Informal Organization and Status Inequality: A Sociological View of Social Relations in North Sea Oil Production

Abstract

This article deals with the generation and reproduction of informal organ ization on board Norwegian oil installations in the North Sea. The process through which change comes about is considered. After a general discussion of informal organization, the article focuses on the formal organizational set-up and the managerial strategies for control, which provide the frame work or background for the informal organization offshore. Examples from offshore life are utilized to analyse offshore working conditions and to demonstrate the importance of informal organization in the world of North Sea oil. The hierarchical structure of platform organizations is critically reviewed in the concluding section.