Learning, knowing and controlling ‘the stock’: the nature of employee discretion in a supermarket chain

Alison Fuller, Konstantinos Kakavelakis, Alan Felstead, Nick Jewson, Lorna Unwin

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    11 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    This paper explores the nature of the relationship between Head Office and stores
    in a large British supermarket chain. It focuses on the role played by a range of
    technological tools available for managing the stock and connecting different parts
    of the productive system and the implications this has for employee learning in
    stores. The evidence illustrates the dual role of artefacts in making possible longdistance
    control from Head Office, on the one hand, at the same time as opening
    up spaces for local discretion and intervention, on the other. Accordingly, the
    paper also shows how the relation between the organisational centre and the
    periphery gives rise to different types of skills and expertise, providing the basis
    for a potentially expansive learning environment at the level of the store.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)105-20
    Number of pages16
    JournalJournal of Education and Work
    Volume22
    Issue number2
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 1 May 2009

    Keywords

    • Productive Systems
    • Learning
    • Knowing
    • Supermarkets
    • Discretion
    • Workplace

    ASJC Scopus subject areas

    • General Social Sciences

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