|
|
'Engineering Humour': Masculinity, Joking and Conflict in Shop-floor Relations
David L. Collinson
Department of Management Sciences, U.M.I.S.T., Manchester, U.K.
The focus of this paper is on the organizational significance of shop-floor humour and in particular its relationship to gender identity and working-class resistance. A brief review of the literature on organizational humour is followed by a more detailed examination of the illuminating analysis by Willis of school/shop-floor counter-culture. Although his research provides a strong basis for the case study presented below, it is criticized for a tendency to romanticize working-class culture, humour and informal opposition.
In contrast, by means of an empirical analysis of joking forms in the components division of a lorry producing factory, the paper then explores not only the collective elements, but also the internal divisions and contradictions that characterize shop-floor relations. By critically questioning the workers' manifest search to secure a highly masculine sense of identity, the paper is able to highlight a 'darker side' of shop-floor culture, which underpins and ultimately undermines the creative humour and collectivity found in the factory.
Organization Studies, Vol. 9, No. 2,
181-199 (1988)
DOI: 10.1177/017084068800900203
 CiteULike  Connotea  Del.icio.us  Digg  Reddit  Technorati What's this?
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
|
|
 
A. Pullen and R. Simpson
Managing difference in feminized work: Men, otherness and social practice
Human Relations,
April 1, 2009;
62(4):
561 - 587.
[Abstract]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
J. Blomberg
Gendering Finance: Masculinities and Hierarchies at the Stockholm Stock Exchange
Organization,
March 1, 2009;
16(2):
203 - 225.
[Abstract]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
O. H. Lynch and Z. A. Schaefer
Review Essay: Humor Without Interaction: A Joke Without a Punch Line
Management Communication Quarterly,
February 1, 2009;
22(3):
512 - 520.
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
V. Bishop, C. M. Cassell, and H. Hoel
Preserving masculinity in service work: An exploration of the underreporting of customer anti-social behaviour
Human Relations,
January 1, 2009;
62(1):
5 - 25.
[Abstract]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
H. Kangasharju and T. Nikko
Emotions in Organizations: Joint Laughter in Workplace Meetings
Journal of Business Communication,
January 1, 2009;
46(1):
100 - 119.
[Abstract]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
C. Cooper
Elucidating the bonds of workplace humor: A relational process model
Human Relations,
August 1, 2008;
61(8):
1087 - 1115.
[Abstract]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
E. Romero and A. Pescosolido
Humor and group effectiveness
Human Relations,
March 1, 2008;
61(3):
395 - 418.
[Abstract]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
S. J. Tracy and C. Scott
Sexuality, Masculinity, and Taint Management Among Firefighters and Correctional Officers: Getting Down and Dirty With "America's Heroes" and the "Scum of Law Enforcement"
Management Communication Quarterly,
August 1, 2006;
20(1):
6 - 38.
[Abstract]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
G. T. Fairhurst
Reframing The Art of Framing: Problems and Prospects for Leadership
Leadership,
June 1, 2005;
1(2):
165 - 185.
[Abstract]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I. Grugulis
Nothing Serious? Candidates' Use of Humour in Management Training
Human Relations,
April 1, 2002;
55(4):
387 - 406.
[Abstract]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
P. P. Edley
Discursive Essentializing in a Woman-Owned Business: Gendered Stereotypes and Strategic Subordination
Management Communication Quarterly,
November 1, 2000;
14(2):
271 - 306.
[Abstract]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
O. Jones
Scientific Management, Culture and Control: A First-Hand Account of Taylorism in Practice
Human Relations,
May 1, 2000;
53(5):
631 - 653.
[Abstract]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
M. Noon and R. Delbridge
News From Behind My Hand: Gossip in Organizations
Organization Studies,
January 1, 1993;
14(1):
23 - 36.
[Abstract]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
M. Alvesson and Y. D. Billing
Gender and Organization: Towards a Differentiated Understanding
Organization Studies,
January 1, 1992;
13(1):
073 - 103.
[Abstract]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
