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Flexibility Revisited A Temporal Analysis of the Introduction of Flexibility

Flexibility Revisited A Temporal Analysis of the Introduction of Flexibility Management Research News Volume 15 Number 5/6 1992 53 were then in a position in which small numbers of em­ ployees had to perform a greater variety of tasks. Func­ tional flexibility, in other words was developed. As the economy moved out of recession, the demand for labour increased. Wary, however, of the possibility of another recession and faced seemingly with more rapidly changing markets, firms made greater use of such mechanisms as temporary and part time employment and sub-contracting. Flexibility Revisited: A Temporal Thus the emphasis shifted from functional to numeral Analysis of the Introduction of flexibility. Flexibility The end of the 1980s and the beginning of the 1990s saw these two kinds of flexibility being reinforced by finan­ Stephen Procter, Louise McCardle (University of Keele), cial flexibility. With trade unions having been marginalised Michael Rowlinson (University of Southampton), and in some cases actively co-operating, certain firms John Hassard and Paul Forrester (University of Keele) have pursued policies whereby pay is linked to perfor­ mance or different classes of employee are paid through Pollert's latest contribution to the flexibility debate different systems. has been to denounce the concept as an appropriate framework for research and to state that it should be Looking at the 'flexible firm' in this way also allows us replaced by one that takes into account the complexities to take into account Pettigrew's (1988) cautions about the and relations of the real world (Pollert 1991, p. 31). Simi­ atemporal nature of research into organisational change. larly, Wood has argued that the problem with the flexibility If we accept Pettigrew's (1988) definition of change as an debate is that the organisational model of the flexible firm iterative and additive process, then temporal analysis of has over-emphasised management's pursuit of flexibility flexibility can be used to demonstrate how the change as though it were an end in itself. Flexibility should be seen process can be regarded as an "accumulation of manage­ as only one of management's aims and ought to remain rial decisions combined with the triggering effects of envi­ attached to other goals and interests of management ronmenta l disturbances [which] produce major (Wood 1989). transformations in the firm" (Pettigrew 1988). In the process of organisational change, much of the By using time as the causal link between different literature on flexibility has concentrated on the actual ef­ kinds of flexibility it will be possible to evaluate the intro­ fects of flexibility after its application. Wood's (1989) col­ duction of flexibility in terms of its relation to the longer lection on the "Transformation of work" has presented patterns of events in the process of organisational change, detailed accounts of the effects of flexibility on skills for rather than seeing events independent from the larger both men and women, the effects of technology on work context. In this sense, time serves both to segregate processes, etc. Pollert's "Farewell to flexibility" brings patterns of action and to combine then into a larger pattern together a collection which assesses flexibility and its (Hassard 1989). inherent forms such as flexible specialisation and post-for­ dism, as an appropriate narrative for future industrial or­ ganisation. One underlying feature of this literature is that flexibility is presented as a fait accompli, particularly in discussions of its effect upon skill or work processes. The authors of this paper argue that what has been missing from the flexibility debate is any kind of temporal analysis. From the authors' own investigations, taken together with secondary sources such as survey evidence, a pattern seems to be emerging which allows the flexible firm model to be recast in a more subtle mould. Rather than lumping together all three of Atkinson's classifications - functional, numerical and financial - looking at flexibility as something which firms do or do not possess, a more fruitful approach is to separate out the three types and examine how, over time, certain firms have placed differing emphasis upon each of them. The pattern which seems to be emerging is as fol­ lows. In the exigencies of the early 1980s, employers were forced into making huge reductions in manpower. Firms http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Management Research News Emerald Publishing

Flexibility Revisited A Temporal Analysis of the Introduction of Flexibility

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Emerald Publishing
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0140-9174
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Abstract

Management Research News Volume 15 Number 5/6 1992 53 were then in a position in which small numbers of em­ ployees had to perform a greater variety of tasks. Func­ tional flexibility, in other words was developed. As the economy moved out of recession, the demand for labour increased. Wary, however, of the possibility of another recession and faced seemingly with more rapidly changing markets, firms made greater use of such mechanisms as temporary and part time employment and sub-contracting. Flexibility Revisited: A Temporal Thus the emphasis shifted from functional to numeral Analysis of the Introduction of flexibility. Flexibility The end of the 1980s and the beginning of the 1990s saw these two kinds of flexibility being reinforced by finan­ Stephen Procter, Louise McCardle (University of Keele), cial flexibility. With trade unions having been marginalised Michael Rowlinson (University of Southampton), and in some cases actively co-operating, certain firms John Hassard and Paul Forrester (University of Keele) have pursued policies whereby pay is linked to perfor­ mance or different classes of employee are paid through Pollert's latest contribution to the flexibility debate different systems. has been to denounce the concept as an appropriate framework for research and to state that it should be Looking at the 'flexible firm' in this way also allows us replaced by one that takes into account the complexities to take into account Pettigrew's (1988) cautions about the and relations of the real world (Pollert 1991, p. 31). Simi­ atemporal nature of research into organisational change. larly, Wood has argued that the problem with the flexibility If we accept Pettigrew's (1988) definition of change as an debate is that the organisational model of the flexible firm iterative and additive process, then temporal analysis of has over-emphasised management's pursuit of flexibility flexibility can be used to demonstrate how the change as though it were an end in itself. Flexibility should be seen process can be regarded as an "accumulation of manage­ as only one of management's aims and ought to remain rial decisions combined with the triggering effects of envi­ attached to other goals and interests of management ronmenta l disturbances [which] produce major (Wood 1989). transformations in the firm" (Pettigrew 1988). In the process of organisational change, much of the By using time as the causal link between different literature on flexibility has concentrated on the actual ef­ kinds of flexibility it will be possible to evaluate the intro­ fects of flexibility after its application. Wood's (1989) col­ duction of flexibility in terms of its relation to the longer lection on the "Transformation of work" has presented patterns of events in the process of organisational change, detailed accounts of the effects of flexibility on skills for rather than seeing events independent from the larger both men and women, the effects of technology on work context. In this sense, time serves both to segregate processes, etc. Pollert's "Farewell to flexibility" brings patterns of action and to combine then into a larger pattern together a collection which assesses flexibility and its (Hassard 1989). inherent forms such as flexible specialisation and post-for­ dism, as an appropriate narrative for future industrial or­ ganisation. One underlying feature of this literature is that flexibility is presented as a fait accompli, particularly in discussions of its effect upon skill or work processes. The authors of this paper argue that what has been missing from the flexibility debate is any kind of temporal analysis. From the authors' own investigations, taken together with secondary sources such as survey evidence, a pattern seems to be emerging which allows the flexible firm model to be recast in a more subtle mould. Rather than lumping together all three of Atkinson's classifications - functional, numerical and financial - looking at flexibility as something which firms do or do not possess, a more fruitful approach is to separate out the three types and examine how, over time, certain firms have placed differing emphasis upon each of them. The pattern which seems to be emerging is as fol­ lows. In the exigencies of the early 1980s, employers were forced into making huge reductions in manpower. Firms

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Management Research News – Emerald Publishing

Published: May 1, 1992

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