Orientation Theory in Industry

Abstract

Within the general framework of industrial sociology the social action approach is used to investigate the evaluative orientation of workers. Instrumental, bureaucratic, and solidaristic types of orientation, discussed by Goldthorpe et al. (1970), have shortcomings. This article offers an alternative perspective incorporating (a) Jung's telic orientation theory and its explanatory principle of reduction of uncertainty, (b) Parson's notions of social exchange and instrumental-expressive complexes of evaluative action or orientation, and (c) an ethical complex. The resulting instrumental, ethical, and expressive complexes are interpreted as three analytically distinct gradients of the uncertainty principle. These complexes form the basis on which evaluations by workers can be made. The utility of this modified theory of evaluative orientation is tested by applying it to an actual industrial setting. Data on workers' evaluations of the company, the supervisors, and their coworkers were collected. Factor analysis was performed to arrive at conceptual generalizations. The three factors yielded are interpreted as constructs of the workers' orientations. Separate factorial analyses according to company, type of technology, and skill level suggest some modification of these constructs.