Technological choice and the organization of work in capitalist firms

Abstract

Tn recent years, a number of political economists and historians have reopened the question of the effects of increased division of labour on the level of skill of the workforce in a capitalist economy. While some writers have contended that the predominant effect of progressive increases in the division of labour has been deskilling, others have found that the results of technological change have varied considerably depending on the nature of the change and the circumstances under which it was undertaken.2 New technologies may, for example, lead to the consolidation of tasks formerly performed by two or more groups of workers rather than to an ever more minute division of tasks, and entirely new skills may be required or the demand for old ones enhanced by innovation. In this article, we develop a framework to explore the relationship between the choice of technology by management and the organization of work within the firm. Integrative as well as differentiating modes of change are considered, as is the impact of power relationships within the firm on the choice of an appropriate technology. We begin with the impact on work organization brought about by the choice of technologies of various kinds. The differences caused by changes in product technology are distinguished from those generated by changes in process technology. In section II we look at ways in which transaction costs and power relationships within the firm might retard the ability of managers to adopt new technologies.