Knowledge and Power - a Media Enterprise Undergoing Change

Abstract

The focus of this study is how communication between users and developers of a software functions. To understand this communication, the analytical focus is on how relations of power are experienced in daily interaction through a process of developing new internet publishing software.

To understand this relationship, anthropological models originally developed for traditional society are used --- for instance, in order to understand the dynamics involved in the growth of a department, comparison is made with traditional political systems of Melanesia.

The thesis illustrates how one group of employees in a particular department have imposed their definition of the world on other parts of the organisation, and tries to explain the mechanisms involved. The study includes a section on how information systems may be used to change organisational structures. Also discussed are the consequences of such processes of change occurring as side-effects of the introduction of a new tool or software.

The material for this study was collected over a period of one year, in the Norwegian Broadcasting Cooperation, NRK, August 1999 - May 2000. The fieldwork took place during two separate periods; first a short preliminary fieldwork in August 1999, then a second period lasting five months in 2000. The methods used were participant observation, interviews and the collection of written and web-material.