Title: Cultural tensions – exploring call centres in the public sector

Authors: Eve Anderson, Amanda Pyman, Julian Teicher

Addresses: Department of Management, Monash University, P.O. Box 1071, Narre Warren, VIC 3805, Australia. ' Kent Business School, University of Kent, Canterbury, CT2 7PE, UK. ' Department of Management, Monash University, P.O. Box 11E, Monash University, Victoria 3800, Australia

Abstract: The mostly private sector literature on call centre work suggests two distinct images: electronic sweatshops and customer focus (Deery and Kinnie, 2002). In the public sector, call centres have become widespread as governments import private sector management practices. Under the rubric of New Public Management (NPM), contestability and client focus require call centres and other public services to compare or at least benchmark against the private sector. However, the limited literature on public sector call centres highlights distinctive features of the sector along with the pervasiveness of private sector operational and managerial practices. This paper explores the cultural tensions between traditional public sector work organisation and the marketisation of public services through case studies of call centres in two large Australian government agencies. This discussion is organised around the themes of the characteristics and tensions of the call centres, the organisation of work, and the management of the employment relationship.

Keywords: call centres; public sector; new public management; NPM; work organisation; labour process; employment relationship; cultural tensions; service provision; quality versus quantity; emotional labour; Australia; HRM; human resource management; government agencies.

DOI: 10.1504/IJHRDM.2006.010400

International Journal of Human Resources Development and Management, 2006 Vol.6 No.2/3/4, pp.279 - 296

Published online: 18 Jul 2006 *

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