L'intensification du travail en débat. Ethnographie et histoire aux chaînes de Peugeot-Sochaux

With the use of ethnography and history, this study of work in the Peugeot-Sochaux automobile factory in the last half of the 20th century makes us stand back from a unifying, generalized view of the intensification of labor. For one thing, variations in work rules and the diversity of related problems bring to light the tensions underlying the issue of workloads. For another, detecting when workloads are actually heavier and more stressful calls for taking into account a variety of periods and tendencies while studying working conditions. This study conducted in workshops in the Sochaux plant leads us away from a quantitative, abstract view of the intensification of work. We are thus led to examine the concrete changes that affect employment conditions and the technical aspects of work over a longer term. Far from losing sense, the idea of an intensification of work processes becomes richer and more relevant for analyzing the world of work.     

Crise, effets de trajectoire et dynamiques sociales dans l'évolution de Toyota Motor Manufacturing UK

In 1998, contrary to all expectations, the model of production at Toyota's first European transplant underwent a crisis. This crisis was surprising not only because the Japanese firm apparently outstripped all other major auto-makers but also because its model of production was quite simply deemed to be the “one best way” for the 21st century. This detailed account of this crisis proposes an alternative theoretical approach for studying Japanese transplants by trying to identify the socioeconomic conditions for the viability of the models they convey. The stability of the social compromises among various parties in the firm (notably in the shoop floor) is a fundamental variable for the long-run viability of these systems.