make'
and `actions-that-I-can-take',as againstthose that others deal with. As already suggested
working through the stream of tasks 'to be done' means `doing-what-I-can-do', and
do
to
that
they
tasks
others
so
can
what they do. Though often involving
passing
on
extremes of skill, judgement and co-ordination, and thus intensive `work', its smooth
accomplishmentcan render the working division of labour silent and virtually invisible.
`Gearing into' the work (Gurwitsch, 1979) is about having the resourcesof knowledge
and practice with which to understandthese elementsand relations, and inserting oneself
into the flow. None of this argues that rules, plans, principles, etc., that is, formal
depictions of the work, are irrelevant to how the work gets done. It is, however, to suggest
that the relationship

between such formal depictions is not simply one of slavish

conformity or rebellious deviance. Often it is a matter of working out what the rule, the
plan, the principle involves in particular and unfolding cases. The Bank's Strategic Plan,
for example, did not, and could not, lay down in fine detail what the changes to work, the
organisation culture, and technology it sought except in general and strategic terms.
Working out such details became an ongoing process in the organisation's life as its
members, at all levels, sought to realise the intent of the Plan as practical work activities.

331
A `working out' that had to be done in the course of the day-to-day businessof the Bank
and dealing with various contingenciesas thesearose.

It is in such contexts that `power', `responsibility', `authority', along with other related
is,
integral
life,
that
become
as
visible and manifest within organisational
concepts,
here
have
labour.
division
All
in
the
they
not
and
extracts used
of
elements a working
been selectedbecausethey prove our points but, rather, becausethey aptly illustrate them
features,
interaction
their
invoke
and
with
other
and
responsibility
of
power
aspects
for
lending
decisions',
`arriving
figures
`being
the
at
properly',
responsible
such as
`applying the Bank's policy regarding security', and so on. The social world (no doubt to
the chagrin of many sociology colleagues)is not parcelled neatly into categoriessuch as
`power' such that actions unequivocally manifest `power' as the result of forces of which
51
`responsibility'
`power'
Notions
largely
is
of
and
are not simply,
the member
unaware.
discoveries
in
sense
about the social world.
categories
or
any
analyst's
or necessarily, an
They regularly appear in everyday interaction and conversation.

Members of the bank

have an awareness of where both power and responsibility lie, most noticeably in their
orientation to procedures and, of course, their, and others, place within the organisation's
hierarchy. Ideas about power and responsibility also extend to the organisation itself as
'taking
in
in
for
ownership'
of
comments
about
problems
or
comments
example,
seen,
from lending teams that their responsibility is to make a profit for the bank and protect it
from loss. In the same way ideas about responsibility to whatever 'team' they are currently

51Although usually this manifestationhas to be 'uncovered' by the application of an appropriatetheoretical framework.

332
in - the lending team for example in the extracts above - are instrumental in facilitating
the completion of routine work in a working division of labour.

The working division of labour is also an instantiation of the moral order. Power and
responsibility in this sense,and the various actions associatedwith acting responsibly, is
located within the working, mundane moral order of the organisation. As Jayyusi (1984)
reminds us, the everyday activities of describing, inferring and judging are pervasive in
the conduct of everyday organisational life and are constitutive of diverse organisational
practices.

Perhaps this is nowhere more obvious than in the world of banking where

moral and economic judgements about creditworthiness, appropriate stewardship and so

intertwined.
To take a simple example the description of somepersonor
on are routinely
organisation as 'creditworthy' is intimately embeddedin the description and ascription of
actions, in various practical judgements and practical inferential activities. As Jayyusi
writes, the categorization of persons or organisations as 'creditworthy' or 'a risk' or a
whole host of other possible categories:
`is criterial and foundational in the understanding of member's practical activities. Further, in examining
the ways in which persons are described and the ways in which such descriptions are used to accomplish
various practical tasks - e.g. to deliver judgements, warrant further inferences, ascribe actions, project
possible events, explain prior events, account for behaviour etc. - it becomes clear that categorization work
is embedded in a moral order, how that occurs and how that moral order operates practically and
pervasively within social life. '(1984: 2)

Within the everyday work of the banking system the procedures by which various
judgements or ascriptions about personsor companiesare embeddedwithin the everyday
moral and practical order. These procedures include notions of rights, responsibilities and

obligations, and ways of accounting for action, determining evidence, adjudicating and
allocating blame and responsibility and are routinely morally and normatively organised.

333
Consequently,ideasabout responsibility are not simply an academicinterest but regularly
is
`no
have
That
interaction
in
they
conversation.
responsibilities
and
appear everyday
it
is
beyond
interest
in
their
the
the
to
since
academic
matter goes
news' members,whose
jobs that are on the line.

Conclusion: society as a `thematic presence'.

Ethnomethodologists have to get used to having their approach misrepresented and


is
has
just
likely
been
And
to
the
an
analysis
response such
as
presented
misunderstood.
to praise the detail of the account and then suggestthat it constitutes somekind of 'micro'
in
be
'agency'
that
can, some undefined yet obvious way,
at work
analysis - an account of
in
(1991)
As
Button
to
approaches.
points
out
combined strengthenexisting sociological
his introduction to 'Ethnomethodology and the Human Sciences'this has seemingly been
the fate of most 'radical' turns in Sociology. Of course the case of ethnomethodology is
is
discuss
it
here.
Watson
As
Sharrock
different,
to
though
there
not
space
and
strikingly
(1988) point out, the agency-structure dualism arises from a more fundamental and
from
latter
from
'society
'society
dualism:
the
and
within'
see
without',
seen
contestable
being an idealisation produced from the former. This idealisation may have some utility
for

those engaged in the traditional

framework

of theorising

but none for

ethnomethodology since:
"Ethnomethodology does not set out to provide a specific mode of comprehending society, a theoretical
framework within which a substantive conception of society is to be construed, but determines (instead) to
inquire into the comprehension of society, into the ways in which social life can be understood and
described when seen from within by members, or when seen under the auspices of the idealisations of
social science (Sharrock and Watson 1988:59).

334
The familiar sociological topic of the tension between human agency and the constraints
of structural arrangementsis precisely the kind of `problem' that emerges not in the
but
in
the course of sociological theorising. Such a polarity is a
action,
courseof ordinary
problem for sociologists, but not for members of society, and ethnomethodology
[Garfinkel, 1967] refusesto take such a position as a starting point for its enquiries:
"the agency/structure polarity is the product of a set of assumptions about the aims and character of
To invite ethnomethodology
theorising, rather than the necessary pre-condition of sociological enquiry.
...
to conceive itself through the opposition of `structure' or `agency' or to contribute to the mediation-andresolution of this opposition is to ask it to situate itself in the terms of a dualism whose very constitution it
finds problematic. " [Sharrock and Watson, 1988: 57-61]

There is some scepticism, and not a little

laughter, at the argument that

ethnomethodology could easily be incorporated, accommodated or reconciled - or


somehow'added up' - with other sociological viewpoints. The scepticism involves an
fact
the
that ethnomethodologyand conventional Sociology are:
acknowledgementof
".. discrete and alternate,not additive, ways of seeingthings, such as what is seenfrom one point of view
'disappears'when seenfrom the other" (Sharrockand Watson, 1988:60)

This chapter has attempted to bring out this discreteness,the distinctiveness of the
Ethnomethodological approach to the analysis of organisational life prompted by
Boden's discussion of meetings and Willmot's critique of such interests as neglecting
the `real' operating factors which shape economic and other organisations. At the
same time I hope to have demonstrated the ease, the obviousness with which
if
it
deal
can,
wishes,
with issues of 'power'. Debates about macro
ethnomethodology
and micro sociologies, agency and structure, and so on are debates marked more by
confusion than clarity - and represent the 'dualisms' and dilemmas that manifestly
belong to sociology but not ethnomethodology.

To speak of Ethnomethodology as a

335
`micro' sociology is to disregardits avowed aim to `respecify the sociological project',
in no small part becauseof the impossibility of resolving, with any rigour, problems
in
One
dichotomies
by
to
take
the
mentioned.
may
choose
not
part
such a
set
but
its
for
one
ought
choice and
of
good
reasons,
respect
a
variety
and
respecification,
take it at face value. Whether or not it is successfulin achieving this aim is, of course,
a debatablematter. However, it does highlight an important point about the nature of
helpful
is
It
strategy to complain about an
not
a
particularly
sociological argument.
approachby, in effect, arguing that it doesnot look at social life in the way (one's own
be
like
does.
That
would
criticising
preference)

cricket because one cannot score

`power',
does
Ethnomethodology
treat
along with many other sanctified
not
goals.
it
does
but
in
traditional
can
and
examine and explicate
ways
concepts,
sociological
best
`talking
Perhaps
this,
to
the
to
the
and
way
of
attempt
presenting
prevent
power52.
debate,
is
Sharrock
to
of
much
sociological
consider
so
characteristic
other'
each
past
(1991)
`thematic
Anderson's
of
society
as
a
notion
presence':
and
"the notion of social structure that gets attention from ethnomethodology is that which is indigenous to
the activities under study, that which is found within the society itself, where `social structure' figures as a
thematic presence. The connection that members of society find between `social structure' and `social
action' is unlike that between a general law and an empirical occurrence. Rather, much more like that
between a theme, its elements and variations" (Sharrock and Anderson 1991: 163).

Above all it is important to acknowledge that the everyday reality of power and
responsibility is not a discovery to those in the bank. It is `no news' to them that they
be
like,
held accountable for their actions, that
just
do
they
that
they
will
cannot
what

32In someways the differencesbetweenBoden and Willmot's positions are obscuredby their respectiveemphasesand
occasional
overstatement.It can be madeto appear,for example,that Boden (along with others) is claiming that organisationalwork simply boils
down to talk at meetings. In which caseit, as Willmot claims, missesout the institutional realities of managerialwork. Clearly,
managerialwork doesnotjust consistof talk - though a lot of it goeson - but of actions and activities which are for the most part
conductedby talking with, to and by others. Such talk is often about mattersof organisationalrelevanceand in this respecttake place
within an institutional setting recognisedand reproducedin and through the talk and actions. In this respect,perhapsthe gap is not so
wide after all.

336
those high above them in the corporate food chain may well look unfavourably on their
'business
is
It
part
as usual', of their
simply
an
acknowledged
of
work and so on.
being
'occupationally
of
part
work,
everyday, mundane

ordinary'.

And the very

'ordinariness' of these routine displays of power and responsibility is manifested in their


joking.
banter
in
and
everyday
appearance

For, without attempting to analyse jokes

(because they stop being funny), it seems reasonable to suggest that when a social
it'.
itself,
it
has
`see
joked
be
effectively established
everyone can
about
arrangement can
And jokes such as the one I started this thesis with display, indeed depend upon, these
`hierarchy'
`regulations'
in
life
features
`power'
and
and
encountered
everyday
of
very
in
Lending
joke
So
Team
`get'
the
them.
people
can
about
would
otherwise nobody
'kicking arse', about'being mean' or can relate the following (terrible) `joke' (with which I
can (in)appropriately end this thesis):
"A frog walks into a bank, goes up to the desk where there's a sign 'Patricia Wack, Lending Manager' and
borrow
I
20,000"
Jagger's
is
Jagger,
I'm
Mick
to
Kermit
"My
son
and
want
name
says,
The Lending Manager responds, "Well, that's an awful lot of money Mr Jagger, what can you offer by way
of security? "

At this the frog brings out what seemsto be a packet of crisps from his pocket, selectsone and places it on
the desk.
Confused the Lending Manager picks up the crisp, turns to her Boss at the desk next to her and says,
"What's this? "
The Manager takes one look at it and says, "It's a Nik Nak, Patty Wack, give the frog a loan, his old man's
a Rolling Stone'

337

Chapter 10: 'Enlightenment':


it
is).
what

(don't know

"Chop that wood, carry water, what's the sound of one hand clapping? Enlightenment, don't know what it
is" (Van Morrison 1990)
"The difficulty -I might say - is not that of finding
something that looks as if it were only a preliminary
expecting an explanation, whereas the solution of the
in our considerations. If we dwell upon it, and do not
Heritage 1984: 103).

a solution but rather of recognizing as the solution


to it This is connected, I believe, with our wrongly
..
difficulty is a description, if we give it the right place
try to get beyond it. " (Wittgenstein, Zettel - quoted in

"Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, its too dark to read" (Groucho Marx)
"I don't think about the meaning of it all. I say, just plug in your damn guitar and make some noise" (Paul
Westerberg in Sudo 1997: 94)

Introduction: Modest Claims of Added Value


Of course a frog joke - especially such a lame frog joke - cannot be the end of this thesis
(at least that's what my examiners tell me). Instead I will make some (arguable) claims
'added
in
how
to
the
this
thesis
value'
sociological
study
of
work
might
represent
about
'audit
in
bank
At
time
a
an
when
culture' (Strathern 2000)
work
particular.
and
general
inevitable
it
in
higher
that the accountancy mentality of
seems
education
predominates
'added value' should appear important. However, there are no grand messages and
in
little
in
this
thesis
the way of earnestness. Whilst,
theories
and
grand
certainly no
importance
being
the
of
supposed
earnest I have always believed,
perhaps, recognising
"
Half
(1989)
O'Rourke
the world's suffering is caused by earnest
that:
along with
messages contained in grand theories bearing no relation to reality...

earnestness is just

12)
(O'Rourke
1989:
Perhaps, as Sacks (1992) argues, "I can tell
"
to
stupidity sent college.
be
it".
have
And
but
to
what
you
make
careful
of
anyway, as Wes
you
you something,

338
Sharrock has suggested(in Hughes 2000) ethnomethodology saysthe kind of things that
instead
it
bring
back
in
disagree
to
touch with the things we
attempts
us
with,
nobody can
in
in
Furthermore
things
the
the
ordinary,
natural
world.
most normal,
recognise as
is):
Marx's
(Chico
Marx
I
for
that
thesis
this
comment
am reminded of
making any claims
"Who are you going to believe - me or your own eyes?" (Duck Soup)

Similarly,

I have moaned about the overwhelming

whilst

ethnomethodologists and ethnomethodological

modesty

of many

studies (Sudnow appears a notable

exception) it remains a moot point as to the extent to which any ethnomethodological


research might

represent startling

advances, as opposed to mere accretions,

in

ethnomethodologyitself - or even whether researchersmight regard this as a worthwhile


objective. Certainly it is undoubtedly the casethat this researchbuilds upon the work of
Sharrock's
(1989)
Anderson,
Hughes
(1989)
Harper
and
and
work on calculation;
others Button's (1993) work on technology; Coulter's (1991) work on cognition and so on.

Without being over-modest, the 'added value' of this thesis lies simply in providing a
thorough

exemplar

of ethnomethodological

informed

ethnographic

research; in

longstanding
to
the
programme of ethnomethodological studies of work and,
contributing
finally, in documenting and analysing aspects of everyday work in banks that hitherto
were unexplicated,

the 'missing what' of various sociological

studies. This is an

ethnographic and ethnomethodological study of work - though of a rather more everyday


and mundane character than the esoteric studies that Garfinkel (1986) presents - and the
chapters on lending, customer work, technology and routine point to the detectable,
observable, reportable order in the work of bank personnel. The central concern is to

339
display the ways in which bank workers (like all other workers) orient to the socially
organised character of work - explicating exactly how they use their varied skills and
practices in the everyday practical managementof the social organisation of mundane
local
document
to
This
the
to
thesis
oriented
and situated circumstancesand
seeks
work.
the displayed relevancies of the accomplishment of work rather than any concepts and
categoriesthat come from that revered body known as 'the' Sociology of Work where the
aspiration to general theorising meansthat the commonplace,the ordinary, appearsto be
if
beneath
attention
not contempt.
as
regarded

In addressingthe question of what is it to 'do' bank work this researchconsidershow and


bank
doing
illustrate
'doing
be
bank
to
those
work'
understand
and
what
studied
what
day's
is
like
But
is
this
thesis
as
an
ethnomethodological
study
as
a
work.
of
work
work
different from and incommensuratewith other sociological studies of work. It does not
offer the possibility of synthesis with or repair of or addition to more conventional
for
impossibility
incommensurability
for
This
the
the
the simple
and
reason
approaches.
literatures
in the sociology of work to
existing
addition of ethnomethodologicalstudies
lies in their very different engagementswith the issue of order (Garfinkel 1991). In
Sociology (and thus in the Sociology of Work) any orderliness of society appearsas a
product of Sociology - through practices of theorising (patriarchy; power etc),
inchoate
is
an
mess
rendered orderly and explicable. In
epistemology and methodology
contrast for ethnomethodology order is respecified 'in-and-as-of-the-workings-ofordinary-society' - it is an ordinary, everydayachievement.

340
Garfinkel (1991) argues that while sociological accounts depend on the orderliness as
ignore
it53
in
they
then
society
and that the sociology of work is
achieved everyday
merely about the work not what makes up the work - it might be said they are mere
'scenic' studies. It is this 'what' - the 'missing what' - that is missing from sociological
studies of bank workers, managers, cashiers, policemen and anything else. The fact that
work is going on within the workplace is generally taken for granted in most sociological
accounts. In the process these studies ignore the very phenomena upon which their studies
depend, the ordered properties of the work itself.

This is not merely a matter of focus, that sociologists chooseto researchsupposedlymore


important topics, but rather a product of how sociologists study the topic of work in the
first place. For in their various studiessociologists are not describing work at all - there is
little in the way of descriptions of work activity, how work is done - but re-describing it
in sociological terms and in that processthe very constitutive practices of what workers
do (bank workers in this case) are lost. Instead sociological studies of work becomejust
for
display
the
and analysis of various structural forces standard
another vehicle
patriarchy, capitalism etc -

forces 'invisible' to the ordinary workings of society,

operating 'behind their backs' in an unwitting fashion. But what is ignored or lost is that
before a bank manager can be seen as a tool of bourgeois capitalism or another
instantiation of patriarchal relations she (and yes, it is usually a he) has to be seenas a

""..

soon after our studiesbeganit was evident from the availability of empirical specifics that there exists a locally producedorder
of works' things; that they make up a massivedomain of organisationalphenomena;that classic studiesof work, without remedy make
us of the domain, ignore it. It was soonevident,too, that that domain is ignored is not a fault of classic studiesbut is among its
identifying practices.It is as well a condition under which classicstudiesare able and permitted coherently to continue." (Garfinkel
1991:v)

341
bank manager first. Before granting a loan request can be seen as reproducing the
it
be
first
has
to
changing
as
exemplifying
consumer
relations
relations of production or
is
been
ignore
(a
has
This
'context'
loan
to
that
granted.
not
word that
request
seen as a
does such heavy duty work in sociological debate) but simply to suggestthe primordial
first.
is
it
And
this
to
this
simply
comes
not
give any credence
work
everyday
nature of
to arguments that suggest that ethnomethodology is somehow 'situation bound' - as I
be
(to
(perhaps
is
this
charitable)
a
misreading
more
of
a
product
suggest elsewhere
accurately 'non-reading') of ethnomethodology. To paraphrase Garfinkel (1967: 17)
lending officers treat a loan requestor lending decision as a precedentwith which various
have
financial
handling
in
living
matters
may
produced such a
and
society
ways of
in
'in
decision
demanded
the
and
read
remains' and the
such a
are searchedout
requestor
'remains'
'reading
the
are collected too: rumours, passing
other
remains'
of
process
'context'
Taking
seriously requires us not to provide general
stories.
remarks, and
descriptions of 'context' but to understand how participants to the work produce their
in
detail.
that
to
production
contexts,and understand

Technology as a Resource:
One idea that this research highlights and emphasises, indeed it was a major motivation
behind the various research projects from which it originates, is that of the use of
in
tool
technology
as
a
of
used
combination with other artefacts
a
resource,
computers as
to assemble some sense of 'what is going on here?', for working out what is in the figures.
Orientation to the customer requires everyday attentiveness to unravelling (rather than
interpreting) the history of the customer's account using the available technology.

But

342
the numbers that drive the machine-based representations of the customer have no
inherent meaning outside of their situated use. The numbers provide for a working
representationof necessarilycontingent phenomenain such a way that those phenomena
can be classified and communicatedin a form that is common-sensicallyrecognisableto
anyone else engagedin similar activities (Lynch, 1990) - that this account is being run
OK, or is going out of order or entering 'hard-core debt' and so on. It is mathematization
of the necessarily unique, contingent, and unpredictable in such a way that it becomes
generalisable and predictable in the context of particular working practices. Just what sort
of generalisation or prediction can be made out of the numbers is something that always
has a negotiable and situated relevance. Ultimately it is the way that an account of `this is

do'
for
`what this particular customer
customers
can
provide
a
of
accounting
what
means
has done' that enablessuch numerical representations- of 'risk grade' or 'days in credit'
to have some kind of practical applicability. Members in the bank draw upon a common
stock of knowledge, a 'mosaic' or 'recipe' knowledge, regarding what a set of numbers
might or might not mean in a certain set of circumstances. This is not used as a rule for

what those numbers will always and inevitably mean, but rather as a resource that is
visibly, observably oriented to for arriving at just what this particular set of numbers
means in this particular set of circumstances. Such representations provide for particular

accountsof particular action in such a fashion that any particular course of action can be
justifiable
be
to
and
seen
course of action for anyone else engagedin the
a recognisable
samekind of activity (and for Head Office). The notion of the `customer in the machine',
a seemingly inevitable by-product of centralisation does not point ever-more complex,

343
refined, and `powerful' computer-basedrepresentations of customers but to the ready
availability of the data to different kinds of situated enquiry.

This thesis attempts to outline and understand the way in which representationsof 'the
customer' are actually constructed and used in everyday work in a High Street bank.
Representations'in the machine' of the customer are used as an everyday resource to
support customerwork as well as a meansof representingand conveying the nature of the
work taking place. The representationsof the customerembodied in various technological
artefactswithin the bank provide a significant resourcein supporting the coordination and
hand.
has
been
It
long
the
to
work
at
undertaking
a
essential
standing finding
cooperation
interwoven
CSCW
that
closely
of
research
representationsare
with work and are often
achievedin practice rather than existing independentlyto the work setting. Achieving and
is,
the
customer of course, a wholly mundane matter for bank
using representationsof
staff and such problems as arise are wholly practical ones i. e. is the representation
is
here-and-now?,
there enough information?, does it tell a
to
adequate my purposes
consistentstory?, and so on.

In this thesis I have presented some detail at how cooperation with the representation of
the customer in the machine is actually achieved in an organisation that appears to be
increasingly technology driven.

But the picture documented here, despite the massive

prevalence of technology within the bank, is thoroughly, perhaps reassuringly, mundane.


New technology appears as less an agent for massive organisational change than a tool
through which to achieve `business as usual'. Far from revolutionising

the organisation

344
the introduction of new technology in the bank, both in the context of customer-facing
in
`the
has
in
interactions
the
customer
machine',
with
simply necessitated the
work and
development of new everyday `routines',

and new competencies.

For the bank the

important question is not so much how to support completely different and unknown
relationships with their customers, as how best to support the ongoing requirement for
machine-based representations of customers as a resource in situated and contingent
interaction.

Legacy Problems as Organisational

Problems:

Another feature of this research has been to suggest that the much heralded, if often
ignored, 'legacy' problems - commonly attributed to the bewildering speed of
technological change - are not merely technological - since paperwork is often a
issue
but
legacy
technical
the
of
marrying
change to organisational
comprise
significant
change. Obviously the fieldwork, conducted over a number of years, provides numerous
but
indicates
in
legacy
that `legacy' issues arise not
everyday use
examples of
systems
merely through technical change but because of the fast changing nature of organisational
priorities and organisational life. Legacy issues are organisational in the sense of being
intimately

in
the everyday accomplishment
up
wrapped

of work and consequently

responsive to any changes in working circumstances and priorities. To that extent, an


appreciation of legacy needs to move away from a purely technological stance - with its
emphasis on ageing systems and outdated code - to admit the importance and impact of
issues
legacy
is that technologies, routines and
issues.
The
paradox of
organisational
artefacts are often regarded as trustable and useful long after their usefulness has expired,

345
in
because
in
longstanding
they
the
way
which
are
of
embedded
social and
precisely
organisational processes.

'Skill' in Everyday Bank Work:


This researchalso makes some contribution to that old, and consequentlyunfashionable,
sociological debate about 'skill'. An effort is made to use empirical materials to shift or
refocus the debateonto the combinationsof, often mundane,skills required in bank work
and the ways in which they might be deployed - rather than attempting to revive the
(frankly dull) debateon deskilling, enskilling or reskilling. The data outlines some of the
ways in which, for example, technology acts as a resource in the successful,the skilful
accomplishmentof work. So, for example,the telephonemonitoring software, the various
technologies used for generating management information are routinely deployed in
'skilful' managerialwork. Skill is also a word that applies to the meaningful behaviour of
facing
customer
work, such as the occasioned use of scripts, the adroit weaving of
technology into such work and so on - as seenin the bank's use of the video-link.

`Real world' activity in customerservice,whether or not it is computer mediated,requires


appreciablesense-makingwork on the part of bank staff, achieved out of a constellation
of awareness skills, demeanour work; knowledge of customers and so on. As the
materials on using the video-link demonstrate, `re-configuring'

customers - getting them

to act in ways that are amenable and predictable - can be seen as a skill with a developing
importance,

as new technology

and standardised processes apparently reduce the

importance of local knowledge, informal cooperation, and so on. Nevertheless, despite

346
the increasing importance of the `customer in the machine', issues of skill, local
knowledge, or cooperation and coordination do not `go away' when mundane activities
knowledge'
'Local
remains a stubbornly persistent feature of
are machine mediated.
decision-making. Whatever the classificatory regimes imposed by expert systems, the
problem of determining exactly what each `case' is a case of, especially in relatively
unusual circumstances,remains one of `occasioned determination' in the course of the
work itself. For bank staff, the job of work is to `fit' their knowledge to standardformats
in such a way that relevant knowledge of the customer is trustably incorporated. The
point is that within the databasethis customer information has to be such that other
levels
`work
thus
customers',
and
maintain
of trust. From the point of
with
people can
in
bank
institution
is produced out of the
the
the
confidence
as
an
view of
customer
be
here
this
whether
customer's
and now experiences a knowledgeable operative
referring to local knowledge of the customer's financial circumstances,a letter from the
bank pertaining to oversight, bad management of the account, or a response to a
in
bank
is that any relevant
Furthermore,
the
the
suggestion
while
managerial
complaint.
local knowledge will in the future be available `in the machine' through a standardised
database,
to
their
customer
approach
possessing relevant knowledge `in the
maintaining
machine' relies on other operatives having regularly, rigorously- and routinely input
information. Whether or not technology intervenes in communication, decision-making,
complaint, or anything else, some underlying principles remain the same. In particular the
in
trust
the system does not go away when customerproblem of customer confidence and
facing work becomes machine mediated.

347
Organisational Change and Everyday Work:
Finally, this thesis contributes some empirical material to the ongoing organisational
debatesabout centralisation and decentralisation by documenting just what this might
(and
be
in
decentralisation
that
advertising
campaign)
a
rhetoric
of
can
mean practice accompaniedby measuresthat effectively ensure the centralisation of decision-making.
Whilst talking about managing local markets -a local bank for local people - reductions
in the discretionary powers granted to managers can in essenceensure that all but the
most minor decisions need ratification

from above. But despite this obvious

decision-making
(or
least
the
of
power
of
at
organisational centralisation
ratification, for
as Garfinkel (1967) observesthe outcome comes before the decision), the 'local logics'
and 'local knowledge' that remain an important aspectof everyday work often, routinely,
guide decisions. Moreover, as the fieldwork suggests,apparent centralisation can often
seem as mere lip-service to organisationally prescribed sets of criteria - criteria that in
effect merely shapehow the products of local logics and local knowledge might best be
organisationally representedand presented.

Arguments about centralisation also surface in the fieldwork - and in the domain - in the
interest in technology as providing some form of 'organisational memory'. The concern
with 'organisational memory' was a product of diagnosesof the needsof organisationsin
the post-modern era in terms of the deployment of advanced IT systems capable of
respondingto the loss of knowledge and experienceof workers. This researchdocuments
how the 'organisational memory' metaphor fails to distinguish the kinds of socially
situated 'remembering' that might take place in organisational life, and provides few

348

how',
'remembering
'remembering
the
who', and 'remembering that' we are
examples of
interested in. Public displays of remembering and forgetting are socially organised
is,
how
it
how
it
is
What
the
appears,
understood, what
organisation
accomplishments.
in
location
depends
how
it
'remember'
to
part upon
within the organisedset of
and
seeks
activities that we colloquially refer to as `an organisation'. The senseof organisationand
its activities, that is, is an occasioned and situated matter. This conception - and this
in
directs
to
the
which the actions of organisational personnel
ways
attention
researchin
to
the
organisational
actions;
ways
are made accountableas
which membersperform
their actions in order to accountably `conform to', `sustain', etc., organisational
`Organisational
for
their
to
actions.
as
organisational
sense
requirements
provide
remembering' takes place in a context of the simultaneous performance of myriad,
interrupted,
This
fragmented,
tasks.
time-pressured,
often
research suggests
generally
paying attention to the occasioned character of remembering activities, and most
importantly to the fact that 'remembering' is no single cognitive process, but any of a
loosely
related activities.
number of only

Conclusion: In Defence of Ethnomethodology

This thesis concludesby attempting to mount a defence of ethnomethodologyagainst its


sociological critics - something of a thanklesstask given that most ethnomethodologists
consider such criticisms to entirely miss the point and consequently hardly worth the
trouble of response. Nevertheless,I demonstrate- through re-analysing and re-presenting
the fieldwork materials - how traditional critiques of ethnomethodological studies for
their supposedinability to generaliseor for their neglect of structural forces and issuesof

349
'power' are not an inherent feature of the ethnomethodological enterprise but rather a
simple matter of analytic interest and focus. The argument that ethnomethodology is
implacably opposed in principle to any form of generalisisation is founded on
misunderstandingsand mis-readings. Ethnomethodology's undoubted hostility to some
sociology is hostility to sociological theorising of a particular kind doubting the senseor
usefulness of the supposedly analytic categories generated. It evidently regards much
sociological theorizing as trivial, irrelevant and trading on the illusion of the `technical
term' as opposed to common senseterms. It problematises the status of generalisation,
immediate
indeed
does
the
as
or
as a necessarypart of its
and
not see generalisation
enquiries, but provides no principled argument as to why some ordinary, commonsense,
and `general' categories might not be brought to our understanding of a domain. What
such categories do not do is drive our understanding of what is going on within the
setting.

Self-evidently there is little in the way of 'enlightenment' here - even if I knew what it was
for
be
be
It
this
the
and
claims
research
must
necessarily
modest.
would
untrue - and not
a little ridiculous - to suggest that enlightenment was ever on the agenda in the six years
the fieldwork encompassed, for, with its focus on informing design the priority was very
much that of Paul Westerberg - "pick up your damn guitar and make some noise". This
thesis

contributes,

therefore,

in

a humble

way

to

the

growing

corpus

of

ethnomethodological informed ethnographic studies of work; through documenting and


analysing aspects of everyday work in banks that have been and are commonly
overlooked in mainstream sociological studies of work. And even this lowly claim is a

350
(and
the
sometimes the toes) of other, more talented,
shoulders
product of standing on
but
Marx
trivial,
to
As
then
this
even
gift
a
modest,
posterity
as
seems
researchers. such
done
I
What's
"Why
(Groucho
time)
this
care
about
posterity?
posterity
ever
should
said
for me"?

351

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