From Teams to Knots: Activity-Theoretical Studies of Collaboration and Learning at Work (Learning in Doing: Social, Cognitive and Computational Perspectives)

Author: Yrjö EngestromPublisher: Cambridge University PressPaperback:ISBN 10: 0521148499ISBN 13: 978-0521148498Teams are commonly celebrated as efficient and humane ways of organizing work and learning. By means of a series of in-depth case studies of teams in the United States and Finland over a time span of more than ten years, this book shows that teams are not a universal and ahistorical form of collaboration. Teams are best understood in their specific activity contexts and embedded in historical development of work. The book develops a set of conceptual tools for analysis and design of transformations in collaborative work and learning. Review "...rich in data and conceptual analysis...admirable scholarship..." --Mike Bonner, PsycCRITIQUES [Vol. 54, Release 32, Article 6] Book Description This book analyzes the development of work teams as work itself changes. It shows that fixed and stable teams are being replaced by fluid forms of constantly changing collaboration across organizational boundaries. This is a big learning challenge and an opportunity for practitioners to redesign their work and organizations. See all Editorial Reviews