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Imbrication in Operational Control Practices: Evidence from a Complex Process Industry Setting

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Materiality and Managerial Techniques

Part of the book series: Technology, Work and Globalization ((TWG))

Abstract

We illustrate how control practices emerge as a result of imbrication as people interact with material artefacts and technology. We show how imbrication modifies control practices as people seek a balance between various organizational aims: standards of product quality; targeted yield and budgeted cost figures. Our case is set in a Malaysian palm oil refinery. We examine how computer control systems affect work practices and attitudes to control in the refinery. Our focus is on specific areas of the refinery plant operations and how activities in these areas contribute to our understanding of the nexus of control systems and how these systems interact with other organizational activities.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Universiti Putra Malaysia, Selangor, Malaysia

    Fazlin Ali

  2. School of Accounting, RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia

    Alan Lowe

Authors
  1. Fazlin Ali
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  2. Alan Lowe
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. King’s College London University, London, United Kingdom

    Nathalie Mitev

  2. Adam Smith Business School, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom

    Anna Morgan-Thomas

  3. ESSEC Business School, Paris, France

    Philippe Lorino

  4. Paris Dauphine University, Paris, France

    Francois-Xavier de Vaujany

  5. Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

    Yesh Nama

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Ali, F., Lowe, A. (2018). Imbrication in Operational Control Practices: Evidence from a Complex Process Industry Setting. In: Mitev, N., Morgan-Thomas, A., Lorino, P., de Vaujany, FX., Nama, Y. (eds) Materiality and Managerial Techniques . Technology, Work and Globalization. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-66101-8_10

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