Flexible Firm

Jakob Krause-Jensen is an anthropologist and Associate Professor at the Danish School of Education, Aarhus University. His research focuses on the way ethnographic methods and anthropological theory can be used to understand organizations and the life within them in critical and creative ways.

• Foreword by John Van Maanen Acknowledgements Chapter 1. Starting Fieldwork on 'the Farm' Chapter 2. 'Reflexibility' - the Methodology of Fieldwork Among Lay Ethnographers Chapter 3. The Power of Culture Chapter 4. Farm, Factory, Firm - the Culture of Design and the Design of Culture Chapter 5. Breakpoint: Metaphors of Change Chapter 6. From 'Corporate Identity Components' to 'Fundamental Values' Chapter 7. 'Brand Religion'- and Voices of Heresy Chapter 8. Working With Human Resources Chapter 9. How To Do Things With Words Chapter 10. The Social Significance of Flexibility Chapter 11. Conclusion Postscript: 5 years later - Bang & Olufsen revisited Appendix References Index

"We have here a very interesting ethnographical field study of a Danish high-tech firm - Peppered with anthropology, ethnography and organisational studies theory, as well as sociology, cultural studies and elements of other fields, this book offers a rich theoretical background for any organisational analysis - Although it includes a large amount of theory, this book can almost be read as a 'novel' telling the story of Bang & Olufsen." * Management "As elegant as its subject, Denmark's Bang &Olufsen, this affably written and sharp-eyed ethnography achieves a new standard in the emerging field of the anthropology of corporate organization." * George E. Marcus, author of Writing Culture. The Poetics and Politics of Ethnography