The New American Workplace : Transforming Work Systems in the United States / Rosemary Batt, Eileen Appelbaum.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Appelbaum, Eileen, author.

Batt, Rosemary, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Manufacturing industries--United States.

Manufacturing industries.

Industrial organization--United States.

Industrial organization.

Work environment--United States.

Work environment.

Labor--United States.

Labor.

Genre:

Electronic books.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (ix, 287 p. )

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Ithaca, NY : Cornell University Press, [2018]

Language Note:

In English.

Summary:

Despite formidable obstacles, a small but growing number of U.S. companies rccognize that today's domestic and international markets require them to transform their production process. On the basis of more than ten years of survey data and the evidence of case studies, Eileen Appelbaum and Rosemary Batt analyze the experiences of these companies. Their findings reveal two distinct and coherent models of the new American workplace. One is an American version of team production, which combines the principles of sociotechnical systems with those of quality engineering and which decentralizes the management of work flow and decision making. The other is an American version of lean production, which relies more heavily on managerial and technical expertise, and on centralized coordination and decision making. The authors explain the organizational models from which high-performance firms in the United States have borrowed and outline the policies required to promote more widespread workplace change. They contend that U.S. firms can, in fact, compete successfully, while providing their workers with increased job security, livable wages, and enhanced job satisfaction. Certain to appeal to both union and business leaders, this volume also offers crucial insights to policy makers and to scholars of the new American workplace.

Contents:

Frontmatter

CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Part I. The Challenge

1. Introduction

2. Why Change? The Breakdown of Mass Production

Part II. The Alternatives

3. Alternative Models of Production

4. A Comparison of the Models

Part III. Alternative Strategies in the United States

5. The Extent of the Change: Evidence from Surveys, 1982-93

6. Experiments with Workplace Innovation: Evidence from Case Studies, 1970-92

7. Organizational Change in Services

Part IV. The Solutions

8. American Models of High Performance

9. Obstacles to Change

10. Policies to Promote High-Performance Systems

Appendix A. Incidence of Organizational Change among U.S. Firms: Evidence from Surveys

Appendix B. Summary of Case Studies, 1970-92

Notes

Glossary

References

Index

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 26. Mrz 2019)

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

ISBN:

9781501720642

1501720643

OCLC:

1080551527