Introduction
The capitalist production relies mostly on the scientific application of management principles which entail antagonistic social relations with production being the central focus of managers. This implies that the human point of view is not recognized and the only ideas workers should subscribe to are those of the management. An analysis, therefore, proves that capitalist production leads to adverse social consequences that tend to subdivide workers instead of bringing them together. Capitalist production degrades work since it makes workers behave like machines thereby neglecting the need to consider the human point of view during production. The essay, therefore, draws from the insights of Braverman to discuss the capitalist production methods and their limitations while considering the social division of labor against detailed division of labor as well as how Babbage principles degrade work.
Difference between Social Division of Labor and Detailed Division of Labor
Braverman distinguished the social division of labor and the detailed division of labor according to the ability of the two to take into consideration the occupation of the workers. Social division of labor according to Braverman, is a situation in which the workers are allowed to build their profession such that they practice according to the skills possessed. This implies that through social division of labor, the whole society is seen as an entity capable of performing different roles. The society is therefore divided according to occupations where every person carries duties they feel they are capable and comfortable with. The detailed division on the other hand focuses on the need to breakdown the processes involved in manufacturing activities such that the activities are performed by different employees. This is viewed as a form of destruction to the profession of human beings. In the detailed division of labor, there is therefore need for planning and controlling the activities done by the workers in such a way that all the different processes are in line with the objectives of the organization.
Social Consequences of Capitalist Organization of Production
The social consequences of capitalist organization of production is that the activities are concentrated around chaotic enforcement as well as forms of anarchy that do not acknowledge the need for human relations within the organization. This means that human beings are considered machines such that their productivity is never to decline according to the management expectations. The anarchy situation in the capitalist forms of social division does not give the workers an opportunity to express themselves with restrictions ranging from being denied opportunity to talk while at work or leaving the working place without the permission of management. The management therefore sees itself as the sole enforcer of the rues and that every employee is to abide by their rules without questioning. Scientific principles are applied at work such that there is no wasting time in social resources.
There are therefore antagonistic social relations with the only point of view accommodated bestowed on the management. The workers in this case are like machines only required to concentrate on their roles without engaging in social interactions that may lead to reduction in production. For the capitalistic managers, the output should be always rising and a decline therefore leads to severe consequences since it is perceived as failure for the workers to effectively carry out their tasks. As such, decline in output means that workers energy is reducing and hence a possible reason for them to be replaced by those who are capable of withstanding the situation in the work place. Buying labor the same way organization buy the raw materials is not the appropriate approach management could take in improving the lives of workers and therefore reducing work related stress. There is need to take into consideration the works of theorists such as Elton Mayo who felt the need to involve workers in the running of the affairs of the organization such that there is an improvement in the human relations between the organization and its employees. This then acts as a way of motivating the employees to aspire to work hard for the overall benefit of the organization. There is therefore need to deviate from the ideologies of the capitalists that only considered output level while ignoring the role played by human beings as part of the organization.
It is obvious that there comes a time when the organization cannot do it alone and would need to involve the workers in ways that make them feel as part of the system and hence capable of growing with the company. This implies the need to develop a system approach to management where employees are given the power to take part in decision making process and influence the decisions made by the management.
The Babbage Principle and how its Application in Labor Leads to Degradation of Work
The Babbage principle focuses on the need to implement supervision on workers, design rules that limit destructions such as talking at work place as well as giving absolute power to the managers. The Babbage principle degrades work performance since it conforms to the ideologies of capitalist production such that there lacks mutual relations between the management and employees. In this case, the workers are viewed as part of the raw materials hence their services bought the same way the raw materials are procured. The employees are only required to perform the tasks they can only perform thereby creating the impressions that there is limited or zero team work within the organization. The organization is therefore likely to suffer in the cases where there are massive expansion plans or production cycles that call for the need for employees to come together to perform tasks that in turn improves the division of labor.
Babbage principle does not subscribe to the need to improving human relations such that the management is strict with the employees in ways that there is no talking or moving around while at work. Human beings are viewed as machines who input is not supposed to go down hence in cases where production falls, the labor present is considered incapable of achieving the production targets.
With the Babbage principle, social relations are considered a waste of time since interactions at work place are discouraged such that there is limited or no social relations while at work. The scientific principles rule the day as the management is only interested in ensuring sustained higher productivity. The failure to consider the need for social relations and accommodating the workers point of view is therefore a major contributor to degrading of work such that the workers operate as though they are forced. This then creates a military form of governance since the conditions prevalent are not conductive for a normal human being. Team work is nonexistent with the Babbage principle since each employee is only supposed to concentrate on the work allocated to them this is meant to subdivide humans in such a way that it disrupts the unity that ought to be within a work environment.
Using Rice’s Case to Illustrate the Effects Braverman Describes
The play by Rice shows the stress Mr. Zero encounters after being employed for over 25 years. The job only reduced him to being an adding machine whereby the employer’s interests are only on the efficiency of the work performed by Zero and the need to sustain the business operations through uninterrupted production. As a result, Mr. Zero feels that he was deprived his dignity as an employee where the organization only recognized the output produced while ignoring the human side of life needed by employees.
The employers need for higher efficiencies makes them rely on machine like employees who are expected to make no mistakes and ones that do not tire and are never late. The case of Mr. Zero is similar to the issues addressed by Braverman where the capitalist production does not appreciate the need for human point of view and the management enjoys absolute power in making employees to work under tight rules. Similarly to the views by Braverman, there are antagonistic social relations at Mr. Zero’s work place where workers operate as machines without distractions such as talking to other workers or leaving the work place during production sessions. This then creates an anarchical form of management that is prone to chaotic enforcement of social division as Braverman puts it.
Conclusion
The capitalist organization sees no need for human relations at the work place which translates to severe social consequences through division of workers. The capitalist production in this case utilizes the scientific principles that only focus on the magnitude of production while ignoring the people behind improvement in production. However, in order to create a sustainable environment for workers, there is need to utilize factors that promote social relations as well as the need to accommodate the workers’ view point.
References
Braverman, Harry. "Labor and Monopoly Capital: Thew Degradation of Work in the Twentieth Century." New York: London Monthly Review, 1974. 49-69. Print.
Rice, Elmer. "The Adding Machine." Cleveland: World Publication Company, 1945. 194-221. Document.
Rotemberg, Julio. "Human Relations in the Workplace." The Journal of Political Economy (2008): 684-717. Document.
