Front cover image for Talking about machines : an ethnography of a modern job

Talking about machines : an ethnography of a modern job

Explores the work practices of experienced photocopier maintenance technicians working for the Xerox Corporation. Examines the triangular relationship between the technician, the customer and the machine. Highlights the narrative process used by technicians in the diagnosis of machine problems
Print Book, English, 1996
ILR Press, Ithaca, N.Y., 1996
case study
xvi, 172 pages ; 22 cm
9780801432972, 9780801483905, 0801432979, 0801483905
34906105
Foreword / Stephen R. Barley
1. Introduction
2. Vignettes of Work in the Field
3. Territories: The Geography of the Service Triangle
4. The Technicians
5. The Customers
6. Talking about Machines, and Bits Thereof ..
7. The Work of Service
8. War Stories of the Service Triangle
9. Warranted and Other Conclusions