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The Firefighter, The Babysitter, and The Sacrificial Lamb: Identity and Consent Among Customer Service Supervisors

Vaughn, Jonathan Scott
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1243962382

Abstract Details

2009, Master of Arts, Ohio State University, Sociology.
Despite decades’ worth of research that has been devoted to the emerging field of customer service work, surprisingly little attention has been paid to the actual lived experiences of customer service supervisors. As a result, we find ourselves neglecting an integral part of this expanding work force, and are consequently ill-prepared to truly understand the field of customer service work. By drawing on data gathered from years of participant observation, and a number of in-depth interviews with both managers and workers employed in the shipping operations and customer service center of a Fortune 500 company, the author attempts to fill existing gaps in understanding regarding the motivations of the customer service supervisor. After comparing this newly gathered data to existing sociological theories of work and organizations, a more nuanced understanding of customer service management is put forth, and potential causes of managerial consent are proposed. In addition to understanding what factors lead supervisors to consent to their work conditions, this paper attempts to explain how this consent impacts the hourly workers at the bottom of the workplace hierarchy.
Randy Hodson, PhD (Committee Co-Chair)
Steven Lopez, PhD (Committee Co-Chair)
Rachel Dwyer, PhD (Committee Member)
63 p.
Labor Relations; Organization Theory; Organizational Behavior; Sociology
identity; consent; work; supervisors; management; customer service; organizations; occupations

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Vaughn, J. S. (2009). The Firefighter, The Babysitter, and The Sacrificial Lamb: Identity and Consent Among Customer Service Supervisors [Master's thesis, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1243962382

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Vaughn, Jonathan. The Firefighter, The Babysitter, and The Sacrificial Lamb: Identity and Consent Among Customer Service Supervisors. 2009. Ohio State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1243962382.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Vaughn, Jonathan. "The Firefighter, The Babysitter, and The Sacrificial Lamb: Identity and Consent Among Customer Service Supervisors." Master's thesis, Ohio State University, 2009. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1243962382

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1243962382
742
© 2009, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.
Release 3.2.12