A Reexamination of Autonomy in Light of New Manufacturing Practices

Abstract

Individual and/or group autonomy have long been considered critical dimensions of job design in participative work settings. Autonomy has typically been defined as discretion over pace of work and work methods (Hackman & Oldham, 1980), and in an effort to provide autonomy, buffers have traditionally been inserted into the work flow to break task interdependencies. The use of such buffers, however, runs counter to today's new manufacturing practices of just-in-time (JIT) inventory and standardized work. This paper, therefore, examines the effects of introducing such practices on levels of autonomy in different operations. In mature sociotechnical plants where employees have become accustomed to independent decision making, the introduction of process controls can diminish individual autonomy. But, there is an opportunity to exchange individual decision making with a form of collective autonomy which is limited to task design as opposed to task execution. Furthermore, individuals can still retain autonomy in cases where it does not affect the overall coordination of production activity. Last, the introduction of new process controls offers the opportunity for participative decision making in situations where hierarchical centralized decision making was once the norm.