Technology, Work and Organizations Stephen R. Barley Management Science and Engineering Center for Work, Technology and Organization Stanford University
Organization Studies of Technology & Work Sociology of Automation Materialists Determinists Focus on Work Methods: Field observations, interviews and survey research. Walker and Guest. The Man on the Assembly Line. 1952. Eli Chinoy. Automobile Workers and the American Dream. 1955. Mann and Hoffman. Automation and the Worker. 1960. Blauner. Alienation and Freedom. 1964. Faunce, Automation and the Division of Labor, Social Problems, 13:147-160. 1965 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s onward
Blauner s Inverted U Mass Manufacturing Alienation Centralization Continuous Process Skill Craft Production Energy Source Transformation Transport Control Extent of Automation
Organization Studies of Technology & Work Sociology of Automation Socio-Technical Systems Materialists Volunteerists Focus on Work & Organization Structure Methods: Field observations, interviews and survey research Trist and Bamforth. Some Social Psychological Consequences of the Longwall Method of Coal Getting. Human Relations, 4: 3-38. 1951 Rice. Productivity and Social Organization: The Ahmedebad Experiment. 1963 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s onward
Organization Studies of Technology & Work Sociology of Automation Socio-Technical Systems Materialists Deskilling Determinists Theory Focus on Work Methods: Historical case studies. Braverman. Labor and Monopoly Capital. 1973. Noble. Forces of Production: A Social History of Industrial Automation. 1984 Greenbaum. In the Name of Efficiency. 1979. 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s onward
Braverman s view of Blauner Mass Manufacturing Alienation Centralization Continuous Process Craft Production Energy Source Transformation Transport Control Extent of Automation
Organization Studies of Technology Sociology of Automation Socio-Technical Systems Chicago School (Kling) Ethnomethodology (Suchman) Constuctionists Structurationists Focus on Work Methods: Ethnography, Historical case studies. Deskilling Theory Social Construction of Use 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s onward
Perspectives on the Social Construction of Technology Perception Interpretation Appropriation Enactment Alignment Aspect of Implementation What is constructed Construction Process Adoption Use Use Use Adaptation Attitudes, Beliefs and Values Social Influence Fulk et al. (1987) Rice & Aydin (1991) Fulk et al. (1995) Schemas and Frames Transference Barley (1988) Prasad (1993) Markus (1994) Orlikowski & Gash (1994) Patterns of deviation and conformity Intra-group interaction Poole & DeSanctis (1990) Orlikowski & Robey (1991) Work Practices Situated Improvisations Orlikowski & Yates (1994) Orlikowski (2000) Roles and Relationships Inter-group interaction Barley (1986, 1990) Zuboff (1988) Thomas (1994) Edmonson et al. (2001)
Barley s Law of Technological Change You almost never get just what you expect and most of the time you don t even get that. Corollary: However, you will get something.
First and Second Order Effects First Order Effects Economic Quick Utilitarian Relatively predictable Second Order Effects Socio-cultural Slow but pervasive Critical but not utilitarian Hard to predict
Reverberation Model of Technological Change Family Demography Network Structures Organization Work Work Practices Work Relations Division of Labor Industry Community OTHER INSTITUTIONS Education
Flow of Information and Technical Assistance in a Radiology Department Administrators Radiologists Orderlies Specials Techs Other Secretaries X-ray Techs CT Secretaries Nurses CT Techs Sonographers
Technician's Work at the Empirical Interface: The Epistemic Core Material Entities Empirical Interface Transformation Representations Biological Systems Physical Systems Mechanical Systems Technologies Techniques Knowledge Data Test Results Images Diagnoses Caretaking
Distribution of Knowledge When Techs are Buffers Technician s Knowledge Professional s Knowledge Contextual Understanding Theoretical Understanding
Distribution of Knowledge in IT Technician s Knowledge User s Knowledge Contextual Understanding Theoretical Hazy understanding, bordering on ignorance
Typical Notions of the Distribution of Technical Knowledge Professional s Knowledge Technician s Knowledge
A quote Computer people.don t have the requisite capacity for judgment.
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Informants Source of Retirement Funds None 45% IRA 20% 401K 12% SEP 8% Kough 2% Former Employer 12%
Proportion of Articles that Mention Key Themes Energy and Air Pollution Flexibility Work & Family Telecommuters as a Market Year
Some Unanticipated 2 nd Order Effects of an Information Infrastructure Employers have been able to appropriate portions of our and up to three additional weeks of our time per year, usually without compensation. Costs of employment are being shifted onto workers in a fashion that undermines the U.S. system of social welfare. The industrial culture of status seems to be reestablishing itself within the technical labor force, especially with respect to technicians.
References Evans, J. G. Kunda and S. R. Barley. (2004) Beach Time, Bridge Time, and Billable Hours: The Temporal Structure of Technical Contracting. Administrative Science Quarterly, 49: 1-38. G. Kunda, S. R. Barley, and J. Evans. (2002) Why do Contractors Contract? The Experience of Highly Skilled Technical Professionals in a Contingent Labor Market. Industrial and Labor Relations Review 55:234-261 O Mahony, S. and S. R. Barley. (1999) Do Telecommunications Technologies Affect Work and Organizations? The State of our Knowledge Pp. 125-161 in B. Staw and R. Sutton, (Eds) Research in Organizational Behavior, Volume 21, Greenwich, CT: JAI Press. Barley, S. R. (1996) "Technicians in the workplace: Ethnographic evidence for bringing work into organization studies." Administrative Science Quarterly, 41:404-441. Zabusky, S. E. and S. R. Barley. (1996) "Redefining success: Ethnographic observations on the careers of technicians." Pp. 185-214 in Paul Osterman (ed.) Broken Ladders: Managerial Careers in Transition. Oxford, Eng: Oxford University Press. Barley, S. R. (1990) "The alignment of technology and structure through roles and networks." Administrative Science Quarterly, 35: 61-103.