Controversies about computerization and the character of white collar worklife

• Published in: The Information society Vol. 9; no. 1; pp. 1 - 29
• Main Authors: Kling, Rob, Dunlop, Charles
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Taylor & Francis Group 1993; Taylor & Francis; Crane Russak; Taylor & Francis LLC
• Subjects: Automation; Business organization and administration; computerization; Computers; Corporate culture; Exact sciences and technology; gender; Impacts; Information and communication sciences; Information and communication technologies; Information processing systems; Information retrieval systems. Information and document management system; Information science. Documentation; Labor aspects; Office Automation; Sciences and techniques of general use; Sociology, Industrial; Staff; Technological innovations; technological utopianism; telecommuting; VDTs; Video display terminals; White collar employees; White Collar Workers; Work Organization; worklife; workplace control; Automation; Work sociology; Labour; Clerical personnel; Human aspect; Information technology; Quality of life; Office automation; Philosophical aspect; Critical study; Professional activity; Job engineering; Social change
• ISSN: 0197-2243; 1087-6537
• DOI: 10.1080/01972243.1993.9960128

The way that computerization changes white collar work is the subject of significant controversies in the research and professional communities. This paper examines some of the key controversies about the way that computerization influences patterns of coordination control in workplaces, including monitoring. It examines debates about upskilling and deskilling, and the role of organizational infrastructure in making computerized systems more usable. It also examines the ways that computerization might foster new forms of work organization.