CODING PROTOCOL*

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS

1.    Use pencil.

2.    Take notes, underline, or highlight as you read a chapter or section and then stop after the chapter or section and answer as many questions as possible.  A specific incident may yield answers to more than one question if read closely.

3.    The implicit actor is the average worker in the work group under study, not the author.

4.    Avoid using the ideological position of the author as a basis for answers:  record the objective facts as reported, not as interpreted by the author.

5.    Record additional page numbers where an answer is reinforced. If the discussion of an item spans several pages, record the starting page number of the discussion.

6.    If different answers are indicated on different pages, review and reconcile these as you go along.  Record all the relevant pages (up to a maximum of three) so that these will later be available for review and reconsideration and for generating possible quotes. If there are more than three page sources, select those with the clearest statements on the topic at hand.  LIST THE PAGE NUMBERS IN ASCENDING ORDER.  FRONT PAGES WITH ROMAN NUMERALS ARE TREATED AS SPECIAL CASES BY STARTING THE FIELD WITH A NINE.  FOR EXAMPLE, xii BECOMES 912.

7.    Sometimes the information needed is stated directly.  Sometimes it is implied.  Implied information is acceptable.  For example, statements about the ages of different workers may be made but the modal age category never explicitly stated.  Sometimes such statements provide a reasonably clear idea of the modal age in the work group.  Similarly, if the work is assembly line, this implies that it is semi-skilled work and that it is not organized on craft principles.  The page source for these latter answers then becomes the page(s) where the assembly line nature of the work is discussed.

8.    If an idea is implied in a certain chapter but not on any specific page, use the first page of the chapter as a page location.  Try not to overuse this strategy and be specific wherever possible.  The target is for 100% of answers to have a specific page reference.

9.    Review your answers when you finish the book and try to answer all the questions.  However, beware of making up data or imposing a false consistency and use "No Info." as needed.  Go back and look for specific pages numbers to document any additional answers identified at this time.  This will help avoid creating a false consistency.

10.    Finally, review the pages cited for each item.  Make sure you have interpreted the material on these pages correctly.  Record any additional information or corrections that this review generates.

11.    If you have unresolved questions, take clear notes on the problem and work with me to resolve these.

12.    Some books include multiple cases and will generate two or more distinct cases.

13.  If you have not found the information as you carefully read the book, try the index.

14.    An absence of discussion of a concept does not mean it the phenomenon is absent, it only means "no information" is available.



ITEM BY ITEM INSTRUCTIONS


CASEID:        Get this number from the Project Director when you select a book.

DATE:            The day you finish coding the book.

CODER:        Your assigned coder number.

BOOK CODE:    This is the first three digits of the CASEID.

T1, BOOK TITLE:  Write out the author's last name (or names for multiple authors) and the main title (the part before any colon).

T2, MODAL OCCUPATION:  This is the occupation of the main group being discussed, not necessarily the author's occupation if he or she is a participant observer.  The answer to this question may not become clear until the section following the initial description of the organization and setting.  BE AS SPECIFIC AS POSSIBLE.

T3, INDUSTRY:  State the specific industry (such as wire manufacturing).  If the real company name is reported, also include this.  Generally a pseudonym is used and this should not be reported.

T4, COUNTRY/REGION:  Write the country, and include the region if this is indicated, especially for the U.S.

T5, OBSERVER'S ROLE:  Indicate whether the author is an observer, a participant observer, a worker turned author, or whatever.  If the author was a participant observer, you might also indicate whether the author let it be known that they were a researcher as well as a worker.


ORGANIZATIONAL FACTORS

of1, of1a, YEAR STUDY BEGAN, ENDED:  These items refer to the dates of the events being reported.  If the ethnography is based on retrospective interviews, the relevant dates are those of the events being discussed, not the dates the interviews were conducted.  If the study covers a long time period (probably through retrospective methods), the rest of the questions should be answered with reference to the situation at approximately the mid-point of the time period studied.  Include in the COMMENTS section any relevant insights about important changes over time.


TECHNOLOGY/ORGANIZATION

of2a Occupation:  This question refers to the modal group of workers and what they spend most of their time doing.  For example, in a garbage collectors' cooperative, workers were also managers but they spent most of their time collecting garbage and are appropriately coded as "6-unskilled labor."  The eight categories used are the standard census categories into which all occupations can be fit.

ALTHOUGH MANY ETHNOGRAPHERS MAKE A POINT OF SHOWING THAT SO-CALLED "UNSKILLED" OCCUPATIONS POSSESS A LOT OF SKILL, THIS QUESTION REFERS TO THE OFFICIAL CENSUS CATEGORIZATION OF THE OCCUPATION.

of2b through of2j (Craft through Worker Ownership):  These are ways in which work tasks are organized and supervised.  Some are exclusive of others but several may be needed to depict different aspects of how a workplace is organized.  For example, a craft organization of work, based on high worker autonomy, is not possible under assembly line organizations of production.  Craft also generally excludes direct supervision because, although craft workers may be supervised, direct supervision is not the main way in which the work is organized and coordinated.

of2d  Pay scheme.

of2e  Assembly line:  "1-yes" includes "bench assembly."

of2g Microchip: “1-yes” indicates that core work activities include the regular use of computers.

of2h Bureaucratic:  In bureaucracies procedures are codified in written rules.  Most large workplaces are bureaucratically organized.   However, the work of domestic workers, for example, is not bureaucratically organized.  CODE A WORKPLACE AS BUREAUCRATIC IF THE WORK THERE IS IN FACT (NOT JUST FORMALLY) MAINLY ORGANIZED ACCORDING TO WRITTEN RULES.

of2i Corporatist:  Corporatist workplaces are those in which organized labor is actively involved in setting company policies and goals as a junior partner.

of2j Worker Ownership:
"1-co-op/participatory" includes worker ownership or participatory democracy
"2-ESOP" means Employee Stock Ownership Plan.

of3 Employment Size:  This is the number of people employed at the main site being studied, not the total employment of the company (world wide).

of4 through of7 (Employment Growth through Productivity):  These four questions refer to the situation of the company.  This material is often presented fairly briefly in an early section.  Some aspects may be missing but can later be pieced together.  Productivity refers to the level of productivity of the average worker.  Productivity is often driven by the extent to which the technology used is up-to-date and effective.

COMPETITION REFERS TO THE PRODUCT OF A COMPANY.  ARE THERE MANY OTHER COMPANIES PRODUCING THE SAME PRODUCT FOR THE SAME MARKET?  COMPETITION DOES NOT REFER TO COMPETITION AMONG WORKERS FOR JOBS.

of8 through of13 (Locally Owned through Corporate Sector):  These questions refer to the nature of company ownership.  These six aspects are not entirely mutually exclusive.  For instance, a plant can be locally owned and be a subcontractor.  "Corporate Sector" refers to the industry of the plant and whether or not it is part of the productive, technologically advanced, monopolistic center of the economy ("1-Core") or part of the more competitive fringe ("2-Periphery").

of8 Locally Owned: Public sector organizations (of13) located in state capitals are coded as “1-yes.”

of9  Subcontractor: “1-yes” indicates that this company supplies contracted work to another company.

of11 "Owned by a conglomerate":  code "1-yes" if the company is owned by a conglomerate or is itself a conglomerate.

IF THE ORGANIZATION DISCUSSED IS A KNOWN COMPANY (E.G., TOYOTA) ABOUT WHICH INFORMATION IS PUBLICLY AVAILABLE FROM SOURCES OUTSIDE THE ETHNOGRAPHY AT HAND, THIS INFORMATION MAY BE USED TO CODE THESE ORGANIZATIONAL VARIABLES.  HOWEVER, YOU CANNOT CODE ANYTHING ABOUT ATTITUDINAL OR BEHAVIORAL VARIABLES (E.G., WORKER SATISFACTION, SABOTAGE) BASED ON OUTSIDE SOURCES.

of14 (Union Type) and of15 (Union Strength):  Craft unions are typically comprised of skilled workers in one occupation (such as electricians or carpenters).  Industrial unions are typically organizations of the semi-skilled workers in a mass-production plant.  Today in the U.S., many unions combine the skilled trades and semi-skilled workers and therefore should be coded as "4-combined."  "Union strength" can sometimes be inferred from workers' views about their union.

of16 (Turnover) and of17 (Layoff Frequency):  Turnover and layoff likelihoods may be discussed in a straightforward manner in the early description of the company or they may be revealed only later in the discussion of the work and the workers.

WORK THAT TERMINATES SEASONALLY (E.G., MIGRANT WORKERS OR A SEASONAL FOOD CANNING FACTORY) IS CONSIDERED AS HAVING LAYOFFS EVEN THOUGH PEOPLE KNOW THAT THEY ENTER A WORK CONTRACT FOR A LIMITED TIME PERIOD. TURNOVER MEANS THAT WORKERS DO NOT STAY ON THE JOB FOR A LONG TIME EVEN THOUGH THE JOB CONTINUES.  FOR SEASONAL WORK, GENERALLY LAYOFF WILL BE HI AND JOB SECURITY LOW.

of18 (Grievance Procedure):  Sometimes there is a clear reference to a union grievance procedure.  Do not code "3-None" simply because no grievance procedure is discussed.  The correct code if grievance procedures are not discussed is "9-No Info."  CODE BILATERAL GRIEVANCE SYSTEMS AS "1-UNION RUN."

of19 (Ilm range) and of20 (Ilm steps):  Internal labor markets (Ilm's) are sets of occupations connected by career ladders.  Access to the next position is usually based on some combination of seniority and accumulated skills.  The range of the ilm is the portion of workers who are included in this opportunity ladder.  The steps is the number of possible steps in the ladder.  For instance, if the promotion opportunities for assembly workers stop at the line supervisor level, there is one step in this ilm.  If movement is noted as possible but no information is given as to the maximum number of steps in the ladder, code as 1.  The range refers to the substantive facts of the ilm opportunity structure.  For example, if some workers, such as minority workers, are somewhat restricted from access to upward mobility, code the range as somewhat reduced.  NOTE THAT ILM'S ARE CODED FOR THE MODAL OCCUPATION.

ILM IS FOR NON-MANAGEMENT EMPLOYEES.  OTHERWISE THERE WOULD ALWAYS BE STEPS FOR THE COMPANY PRESIDENT, VICE-PRESIDENT, ETC.  IF THERE IS NO ILM, of19 IS CODED "1-NO WORKERS" AND of20 IS CODED 0 (ZERO) STEPS.

of21 (Sexual Division of Labor) and of22 (Racial Division of Labor):  Are different jobs filled by distinct racial or gender groups?  If so, code "1-Yes" even if current hiring policies may not be discriminatory. NOTE THAT THESE VARIABLES ARE CODED FOR THE MODAL OCCUPATION.  Sexual or racial divisions of labor can occur either outside the company in the sorting process through which workers enter the jobs or within the company in the allocation to specific jobs.  If there is occupational sorting either outside or inside the company, code as "1-Yes."  For example, if plant employment as a whole is not representative of the surrounding community (e.g., it is heavily or completely male or female), this situation is also coded as "1-yes."

of23 through of26 (Quality Control through Union-Management Partnership):  These items refer to types of worker involvement that may or may not be formalized in the workplace.  QWL means "Quality of Work Life" programs.  These are programs that seek to improve working conditions such as lighting, timing of breaks, and noise levels, and which typically include at least some worker consultation.  Union-Management Partnership indicates an active participation of the union in at least some management decisions (such as what training to deliver).

of25a Team organization of work:  "2-natually occurring" implies work processes that have traditionally been team based such as underground mining.  "Consciously engineered: (codes 3 and 4) implies that management or some other corporate/union body has designed and implemented a team organization of work.  A team is different from a group with a coordinated division of labor in that a team has some autonomy to decide how to do their work.

of26  Union-Management Partnership implies more than consultation; it implies active bilateral determination of at least some workplace issues (such as training).

of27 through of29 (Organizational Communications through Level of Repair):  These questions address how well the organization operates in terms of communications, recruitment and retention of personnel, and maintenance of equipment.  If workers seem to be kept in the dark, organizational communication should be coded as "1-Poor."  "2-Average" would be the best answer if information is provided but it is somewhat superficial or is provided only irregularly.  Organizational communication would be coded as "3-Good" if workers are regularly provided with important information about the organization.  Organizational recruitment refers to how much effort the company puts into seeking and keeping qualified personnel.


LABOR FORCE COMPOSITION

Beginning with this section, variables are coded based on the work group or modal occupation.  In some instances, this may be slightly different from the sometimes smaller focal group (see last section).

o30a through o30d (Gender through Seniority):  These items refer to the work group under study, not necessarily to the whole organization.  However, sometimes the percentages must be computed or inferred from data provided at the organizational level.  "Ethnic Group" refers to members of all ethnic or racial groups that are outside the nationally dominant group.  In T6 list all ethnic groups represented (and their percentages).  "White ethnic" can be used as a category if such distinctions are socially recognized.


MANAGEMENT

mt1 through mt5 (Leadership through Harassment):  These questions refer to the quality of management throughout the entire managerial structure of the organization.  Organization of production is often indicated by statements about how reliably needed materials are available, about how efficiently the work flow progresses, and so on.
mt1 "leadership" involves setting goals and strategic planning.
mt2 "organization of production" involves day-to-day operations.
mt3 "abuse" includes blatant slighting and other forms of status degradation as well as more direct abuse such as workers being yelled at.
mt4 "paternalism" is a condescending form of interaction and control.  A specifically gender or sexual component to paternalistic behavior is not needed for a code of "1-Yes."
mt5 "sexual harassment": code the highest level present.  We assume that the lower ranked forms of harassment are also implied.  Note that "5-Touch" means inappropriate touching.  These codes can be based on a "sexist environment," i.e., the legal aspect of "unwanted" is not necessary. 


CONTROL STRATEGIES

mt6a through mt6h (Increase Inspections through Electronic Surveillance):  These types of management control strategies need not be intentional reactions to challenges from workers.  They can simply be the standard way of dealing with problems in the organization such as lagging profits.  "Reorganize Tasks" includes time and motion studies.

mt6h "electronic surveillance" 3-"computers" includes any electronic surveillance, including time-clocks.  5-"other" includes customer feedback.

COMMUNITY FACTORS

cf1 and cf2:  If the local unemployment situation is not clearly stated, there is often little basis on which to infer it.  Rural/Urban is defined as follows:  "2-Small Town" is less than 20,000 population; "3-Medium Town" is 20,000 to 150,000; "4-City" is over 150,000.


WORKERS

w1 through w4 (Job Satisfaction through Job Security):  These questions reference some central aspects of job quality.

w2 Pay is often reported as good or bad relative to area or industry standards and is to be evaluated according to these standards.

w3 Benefit Package may only be addressed by comments made about specific types of benefits, such as sick leave, vacations, or maternity leave.  You can infer a general evaluation of the benefit package from such partial information.  In the U.S., two weeks of leave would be considered "3-Average" and less than comprehensive health coverage would be considered "2-Minimal."

w4 Job Security can sometimes be inferred from layoffs and firings.

w5 Effort Bargain:  "1-Extra Effort Given Freely" implies that workers take independent or voluntary initiative.  Overtime accepted solely for extra pay implies "2-Conditional Effort Given."  Evidence of "3-Reticence Practiced Widely" is likely to be found dispersed throughout the manuscript and would entail such things as playing dumb, withholding enthusiasm, and work avoidance (see page 6 of codesheet, items w8i through w8k).


CONFLICT WITH MANAGEMENT/SUPERVISORS

w6a (Conflict with Managers) and w6b (Conflict with Supervisors):  Supervisors are involved in the direct day-to-day operations of the workplace.  Supervisors are sometimes called foremen or office managers.  Management means higher-level managers who are usually removed from the shop floor or sometimes management can refer simply to the organizational management structure as a whole.  Thus a strike often entails conflict with management as a whole rather than with a specific supervisor.
Carping and other forms of complaining are included as conflict.  Latent (suppressed) conflict is also included as conflict (but make sure you don't assume latent conflict -- there must be some statement about it).
 
TRAINING

THIS SECTION EVALUATES THE ACTUAL COMPLEXITY OF THE JOB AS DISTINCT FROM THE OFFICIAL JOB CLASSIFICATION OF of2a.

w7a through w7g (Job Required Skill through Previously Existing Skills):  These questions all refer to various aspects of skill.  These questions also entail specifying where or how skills were learned.

w7a Job Required Skill:  "3-Highly Complex" entails being able to do many different things that involve uncertainty and problem solving.  This can involve working in a complex manner with people, data, or things (such as machines).

w7c Modal Vo-Tech Education means training taken outside the workplace and includes relevant Armed Forces training, such as electronics operation and repair.

w7d OJT means on-the-job-training and is a very broad category including instructions by supervisors, in-house classes, and management training sessions.  "1-None" means the worker begins work with no specific instructions.  "2-Very Little" means just a few minutes of training or being shown how to do the work one time, typically by a supervisor.  "3-Average" means a week or less of training and may entail an introductory film about the product and some time working under more senior workers.  "4-More than Average" means more than a week and/or some job rotation.  "5-Extensive" means continuing job rotation and/or classes.

w7e Informal Peer Training entails workers talking together and helping each other.  "2-Very Little" implies either that the work is done largely alone or workers cannot or do not help each other on a normal basis.  "3-Average" implies that workers share information to overcome problems but not necessarily on a regular basis.  "4-More Than Average" implies that workers regularly interact and share insights about how to do the work.  "5-Extensive" implies frequent and highly important information sharing.

w7f Experience/Insider Knowledge Used is coded similarly to w7e "Informal Peer Training" but pertains to knowledge that the worker learns from doing the job over time.  "1-None" indicates that over time there is no accumulation of knowledge that makes the job easier or the worker more effective.  "2-Very Little" means that there are few things that need be learned about the work and that these are generally picked up the first day or the first week.  "3-Average" means that experience gained over weeks or months on the job is useful for attaining speed, accuracy, or proficiency.  "4-More than Average" means that experience and insider knowledge are necessary for getting the work done correctly and on time.  "5-Extensive" means that extensive insider knowledge is necessary and that the worker needs to constantly learn new things that build on prior experience to keep up with the job.

w7g Previously Existing Skills indicates the extent to which workers have skills related to the work at hand that they bring to the workplace from life experiences outside work or formal training.  Relevant life experiences included here are typically related to skills derived outside the current line of work.  If workers have job relevant skills from non-work related life experiences or prior unrelated jobs (e.g., military service), code this variable as "1-Life Experiences."

A good example here is the textile industry.  Women often sought work in a textile factory because they had learned to sew early in their lives.  No formal training was involved but they have a previously existing skill.


WORKER STRATEGIES

Be careful here to restrict yourself to the modal occupation.  For example, the machinists in Juravich's chaos on the shop floor sabotaged the machinery.  However, these incidents can not be used as evidence of machine sabotage because the actors were not in the modal occupation of assembly worker.  (They were machinists.)

w8a through w8c (Strikes through History of Strikes):  These three questions refer to organized collective actions against the company.

w8a Strikes pertains to the period during which the organization is being studied by the author.  "Informal" strikes are often referred to as "wildcat" strikes in ethnographies.

w8d through w8m (Machine Sabotage through Quits):  These questions refer to strategies that individual workers utilize to make their jobs more productive, liveable, or rewarding.

w8d Machine Sabotage means intentionally breaking a machine or using it in such a way as to intentionally accelerate its breakdown.  Code "1-Yes" only if machine sabotage is indicated in at least one instance.  If the discussion clearly implies that this sort of thing does not take place, then code "2-No."  If machine sabotage is never discussed, code "9-No Info."

w8e Procedure Sabotage is often a response to rules that are contradictory, rapidly changing, or impossible to meet.  Procedure sabotage can occur when workers are not willing to exert the extra effort needed to reconcile these demands.  Or, it can occur when, for whatever reason, workers choose to violate the official operating procedures.

w8f Social Sabotage is malicious gossip and sowing discontent by workers against the organization.  It entails more than just putting managers down to defend or elevate one's own self (see FOCAL GROUP fg8 "Alternative Status Hierarchies").  Social sabotage entails an intent to disrupt or obstruct smooth social relations.
 
w8g Subvert Particular Manager occurs when sabotage is directed against a particular manager. For example, workers may be intentionally rude to a manager or may undermine his or her credibility with other workers to make that manager's jobs more difficult.  This may also include the use of slander against a manager.  A code of "1-yes" implies a more disruptive intent than normal limit setting or informal negotiation of work loads by employees.  If the sabotage is directed at the organization in general and not at a particular manager or supervisor, code as "2-No."

w8h Theft means stealing supplies or materials.  However, a worker stealing needed work-related supplies from other areas of the workplace is coded as “2-No.” 

w8i Playing Dumb is a strategy used to avoid work by pretending you do not know how to do the work.  This also includes workers allowing bad procedures to remain in place to the detriment of production in spite of knowing that the procedure will not work.  If such examples are not explicitly discussed you should generally code "9-No Info." unless you are certain from the text that playing dumb would be very unlikely.

w8j Withhold Enthusiasm includes foot-dragging and all forms of doing the work in an intentionally slow or less than highest quality fashion.

w8k Work Avoidance/Withdrawal involves avoiding work through hiding, doing other tasks, claiming to be busy with other things, or highlighting difficulties standing in the way of the work.

w8n through w8q (Good Soldier through Brown-Nosing) are broader worker agendas than the preceding more specific behaviors and imply a general intention or plan of action as well as specific behaviors.  These four questions are to be coded according to the proportion of people involved in the activity, not according to the proportion of a worker's time that is given to each activity.

w8n Good Soldier means subscribing to the values of the organization and doing your best to achieve these.  It means unconditionally doing your best.  It does not necessarily entail a negative connotation of being a lackey.

w8o Smooth Operator means keeping the boss convinced you are doing a great job.  It implies a focus on impression management first and work second.

w8p Making Out means manipulating the situation so that you can get your needs met without exhausting yourself.  It often entails more than doing the absolute minimal possible and being totally disinterested.  "Making Out" entails an attempt to make the situation more survivable, interesting, or profitable.  Manipulating the workload is the central component of making out.  If the worker activity focuses on making the working environment more interesting, this may be better coded as representing w8r "making up games."

w8q Brown-Nosing is based on flattery and other forms of personal attention directed toward supervisors in the hopes of eliciting some form of reciprocity.  It also includes bragging or showing off your work to supervisors to get better evaluations or greater rewards.

w8r Making Up Games entails workers devising activities to reward themselves or keep themselves amused in boring situations.  For example, workers might watch a bin fill up with parts that they have completed and divert themselves with estimating how many they are getting done.  Or they might systematically day-dream.  Making Up Games might also include developing an independent reward system, like eating half one's lunch sandwich for having made it to the 10:00 break.

w8s Making Up Social Activities means engaging in either spontaneous or patterned social interactions to divert oneself at work.  Making up social activities may entail talking to or joking with other workers.

CONDITIONS OF CONSENT/COMPLIANCE

w9a through w9e (Economic Necessity through Social Friendship):  These items address the question of why people work as much as they do.  Items w9b through w9e describe motivations above and beyond economic necessity.

w9a Economic Necessity refers to the role of economic necessity in the motivation to stay on the work job for typical workers.  Comments suggesting that workers only care about the paycheck should be coded as “1-Yes.”  Code "1-Yes" if it is only the money that keeps workers on the job.  Economic necessity should also be coded "2-No" where the workers have an alternative source of income.  Volunteer work, for example, would fit here.  Remarks suggesting that workers could earn more money elsewhere but choose to remain at their current job should be coded as “2-No.”

w9e Social Friendship refers to whether or not workers claim that they have coworkers they consider friends.  If workers state that a reason for staying on the job is their relationship with coworkers, code as “1-Yes.”

NATURE OF CONSENT/COMPLIANCE

w10a through w10c (Extra Effort through Cooperation) are summary indicators of worker strategies and the conditions under which workers give their consent and compliance.  Time, effort, and cooperation are three modes through which consent and compliance may be manifest.  More than one of these may be in operation at any given workplace.  "Extra Time" includes accepting voluntary (not necessarily unpaid) overtime.

w10c Cooperation should be coded as "2-Mixed" if cooperation is contingent.  For example, if accepting overtime work is contingent on the pay or other benefits, this could be coded as "2-mixed."


NATURE OF WORK

These items address the nature of the work tasks.  What does the organization of work tasks demand of worker and what latitude does it allow for workers?

nw1 Autonomy addresses the level of independent worker input into the tasks as mandated by how the task is organized.  Workers whose tasks are completely determined by others should be coded "1-None."  "2-Little" autonomy implies that workers occasionally have the chance to select among procedures or priorities.  "3-Average" autonomy implies regular opportunities to select procedures or to set priorities but that there are definite limits on these choices.  "4-High" implies significant latitude in determining procedures and setting priorities.  "5-Very High" implies that significant interpretation is needed to reach broadly stated goals.

NOTE:  Autonomy refers to the experience of individual workers.  For teams, autonomy is still coded for the individual worker.  If workers individually have little autonomy because of team supervision, then code as none or little.  If the team as a whole has a lot of autonomy, this does not matter for coding this variable but will be captured later by other variables, such as "team self-monitoring.".

nw2 Creativity means that one must use one's own ideas to realize the goal.   "2-Little" means that only in very limited aspects does one get to use one's own ideas.  "3-Average" means problem solving is needed to solve routine problems.  "4-High" means that many factors must be taken into account to arrive at a solution.  "5-Very High" means many factors and abstract knowledge must be used to arrive at solutions to complex and varied problems.

nw3 Meaningful Work is how workers perceive their work.  In general, this variable addresses whether or not the work constitutes a valuable contribution in the worker’s eyes.  Some answer to this question is often stated by the author.  If it is not reasonably clearly stated, code as "9-No Info."  Since "Meaningful Work" is based on workers' perceptions, we cannot infer this from how meaningful we might find the work; we must rely on what the author tells us about workers' perceptions and experiences of the work. 

nw4 through nw14 (Freedom of Movement through Customer Conflict) pertain to work flow and working conditions.

nw4 Freedom of Movement:  "1-Little or None" means all breaks from work and movement away from the work station must be Ok'ed by the supervisor.  "2-Average" means flexibility in scheduling breaks.  "3-A Great Deal" means total freedom of movement to move around the facility at will.

nw5 Pace (speed):  "1-Easy" means that little is required of a worker.  The work of a flag person at a road construction site, for example, is boring but easy.  "2-Average" means that there is plenty of work to do but the time allowed is sufficient.  "3-Difficult" means that the job is time-stressed.  "4-Brutal" means that workers can barely keep up with the pace and only at the price of personal exhaustion.  If the pace of work is irregular such that for weeks there is little to do and then there is a lot to do, average the two situations.

nw6 Pace (regularity):  "2-Irregular" pace can be generated by seasonal or daily variations in work flow, as in farm work or restaurant work.  Irregular pace can also be a result of poor managerial organization of work.

nw7 Physical Demands of Work:  "1-Easy" implies both light physical demands and some variability.  "2-Average" implies some physical stress, such as moderate lifting or sustained sitting.  Thus, certain office work might be coded average rather than easy because the worker is forced to sit in front of a computer screen all day.   "3-Difficult" means heavy tasks or more moderate tasks at a forced pace sustained over time.  "4-Brutal" means extremely hard physical demands such as garbage collecting, farm work, or unmechanized mining.

nw8 Comfort of Work Area includes such things as heat, noise, dust, light, and accommodations, including rest rooms.  "1-Comfortable" implies pleasant surroundings in regard to the above factors.  "2-Average" means occasional or moderate discomfort.  "3-Unpleasant" implies a significant amount of noxious stimuli.

nw9  Injuries includes deaths, accidents entailing lost time at work, and more minor injuries.  "1-None or Rare" should only be used if the author explicitly says that injuries are rare.  If injuries are not discussed, code "9-No Info."  "2-Average" means that injuries sometimes occur but most are relatively minor.  "3-Common" means that severe injuries occur on a regular basis.

nw10  Emotional Stress of Work refers to emotional stress created by work.  “Regular Emotion Work” includes emotional labor that is part of doing a job. For example, flight attendants must be pleasant and calming in dealing with passengers. “ Self-esteem Sacrificed Regularly” involves sacrificing or lowering ones sense of self-worth on the job, such as doing dirty work or work that requires deference to an employer.  “Extreme Emotional Stress” characterizes extremely repulsive or upsetting work, work that leads to the use of self-preservation techniques, or work that causes stress that leads to physical problems such as anxiety or insomnia.  The highest level of emotional stress should be coded when multiple levels of emotional stress are present.

nw11  Temporary workers (%).  Code the percentage of temporary workers in the modal occupation.

nw12  Part-time workers (%).     Code the percentage of part-time workers in the model occupation.

nw13     Customer service interaction (%).    Percentage of working time for average workers in the modal occupation that is spend in direct contact with customers (including by voice or email).  This must often be estimated by adding up their various activities and the proportion of customer interaction for each.

nw14  Conflict with customers.  Code for modal occupation being studied relative to labor force as a whole.  Code based on a combination of frequency and intensity.  For example, for doctors, lawsuits are uncommon but intense and can leave a residual sense of conflict.


FOCAL GROUP

The focal group is the group that the researcher focuses on most intimately.  Often this is a group doing a certain task such as running an assembly line or working in an operating room.  Focal group is the group for which you have the most information.  It is usually part of the work group or modal occupation.  For example, all the secretaries in a workplace might be the work group and a particular office of secretaries might be the focal group.  Focal groups are often also defined as an interacting group of workers (even where interaction is limited as on an assembly line).

fg1 through fg3 (Focal Group through Focal Group Cohesion):  These questions inquire about the size and nature of the focal group.

fg1 Focal Group:  "2-Fluid Sub-Groups" implies that the workers stay with the organization but are reassigned periodically to new task groups.  Thus it implies a certain amount of job exchange with other groups.  High turnover is irrelevant for this answer and does not constitute "fluid sub-groups."

fg2 Size of Focal Group:  Sometimes this answer must be estimated from less precise statements.  Code "995" for 995 and greater.  This may include a “network” of people that one interacts with on the job.  For example, in Kunda’s Engineering Culture a collection of interacting engineers across alternating project groups was estimated for this variable. 

fg3 Focal Group Cohesion:  Cohesion is the extent to which workers seek each other out at work for social contact.  "2-Infrequent" means cohesion is rare.  "3-Average" means cohesion is evidenced in localized incidents.  "4-Widespread" means that the work group members seek each other out on a regular basis.  "5-Pervasive" means that there is deep bonding.

fg4 through fg9 (Leadership through Task Groups Self-Monitoring):  These questions inquire about group dynamics.

fg4 Leadership:  "1-Little or None" means leadership is absent or only occurs weakly or sporadically, as in crisis situations.  "2-Average" means there is an identifiable group leader or leaders.  "3-Strong" means leadership is strongly evidenced on a regular basis.

fg5 Solidarity (Mutual Defense):  Solidarity means mutual defense against other groups, customers, or management.  "1-Little or None" means that if individuals are attacked, they will be unsupported by the group.  "2-Average" means that group support is forthcoming in many situations.  "3-Strong" means that group members are willing to place themselves at risk to defend other group members.

fg6 Discipline Enforced by Other Workers:  Discipline refers to workers enforcing group standards for work on group members.  The group may discipline either slackers or over-achievers.

fg7 Group Boundaries entail a clear sense of who is in the group and who is outside the group, i.e., is there a clear group identity as distinct from other groups?  "5-Very Strong" implies an enduring, life-defining identity.

fg8 Alternative Status Hierarchies:  This question concerns the extent to which the work group accepts its position as defined by the organizational status hierarchy ("1-Non-Existent").  Alternatively, they may use status criteria from outside the workplace to evaluate themselves or they may create an alternative status hierarchy within the organization.  Also, workers may develop differential status markers within the work group based on marriage, children, age, religion, etc.  Basically, this variable means that workers evaluate their work group or subgroup as better than other groups or than management because of certain social traits or self-imputed character traits.  This question attempts to capture whether people think of themselves in terms of their organizational or occupational designation or in terms of some other more autonomous status identity.

fg9 Task Group Self-Monitoring:  Note that this question is specifically about the task group (which may sometimes be distinct from the focal group).  "1-Yes" means that the principal monitoring of the work is done by the group, not by management.  This item implies that the whole group is involved in monitoring the collective output and this distinguishes it from fg6 Discipline Enforced by Workers which focuses more on individual interactions.  Coding "1-Yes" to this question also implies a greater formality of monitoring than fg6.

fg10 through fg12b (Organized Group Conflict with Management/Supervisors through Between Group Interference):  These items deal with conflict between the focal group and management, within the focal group, and between the focal group and other parallel groups at work.

fg10 Organized Group Conflict With Management/Supervisors:  Note that this question pertains to organized group conflict.  It is not individual conflict between workers and management (which is discussed in the WORKER STRATEGIES section).  "2-Infrequent" means that organized group conflict with management was reported in the book in only one or two instances and the conflict was minor.  "3-Average" means the more frequent conflict is evidenced but not highlighted in the text.  "4-Widespread" means significant conflicts tend to occur frequently.  "5-Pervasive" means the conflict is chronic and intense.  If workers and management are in chronic conflict over pay, this would be evidence of conflict with management (assuming pay levels are set by management, not supervisors).

g11a Gossip (Within Group) is malicious backbiting to undermine others or degrade or discount them (code as "1-Yes").  Gossip in this sense is not just conversation about others.  If gossip is not discussed, code as "9-No Info." unless there is a clear implication from the book that malicious gossip is very unlikely to occur in which case you can consider coding "2-No."

g11b Interference (Within Group) indicates active obstruction or overriding others' decisions within the group.  Interference is different from fg6 Discipline Enforced By Workers in that its intent is obstruction rather than enforcement of standards and thus it tends to amplify tensions within the group.  Interference can also include workers jockeying with each for preferred assignments.  If interference is not discussed, code as "9-No Info." unless there is a clear implication from the book that interference between workers within the work group is very unlikely to occur in which case you can consider coding "2-No."

fg12 Between-Groups Conflict involves conflict between different groups at a similar level in the authority structure.  For instance, it might involve conflict between garbage collection gangs, coal mining gangs, shifts in a factory, the maintenance crew versus production workers in a factory, or house-keeping staff versus kitchen staff in a nursing home.

g12a and g12b (Gossip and Interference Between Groups):  Interference between groups often entails trying to shift either work or blame between groups.

fg13 Basis of Alternative Social Groups at Work:  This question taps whether or not the work group is also clearly differentiated by the characteristics of age, race, or gender.  This question does not have an "other" category.  Code cases with alternative social groupings other than those listed as "4-none."

fg14 Do Work Friendships Carry Over to Outside?  Sometimes there is a clear statement that friendships either do ("1-Yes") or do not ("2-No") extend outside the workplace.  If no clear statement is made, code "9-No Info."


METHODOLOGY

These are important methods checks.  Please fill them out carefully.


COMMENTS:

Please define the focal group as clearly as possible.  Specify if it is different from the task group.

If the case is one of a set of cases from a single book, record here the full set of CASEIDs from the book.


Any other comments can be very useful too.
 
  

* This material is based on work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant 0112434.  Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the Principal Investigator and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.