Medarbetaransvar – ett sätt att visa värderingar : Ett konceptualisering av medarbetarnas ansvar och ansvarstagande i callcenter

Stockhult, H. (2005) Medarbetaransvar – ett sätt att visa värderingar. Enkonceptualisering av medarbetarnas ansvar och ansvarstagande i callcenter.(Employee responsibility – a way of expressing values. A conceptual study ofresponsibility and how it is assumed in call center). Written in Swedish. ÖrebroStudies in Business 1. 219 pp.The focus of this study is on responsibility and how it is assumed in call centers.Call centers have developed during the last few decades and they are representinga new way of providing customer service. In scientific management there is asharp division between the planning and the execution of work. This division isalso very evident in most call centers today. But managers today often implicitlyexpect employees to take responsibility for more than the ascribed work task.The employees also expect a working situation where they are trusted with a lotof opportunities to take responsibility. In the light of these facts, the question thatshould be answered in this study is: In what ways are employees takingresponsibility in the call center organization?The knowledge acquired is based on theoretical assumptions aboutresponsibility. It is assumed that responsibility is partly given to the employee bymanagement, but also assumes responsibility on the basis of other criteria, thatcome from within the individual. The theories of responsibility are used forinterpreting actions in the call center organization. Empirically the study includestwo call center organizations. One of the call centers is mostly selling products orservices for other companies. The other call center is a nordic bank that givessupport to and sells products to the customers of its own.The results from the study confirm that besides the responsibility given bymanagement, the employees assume some other responsibilities that they perceiveas their own, self-imposed, responsibilities as employees. These self-imposedresponsibilities include responsibility for the customer, for the colleagues and foronesself. To assume these self-imposed responsibilities, the employees must tosome extent, act in reverse regarding the responsibilities given by the employer.Another conclusion is that the role of the group manager is important for the callcenter operators’ way of assuming responsibility. The last conclusion is thatalthough employers often state that they want the employee to take personalresponsibility, this favourable attitude does not show in the call center practice