Technology, work restructuring and the orchestration of a rational narrative in the pursuit of 'management objectives': The political process of plant-level change

In this article a narrative approach is used in the construction of a story about the political aspect ts of plant-level change. It is shown how individuals may recount and reconstruct stories which, reflect their own interests and how the maintenance of common organizational stories often reflects the influence and political action of certain powerful actors and groups. These dominant narrators are often actively involved in a political process by which a rational narrative is constructed, revised and modified over time and sustained within the context of other competing voices and views. In examining the uptake of cellular manufacturing, technology is not conceptualized as a determinant of outcomes but as a substance of the workplace initiative which is continually open to influence (the mutual shaping of the 'social' and 'technical') during the political process of change. Finally a broad conceptualization of political process is adopted in order to enable the reader to critically reflect on the data in pursuing their own ana!,lsis and conclusions.