For years it has been my opinion that corporate America uses the distribution of blackberrys to key employees as a conrolling mechanism. What better way to demonstrate the idea that "your life is no longer your own" then trying to ensure this by trying for 24/7 contact. I remember talking to a friend of mine who use to work for GM in middle management about this.
Here is an article about Volkswagon which seems to indicate that this is a problem and a major source of employee frustration:
