The nature of orchestrational work

Abstract

This study presents results of a systematic participatory observation of daily activities of managers in inter-collaborative settings in the tradition of the Work Activity School. It is based on data collection among nine public managers who are active in networks/chains in the fields of public safety and health care in the Netherlands. The results demonstrate that a large part of the activities of managers still fall in the traditional managerial roles as identified by Mintzberg in his seminal study “The Nature of Managerial Work”. Yet, findings also show that there is a substantial part which can be subsumed under a new role, which we call orchestrational work.