Krahn and Lowe, Work, Industry and Canadian Society:
Lowe and Krahn (eds.), Work in Canada: Readings in the Sociology of Work and Industry:
Krahn and Lowe, Work, Industry and Canadian Society:
Lowe and Krahn (eds.), Work in Canada: Readings in the Sociology of Work and Industry:
You already are acquainted with labour process theory from Unit 2. Recall its focus on the social relations, technologies, organizational structures, and management strategies which directly shape how workers daily experience their jobs. Now that you are familiar with scientific management and human relations, the two influential management approaches introduced in Unit 6, you are in a better position to assess for yourself the claims of Harry Braverman and subsequent labour process writers. You are not alone if you do not fully accept Braverman's thesis that the main impact of 20th century management on workers has been to reduce skill levels and limit decision-making. Indeed, the five criticisms leveled against Braverman on page 266 of the textbook summarize a huge body of literature which continues to debate two central issues: management's control over workers, and task deskilling.
As you consider the different models of managerial control presented on pages 267 to 269, note how Friedman, Clement, Burawoy, Edwards, and other labour process researchers have substantially revised Braverman's thesis. These writers use a variety of concepts -- such as responsible autonomy, hegemonic organization of work, and bureaucratic control -- to capture the complex, recurring and often tenuous trade-offs workers and managers make so that organizations can continue to function. In short, managers may hold considerable power, but they cannot totally dominate workers. More than anything, this is because workers will always find ways of exercising their own free-will by resisting, subverting or modifying the conditions laid down by management . Note too that in some instances workers actively "buy into" existing work arrangements, seeing them (at least for the time being) as in their best interests. But even though workers may voluntarily choose to cooperate with management, the permanency of this cooperation cannot be taken for granted.
So if managers are unable to exert an iron grip over work activity, and if such control depends upon workers accepting this authority, clearly this has implications for Braverman's deskilling thesis. Indeed, as pages 270-271 in the textbook reveal, there is little evidence of pervasive job deskilling. Generally speaking, neither the onslaught of new technologies nor the drive by management to achieve greater productivity or cost-savings has deprived workers of skill. Like other debates you encountered in earlier Units, the one surrounding deskilling hinges in part on definitions and measurements. As you review the questions about the meaning of "skill" posed on pages 270 and 271 of the textbook, try to come up with your own answers by examining your own work experiences.
The deskilling debate also can usefully be linked to earlier discussions of labour market polarization, in Unit 3. This is because labour market transformations associated with the growth of the service sector is widening the gulf between highly skilled, knowledge-intensive jobs and low-level, "non-standard" jobs. Also contemplate Zuboff's argument, on page 271 of the textbook, about the pressures information-processing technology create for raising skill levels. For Zuboff, computers are "smart machines" that require smart (that is, skilled) workers, not the unskilled drones imagined by Braverman. Otherwise, the productivity gains sought after by management will not be fully realized.
A related argument is found in the idea of flexible specialization. This theory holds that the emergence of technology-intensive and flexible production signals a departure from the kind of organizations built on Taylorism and Fordism. Again, note the emphasis on how new technologies and organizational forms require more skilled workers in order to function effectively. If this argument is correct, it therefore is in management's' interest to raise worker skills through training. A contentious issue, however, is the extent to which workers really acquire more job control through such job skill upgrading.
Rinehart's critical analysis of work humanization programs, in his article in Work in Canada, illustrates the insights to be gained by applying a labour process perspective. Try to relate this reading to the reforms being advocated in management circles, which you read about in Unit 6. Recall that the workplace "revolution" advocated by some management experts emphasizes greater employee participation in decision making and a more humanized work environment. These are precisely the types of management innovations that Rinehart dismisses as providing few if any benefits for workers. For example, he argues that "quality of working life" schemes can undermine the long-term interests of workers by undercutting the negotiating power of unions.
Finally, as you review Rinehart's critique of QWL, pay attention to his argument that regardless of their claims, job redesign fails to allocate real power to workers. Assess for yourself whether or not, based on the evidence he presents, Rinehart's thesis that under certain circumstances the same results as Taylorism and Fordism can be achieved by the opposite methods (see the top of page 300 of Work in Canada). It will help to briefly refer back to the Davis and Sullivan article, part of Unit 6, on the Shell Chemical plant. As the leading QWL case in Canada, Rinehart takes aim at Shell management's motives for wanting to introduce multi-skilled and self-regulating work teams. Despite his conclusion that autonomous work teams have the potential to give workers genuine control (page 307), he is quick to point out that the careful recruitment of "cooperative" employees reduce the chance of workers pushing the team concept to this outer limit.
Krahn and Lowe, Work, Industry and Canadian Society:
Lowe and Krahn (eds.), Work in Canada: Readings in the Sociology of Work and Industry:
As you read the Section, bear several points in mind. First, note how technological change and its impacts are not pre-determined; but should be seen as the result of particular management decisions. Second, the kind of technology, the organizational context in which it is introduced, who influences the de
Attempt to get a sense of the different kinds of technology and their major documented effects. Often the impacts are contradictory. Consider, for instance, how robots (discussed on page 273 of the textbook) have eliminated dangerous and repetitive jobs, which some would see as a step forward, while computer numerical controlled machines have tended, in a more negative fashion, to reduce the need for skilled machinists. The office too provides many examples of positive and negative effects, depending largely on the organizational context in which managers decide to use computers. Many people have received training in operating new computer systems or using new software, and this may be associated with an increase in job skills, although not necessarily more job control.
Also consider the examples, on page 275, of how computers and telecommunications technologies facilitate the decentralization of work locations. Again, the telework trend can cut two ways. It could generate more contract workers who fall into the "non-standard job" syndrome, or it could allow workers greater flexibility through work at home arrangements. This latter phenomenon has been greatly accelerated in the wake of the commuting difficulties created by the January 1994 Los Angeles earthquake.
Theoretically, it is useful to consider why the three approaches mentioned on page 275 may lead to different conclusions about technology's impact. Now that you are quite familiar with the labour process, flexible specialization, and contingency perspectives from this and previous Units, try to identify the distinctive features of each which may account for their divergent assessments of technological change.
Consistent with our themes of power and control, also relevant is the role of unions in the technological change process. Do you agree that greater involvement of unions in planning, implementing and monitoring technological change, as suggested on page 276, would increase the benefits flowing to workers? The Work in Canada articles by Robertson and Wareham on Northern Telecom, and by Novek on the meat packing industry, address this question. These two articles also voice related concerns about how new technologies pose threats for unions and collective bargaining. In this respect, these articles augment the assessment provided by Coates, in Unit 6, of the challenges confronting Canadian labour in the future.
One way to read the two Work in Canada selections is to treat them as contrasting case studies of the different kinds of corporate restructuring and management human resource strategies which underpin technological change. Northern Telecom adopted advanced technologies to boost production and cut costs; while the meat packing industry maintained traditional mass-production technologies but intensified work processes to achieve the same results. In reviewing both these articles, try to extract the reasons for these different strategies. What is there about the products, the competitive environment of each industry, management styles, workforce composition, industrial relations, and so on that may help account for such divergent technological change strategies? As Novek asks, on page 335 of Work in Canada, how far can the conclusions drawn from case studies in two industries be generalized? This issue confronts all researches, but is particularly important in studies of technological change where unique contextual factors may play a decisive role in shaping outcomes. Finally, these articles also document the various ways in which workers can be negatively affected by particular uses of technology, ranging from rising injury rates to a polarization of job opportunities.
Krahn and Lowe, Work, Industry and Canadian Society:
Lowe and Krahn (eds.), Work in Canada: Readings in the Sociology of Work and Industry:
The Section begins by giving some basic occupational injury, fatality and illness trends. Quickly note these trends, and the associated economic costs. Now put a human face on the problem, by paying special attention to the specific examples and personal accounts of what these statistics mean for workers. You no doubt can come up with your own examples of the human tragedy or reduced quality of life caused by hazardous, unhealthy working conditions. And probably you have experienced some of the more common occupational health risks, such as noise or stressful job demands.
In fact, job stress is a growing concern. This reflects the emergence of a more comprehensive (or "holistic", because it looks at the total person) perspective on occupational health which incorporates the psychological as well as the physical consequences of unhealthy work. In Unit 9 we further explore the causes, consequences and solutions to job stress. So for now, observe the link between stress and regimented, machine-paced work as outlined on page 279 of the textbook. The following page illustrates various stressful effects of computer technologies. If anything, these examples suggest that the potential for stress-related health problems could increase with the spread of automation unless this trend is checked by greater attention to the quality of working life.
However, any move in this direction will be difficult. Novek's research on the meat packing industry, reviewed in the last Section, documents that occupational injuries and illness are often a direct consequence of the organization and control of the labour process. The jump in injuries in meat packing plants, you will recall, resulted from work intensification prompted by management's drive for higher output and lower costs. Novek's study also reveals the contradiction inherent in these management work rationalization strategies. In short, they can back-fire when accidents and injuries reduce productivity and increase worker compensation costs employers must pay. The general point, then, is that for many employers the economic costs of unsafe or unhealthy work must be significant before they consider making improvements to a good investment.
Governments have long played a role in regulating workplace safety and health. The major recent policy shift to make note of is in the direction of greater worker participation. You will see a strong connection between earlier discussions of participative management, mostly in Unit 6, and the concept of joint worker-management occupational health and safety committees. The basis for much Canadian legislation is known as the "internal responsibility system." As you review its principles be prepared to assess the barriers to putting them into practice. Note how Saskatchewan legislation, introduced in the 1970s, led the way by establishing joint workplace health and safety committees to give workers direct involvement in creating safer and healthier workplaces. Now attempt to take stock of your own work situation: Does your province's legislation give you the right to refuse unsafe work? If so, how do you exercise this right? Furthermore, are you informed about the potential hazards in your workplace? And finally, when was the last time management consulted you on any changes in the workplace that might affect your health? These questions address the basic rights enshrined in the IRS:
The article by Walters and Haines , in Work in Canada, will give you a good sense of the limits to the internal responsibility system. Read the article in light of the textbook's discussion (pages 281-282) of Canadian legislation and the problems of translating the IRS principles into practice. Sociologically, the main insights for you to derive from the article is its emphasis on how a blaming the victim ideology combines with structural constraints in the worksite to limit worker participation in health and safety. What Walters and Haines discovered in the six firms they studied was that workers lacked the knowledge and other resources to meaningfully exercise their rights. In other words, despite the intentions of the Ontario's Bill 70, a major power imbalance remained. Consequently, management's definition of health and safety prevailed. A major structural constraint was the worker's reliance on their immediate supervisor for information about health and safety. When combined with an individualistic ideology which placed responsibility on each worker for her or his well-being, there is little wonder that workers failed to exercise their rights and did not perceive occupational health issues as a top priority. Can these results be generalized to your workplace? Finally, this article raises the same central issue addressed earlier by Rinehart, namely how can greater worker control over the total work environment be achieved?
Krahn and Lowe, Work, Industry and Canadian Society:
A good place to begin is the Blau and Scott quote on page 283 of the textbook, which is a classic statement on the importance of examining the informal side of organizations. Here, in a nutshell, is the reason for integrating micro (individual and group) and macro (organizational and structural) perspectives. Alone, neither gives a complete picture of organizational processes or, especially, the dynamics of worker-management relations. You may find this section particularly easy to relate to, mainly because it closely mirrors the daily realities of organizational life, albeit with greater depth.
Pages 284 and 285 of the textbook offer some fascinating examples of sociological research on informal work groups. Reading them over, it should be clear that management could not possibly prevent such activities. In fact, managers are often active participants (or turn a blind eye) in such activities, precisely because they recognize that the informal work arrangements devised and supported by work groups are essential for the wheels of a bureaucracy to turn. Recall from Unit 6 that a major criticism of Weber's theory of bureaucracy was that it did not pay sufficient attention to this informal side of organizations. Now you can appreciate the basis for these criticisms.
There is another critical point to be gleaned from these pages. Burawoy's use of a "game" analogy helps to account for how workers' informal work group practices can integrate them into the firm, thereby creating cooperation and consensus. This notion of "manufacturing consent" is a useful corrective to the labour process perspective's often overbearing view of management control. Thinking back to the discussions of management control above, it is indeed interesting to note how workers can under certain circumstances create informal cultures which, while flaunting some management regulations, end up contributing to overall production goals. Try to think of instances when informal cultures have the opposite effect, undermining efficiency and contributing to dissension rather than consent.
Workplace social relations are also the focal point of research on unionization and collective mobilization for strikes. The reading on pages 286 to 288 builds on Unit 7's brief review of theories of the labour movement. Note that the major stumbling block is overcoming the highly individualistic employment relations, and supporting ideology, found in capitalist workplaces. Individualistic values tend to encourage individual solutions to job problems, such as quitting. Theoretically, for workers to shift from an individual to a collective mode of problem-solving, the free-rider problem must be overcome. This requires the individual worker to voice her or his discontent by joining with others in the workplace -- in short, by equating individual interests with the collective good. A similar process must occur for unionized workers to mount a strike. Individual and group interests must coincide. But there are other important factors influencing collective action, as you will recall from Yates' article on CAW militancy in Unit 7.
Turning to the topic of strikes, perhaps you will view these events in a new light given the above discussion of the preconditions for collective action. It is useful to quickly go back and skim some of Unit 7, for this will help to reinforce that the entire industrial relations system is set up to resolve conflict and avoid strikes. So strikes are rare events, but nonetheless of great interest sociologically, mainly because they are such a marked departure from the norm. After getting a sense of what strikes are, examine the graph on page 291 (Figure 9.1). Note the peaks in strike activity and look for the explanations in the text of why these four historical periods generated increased conflict. Recall from Unit 7 the debate over whether Canadian industrial relations has entered a new era marked by increased restrictions on workers rights and "positive labour relations". Consider the implications of these arguments for future strike trends.
Now turn to the chart on page 293 (Figure 8.2) and think about why by international standards Canada has such relatively high work time losses due to strikes. In reviewing the explanations for these international patterns, again it would be useful to refer back to Unit 7. Much of the explanation for Canada's strike record revolves around the organization of our industrial relations system, which is described in Unit 7. However, the institutional set-up of union-management relations, and the way unions are structured, does not tell the full story about strikes. As can be seen from pages 294 and 295, there are various sociological explanations for why some workers in particular industries or workplaces are more likely to engage in strikes than others. Pay careful attention to the context which generate strikes and the motives which workers have for engaging in such activity.
Krahn and Lowe, Work, Industry and Canadian Society:
As you saw in Units 2 and 4, social class is a key concept in sociology. Just to refresh your memory, this is visible in the theories of Marx and Weber (Unit 2) and recent research on the impact of occupational and industrial transformations on the class structure (Unit 4). In this section we carry these earlier discussions a step further, using the insights from the above investigation of collective action.
Because strikes are the strongest expression of worker militancy in capitalist society, they have received much sociological attention. Mann's research, mentioned on page 296 of the textbook, explores the possible connection between strikes and the larger political arena. In broad terms, Mann and the other researchers discussed on pages 296 to 298 are searching for ways in which workers' job experiences, attitudes and behaviour have an impact outside the workplace, particularly on politics. Note the Marxist-inspired research questions Mann, Gallie and Lash are asking. For Mann, the issue is why workers do not link their work dissatisfactions to a political rejection of the capitalist system. Gallie's research identifies a combination of social, political and workplace factors which account for greater political involvement of French workers. Lash illuminates how the cultural traditions and political institutions of a nation play a role in socializing workers, meaning that they already have ideological predispositions when they enter the workforce.
These studies provide a good point of comparison with the Canadian situation, described on pages 298 and 299. In Canada, despite formal ties between the labour movement and the New Democratic Party, politics generally cannot be explained in class terms, as is more the case in France as we just noted. In short, despite major occupational differences in work experiences, rewards, and strikes and other forms of conflict, rank-and-file workers are only slightly different in their political attitudes and voting behaviour than higher-status managers and professionals. You may want to try to supplement this brief discussion with additional reasons for the absence of a well-developed class politics in Canada, or in your own province. What the discussion of the future of worker militancy, on pages 299 and 300, reminds us, however, is that changes in the industrial relations environment may tilt the balance of power even more toward employers and the state. Palmer's analysis of public sector mass protests in B.C. and Quebec, in Unit 7, already alerted you to the difficulties workers may face in opposing various kinds of cuts, rollbacks, and reduced rights.
If political pressure, through class-based politics, is not likely to bring major work reforms, then other avenues need to be considered. The concept of industrial democracy attempts to extend the principles of a democratic society into the workplace. It has always been a major irony that in free and democratic societies workplaces often have been surprisingly authoritarian. Industrial democracy challenges management's extensive rights to make all the crucial decisions. It goes well beyond the QWL schemes, discussed by Rinehart above and in Unit 6, which advocate a more equitable distribution of decision-making authority in the workplace. Note that the main examples are European, based on legislation which requires workers' elected representatives to be consulted on a broad range of issues. Perhaps not surprisingly, in more individualistic North America, stock-ownership and profit-sharing plans have been seen as the vehicle for achieving economic democracy, on the assumption that they give workers a personal economic stake in the enterprise.
Internationally, several examples of successful industrial democracy can be found. The Mondragon cooperative in Spain has attracted much attention, for it presents a viable worker-owned and operated alternative to private ownership and managerial control of industry. Note how the unique history, culture and political context of the Basque region provided fertile soil for the emergence of the Mondragon system. See if you can draw any parallels with the situation in Quebec, which also has spawned more cooperatives than anywhere else in North America.
Perhaps the leading examples of industrial democracy in action can be found in Sweden and Norway. From Unit 7, recall the strength of the Swedish labour movement. Also refer back to the discussion above of international strike trends, which further emphasized how centralized collective bargaining leads to greater consensus and less conflict. The points made on page 303 and 304 of the textbook also echo Myles' analysis of post-industrial transition models at the end of in his Unit 3 article. Not only have equitably distributed high wages and full employment been cornerstones of the Swedish system until recently, but equally important has been the goal of improving the work environment through direct worker participation in decision making. As you read about Sweden and Norway's work environment acts, keep in mind that this kind of empowering legislation was largely achieved due to the political strength of a centralized labour movement. This takes us full circle. We began the section raising questions about the connection between the workplace and the political arena, and we end it by demonstrating that political change is arguably one of the most effective ways of creating workplace reform.
Burawoy, Michael. Manufacturing Consent: Changes in the Labor Process Under Monopoly Capital. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1979.
Edwards, Richard. C. Contested Terrain: The Transformation of the Workplace in the Twentieth Century. New York: Basic Books, 1979.
Heron, Craig and Robert Storey, eds. On the Job: Confronting the Labour Process in Canada. Montreal and Kingston: McGill-Queen's University Press, 1986.
Jenson, Jane. "The talents of women, the skills of men: flexible specialization and women." In Stephen Wood, ed.. The Transformation of Work: Skill, Flexibility and the Labour Process. London: Unwin Hyman, 1989.
Noble, David F. "Social choice in machine design: the case of automatically controlled machine tools." In Donald Mackenzie and Judy Wajcman, eds. The Social Shaping of Technology. Milton Keynes: Open University Press, 1985.
Olsen, Gregg. "Labour mobilization and the strength of capital: the rise and stall of economic democracy in Sweden." Studies in Political Economy 34 (1991): 109-145.
Rinehart, James. The Tyranny of Work: Alienation and the Labour Process. 2nd ed. Toronto: Harcourt, Brace Jovanovich, 1987.
Sass, Robert. "Workplace health and safety: report from Canada." International Journal of Health Services 16 (1985): 565-82.
Thompson, Paul. The Nature of Work: Introduction to Debates on the Labour Process. 2nd ed. London: Macmillan, 1988.
Vallas, Steven Peter. "The concept of skill." Work and Occupations 14 (1990): 379-398.
White, Jerry P. Hospital Strike: Women, Unions, and Public Sector Conflict. Toronto: Thompson Educational Publishing, 1990.
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