Written Communication Jul 2016

The Textualization of Problem Handling: Lean Discourses Meet Professional Competence in Eldercare and the Manufacturing Industry

Anna-Malin Karlsson ; Zoe Nikolaidou Södertörn University

Abstract

This article reports on research addressing the role of incident reporting at the workplace as a textual representation of lean management techniques. It draws on text and discourse analysis as well as on ethnographic data, including interviews, recorded interaction, and observations, from two projects on workplace literacy in Sweden: a study in an eldercare facility and a study in a large factory. Analysis of the data set demonstrates striking similarities, both in the way incident reporting texts are structured and worded and in the literacy practices that contextualize them. Dominant characteristics in the texts are the absence of actors and the structured, process-based approach of problems and problem handling. The forms often generate conflicts in the ways workers are asked to textually represent an incident. In this article, we argue that lean thinking has penetrated texts and literacy practices of two considerably different workplaces, and this has a large impact on the way workers are instructed to think and act with regard to problem handling techniques.

Journal
Written Communication
Published
2016-07-01
DOI
10.1177/0741088316653391
CompPile
Search in CompPile ↗
Open Access
Closed
Topics
discourse analysis professional writing qualitative research literacy studies community literacy
Export
BibTeX RIS

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (4)

  1. Kalman et al. (2023)
    “Don’t Tell Them What You Told Me”: Negotiating Paperwork in Mexico City
    Written Communication
  2. Nissi et al. (2022)
    Digital Documenting Practices: Collaborative Writing in Workplace Training
    Written Communication
  3. Corbel et al. (2022)
    Gig Expectations: Literacy Practices, Events, and Texts in the Gig Economy
    Written Communication
  4. Lillis et al. (2020)
    Time, the Written Record, and Professional Practice: The Case of Contemporary S…
    Written Communication

References (28) · 2 in this index

  1. Alexander K. (2000)
    Literacy and Numeracy Studies
  2. 10.1146/annurev.an.19.100190.000423
     ↗
  3. 10.4324/9781410609779
     ↗
  4. 10.1111/1468-0408.00163
     ↗
  5. Brandt (2005)
    Writing for a Living: Literacy and the Knowledge Economy
    Written Communication
Show all 28 →
  1. Cook-Gumperz J. (1997)
    Changing workplaces, changing workers
  2. 10.1080/17457820801899132
     ↗
  3. Fairclough N. (1992)
    Discourse and social change
  4. Farrell L. (2006)
    Making knowledge common: Literacy and knowledge at work
  5. Folinsbee S. (2004)
    Reading work: Literacies in the new workplace
  6. Gowen S. (1996)
    Alpha 96: Basic education at work
  7. Halliday M. A. K. (2004)
    An introduction to functional grammar
  8. Hull G. (1997)
    Changing work, changing workers
  9. Hunter J. (2004)
    Reading work: Literacies in the new workplace
  10. Jackson N. (2000)
    Literacy and Numeracy Studies
  11. Jones K. (2000)
    Situated literacies: Reading and writing in context
  12. Karlsson (2009)
    Positioned by Reading and Writing: Literacy Practices, Roles, and Genres in Com…
    Written Communication
  13. Karlsson A.-M. (2011)
    10.1558/japl.v8i2.123
    Journal of Applied Linguistics and Professional Practice  ↗
  14. 10.1136/qshc.2009.037986
     ↗
  15. Nikolaidou Z. (2015)
    Vernacular literacies: Past, present and future
  16. 10.37514/PER-B.2012.0452.2.28
     ↗
  17. 10.1515/TEXT.2009.026
     ↗
  18. 10.1111/j.1467-9841.2007.00341.x
     ↗
  19. 10.1515/text.1.1998.18.2.301
     ↗
  20. 10.5130/lns.v15i2.2202
     ↗
  21. Törnquist A. (2004)
    Vad man ska kunna och hur man ska vara: En studie om enhetschefers och vårdbiträdens yrke…
  22. Tusting K. (2010)
    The anthropology of writing: Understanding textually mediated worlds
  23. Womack J. (1990)
    The machine that changed the world: The story of lean production
CrossRef global citation count: 14 View in citation network → Build reading path →

Related Articles

  1. Pedagogy Jan 2022
    Contributors ↗
    modern rhetorical theory rhetorical criticism genre theory discourse analysis african american rhetorics decolonial rhetorics first-year composition writing pedagogy basic writing writing across the curriculum graduate education teacher development argument collaborative writing transfer assessment portfolios writing program administration writing centers peer tutoring technical communication professional writing archival research digital rhetoric social media grammar and mechanics literacy studies race and writing gender and writing disability studies public rhetoric community literacy literary studies editorial matter
  2. Research in the Teaching of English Feb 2021
    Regulated and Nonregulated Writing: A Qualitative Study of University Custodians’ Workplace Literacy Practices ↗
    Calley Marotta
    professional writing qualitative research literacy studies community literacy
  3. Community Literacy Journal Jan 2017
    “My Little English”: a Case Study of Decolonial Perspectives on Discourse in an After-School Program for Refugee Youth ↗
    Michael T. MacDonald
    discourse analysis decolonial rhetorics argument qualitative research literacy studies community literacy
  4. Writing and Pedagogy Jul 2013
    Teachers’ Expectations and Learners’ Efforts ↗
    Virginia Lo Castro
    rhetorical criticism discourse analysis writing pedagogy qualitative research multilingual writers literacy studies community literacy
  5. Journal of Writing Research Mar 2012
    Girls, identities and agency in adolescents’ digital literacy practices ↗
    K. Dimitrios; A. Vassiliki
    discourse analysis teacher development qualitative research digital rhetoric literacy studies gender and writing community literacy