Teamwork in the Automobile Industry - an Anglo-German Comparison

Niels-Erik Wergin

Industrial Organization from EconWPA

Abstract: Teamwork in the automotive industry varies significantly from plant to plant. This article compares teamwork in four automobile plants in Germany and Britain, and addresses two questions: (1) Do different models of teamwork fit into a bi-polar model of teamwork, being either innovative or structural conservative? (2) Do current models of teamwork signify a development towards post-fordism, or are they merely part of a neo-fordist rationalisation of production? The following answers are suggested: (1) Teamwork in different motor-car plants cannot be categorised in a bi-polar model; rather do they represent a continuum. (2) Teamwork moves manufacturing away from traditional taylorist models of production, but does not overcome Taylorism altogether.

Keywords: Teamwork; Automobile Industry; Industrial Relations; Lean Production; Post-fordism (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: L (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2004-06-26
Note: Type of Document - pdf; pages: 39
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Persistent link: http://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:wpa:wuwpio:0406010

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