pp. 3-36

Taking off from the principle that the operation of a business can be described ethnographically rather than exclusively in terms of collective action or the act of production, this article analyzes certain aspects of individual and group relations within a factory. It first shows that the various aspects of managing individuals’ integration into the group depend both on functional position and ways of life outside the workplace. Interpersonal relation dynamics are then described in terms of the notions of stable relations and interest decentering. Lastly, the text examines the different types of groups that intervene in daily relations at the factory, focusing on how routine activities are managed rather than the question of conflict. The primary purpose of the text is to put forward an original means of approaching company life, an approach focused on the various types of relations obtaining among the actors.