NEW PRODUCTION ARRANGEMENTS: THE TOTALLY FLEXIBLE CAGE?

This paper examines the management of innovation and change in two different operating units on a single site of a UK Division of a high technology US-owned multinational corporation. The transformation of work in changing from 'production for stock' to 'production to order' is a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Work, employment and society employment and society, 1989-06, Vol.3 (2), p.221-238
Main Authors: Dawson, Patrick, Webb, Janette
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adoption of Innovations
American multinational corporations
Assembly lines
Business innovation
Electronics industry
Employment
Flexible specialization
High Technology Industries
Industrial engineering
Labor
Labor Market
Management philosophies
Manufactured products
Modes of Production
Multinational Corporations
Production management
Production workers
Scotland
Work Organization
Workforce
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Summary:This paper examines the management of innovation and change in two different operating units on a single site of a UK Division of a high technology US-owned multinational corporation. The transformation of work in changing from 'production for stock' to 'production to order' is analysed, and the process of changing established patterns of work (as a brownfield operation), and designing new production arrangements from the outset (as a greenfield operation) are contrasted and compared. The key features of Just-in-Time and Total Quality Control principles are identified and the extent to which they represent real inovations in production is assessed. The paper concludes with a critical discussion of the flexible specialisation debate through reappraising the empirical evidence, and concludes by rejecting the view that modern production arrangements signal the general enhancement of working life through a reversal of the division of labour, increased worker autonomy and greater employee involvement in production.
ISSN:0950-0170
1469-8722
DOI:10.1177/0950017089003002006