Technocracy at Work

By Beverly H. Burris

Subjects: Industrial Psychology
Series: SUNY series, The New Inequalities
Paperback : 9780791414965, 243 pages, July 1993
Hardcover : 9780791414958, 243 pages, July 1993

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Table of contents

Acknowledgments

1. Introduction

2. The Ideological Roots of Technocracy

3. The Transformation of Technical Control

4. The Transformation of Bureaucracy

5. The Transformation of Professionalism

6. Emergent Technocracy

7. Conclusion

Notes

References

Index

Description

Technocracy, loosely defined, is "rule by experts. " Technocracy at Work focuses on the organizational dimensions and aspects of technocracy.

Substantial sociological literatures have analyzed contemporary changes in factories, bureaucracies, and professional organizations. What has not been well investigated is the interrelatedness of these changes and the emergence of technocracy in the workplace. This book fills this gap and analyzes the social and political implications of technocracy, in both particular work organizations as well as the world-wide technocratic system, so as to inform future democratic debate.

Beverly H. Burris is Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of New Mexico

Reviews

"It focuses on a major variable in the study of organizations, namely, technology. This is a major topic in the scholarly literature and is also a popular concern. The treatment of the topic is well done. " — James L. Price, University of Iowa

"The analysis of ideological roots helps to put postmodernism in perspective. The author offers a cogent analysis of technocratic trends. " — A. G. Dworkin, University of Houston