The Oxford Handbook of Work and Organization

by Ackroyd, Stephen; Batt, Rosemary; Thompson, Paul; Tolbert, Pamela S.

• ISBN13: 9780199269921
• ISBN10: 0199269920
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2005-02-24
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

The last twenty-five years of the twentieth century was a period of extraordinary change in organizations and the economies of the developed world. This continues today. Such has been the scale and momentum of events that, for some analysts, the only comparable periods are the early part ofthe twentieth century in which the shift to mass production and large-scale organization was accomplished, or the industrial revolution itself a hundred years earlier. Researchers in Europe and the USA in particular have been studying change in work and organizations, but there has been little attempt to systematize and draw together the results of their work. So far, the emphasis amongst writers on organizations considering the problem of contemporary change hasbeen on ways of conceptualizing events, rather than also considering evidence. But what has actually happened? How much of the flux of events is real change, and how much mere change in emphasis in which apparent change is overlaying organizational continuity? How far are changes in particularevents and sectors connected, and is an overall understanding of complex processes possible?The Oxford Handbook of Work and Organization aims to bring together, present and discuss what is currently known about work and organizations and their connection to broader economic change in Europe and America. Issues of conceptualization are not neglected but, in contrast to other comparablevolumes, the emphasis is firmly on what is known what and has been observed by researchers. The volume contains a range of theoretically informed essays, written by leading authorities in their respective fields, giving comprehensive coverage of changes in work, occupations, and organizations. Itconstitutes an invaluable overview of the accumulated understanding of research into work, occupations and organizations in recent decades. It shows that in almost every aspect of economic institutions, change has been considerable. The subject area of work, occupations and organizations is considered in four major sections of the volume: I, Work, Technology, and the Division of Labor; II, Managerial Regimes and Employee Actions; III, Occupations and Organizations; and IV, Organizing and Organizations. In this way thecontemporary situation in work and organizations is considered extensively in its different dimensions and interconnections. The contributors have been selected for their expertise and include many leading authors in organizational analysis and substantive research. The handbook is thus anauthoritative statement, and offers a valuable account of organizations at this time.

Table of Contents

List of Figures	p. xi
List of Tables	p. xii
List of Contributors	p. xiii
Texts and Times: Mapping the Changing Study of Work and Organizations	p. 1
Work, Technology, and The Division of Labor
Introduction	p. 19
Labor Markets and Flexibility	p. 31
Organizations and the Intersection of Work and Family: A Comparative Perspective	p. 52
Gender, Race, and the Restructuring of Work: Organizational and Institutional Perspectives	p. 74
Skill Formation Systems	p. 95
Technology and the Transformation of Work	p. 115
Groups, Teams, and the Division of Labor: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on the Organization of Work	p. 138
Managerial Regimes and Employee Actions
Introduction	p. 165
The Diffusion and Domestication of Managerial Innovations: The Spread of Scientific Management, Quality Circles, and TQM between the United States and Japan	p. 177
Managers, Markets, and Ideologies: Design and Devotion Revisited	p. 200
Human Resource Management	p. 220
Knowledge Management	p. 242
Industrial Relations and Work	p. 263
Labor Movements and Mobilization	p. 283
Resistance, Misbehavior, and Dissent	p. 305
Occupations and Organizations
Introduction	p. 329
Manual Workers: Conflict and Control	p. 338
Service Workers in Search of Decent Work	p. 356
What We Know (and Mostly Don't Know) about Technical Work	p. 376
The Changing Nature of Professional Organizations	p. 404
Ports and Ladders: The Nature and Relevance of Internal Labor Markets in a Changing World	p. 425
Organizing and Organizations
Introduction	p. 449
Organizations and Organized Systems: From Direct Control to Flexibility	p. 462
Post-Bureaucracy?	p. 485
Interfirm Relations as Networks	p. 508
Changes in the Organization of Public Services and their Effects on Employment Relations	p. 530
Understanding Multinational Corporations	p. 554
Corporate Restructuring	p. 577
Beyond Convergence and Divergence: Explaining Variations in Organizational Practices and Forms	p. 602
Index	p. 626
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.