Journal of Business and Technical Communication Apr 2001

“Just the Boys Playing on Computers”: An Activity Theory Analysis of Differences in the Cultures of Two Engineering Firms

Natasha Artemeva ; Aviva Freedman Carleton University

Abstract

Using activity theory as a supplement to genre studies, this article explores a case of the disintegration of a traditional engineering firm. It focuses on the causes of such disintegration and the role of different types of communication in serving as sites where contradictions can be brought to visibility and resolution. The authors’ goal is both to show the power of activity theory in illuminating issues of tension, contradiction, and dissonance that lead to the breakup of the original organization into two separate firms and point to fundamental differences in the cultures of traditional engineering firms and software design enterprises.

Journal
Journal of Business and Technical Communication
Published
2001-04-01
DOI
10.1177/105065190101500202
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Open Access
Closed
Topics
genre theory digital rhetoric
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Citation Context

Cited by in this index (15)

  1. Cabrera et al. (2025)
    Tracing Disruptions: Activity Systems in a Digital Services Microfirm
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  2. Pellegrini (2024)
    ’F---- Shark Tank:’ Rethinking the Centrality of the Business Pitch in Microent…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  3. Batova (2018)
    Negotiating Multilingual Quality in Component Content-Management Environments
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  4. Sánchez (2017)
    The Roles of Technical Communication Researchers in Design Scholarship
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  5. Spinuzzi (2015)
    Toward a Typology of Activities: Understanding Internal Contradictions in Multi…
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
Show all 15 →
  1. Batova (2014)
    Component Content Management and Quality of Information Products for Global Aud…
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  2. Converse (2012)
    Unpoetic Justice: Ideology and the Individual in the Genre of the Presentence I…
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  3. Spinuzzi (2011)
    Losing by Expanding: Corralling the Runaway Object
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  4. Dannels (2011)
    Relational Genre Knowledge and the Online Design Critique: Relational Authentic…
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  5. Artemeva et al. (2010)
    Awareness Versus Production: Probing Students’ Antecedent Genre Knowledge
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  6. Dannels (2009)
    Features of Success in Engineering Design Presentations: A Call for Relational …
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  7. Pickering (2009)
    Student Ethos in the Online Technical Communication Classroom: Diverse Voices
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  8. Artemeva (2008)
    Toward a Unified Social Theory of Genre Learning
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  9. Spinuzzi (2007)
    Guest Editor's Introduction: Technical Communication in the Age of Distributed Work
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  10. Artemeva (2005)
    A Time to Speak, a Time to Act: A Rhetorical Genre Analysis of a Novice Enginee…
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication

References (21) · 1 in this index

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Show all 21 →
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CrossRef global citation count: 30 View in citation network → Build reading path →

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