The creative industries have recently been hailed as presenting a liberating model for the future of work and a valuable terrain on which to examine purported new regimes of workplace control. This article, based on the empirical examination of a Canadian video game development studio, traces the modes of control which operate on and through project teams in creative settings. The impact of the adoption of an 'emancipatory', post-bureaucratic project management technology, 'Agile', is critically examined through interviews and non-participative observation of management, technical and artistic labour within one project team. The potential for autonomy in such 'Agile' teams is critically assessed within the managerial regime of creative production and the broader power relations implied by the financial, organizational and institutional context.

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PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to use case study evidence to show that post‐bureaucracy is less marked by a discontinuity in surveillance than by its displacement and intensification.Design/methodology/approachThe paper describes the complex changes that occurred at the International Development Research Center, a Canadian public corporation.FindingsFundamental clash of values is evident. The reform has brought about a “new order” which relies on a centralized model of governance. Moves towards the “post‐bureaucratic organization” have entailed intensified surveillance and produced a new structure of domination.Originality/valueThe paper argues that Anthony Giddens' theories of late modernity and structuration contain elements that explain the emergence of new organizational forms, their continuity and transformation.

This article presents the results of an exploratory study on the impacts of a program provided by a community recreation centre. The study proposes an analytical framework to assess the impacts of recreation on young people and refers to product and impact concepts developed by Marée (2005). The proposed framework includes dimensions that are sufficiently precise to grasp the impacts of community recreation centres (benefits, savings, impacts on individuals, life settings, and society), yet also sufficiently broad to allow for the evaluation of the impacts of other social endeavours. RÉSUMÉCet article présente les résultats d'une recherche exploratoire qui étudie les effets d'un programme d'un centre communautaire de loisir. La recherche propose un cadre d'analyse des impacts du loisir chez les jeunes qui prend appui sur les concepts de produits et d'impacts développés par Marée (2005). Le cadre d'analyse proposé comporte des dimensions suffisamment précises pour appréhender les impacts des centres communautaires de loisir (bénéfices et économies pour les individus, les milieux de vie et la société), mais il est aussi suffisamment large pour évaluer les impacts d'autres entreprises à vocation sociale.

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