Free Essay On Conflict, Cooperation, Satisfaction, And Dissatisfaction In The Work Place

The relations between the worker and the management have been under strict scrutiny by the industrial theorists including the economists and the philosophers. The struggle between the have and have not’s has been the dominant theme right from the onset of the industrial revolution to the present post-modern times. The philosophers and thinkers involved with the explanation of the condition of the industrial labor have been mainly divided into two camps. On the one hand are the supporters of the ideology of capitalism and on the other hand are those that vehemently oppose the ideology and the practices of capitalism. Karl Marx is the head of the camp that ruthlessly criticize the ideology and the de-humanizing effects of the practices associated with capitalism. Among the more modern thinkers like Braveman is outstanding for his critique of capitalism. His “deskilling thesis” in the light of the present practices of the capitalist vis-à-vis the workers or the proletariat-- as Karl Marx referred to them-- is of immense importance specifically in the light of the technological advances that have resulted in worsening the overall living standards of the working class. The technology is also to blame that it has been pivotal in tightening the grip of the capitalist on the social life of the worker. The technology has to a large degree replaced the human by the machine in an effort by the capitalist to gain more efficiency. Burawoy though is of the opinion that the advancement in technology have bettered the conditions of the workers and has in many ways lessened the tensions between the workers and the management. According to him there has been a marked dispersion in the conflict between the workers and the management replaced by the inter-worker conflict. His theory of making-out is of special interest in this regard.