New Manufacturing Technology and Work Design

January 1, 1986

Thomas G. Cummings and Melvin Blumberg
1986 (republished 1994)

Modern organizations are showing an increased interest in new manufacturing technologies. Driven by recent advances in computers and automated methods, these new technologies are rapidly expanding into most functions of manufacturing, including design, fabrication, assembly, planning, and control. They can drastically alter how organizations produce products, as well as deal with suppliers, customers, and support personnel. Perhaps most important, the new technologies can have a profound impact on work design–how tasks are grouped into jobs and work groups.