The New American Workplace

by Appelbaum, Eileen; Batt, Rosemary

• ISBN13: 9780875463186
• ISBN10: 0875463185
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1994-01-01
• Publisher: Ilr Pr

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.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
The Challenge	p. 1
Introduction	p. 3
Why Change? The Breakdown of Mass Production	p. 14
The Alternatives	p. 27
Alternative Models of Production	p. 29
A Comparison of the Models	p. 43
Alternative Strategies in the United States	p. 55
The Extent of the Change: Evidence from Surveys, 1982-93	p. 57
Experiments with Workplace Innovation: Evidence from Case Studies, 1970-92	p. 69
Organizational Change in Services	p. 98
The Solutions	p. 121
American Models of High Performance	p. 123
Obstacles to Change	p. 146
Policies to Promote High-Performance Systems	p. 161
Appendix A. Incidence of Organizational Change among U.S. Firms: Evidence from Surveys	p. 171
Appendix B. Summary of Case Studies, 1970-92	p. 191
Notes	p. 249
Glossary	p. 257
References	p. 261
Index	p. 279
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