TY - CHAP

T1 - Technology and Organization in Manufacturing

AU - McKinley, William

AU - Blau, Peter M.

AU - Falbe, Cecilia McHugh

AU - Tracy, Phelps K.

PY - 1980

Y1 - 1980

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

M3 - Contributions to collected editions/anthologies

SN - 087589464X

SN - 978-0875894645

BT - The Study of Organizations

A2 - Katz, Daniel

A2 - Kahn, Robert Louis

A2 - Adams, J. Stacy

PB - Jossey-Bass

CY - San Francisco, Calif

ER -