Social Theory at Work

by Korczynski, Marek; Hodson, Randy; Edwards, Paul K.

• ISBN13: 9780199285976
• ISBN10: 0199285977
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2006-04-27
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

Work is fundamental to human society and modern organizations, and consequently has been central to the thinking of major social theorists and social science disciplines. This book offers a 'one-stop-shop' guide to classical and contemporary perspectvies of work written by leadinginternational experts. Schools covered include: Weberian, Marxian, Durkheimian, feminist, neo-classical economics, institutional economics, ethics, Foucauldian, postmodernist, organizational sociology and economic sociology. Each chapter traces the origins of the theoretical school, reviews seminal contributions,and considers major criticisms of the approach. In addition, the book features a section on key aspects of work - professions, technology, identity and globalisation - to which these theories have been applied.The book makes a major contribution in a number of ways: DT Provides systematic coverage of major social and economic theories and the way they aid our understanding of work;DT Includes a section of chapters that consider, in an applied way, how social theories have helped the analysis of key substantive areas of work;DT Includes contributions from leading academics from both Europe and the USA; DT Each chapter can be read as free-standing summary of a particular school of theoretical approach;DT In addition, the introductory and concluding chapters examine themes cross-cutting the other chapters in the book.It is an essential text for academics and advanced students concerned with the sociology of work, management, and organization studies.

Author Biography

Marek Korczynski is a Reader in Employment Relations at Loughborough University. His research centres on social theory and work, on the sociology of service work and on music and work. He is the author of On the Front Line: Organization of Work in the Service Economy (Cornell University Press, 1999, co-authored) and Human Resource Management in Service Work (Palgrave/Macmillan, 2002).
Randy Hodson is Professor of Sociology at Ohio State University. His research interests include worker citizenship and resistance, management behavior, and coworker relations. He is also engaged in research on economic transformations in Eastern Europe and China. His recent books include Dignity at Work (Cambridge University Press, 2001) and Worlds of Work: Building an International Sociology of Work (coauthored with Daniel B. Cornfield, Kluwer/Plenum, 2002). He is also coauthor with Teresa A. Sullivan of The Social Organization of Work, 3rd edition (Wadsworth, 2001) and editor of the JAI/ Elsevier Science annual series on Research in the Sociology of Work. For more information see his web site at: http://www.soc.sbs.ohio-state.edu/rdh/.
Paul Edwards is a Professor of Industrial Relations at the University of Warwick and a Fellow of the British Academy. Current research focuses on employment policies in multinational companies and skills and training in small firms. The most recent of his eight books is The Politics of Working Life (OUP, 2005, with Judy Wajcman). He is a former editor of Work, Employment and Society.

Table of Contents

Foreword

Introduction: Competing, collaborating and reinforcing theories

Theory Overview

Marxist thought and the analysis of work

Weberian thought and the analysis of work

A Durkheimian view of organizational culture

Feminist thought and the analysis of work

Foucauldian and postmodern thought and the analysis of work

Neo-classical economic thought and the analysis of work

The institutional economics tradition and the analysis of work

Economic sociology and the analysis of work

Organizational sociology and the analysis of work

Ethical analysis and work

Integrative Chapters

Technology and work

Professions

Globalization and work

Identity and work

Conclusion: Change at work and opportunities for theory

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