Object Lessons: Workplace Artifacts as Representations of Occupational Jurisdiction

Abstract

While the development and control of professional jurisdictions has been well studied, less is known about the way in which occupational jurisdictions are enacted within organizations. This article suggests that one can gain insight about such dynamics through analyzing occupational communities’ use of organizational artifacts. This article describes the ways in which two artifacts—engineering drawings and machines—mediate the relations of engineers, technicians, and assemblers in a manufacturing firm. These artifacts are useful in problem solving across boundaries. At the same time, authority over these objects can reinforce or redistribute task area boundaries, and by symbolizing the work of occupational groups, the objects also represent and strengthen beliefs about the legitimacy of a group’s work.