Values, Technology and Work

327 Pages·1981·16.471 MB·English

by  Enid Mumford (auth.)

VALUES, TECHNOLOGY AND WORK
SIJTHOFF & NOORDHOFF SERIES ON INFORMATION SYSTEMS
Consulting Editors:
Richard J . Welke Ronald K. Stamper
McMaster University London School of Economics
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada and Political Science, London, U.K.
This Series will incorporate that on Information Systems Analysis and Design
originated by the London School of Economics and Political Science
1. Design and Implementation of Computer-Based Information Systems, edited
by N. Szyperski and E. Grochla
2. The Impact of Systems Change in Organisations, edited by N. Bj0rn-Andersen,
B. Hedberg, D. Mercer, E. Mumford, A. Sole
3. Values, Technology and Work, by E. Mumford
VALUES, TECHNOLOGY
AND WORK
by
Enid Mumford
Professor of Organizational Behaviour,
Manchester Business School
•
1981
MAR TINUS NIJHOFF PUBLISHERS
THE HAGUE / BOSTON / LONDON
Distributors:
Jor the United States and Canada
Kluwer Boston, Inc.
190 Old Derby Street
Hingham, MA 02043
USA
Jor all other countries
Kluwer Academic Publishers Group
Distribution Center
P.O. Box 322
3300 AH Dordrecht
The Netherlands
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 81-50361
ISBN -13:978-94-009-8345-8 e-ISBN -13: 978-94-009-8343-4
DOl: 10.1007/978-94-009-8343-4
Copyright © 1981 E. Mumford
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 1981
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or other
wise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner.
Table of Contents
Preface IX
1. Introduction 1
1.1. The Objective of the Research 2
1.2. The Rise of the Rational Ethic 4
2. What are Values? 9
2.1. The Origin of Values 9
2.2. A Definition of Values 13
2.3. Values and the Social Scientist 15
2.4. Classifying Values 17
2.5. Choosing Values 20
2.6. Conclusions 23
3. Theoretical Tools 24
3.1. A Framework for the Study of Values 24
3.2. A Framework for Identifying and Measuring Values 28
3.3. A Framework for the Study ofJ ob Satisfaction 38
3.4. A Framework for DescribingJobs 53
3.5. Conclusions 59
4. Systems Designers: Their Values and Philosophy 60
4.1. Rokeach Values 64
4.2. Organizational Values 71
4.3. Conclusions 87
5. The Research Situations, Research Methodology and Framework of
Analysis of the Case Studies 89
5.1. Research Methodology 90
5.2. Framework of Analysis 92
5.3. Conclusions 96
6. The Industrial Firms: A. Chemco Distribution Services Department 98
6.1. History of the Home Trade Section Batch Computer System 98
6.2. History of the Export Section Batch Computer System 100
V
6.3. Organizational Values 100
6.4. Work Values 106
6.5. Goal Setting and Attainment 109
6.6. Adaptation 117
6.7. Integration 118
6.8. Management's Evaluation of the System 126
6.9. Conclusions on the Chemco Computer Systems 128
7. The Industrial Firms: B. Asbestos Ltd. 131
7.1. The Building and Insulation Department: the Batch Computer
System 131
7.2. The Impact of the Batch Computer System on Job
Satisfaction 135
7.3. The On-Line Computer System 137
7.4. Organizational Values 137
7.5. Work Values 142
7.6. Goal Setting and Attainment 144
7.7. Adaptation 149
7.8. Integration 150
7.9. Management's Evaluation of the System 157
7.10. Conclusions on the Asbestos Ltd. On-Line System 158
8. The Government Department: The Inland Revenue, Centre 1 161
8.1. Historical Developments in the Inland Revenue 161
8.2. The Research Situation 163
8.3. Organizational Values 163
8.4. Work Values 168
8.5. The Departments which were Investigated in Centre 1 172
8.6. Goal Setting and Attainment 173
8.7. Adaptation 177
8.8. Integration 178
8.9. Management's Evaluation of the System 189
8.10. Conclusions on the Inland Revenue and Centre 1 190
9. The International Bank 192
9.1. The Work of a Foreign Exchange Department 193
9.2. Organizational Values 194
9.3. Work Values 200
9.4. Goal Setting and Attainment 202
9.5. Adaptation 205
9.6. Integration 219
9.7. Management's Evaluation of the System 224
9.8. Conclusions on the International Bank On-Line System 225
VI
10. Conclusions on Systems Design in the Two Firms, the Government
Department and the International Bank 227
11. Values and the Change Process 231
11.1. The Model 231
11.2. Values, Interests, Norms and Attitudes 240
11.3. Values and Roles 242
11.4. Systems Designers, Managers and Clerks 243
11.5. Values and Change in the Four Organizations 244
11.6. Conclusions 277
12. The Management of Future Technology - A Problem of Uncertain
Visions and Values 279
12.1. The Nature of New Office Technology 280
12.2. The Automated Office 280
12.3. The Questions that Need Asking 281
12.4. Strategies for Change 282
12.5. The Needs and Interests of Different Groups 282
12.6. Conclusion 284
Appendix A. 285
Appendix B. Job Satisfaction Questionnaire Used in Research 288
References 302
Author Index 313
Subject Index 316
VII
Preface
This book describes the experiences of four organizations who tried to introduce
new computer systems in a humanistic manner so that human as well as business
gains would be derived from the introduction of technology. All four paid a great
deal of attention to identifying efficiency and job satisfaction needs and to design
ing the technical system and its surrounding organizational context in such a way
that these needs could be effectively met. Nevertheless, as with all major change,
the change process was difficult and demanding and considerable management
skill and insight was required before successful systems were implemented.
The author set out to identify the extent to which the values of the different
groups involved in the design process influenced the way in which computer
systems were designed and implemented. She also wished to establish the extent
to which the values of technical systems designers, user management and user
clerks converged or diverged in the change process. It is hoped that the ideas set
out here will contribute both to a greater theoretical understanding of the in
fluences which affect technical change and to the practical design of humanistic
computer systems. The research was carried out in three large government de
partments, two industrial firms and an international bank. Two of the govern
ment departments asked for their data to remain confidential and so these are not
described in detail in the book.
The book is in twelve chapters. Chapter 1, the Introduction, describes the ob
jectives of the research and discusses the origins of technical and rational values.
Chapter 2 discusses What are Values? and provides a definition and analysis of
values. Chapter 3 sets out the Theoretical Tools used for the analysis of values in the
case study situation. These tools have been developed by the author although they
are derived from the work of Talcott Parsons. Chapter 4 on Systems Designers: Their
Values and Philosophy tests the hypothesis that the values of technical systems de
signers reflect a technical ethic. This hypothesis is not supported. Chapter 5 on
The Research Situations describes how the research was carried out and provides a
framework for analysis of the case studies. Chapters 6 and 7 discuss in detail the
influence of values on the design of large scale computer systems in two industrial
firms. Chapter 8 makes a similar analysis for a government department; chapter
9 does the same for an international bank, and chapter 10 draws some conclu
sions. Chapter 11 states conclusions on Values and the Change Process and shows how
democratic and humanistic values produce different systems designs and conse
quences from technical-rational values. Chapter 12 presents the author's own
IX
value position and examines the problems of the future.
The author would like to thank the management of the firms, bank and govern
ment department involved for their kindness in cooperating in the study. Two of
them did not wish their identity to be revealed and so the two firms and the bank
have been given names which are not their true ones. The British Inland Revenue
is correctly named throughout the text and Asbestos Ltd. is T AC Construction
Ltd., a company in the Turner and Newall Group.
The author was enabled to undertake this research through the award of a Per
sonal Research Grant by the British Social Science Research Council, to whom
she is indebted.
x
1. Introduction
The Computer and Work Design Research Unit at Manchester Business School,
with Enid Mumford as Director, has been working for many years in the research
area of systems and work design and job satisfaction. An important objective of
this group has been to influence management and unions to make the improve
ment of job satisfaction a major objective of any systems or work design process.
Our studies have concentrated on the design of computer systems in offices
although the Unit has also investigated the design of work in general, and carried
out studies of shop floor technology, including group technology, transfer line
technology in the automobile industry, and assembly line technology as it affects
women workers.
Computer technology has played a major part in our work design research for a
number of reasons. First, the computer acts as a major catalyst for change. Most
computer systems require considerable rethinking of the organization of user de
partments and of the structure of user jobs; a new computer system therefore pro
vides an excellent opportunity for introducing some job satisfaction objectives in
to the systems design process, these objectives being achieved through the way the
new office organization and task structure are designed.
The earlier studies of the impact of computers on office organization and
clerical task structures indicated that computer systems introduced relatively few
technical constraints into the design of jobs in user departments, although some
ancillary computer jobs such as punch operating, normally located in the com
puter department itself, were totally influenced by the computer. Despite this
absence of technical constraints it had been found that the work structures
associated with new computer systems were often segmented and routinised and
had tight controls associated with them. It was clear that a factor other than the
requirements of technology was influencing the design process and it was
hypothesized that this was the philosophy and values of the groups responsible for
systems design, particularly their perception of the competence of user staff and
their beliefs on the best way of organizing work to achieve maximum efficiency. In
order to understand and improve systems design by making it more receptive to
human needs it seemed important to approach the subject from a new angle; that
of gaining an understanding of the values, design principles and models of man
used by systems designers, managers and others in the design of clerical computer
systems. By "models of man" is meant the vision that the systems designer and
his associates have of the needs, motivations and capabilities of the group who will