Technological Change at Work

"Automate or Liquidate" has been a popular cry in British industry. In "Technological Change at Work" Ian McLoughlan and Jon Clark focus on automation in its most pervasive contemporary guise - computing and information technologies. They draw upon and evaluate the large body of evidence - including examples from their own research and the growing body of evidence from Britain - suggesting that popular views do not always reflect the complex choices and issues that arise when these technologies are introduced. The authors present their own "processual" framework for understanding technological change and its outcomes, and devote attention to the independent influence of the technology itself. They conclude that choices are not as tightly constrained by commercial and technical imperatives as popularly believed. Nevertheless, managers and unions still have a lot to learn in devising the most effective methods of introducing and working with new technology. This revised and extended edition examines the latest research findings, critically evaluates trends towards "flexible specialization" and "human resource management", and places the British experience of technological change at work in a comparative context.