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52 QRCA VIEWS SPRING 2 0 15 www.qrca.org A dvancing Ethnography in Corporate Environments – Challenges and Emerging Opportunities is a collec- tion of essays compiled from a panel discussion at the 2011 meeting of the Society for Applied Anthropology. Brigitte Jordan, the editor of Advancing Ethnography in Corporate Environments – Challenges and Emerging Opportunities, was concerned that professional confer- ences were highly monotonous and with- out engagement. Consequently, she assem- bled a group of colleagues to develop "a panel that would induce an atmosphere of playful co-thinking, an offering of multi- ple perspectives and different ideas, nour- ished by the expertise and experience we would each bring from our different intel- lectual homes." The concept behind the panel was to present two different points of view on six different topics and have discussions from the audience after each presentation. The original intent was for the presenters not to use prepared manu- scripts or PowerPoint slides, and the pre- sentations would be a one-time occur- rence. However, the meeting was so stimu- lating that the presenters decided the panel should not end with the meeting; the result is this book. The authors of the twelve essays in the book come from corporate environments and are consultants and academicians who are passionate about the emerging field of corporate ethnography. Even though the book primarily discusses the use of eth- nography in the corporate environment, the essays also provide consumer product examples throughout the book. The first pair of essays compares the Power of Conventional Ethnographic Methods against the Power of Technology- based Methods. The argument for tradi- tional methods is a strong one, but the authors recommend including modern digital methods to create a hybrid. The second pair of essays discusses eth- nography related to systems development and product design. The two sides of the argument focus on corporations adopting ethnography to "understand the human element of their business," and the product ethnographer using ethnography to try and understand the future. The third pair of essays evaluates the speed of ethnography in the corporate world. The first of the two essays talks about how projects often need to be turned around quickly; the second of these essays examines the limits of speed in eth- nography and how taking time allows for understanding of the subject's world. The general outcome is that speed of results drives many ethnographic projects. The fourth pair of essays discusses the two dimensions of a need for more theo- ry in ethnography and for more practical- ity. The authors argue that there is a bal- ance between theory and practicality, and in the end corporate needs for a project lead the way. In the fifth pair of essays, the authors discuss conducting corporate ethnography as an insider or employee and as an out- sider or consultant. Insiders have complete access to the various areas inside a corpo- ration. One take-away I had from the essay on doing work as an outsider is that you are far more likely to be successful in your project if you have the support of someone on the inside. The sixth and final pair of essays looks at the influence of big data on the field of ethnography and why pattern recognition in human evolution matters in ethnogra- phy and anthropology. The authors' main argument is that big data can interpret a consumer's habits better than an ethnogra- pher. The basic fact is we are being wrapped by more and more data, and ana- lytical pattern recognition is trying to interpret it for us. In summary, there are some practical insights included here with stories of suc- cess and failure among this excellent col- lection of essays, but Advancing Ethnography in Corporate Environments is probably of more interest to those who enjoy keeping up with the academic side of ethnography. n BOOK REVIEWS n Advancing Ethnography in Corporate Environments Challenges and Emerging Opportunities Brigitte Jordan, 2013, Left Coast Press, Inc. Reviewed by George Sloan n Customer Strategy International n Los Angeles, CA n gdsloan@yourcustomer.com