Content Management in the Workplace: Community, Context, and a New Way to Organize Writing

Jacob E. McCarthy ; Jeffrey T. Grabill Michigan State University ; William Hart-Davidson Michigan State University ; Michael McLeod

Abstract

The authors report on a multiyear study designed to reveal how introducing a content management system (CMS) in an administrative office at a large organization affects the office’s writing and work practices. Their study found that users implemented the CMS in new and creative ways that the designers did not anticipate and that the choices users made in using the CMS were often driven not by technology but by the social implications the CMS held for their office. By contrasting how writers negotiated specific genres of writing before and after the CMS was introduced, the authors argue for increased attention to providing flexible technologies that enable writers to innovate new tools in response to the social needs of their writing environments. This approach must be driven by research on the implications of technology in workplace communities.

Journal
Journal of Business and Technical Communication
Published
2011-10-01
DOI
10.1177/1050651911410943
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Citation Context

Cited by in this index (16)

  1. Technical Communication Quarterly
  2. Written Communication
  3. Communication Design Quarterly
  4. College English
  5. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
Show all 16 →
  1. Technical Communication Quarterly
  2. Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  3. Technical Communication Quarterly
  4. Communication Design Quarterly
  5. Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  6. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  7. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  8. Technical Communication Quarterly
  9. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  10. Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  11. Written Communication

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