Nigel Coleman
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9781847420060
- eISBN:
- 9781447302827
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- DOI:
- 10.1332/policypress/9781847420060.003.0003
- Subject:
- Social Work, Research and Evaluation
This chapter analyses the relationship between New Labour's modernisation agenda, managerialism, and information and communications technology (ICT), and then looks at the relationship between ICT ...
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This chapter analyses the relationship between New Labour's modernisation agenda, managerialism, and information and communications technology (ICT), and then looks at the relationship between ICT and social work in a contact centre in the United Kingdom. It focuses on the experience of working in a contact centre as a social worker, and the role and identity of social workers in this context. The chapter also provides insights into how the contact-centre environment positions social workers in relation to service users and how the use of ICT affects work processes. Moreover, it considers what motivates social workers to work in this environment, their perceptions of occupational stress in this setting, and the effect of this model on their social-work skills. Finally, the chapter examines research in the public and private sectors to see what it has to offer in relation to the social-services context, before reflecting on the implications for social work in the future.Less
This chapter analyses the relationship between New Labour's modernisation agenda, managerialism, and information and communications technology (ICT), and then looks at the relationship between ICT and social work in a contact centre in the United Kingdom. It focuses on the experience of working in a contact centre as a social worker, and the role and identity of social workers in this context. The chapter also provides insights into how the contact-centre environment positions social workers in relation to service users and how the use of ICT affects work processes. Moreover, it considers what motivates social workers to work in this environment, their perceptions of occupational stress in this setting, and the effect of this model on their social-work skills. Finally, the chapter examines research in the public and private sectors to see what it has to offer in relation to the social-services context, before reflecting on the implications for social work in the future.
Simon Head
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195179835
- eISBN:
- 9780199850211
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195179835.003.0006
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Behavioural Economics
This chapter examines the so-called digital assembly line in the contact center industry in the U.S. The hyperefficiency of the software in call centers provided managers with the bundled powers of ...
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This chapter examines the so-called digital assembly line in the contact center industry in the U.S. The hyperefficiency of the software in call centers provided managers with the bundled powers of analysis, surveillance and control, but it also led them to micromanage employees' work. This chapter suggests that the call center industry is in need of renewal because it is an industry emblematic of the digital economy. Managed properly, high-performance call centers can provide good jobs for the non-college educated.Less
This chapter examines the so-called digital assembly line in the contact center industry in the U.S. The hyperefficiency of the software in call centers provided managers with the bundled powers of analysis, surveillance and control, but it also led them to micromanage employees' work. This chapter suggests that the call center industry is in need of renewal because it is an industry emblematic of the digital economy. Managed properly, high-performance call centers can provide good jobs for the non-college educated.
