Skip to main content
Log in

The coordination of work activities: Cooperation and conflict in a hospital context

  • Published:
Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW) Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

An understanding of the ways in which work coordination is achieved in practice is essential to the development of effective CSCW technologies. However, previous studies are limited in their focus on small, self-contained work groups. In this analysis of work coordination in a hospital context, a broader perspective was adopted, allowing examination of activities across time, group and location. The use of a relevant structured methodology and a focus on deviations from formal procedures enabled the consideration of a range of contextual factors in interaction: Important aspects of work coordination to emerge included: status influences on the effectiveness of working practices; the social and political uses of information; conflicts between work goals and between motivations for coordinating activities; the role of informal practices; and the use of formal procedures to regulate inter-group relations. The implications of these issues for CSCW design in the hospital context are illustrated.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Andriessen, J. H. E. (1995): Evaluating Group Support Technology. Paper presented at the 7th European Congress on Work and Organizational Psychology, Gyor, Hungary, 19th–22nd April, 1995.

  • Bannon, L. and K. Schmidt (1991): CSCW: Four Characters in Search of a Context. In Studies in Computer Supported Cooperative Work, eds. J. Bowers, and S. Benford, Amsterdam: North Holland/Elsevier Science Publishers, pp. 3–16.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barley, S. (1988): On Technology, Time and Social Order: Technically Induced Change in the Temporal Organization of Radiological Work. In Making Time: Ethnographies of High Technology Organizations, ed. F. Dubinskas, Philadelpia: Temple University Press, pp. 123–169.

    Google Scholar 

  • Blackler, F. (1994): Post(-)modern Organizations: Understanding How CSCW Affects Organizations. Journal of Information Technology, vol. 9, pp. 129–136.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brunsson, N. (1985): The Irrational Organization. Chichester: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Child, J. (1984): Organization. Second Edition. London: Harper Row.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cicourel, A. (1990): The Integration of Distributed Knowledge in Collaborative Medical Diagnosis. In Intellectual Teamwork: Social and Technological Foundations of Cooperative Work, eds. J. Galegher, R. Kraut, and C. Egido, Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum, pp. 221–242.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cooley, M. (1987): Architect or Bee? Second Edition. London: Hogarth.

    Google Scholar 

  • Department of Health (1990): Framework for Information Systems: The Next Steps. London: HMSO.

    Google Scholar 

  • Easterbrook, S. M., E. E. Beck, J. S. Goodlet, M. Plowman, M. Sharples, and C.C. Wood (1993): A Survey of Empirical Studies of Conflict. In CSCW. Cooperation or Conflict?, ed. S. M., Easterbrook, London: Springer-Verlag, pp. 1–68.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eldridge, M. A., P J. Barnard, and D. A. Bekerian (1994): Autobiographical Memory and Daily Schemes at Work. Memory, vol. 2, pp. 51–74.

    Google Scholar 

  • Feldman, M. and J. March (1981): Information in Organizations as Signal and Symbol. Administrative Science Quarterly, vol. 26, pp. 171–186.

    Google Scholar 

  • Finholt, T., L. Sproull, and S. Kiesler (1990): Communication and Performance in ad hoc Task Groups. In Intellectual Teamwork: Social and Technological Foundations of Cooperative Work, eds. J. Galegher, R. Kraut, and C. Egido, Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum, pp. 291–325.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grudin, J. (1994): Groupware and Social Dynamics: Eight Challenges for Developers. Communications of the ACM, vol. 37, pp. 92–105.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harper, R. (1993): Looking at Ourselves: An Examination of the Social Organization of Two Research Laboratories. In Proceedings of the Third European Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work, eds. G. De Michelis, C. Simone, and K. Schmidt, Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers, pp. 330–337.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harper, R. and J. Hughes (1993): ‘What a F-ing System! Send 'em All to the Same Place and Then Expect Us to Stop'em Hitting’: Making Technology Work in Air Traffic Control. In Technology in Working Order: Studies of Work, Interaction and Technology, ed. G. Button, London: Routledge, pp. 127–144.

    Google Scholar 

  • Heath, C. C. and P. Luff (1992): Collaboration and Control: Crisis Management and Multimedia Technology in London Underground Line Control Rooms. Computer Supported Cooperative Work, vol. 1, pp. 69–94.

    Google Scholar 

  • Holand, U. and T. Danielsen (1991): Describing Cooperation — The Creation of Different Psychological Phenomena. In Studies in Computer Supported Cooperative Work, eds. J. Bowers and S. Benford, Amsterdam: North-Holland/Elsevier Science Publishers, pp. 17–27.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hornby, P. and G. Symon (1994): Tracer Studies. In Qualitative Methods in Organizational Research: A Practical Guide, eds. C. Cassell and G. Symon, London: Sage Publications, pp. 167–188.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hutchins, E. (1990): The technology of team navigation. In Intellectual Teamwork: Social and Technological Foundations of Cooperative Work, eds. J. Galegher, R. Kraut, and C. Egido, Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum, pp. 191–220.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jirotka, M., N. Gilbert, and P. Luff (1992): On the Social Organization of Organizations. Computer-Supported Cooperative Work, vol. 1, pp. 95–118.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kling, R. (1988): Remarks in Panel Discussion on ‘CSCW: What Does It Mean?’. In Proceedings of the Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work. New York: ACM.

    Google Scholar 

  • Luff, P., C. Heath, and D. Greatbatch (1992): Tasks-in-Interaction: Paper and Screen-Based Documentation in Collaborative Activity. In Proceedings of the Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work, eds. J. Turner and R. Kraut, New York: ACM Press, pp. 163–170.

    Google Scholar 

  • Long, K., J. Ellis, and G. Symon (1996): Work Coordination in a Hospital Context: Insights from a Social Psychological Perspective. In preparation.

  • Malone, T. W. and K. Crowston (1990): What Is Coordination Theory and How Can It Help Design Cooperative Work Systems. In Proceedings of the Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work, ed. F. Halasz, Los Angeles, CA: ACM Press, pp. 357–370.

    Google Scholar 

  • March, J. (1988): Decisions and Organizations. Oxford: Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • McCarthy, J. (1994): The State-of-the-Art of CSCW: CSCW Systems, Cooperative Work, and Organization. Journal of Information Technology, vol. 9, pp. 73–83.

    Google Scholar 

  • Morgan, G. (1986): Images of Organization. London: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Morgan, M. (1991): Hospitals and Patients. In Sociology as Applied to Medicine, ed. G. Scrambler, London: Bailliere Tindall, pp. 65–80.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nystrom, P. and W. Starbuck (1981): Handbook of Organizational Design. London: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Olson, G., J. Olson, M. Carter, and M. Storrøsten (1992): Small group design meetings: An analysis of collaboration. Human Computer Interaction, vol. 7, pp. 347–374.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Orlikowski, W. (1992): Learning from NOTES: Organizational Issues in Groupware Implementation. In Proceedings of the Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work, eds. J. Turner and R. Kraut, New York: ACM Press, pp. 163–170.

    Google Scholar 

  • Polanyi, M. (1962): Tacit Knowing: Its Bearing on Some Problems of Philosophy. Review of Modern Physics, vol. 34, pp. 601–616.

    Google Scholar 

  • Richman, J. (1987): Medicine and Health. London: Longman.

    Google Scholar 

  • Robinson, M. (1991): Electronic Mail and Post Modern Organization. In Human Jobs and Computer Interfaces, eds. M.I. Nurimen and G. R. S. Weir, Amsterdam: North Holland/Elsevier Science Publishers, pp. 183–200.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rogers, Y (1993): Coordinating Computer-Mediated Work. Computer Supported Cooperative Work, vol. 1, pp. 295–315.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Schein, E. (1990): Organizational Culture. American Psychologist, vol. 45, pp. 109–119.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schmidt, K. and L. Bannon (1992): Taking CSCW Seriously. Computer Supported Cooperative Work, vol. 1, pp. 7–40.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schneider, K. and I. Wagner (1993): Constructing the ‘Dossier Représentatif’: Computer-Based Information-Sharing in French Hospitals. Computer Supported Cooperative Work, vol. 1, pp. 229–253.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sharples, M. (1993): A Study of Breakdowns and Repairs in a Computer-Mediated Communication System. Interacting with Computers, vol. 5, pp. 61–77.

    Google Scholar 

  • Star, S. (1993): Cooperation without Consensus in Scientific Problem Solving: Dynamics of Closure in Open Systems. In CSCW: Cooperation or Conflict?, ed. S. M. Easterbrook, London: Springer-Verlag, pp. 93–206.

    Google Scholar 

  • Strauss, A., S. Fagerhaugh, B. Suczek, and C. Weiner (1985): The Social Organization of Medical Work. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Turner, B. (1987): Medical Power and Social Knowledge. London: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weisband, S., S. Schneider, and T. Connolly (1993): Participation Equality and Influence: Cues and Status in Computer-Supported Cooperative Work Groups. In Proceedings of the Third European Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work, eds. G. De Michelis, C. Simone, and K. Schmidt, Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers, pp. 265–279.

    Google Scholar 

  • Winograd, T. (1988): A Language/Action Perspective on the Design of Cooperative Work. Human Computer Interaction, vol. 3, pp. 3–30.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Symon, G., Long, K. & Ellis, J. The coordination of work activities: Cooperation and conflict in a hospital context. Comput Supported Coop Work 5, 1–31 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00141934

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00141934

Key words

Navigation