Restructuring in corporate law firms : implications of a changing division of labor for organizational inequality
Thesis: S.M. in Management Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, 2016.
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | eng |
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Massachusetts Institute of Technology
2016
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/105075 |
| _version_ | 1811097108789329920 |
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| author | Riordan, Christine A. (Christine Ann) |
| author2 | Paul Osterman. |
| author_facet | Paul Osterman. Riordan, Christine A. (Christine Ann) |
| author_sort | Riordan, Christine A. (Christine Ann) |
| collection | MIT |
| description | Thesis: S.M. in Management Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, 2016. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T16:54:28Z |
| format | Thesis |
| id | mit-1721.1/105075 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| language | eng |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T16:54:28Z |
| publishDate | 2016 |
| publisher | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/1050752019-04-12T16:25:49Z Restructuring in corporate law firms : implications of a changing division of labor for organizational inequality Implications of a changing division of labor for organizational inequality Riordan, Christine A. (Christine Ann) Paul Osterman. Sloan School of Management. Sloan School of Management. Sloan School of Management. Thesis: S.M. in Management Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, 2016. Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. Includes bibliographical references (pages 38-42). How do organizations contribute to inequality? An organization's division of labor is posited to codify inequality through the allocation of work tasks and matching of workers to given jobs. To explore this argument, I employ an actor- and task-based analytical framework to a recent wave of restructuring among corporate law firm associateships. Drawing from an interview study in the Boston and New York legal markets, I argue that restructuring the division of labor in this context generates nuanced, textured forms of inequality that reach beyond compensation. Such forms of inequality are borne out of the precise tasks allocated to workers, and include unequal distribution of opportunities to engage in upskilling, demonstrate competence and autonomy in the work process, and access and utilize valuable social relationships in the upper echelons of firm hierarchy - all shown to be crucial for advancement within firms and the profession. In the context of corporate law, these outcomes are associated with the sorting of lawyers into hierarchal strata of associateships based on law school affiliation, representing a new use of a known sorting mechanism in the legal labor market. by Christine A. Riordan. S.M. in Management Research 2016-10-25T19:52:43Z 2016-10-25T19:52:43Z 2016 2016 Thesis http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/105075 960721579 eng M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission. http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582 42 pages application/pdf Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| spellingShingle | Sloan School of Management. Riordan, Christine A. (Christine Ann) Restructuring in corporate law firms : implications of a changing division of labor for organizational inequality |
| title | Restructuring in corporate law firms : implications of a changing division of labor for organizational inequality |
| title_full | Restructuring in corporate law firms : implications of a changing division of labor for organizational inequality |
| title_fullStr | Restructuring in corporate law firms : implications of a changing division of labor for organizational inequality |
| title_full_unstemmed | Restructuring in corporate law firms : implications of a changing division of labor for organizational inequality |
| title_short | Restructuring in corporate law firms : implications of a changing division of labor for organizational inequality |
| title_sort | restructuring in corporate law firms implications of a changing division of labor for organizational inequality |
| topic | Sloan School of Management. |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/105075 |
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