TY - JOUR

T1 - Technology and Organization in Manufacturing

AU - McKinley, William

AU - Blau, Peter M.

AU - Falbe, Cecilia McHugh

AU - Tracy, Phelps K.

PY - 1976/3/1

Y1 - 1976/3/1

N2 - Using data from a study of 110 New Jersey manufacturing concerns, relationships are examined between plant technology and four dimensions of internal structure: differentiation, the size of various personnel components, supervisory spans of control, and decentralization of decision-making authority. For linear associations, Woodward's notion of a broad "technological imperative" is rejected, and the analysis verifies the general findings of the Aston studies. However, the Aston group's hypothesis of an interaction effect between size, production technology, and administrative structure is not supported, while strong curvilinear relationships, independent of size, are observed between production process type and many of the structural measures. Automation of administrative support functions through the use of computers exerts numerous influences on the organization of work which parallel those of highly mechanized "process" technologies, and it is postulated that these trends will continue with increasing automation of the manufacturing operation itself.

AB - Using data from a study of 110 New Jersey manufacturing concerns, relationships are examined between plant technology and four dimensions of internal structure: differentiation, the size of various personnel components, supervisory spans of control, and decentralization of decision-making authority. For linear associations, Woodward's notion of a broad "technological imperative" is rejected, and the analysis verifies the general findings of the Aston studies. However, the Aston group's hypothesis of an interaction effect between size, production technology, and administrative structure is not supported, while strong curvilinear relationships, independent of size, are observed between production process type and many of the structural measures. Automation of administrative support functions through the use of computers exerts numerous influences on the organization of work which parallel those of highly mechanized "process" technologies, and it is postulated that these trends will continue with increasing automation of the manufacturing operation itself.

KW - Management studies

KW - Production automation

KW - Automatic controll

KW - Fatories

KW - Production technology

KW - Production management

KW - Workforce

KW - Human resource

KW - Computer technology

UR - https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/baf8dbaa-621a-306a-8f6a-789ef6d2ae0c/

U2 - 10.2307/2391876

DO - 10.2307/2391876

M3 - Journal articles

VL - 21

SP - 20

EP - 40

JO - Administrative Science Quarterly

JF - Administrative Science Quarterly

SN - 0001-8392

IS - 1

ER -