A Price to Pay? Professionalism and Work Organization in Britain and West Germany

Abstract

There tends to be more extensive occupational specialization outside the core production area in British manufacturing companies than in German ones. This appears to be associated with the emphasis in Britain on professionalism in industry, a concept which is largely absent in Germany. The British approach is seen to have unfavourable consequences for the status of production and of manufacturing industry in general, with quite likely depressing effects on its performance. The origins of the contrast between Britain and Germany are explored by reference to the development of post-school vocational education in the two countries, and this leads to the conclusion that strategic choices about contemporary work organization were in effect made at a societal level a century ago. The analysis indicates that industrial policy cannot be confined to changes within the industrial sector alone.