عنوان

Technical change and work organisation

Number

TLets291699

Title Proper

Technical change and work organisation

General Material Designation

[Thesis]

First Statement of Responsibility

Wilkinson, Barry

Name of Publisher, Distributor, etc.

University of Aston in Birmingham

Date of Publication, Distribution, etc.

1981

Dissertation or thesis details and type of degree

Ph.D.

Body granting the degree

University of Aston in Birmingham

Text preceding or following the note

1981

Text of Note

This thesis is an exploration of the social and politicalprocesses involved in the introduction of new technologyto the shopfloor. Through a series of case studiesof applications of microelectronics to batch manufacture,it attempts to uncover the ways in which the values andinterests of managers, engineers, workers and others profoundlyinfluence the choice and use of technology, andthus the work organisation which emerges.Previous analyses have tended to treat new technologyas if it had "impacts" on work organisation - especiallyskills - which are inevitable in particular technical andeconomic circumstances. It is in opposition to this viewthat technical change is here treated as a matter for socialchoice and political negotiation, the various interestedparties to the change being shown to attempt to incorporatetheir own interests into the technical and social organisationof work.Section one provides the relevant background to thecase studies by summarising and criticising previous theoreticaland empirical work in the area. The inadequaciesof this work for our concerns are drawn out, and the needfor detailed studies of the political aspects of technicalchange is justified. The case studies are presented insection two as a set of "episodes" of innovation, and sectionthree analyses the empirical findings. The innovationsare compared and contrasted in order to illustrate thesocial and political dynamics involved in the various stagesof the innovation process. Finally some comments are madeon policy issues for which the research has important implications.

Business and Administrative studies

Wilkinson, Barry

University of Aston in Birmingham

Electronic name

p

[Thesis]

276903

a

Y