Abstract
Based on a study of reliability consequences of new public management (NPM) reforms in
Norwegian critical infrastructure sectors, this article suggests that the discourse of work found in
NPM renders essential aspects of operational work invisible – including practices that are known
to be of importance for reliability. We identify two such organizationally ‘invisible’ characteristics
of operational work: the ever ongoing situational coordination required for keeping a water supply
system or an electricity grid running, and the aggregating operational history within which this
happens. In the reorganized infrastructure sectors, these crucial aspects of operational work fit
poorly in market oriented organizational models and control mechanisms. More generally, our
analysis contributes to the understanding of how some types of work fit poorly within the discourse
of work found in NPM.
Norwegian critical infrastructure sectors, this article suggests that the discourse of work found in
NPM renders essential aspects of operational work invisible – including practices that are known
to be of importance for reliability. We identify two such organizationally ‘invisible’ characteristics
of operational work: the ever ongoing situational coordination required for keeping a water supply
system or an electricity grid running, and the aggregating operational history within which this
happens. In the reorganized infrastructure sectors, these crucial aspects of operational work fit
poorly in market oriented organizational models and control mechanisms. More generally, our
analysis contributes to the understanding of how some types of work fit poorly within the discourse
of work found in NPM.