IMAGES OF GOOD WORK AND THE POLITICS OF TEAMWORK

Contemporary empirical studies of teamwork take much of their inspirat ion from long-standing conflicting images of 'good' work in modern soc ieties. In particular, the 'machine', 'anomie' and 'alienation' images have had a strong influence on theoretical development and empirical research. Rather than criticizing the dominance of this imagery, this article argues for a more self-conscious and comprehensive exploitatio n of its richness and diversity. Contemporary studies of teamwork are more often than not held back by a reduction of fundamental theoretica l issues and tensions to matters of simple empirical tests and a 'forc ed' choice between perspectives and a general decline in attention to the 'alienation' image. The argument herein is made through a reanalys is of the classic and exemplary debate between Adler and Cole and Berg gren over teamwork in NUMMI and Uddevalla.