Publications
Publications
- 2008
- Global Neighbors: Christian Faith and Moral Obligation in Today's Economy
Knowledge Work, Craft Work, and Calling
Abstract
Social critics have often complained that industrial revolution management transfers control of a job away from workers, encourages human exploitation in pursuit of cost minimization, and alienates workers from their labor. But the arrangements of work that have been so criticized have continued to change. The work of a UNIX systems lab technician in the 21st century differs extravagantly from the work of a factory worker 100, or even 20, years earlier. In this paper, we argue that technological transformations now underway create the potential for work structures more favorable to workers. Using a theoretical model that relates work to its determinants, and to consequent management implications, we demonstrate that future work might have a worker-centered structure resembling that of pre-industrial craft work.
Keywords
Organizational Change and Adaptation; Working Conditions; Production; Knowledge Use and Leverage; Management Practices and Processes; Employees
Citation
Austin, Robert D., and Lee Devin. "Knowledge Work, Craft Work, and Calling." In Global Neighbors: Christian Faith and Moral Obligation in Today's Economy, edited by Douglas A. Hicks and Mark Valeri. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2008.