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Space and Culture
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Article

The Knowledge Organization: Cultural Priorities and Workspace Design

Tracy L. Meerwarth1*, Robert T. Trotter II2, and Elizabeth K. Briody3

1 Aerotek
2 Northern Arizona University
3 General Motors Corporation

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: tlm{at}consbrgs.com.


  Abstract
General Motors Research and Development (R&D) management is planning to renovate portions of the Warren, Michigan, research facility. The study’s goal was to help organizational leaders and planners understand culturally endorsed workspace architecture and design elements. Researchers used a rapid ethnographic assessment research design grounded in cognitive anthropology and methods to capture impressions and cultural requirements for workspace. This study adds to the existing body of knowledge at the intersection of workspace, culture, and user-oriented design by analyzing employee comments and research observations to construct a cultural model of R&D workspace. All model components underscore the cultural values of productivity and pragmatism. The authors examine features associated with the workspace productivity model, behaviors associated with the workspace, and differences in workspace perceptions and behaviors by organizational role. Findings refine the definition of knowledge worker culture and suggest that an orientation to productivity reflects broader American cultural values including pragmatism, individualism, and effectiveness.

First published on April 23, 2008, doi:10.1177/1206331208314783

Space and Culture 2008;11:437.

A more recent version of this article appeared on November 1, 2008

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