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Nov18conflictandcontrolintheworkplace.pdf

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Chapter 10

Conflict and Control in the

Workplace

Prepared by Karen D. Hughes, Harvey J. Krahn,

and Harleen Padda, University of Alberta

Outline

1. Marx and Employment Relationships 2. Labour Process Theory 3. Technology and the Labour Process 4. Downsizing 5. New Managerial Paradigms?

1. Marx and Employment Relationships

Marx & Employment Relationships

qCapitalism inherently conflictual? qCapitalist labour market

qWage labour, exploitation, and surplus value qControl of labour

qWorkers experience alienation from qproducts qlabour process qother workers qthemselves

qClass conflict and revolution? 4

2. Labour Process Theory

Labour Process Theory

qHarry Braverman’s (1974) Labour and Monopoly Capital qDivision of labour and deskilling qDegradation and future class conflict

qBUT qDeskilling a universal pattern? qGendered nature of workplace skills?

q “Male” and “female” jobs qWorker resistance?

Models of Managerial Control

qRichard Edwards (1979) q“Contested terrain” qManagement and control systems vary historically by

sector and skill q Simple control q Technical control q Bureaucratic control

Modes of Managerial Control

qAndrew Friedman (1977) qShifting “frontier of control” qManagement and control systems determined by conflict

and accommodation qRange from

q direct control to q responsible autonomy

Electronic Control

qHighly active or relatively passive qExample: security cameras vs. tracking performance

qTypically intrusive qExample: tracking with GPS, reading emails

qGrowth of call centres q“Electronic sweatshops”?

qRoom for resistance?

The Deskilling Debate

qDeskilling or enskilling? qKnowledge and multi-skilled workers

qHow to define skill? qSubstantive complexity qDecision-making autonomy

qIkeler (2015) compared skill requirements of sales workers in different stores and found that.. qdepartment stores had “semi-skilled selling” qdiscount stores had “deskilled selling”

qMulti-skilling and multitasking 10

3. Technology and the Labour Process

Technology & the Labour Process

qNew technologies and reduction of physical labour qICT innovations increased productivity and created

new types of skilled work. qExample: robots eliminating dangerous jobs

qICT and job quality? Electronic control of workers? qAI putting jobs at risk of automation

qTruck drivers, retail sales clerks, administrative assistants, paralegals

qFrey and Osborne (2017) conclude that 47% of occupations in the U.S. are at high risk of computerization. 12

Technological, Economic, or Social Determinism? qTechnological determinism

qPattern and effects of technology are universal and unalterable

qIgnores differences in how new technologies are taken up in work settings and societies

qEconomic determinism q“Market knows best” how to choose/implement new

technologies qBUT people make decisions about implementing new

technologies. qSocial determinism

qNeed “education, wide-ranging discussion, and open decision making about how technologies will be used, by whom, and for whose benefit” (p. 319 of text)

4. Downsizing

Downsizing

q“Typically driven by economic downturns in the private sector and deficit-cutting agendas in the public sector” (p. 319 of text)

qImpact of “off-shoring,” mergers, restructuring qExamples: Oshawa GM plant, Heinz, BlackBerry

qEffects for workers? qMorale qFinancial qHealth

q Example: “survivor syndrome”

qReducing negative effects of downsizing by offering part-time or seasonal work, covering costs of retraining laid-off employees 15

Downsizing

qVideo clip: Up in the Air (2009)

5. New Managerial Paradigms?

New Managerial Paradigms?

q“Participative management” or “neo-Fordist”? qSame production framework and power structure qHyper-Taylorism/neo-Taylorism

q“Management by stress” qExample: Air Canada’s flight attendants

qNew management paradigms as “social technologies” qProductivity and profit as main goals qWorkers rarely involved in decisions about new

technologies 18

Summary of Key Ideas & Concepts qMarx and employment

relationships q Surplus value q Exploitation q Forms of alienation

qLabour process theory qDeskilling/degradation qEdwards and control

q Simple q Technical q Bureaucratic

q“Frontier of control” qDeskilling vs. enskilling qReskilling qTechnological,

economic, social determinism

qDownsizing qNeo-Fordism qHyper-Taylorism qSocial technologies