Conclusions

Abstract

This book set out to study several changes which have recently been or are presently being implemented in industrial organizations and labour relations. The analysis has yielded several key findings. First, the impact of computerized automation on the labour process is complex, contradictory and multi-dimensional. The comparable effects on the skills of machinists, methods, drafters and design drafters are not uniform, nor can it be simply categorized as de-skilling or upgrading within each occupation. Moreover, the findings in this study clearly show that automation is not the singular ‘cause’ of changes in job skills and the organization of production. Managerial decisions about the definition and use of skills affect the implementation of automated equipment to the production process.