Of particular relevance is Braverman's analysis of Taylorism. Johnsom summarizes this analysis as follows:
"In chapter four, Braverman identifies Taylor’s three main principles of scientific management. The first principle is the dissociation of the labor process from the skills of workers. According to Braverman, “the labor process is to be rendered i ndependent of craft, tradition, and the workers’ knowledge.” He goes on to say “it is to depend not at all upon the abilities of workers, but entirely upon the practices of management.” Essentially, the purpose of the first principle, according to Braverman, is for management to gather and develop the knowledge of the labor process.
Taylor’s second principle is the “separation of conception from execution.” Taylor states, as quoted by Braverman, “all possible brain work should be
removed from the shop and centered in the planning or laying-out department....” Braverman states, “the first implication of this principle is that Taylor’s ‘science of work’ is never to be developed by the worker, always by management.” He goes on to say that “the purpose of work study was never, in his mind, to enhance the ability of the worker, to concentrate in the
worker a greater share of scientific knowledge, to ensure that as a technique rose, the worker would rise with it. Rather, the purpose was to cheapen the worker by decreasing his training and enlarging his output.”
Taylor’s third principle is the use of management’s monopoly over knowledge to control each step of the labor process and its mode of execution. According to Braverman, “the essential element is the systematic pre-planning and pre-calculation of all elements of the labor process, which now no longer exists as a process in the imagination of the worker but only as a process in the imagination of a special management staff.” This ultimately allowed management to control the whole labor process."
Jim F.
On Mon, 15 Jul 2002 10:54:00 -0400 kelley <star.matrix at verizon.net>
writes:
> From the WSJ, 7-1-2002
> Tricks of the Trade: On Factory Floors, Top Workers Hide Secrets to
> Success
> --- Bosses Seeking Input to Boost Output Often Hit a Snag:
> Tight-Lipped Old
> Hands --- Mr. Fowler's `Voodoo' Accuracy
>
> GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- Bill Fowler knows that knowledge is power.
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