Brasilia, Brazil, 29 March - 3 April 1999
The role of space and communications in forming
the organisational culture
Georgia Spiliopoulou and Alan Penn
The Bartlett School of Graduate Studies
(Torrington Place Site)
University College London
Gower Street
London WC1E 6BT
England
tel (44) (0)171 813 4364
fax (44) (0)171 813 4363
email g.spiliopoulou@ucl.ac.uk
www http://www.spacesyntax.com
The paper explores the methods used to investigate the impact of spatial
and virtual communication networks on the culture of business organisations.
A case study of British Telecommunications Laboratories at Martlesham
in the UK is described and compared to other knowledge-based and creativity-oriented
organisations.
Interviews provide a basic knowledge for the management structure and
culture of the company as thought-to-be by the official policy. Space
syntax and direct observation techniques provide data on interactions
between staff in physical space whereas telephone and e-mail logs are
being used to investigate 'transpatial' communication modes. The spatial
network is then compared to the virtual network within the organisation,
in order to built up an integrated pattern of internal communications
and in addition, to investigate and understand the origins of the differences
of these patterns.
The effect of spatial configuration and its impact on internal communications
and on the transformation of the management structure of the organisation
into different social structures has also been explored. Spatial conditions
that reinforce social status and hierarchy within the company also appear
to find their expression in virtual networks.
The comparison reveals the fundamental role of space in the degree of
use of electronic and other communication means as well as in direct physical
contact. The methodology provides a comprehensive tool for the study of
organisational culture via patterns of communications and tries to push
Space Syntax techniques further, towards the analysis of non-spatial configurations
such as virtual communication networks.
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