Title: Mapping the terrain of hospital work: technological constraints on work design and redesign

Authors: Dee Birnbaum, Mark John Somers

Addresses: Economics and Business, Rhodes College, Memphis, TN 38112, USA. School of Industrial Management, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, NJ 07102, USA

Abstract: Cross-occupational task structures in hospitals were used to study the organisation of hospital work. The notion of a terrain or topography of work was introduced to understand task level technologies and to capture boundaries and areas for negotiation among occupational groups. Implications for the reorganisation of hospital work were considered, especially in light of changing work structures and new technologies in hospital settings.

Keywords: task level technology; work redesign; health care.

DOI: 10.1504/IJTM.1998.002603

International Journal of Technology Management, 1998 Vol.15 No.3/4/5, pp.359-380

Published online: 29 Jul 2003 *

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