Abstract

White-collars from several firms, academics and consultants met to produce a very specific “product”: a “case study”. The case took shape in two phases: the story presented by certain white-collars about a managerial practice and the other parties’ reactions to it. When questioned, the speakers were invited to “tell more”, to show the “other side of the picture”. “Tantalizing” pieces of information determined an argument’s weight and its value to participants, who will use it later on. The game is to see as much as possible without asking “embarrassing” questions, which would make the case useless for purposes of communication - whence the importance of following group rules.