GS 336: Work and Society

Lecture 4
1: Introduction to Work

Outline/Objectives:
 The nature of Work in Pre-Industrial Societies
• Hunters and Gatherers
• Agrarians
 The nature of Work in Industrial Society
 The Nature of Work in Post-Industrial Society
 The Nature of Work in Industrial and Post-Industrial
Societies: A comparison
Work in Pre-Industrial Society
Hunters and Gatherers
• Simple tools and technology: mostly made of
wood, stones, clay and animal bones and skin
• Work activity was mostly individual and manual.
• Man had control and authority over the process
of work and technology.
• Simple division of labor: males would do hunting,
women and children would gather the herbs,
woods and other plant seeds.
• Work was not forced: self-satisfaction.
• Communal group life: strong dependency
relationship among the group
• Not normally burdened by the kind of work
ethics: no such division of time for work and
recreation
• No strict division of work and non-work
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Agrarians

• Use of permanent tools, made of metal

• Farming was the main dominant occupation
• Specialization of occupations and Work:
smiths, mining, pottering, shopkeepers,
masons, carpenters, weavers, warriors and
soldiers, metal and jewelry workers, priests,
etc
• Strict gender division of labor: Patriarchal
control and the division of work spaces.
• Slavery and free labor: Social Classes
• Market economy and cottage industry was
booming.

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 Industrial Society and the Nature of Work
• Technological invention in the 18th century Europe
led to Industrial Revolution.
• Industrial Capitalism: Factory/industrial work
• The mechanization of Work: Mass production
• The birth of middle class and human capital
• The birth of political and service economy
• Replacing agriculture with factory
• The centrality of textiles
• Detailed Division of Labor
• Women and children employed
• Work/employment ethics
• Effective/strong hold labor unions
• Political and Economic liberalism
• Monopoly capitalism
• A more complex class structure

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Post-Industrial society and the Nature of Work
• Specialized Service industry
• Professional jobs: White and blue collar
jobs
• Class diversity
• Smart work approaches: Technology
dominates the work process
• Automation of work: machinofacturing
• Deskilling of workers
• Women’s empowerment and liberation?
• Brainstorming
• Globalization
• Brandization
• Green economy: Recycling
• Social relations are economic centered
 Work in

Industrial

And

Post-Industrial Society
General changes in the nature of work
Industrial society Post-Industrial society

- The pyramid like - Small companies

- Producer based production - Consumer based products

- Departments and units - Project team work

- Promotion step by step - Horizontal arrangement

- Inflexible shape - Very flexible

- Design comes from the top - Design from engineers

- Standard procedures - Procedures changes/modeling

- Policies and rules for decision - Specific policy for a case

 Work style
Industrial Society Post-Industrial Society

- Individual-based work -Team-work-based work

- Specialized duties - Collective experience

- Administrative channels - Human interaction

- Qualification-based work - Depends on job requirement

- Supervisor evaluation - Group evaluation

 Individual Life - Work Style
Industrial Society
-Job for life
-Commitment for life
-Profession dictates identity
-Routine work style
-Company membership
-Salary is known and stable
-Progress upward
- Work lasts until retirement
- Work comm. Channels known
- Stable relations
- Feeling of security and peace
Post-Industrial Society
- Always job changes
- Jobs change
- Identity not specified
- Changing work style
- Membership changes
- Salary is unknown
- Status not stable
- Future is unknown
- Comm. channels unknown
- Relations are not stable
- No feeling of security
Work Activities Execution Style
Industrial Society
-Paper-based work
-Always new announcement
-Minute notes taking
-Documents
-Written announcement
-Work-shops and seminars
-Dialogues
-Conferences
-Negotiation
-Disagreement and differences
-Lobbyist means
Post-Industrial Society
-Electronic based work
-Brain storming
-Electronic mail
-Electronic messages
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 Expected skills
Industrial Society
- Personal skills
- Planning and application
- Administrative bureaucracy
- Follow tradition
Post-Industrial Society
- Communication
- Team work
- Human relations
- Innovation
- Problem solving
- Personal responsibility
- Principles of values and ethics
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