technology & work experience in industrial organizations
Samenvatting
In the empirical search for the motives that play a part in work-experiencing, 3 clearly distinguishable dimensions appear: instrumental, social, & task-intrinsic. A. N. Turner & P. R. Lawrence (INDUSTRIAL JOBS AND THE WORKER, Boston, 1965) maintain that all work in an industrial context has certain distinctions: needed interaction; interaction by choice; variety, autonomy, knowledge & capability, & responsibility. R. Blauner (ALIENATION AND FREEDOM, Chicago, 1964) finds a clear connection between technology & work experiencing, as well as the 4 dimensions of alienation-impotence, insanity, isolation, & self-alienation. Joan Woodward (INDUSTRIAL ORGANIZATION: THEORY AND PRACTICE, London, 1965) has arranged production systems in 3 main categories: production by the piece, mass production, & continued production. The more complex the production process, the more routine & predictable the work. A summary of studies concerning the effect of automation on work circumstances (P. Sadler, SOCIAL RESEARCH ON AUTOMATION, London, 1968, p.37), gives the following picture: less need for heavy physical labor; improvement in the cleanliness, physical comfort, & the attractiveness of the surroundings; fewer risks of health & safety; disappearance of the most repetitive work; relations with colleagues & superiors must be more satisfying; a reduction of nervous tension caused by excessive responsibility & the need to stay awake during long periods of inactivity. A. Touraine (L'EVOLUTION DU TRAVAIL OUVRIER AUX USINES RENAULT, [The Evolution of Unskilled Labor in the Renault Factories], Paris, 1955) feels that technology should be more or less the autonomical factor of the cadre between technology, structure, & labor experiencing. The structures & orientations are functions of the purposes of the organization. D. Ridgway.
