Despite global competition and the need for speed, flexibility and quality, trends such as lean production and McDonaldization show that Taylorism remains alive and well in the contemporary workplace. There is however a countermovement, particularly in North-West Europe, where successful alternatives are being pursued. Job Design and Technology fil

As the current recession ends, many workers will not be returning to the jobs they once held--those jobs are gone. In The New Division of Labor, Frank Levy and Richard Murnane show how computers are changing the employment landscape and how the right kinds of education can ease the transition to the new job market. The book tells stories of people at work--a high-end financial advisor, a customer service representative, a pair of successful chefs, a cardiologist, an automotive mechanic, the author Victor Hugo, floor traders in a London financial exchange. The authors merge these stories with insights from cognitive science, computer science, and economics to show how computers are enhancing productivity in many jobs even as they eliminate other jobs--both directly and by sending work offshore. At greatest risk are jobs that can be expressed in programmable rules--blue collar, clerical, and similar work that requires moderate skills and used to pay middle-class wages. The loss of these jobs leaves a growing division between those who can and cannot earn a good living in the computerized economy. Left unchecked, the division threatens the nation's democratic institutions. The nation's challenge is to recognize this division and to prepare the population for the high-wage/high-skilled jobs that are rapidly growing in number--jobs involving extensive problem solving and interpersonal communication. Using detailed examples--a second grade classroom, an IBM managerial training program, Cisco Networking Academies--the authors describe how these skills can be taught and how our adjustment to the computerized workplace can begin in earnest.

Design and Technology is a colorful and stimulating textbook that includes a variety of practical projects with a design emphasis. Included within the text are nearly 700 drawings and photographs to explain procedures and clarify textual explanations, as well as batches of questions referring to both basic information and practical procedures.

Used from Broadway to Britain's West End, QLab software is the tool of choice for many of the world's most prominent sound, projection, and integrated media designers. QLab 4: Projects in Video, Audio, and Lighting Control is a project-based book on QLab software covering sound, video, lighting, and show control. With information on audio, video, and lighting system basics and the more advanced functions of QLab such as show control, network capabilities, projection mapping, video effects, and cue cart integration, each chapter's specific projects will allow you to learn the software's capabilities at your own pace. In addition to the text, a companion website hosts project files, instructional videos, and more.

Why the United States lags behind other industrialized countries in sharing the benefits of innovation with workers and how we can remedy the problem. The United States has too many low-quality, low-wage jobs. Every country has its share, but those in the United States are especially poorly paid and often without benefits. Meanwhile, overall productivity increases steadily and new technology has transformed large parts of the economy, enhancing the skills and paychecks of higher paid knowledge workers. What’s wrong with this picture? Why have so many workers benefited so little from decades of growth? The Work of the Future shows that technology is neither the problem nor the solution. We can build better jobs if we create institutions that leverage technological innovation and also support workers though long cycles of technological transformation. Building on findings from the multiyear MIT Task Force on the Work of the Future, the book argues that we must foster institutional innovations that complement technological change. Skills programs that emphasize work-based and hybrid learning (in person and online), for example, empower workers to become and remain productive in a continuously evolving workplace. Industries fueled by new technology that augments workers can supply good jobs, and federal investment in R&D can help make these industries worker-friendly. We must act to ensure that the labor market of the future offers benefits, opportunity, and a measure of economic security to all.

The cultural theorist and media designer Anne Balsamo calls for transforming learning practices to inspire culturally attuned technological imaginations.

The two-volume set IFIP AICT 513 and 514 constitutes the refereed proceedings of the International IFIP WG 5.7 Conference on Advances in Production Management Systems, APMS 2017, held in Hamburg, Germany, in September 2017. The 121 revised full papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 163 submissions. They are organized in the following topical sections: smart manufacturing system characterization; product and asset life cycle management in smart factories of industry 4.0; cyber-physical (IIoT) technology deployments in smart manufacturing systems; multi-disciplinary collaboration in the development of smart product-service solutions; sustainable human integration in cyber-physical systems: the operator 4.0; intelligent diagnostics and maintenance solutions; operations planning, scheduling and control; supply chain design; production management in food supply chains; factory planning; industrial and other services; operations management in engineer-to-order manufacturing; gamification of complex systems design development; lean and green manufacturing; and eco-efficiency in manufacturing operations.

Recent years have yielded significant advances in computing and communication technologies, with profound impacts on society. Technology is transforming the way we work, play, and interact with others. From these technological capabilities, new industries, organizational forms, and business models are emerging. Technological advances can create enormous economic and other benefits, but can also lead to significant changes for workers. IT and automation can change the way work is conducted, by augmenting or replacing workers in specific tasks. This can shift the demand for some types of human labor, eliminating some jobs and creating new ones. Information Technology and the U.S. Workforce explores the interactions between technological, economic, and societal trends and identifies possible near-term developments for work. This report emphasizes the need to understand and track these trends and develop strategies to inform, prepare for, and respond to changes in the labor market. It offers evaluations of what is known, notes open questions to be addressed, and identifies promising research pathways moving forward.

Job and Work Design equips readers with a sound understanding of research, theory, and the practical aspects of job design. This volume critiques the theory and research that provide the foundations of our current understanding of job design, pointing to a need for methodological improvements and a broader conceptual focus. The authors examine recent innovations in manufacturing technologies, techniques, and philosophies and how these affect work design and research and practice. The authors also look at wider trends in manufacturing and elsewhere, such as teleworking, downsizing, the development of a contingent workforce, and the changing composition of the workforce. The volume describes how the redesign of work has implications for wider organizational systems (such as human resources and information systems) as well as implications for multiple stakeholders (such as supervisors, support staff, management, and unions). In addition, it suggests ways to effectively manage the work redesign process, including key stages involved in redesigning work, some useful tools and methods, and the change agentÆs critical role. The book concludes with some final thoughts that draw together arguments regarding the past and future of work design theory and practice. Job and Work Design will be of interest to students and professors of management, organizational studies, industrial/organizational psychology, public administration, social and personality psychology, sociology of work, and gender issues.