INTRODUCTION
Like so many aspects of our social work, work and Economic life are undergoing enormous transformation it seems that we are confronted at every turn by pronouncement like ―death of carriers‖ nature or environment news about the corporate mergers and downsizing and contradictory reports about the impact of information technology on the work place yet, in addition to these very public aspects of contemporary pattern of work sociologist are are interested to know changes in works are affecting the lives and families. Today the nature of work has been changed, industries in the traditional sense ie, manufacturing material goods and services with the help of machines and mechanical work power have been reduced in number with automation, computerization, subcontracting, out-sourcing the number of work has been falling in large industries rapidly with information revolution, most of the service provided with computerized processing and there is no 2 need of any large number of workers for eg. WNS specialized airline management firm working from Pune and Mumbai, can do the either back office airline management function of British Air Ways. Some other association many be specified in human resources related function like payroll and pension management and its clients may include big corporate, like Motorola, Pfizer which offer arrange of out scoring services to clients world wads for example A multi national company spectra mind provides a number of services like e-mail management accounting services and knowledge acquisition.
MEANING OF SOCIOLOGY OF WORK
Sociology of work is a substantive area of general sociology which is specially interested to know the present situation work and work environment it is also concerned with the changing needs of industries and its impact on the present generation. Sociology of work and occupation is a new development in the field of industries to study the nature of job opportunities impact of new globalize market, changing scenes of Indian market and overall the requirement of labour in terms specialized skills in order to service. Sociology of work is a new subject for industrial sociology it applies sociological principles to the study of economic structure. Changes in these structures values and ideologies attached them in these science. We give primary emphasis on the nature and trends of present occupations in order to study needs of new economic, the new generation of workers have to be well equipped to face the challenges posed by the industrial global activities they need to bold enterprising highly skilled and ready to work in feasible system production, automation and computerization have created specific type of demand for different goods and services in order to meet the emerging new needs of production. The workers have to fully capable. The consumption market is largely hanging, the demand of products with whole range of services or packages compel manufacturing to adopt the new methods of production. The technological advancement in telecommunication like their e-mail and internet brought significant changes in Indian organized labour market. The development in addition to the other techniques play a vital role in balancing the demand for labour with supply of the same. As a science of human behavior it also focuses on women and child labour to the future needs. It intends to make the student aware the changing scenario of industrial organization, work environment, changes in the demand of labour the subject wishes to enable them to cope with the challenges of new economic system. 3 Sociology of work thus can be defined as a dramatic study of work related problems industry under the new conditions and changing the pattern of relationship in the new context e.g. globalization. Globalization means integrating the economy of a country with world economy.
In Indian context it implies opening of the economy to foreign direct investment and provides to Multinational Corporation in India. It has resulted in (a) joint ventures (b) reduction in tariff rates (c) bringing down the level of import duties (d) promoting exports. Though the expectation from these liberalization and privatization polices were very high ultimately we could not achieve much in the field of economy, the rate of unemployment rose to ever high level. Industries are closed, labour is retrenched and new number of job opportunities have been created the sociology of work studies the impact of globalization on the industry workers and employment, it provides detailed information about the impact of new economic policy the effect of downsizing like family, education media or culture. It also deals with the nature of industrial relation and the changing aspects of the role of trade union and their members.
BASIC CONCEPTS
Work:- Sociology of work is intimately related to work itself work is the care of industry is most genuinely related to this concept as working activity is the most common among the human being work is universal phenomenon whether in the so – called ―Primitive‖ State of mankind or in more advanced stages of culture work has been practice in an ordinary avocation of man demanded from him by nature and society and the contribution to the public welfare which at the same time entitles him to share the goods available in the community More over in the simpler society connected originally with other common activities as are, religion or recreation ―Primitive‖ man work spontaneously in the some way as he eats dances or prays Work was alike other human activity in the life for preliterate man. For most common of us work occupies a larger part of our lives than other single type of activity work means something the gives meaning to life. Work also provided self esteem. Work can be paid or un paid but one devotees then folder to do the work. Work is the medium through which one express one self uses capacity one all physical activity and mental ability.
The concise oxford Dictionary defines work as an expenditure of energy striving application of effort to some purpose while in economics its speak of it as ―one of the major factor of production consisting of manual or mental extension for which wages salaries of professional fees are received‖ The famous an anthropologist Raymond Firth defined it as ―an income producing activity ―Or as a purposeful activity entailing expenditure of energy at some sacrifice of pleasure or leisure while the creative sees R.B. Lal calls in the law of creation labour is essential for the preservation of life. But Henri Avon, Considering the feeling of many other described it as a muscular effect including fatigue and exhaustion or a spontaneous, conscious and deliberate effort. According to the encyclopedia of social science work means only economically useful activity. Earlier work was separated from the daily routine and all the member of the society were required to participate in productive work ie production for goods and service necessary for subsistence with the growth of a market economy in the course of economic distinguished from the general population. Thus who are in work or work force many be said to form socio economic structure of society. In every culture most person are engaged a good part of their life in activities that may be considered as work but such activities may or may not be paid for of house - wives work although high desirable are not regarded as economic. Work plays a central play in the life most people engaged in productive activities. Jercme M Rostow with long experience in government and business has summed up the centrality of work in a following statement. Work is the core of life considers the deeper meaning of work to the individual and the life values. Work means a good provider, it means autonomy, it pays of in success and it establishes self respect and self worth within these framework, the person who openly congests active job dissatisfaction is virtually admitting failure as a man, a failure in fulfilling his moral role in society, since work resides at the very core of life values, self esteem colors the response to job satisfactions on attitude those who don‘t like to work, it is denial of basis goods in life. Denial to work means an admission to an inability to achieve and perform an economically use full and productive ways in society, in the family, in the church, and in the community.
George straws concludes his study on Individual and its subsistent dysfunction manifestation that there is overwhelming evidence that many (but not all.) workers react negatively to work in routine and without challenge. A whole series of study from mass production industry shows eg that dissatisfaction appears directly related to short job cycle, lack of autonomy and control over work place in jobs which require attention but not challenge. Such facts also relay to absentism turn over strikes and even poor mental health. One of the best known studies of the relationship between technology and alienation is the work of Blauner. As we will see later, he has adopted an instrumental attitude towards his jobs viewing it as a means to an end rather than and end it self. While these problems may apply equally to white collar and Blue worker, there is some evidence that they are creative in some type of jobs than above. The problem of alienation is greater in some type of work than other if the work is routine and monotones the worker have more detachment from work eg : assembly line work but if the work demand greater involvement of attention, the worker feels more active.
INDUSTRIAL WORK
Modern Industrial work is highly differentiated and specialized, the whole production is split into a number of Stages or Steps, in each of which one or more specialized group of worker are involved, work is also shifted from home to factor in modern economy machinery and equipments were concentrated in factories. People seeking jobs in factories would be trained to perform a specialized task and received a wage for his work.
The impact of such division of labour had been studied a number of sociologist on Individual and society as a whole for move toward industrialsation and wage labour was sure. To result in alienation among workers, they are employed in factory, workers would loose all control over the labour they would be obligate to form routing task that would strict their work. Workers in a capita list system eventually adopt an instrument orientation to work, Marx argued and saw it is nothing more than a way to earn living.
Marx also believed that work provided the most important and the vital means for man to fulfill his basis needs his individuality and his humanity but so for work would not be felt in such whole a complete fulfilled sense. Similarly Roberl Blawner has mentioned earlier as conducted experiments to study the relationship between technology and alienation.
Durkheim was optimistic when he emphasized on this strengthen of Social solidarity through specialization of roles but he also warns of the situation like anomy.
Robert Blawner has examined the impact of automation on worker, there skills and in their level of commitment. Automation generally means work done without any human interference, with the help of machines in his influential well known studies alienation freedom 1964 Robert Blawner examined the experience of worker in four different industry, with different levels of technology.
While he saw fragmentation as the under line features leading to alienation, he identified several important dimension to the problem mainly, powerlessness, meanings lessens, isolation and self estrangement such feeling arise when the workers is performing a maximum repetitive and relatively meaniningless. task, with little control over his situation and isolated from his colleagues, he concluded that workers on assembly line were the most alienated of all but that level of alienation was were some what looser at work places. Loosing automation.
In other words Blauner argued that the introduction of automation to factories was responsible for reducing alienation, automation held to integrate the work force which had been lacking with other forms of technology. A very different thesis was set forced by Harry Braverman in his famous labour and monopoly capital? 1974 in Brawer man eyes, automation was part of all the over all ―de-Skilling‖ of the industrial labour force by imposing Taylorist organizational technique and breaking up the labour process into specialized task managers were able to exert to control over the work in both industrial setting and modern office the introduction of technology. contributed to over all ―degradation of work while by limiting the need for creative human source instead all that was required and non responsive unthinking, body capable of performing and endlessly the some unskilled tasks.
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