Topic 4- Work

• Keyword

  -Labour process: the circumstances in which people apply their labour at work to produce goods and services Eg: How they work, who controls their work, what skills they have

  -Division of labour: work/ range of occupations divided into a large number of specialised tasks or jobs carried out by workers

  -Productivity: how much workers produce during the labour process- their output in terms of items made or processed- in a given time

  -Means of production: Means of producing goods and services
• 1.Spheres of Work


  -->CORE ECONOMY-Unpaid work from families, friends and neighbours.

  -->FORMAL ECONOMY- Paid work, careers, jobs, professions

  -->SHADOW ECONOMY- Paid work- hidden from the state
• Work in Industrial societies

  -->Britain up until 1800's:

  -In pre- industrial Britain to 1800's, the family home was a unit of production

  -Most activities carried out through all family members

  -They all co- operated together and worked to produce goods necessary for their own needs

  -Example- Amish community

  -->Industrialised Britain:

  -Separated home from work

  -Work moved away from the home into factories and offices

  -Labour was sold to employers in exchange for wages

  -This led to dependency on employers for their livelihoods
• How industrialisation creates an industrial society?


  -The production of goods is mainly carried out using technology (machinery) rather than using manual craft skills

  -The workforce is urban- based, in industrial towns and cities, rather than rural- based in agriculture in the countryside

  -Work is based mainly in factories and offices rather than in the home
• The Changing Nature of Work

  -->Pre-industrialisation: Primary sector

  -Farming, Agriculture, Family home as a unit of production

  -->Industrialisation: Secondary sector

  -Manufacturing, Factories, Production, Assembly lines (urbanisation, mechanisation, specialisation, rationalisation)

  -->Post-industrialisation: Tertiary sector

  -Office work, Communications, Banking, Insurance, Transportation, Advertising
• Possible similarities and differences between working before technology and today

  -->Creativity - help with work, research, interests, photos,

  -->Invasion of privacy - social media, photos leaked, hacking, constant surveillance

  -->Connectivity - friends family global meet new people dating

  -->Alienation - Facebook first in morning last at night, hang with mates... On your phone! Creates robots!

  -->Makes work easier - email, skype, FaceTime etc. Imagine if you had to write a letter that had to go by ship every time you wanted to contact America?!

  -->What about the use of technology as surveillance? CCTV? Monitoring phone calls and emails? Etc.
• Functionalist view of industrialisation


  -Durkheim believed that industrialisation was a threat to social solidarity ('togetherness')

  -Shift from 'mechanical solidarity' to 'organic solidarity'

  -Mechanical solidarity = traditional societies, low levels of specialism, small communities, few differences in people, shared norms and values

  -Organic solidarity = modern societies, specialised division of labour, large communities, high levels of difference, interdependence

  -Durkheim saw this 'individualism' as a threat to social solidarity, and saw the need for social institutions that would manage this (legal, state)
• Evaluation


  -->Pros:

  -Durkheim was conscious of the fact that the greater individualism associated with industrial societies could threaten social solidarity and saw an important role for occupational associations, legal contracts and state action to counter balance this potentially divisive force.

  -->Cons:

  -Not everyone would turn to illegitimate means or deviant behaviour if they are not successful.
• Marxist view of industrialisation

  -->Believed that 'capitalist industrialisation' was forming

  -->This was the emergence of the exploitation of a new class of industrial workers - the proletariat - by the owners of new owners of production or 'capital' - the bourgeoisie (replacing feudalism which was exploitation of peasants by aristocracy)

  -->Marx believed the proletariat were exploited in that the bourgeoisie owned the 'surplus value' of the proletariat labour - the difference between wages paid and the value of the product labour produced

  I.e. the bourgeoisie profited and made money on the labour of the proletariat

  -->Marx saw alienation as a major issue with industrialisation - that is estrangement from the self, other workers and even the work they were doing
• Evaluation

  -->Pros:

  -Marx acknowledged progression.Durkheim was preoccupied with the changes brought by industrialisation, Marx was more exercised by the fact that it was a particular form of industrialisation that was occurring- capitalist industrialisation.

  -->Cons:

  -In orthodox economics, profit is the reward enjoyed by entrepreneurs for the risks they take in setting up a business which might or might not generate any profits. The exploitation of workers by owners may perhaps occur, but it is not — in this view — an inevitable feature of capitalism.
• Weber and industrialisation (Interactionalist)


  -->Weber agreed with Marx that industrialisation created a capitalist society, but disagreed in the defining of capitalism

  -->He was more concerned with the idea of rationalisation than that of exploitation

  -->Rationalisation refers to the replacement of traditions, values, and emotions as motivators for behaviour in society with rational, calculated ones.

  -->Weber feared the loss of personal freedom and autonomy in a society that was becoming more rational, impersonal and bureaucratic

  -->Humans might find themselves trapped in an 'iron cage' of their own making
• Evaluation

  -->Pros:

  -Weber gave an alternative view, said little in his work about exploitation, disagreed about the inevitability of a proletarian revolution and, according to Lowy (2007), was much more contradictory than Marx in his view of capitalism.

  -->Cons:

  -Weber speaks about the loss of personal freedom and autonomy he feared might occur as societies' institutions and organisations became ever morerational, impersonal and bureaucratic.
• 2. Taylorism, Fordism and McDonaldisation

  -->Abercrombie et al: Technology can play two roles in work:

  -Technical control: Controlling individuals

  -Responsible autonomy: Controlled by individuals
• Scientific management (Taylorism)

  -->Taylor (1911):

  -Labour process or 'work' should be looked at scientifically - i.e. logically and systematically.

  -In doing so, management, control, productivity and efficiency should improve.

  -By using machinery, management would have tight control of the workforce and of their performance (because it is automated and therefore the worker would have to work as fast as the machine).
• Impact of Scientific management

  -->Scientific management/ Taylorism creates an obedient workforce who lack the skills to break free and find employment elsewhere

  -->Why is that?

  -Because each worker was only involved in a tiny process, they lacked skill and motivation to achieve any higher

  -This meant that management could control them and maximise profit
• Fordism


  -He mass-produced the car very cheaply using an assembly line. Production was broken down into simple, small, repetitive tasks, requiring little skill (division of labour).

  -Ford's first cars cost half the price of previous cars that were produced using 'craft' skills.

  -But consumer choice such as model, style or colour was limited. Workers were controlled closely by managers and supervisors who planned, co-ordinated and controlled the production process.
• Impact of Fordism


  -Workers were removed from decision-making at work and had no autonomy/independence.

  -They had no knowledge of the production process, only of the role that they played themselves.

  -The speed at which they worked was controlled by the machines on which they worked.

  -Therefore efficiency and productivity was maximised to benefit the profit of management.
• Evaluation

  -Workers lacked motivation and commitment - didn't see the bigger picture and never saw the finished product and never felt a sense of achievement.

  -There was conflict with management due to the lack of trust shown, the constant supervision and surveillance and the repetitiveness and dullness of their work.
• McDonaldisation


  -->Ritzer (2011):

  -A contemporary example of the way work today employs similar Taylorist/Fordist low-trust principles of scientific management.

  -Process whereby the principles of the fast-food restaurant are coming to dominate more and more sectors of society, with those doing such work often described as 'McJobs'.
• Deskilling and degradation of work


  -Deskilling: The process through which technology is replacing the need for skilled workers, and thus reducing the skill of workers.

  -Degradation: Where the labour process is often subdivided and simplified (division of labour), losing the need for skill and creativity, where workers have no control
• Braverman (1974) (Marxist)


  -He says that the labour process in capitalist economies reflects the conflict between the owners of production - bourgeoisie - and the exploited working class - proletariat.

  -In this conflict, managers do not trust workers to work efficiently and therefore managers maximise their control over the labour process and minimise the autonomy of workers and their ability to resist the management control.
• Criticisms of deskilling

  -In the 19th century, most workers were unskilled or semi-skilled jobs anyway, so there has been no deskilling relative to earlier times.

  -there has been a decline in semi and unskilled manual work, and an increase in skilled work. Gallie (1994) for example found little evidence to support the deskilling theses, with many workers saying their work had been up-skilled- become more skilled- with more qualifications needed to get their jobs, and with more time spent on training to learn how to do them.
• Evaluation

  -It is not only low-skilled jobs that are leading to 'deskilling'.

  -Even high end jobs are at risk such as lawyers doctors and accountants, as their jobs are broken down into components and replaced by machines and algorithms and advanced digital technology.
• 3. Human Relations (HR) and Management


  -HR and Management highlights the role of technology in the labour process

  -HR and Management is a response to the impact of deskilling and degradation on workers

  -Some sociologists go further to suggest that there are a variety of techniques that can be used to create a happier workforce
• Scientific Management


  -->When technology controls the individual (Technical control):

  -Taylorism, Fordism, Mcdonaldism, Deskilling and Degradarion, Modern technology

  -->When the individual controls the technology (Responsible autonomy):

  -Human Relations Theory, Responsible Autonomy, Post-Fordism
• Human Relations Theory


  -->Mayo (1920):

  -After seeing the effects of Scientific Management, Mayo proposed that alienation can be prevented

  -Workers were better controlled and more productive if they felt valued and less controlled by management during the labour process

  -Mayo conducted an experiment to prove this
• Human Relations Theory

  -->Hawthorne effect: When individuals being studied or observed change their behaviour because they know they are being watched.

  -Mayo concluded that if management showed more care and attention to the personal and social needs of workers, and work was enjoyable, productivity would rise.
• Evaluation

  -->Strengths: Based on evidence in Mayo's research- valid

  -Attempts to overcome worker resistance in the labour process.

  -->Weaknesses: If the workers knew they were being observed in Mayo's study, could have impacted results and factors such as temperature in the workplace could have more influence.

  -Some sociologists would argue that this is simply a new form of control, while still maintaining management control and power.
• Responsible Autonomy


  -->Friedman (1977), Marxist: Criticises Braverman's deskilling thesis Friedman disagrees with the notion that the workforce is controlled by technology

  -Instead, he believes that employers control the workforce by allowing employees to get involved in the labour process. This leads to high levels of efficiency and productivity
• Evaluation

  -->Strengths: Developed Braverman's theory and understood that not all workers are controlled by technology. Understands the different industry we are in now (i.e. retail- service based)

  -->Weaknesses: Companies are not necessarily considering the interests of the workers, but how to create enough satisfaction for them to serve the interests of the company.
• Post- Fordism

  -->Piore and Sabel:

  -Scientific Management and McDonaldisation are outdated forms of management

  -Instead, Piore and Sabel argue that productivity and efficiency comes from flexible specialisation

  -Flexible specialisation: developing specialist equipment/ tools and workers are required to create a product to increase efficiency

  -We have adapted to a Post- Fordist labour process as consumer demands are increasing rapidly, and of higher quality
• Evaluation

  -->Strengths: The need for flexibility in the production of goods to meet more personalised, specialised and ever-changing consumer demands has resulted in changes to the organisation and management of work.

  -->Weaknesses: Mass production sometimes results in child labour. Fast fashion- quality is compromised
• 4. The Theory of Alienation


  -->Alienation:

  -Lack power and control at work

  -Have no job satisfaction or sense of creativity and fulfilment

  -Feel estranged or separate from the work that they do.

  -->Blauner:

  -A problem which affects many areas of work in capitalist society is alienation of the workforce.

  -Alienation and job satisfaction was influenced by the technology (or machinery) involved in work, and the amount of control it gave workers over their work.
• PIMS- Blauner


  -Powerlessness, Isolation, Meaninglessness, Self-estrangement

  -His main belief was that the degree of alienation was technologically determined job satisfaction OR alienation was determined by the machinery/ technology involved and how much control workers had over their work.
• Alienation or Satisfaction?

  -->Mechanization = high alienation, low job satisfaction

  -Labour process was routine, repetitive, required little skill or creativity. Workers had little control or responsibility

  -->Craft production = high job satisfaction, low alienation, because they had responsibility and autonomy Required skill. Saw a product through from start to finish

  -->Assembly-line production = highest levels of alienation, lowest job satisfaction. No responsibility or autonomy, social isolation. Never seeing a product through from start to finish - Fordism mass-car manufacturing

  -->Automation = high job satisfaction, low alienation

  With the advance of machinery, it now does the boring, repetitive jobs. Workers manage the machinery and work in teams that can be creative and have importance
• Evaluation

  -->Pros:

  -By increasing autonomy for workers, increases motivation, allows them to feel valued in their position.

  -He made a way to measure alienation e.g. The degree of control workers had over their work.

  -->Cons:

  -Meaninglessness- Workers feel alienated due to their low expectations of their workplace.

  -Blauner ignored the basic cause of alienation- the objective position of worker within relations of production in capitalist economic society.