To continue with the theme of ethnography, we turn back to Episode 13 of the Talking About Organizations Podcast on Donald Roy's 1959 work entitled 'Banana Time: Job Satisfaction and Informal Interaction'.

This article describes Roy’s experience of working as a drill press operator for two months. Set against the backdrop of Taylor-inspired Scientific Management, the paper provides a thick description of the setting, the tools of work and, most importantly, behaviour and dynamics of the group of workers whom Roy was assigned to work with. The thick descriptions of work and social interactions touch upon a great number of themes and foundational concepts in management, psychology and sociology. For instance, Roy alludes to, directly or indirectly (usually the latter), Scientific Management, esprit de corps, Hawthorne Studies, motivation and self-actualization, time and motion studies, humour, play, and lived experience of time.

Original release can be found here: https://www.talkingaboutorganizations.com/e13/