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adopted. This was as a result of a change in the researcher?s mindset that initially started off with a limited knowledge as regards the nature of work in the call centre. However during the course of interviewing; interacting with the call agents and further reading of literature and documents, the researcher was then able to better relate to the call centre environment. This led the researcher to adjust the initial questions prepared for the semi-structured interviews to more relevant questions. Themes were then identified from the data generated.

THEORY CHOSEN This research is based on two theories namely the emotional labour theory (Hochschild, 1983) and the labour process theory (Foucault, 1977) which are found in this research to be inter-related.

LABOR PROCESS THEORY: This in most cases is referred to as the Foucauldian electronic panopticon. It is based on a prison designed by Bentham hence it is also referred to as Bentham?s panopticon. It was adapted by Foucault (1977) in which a detached tower in a prison was centrally situated for central observation (surveillance) of the inmates. As a result, all the individual inmates knew they were always been watched from the tower but they could never see the observer, hence never knew precisely when they were been watched. The major effect of this was to stimulate the inmates to a perpetual state of consciousness and permanent visibility that assures the automatic functioning of power. In other words, the effect of surveillance is permanent even when it is discontinued in reality. In this view, Bentham laid down the principle that power should be visible (inmates are constantly viewed) and unverifiable (at the same time never know precisely when or not they are been watched). But it is worth noting, that apart from surveillance in prisons, panopticon can also be applicable in a laboratory, where it is used in carrying out experiments such as medicines and monitoring their effects, to alter behaviour, train or correct individuals, although this is beyond the scope of this dissertation. A critique of this theory is the fact that intensive monitoring and tightened controls could have counter-productive effects. It could result in the agents becoming under-performed and could eventually damage the company profile with the customers (Taylor and Bain, 2000).

THE EMOTIONAL LABBOUR THEORY: This theory was developed by Hochschild (1983) in her attempt to understand the labour process in an airline industry. In examining a flight attendant concluded, in the course of doing physical labour (pushing heavy meal carts through the aisles) and mental labour(preparing and actually organizing emergency landings and evacuations), the flight attendant was doing something more, which she named as emotional labour. Hochschild defined emotional labour as 'the management of feelings to create a publicly observable facial and bodily display for a wage'. Therefore, this form of labour requires a person to induce or suppress their feelings in order to sustain the outward countenance that produces the proper state of mind in others. Hence it requires a coordination of mind and feelings. These theories were found suitable for this research because from literature it was observed that researchers are beginning to recognize the importance of organisational behaviour in terms of emotions in the everyday work life (Fisher & Ashkanasy, 2000). One of the areas that have