ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the stream of thought pertaining to creativity and ritual in organisations, with views on the new approaches to automation and sharing with machines. It describes automation's capacity to produce difficulties for those involved in both routine and unexpected tasks. Some features of this approach make it prone to ritualised behaviours, and these are amplified by other ritual promoting factors, namely the lack of clarity in defining roles at the human-machine interface, and the effects of technology on the locus of control. Technology-centred automation has already acquired a 'facework' component, where automation reinforces the plausibility and legitimacy of the organisation, without it having to demonstrate value, or be aligned clearly with purpose. The technologically complex work environment of a number of other factors which promote creativity regulating rituals. Electronic territory management systems for sales forces are in early stages of development, but already have an external locus-of-control.
