Alternative Forms of Work Organization Under Programmable Automation
Author(s)
Kelley, Maryellen R.
Abstract
This paper draws on a study of U.S. manufacturing plants of various sizes that are using microprocessing PA systems. It concludes that neither a post-Taylorist nor a labor process (strict Taylorist) description adequately characterizes the trends in work organization that are associated with PA. As an alternative framework for analysis, post-Taylorist theories identify possibilities for worker-centered control over programmable automation. This paper extends the post-Taylorist approach, discovering a reality of PA control that is shared between white and blue-collar workers.
