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Despite formidable obstacles, a little but growing amount of U.S. companies rccognize that today's domestic and international markets require those to transform their production process. On the basis of more than a decade of survey data and the data of case studies, Eileen Appelbaum and Rosemary Batt analyze the experiences of the companies.
Their findings reveal two distinct and coherent models of the new American workplace. One can be 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 can be an American version of lean production, which relies more heavily on managerial and technical expertise, and on centralized coordination and decision making.
The authors make clear 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. organizations can, in fact, compete successfully, while providing their personnel with an increase of job security, livable wages, and improved job satisfaction. Certain to appeal to both union and business leaders, this volume also offers crucial insights to policy makers and also to scholars of the new American workplace.
