| Description |
This thesis addresses a gap in technological and managerial literature. Using Actor-Network Theory, Social Construction, and the Componential Theory of Creativity, I show how software is used to manage and construct creative workers. This case study looks specifically at college radio disc jockeys (DJs) at KUTE radio. The method is that of a qualitative research study, relying on observation, interviews, conversation, and by combing through archives at KUTE. In Chapter 1, I give a history of the organization and then outline archetypes of DJs found in both popular culture as well as within the organization. In Chapter 2, I show how these archetypes conflict with the newly implemented Digital Automated Delivery (DAD) radio automation and how, via a software studies perspective, the software changes the nature of work within the organization. In Chapter 3, I discuss how DAD accompanies new policies and how these policies affect DJs, the creative process, and the organization as a whole. The paper concludes that creative workers will be subject to job automation similar to the manufacturing jobs of the past, and demonstrates that this is problematic for both creative workers and the organizations that hire them. I then go on to suggest further areas of research that can build on this work. |
