As firms attempt to speed decision making, improve their business processes, and become more market-oriented, they have a number of managerial prescriptions to choose from. Most share a common theme: remove the barriers that divide functional units and business units. To this end, many organizations are adopting leaner structures and emphasizing team-based processes to harness their collective strength. However, the introduction of strategic or technological change often signals that traditional barriers remain, barriers that require delicate management to surmount.We have traced a highly contested strategic decision — the Techno project — in a Fortune 500 communications company. The Techno case exemplifies the change that is transforming the U.S. service sector, most notably in telecommunications, insurance, banking, and financial services, where productivity-enhancing technological gains are generating sharp reductions in employment and a blizzard of new offerings.1 The project centered on the development of a core technology that promised to alter radically the way the firm operated. For some, the technology represented improved productivity, a stream of new products, and a stronger competitive position. For others, it threatened their budgets, existing strategies, and even job security.T
