Essay --

Throughout history there has been a vast development of organisation which has led us to today’s modern factory systems. Machinery and the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century obviously play a vital role in these changes however before we can analyse how they have influenced the system greatly; we have to understand how the organisations came about in the first place and how they have changed in order to have created the demand for machinery and therefore the industrial revolution. There has been much debate over what prompted development and change. Marglin (1974) states that it wasn’t the new machinery and industrial revolution that prompted change it was in fact, the control and new efficiency from the old organisation systems to the more modern factory system that created the demand. He questions whether work organization is determined by society or technology and asks whether hierarchical authority is really necessary for high levels of production (Marglin 197 4 p19). However others disagreed and it is still an ongoing debate eg. David Landes (1969) argues that the symbol of revolution was a combination of technological and cultural factors. The transformation from early organisations such as workshops, guilds, cooperatives and the ‘putting out system’ to the rise of the factory system brings us closer to today’s organisation. In the early organisations in workshops there was scope for embezzlement, a poor allocation of resources and traditional hierarchies were very common. The putting-out system was a simple, decentralized method of producing manufactured goods and it had been in use for a few centuries by the time it grew in importance during the mid-18th Century. The system was based upon the idea of a central auth... ...age in the development of the organisation had been established, we can focus on the most relevant driving force that led us to modern factory systems. It was in fact Weber who brought in the idea of bureaucracy and this is what has led factories to be more like modern organisations due to more hierarchical control and maximum efficiency. The industrial sector is constantly evolving and this can be seen during the 19th Century when the main driving force was leaning more towards improvements in machinery and technology. This changed during the 20th Century when bureaucracy, hierarchy and control had more influence. Industry will continue to evolve and refine itself due to demand for higher efficiency and productivity. With the ever changing business environment and constant technological advances, it is hard to predict what may influence manufacturing systems next. Essay -- Throughout history there has been a vast development of organisation which has led us to today’s modern factory systems. Machinery and the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century obviously play a vital role in these changes however before we can analyse how they have influenced the system greatly; we have to understand how the organisations came about in the first place and how they have changed in order to have created the demand for machinery and therefore the industrial revolution. There has been much debate over what prompted development and change. Marglin (1974) states that it wasn’t the new machinery and industrial revolution that prompted change it was in fact, the control and new efficiency from the old organisation systems to the more modern factory system that created the demand. He questions whether work organization is determined by society or technology and asks whether hierarchical authority is really necessary for high levels of production (Marglin 197 4 p19). However others disagreed and it is still an ongoing debate eg. David Landes (1969) argues that the symbol of revolution was a combination of technological and cultural factors. The transformation from early organisations such as workshops, guilds, cooperatives and the ‘putting out system’ to the rise of the factory system brings us closer to today’s organisation. In the early organisations in workshops there was scope for embezzlement, a poor allocation of resources and traditional hierarchies were very common. The putting-out system was a simple, decentralized method of producing manufactured goods and it had been in use for a few centuries by the time it grew in importance during the mid-18th Century. The system was based upon the idea of a central auth... ...age in the development of the organisation had been established, we can focus on the most relevant driving force that led us to modern factory systems. It was in fact Weber who brought in the idea of bureaucracy and this is what has led factories to be more like modern organisations due to more hierarchical control and maximum efficiency. The industrial sector is constantly evolving and this can be seen during the 19th Century when the main driving force was leaning more towards improvements in machinery and technology. This changed during the 20th Century when bureaucracy, hierarchy and control had more influence. Industry will continue to evolve and refine itself due to demand for higher efficiency and productivity. With the ever changing business environment and constant technological advances, it is hard to predict what may influence manufacturing systems next.