Understanding the office: A social-analytic perspective

Abstract

In order to apply office automation in a meaningful fashion, it is apparent that some understanding of the office is necessary. Most descriptive studies of the office have placed great emphasis on manifest office actions, suggesting that offices are the embodiment of these actions. The meanings of these actions or tasks, however, have been given scant attention. There exist a number of office activity or task taxonomies, but they do little more than provide a simple and limited structure through which to conceive of an office. From a social-analytic perspective this appears to be overly simplistic and misses the richness of social action in an office. Focusing on the overt and manifest aspects of the office may very well lead to its misrepresentation. This paper takes a critical look at the way offices are conceived in the office automation literature and suggests alternatives that may provide a better understanding of the real functions of an office.