The Silent Politics of Temporal Work - A Case Study of a Management Consultancy Project to Redesign Public Health Care

Sep 12, 2026

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The article examines temporal work and temporal politics among groups with divergent temporal orientations, focusing on covert, unarticulated “silent politics” that operate during organizational change. Using a case study of a management consultancy project to redesign public health care, it shows how implicit temporal interests shape the construction of problems, thereby legitimating preferred solutions and time frames. It further explains how boundary objects temporarily fix and impose tasks and schedules, while recipients reinterpret and co-opt them, producing short-term conflict resolution and long-run persistence.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryGeneral

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Pages24

Reading Time8 min

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Abstract

Introduction

Temporal Politics and Temporal Work

The Silent Politics of Temporal Work: A Case Study of a Management Consultancy Project to Redesign Public Health Care Organization Studies 2018, Vol. 39(8) 1007–1030 © The Author(s) 2017 Reprints and permissions: [sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav](sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav)[ ](sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav)[DOI: 10.1177/0170840617708004](DOI: 10.1177/0170840617708004) [www.egosnet.org/os](www.egosnet.org/os) Gerry McGivern University of Warwick, UK Sue Dopson University of Oxford, UK Ewan Ferlie King’s College London, UK Michael Fischer Australian Catholic University, Australia Louise Fitzgerald University of Oxford, UK Jean Ledger King’s College London, UK Chris Bennett King’s College London, UK Abstract In this article, we discuss temporal work and temporal politics situated between groups with different temporal orientations, arguing that attention needs to be paid to covert and unarticulated silent politics during temporal work. Drawing on a case study of a management consultancy project to redesign public health care, we explain how unarticulated temporal interests and orientations shape the construction of Corresponding author: Prof Gerry McGivern, Warwick Business School, University of Warwick, Coventry, CV47AL, UK. [Email: Gerry.mcgivern@wbs.ac.uk](Email: Gerry.mcgivern@wbs.ac.uk) problems, which, in turn, legitimate tasks and time frames. We also show how task and time frames are temporarily fixed and imposed through boundary objects, and the way these may then be reinterpreted and co-opted to deflect pressure to change. Thus, we argue, unarticulated, covert and political temporal interdynamics produce expedient provisional temporal settlements, which resolve conflict in the short term, while perpetuating it in the longer run. Keywords boundary objects, consulting, health care, project-based and temporary organization, projects, temporal politics, temporal work, time Introduction There is a nascent discussion in organization studies of temporal politics and temporal work (Granqvist & Gustafsson, 2016; Kaplan & Orlikowski, 2013; Raaijmakers, Vermuelen, Meeus,& Zietsma, 2015; Reinecke & Ansari, 2015; Tukiainen & Granqvist, 2016) . Work within and between organizations involves social and occupational groups that often conceive of time and temporality in different ways. Yet little organizational research has examined the way they enact and manipulate temporal conceptions (Granqvist & Gustafsson, 2016) or how related temporal conflict and politics occur, or are resolved (Reinecke & Ansari, 2015) . To this end, the concept of temporal work is helpful, defined as ‘negotiating and resolving tensions among different understandings of what has happened in the past, what is at stake in the present, and what might emerge in the future’ (Kaplan & Orlikowski, 2013, p. 965) . However, we question whether and how temporal tensions are negotiated and resolved, suggesting instead that temporal work may be covert and unarticulated. Drawing on an empirical case study of a management consultancy project involving diverse professional and occupational groups, we discuss the silent politics of temporal work. By this we mean covert or unarticulated political work to construct, defend, challenge or interpret conceptions oftime and temporality in organizations. We examine how groups involved in a project toredesign public health care drew upon and constructed time and temporality. We found actors with different temporal orientations engaging in temporal work to construct problems in ways that legitimated their preferred solutions and time frames, reflecting unarticulated temporal orientations and related interests. Examining these interactions revealed the way project task and time frames were fixed and imposed through boundary objects, rather than openly discussed or negotiated. We also found that change recipients responded to this mode of imposition by silentl

FAQs

What does the article mean by “silent politics” in temporal work?

It refers to covert or unarticulated political work used to construct, defend, challenge, or interpret conceptions of time and temporality in organizations.

How does the management consultancy case study explain the shaping of problems and solutions?

It shows that actors with different temporal orientations engage in temporal work that legitimates their preferred solutions and time frames through unarticulated temporal interests.

What role do boundary objects play in the temporal setting of the project?

They temporarily fix and impose task and time frames rather than being openly negotiated, enabling recipients to silently reinterpret and covertly co-opt them to deflect pressure to change.

Sep 12, 2026

Upload by Quinn