Power and Communication in Worker Cooperatives — Rhetoric & Composition

Journal of Technical Writing and Communication Jul 2017

Power and Communication in Worker Cooperatives

Avery C. Edenfield Utah State University

Abstract

Technical communication research has critically engaged with organizational trends toward flattened organizations like networks, horizontal arrangements, and adhocracies, assemblages that hybridize top-down management in favor of autonomous groups. There has been no engagement with a related but distinct trend: worker cooperatives. Co-ops promise similar advantages but are distinct as they claim to deliver what flat organizations promise: access to governance, empowerment, and autonomy. In this article, I survey literature on flattened organizations, apply technical communication theory to account for cooperative communication, and conclude with an analysis from a qualitative study at a cooperative site.

Journal: Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
Published: 2017-07-01
DOI: 10.1177/0047281616641921
Open Access: Closed
Topics: qualitative research technical communication

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (4)

Spinuzzi (2023)

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Edenfield (2019)

Research in Cooperatives: Developing a Politically Conscious Research Methodology

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Spinuzzi et al. (2019)

“Coworking Is About Community”: But What Is “Community” in Coworking?

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Carradini (2018)

An Organizational Structure of Indie Rock Musicians as Displayed by Facebook Usage

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Cites in this index (6)

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Technical Communication Quarterly
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Journal of Business and Technical Communication
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Journal of Business and Technical Communication
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Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
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Written Communication

Show all 6 →

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Relocating the Value of Work: Technical Communication in a Post-Industrial Age

Technical Communication Quarterly

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