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Knowledge and the discourse of labour process transformation: nurses and the case of NHS Direct for England

Author

Listed:
  • Chris Smith

    (Royal Holloway, University of London, chris.smith@rhul.ac.uk)

  • Raffaella Valsecchi

    (Brunel University, Raffaella.Valsecchi@brunel.ac.uk)

  • Frank Mueller

    (University of St Andrews, frankmueller100@yahoo.co.uk)

  • Jonathan Gabe

    (Royal Holloway, University of London, j.gabe@rhul.ac.uk)

Abstract

This article draws on fieldwork conducted with nurses in two sites of NHS Direct, the English tele-nursing service.Theoretically it has two objectives. Firstly to examine a group of professional workers in order to show how the discourse of work transformation associated with the call centre paradigm interacts in a non-mass, non-commercial public sector setting where workers remain attached to their occupational identity and institutional community which mediate call centre values and rationalities. In relation to this objective, the article shows how call centre values inform NHS Direct but do not produce the same outcomes as in commercial settings. Secondly, the article establishes that nurses, as knowledgeable actors, can control, manipulate and create knowledge, without having their autonomy subordinated to the clinical software they are required to use.The article contributes to the labour process approach of call centre working and debates on knowledge management in the workplace.

Suggested Citation

  • Chris Smith & Raffaella Valsecchi & Frank Mueller & Jonathan Gabe, 2008. "Knowledge and the discourse of labour process transformation: nurses and the case of NHS Direct for England," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 22(4), pages 581-599, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:woemps:v:22:y:2008:i:4:p:581-599
    DOI: 10.1177/0950017008096737
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Damian Grimshaw, 1999. "Changes in Skills-Mix and Pay Determination among the Nursing Workforce in the UK," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 13(2), pages 295-328, June.
    2. Caroline Collin Jacques, 2004. "Professionals at Work: A Study of Autonomy and Skill Utilization in Nurse Call Centres in England and Canada," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Stephen Deery & Nicholas Kinnie (ed.), Call Centres and Human Resource Management, chapter 7, pages 153-173, Palgrave Macmillan.
    3. Stephen Ackroyd & Sharon Bolton, 1999. "It is not Taylorism: Mechanisms of Work Intensification in the Provision of Gynaecological Services in a NHS Hospital," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 13(2), pages 369-387, June.
    4. Stephen Deery & Nicholas Kinnie, 2004. "Introduction: The Nature and Management of Call Centre Work," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Stephen Deery & Nicholas Kinnie (ed.), Call Centres and Human Resource Management, chapter 1, pages 1-22, Palgrave Macmillan.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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