Taylor, Bill, 1962- (1993) Work organisation and management strategies in consumer electronics : theoretical issues and case study evidence. PhD thesis, University of Warwick.

Preview

PDF WRAP_THESIS_Taylor_1993.pdf - Submitted Version - Requires a PDF viewer such as GSview, Xpdf or Adobe Acrobat Reader Download (15Mb)

Abstract

This thesis is concerned with the patterns of work and employment within foreign owned multinationals operating in the UK's consumer electronics industry. The focus is on evaluating current debates on whether there has been any changes or shifts in relations between capital and labour, which constitute a new paradigm. There is a growing set of literature which argues that Japanese capitalism is providing new paradigms for work relations which result in highly cooperative associations between worker and employer. Much of the evidence for such claims comes from studies of Japanese owned plants operating in the UK and US. However, there is little depth to such studies, which mainly consist of interviews with managers or questionnaires. Through selection of a case study methodology and by critically assessing the nature of Japanese managerial techniques, this research challenges fundamentally the 'Japanisation' school. Moreover, the thesis provides contradictory findings concerning 'flexibility'. More tentatively, the thesis contributes to debates on labour segmentation based on gender, and on the wider debate around 'new industrial relations'. The research was based on four case studies, three Japanese and one European, but not British, owned plants of large multinational corporations. The headquarters of the Japanese plants were also visited, as were plants in Japan. More than 50 taped interviews were conducted with over 100 managers, workers and trade union officials from the UK and Japan. In addition, factory visits were made at each plant more than once and often with a almost a year between visits. The main findings are that the plants did not display any of thefeatures attributed to 'Japanisation', except with the marginal exception of the European plant. Techniques, such as 'just-in-time' and direct participation between employees and management to the exclusion of unions, were not in evidence. Instead, management was concerned with maximising production runs, minimising change and constantly trying to control workers, who were themselves conscious that for most of them, their work was repetitive boring and, especially for the women, deskilled.

Item Type:	Thesis or Dissertation (PhD)
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	International business enterprises -- Great Britain -- Management, Business enterprises, Foreign -- Great Britain -- Management, Household electronics industry -- Great Britain -- Management, Industrial relations
Date:	November 1993
Institution:	University of Warwick
Theses Department:	Department of Sociology
Thesis Type:	PhD
Publication Status:	Unpublished
Supervisor(s)/Advisor:	Fairbrother, Peter
Sponsors:	Science and Engineering Research Council (Great Britain) (SERC) ; Japan. Monbushō
Extent:	viii, 404 leaves
Language:	eng
URI:	http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/id/eprint/36071

Request changes to a record

Actions (login required)

View Item