4) The labour process. Flashcards
Define the labour process.
The role people play when applying their labour to work, the conditions, the skills they use and the autonomy workers have over work.
Pre-industrial.
-Living in rural areas.
-People worked at home eg spinning wheels, agriculture.
-Self-sufficiency.
-High control over the labour process.
Post-industrial.
-Living in towns and industrial cities eg Manchester, Liverpool, Rochdale.
-Working in factories with machinery eg textiles.
-Poor living conditions seprate from work.
-First example of class divide (bourgeoisie own means of production.)
Power and autonomy in industrial factories.
-Workers are initially hesitant to give up control to factory owners.
-This creates a low-trust system between managers workers can not be trusted and need close supervision.
-The workers have little autonomy over the labour process: what is produced and how quickly.
-Profit over people. Workers were not encouraged to unionise or strike.
Scientific Management.
Management of workers should follow scientific principles: strict control over the workforce and the tasks they perform.
Taylorism.
Breaking work down into individual, low-skilled parts for efficiency. Managers and training provide clear instructions- anyone can do the work.
Breaking work down= division of labour.
Technology can be used to control workers, reducing the power of the workers over the labour process.
Traditional Fordism ‘any colour as long as its black’.
Following Taylorism. Applied to assembly line production of the Model-T Ford car, which cost half the price. Cheap and standard cars were produces with repetitive, low-skill tasks, keeping production costs low.
No craft skills= little variation.
Workers were heavily controlled by managers for productivity.
Post- Fordism.
More customisation options than before eg colour, model. They are still produced efficiently and for profit. Accommodates for diverse consumer needs.
McDonaldsisation.
Contemporary example of Taylorism being implemented in the labour process.
-Efficiency.
-Calcuability: each part of the process is measured and calculated.
-Predictability: all of the locations are the same (menu, layout, staff.)
-Control: workers controlled by managers.
Upskilling- contrary to Taylorism (Gallie.)
There is a decline in unskilled manual work and increase in skilled jobs. The qualifications (more people going to uni) for jobs is going up and more time is spent on training eg Shop workers in Covid.
Deskilling (Marxism, Braverman.)
The labour process represents class struggle between the owners of the means of production and the exploited proletariat. Jobs in many sectors become more degrade in terms of skill. Results in a loss of creative capacity and skill, keeping the workers unskilled, stopping them from committing revolution.
Deskilling’s impact on employment.
It is repetitive, so people want to find different work.
Workers are easily replaced if they become ill or go on strike.
Responsible autonomy (Friedman.)
The workforce is controlled through technology, rather than the direct control of scientific management. Workers identify with the company and their work and require less supervision. Management gives them responsible autonomy giving them a sense of freedom, even with little control over the labour process. Stops quitting+ strikes.
Human relations theory (Mayo)+ the Hawthorne effect.
-Hawthorne: find factors that impact productivity of workers. Workers that are valued, less controlled and felt enjoyment were more likely to be productive.
-People work better when being observed. Reduces validity of study.
Fulfilment in work.
-Enrichment: independence in decision making, rather than being supervised.
-Rotation: greater variety of tasks.
-Enlargement: wider range of tasks and skills.
-Teamwork: rather than individual work.
Flexible working and Microsoft.
Employees can work from home and chose their own hours. Gives them more control over the labour process, decreasing alienation and improves productivity. Gives them responsible autonomy (Friedman.)
What companies make mass-produced products to meet demand?
Ikea: people find it convenient to buy, as it is reliable. Deskilling: people with no skills can make the furniture- craft skills no longer important.
Microsoft PCs.
Why is flexibility of work restricted to big businesses?
They have a smaller number of employees. Large companies can employ Taylorism to have people with hyper-specific jobs.
Pros+ cons of self employment.
Pro: Control working hours.
Less alienation from work.
Mx- not controlled by bourgeoisie.
Have responsible autonomy.
Con: No guarantee of wage.
Not part of functioning society (funct.)
Lack of opportunities for women.
Alienation+ intrinsic v extrinsic attitude.
-Workers have little control over the labour process, so have little job satisfaction. Work is meaningless, except to make money.
-Extrinsic: working for money and rewards.
-Intrinsic: enjoying the job and caring about the products.
Marx+ alienation.
Workers lack control and are exploited by capitalism: they do not own the means of production. The products and profits go to the bourgeoisie. Work is intrinsically human, but industrial society created reluctance. The solution is revolution to get the means of production back.
Technological determinism (Blauner.)
More tech= less job satisfaction- the workers no longer have control like they once did in pre-industrial society.
Automation+ alienation.
The introduction of machinery in the labour process eg Ford. May reduce alienation, as workers have to do less, making work easier.
