MACMILLAN Linguistic Ethnography of a Multilingual Call Center: London Calling (Communicating in Professions and Organizations)

This book presents an innovative institutional transpositional ethnography that examines the textual trajectory of “the life of a calling script” from production by corporate management and clients to recontextualization by middle management and finally to application by agents in phone interactions. Drawing on an extensive original research it provides a behind-the-scenes view of a multilingual call center in London and critiques the archetypal modern workplace practices including extensive use of monitoring and standardization and use of low-skilled precariat labor. In doing so, it offers fresh perspectives on contemporary debates about resistance, agency, and compliance in globalized workplaces. This study will provide a valuable resource to students and scholars of management studies, communication, sociolinguistics, and linguistic anthropology. Review “Woydack provides a thorough and critical review of the literature as well as an excellent example of how to bring innovative theoretical and methodological approaches to the study of call centers. Woydack’s book is necessary reading for anyone engaging in linguistic ethnography or qualitative analysis of organizations or institutions as her tracking of textual trajectories throughout the call center provides an exceptionally useful methodological approach for research in contexts where texts can be omnipresent and yet ever-elusive to researchers.” (Grace Fay Cooper, Sociolinguistic Studies, Vol. 13 (2-4), 2019) “This book provides a unique perspective on the subject. While there are many examples of the script and how team leaders and agents would modify the master script, it would be helpful to have some authentic call samples to illustrate the actual exchanges. Professional communication, sociolinguistics and perhaps also business operation researchers will find this book useful.” (Jon S. Y. Hui, Language in Society, Vol. 48, 2019) “The book offers a new perspective on the contemporary debate on workplace standardization. The volume will be of interest to students and scholars interested in politeness research and intercultural communication as well as to call centre managers and business communication trainers.” (Sara Orthaber, Discourse & Communication, Vol. 13 (5), 2019) Review “Woydack provides an illuminating insider look into call centers and how call agents operate interactionally and textually, within the organization itself and with clients on the end of the phone line. The importance of the standardized script, which is frustratingly familiar to most people, is investigated in terms of top-down accountability, training, and monitoring alongside bottom-up resistance and agency on the part of call center agents. A fascinating ethnographic study of a multilingual globalized workplace.” (Colleen Cotter, Queen Mary University of London, UK) “This innovative study of a multilingual centre draws on unprecedented ethnographic access. Four years of participant observation provide Woydack with an insider understanding that enables her to challenge established critiques of standardization. Detailed analysis shows the agency of staff as they negotiate the demands of the script, their own communicative repertoires, and immediate interactional realities. Her research provides a fascinating glimpse into a little-understood setting, and a nuanced understanding of the contemporary workplace.” (Karin Tusting, Lancaster University, UK) “By placing script trajectories in the centre of this linguistic ethnography, Woydack constructs an insightful and engaging account of language practices in a globally operating call center. Her study weaves together recontextualization analysis and elements of workplace studies in a highly innovative way.” (Jannis Androutsopoulos, University of Hamburg, Germany) “This book provides a fresh and insightful exploration into how call centre agents develop and use language at work. The researcher was