Abstract
The central concern of this chapter is with the way in which the concept of the division oflabour can be used to explain the position of engineers in British society. We proceed, following Braverman (1974), by describing two sociological meanings of the term division oflabour: the social and technical. We then demonstrate the particularly important place that engineers should play in the social and economic division oflabour by considering evidence relating to social and technical change and development. We next focus on engineers’ position in the social division oflabour. We point then to the contradictions of many British engineers’ roles in the technical division oflabour, with particular emphasis on the crucially important function of production. These contradictions, we suggest, are closely related to many of the other problems highlighted in this book.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
