Work and Society: A Reader / Edition 1

by Keith Grint

Overview

This book provides a lively and accessible introduction to key new areas in the contemporary study of work. While traditional accounts of work have tended to focus upon male manual workers in factories, recent developments have shifted the notions of what counts as work, what work is, and where it takes place. This topical book takes up these developments, broadening our understanding of work.

Complementing the second edition of Grint's successful Sociology of Work textbook, this book is divided into five parts, each of which explores recent developments in the theory and practice of work. The wide range of substantive areas covered includes domestic work, globalization, gender, resistance, child labour and labour relations. The theoretical approaches incorporate theories of technology, time, identity, change and discipline. The authors include some of the leading international writers in their fields today, such as Stephen Barley, John Hassard, Bruno Latour and Judy Wajcman, plus some of the rising stars of the future. Each part has an introduction by the editor which contextualizes the selections, and there is a general introduction to help students navigate the text.

Work and Society: A Reader will be essential reading for anyone taking courses in the sociology of work, organizational behaviour, business studies, studying MBAs or wishing to understand the contemporary world of work.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780745622224
Publisher:	Polity Press
Publication date:	12/22/2000
Pages:	368
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 10.00(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

Keith Grint is Reader in Organizational Behaviour at the Said Business School, Oxford and a Fellow of Templeton College.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments xi

Editor’s Note xiii

Abbreviations xiv

Editor’s Introduction 1

Figures vii

Tables viii

Part I Beyond the Conventions of Work

Introduction 7

1 Time 14
Images of Time in Work and Organization
John Hassard

2 Technology 41
Technology is Society made Durable
Bruno Latour

3 Age
Child Labour: an Economic Perspective
Christiaan Grootaert and Ravi Kanbur

Part II Outside the Factory Gate

Introduction 73

4 The Customer 76
The Cult(ure) of the Customer
Paul du Gay and Graeme Salaman

5 Domestic Work 94
The Superwoman Syndrome: Gender Differences in Attitudes towards Equal Opportunities at Work and towards Domestic Responsibilities at Home
Sue Newell

Part II Constraints and Consensus at Work

Introduction 111

6 Culture 117
The Invention of Corporate Culture: A history of the Histories of Cadbury
Michael Rowlinson and John Hassard

7 Discipline 142
Disciplinary Power in the modern Corporation
Stanley Deetz

8 Resistance 163
Strategies of Resistance: Power, Knowledge and Subjectivity in the Workplace
David Collinson

Part IV After Class

Introduction 199

9 Race and Ethnicity 204
Employment
Tariq Modood

10 Gender 254
It’s Hard to be Soft: Is Management Style Gendered?
Judy Wajcman

Part V The Future of Work

Introduction 277

11 Globalization 280
Variety of Pattern of the Post-Fordist Economy: Why are the ‘Old Times’ still with us and the ‘New Times’ yet to come?
Fiorenza Belussi and Francesco Garibaldo

12 Change 280
Design and Devotion: Surges of Rational and Normative Ideologies of Control in Managerial Discourse Stephen R. Barley and Gideon Kunda

Editor’s Bibliography 343

Index 345

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

'The wide-ranging scope of this book provides something fresh for the most jaded specialist and encourages newcomers to the field to discard their comforting prejudices.' Ray Pahl, Institute of Social and Economic Research, University of Essex

'Any teacher who wants students to have a stimulating, original and thought provoking introduction to the sociology of work should ensure that this collection is in their hands.' — Colin Crouch, Professor of Sociology, European University Institute, Florence

'Work is sure to remain central to our lives yet the future of work has been subject to so much spin that it seems to have got out of control. Keith Grint recognizes the dangers and steers a judicious course between apocalyptic visions and plodding his selection for the Reader. The wide-ranging scope of this book provides something fresh for the most jaded specialist and encourages newcomers to the field to discard their comforting prejudice.' — Ray Pahl, Institute of Social and Economic Research, University of Essex

Editorial Reviews

'The wide-ranging scope of this book provides something fresh for the most jaded specialist and encourages newcomers to the field to discard their comforting prejudices.' Ray Pahl, Institute of Social and Economic Research, University of Essex

'Any teacher who wants students to have a stimulating, original and thought provoking introduction to the sociology of work should ensure that this collection is in their hands.' — Colin Crouch, Professor of Sociology, European University Institute, Florence

'Work is sure to remain central to our lives yet the future of work has been subject to so much spin that it seems to have got out of control. Keith Grint recognizes the dangers and steers a judicious course between apocalyptic visions and plodding his selection for the Reader. The wide-ranging scope of this book provides something fresh for the most jaded specialist and encourages newcomers to the field to discard their comforting prejudice.' — Ray Pahl, Institute of Social and Economic Research, University of Essex

From the Publisher