SOC227H5 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Lafayette, Indiana, Deskilling, Kaizen
Document Summary
He was correct about the conflict between managers and employees. Although his theories were not all correct, he gave important concepts for analysis. Key concepts:, technology, power, control, resistance, conflict. Labor process: similar to work/production process, but from employee perspective. Objective: to extend marx"s analysis to the current workplace, especially looking at control and conflict: an explanatory, not prescriptive theory, answer the question of how and why things work the way they do. Industrial capitalism implies competition, forces companies to survive through efficiency. Competition increases the need for efficiency (greater profits at less cost) For efficiency, managers need to control costs through controlling the production process. Competition and industrial capitalism lead to managers" need for control. As management needs control, does so through new technology and division of labor. Newer technology means needing fewer workers with fewer skills (division of labor: with division of labor, jobs divided into smaller, simpler jobs (deskilling, work also becomes degraded (not as much prestige)
