Work, Production and Global Labor Flashcards
What is offshoring?
A company takes a process or task that was performed in house to another country
What is outsourcing?
A company or corporation taking a process that was performed within the company to an outside contractor – the original company saves money in overhead, benefits, wages, and costs of production
What is the Fordist system of production?
Mass style of production, assembly line & each individual completing a specialized task
What is the Fordist market demand?
Mass production–> mass consumption, cheaper commodities, Post- war prosperity, Fordism enabled capitalism to revolve under consumption of a limited market
What was the Fordist systems impact on workers?
Lack of worker socialization, output demands, work schedule changes, tedious work= unsatisfactory
What was the system of production in Post-Fordism?
Shrink of in-house operations, outsourcing, shifting towards service industry, rise of neolibrialism, downsized labor
What was the market demand in Post-Fordism?
Customized goods, growing market pressures
What was the impact of workers in Post-Fordsim?
Part time, temporary and seasonal workers became more common
What is Taylorization?
Scientific management: a system of production designed to maximize industrial output by optimizing production to its smallest detail and having large bureaucracies controlled by a single firm to deskill the worker and erode craftmanship
What are the characteristics of the global economy?
Horizontal webs of production, undermining union strength, use of vulnerable labor
What is the global contracting system?
Commodity production is being split into fragments– each fragment is assigned to whichever part of the world that can provide the most profitable combination of capital and labor
How does fordism and post-fordsim undermine union strength?
Tightly controlled workforce: no unions, no requirement for health benefits, retirement benefits, job security– some unions exist but have very few collective bargaining agreements– production is arranged into small units so workers are isolated and cannot form a group and strategize
What is use of valuable labor?
Men– ownership, management and administration; women– no support networks, easy to control, verbal and sexual abuse
What is automation?
Production processes monitored and controlled by machines with only minimal supervision with people
