The rise of ethnography at Intel

Putting people first: 『The rise of ethnography at Intel』経由、
MRWho: 『Feature: The Rise of Ethnography at Intel』　インテルでの「エスノグラフィ」の役割について

Ethnography - 'the scientific description of nations or races of men, with their customs, habits, and points of difference' according to the Oxofrd English Dictionary ? was not formally on the menu at Intel until the latter part of the 1990s. Now the company employs around two dozen ethnographers and currently has vacancies for eight more.

Defining the role of ethnography, very distinct from MR, Anderson cites pioneering anthropologist Bronislaw Malinowski and says that the goal is ‘to understand the natives' point of view and be able to translate it to our audience’. He explains: ‘For us to do a good translation for Intel, we have to turn our ethnographic eye to our internal audience. And I think that in part is what makes the work successful. A lot of people come in and present results as if the people in our audience should just get them. Our job is as much about understanding translation as understanding people.'

He worries about this practice: 'For me, it's absolutely the wrong model because you need an ethnographer to cover both sides - the outside populations and the company itself... If you're on the outside and you do a really excellent study but present the results in a way that doesn't match the company's culture, it's not going anywhere. A lot of innovation dies because people can't articulate it in a way that makes sense.'