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Information Technology, Employee Participation And The De-Skilling Thesis, Jay Charles Lacke

Doctoral Dissertations

While the de-skilling of work may involve many facets, including task simplification and the degradation of manual skills, this dissertation focuses specifically on the loss of control by workers over the organization and direction ("conception") of their own work. This focus is consistent with Harry Braverman's (1974) seminal argument that the "pivot" of capitalist management, and the core of the de-skilling thesis, is the separation of the conception of work from its execution.

Employee participation strategies whereby workers exercise discretion over the organization and conduct of work are contrary to the de-skilling thesis. But their existence is compatible with post-Braverman …