Socio-technical design; strategies in multidisciplinary research

By the same author

Autonomous Group Functioning Behavioural Worlds

Socio-technical Design STRATEGIES IN MULTIDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH

P. G. HERBST

TAVISTOCK PUBLICATIONS

First published in 1974 by Tavistock Publications Limited 11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4 Printed in Great Britain in 10/12 pt Times New Roman by Willmer Brothers Limited, Birkenhead © P. G. Herbst, 1974

ISBN 0 422 73980 4

Distributed in the USA by H A R P E R & R O W PUB L I S H E R S, I N C. BA RNE S & NOBLE IMPORT D IVIS I O N

To John McNally and his team of Durham miners, the Israeli kibbutzniks, and the workers and managers of the Norwegian firms who took part in the Industrial Democracy Project, who each in their own ways explored the future

CONTENTS

page

ix

Preface

I N T RO D U C T I O N

1

The Development of Socio-technical Research

3

PART I D E S I G N OF SO C I O·T E C H N I C A L S Y S T E M S

2

Approaches to Socio-technical Design

3

Socio-technical and Psychodynamic Variables in Shio

13

28

Organization Design

4

Socio-technical Design of Ship Organization

5

Organizational Learning and Organizational Change on

6

Emerging Characteristics of Socio-technical Organizations:

Merchant Ships: Matrix Organization

45 54 61

A Summary

P A R T II A P P ROAC H E S TOW A R D S T H E I N T E G R A T IO N OF T H E P H Y S I C A L A N D T H E B E H A V IOUR A L S C I E N C E S

7

The Operational-unit Paradigm

8

The Multiple-perspective Paradigm

82

9

The Psycho-physical Transformation Paradigm

95

vii

65

CONTENTS PART III CH A R A C T E R I S T I C S OF T A S K S A N D OR G A N I Z A T I O N A L STRUCTURE

10

Production Tasks and Work Organization

113

11

Research Tasks and Research Organization

157

12

The Structure of Science and Developmental Trends

170

13

Maps of Knowledge and the Design of Educational

181

Organizations

E P I LOGUE

14

The Evolution of World Models

201

15

The Product of Work is People

212

Bibliography

219

Index

235

viii

PREFACE

This book, a companion volume to Autonomous and

Behavioural Worlds,

Group Functioning

brings together papers on socio-technical

theory, method, and design that have previously circulated mostly in mimeographed form. The papers were written over a period of nineteen years while I was working at the Tavistock Institute of Human Relations in London, the Institute for Industrial Social Research in Trondheim, and the Work Research Institutes in Oslo. These three institutes have over a number of years been engaged in joint research programmes. The introductory chapter presents a brief overview of the history of socio-technical research and outlines possible directions of future development. In Part I, the types of problem encountered in socio-technical design are discussed, first in a historical context, and then by means of a case study of a project concerned with evolving a new form of ship organization. Part II considers several approaches to the fundamental problem of socio-technical theory. An integrated analysis of technology and social organization is possible only in so far as links can be estab­ lished to bridge the gap between the physical and the behavioural sciences. Each of the three conceptual approaches chosen for more detailed study can be translated into operational terms and can therefore be tested and applied to the construction of methods for organizational analysis. Part III is concerned with the construction of methods for studying the relationship between task structure and work organization, and with their application to organizational problems encountered in industry, research, education, and science policy. The epilogue explores further one of the implications of the ship organization study: the interdependence of accepted principles of organization and the basic assumptions of our partly implicit world model. Fundamental changes in socio-technical organization either presuppose or create a concurrent change in the predominant world

ix

PREFACE

model, a change both in man•s view of himself and in his relationship

to the environment. The conclusion arrived at in the final chapter is that the ultimate product of work is we ourselves as human beings. The book is a result of collaborative research over a long period of time, and I am particularly indebted to the following: to Eric Trist and Fred Emery, successive chairmen of the Human Resources Centre of the Tavistock Institute in London, and Einar Thorsrud,

director of the Institute for Industrial Social Research in Trondheim and later of the Work Research Institutes in Oslo, who made up the

core group of the socio-technical research programme; to my colleagues in the early days on the Durham coalmining project, Gerth Riggin, Hugh Murray, and Alec Pollock; to those on the Norwegian Industrial Democracy

Project, Per

Engelstad,

Jon

Gulowsen, Knut Lange, and Julius Marek; to Jacques Roggema on the shipping project; to Louis Davis on the exploratory socio­ technical design project; and last, but by no means least, to my colleagues and friends in the European group, Hans yan Beinum, Herman Hutte, Jaap Koekebakker, Mauk Mulder, and Peter SchOnbach. From

1 960

to

1 967

the work reported was supported by a grant

from the Norwegian Council for Science and the Humanities. To Tori! Hungnes and Bergljot Brun my thanks for their kindness and their help with the secretarial work. For permission to reproduce material that has already appeared in

Tidsskrift for Samfunnsforskning and Universitetsforlaget, Oslo, in respect of Chapters 1, 3, 4, and S; the Editor of the European Journal of Social Psychology and Mouton & Co., The Hague, in respect of Chapter 3; the Editor of Human Relations in respect of Chapter 8; the Editor of Nordisk Forum and Munskgaard International Publishers Ltd,

print, thanks are due to the following: the Editor of

Copenhagen, in respect of Chapter 13. Acknowledgement is due also to the Tavistock Institute of Human Relations for permission to include the material in Chapters

2

and

10. P. G. Herbst

Oslo, 1973

Introduction

CHAPTE R 1

The Development of Socio-technical Research1

---

·---

Most of the basic concepts employed in the field of socio-technical studies can be traced back to a paper by Trist & Bamforth {1 951) on the social and psychological consequences of the longwall method of coal-getting. The starting-point of the early coal studies was provided by psychiatric investigations by Morris

(1947)

and Halliday

(1 948),

which gave evidence of an epidemic incidence of psychosomatic disorders among miners working under mechanized conditions. As a consequence

of

mechanization

introduced

into

coalmining

to

increase productivity, the small self-regulating work teams, in which each man carried out the

total

task

of mining,

were broken up. The

new system required for its operation forty to fifty men, each working on a single task. The resulting work organization was one

in which a number of teams worked independently, on different piece rates, but, by the nature of the task, they were dependent on one another to get their work done. Each group of workers, optimiz­ ing conditions for itself, created and passed on bad conditions to the work groups responsible for subsequent tasks. Instead of enabling the workers to cooperate with one another, the new system created insoluble conditions for interpersonal

and intergroup conflict,

resulting in psychological defence mechanisms in the form of reactive competitive individualism, mutual scapegoating, and a high level of absenteeism, all of which contributed to a low level of performance. The analytical model applied is shown below. The technological system determines the characteristics of the social system through 1 Ba s ed on a research policy d ocumen t written in 1966 for the Institute for Industrial Social Research in Trondheim, and used later also at the Work Research Institutes in Oslo. First published in Norwegian in 1 969 in Tidsskrift for Samfunnsforskning, Vol. 10, No. 3-4, pp. 225-35. Revised version in P. G. Herbst (ed.), Demokratiseringsprosessen i arbeidslivet, 1 970.

3

INTRODUCTION

the allocation of work roles and the technologically given dependence relations between tasks. Performance is a function of the joint opera­ tion of the social and technical systems. Dysfunctional consequences

� / .

Socia l structu re

Technologlcal ____,._0f the work s y ste m tem

Psychosomatic

disorders;

----..interpersonal and

intergroup conflict

Product quality and quantity

of the social system are not easily modified in so far as the social structure is based on the requirements of the technological system. 1 The principle that began to emerge at this stage was that, if the technological system is optimized at the expense of the social system, the results achieved will be sub-optimal. The same would be true if the social system were optimized at the expense of the technological system. The aim to be achieved would need to be the joint optimiza­ tion of the technical and the social systems. At the same time, where conflicts are built into a work organization there is relatively little that can be achieved by means of a Human Relations approach to conflict resolution. One promising lead at this stage was that, at a higher level of mechanization, in the form of the Bolsover technique, the tasks could again be integrated, thus pro­ viding the conditions for the operation of relatively small autonomous teams (Wilson, Trist & Bamforth, 1 95 1). The idea that a given work organization is a necessary consequence of a particular technological system was not discarded until the second series of coalmining studies started in 1 954. This second series was concerned with carrying out more system­ atic and, where possible, quantitative investigations. In the course of fieldwork in the Durham area, a number of composite autonomous work teams were discovered, which had been organized by the men themselves. Comparative studies of conventional work organizations consistently showed the superiority of the composite autonomous work organizations both in terms of productivity and in terms of social-psychological criteria. The most interesting findings related to 1 Research along similar lines began independently in a number of countries: see Westerlund (1952), Walker & Guest (1952), Touraine (1955), Morse & Reimer (1956); and, later, Blauner (1964) and Jordan (1968).

4

T H E D E V E LO P M E N T O F S O C I O · T E C H N I C A L R E S E A R C H

Iongwall faces where a total group o f more than forty men working on a three-shift cycle had organized themselves as an autonomous

group. Cohesion was in this case maintained by a work rotation scheme which had evolved both within and between shifts. It became clear at this stage that the same technological system can provide a choice of social systems, at least within a range of feasible alternatives (Trist et al., 1963).

The only experiment undertaken at this time was triggered off

unintentionally when the trade union secretary at one of the pits where fieldwork bad been done for about two years decided, with the cooperation of the pit manager, to try out the ideas by himself by organizing a small autonomous group for an experimental three•month period. It was possible in this case to obtain a complete day-by-day record of the work behaviour of the team and to con­ struct the first of several quantitative case-study techniques which were later developed and which make it possible to carry out systematic theory-testing at the level of single cases (Herbst,

1962,

1970). At about the same time Rice

(1958)

completed the first experi­

mental study of composite work organization in an Indian weaving shed, which indicated that the ideas that had been developing were applicable in a factory setting and also in a completely different culture.1 The second phase of socio-technical studies came to an end in

1959.

Until this time the chief interest had been in trying to find a

solution to the problems of the mining industry. There appeared to be little chance of implementation at the time apart from anything that might result from the publication of findings. During the next years, work continued on theoretical problems. Emery

(1959),

in a review of the field, stressed that it was essential

to look at socio-technical organizations as open systems, and, in a later paper, Emery & Trist

(1965)

showed how different types of

organization could be looked at in terms of the need to adapt to different types of environment. At the same time, further attention

was given to the development of methods for the study of socio­ techoical systems, and to the quantification of socio-techoical 1 A convergent approach in the field of job design was independently developed: see Davis & Canter (1955, 1 956), Davis, Canter & Hoffman (1955), and Davis (1957). For an application to job-training, see King (1 964).

s

INTRODUCTION

l

�rinciples; and the implications of s�cio-t�h�ical concepts fo� � mtegration of behavioural and phys1cal pnnc1ples were exailll n� The third stage of development became possible with the start in 1962 of the Industrial Democracy Project in Norway. For the first time, conditions became available for socio-technical experiments in a number of industries. The aim was to utilize autonomous and composite types of work organization as a basis for extending the participation of workers in decision-making. During the same period, socio-technical experiments were carried out in Holland in the postal and telegraph services, and in Ireland in the public bus service {Thorsrud & Emery, 1966, 1969; Van Beinum, 1965; Emery & Thorsrud, 1969). A review of the experience gained so far suggests that there are at least three possible ways of inducing changes in a work organiza­ tion, depending on whether primary changes are made in the social, economic, or technological system. In most of the studies that have been done up to the present time, the approach has been to carry out a socio-technical study of a particular technological system, and subsequently to design a more appropriate correlated social system. Finally, either at the time of implementation or as a result of it, necessary changes take place in the form and distribution of payment. Up to this point the technological system was taken as a given, and effort was concentrated on redesigning and implementing the socio-economic system in ways consistent with the demands and properties of the technological process structure. Two difficulties are encountered here. The first is that present-day technological systems have been designed specifically to give a maximum breakdown of jobs into simple repetitive work components which require of the workers a minimum of initiative and training. The production engineer has in fact functioned as a social engineer but with only one type of organizational structure in mind. The second difficulty is that to implement changes in an existing work organization requires a great deal of effort and working through. In 1966 a work group came together to examine the possibility of designing the total socio-technical unit. Specifically, this implies that, for a given product and raw materials, the total set of feasible production processes is examined. It should then be possible to derive the social-organizational requirements for each of these, and finally to arrive at a choice based on the joint optimization of the

6

THE

D E V EL O P M E N T O F S O C I O·TE C H N I C AL R E S E A R CH

technical and social systems (Davis & Engelstad, 1 966; Emery, 1966; Herbst, Chapter 2 of this volume). Fundamental changes are now occurring with the transition to

automated process industries. The total number of operators required to run a factory may be as few as five to ten men. They have to function as a team, with adequate understanding of the whole process. The team organization has to be quite flexible in order to be able to cope with any problems that may emerge, and crucial

decisions have to be made with the shortest possible time-lag. Further, the team, especially during the stage of running in a new factory, needs to have a capacity for continuous learning both at the technical and at the social-organizational level (Thorsrud & Emery,

19 69).

The present indications are that self-regulating work organizations will be specifically appropriate in these conditions, and that they can be matched better to the requirements of the new technologies than to the technologies based on job breakdown which emerged at the time of the first industrial revolution. There exists a wide field of choice with regard to the ways in which automation and computer technologies can be designed and utilized. They can be utilized to increase the range and possibilities of human choice, or in such a way that decision-making is abdicated to a computer program. The psychological conditions that lead to the decision to employ computers as instruments of mystification and irresponsibility present a problem with which we shall need to be concerned.

A possibly more critical emerging problem is a consequence of the increasing rate of technological change. Once some degree of self­ organization of work groups has been established it is possible to go further and build in a capacity for organizational adaptation and learning; that is, work teams can redesign their own organization and members may be enabled to carry out research to improve both their technical and their organizational skills with the help of outside specialists utilized as resource persons. However, work on the organizational side of the problem by itself will not be sufficient. In some industries the rate of technological change is approaching the point where, before a new form of work organization can be established (together with new training and recruitment schemes, new career structures and payment systems), further technological change

7 B

INTRODUCTION

has already disrupted the operational conditions for the maintenance of the new social organization. A major difficulty here is that we still tend to look at technological development as a process over which we have no control. It is pos­ sible that at the time of the industrial revolution there existed only a single techno-economically feasible production system to which society had to adapt. This is no longer the case today. The develop­ ment of technology over the past decades now makes it possible for a choice to be made between a wide range of techno-economically

feasible alternatives. The necessary condition for determini�g the

direction of social change in industry and society as a whole is that we utilize the option of technological choice. The critical step in this case is to achieve joint policy decisions with respect to technological and organizational development over the same time-period, so that the type of technology chosen is consistent with and supports the direction established for social and organizational change. In practice, this means that the initial task of the design engineer will be to present the widest range of techno-economically feasible

alternatives. Of these, a smaller number will be selected for further study and tested for consistency with social and organizational requirements before a commitment to a final technological design is made. To the extent that workers and staff are able to participate in the process of choosing, the conditions will be provided for achieving an initial joint commitment to the direction established for organiza­ tional change. At the same time, it will become possible for those who operate the new technology to test the extent to which the principles of choice tum out to be valid in practice, and to contribute at a later stage to the process of redesign. The same type of principle could be applied to architectural planning and town-planning. Possibly the best way in which social scientists could help would be to assist with setting up the conditions for systematic follow-up studies which would enable the designer to test the extent to which the assumptions and theories utilized in the design were sufficient and valid, thus creating the conditions for continuous learning. The long-term trend would in this case be away from exclusive reliance on centralized research institutions and in the direction of building research capacities into existing professional and work organizations, thereby providing an essential condition for an organizational learning process to be self-maintaining.

8

THE DEVELOPMENT O F SOCIO·TECHNICAL RESEARCH

Further theoretical and methodological work will need to be concerned with the extension of the principle of joint optimization and with the extension of the analytical technique to larger system units.

1. Joint Optimization of Industry and Society The early studies were mainly concentrated on the internal socio­ technical structure of organizations. At the next stage, criteria were developed for discovering optimal organizational structures relative to different environments, where the environment was taken as a given. However, industrial organizations do not only adjust to their environment; the new socio-technical systems that are developing within industry also induce or require changes in the environment of which they form a part. 1 To the extent that basic changes are introduced in the form of new types of work role and interpersonal relations within the work setting, these can be expected to spread out into society either directly or in the form of a model. If, over the next decades, technological and industrial develop­ ment accelerates but there is inadequate knowledge of and regard to its societal consequences, then the outcome may well be a weakening of the social structure on which industrial development depends. We need therefore, over the next years, studies of the effects on society of changes within industry as well as studies of the societal conditions for industrial development; these studies need to be co­ ordinated so that the conditions for the joint optimization of social and industrial development can be investigated.

2. The Social Ecology of Industry Industry forms part of an ecology of social organizations. Industrial development led to a rising standard of education, the formation of new social classes, and changes in family organization. Each of these changes, again, affected the further development of industry. 1 An example is found in the Norwegian Industrial Democracy Project which

required the setting-up of a joint national steering committee of the Norwegian

Trades Union Congress and the Confederation of Employers (Emery & Thorsrud, 1969).

9

I NTRODUCTION

Moreover, all these changes are cross-linked. Changes in social classes and in family organization determine the educational interests and career choices of the younger generation, which then determine the educational and professional skills available to industry. At the same time, the steady expansion of university and post­ graduate education has led to a steady growth of research organiza­ tions which play a central role in further societal and industrial development, although their place in the societal structure and their means of subsistence have not yet been clearly established. Just as in the ecology of nature so in the social ecology, each part is intimately dependent on the other parts; changes introduced within any one organizational sector or a lack of adjustive change can have an almost immediate influence, directly or indirectly, on other sections of the ecology. Organizational changes introduced to optimize any one sector of the ecology have at present unknown consequences. Their effects on other sectors may be direct or indirect, supportive or reactive; they may become damped or be intensified to an explosive degree.

3.

The Problem of Optimizing Social Ecologies

If we consider the social ecology as it exists today in the Western world, we find that equal weight is not given to the different organiza­ tional sectors. Instead, all sectors of the social ecology are to a greater or lesser extent subordinated to the need to maintain in­ dustrial development. This was essential during the early period of industrialization. It is maintained today by competitive pressures and military demands, and through the application of science without the ability to understand and control the consequences. Once a greater understanding of social ecologies can

be

achieved,

it will become possible to work, in the first place, towards stabilizing the growth of the industrial and applied research sector and, at the next step, towards finding optimal directions of growth for social ecologies as a whole and for smaller societal units, at the national and possibly the international level.

10

PART I

Design of Socio-technical Systems

CHAPTER 2

Approaches to Socio-technical Design1

---

·---

C OM P L E T E S P E C I F I C A T ION D E S I G N

Before the industrial revolution, a craftsman and his task corre­ sponded to what will be referred to as a viable socio-technical unit. The craftsman was able, within his range of competence, to decide what type of goods to produce and their quality. He could choose his raw m�terials, his tools, and his work techniques. Furthermore, he had to manage his relationships with his environment, in the way of marketing his goods and looking after his customers. He could, and did, engage in research on new tools, new work techniques, and new products. In fact, the development of modem science owes at least as much to the ingenuity of the instrument-makers as it does to the theoretical scientists. Many scientists, from Newton to the Cavendish, combined both tasks, and the modem scientist or the team of researchers responsible for a total project are among today's surviving craftsmen. The displacement of the industrial craftsman at the time of the industrial revolution was made possible by the emergence of a new concept of production design. The craftsman looked at his task as an art which he learnt from a master. These partly empirical, partly systematic skills were not supposed to be passed on to any laymen, nor were non-members of the craft guild permitted to engage in the craft. 2 The monopoly 1 Originally prepared as a consultancy report (1966) for the Human Resources Centre of the Tavistock Institute of Human Relations, London. 2 The guild type of organization still survives in medical and other professional associations, except that university education has for the most part taken the

place of apprenticeship training. Also, the industrial revolution still continues.

The attempt to replace medical diagnosis based to some extent on intuitive skills by diagnosis based on computer programs is an example.

13

D E S I G N OF SOCIO-T E CH N I CA L SYS T E M S

power of the guilds was broken by what was essentially a scientific analysis of tasks. It was found that most of the known industrial processes could be analysed into a sequence of simple operations. Once that is done, the task is no longer an art, but becomes a predictable determinate mechanism. It does not matter at this stage whether the operations are performed by a machine or a human being. In fact the most complex mass-produced human artefacts even today, whether TV sets or computers, are created by human machines consisting of a chain of hundreds of girls using their hands or only the simplest tools. When the complex production task was analysed into a sequence of elementary operations, at least some of these were simple enough to be taken over by machines. To begin with, what was looked for was the possibility of substituting mechanical power for human muscles. The amount of power that can be generated by a human is limited, irregular, and subject to fatigue. The steam engine supplied more power at a constant level, and wheel transmission provided regular repetitive operations. The worker becomes at this stage restricted not only to the production task but to a small set of operations within it or even to just one quasi-mechanical opera­ tion. However, since human beings, unlike machines, are capable of an extremely wide range of behaviour and variability, coercion has to be introduced to elicit from the operator the required set of responses and to prevent him from engaging in any other type of behaviour. The work autonomy of the craftsman depended primarily on his intrinsic task satisfaction, and the excellence of his product assured him both of his customers and of his community status. For the factory worker there is little if anything left to which he can meaning­ fully relate or from which he can derive self-respect. Motivation now has to be predominantly extrinsic. Reward can be used to motivate him to carry out a prescribed set of operations, and coercion has to be maintained to ensure that he does not engage in other forms of behaviour or carry out the prescribed operations in some other way. The changes that have occurred since the industrial revolution, apart from increased technical sophistication and increased process specification, are mainly concerned with the balance between coercion and extrinsic reward, and with the way in which coercion or manipulation is applied.

14

A P P RO A C H E S TO S O C I O- T E C H N I C A L D E S I G N

l Stage J : Foreman Contro

Prior to the development of trade unions, autocratic control was vested in the foreman. Wages were close to the survival level. They could be reduced for poor workmanship and men could be hired or

fired on the spot. The response of the worker to such a system was apathy or resentment, or behaviour that could be interpreted as irresponsible. It was therefore necessary to maintain or increase

coercive control.

Stage 2: Work-method Control During the next phase, the rise of the trade unions together with the increasing accumulation of industrial capital led to higher wages for the workers and gave them greater power to influence their work situation. This influence was, however, scarcely ever applied to the work situation as such, except in so far as there was government enforcement of safety and minimal employment regulations. At the same time, hours of work were reduced and pension and insurance schemes were introduced. During this period the coercive power of the foreman decreased and this trend was supported in part by a gradual acceptance of democratic ideology. Control now relied somewhat less on direct coercion and more on extrinsic reward, on the building up of loyalty to the firm, and on training. These gains were, however, paid for by the workers in terms of an even greater restriction of their freedom in the work situation. Time-and-motion study techniques developed early in the century

were used to prescribe in minute detail the operations to be per­ formed. The worker now operated like a machine. The only inci­

dental advantage was that the operation sequence often had, like a machine, an intrinsic rhythm, which can provide some degree of pleasure. Whether it does so, however, depends on whether the imposed rhythm matches that which can be established by the operator. We have now come a very long way from the original work situation of the craftsman. First, the worker's relations with the environment have been severed. Next, instead of being related to a total task he is related to some small set of operations which is generally, but not necessarily, defined for him by a machine. Finally,

15

D E S I G N O F S O C I O• T E C H N I C A L S Y S TEMS

his work method is no longer left free but is prescribed by time-and­ motion study. The production system at this stage makes use of only one ability of workers, namely their ability to simulate machine-functioning. The weakness of this type of organization is not simply that it does not make adequate use of human resources but also that, to the extent that workers do make use of their intelligence and skills, they will be in conflict, either unintentionally or intentionally, with the require ­ ments of the production process. Typically, social groups develop where the production design makes no provision for them, ingenuity is employed to beat piece rates or make them ineffective, and games are invented to counteract the monotony of work. While the initial design was to suppress all internal variance, variances are now generated by the work force and additional work has to be carried out to offset this. The result at this stage is either chronic worker­ management conflict or a complex system of collusion. Thus the production system is now not only less efficient than was provided for by the original design, but far more costly in terms of non-productive costs in the form of management and supervisory work, inspection and security costs, grievance handling, and piece­ rate bargaining. Even in mechanized non-automated industries, labour costs may be as low as 5 per cent since only production labour is estimated. The real cost disappears under overheads. A realistic costing will need to include the costs of management, supervision, and clerical and professional work required to maintain and adjust the operation of the production unit.

Stage 3: Machine Control of Workers The introduction of continuous process techniques led to a radically new development. On a production line, well constructed in terms of technical criteria, such as continuous press lines in car factories, the work is reduced to a simple repetitive operation such as to get hold of material and place it in a machine - get hold, place; get hold , place. The work pace is set by the machine. The operation is practically foolproof. There is no foreman to complain to, and no relationship to fellow-workers can be set up. No creativity can be employed or counteraction taken, and workers typically settle down to apathetic compliance with the work pace imposed by the machine. 16

APPROA C H E S TO S O C I O · T E C H N I C A L D E S I G N

The worker now has n o freedom left except t o go o n with the work or to

leave. This may be a highly efficient system in terms of machine

and manpower utilization. The internal system can produce little variance apart from possible walk-outs and strikes, but these, when they do happen , can be very costly. The operator has functionally becOme a machine component who can be controlled with almost the

same freedom with which a machine can be controlled. It should be

noted , however, that none of the production organizations con­ sidered so far depends critically on the use of machines. The con­

tinous process TV and computer assembly plants referred to earlier consist entirely of human components; moreover, they do not require direct foreman intervention.

Stage 4: Process Automation Once the task of the worker can be reduced to a single simple repe­ titive operation, then in many cases it requires very little to substitute transfer and positioning mechanisms and to arrive at a fully auto­ mated process line. From the point of view of production design, process automation is essentially the logical end of the first industrial revolution rather than the beginning of a new one. From the point of view of the human operator, however, it implies fundamental changes. The lack of clarity about what the human requirements are is due to some extent to the fact that many of the existing, often only partly automated, plants are transitional stages. The socio-technical requirements that emerge are towards total unit management. There are, in present-day automated processes, basically three types of personnel left in the production unit itself. These are:

(a)

Process workers who remain in the production process itself on

operations that have not yet been automated out. These are found chiefly in relation to process input and output.

(b) Monitors who act as a direct or secondary check on potential process breakdown. Their role is essentially that of a signal device.

(c) Process control staff whose task is effectively that of managing a total production unit. In addition, staff are needed to carry out

(d) preventive maintenance work

(e)

repair work.

17

D E S I G N OF S O C I O•T E C H N I CAL S Y S T E M S

A t low levels o f automation, monitoring and process work may be combined. At higher levels of process automation, monitoring and process control are generally combined, with the latter as the dominant component. The task of the process control staff is no longer comparable to that of the previous factory workers. The process worker at Stage

3

had a task that was almost foolproof; he could scarcely make an error that could have any effect on the process. An error made by a member of the process control staff can, on the other hand, lead to serious equipment and production losses. His task, at least at the present level of automation, can make demands on vigilance, on skill in solving technical problems, on self-initiated task-congruent behaviour, and on social and communication skills. What disappears in these conditions is the traditional fractionated and hierarchical organization. There is no time for information to filter through different levels, and to become distorted or possibly get lost on the way. Also, all relevant information has to be com­ bined and evaluated if effective action is to be taken. This cannot be achieved by traditional types of work organization. There are at the same time conditions where automation principles do not apply: for example, the product has to be tailor-made; the material worked on or the material work situation is idiosyncratic; the market is turbulent, requiring a high degree of internal flexibility; or the task itself is a creative and problem-solving one. Such con­ ditions do not mean that computers or automated equipment cannot be employed, but rather that the total task cannot be programmed in detail, or that the creation of a program is the actual task. Here again, traditional principles of work organization are not adequate. Summary The first industrial revolution was based on the application of a principle of production design. It was found that there were a number of tasks which could be analysed into a sequence of ele­ mentary operations. Tasks of this type are detenninate and can

be

represented by a functional equation, as follows. Given an input /, there exists a sequence of operations

'IT,

such that if this sequence of

operations is applied to the input a predictable output

7r(J) � P. 18

P

results:

A P P R O A C H E S T O SO C I O · T E C H N I C A L D ES I G N

A determinate task of this type ca n in principle always be carried

out by a machine. What happened in practice was that each opera­ tional unit was analysed into a further sequence of even simpler elements, each of which could be performed by a machine. These

were now linked up, and at that stage the need for direct productive labour input disappeared. Automated production units have since then become more sophisticated and complex through the introduc­ tion of f eedback devices, which are relatively new, and programmed

tapes, which had already been employed in the weaving industry. The basic design principle has, however, remained the same- namely,

the successive decomposition of the process into the simplest possible elementary components and detailed specification of the component sequence. If process automation is, in terms of production design, the end of the first industrial revolution, then the second industrial revolution which is likely to occur over the next decades can be expected to be based on the formulation of new design principles.

CRITICAL S P E C I F I C A T I O N D E S I G N

There are a number of recent developments i n molecular engineering, in biosimulation, and in the study of socio-technical systems that point to the emergence of new design principles. Early engineering techniques were based on the method of build­ ing up increasingly complex machine structures which produced simple components, which were then assembled to produce a final product. In molecular engineering the structure of material itself, either as it exists or as it can be produced to specified criteria, is used to effect required transformations. Further, since many materials have meta­ stable states their structural form can change in response to signals in the form of heat, pressure, or light, so that the same material can operate as a different machine, depending on environmental con­

ditions (von Rippel,

1965).

This points to the emergence of new

forms of production engineering which are no longer based on the principle of successive decomposition, linkage of components, and

hierarchical control structure. From the point of view of production design, the key development lies in the study and design of autonomous systems. Here we find two

19

D E S I G N OF S O C I O• T E C H N I C A L S Y S T E M S

lines of development, one from biophysics and the other in the socio­ technical study of work organizations. The last few decades have seen the emergence of cybernetics (Wiener, 196 1), showing that self-adjustment requires the existence of cyclic feedback processes; of communication theory (Shannon & Weaver, 1 949), which provides measures of structure and error variance of discrete processes; and of open-system theory (von Bertalanffy, 1950), which demonstrates that open systems can maintain steady-state functioning without the use of a separate control mechanism. An interesting point of departure is the non-specification technique described by Beurle (1962) in a paper on the properties of random nets. These are abstractly a set of elements with random connections. Beurle argues that the nervous system may initially be somewhat like this but that later, in response to transactions with an already structured environment, an internal adjusted structure which corre­ sponds to a biased network structure should gradually emerge. Now, clearly, a random network can learn practically any desired response, but something has to be added to get to a workable model. 1 Without going into the detail of recent, more sophisticated, work, what we find here is a new approach to the problem of design which is no longer concerned with complete detailed specification but with minimal critical specification. The main reason for this approach was a concern with systems that can learn and that can adjust themselves to environmental changes. Adjustment, learning, and creative and intelligent behaviour require minimally: -internal variability to create alternative response patterns -the testing of alternative response patterns and evaluation of the outcome -selection of the most appropriate response. This is one of the lines of development that led to the study of auto­ nomous systems. What was made clear at this stage was that variability, and thus making errors, was not a bad thing and that, on the contrary, systems must have sufficient potential and mobilizable 1 The simplest model of this type is found in stochastic learning theory which is based on a single type of response element that can change its probability of resp onse . What is lacking here is the possibility of structural growth.

20

A P P R O A C H E S TO S O C I O - T E C H N I C A L D E S I G N

internal

variability and mechanisms for the self-correction of error

in order to be able to adjust to a variable environment.

The third and to some extent parallel line of development is more

direCtlY relevant to the design of production systems. Before the

second world war, the problem of optimizing the functioning of industrial and work organizations was looked at either from a techno-economic point of view or in terms of improving the social organization and human relations. What was left out of account was that the social organization is not independent of the technical

production system. It is possible, as has been done in the past, to look for an optimal technical solution. However, if the correlated social system required is inferior, then the total production system may be far short of the optimal. A series of studies of socio-technical systems undertaken in the coalmining industry showed that this was indeed the case, and demonstrated further that, with the possible exception of Stage

3

systems, a given technological system can be

operated by several different types of work organization. The vari­ ables that may remain to some extent free are (a) the pattern of task allocation, (b) the allocation of task responsibility, and (c) the

method of payment. What emerged at this stage was the concept of autonomous work groups that would overcome the dysfunctional properties of frac­ tionated work organizations (Trist & Bamforth, Rice,

1 958 ;

Emery & Trist,

1 960 ;

Herbst,

1 95 1 ; Wilson, 195 1 ; 1 962 ; Trist et al., 1963) ;

and this work converged with new principles that were being developed in the field of job design (Davis,

1 962, 1966).

The principle of critical specification design can be stated as that of identifying the minimal set of conditions required to create viable self-maintaining and self-adjusting production units. An optimal solution is obtained if the unit requires no external supervision and control of its internal functioning, and no internal staff concerned with supervision, control, or work coordination. The management function should primarily be supportive, and concerned with mediating the relationship of the unit to its environment. There is consistent evidence that work systems of this type are superior in terms of relevant social and psychological criteria. Chronic conflict between men, and between men and management, dis appears. For individual members, the task provides the oppor­ tunity for learning and for participating in technical and organiza-

21

D E S I G N OF S O C I O - T E C H N I C A L S Y S T E M S

tional problem-solving. The group as a whole can learn on the basis of its experience, and becomes able to utilize experts as consultants. Conditions are created for the development of mutual trust and respect and thus also of self-respect. Just as internal conflicts and warring factions export their conflict into their environment, equally, cooperative relationships within a group provide the conditions for the growth of cooperative relationships with the environment. At the same time, a considerable reduction of unproductive overhead and management costs can be achieved. It cannot be expected that social organizations of this type will be ideal for and attractive to everyone. Since human beings differ in their emotional and social maturity, and human needs change in the course of development and growth, no single type of social system can be optimal. If in the case of autonomous groups there is less of a problem, this is because such groups cannot be imposed but depend for their development and maintenance on the consent of all involved. At the same time, a significant point about self-maintaining systems is that they do not possess a single rigid structure but have the characteristics of a matrix organization which can adapt its internal structure to meet internal and external task demands. There are two problems that will need to be considered in more detail : 1 . What are the critical conditions for the operation of self­ maintaining socio-technical units ? What we are looking for here is a minimal set of necessary and sufficient conditions. It should be noted that, in so far as we are dealing with a set of interdependent variables, there will be more than one possible set of critical conditions. We shall in that case need to find a set of variables that can be included in the set of design criteria. 2. Given this, we need a new design technique based not on the iteration of techno-economic variables only but on the joint iteration of techno-economic and social-psychological variables. Supporting conditions for a viable self-maintaining production unit are the following : (a) A clearly definable total task with an as far as possible easily measurable outcome state, which may be in the form of the quantity and quality of a product, and also an easily measurable 22

I

A P P R O A C H E S TO S O C I O • T E C H N I C A L D E S I G N

set of relevant input states. These provide the necessary informa­ tion both for evaluation of the system's performance and for

J.D,aintenance and adjustment of the internal process.

(b) A single social system is responsible for the total production

unit . T he unit should include as far as possible all the equipment and skills required for process control and technical maintenance. (c) Given that the functional elements of the production process are interd ependent with respect to the achievement of the outcome

state, the social o rganization should be such that individual members do not establish primary commitment to any part function - that is, do not lay claim to ownership of or preferential access to any task or equipment - but are jointly committed to optimizing the functioning of the unit with the outcome state as the primary focal goal. (d) In traditional types of work organization, doing and deciding tend to be split and decisi on- making functions are allocated to higher levels of th e hierarchy. Self-maintenance requires that relevant decis io n-making functions are brought down to the lowest possi bl e level and reintegrated into the operati o nal work organiza­ tion. This becomes of particular importance where the decision­ making content of component tasks has become depleted by means of computer-programming and automation. (e) Responsible autonomy cannot genera l ly be established and maintained unless the available tasks require personal responsi­ bility based on some degree of competence, j udgement , and skill. Si milarly , unless the total task allocated to a production unit requires the development and use of personal competence, accept­ ance of j oint respon si bil ity for the organization and functioning of the unit may not be achievable. Emery & Thorsrud (1969) have formulated relevant criteria for job design in the form of hypotheses about the way in which tasks may be more effectively put together to make jobs and at the same time to satisfy general psychological requirements. Any new design technique will need to incorporate the basic set of techno-economic variables. However, instead of pro vi d ing a detailed specification of all variables, the critical specification techniqu e requires the identification of a minimal set of variables that have to be specified, and the identification of other variables that have to be left c

23

D E S I G N OF S O C I O · T E C H N I C A L S Y S T E M S

free. The free variables are those that are required if the system i s to

achieve self-maintaining properties. The initial set of variables that require specification and are thus turned into fixed structural para­ meters may later on be even further reducible, since, given system properties, the specification of a given set of characteristics may lead to the emergence of steady-state properties of other system character­ istics. The existing production design technique is based on the successive decomposition of the total production process into part-product processes ; these are then decomposed into operational units ; and these are finally decomposed into elementary man-machine opera­ tions. At each level there is an iteration cycle which provides the specification for the next lower unit until, ideally, every movement of operators and machine operation is rigidly specified : Leve l 1

Level 2 Level

3

Level 4 Leve l 5

Leve l 6

v v v v v ?

Prod uct design Selection of total process

Pa r t d esign Selection of operationa l unit Design of operation a l u ni t

Action desig n

What is produced in the end is not a functioning unit. In order to · coordinate the often thousands of split-off process elements, to counter the variances that arise in each processing and transport segment, and also the variance produced by the social-organiza­ tional links created by workers, and finally to adjust the system to

variances in input and changing product specifications, a super­ structure of work is required in the form of supervision, inspection, control, planning, scheduling, and personnel work. This additional system again requires coordination and produces variances for which a next higher level has to be provided, and so on. In so far as the

24

F' .,

A P PRO A C HE S T O S O C I O - T E C H N I C A L D E S I G N

more variance than it can control at any level, surplus variance to the environment anageable unm the ports 1 berever it can be absorbed, compensated for, or simply got rid of. the rapidly growing rate of environmental pollution and the increasing incidence of chronic mental health disorders show that the problems exported can no longer be absorbed by the environ­ ment or effec tively compensated for by the social and professional organizations created for this purpose. The creation of viable systems at the production-process level is aimed at : 111 finally produces

�

;,th

-avoiding the production of variance due to incompatible technical­ process requirements and social-organizational requirements -providing the conditions, where possible, for variance to be controlled within the unit itself. An alternative design procedure will therefore need to include at each iteration level the corresponding set of social-system variables. This will require, at each level, methods for studying the social­ organizational implications of technical decisions. The critical level for viable system construction is Level 4, which is concerned with the selection and linkage of operational units. While at this point the design problem is made more complex, this should tum out to be more than compensated for by cutting off fixed specification at this level, since Levels 5 and 6 contain variables that should almost all remain free in order to provide the necessary conditions for the production unit to operate as a self-maintaining socio-technical unit. The design process would in this case take the form shown below : T E C H N O - ECON O M I C VAR I A BLES

level 1

level 2

leve l 3

leve l 4

� �

[L>L>

SOCIAL-ORG AN I Z ATIONAL VA R I A B L E S

Product desig n

Selection of tot a l process Structu re of

depa rtmenta I unit

Pa rt d e s i g n

O perationa l u n i t type a n d interl i n kage

25

Structu re of autonomous work u n i t

DESIGN O F SOCIO•TECHNICAL SYSTEMS

The design technique will require : (a) definition of the relevant social-organizational variables

(b)

socio-technical methods for inferring the organizational im­

plications of a given technical-process structure (c) construction of a feasible joint iteration procedure. E V O L U T I O N A R Y S Y S TEM D E S I G N

Nature does not create i n the way i n which factories do.

A

seed does

not contain a complete specification of the organism, and the information given by the genes does not provide for a one-step implementation. Yet in spite of the fact that the information given by the gene structure is quite limited, the growth process proceeds with self-maintenance properties at each stage until a viable organism is completed which structurally reproduces the original one with

a

very high degree of reliability. Let us simply note at this stage that :

1.

Reliable production does not require a complete specification of

either the production process or the final product.

2.

The creation of a complex structure does not require the initial

production of elements which are later connected to produce the final product. The production process is not one step from specification of structure to structural implementation, but always goes through successive growth stages.

3. It is not simply the final product that is a viable system, but a viable system exists at every stage of growth.

4. A

biological organism is not created but creates itself, given an

initial structure and a correlated succession of suitable environ­ ments which maintain and feed the growth process. It appears likely that production processes incorporating these principles will eventually be developed. However that may be, an understanding of growth principles is necessary for an understanding of the conditions for psychological and organizational development.

A

technological system can be

designed and implemented by construction.

A

social organization

cannot be created in the same way. The conditions for both psycho­

logical and organizational growth are more similar to biological

26

A P PR O A C H E S T O S O C I O - T E C H N I C AL D E S I G N

'f

srowth processes, a s against the mechanical construction type. This 111eans

that :

1 . If we want t o implement viable autonomous social systems, the design will not consist of a specification of the final system (although the characteristics of this system, which are aimed at, will have to be defined and accepted) ; rather, what has to be specified and implemented is the conditions that make it possible for a system of this type to develop.

2. The social system aimed at can rarely be implemented in one step but will need to go through successive stages of growth. The technical design should in this case be such that a viable socio­ technical system exists at each stage. Thus if a system is designed for composite group operation there should also be provision for the possibility of more fractionated operation during the initial learning stage, and also for the possibility of regression to a more primitive organizational form.

27

CHAPTER 3

Socio-technical and Psychodynamic Variables in Ship Organization Design1

---

· ---

The problems encountered in designing ship organizations differ in a number of respects from those met with in developing new forms

of organization in factories. In designing a factory organization we can generally start off with the specification of an established or a new technology, and gener­ ate possible types of work organization in terms of the requirement of achieving joint optimization of the total socio-technical system. In ship design, on the other hand, the critical decisions that have immediate implications for the social and work organization on board are concerned with the choice that exists with respect to the allocation of tasks requiring human intervention which can be located either on board or ashore. These in turn create alternatives in terms of manning by a continuous crew or a temporary crew, or by means of shore-based personnel. Since there exists in this case a wide range of possible technological alternatives, we can, instead of taking a specific technological system and working out the requirements for a supporting social system, consider the possibility of working the other way round. That is, we can attempt to specify initially the essential requirements for a social organization on board, and then work backwards to discover the critical supporting technological conditions that would need to be satisfied with respect to ship design. 1 This chapter, and Chapters 4 and S, were first published in Norwegian as a single article in 1 969 in Tidsskrift for Samfunnsforskning, Vol. 1 0, No. 3-4, pp. 371-400. A revised version of the material was published in P. G. Herbst (ed.), Demokratiseringsprosessen i arbeidslivet, 1 970. A first English version of Chapter 3 appeared in 1 97 1 in the European Journal of Social Psychology, Vol. 1 , No. 1 , pp.

47-58.

28

VAR I A B L E S I N S H I P O R G A N I Z A T I O N D E S I G N

T

HB C O N V E N T I O N A L S E Q U E N C E O F S O C I O · T E C H N I C A L D E S I G N

The basic design variable is the allocation of tasks on board and ashore. The basic tasks include : _ navigation and engine control engine and instrument maintenance - ship maintenance ship-shore communication - loading and unloading - caterin g.

_

_

In principle, each of these task sectors can be wholly or partly shore­ based. If tasks are split up so that one part is carried out on board and the other part ashore, then the significant decision variable is the location of task components that involve : (a) decisions requiring a high level of skill and judgement (b) work and decisions at technician level (c) unskilled and semi-skilled labour. Decisions made at this point are crucial since they have direct implications for: {i) the extent to which the total task allocated to the ship provides conditions for autonomy and self-regulation ; (ii) the communication requirements between ship and shore {this is not a purely technical problem since a great deal of relevant information on the ship cannot easily be recorded, transferred, and adequately responded to ashore) ; (iii) the possible work-role and social structure, and, given this, (iv) the possible career structure ; (v) educational and training requirements. The possible manning requirements are: (a) continuous crew on board (b) supporting transient crew (c) land-based manning. The unit for socio-technical analysis will need to be the total set of tasks required for effective ship operation, wherever they happen to 29

F I G U R E 3-1

TECHNOLOG I C A L D E S I G N VARIABLE

SOCIO-TECHNICAL DESIGN SEQUENCE

M A N N I NG REQU IREM ENTS

SUBSYSTEM DES I G N

WORK ORGANIZATION DESIGN

-------.. /

Shore

Tempo A2, ) within one discipline that have an isomorphic struc­ ) from another discipline. ture with a set of variables (B1 , B2 , Isomorphism by itself does not constitute an integration of two disciplines. The second method is based on the fact that functional relationships ) within one discipline may contain between variables (A 1 , A 2 , •

•

•

•

•

•

•

93

•

•

INTEGRATION

parameters

OF

(b� o b2 ,

P H Y S I CAL •

AND

BEHAVIOURAL

S C I E N C Bii

) from another discipline, resulting in

•

•

functional relationship that integrates two disciplines, in the form

f(A. l> A 2 ,

•

•

•

b � o bz)

•

0.

�

The third method is based on the possibility of transforming a

parameter into a variable

b1 -+ B� o or finding a transformation rule

by which a variable defined within one analytical scheme is trans. formed into a corresponding variable within another analytical scheme, say

A.2 -+ B� o so that in either case we arrive at a functional

relationship of the form

f(A � o B�o . . . b2, b3)

0

�

) are now linked (A. 1 , A.2, ). (B1 , B2 ,

where variables within one discipline variables within another discipline

• • •

•

•

to

•

Finally, I should like to suggest a fourth possible method which exists theoretically, but for which, as far as I know, no empirical demonstration has as yet been found. This potential method ia

based on the possibility of stating the dual of a function arrived at by transforming all variables into parameters and all parameters: into variables, so that

/(A t , Az ,

·

·

·

b� o hz) -+ f(a� o a z ,

·

·

·

Bt , Bz) .

We have already considered a behaviour principle that contains physio-technical characteristics as parameters. This suggests that there may be physical principles that in some form contain behavioural characteristics in their parameters. Suppose, then, that in a behaviour principle the physical parameters are transformed into variables, and the behaviour variables are transformed into parameters or constants. If this could be done, then it would

be

possible, starting

with a behaviour principle, to turn it inside out, so to say, by stating its dual and thus arrive at a physical principle, or, starting with a physical principle, by stating its dual arrive at a behaviour principle.

In view of the fact, however, that behaviour principles can take a range of different functional forms, a simple transformation of this

type may be difficult to achieve.

CHAPTER 9

The Psycho-physical Transformation Paradigm

---

· ---

Human behaviour that involves a transformation of the physical environment cannot be described and understood as a purely psychological phenomenon, but is given as a psycho-physical event. A theory of behaviour cannot therefore be formulated in terms of purely psychological concepts, but bas to provide explicitly for an integration of psychological and techno-physical variables. If we observe any kind of human activity, such as lifting an object, writing a letter, driving a car, etc., it is not possible to split the observations obtained into separate and distinct physical and psychological phenomena. Consequently we cannot utilize a con­ ceptual representation based on the assumption that there are distinct physical and psychological systems standing in a relationship of interaction with one another. Instead, the type of model required is one that will make it possible to specify the relationship between two different, but overlapping, conceptual representations of the same total process. Given that a behavioural act can be represented in terms of a set of physical variables (and parameters) p, and in terms of a set of psychological variables (and parameters) t/J, then the sets of physical and psychological variables will overlap, so that some corresponding variables will appear in both representations, as shown below : P 1 Pz P 3 P4

I

I

+s +6 t/1 1 t/12

(physical variables) (psychological variables).

In the physical representation there will be a set of variables {p 3 , p4) that do not have corresponding variables in the psychological model, but that are required in order to formulate a CQ.mplete physical

95

INTEGRATION

OF

P H YS I C A L

AND

BEHAVIOURAL

S CIEN CES

model expressible in a set of equations, say,

ft(p t, Plo P J) = O /2(p2, Pl• P4) =

0

}

. phys1cal model .

Similarly, there will be a set of psychological variables (t/15, ,P6) such as, for example, task involvement, interest, anxiety about the outcome, performance satisfaction, etc., none of which bas a corresponding variable in the physical model, but which are required in order to formulate a complete behavioural model, say, gt(tfot , t/12 , tfos)

=

0} 0

psychological model. gl(t/12, 1/Js , t/1 6) Our main interest is in the set of variables and parameters that appear, in different forms, in both the physical and the psychological representations of events. Fechner's contribution lies in pointing out that it is here that a bridge can be built between physical and psychological variables, and in demonstrating that there exists a functional relationship =

"' = w{p)

which transforms a physical variable (p) into the psychological variable (tfo). The parameters of the functional relationship may vary from person to person. Given that a physical measurement scale can be transformed into each of the possible psychological measurement scales in terms of which different individuals operate, then the same principle also makes it possible to transform the psychological measurement scale in terms of which one person operates into the psychological measurement scale in terms of which another person operates. There are two forms of the psycho-physical principle that have been widely used in empirical data analysis. These are the Fechner­ Weber principle, which has the form of a logarithmic transformation, t/1 = a 1 log (p - b1) + c1 , and Brentano's (1874) and Stevens's (1 957) principle, which has the form of a power transformation, t/1 a2(p - b2Y2• =

Luce (1959) shows that the possible forms of the psycho-physical principle are theoretically derivable if the scale properties of both 96

T HE P S Y C H O - P H Y S I C A L T R A N S F O R M A T I O N P A R A D I G M

the physical and the behavioural measurement scales are given, since these are sufficient to determine the functional form of the

transformation principle. The practical difficulty is that the scale properties of behavioural measurement scales are not given a priori. It is true that the researcher can impose different scale properties on the behavioural measurement instruments he employs. However, the measurement scales used will have no validity unless they match those on which individual behaviour is based. If the scale character­ istics of behavioural measurement scales are, to begin with, treated as unknown, Luce's approach can still be applied in a different form, as shown below : Scale properties of the physical measurement scale

Scale properties of the behavioural measurement scale

Psychophysical principle

Luce's approach

Specified

Specified

Derivable

Present approach

Specified

Derivable

Specified

If in this case the conditions that have to be satisfied by the psycho-physical transformation can be independently specified, then the scale properties of behavioural measurement scales become derivable. This problem is evidently insoluble within the limits of traditional psycho-physical theory in so far as no independent criteria for a transformation principle can be formulated. However, a possible solution exists if we consider a behaviour variable not as an isolated phenomenon, but as part of and defined by a principle linking a set of behaviour variables, and then ask what conditions have to be satisfied by transformations applied to a functional relationship between behaviour variables. The minimal condition that can be made is that the transformation should not change the functional form of the relationship. The most general form of the algebraic transformation that satisfies this condition is known to be : 1 1 This transformation was first formulated without proof by Waring, and l ater developed further in the geometries of Plucker and Mobius (cf. Coolidge, 1 963, p. 269). In the companion volume, Behavioural Worlds (Herbst, 1 970), a transformation of this type is applied to the derivation of the possible forms of behaviour principles given that the dimension of behaviour variables can be

specified.

,

97

I NTEGRATION

OF

X =

PHYSICAL

AND

' + Py ' +

<XX y ax' + by' + c

Y=

BEHAVIOURAL

Ax' + By' + C ' ax + by' + c

S C I E N C ES

. . . . (la)

Applied to a single variable, the psycho-physical principle is in this case found to have the form of a projective transfonnation :

. . . . (lb) If this transformation is applied to physical variables measured in terms of the usual Cartesian metric scale, then behavioural measure· ment scales will satisfy the conditions of a projective scale. (It should be noted that in the simpler but non-homogeneous form of equation (lb) the principle will not ensure invariance of the functional form of an equation unless a restriction is introduced based on the dimension of the variables to which the transfonnation is applied.) We shall now consider a number of examples illustrating the application of the basic psycho-physical model, and then examine further the implications of the projective form of the psycho-physical principle. For the purpose of illustration we choose the simplest type of task, where the output rate P is a direct function of the work rate W employed. If we assume that both variables are measurable in terms of physical variables, then the physical relationship is given by the equation w P=­ a

•

.

.

.

(2a)

where the parameter a represents the extent to which the work rate is transformed into an output rate. The greater a is, the greater the work effort that has to be employed to produce the same output. Thus if the task involves turning a wheel, a may correspond to the frictional pressure that has to be overcome. If the parameter a is unity, then

P = W. Then work rate and output rate become identical. Since both variables are in this case measurable by means of the same measure­ ment scale, they have the same (physical) dimension. Let us denote 98

THE

PSYCHO-PHYSICAL

T R A N S FO R M A T I O N

PARADIG M

the dimension of these variables as [ Q], then equation (2) takes the form 1

[Q]

=

-

a

[Q] .

This implies that the parameter a =

[Q] [Q]

=

[1].

The parameter a is in this case said to be dimensionless. The dimen­ sional equation, which after substitution becomes [ Q]

=

[Q] ,

is said to be dimensionally homogeneous, since both sides have the same dimension. In order to construct the corresponding behavioural equation we need to transform the physical measurement scale into all the possible individual (psychological) measurement scales in terms of which different individuals may operate. Thus the same (physical) work rate may correspond to a low work effort for one person and a high or impossible work effort for another ; and a given increase in the work rate may be experienced as a small increase by one and a large increase by another ; and similarly with regard to the output rate. If we denote the psycho-physical transformations of the (physical) work-rate and output-rate scales by 17( W) and 17(P), then the relation­ ship between the physical and psychological models is P ,

I

W

I

(physical variables)

1l{P), 17( W) (psychological variables). If we apply the psycho-physical transformation given by equation

( l a) to the physical relationship, then we obtain the corresponding behavioural relationship cxP + fJ W+ 8 = a(AP+ B W+ C)

which can be put in the form 8(P -P0)

=

ae( W- W0).

. . . . (2b)

P0 and W0 are the zero points on the individual behavioural measure-

99

INTEGRATION

OF

PHYSICAL

AND

BEHAVIOURAL

S C I E N C E.

ment scale, and these generally correspond to minimal boundat) values below which the behaviour system will cease to operate : E gives the rate at which an increase in the physical work rate ia experienced and responded to as an increased work effort ; and a gives the rate at which an increase in the physical output rate ia experienced and responded to as an achievement. If we denote the dimension of the psychological work-effort and output scales by [P], then, since the zero points of each scale have the same dimension and since, further, the rate parameters E and 3 are dimensionless, the dimensional equation has the form [P]

=

[P].

If we now apply the same transformation again, we can transform the behaviour principle in the form in which it operates within the behavioural universe of one individual into the form it may take in the behavioural universe of another individual. However often we apply the tranformation, neither the linear form of the functional relationship nor the dimensional homogeneity of the equation will be changed. In other words, the transformation 'tT{p) satisfies the condition 1T"(p) 'tT{p). =

It will be noted that the behavioural equation (2b) still contains the physical parameter a. However, when behavioural equations are fitted to data, such parameters cannot generally be independently estimated, since they combine multiplicatively with scale transfor­ mation parameters. We can now consider the application of the transformation to an example encountered in a study of autonomous group functioning (Herbst, 1 962, 1970). The task of the group is in this case determinate, i.e. the output rate is predictable and depends both on the work effort of individual team members and on how well they coordinate their activities. Performance satisfaction (F) is a function of the output rate achieved (P) and the work effort deployed ( W). We then have P

I

,

W

I

F , n{P) , n{ W)

(physical variables) (psychological variables). 1 00

TH E

PSY C H O- P HYSI CAL

TRANSFORMATION

PARADIGM

Performance satisfaction under the above conditions can be shown to be a function of the output rate achieved and the extent to which a high o utput rate is achieved with a relatively low work effort. Performance satisfaction can then be put in the form of a psycho­ physical transformation of the physical output rate and the work

rate

where a is again the physical parameter that corresponds to the extent to which the work rate is translated into an output rate. The psycho-physical transformation of the right-hand side of the expression is obtained by substituting the results from equation (2b), which are :

P-+8(P-P0) W-+ €(W-W0). g(P-Po) [(P-Po)-�(W-Wo)]

The behavioural equation can then be put in the form F

=

where f can be identified as a performance expectation parameter. If/is low, then for a given work effort a relatively low performance result will be sufficient to achieve performance satisfaction. If f is high, then for the same work effort a high performance result has to be achieved for performance satisfaction to be experienced. This equation was found to fit the data obtained, by means of a continuous work record over a three-month period, in a longitudinal case study of an autonomous work group (Herbst, 1 962, 1970). The relationship was found to hold for all except the initial one and a half weeks during which the group established its work organization. The basic data in this study were a set of mostly physicalist data on group functioning, and the projective transformation was applied to formulating the network of relationships between behaviour variables. The parameters g, J, a, are slope coefficients of the linear com­ ponents of the equation and thus dimensionless. The dimensional equation in this case is [P 2] [P 2]. =

Repeated application of the measurement-scale transformation again 101

INTEGRATION

OF

PHYSICAL

AND

BEHAVIOURAL

S C I E N CE&

leaves the functional form and dimensional homogeneity of the equation unchanged. Performance satisfaction is found to have the dimension [P2]. This is one way in which the dimension of behaviour variables can be determined and empirically tested. Behaviour variables such as work effort, (internal) coordination, output rate on determinate tasks in so far as this is independent of external events, and also performance satisfaction, are all examples of internal variables which are definable in terms of the internal state of a behaviour system. Measurement-scale transformations of internal variables in the cases discussed take a linear form. Behaviour variables of a second type are those that are transactional, that is, they can be defined in terms of the state of the behaviour system and a simultaneous correlated state of the environment. An example is stress experienced with respect to a given situation. What types of condition produce stress depends on what the individual concerned seeks to achieve. We restrict ourselves to conditions where aim achievement is linked to physically measurable variables. Let us assume that a person is engaged on a task where the performance level achieved depends on the time available. Provided in this case that performance achievement also constitutes an operative aim for the individual, then the degree of stress will be linked to the amount of working-time lost, which may be due to breakdown of required technical equipment. Stress will in this case be linked to a physical variable with a time dimension. However, for different types of task and different criteria of aim achievement, stress may be linked to other physical variables that have a different dimension. We now require that stress should have the same dimension, whatever the specific dimension of the physical stress­ inducing event. This is po�sible only if the scale transformation has a non-dimensional form, since in this case the specific properties of the physical measurement scales are cancelled out. The dimen­ sional expression for stress will in this case take the form [S)

rsr

The simplest algebraic form that corresponds to this dimensional expression is aS+ b cS+ d 102

THE

P S Y C H O - P H YS I C A L

TRANSFORMA T I O N

PAR A D I G M

which i s again the projective form o f scale transformation. This is possibly a simpler and more direct way of deriving the projective form of the psycho-physical principle. The linear transformation previo usly discussed is a special case of the projective transformation

0. o btained by setting c In order to apply this form of scale transformation to each variable =

separately, we need to know whether to apply the transformation in its projective or linear form. It is shown in Herbst

(1970)

that the

available data for group functioning and individual behaviour,

obtained with techniques for studying single cases, are consistent

with the following postulate. Given a simple behaviour system that

allows measurement of any given behaviour variable, either internal or transactional, by means of a single measurement scale, then : ( l a)

All internal variables are subject to a linear scale-transforma­

tion. All transactional variables are subject to a projective scale­ transformation.

( l b)

The principle has not so far been systematically tested directly by means of the type of data found in psycho-physical research. One

problem is that data are frequently presented as averages for a

population. Another more fundamental problem lies in the difficulty

of determining directly the characteristics of the specific measurement

scale in terms of which a given in

· Ta s a ________

f

Another pattern might be joint allocation of both activities to one or more persons. The cyclic pattern is of particular interest. Suppose that two independent teams are allocated to work regions that form part of a cycle such that the sequential dependence relationship includei variance transmission (Figure J0-4b). The resulting system may develop positive feedback, making it intrinsically unstable : for if a disruption occurs in work region ex, this is transmitted to {3, then 1 The variance

matrix technique has been developed further by Marek, Lango

& Engelstad (1964) and Engelstad (1969, 1 970).

124

PRODU CTION TASKS AND WORK ORGANI ZATION

passed back to oc where disruption is now increased. Disruptions that occur will in this case be steadily built up until they get out of band and the cycle breaks down. The inter-shift relations in the conventional longwall method of coalmining studied by Trist & F I G U R E 10-4b

C Y C L I C D E P E N D E N C E,

SEPARATE ALLOCATION

Bamforth (1951) provide a relevant example. A contrasting example is provided by composite teams which under similar conditions have a mutual goal with respect to the maintenance of the work cycle. In this case interference is reduced or absorbed by performance control carried out by each team within the cycle. The negative feedback that operates in this instance provides the condition for system stability. 1 Once the task constraints are given and the task allocation is made, then how the organization operates will depend on the types of aim pursued by individual workers and work teams. If tasks are independent, then goal independence will cause no local inter­ ference. If tasks are interdependent and a mutual goal exists, then there is a co�dition where mutual help will be given. If tasks are interdependent and goals are independent, difficulties are certain to result, such as in the case of two cart-horses that operate under the task constraint of interdependence but are independent with respect to the direction in which they want to go. The measurement of the work relationship pattern requires the joint specification of the following variables for every pair of persons in the study of a group, and for every pair of groups in the study of an institutional structure : 1 See, particularly, the literature on autonomous group functioning, Herbst (1962), Trist et a/. (1 963).

125

TAS KS A N D O R G A N I Z A T I O N A L S T R U CTURE

( 1 ) activity relationship-activities are carried out together or separately

(2) role differentiation -tasks carried out are identical or different (3) task dependence

-tasks may be dependent, interdependent,

(4)

-goals are shared, independent, or un­

or independent goal dependence

reciprocated supporting.

Let us start with a specification of the activity relationship. every pair of persons there are the following possibilities :

For

they work together

a

ii

they work separately.

The results are set out in the form of a matrix. In the case below, the

group activity structure

shows that

works on his own :

A

and C work together and B

Persons

C B

Persons A B

A

r ei d

method of determining the activity relationship structure where

the pattern of subgroupings changes in the course of a work cycle in response to changing tasks demands is discussed in Section 2(c). With respect to role differentiation, the following possibilities exist :

i

tasks are identical

i

tasks are different

i*

tasks are different a n d are exchanged or rotated.

The results are again set out in the form of a matrix. In the case

role differentiation structure shows that A and C exchange B works on a task that is different from theirs :

below, the tasks and

r ,·-· Persons

Persons

A B

1 26

C B i

PRODUCTION TASKS AND WORK ORGANIZATION

A finer distinction that can be made is given by a measure o f the

similarity of the sets of tasks between any pair of persons. A possible measure of similarity in the composition of two element domains is given in Section 4(c). A possible measure of the degree of similarity in the tasks carried out by the members of the group as a whole is given in Section 4(a). Co mbining the two variables discussed so far gives the following possible patterns : ai ai ai

tii

ai* ai*

work together on the same task work together on different tasks work on their own on the same task work on their own on different tasks work together and exchange tasks work on their own and exchange tasks.

The next variable is that of task dependence, where the following possibilities exist : d* tasks are interdependent or mutually dependent dAB B is sequentially or one-way dependent on A d tasks are independent.

The following matrix of a task dependence structure shows the con­ dition of cyclic dependence from A to B to C and back to A : Persons C

Persons

B

A

dcA d.u

B

dsc

A

relationship of interdependence may be set up either owing to the nature of the task on which two or more persons work together, or owing to a common limited supply of services, materials, or tools in the case of persons working on their own. The last variable is that of goal dependence, where the possibilities are as follows : g there is a mutual goal goals are independent g K..tB A supports B or avoids behaviour that would act as a variance for B. 1 27

TASKS AND ORGANIZATIONAL S T R U C T U R E

The presence o r absence o f mutual goals i s determined empirically in terms of the presence or absence of mutually supportive or helping behaviour, or behaviour directed towards the reduction of variance transmission. When the task- and goal-dependence variables are combined, the following are among the types of pattern obtained :

d*g d*g dg dg

tasks are interdependent, there is a common goal tasks are interdependent, each person has his own goal tasks are independent, there is a common goal tasks are independent and goals are independent d.tBKAB B is task dependent on A., and A. controls variance trans­ mission B is task dependent on A., they pursue separate goals.

When all four variables are combined, the work relationship structure is obtained. The following matrix would be obtained in a coal-hewing team where each man worked on his own stint. The men are not dependent on one another with respect to the task carried out. A. and B help one another out if either runs into difficulties or gets behind. C provides help for D which is not reciprocated : Persons D

A

Persons B C

C

B

iiidg iiidg iiidg iiidg iiidg iiidgcD

The same method can be applied to the measurement of both intra-team and inter-team structure. The matrix below would be obtained in the case of a long-wall cycle with three shifts, where each team had a different task and where Teams A. and B controlled incoming lag in order to reduce, where possible, the lag transmitted to the subsequent team : Teams C

Teams

A

iiidcAi

B

iiidsc8sc 128

B

iiid,..gAB

PRODUCTION TASKS AND WORK ORGANIZATION

It appears very likely that the type o f structure that exists within m will affect the types of link that the team can establish with tea a other teams. This is an important organizational problem, which Bott

(1 957)

began to investigate in the fields of family structure and

ki nship network. A method of the type proposed, where both intra­ and inter-team structure are measured in terms of the same set of variables, would make it possible to trace out the relationship both empirically and conceptually and may provide a guide for organiza­ tional planning. There are two ways in which the relationship matrix can be analysed. The first is by constructing indices for each variable or pair of variables in turn, which can be used for testing quantitative formulations with respect to the relationships between indices of group functioning. Possible measures will be : the degree of joint or separate activities ; the degree of role segregation ; the degree of task interdependence ; and the frequency of dependence links associated with goal independence as a measure of conflict potential. Some of these are discussed in greater detail in other sections of this chapter. The second method of analysis is concerned with determining the overall work relationship structure. There is no difficulty in the case where patterns are homogeneous and fixed, such as in the examples used. However, if there is a large amount of variation in the form of pattern differentiation within or between teams it will be necessary to classify structures in terms of the predominant type or types of pattern observed. The type of structure found can then be used as a basis for predicting : the extent to which a team or organization can cope with stress ; attitudes to the work situation ; and the direction of hostility expression. It would also be possible to apply Heider's condition of balance and imbalance in system structure ( Heider, 1 946). If, for instance,

in a cyclic system some teams minimize variance transmitted and

others do not, a state of imbalance will exist. The Heider principle

can in this case be generalized to predict either that pressures will be exerted to induce other teams to employ variance control so that all share a mutual goal, or that all teams will become goal independent, resulting in disruption of the cyclic dependence network. With the present set of variables it is possible to construct fifty-four basic types of work relationship structure. These may be further

129

TASKS AND ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE

differentiated i n terms o f structural type. For instance, sequential dependence structures may be differentiated into sequential chain and sequential cyclic structures. Table 10-2 lists only a few of the TABLE Structure

iiidg iiidg iiid*i

1 0--2

T Y P E S OF W O R K R E L A T I O N S H I P S T R U C T U R E

Nomenclature

Example

Homofunctional isolate aggregate

Men work independently on the same task ; tasks are inde­ pendent.

Homofunctional connected aggregate

Same as above ; tasks are inde­ pendent but men give mutual help to one another.

Homofunctional isolate interdependence

Men work on the same task each towards his own goal, but they are jointly dependent (for instance, on a common supply of tools and materials). An example on a larger scale is a number of factories producing similar goods and competing for supplies and markets.

aidi

Heterofunctional isolate dependence

Men work on their own on different, sequentially depen­ dent, tasks without taking each other's needs into ac­ count.

didg

Heterofunctional connected dependence

iii*d"'g

Same as above, but each man minimizes and controls lag or variance transmitted.

Isolate composite

ai*d"'g

Men work on their own to­ wards a mutual goal (i.e. a common pay note) ; the tasks are interdependent and are rotated.

Joint composite

Same as above, but men work together ; each man partici­ pates in various tasks.

1 30

PRODUCTION

TASKS AND WOR K ORGAN I Z ATION

pos si ble types, which have been chosen a s examples. The nomen­ clature is at this stage tentative. The examples given are with reference to team structure.

(c) M E A S U R E M E N T O F T H E G R O U P

ACTIVITY

STRUCTURE

In response to the temporal sequence of tasks and the types of breakd own that may occur in the course of a work period, the pattern of relationships between persons will show an ongoing

change. The degree of change in the activity relationship between persons may vary all the way from the case where men are on fixed positions on a flow line day after day to the case where there are composite teams and the pattern of relationships changes at a relatively fast rate. The fact that the pattern of relationships shows a continual change does not necessarily mean that the group lacks a structure. The following is concerned with a method of analysing

the interaction process in order to determine the structure of a group in terms of the activity relationship between individuals. The interaction process may be analysed at two levels, either with respect to the changing size of subgroups, or by specifying who belongs to

each subgroup, which makes it possible to analyse the changing pattern of subgroup membership. An activity relationship between persons during a given moment of time has the following properties :

(1)

It is

reflexive,

since a person may engage in an activity with,

or by, himself.

(2)

It is

symmetric,

since if

A

is engaged in an activity with

then B is engaged in that activity with

B,

A.

transitive, since i f A and B are engaged i n a joint activity, C are engaged in a joint activity during the same moment of time, then A and C are engaged in a joint activity.

(3)

I t is

and B and

Relationships between persons that do not have these properties will not be regarded as activity relationships. A relationship that is reflexive, symmetric, and transitive is said to be an equivalence relation. A fundamental property of an equivalence relation is that it divides a set of elements into mutually exclusive or non-overlapping subsets. We can, therefore, represent

131

TASKS AND ORGANI ZATIONAL STRUC TURE

the momentary state of a group in terms of the activity relationships between members by means of a partition written in the form

(4, 3, 1 , I) showing that, in a group of nine persons during a given period of observation, there is a subgroup of four who work together, a subgroup of three who work together, and two persons who work on their own. Table 10-3 shows the number of ways in which a group consisting of four individuals can be subdivided, ranging from the case where at a given moment no subdivisions exist to the case where there are as many subgroups as there are individuals in the group. These two extreme cases are represented by the partitions (4) and (1 , 1 , 1 , 1), respectively ; the latter partition may more conveniently be written (14). There are, in all, five different partitions, or five different ways in which a group of four can be subdivided. For a group of N persons, the number of possible subdivisions can be determined from tables of partitions (Whitworth, 1901). In order to determine the most likely way in which a group will subdivide, we need to know the number of ways in which each partition may be realized. Let us consider as an example the partition (3,1), where three persons are in one subgroup and one person is by himself, and let A,B,C,D represent the four persons who are members of the group. The following are the possible ways in which we can allocate these individuals to subgroups of three and one respectively : (ABC)(D), (BCD)(A), (CDA)(B), and (DAB)(C). We shall refer to each possible allocation as an interaction pattern, since it shows with whom each individual is acting at any given moment. All the interaction patterns corresponding to the partitions of a group of four persons are set out in Table 10-3. The characteristics of a group in terms of activity relationships will be determined by the observed frequency, or the probability of occurrence, of each of the possible activity patterns over a period of time. A group in which all activity patterns are equally likely to occur represents a perfectly fluid group. It will be shown later that this definition implies that, if a group is in a state of fluidity, then the probability of engaging in a joint activity is the same for all pairs of persons. Consequently, no permanent subgroups or cliques will exist in a fluid group. 132

P R O D U CTION TASKS AND W O R K ORGANI ZATION

The pro bability o f finding the group i n any given state of subdivision will be proportional to the sum of probabilities associated with the interaction patterns that correspond to that subdivision.

Table 10-3

shows the probability of occurrence of each of the possible partitions of the four-person group in a state of fluidity. The probability values are obtained by dividing the number of interaction patterns corres­ ponding to each partition by the total number of interaction patterns of the group. The most likely state of the fluid four-person group is found to be a subdivision of the group into a subgroup of two, and two single individuals. The least likely states are that of no subdivision and that of complete dissociation. In order to determine the number of interaction patterns and probabilities of subdivision for groups of larger size, general formulae are needed. These will be found in the appendix to this section (p.

TAB L E 1 0--3

Interaction patterns

Probability of the partition in the fluid group

below).

P A RT I T I O N S A N D C O R R E S P O N D I N G I N T E R A C T I O N

PATTERNS FOR

Partition

137

(4) (ABCD)

1

-

15

(3, 1 )

A

G RO U P O F F O U R P E R S O N S

(2,2)

(2, 1 , 1 )

(ABC) (D) (AB) (CD) (AB) (C) (D) (BCD) (A) (AC)(BD) (AC) (B)(D) (CDA) (B) (A D) (BC) (AD) (B) (C) (BC) (A) (D) (DAB) (C) (BD) (A) (C) (CD) (A) (B)

(1 , 1 , 1 , 1) (A) (B) (C) (D)

4

3 -

-

6

1

-

15

15

15

15

The possible subdivisions or partitions of a group differ from one another in the extent to which at any given moment the members of the group are dissociated from one another. If we have a measure that orders partitions in terms of increasing dissociation, and has a u nique value for each partition, then it is possible to investigate the dynamics of changes in the momentary state of the group in terms of changes in the degree of its dissociation.

1 33

TASKS AND ORGANI ZATIONAL STRUCTURE

Let a group o f N individuals a t a given moment b e divided into subgroups

n 1 , n2, n3,

• • • , so that

If /1 represents the fraction of the group in subgroup

n1,

that is,

then

A

possible measure of the

degree of dissociation

(D), that will

have the desired properties, is given by the expression

D =

-

Lfi log /1 • i

If there are no subdivisions at all, then

n1 =

N, and in this case /1

=

1.

But, when /1 1 , the function /1 log /1 0, and therefore the degree of dissociation takes its minimal value, zero. In the case of =

=

maximum dissociation, there will be N fractions of value the degree of dissociation will be

D =

-N

1 N

log

1 N

=

1

N

'

so that

log N.

The maximum degree of dissociation consequently increases as a logarithmic function of the number of individuals in the group. Since a logarithmic function increases at a decreasing rate, the addition of a single individual will have more effect on the degree of dissociation in a small group than in a larger group.

Matrix Representation of the Group Activity Structure

A necessary condition for a group to be structured in terms of activity relationships is the existence of a quasi-stationary distribution of

1 34

PRODUCTION TASKS AND WORK ORGANIZATION

interacti on patterns over a period o f time. If, under the influence of forces i nternal or external to the system, a change in the distribution of activity patterns occurs, then the group is said to restructure.

A co nvenient way of analysing structures is by means of matrix representation. An interaction pattern can be represented by a matrix if, for pairs ofindividuals who have a joint activity relationship, we make an entry of 1 i n the appropriate cell of the matrix and, for pairs of individuals who do not have a joint activity relatio nship ,

we make an entry of 0. The m atrix for the pattern (ABC)(D) is shown in

Table J0-4a.

An entry of 1 is made in cells AB, BC, and A C, and also in cell DD

on the diagonal for individual D, who is engaged in an activity by himself. Since the complete matrix is symmetrical, a triangular matrix may be employed. The set of sequential interaction patterns is then summed into a single matrix of the type presented in

Table

J0-4b. T A B L E 10-4a

T A B LE 1 0-4b

M A T R I X OF T H B

MATRIX OF THB FLUID FOUR•

INTERA CTION

P E R S O N GRO U P

P A T T E R N ( A B C} (D)

A B c D

B A

D

c

0 0 0

1

1

1

0

A B c D

0

0

1

D

c B A

5 5 5 5

5 5 5

5 5

5

Suppose that each of the fifteen possible activity patterns of the four-person group appears just once during a given period of observation. If each of these patterns,

listed in Table 10-3, is entered

into a matrix, then we obtain the matrix of a fluid group shown i n

Table J0-4b.

It will be seen that in the fluid group each person has

the same frequency of joint activities with every other member of

the group.1 The characteristics of the fluid and unstructured group can be used as a base-line for the determination of the structure of a group 1 The probability of isolation in terms of acceptance-rejection relationships in the group has been investigated by Katz (1952).

1 35 K

TASKS AND ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE

from any set or sample of activity patterns. The activity patterns are first entered into a matrix. We then proceed by the following three steps : (1) For a person to form part of an activity structure, he must have an activity relationship with at least one other member of the group. We shall say that an activity relationship exists between two persons if the frequency of their joint activities is not less than it would be in the corresponding fluid group. We eliminate, therefore, as isolates, all persons whose frequency of joint activities with every other member of the group is less than the frequency of joint activities in the fluid group for the same number of interaction patterns. (2) The hypothesis is tested that the group is structured. This is done by setting up the null hypothesis that the frequencies of the various types of interaction . pattern for all individuals who are not isolates can be accounted for if we assume that all interaction patterns have an equal probability. (3) If the hypothesis of fluidity can be rejected, then a matrix is constructed in which a cell entry of 1 is made for each pair of persons whose frequency of joint activities is not less than that for persons in the fluid group. The resulting matrix represents the activity structure of the group. Activity structures are conveniently represented by a type of topological diagram known as a linear graph. 1 A linear graph is constructed by representing each person as a point element and con­ necting, by a line, those pairs of points that represent persons who have a joint activity relationship. The appropriateness of representa­ tion by a linear graph lies in the fact that in this type of structure the relationship between elements is symmetric but intransitive. This is in fact the basic difference between the momentary interaction pattern and the activity structure. In the latter, the activity relationship 1 A similar type of diagram has been used by Bavelas (1 948) for the representa­ tion of available communication channels between the members of a group. A purely statistical approach to the measurement of group structure may not be satisfactory, especially if this does not take into account the nature of the tasks and the dependence relationship between them. The subsequent development and empirical application of the measures of group process and structure are reported in Herbst (1 962).

136

PRODUCTION TASKS AND WORK ORGANIZATION

is n o lo nger transitive. I t is, for instance, possible for a chain structure to exist between persons such that there is a relationship between A and B, and between B and C, but no relationship exists between A and C. This is because the activity structure defines the charac­ teristics of a group over a period of time, so that, in this instance, the j oint activities B engages in with A may be at different times, and with respect to different tasks, from those he engages in with C. 2

AP P E ND I X T O S E C T I O N

The total number of activity patterns for a group of N persons (AN) will be given by the number of ways in which N different persons may be allocated to 1 , 2, 3, . . . , N different subgroups, which can be shown (see Whitworth, 1901) to be AN

=

N l (coefficient of x! in the expansion of e<e>< - 1 >)

where e<e>< - 1 )

=

5 5 4 13 s 1 + x + x2 + 6x 3 + 8x + x + 14

.

•

•

For a group of four persons we have

5 AN = 4 ! 8

=

1 5,

which is the number of interaction patterns we found by listing the number of possible allocations of individuals shown in Table 10-3. The number of interaction patterns increases very rapidly as the size of the group increases. A general formula for the number of interaction patterns corres­ ponding to any given partition can be worked out in the following way. The number of ways in which N persons can be allocated to subgroups of size n�> n2, n 3 , will be •

•

•

Nl

Thus for the partition (3, 1) we have

4! 3! 1 !

=

4 .

.

mteract10n patterns. 1 37

TASKS AND ORGANI ZATIONAL STRUCTURE

I n the case where there are subgroups o f equal size, however, such as in the partition (2,2), we will not be able to distinguish between the patterns

(AB)(CD)

and

(CD)(AB),

which are obtained by

exchanging all the members of one subgroup with the members of the other subgroup. We shall, therefore, need to divide further by the factorial of the number of subgroups of equal size. The number of interaction patterns that corresponds to a partition n 1 � , n / , n /, . . .

of a group of N persons, where size n1,

oc,

{3, �· is the number of subgroups of

n 2 , n3, will thus be given by the expression

N! [(n 1 !)«(n2 !}"(n3 !)Y

•

•

•

][oc ! {3 !y !

•

•

.

f

In the case of a fluid group, the probability of each of the possible partitions of the group is given by the number of interaction patterns that corresponds to that partition. Since the above expression takes a minimum value of unity either if there are no subdividions

(N 1)

if the group is completely subdivided into isolate individuals

or

(1 N),

these states will be the least probable. Their probability decreases rapidly as the size of the group increases, since this leads to a rapid increase in the number of alternative activity patterns.

3.

THE VARIANCE-CONTROL PROCESS

A work-system variance may be defined as a deviation from a steady state of the production and social process or a change in the rate of progress towards an organizational goal if the deviation is in the direction of reduced productive efficiency. Whether a system variance exists is thus judged with reference to an organizational aim which may or may not be identical with the aims of individual members of the work organization. The efficiency of a variance-control cycle will depend on : (i) the speed with which variances are detected and if necessary anticipated (ii) the speed with which appropriate variance-control processes are set in motion and completed. Variance detection is clearly a necessary condition for control.

Formally, variance detection may be the responsibility of a foreman working together with a specialized inspection staff, but these people

138

PROD UCTION TASKS AND WORK ORGANIZATION

will be able t o cover only part o f possible system variance and to do so i ntermittently. In practice, the efficiency of variance control will depend on the reaction of every member of the organization to events that lie within his perception radius. This again will be a function of his cognitive structure of the work situation and, more specifically, of the extent to which each person has internalized organizational values. Members' reactions to variances that appear in their work situation thus serve a double function of evaluating the efficiency of the control process and providing a method of obtaining objective measures of the personal relevance of, and attitudes to, the task. (It may be noted that the latter is also the 'common-sense' method used in practice. The identification of the individual with organizational aims is assessed not, except pro­ visionally, by his expressed attitudes and interests, but by his actual performance during an organizational emergency . ) The reaction of individuals to the incidence of variance as a function of personal relevance and attitude is shown in Table 10-5. It will TABLE 10-5

R E A C T I O N S TO V A R I A N C E

Personal relevance of the task

Attitude to the task

Variance perception

Behaviour reaction

Experiential reaction

high high low

positive negative neutral

immediate immediate delayed

immediate delayed delayed

concern relief indifference

be noted that level of personal involvement and attitude to task requirements can be derived from the reaction to variance. Quite generally, it appears that, provided the individual is capable of variance discrimination, perception latency will be a function of the personal relevance of the existing state or goal, and reaction speed will be a function of the corresponding attitude. Control Sequence Structure The control cycle has a sequential phase structure. We may have an occasional short-circuit if parts of the cycle become routinized, or

1 39

TASKS AND ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE

we may have back-tracking if the sequence is stopped at any point · or re-examination is required. The sequence will, however, remain constant since the antecedent phase is always a necessary condition for the phase that follows. The phase sequence involved in the control process is set out in Table 10-6. The final step is that of inspection, to ascertain whether the variance has in fact been removed. If not, the process retracks to find out where a mistake was made. Part of the frustration experienced, if the control sequence does not lead to the desired goal, is that it now becomes necessary to deal with an additional variance located in the control cycle, which has to be removed before the original variance can be dealt with. T A B L E 1 0--6 Phase

1 . Detection 2. Diagnosis 3. Planning

4. Decision 5. Performance

6. Inspection

P H A S E S E Q U E N C E OF T H E C O N T R O L P R O C E S S

Description Perceiving that something is wrong Finding out what is wrong Evolving possible methods for getting rid of the trouble Deciding on method to be used and the allocation of men and resources Implementing the decision Checking whether the variance has been removed

Each of the various phases of the control process may occur in a different part of the organization, in which case the findings obtained at each point have to be communicated at least to that part of the organization in which the following phase is to proceed. The control phases may be sub-differentiated into smaller units. Thus different aspects of the decision process may occur in different parts of the organization, one person deciding on the method to be used while another decides on the personnel to be allocated. The level of differentiation of control phases will to some extent depend on the level of differentiation employed in describing the organization. For our present purpose it would appear sufficient to distinguish whether the process occurs at the level of an individual worker, or the work team, or the group leader, i.e. the foreman, or whether it occurs within the organizational environment of the group. If we want to

140

PROD U C T I O N TASKS AND

WORK ORGANIZATION

study a larger system, then the external environment may be further differentiated into service and governing units, etc.

The control sequence structure may be represented in the form shown in Figure 10-5. The control diagram shows that in this instance the variance was detected by one of the workers ; he passed the information on to the other team members, who communicated it to the leader, who passed the information on to an external agency which was called in to discover the cause. The agency's diagnosis was then communicated to the leader, who considered possible ways of dealing with the problem, decided on a method, instructed one of the workers under him to carry it out, and subsequently checked that the variance had been removed. F I G U R E 10-5 worker Detec t i on D i a g nosis

team

CONTROL DIAGRAM

l ea d e r

X

�

P l a n n i ng Dec ision Perfo r m a n ce I n sp e c t i o n

*

*

*

exte r n a l

* ( Type:

leader contro l ,exte r na l consu ltation)

The advantage of a diagrammatic representation is not only that it demonstrates the total process with greater clarity but also that it enables the theoretically possible types of process to be determined and may suggest, in specific cases, better methods of control. Additional information desirable for the purpose of evaluation would be the amount of time taken at each point. For purposes of recording and analysis, the data may be presented in tabular form. The following code is used :

P

individual worker work team L leader E external

T

TL means that team and leader act together. For the purpose of summing observations, T,L represents that sometimes the team and 141

TASKS AND ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE

sometimes the leader carries out the activity. Similarly, P,T means the person affected by the variance or other team members.

Table 10-7 shows some of the possible types of control pattern that may be obtained by summing the control diagram horizontally. The type of control pattern obtained is likely to differ for different types of variance. It will be seen that the analysis of control patterns makes

T A B L E 1 0-7 T Y P E S OF V A R I A N C E - C O N T R O L P A T T E R N Effect on p

Delee- Diagnosis lion

Planning

De- Per/orcision mance

p

Inspection

p

Type Stimulus response

p

p

p

p

p

p

p

Autonomous control

p

P,T

P,T

P,T

P,T

P,T

P,T

Team control

p

p

L

L

L

p

L

Leader control

P,T

P,T,L

T,L

T,L

T, L

P,T

T,L

Group

decision p

E

E

E

E

P,E

E

External control

it possible to represent phenomena ranging all the way from a stimulus response to a group decision procedure. The data required are either a study of a representative sample of variances or a con­ tinuous record and follow-through of all variances occurring during a limited period of time. The data can be analysed in a number of ways : ( 1 ) We can determine the type of control process activated by a particular type of process variance. (2) We can examine the manner in which specific individuals or groups are involved in the control process . (3) W e can obtain an overall measure of the types of control process used in different types of work system.

142

PRODUCTION TASKS AND WORK ORGANIZATION

If the control diagram is summed vertically, the data make it ble to determine the types of role played by different units of the ossi p tion and to obtain measures of the relative degree of control niza ga or by workers, the team leader, and the external system. ed xert e

4. WORK-DOMAIN STRUCTURE (a)

B O U N D A R I E S OF W O R K R E G I O N S A N D T A S K A L L O C A T I O N

The system o f allocating activities t o persons i s a s a rule quite complex and cannot be adequately represented by formal job descriptions. On the one hand, a worker may carry out a large (or small) number of tasks apart from those he is supposed to be doing. On the other hand, every task in the total set of tasks in which he may participate at one time or another does not necessarily have a job title attached to it. We begin this section by considering a possible way of representing the activity domains of work teams and individuals, and then (Section 4(b)) we look at the developmental stages in the evolution of work systems. This leads on to a discussion (Section 4(c)) of methods that may be used to study the effects of segmentation and flow within the system on its flexibility and status structure.

The Work Domain of a Group The total set of work activities carried out by a team will be referred to as its work domain. Within the work domain of a group we may distinguish :

(1) A core region, which defines the formal task of the group. In

the case of a coal-filling team the core region may include filling and setting props.

(2) A maintenance and service region, which includes all activities required to enable work in the core region to proceed. These would include, in the case of a filling team, belt-mending, supplying props to the face, etc. It should be noted that some service activity may be carried out by persons outside the group, either on their own or in conjunction with the team, for instance in the case of a serious mechanical breakdown of equipment. The extent to which 143

TASKS AND ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE

the service region is included in the work domain of the group can be used as a measure of the degree of self-maintenance of the group. (3) An extra task region, which includes activities that are formally allocated to other teams but may also be carried out by the work group if it is necessary for them to be done before work in the core region can proceed. Thus the filling team may do belt-building if this has not been completed on the previous shift. The extent to which a group does not engage in extra task activities may be used as a measure of its role rigidity. The situation in which unskilled workers in factories are frequently found can be described as follows. The team has an assigned j ob ; the setting up of the job, and service and maintenance, are carried out by specialized staff. No member of the team would normally be asked to carry out tasks that are not part of his job. In this instance, the high role rigidity and low degree of self-maintenance are largely externally imposed. The relationship between work regions may be represented by means of a path-field employing a method for analysing participation data developed in a study of task-allocation structures in the family (Herbst, 1954a). The illustrative diagram in Figure 10-6 shows that F I G U R E 10-6

P A T H - F I E L D R E P R E S E N T A T I O N OF A W O R K D O MAIN

-

core reg i o n

-

m a i ntenance and service reg i o n

ext ra

task reg ion

The arrows show the point o f entry and the direction of movement when the level of participation is increased.

participation cannot normally fall below the level of the core region. If additional activities are engaged in, then these will be in the maintenance and service region ; and if activities are carried out beyond that point, then these will be extra task activities. In the case of a role-segmented work team, the point at which the

144

PRODUCTION TASKS AND WORK ORGANIZATION

boundary o f the work domain o f the group is located i s a n important determinant of the efficiency of the work system as a whole. For ex ample, if the filling team finds on arrival at the face that belt-building i s not completed and it treats this activity as lying outside its work d omain , then the team will not be in a position to start work and the shift cycle breaks down. Work organizations differ in the sharpness of their internal boundary and in their rigidity. A sharp boundary may be said to exist

if,

for each activity, it is known whether it belongs inside the

work domain or not. Alternatively, there may be a

boundary zone

which includes activities with respect to which there is no general agreement as to whose job they are, or with respect to which dis­ agreement exists between the work team and management. The set of activities that the group accepts as belonging inside its work domain may

be referred to as its region of task acceptance. The

incidence of activities that lie in the work domain but outside the region of acceptance may be used as a measure of the tension between the group and its environment.

Task Allocation within Work Teams Having briefly considered the work domain of the group we may next consider how the various group activities are distributed among team members. Allocation may be completely undifferentiated, where each member of the team carries out all the activities in the work domain of the group. At the other extreme, the work domain may be completely differentiated so that different subgroups carry out different tasks which do not overlap one another. The set of activities carried out by any individual member of the team will referred to as his

be

task domain.

It appears desirable to have a measure of the degree of role differentiation. In the matrices below

(Table 10-8)

all the activities

that are carried out by the team are shown along the horizontal axis, and the members of the team are shown along the vertical axis. An entry of 1 is made under each activity for every team member who carries out that activity either regularly or sometimes. No entry is made for a member who never does it. Matrix (a) shows a case of complete differentiation : every team member carries out a different activity, so that there is no overlap

145

TASKS AND ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE

TAB LE 1 0-8

R O L E DIFFERENTIATION MATRI C E S

A�

Team activities «

Persons B

c

p 1

Team activities «

,

p

,

1

1

1

1

1

1

A

1

Persons B c

1

1

1

(b)

(a)

between their task domains. In matrix (b), every team member carries out all activities. The degree of overlap between the task domains of any pair of team members is determined by the number of activities carried out by A that are also carried out by B. Table 10-9 presents a hypothetical example for three persons and three activities. It indicates that A and B have two activities in common, that B and C have two activities in common, and that A and C have three activities in common. TABLE 10-9

N U M B E R OF A C T I V I T I E S

COMMON TO EACH PAIR O F A THREE•PERSON TEAM

Persons C

A

3

B

2

B

2

Persons

For N persons the number of possible overlaps between their task domains is N(N- l) 2 For n activities, the maximum number of activities that can be carried out by both A and B is n, so that the maximum sum of cell entries in Table 10-9 is nN(N- 1) 2

146

PRODUCTION TASKS AND WORK ORGANIZATION

If � deno tes the sum o f cell entries i n Table 10-9, then

1

degree of role differentiation =

Fo r

2� nN(N _ 1) .

the example given :

number of activities (n) number of persons (N) sum of cell entries (l:) degree of role differentiation

=

=

=

=

3 3 7 1 -3

:;:

2

=

1 - 0· 78

=

0·22.

The measure has a value of 0 if everyone carries out all tasks, and a value of 1 if everyone carries out a different activity. It may be noted that complete differentiation is not possible if the number of persons exceeds the number of activities. If the pattern of allocation changes over time, as in the case of composite teams, then the data will need to be recorded on the basis of successive work-cycle periods.

(b)

S T A G E S I N T H E G R O W T H OF W O R K S Y S T E M S

It has been shown so far that a work team may engage in a number of activities apart from its core activities. Correspondingly, the task domain of an individual member will contain, apart from some or all of the core activities, some or all of the service and extra task activities engaged in by the team. In addition, shifting of personnel may occur between teams to make up for absences or to reinforce certain teams. In practice, then, each face-worker, for example, may move and be shifted between a number of task domains. The total set of tasks in which a person participates over a period of time defines his job domain. Under ideal conditions the formal job boundaries coincide with the boundaries of the actual job domain. We look now at various stages in the process of segmentation of the work system into job domains, and then go on to consider the problem of flow within, and shifts between, job domains. The illustrative examples are taken from coalmining. The simplest type of work system is one that is completely un­ differentiated (Figure 10-7). Each worker carries out all the activities

147

TAS KS AND ORGANI ZATIONAL STRUCTURE

involved in coal-getting by himself. Historically, this appears to be the earliest pattern. F I G U R E 1 0-7

UNDIFFERENTIATED SYSTEM

Any work system can maintain itself only in so far as it provides for the training of new entrants. In the early type of work system, a new entrant was attached to a collier as a trainee. The advent of the trainee led to a differentiation and partial segmentation of the work domain into two distinct job regions (Figure 10-8). The collier transferred service and supporting activities, such as the supply of tubs and materials, to his trainee while retaining activities included in the core region of his work domain. F I G U R E 10-8

T R A N S I T I O N A L S E G M E N T A T I O N IN O R D E R T O PROVIDE AN ENTRY ROUTE

Job d om a i n of t ra i nee

Job d o m a i n o f col l i er

In the course of training, the job domain of the trainee gradually expanded until it overlapped all the activities included in the collier's job domain, after which training was completed and the new collier was allocated to a place of his own. The introduction of mechanization and longwall mining resulted in a disruption of the traditional work system. The immediate result

148

P R OD U C T ION T A S K S A N D

WORK ORGANIZATION

was a differentiation o f the total work domain into its task elements. Figure 10-9 shows a work domain that is differentiated but not yet segmented. Each worker may carry out any one of the tasks included in the work system. However, at one time he may carry out Task A while others carry out Tasks B, C, and D, and at other times he may move on to any of the other tasks. The unsegmented system requires that all face-workers are trained in all tasks. F I G U RE 10-9

DIFFERENTIATED SYSTEM

In practice it is found that an increase in the degree of differentiation results in an increasing degree of segmentation. Little is at present known about the dynamics of the segmentation process. The following are some of the factors that appear to be involved :

(1) A worker kept on one task for any length of time tends to develop special skills at this task and to some extent to lose skills that he may have acquired previously on other tasks. {2) At the same time,

a process of perceptual inertia operates. The task that a worker carries out tends to become one of his attributes. Thus the person who is engaged on filling becomes identified as a ffiler and is no longer perceived as a person who can carry out other types of work.

(3) One of the reasons for introducing a segmented system is that it reduces the amount of training that needs to be given to workers who will each be engaged in perhaps one task only. Segmentation may thus be imposed by differential training. (4) A developing tendency towards the segmentation of the work domain leads to the ordering of segmented parts with respect to relative status. This in turn increases the tendency towards a 1 49

TASKS AND ORGANIZATIONAL STRU CTURE

sharper definition of job boundaries, which further increases the level of segmentation. The tendency towards a sharper definition of boundaries will be expected to be strongest for those engaged in desirable and emerging high-status jobs. Figure 10-10 illustrates two systems, with medium and maximum segmentation respectively. In the former the work domain is split into three job domains, two of which contain two or more tasks. Within these two job domains, workers are able to shift between tasks. In the latter system the work domain is split into as many job domains as there are tasks, and thus the temporary shifting of workers between tasks is not permitted.

F I G U R E 10-10

SEG MENTED SYSTEMS

Med i u m seg menta t i on

-.. 0 - @ - @ Maxi m u m seg mentation

Some Effects of Segmentation of the Work Domain Segmented work systems have a number of properties not possessed by undifferentiated systems : (1) They automatically decrease the size ofjob domains of workers and impose a greater role rigidity on them. (2) They make possible the emergence of more complex social structures. (3) More specifically, they make possible the development of the tendency to attribute status to individuals by virtue of their occupation of specific job domains. I SO

PRODUCTION TASKS AND

WOR K ORGANIZATION

(4) Since the greater the degree of segmentation the greater also the need for coordination of activities, the greater the amount of system control that has to be provided.

(5) In the undifferentiated system an entrant needs to engage from the start in all group activities, whereas the segmented s ystem provides the possibility of an entry route consisting of transitional activities. It was noted earlier that an undifferentiated system may undergo temporary segmentation in order to provide an entry route. (6) The degree of segmentation affects the flexibility of the system with respect to the effects of absences, turnover, and emergency conditions. In the differentiated, unsegmented system, individuals can easily be moved from one task to another where necessary. The degree of relocation possible decreases with increase in the degree of segmentation.

(c)

F L O W S T R U C T U R E OF W O R K D O M A I N S

To begin with, i t will be necessary t o distinguish between shifts of workers within their job domain, and shifts of workers from one job domain to another. While by definition a worker may be shifted freely between tasks within his job domain, so that all shifts within a job domain are reversible, a shift from one job domain to another involves abandoning all tasks in the previous work domain for tasks in the new domain in so far as the two domains are completely segmented. Further, shifts between job domains are predominantly one-directional. To put it in another way, one may say that the tasks within a job domain are compatible with one another with respect to participation in them, whereas the tasks contained in different job domains outside their region of overlap are incompatible in this respect. To give an example : the work carried out by a puller and the work carried out by a pay clerk constitute segmented job domains, since carrying out any job within the puller's work domain, such as belt-shifting, is incompatible with carrying out any task included in the work domain of the pay clerk, such as making out pay slips. A shift from one job domain to another will be referred to as a transfer. Two types of shift within a job domain may be distinguished. Workers may be temporarily shifted from one team to another to 151 L

T A S K S AND O R G A N I Z A TI O N A L S T R U C T U R E

,

J

make up for absences, or to help out if a team falls behind schedui and in these cases they return to their old team as soon as their hel� is no longer required. Such a shift will be referred to as a relocation.'' A more permanent shift from one team to another will be referred to as a reassignment. Looked at from the point of view of the work system as a whole, the relocation system corresponds to some extent to a theoretical' flow model discussed in Herbst {1954b). Each team needs to keep up a certain strength so that if workers are missing from one team or additional individuals are required in another team, a flow of persons between teams results. Coalmining studies show that the direction of relocation is by no means haphazard. A team generally has a body of spare men who are on datal work. In some pits the number of spares, that is workers who are qualified for face-work but for whom no place can be found, is always sufficiently large to make up for wastage through turnover or absence. Under these conditions no shifting of workers between teams will be necessary. In other pits, on the other hand, the number of spare men available is rarely sufficient, so that relocation of workers between teams must be arranged. It may � stated as a general principle that workers will be shifted from tasks that are perceived as less essential to tasks that are perceived as more essential. The direction of flow, therefore, provides a measure of the perceived relative centrality of tasks within the work system, and, by implication, of the status hierarchy of roles associated with tasks. Whether a worker is shifted from one task to another wiJl depend on : - the relative importance of the task within the work system - the extent to which various work teams are ahead of or behind schedule relative to the tasks carried out by other teams. Figure 10-11 depicts a relocation structure that was found for men working on a conventional longwall face. It will be seen that the structure is completely hierarchical. Without exception, relocations made are in one direction only. Rippers are used to reinforce stone­ men, and stone-men are transferred to pulling, but no relocations are made in the reverse direction. This is an interesting example of a case where, in order to cope with technical breakdowns, maintenance

1 52

PRODU CTION TASKS AND WORK ORGANIZATION

men were used to reinforce men on production work ; as a result, littl e maintenance work got done, and there was a state of permanent 'dysfunction'. FIG URE

10-1 1

DIRECTION AND N U MBER O F RELOCATIONS

O N CONVE NTIONAL LONGWALL FACES IN A SEAM OVER A SI NGLE PAY PERIOD

R i ppers

jj :

Hewers

;/ � 10

,

Sto n e - m e n

Pu l l e r s

flec

F i l lers

C u tters

On the basis of the data presented in Figure 10-11 it can be seen that there are three separate hierarchies with a partially common base (Table 10-10). Pullers have a higher status than stone-men, and below the latter are the hewers and the rippers. Cutters are above scuffiers who are above hewers. In the third hierarchy, fillers are above hewers. T A B L E 1 0-10

ROLE HIERARCHY

I

Status

II

Ill

Low

Hewers, Rippers

Hewers

Hewers

Stone-men

Scuffiers

Fillers

High

Pullers

Cutters

The extent to which relocation is possible defines the flexibility of the social system. The degree of flexibility will be a function of the degree of segmentation of the work domain. A measure of flexibility should have a maximum value of 1 when the work domain is unsegmented and every worker can be shifted at any time to any of the tasks included in it, and should have a minimum value of 0

153

TASKS AND ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE

when the work domain i s completely segmented and no relocation is possible. If the tasks for which a worker is qualified do in fact set the limit to the tas ks that he may carry out, then the former can be used as a measure of potential flexibility. Table 10-11 s ho ws two extreme cases of potential flexibility. In the first case (a), each worker is qualified for only one task ; in the second case (b), each worker is qualified for all tasks.

T A B L E 10-1 1

POTENTIAL FLEXIBILITY MATRICES,

S HO W I N G T A S K S T H A T E A C H M A N I S Q UA L I F I E D O R A B LE T O CARRY O UT

F. Tasks

IX

A

Persons B

c

D

1

fJ

Tasks IX

)'

A

1

c

Persons B

1

1

D

1

fJ 1

,

1

1

1

1 1

1

1

1

(a)

1

(b)

For N persons and n tasks, the sum of cell entries is N in the first case and nN in the second case. If � is the sum of cell entries in any given case, then a measure that varies between 0 and 1 is . I fl.ex1b1 l1ty d egree of potentia "

"

"

=

�-N . N(n - 1)

For case (b) ab o ve :

number of tasks (n) number of persons (N) n u mber of cell entries (�) degree of potential flexibil ity

=

= =

=

3 4 12 12 - 4 4(3 _ 1)

=

1.

Actual flexibility i s given by the number of tasks t o which fillers, pullers, etc. are in fact relocated . 1 54

PROD UCTION TASKS AND WOR K ORGANIZATION

The Effects of Internal Flow on Team Cohesion While a high degree of flexibility may have beneficial effects from the point of view of the efficient functioning of the technical system, it may, if carried beyond a certain point, have detrimental effects on the social structure in so far as it involves a serious disruption of existing teams. The higher the degree of flow, the greater will be the rate at which the composition of teams will change. If that rate is relatively low, then the team may well be able to deal with it. If it rises beyond a certain point, the team will not be able to maintain a stable social structure and interpersonal relations will tend to become

depersonalized.

A

group changes its composition both by virtue of the people

who may enter it and by virtue of those who may leave it.

A measure

of the rate at which a group changes its composition therefore needs to take both entrants and leavers into account. What is required is a measure that will make it possible to state to what extent a group remains the same from one period of time to another.

A

(i)

change in group composition will occur : if there is an exchange : one man leaves the group and is replaced

by another (ii) if the group increases in size (iii) if the group decreases in size.

A

measure of the change in composition has to combine the effects

0 and 100 per cent. A measure that may be used for this purpose is shown in Table 10-12. First, the number of men who have left and the number of of these three types of change, and to vary between

men who have joined are recorded . The difference between these numbers gives the amount of change in group size. Then, take the number who have left

or

the number who have joined, whichever is

the larger, and subtract the amount of change in group size. This gives the amount of change due to exchange of group members. The amount of change in group composition is then given by : number of men exchanged + change in group size size of group (max.)

That is, the amount of change due to the replacement of men who have left is added to the amount of increase or decrease in group

1 55

TASKS AND ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE

size, and the total is divided b y the size o f the group a t either the

earlier or the later period, whichever is the larger, in order to avoid values exceeding TA B L E 10-12

1 00

per cent.

R E C O R D F O R C A L C U L A T I O N OF T H E A M O U N T

O F CHANGE I N G R O U P C O M P O SITION

Size Period of no. group

Amount of change No. who No. who due to: have have Change joined Exchange in size left

Change in group composition

--

1

9

2

12

5

2

2

3

2

+3 12

=

41 ·7 %

The measure equates the effects of the three possible types o f change that may occur as follows.

A value of 50 per cent change in group

composition is obtained :

(i) if half of the group members are exchanged (ii)

if the size of the group is halved

(iii) if the size of the group is doubled.

1 56

CHAPTE R 1 1

Research Tasks and Research Organization'

---

·---

An application of socio-technical analysis to questions of research organization and policy will involve consideration of the following :

1. 2.

The characteristics of research tasks. The implications of these characteristics for appropriate and

feasible forms of research organization.

3.

The requirements of research organizations in terms of their

linkage to specific client systems.

4.

The properties and optimization requirements of the ecological

network of research organizations and client systems. Since socio-technical analysis was originally developed for the study

of production

systems, an

extension

of the

framework

it is to be applied to research organizations.

1.

is needed if

C H A R A C T E R I S T I C S OF R E S E A R C H T A S K S

I n the first place, there i s a basic difference between research tasks and production tasks. Production processes have to a significant degree the characteristics of a determinate sequence of operations which, with a relatively high level of reliability, leads from a given input to a predictable output. Research tasks are generally not of this type, but are indeterminate - with respect to the required initial state conditions, or the method to be followed, or the final result that will be obtained. Research may

be defined as work concerned with the conver­

sion of an indeterminate task into one that has a lower degree of 1

Written in 1 968 at the Technion, Haifa, and the University of Jerusalem

(Department of Sociology), in the course of an exploratory study of science policy

carried out with the support of the Norwegian Council for Science and the Humanities.

157

TASKS AND ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE

indeterminacy. The reduction, or, where feasible, the elimination, of indeterminacy leads to the possibility of being able to state that

under given initial conditions a given set of operations will lead to a specified result. Once this is achieved, a research task is, at least in

principle, converted into a production-type task. At this level there is no intrinsic difference between theoretical and applied research. Whether a given research task is classified as theoretical or applied depends more on the immediate context in which it is carried out than on its intrinsic characteristics. To the extent that differences exist in the nature of research tasks and production tasks, the implication is that the types of work organization appropriate to production will not be appropriate to research. Moreover, in so far as we are likely to find different types of research task, there will be a different range of work organizations

appropri ate to each of them.

2.

RESEARCH TASKS AND RESEARCH ORGANIZATION

A major problem encountered in research organizations derives from the uncertainty characteristics of research tasks. This problem arises for individual researchers and for research management, as well as for institutions, such as client systems and foundations, that are linked to research organizations.

A competent researcher could possibly be defined as one who is capable of coping productively with uncertainty ; who is capable of admitting to himself and others that he does not from the start know all the answers. This capacity, in some form, may need to be possessed by all institutions that are linked to research organizations. Many of the potential causes of sub-optimal functioning of research organizations can be traced to defences against anxiety generated by the intrinsic uncertainty characteristics of research. Defence may take the form, at the personal level, of excessive concentration on safe routine-type projects ; at the management level, of control by means of close supervision of personnel ; and in clients and founda­ tions, of demands for complete specification of the work to be done, which means that the research task is contracted as a production task. At the other extreme, the research worker may look for or be put into monastic seclusion to pursue his work. However, there are conditions where each of these organizational

158

RESEARC H TASKS

AND

RESEARC H

ORGANIZATION

trends may b e functional. Institutes that specialize in the application of routi ne methods, paid for by clients, will tend to an organizational structure appropriate to production organization, whereas high-risk,

innovative research, on a low budget, will be more appropriately done by lone researchers. In a more systematic analysis each of these variables would need to be taken into consideration. As a general principle, research tasks that can be defined as activities concerned with the reduction of uncertainty require work organizations that possess a corresponding level of requisite variety. This implies that the research team must possess an adequate range of competence and skill, and also have sufficient autonomy and internal flexibility to be able to adopt organizational patterns and work procedures appropriate to emerging task requirements. The results obtained from earlier studies of the conditions required for autonomous group functioning should therefore be of some relevance.

3.

R E S E A R C H - C L I E N T R E L A TI O N S H I P S

I n studying the relationship between research and production organizations we cannot assume from the outset that the present almost complete organizational separation of operating and research functions is the only possible model. On the one hand, the increasing complexity and increasing auto­ mation of production processes have resulted in an upgrading of task requirements for operators. The tasks of operators no longer lend themselves to a techno-economic design in which the required activities of each operator can be specified in complete detail. To the extent that task requirements become more indeterminate and subject to change, then production tasks increasingly acquire the intrinsic characteristics of research tasks. The most successful of the firms that have participated in the Norwegian Industrial Democracy Project tum out to be those in which, in the course of establishing autonomous work groups, workers have to an increasing extent taken up research functions, thereby creating the necessary conditions for a continuous process of technical and organizational change. The tasks of operators can be extended to include both technical and organizational research, covering evaluation of existing con­ ditions, formulation of possible directions of change, implementation of joint decisions, and evaluation of results.

1 59

TASKS AND ORGANI ZATIONAL STRUCTURE

At the same time, technological development, especially the intro­

duction of computers and the industrialization of research, leads to

a relative downgrading of research tasks which increasingly acquire the characteristics of production tasks. What is beginning to emerge,

then, is a society in which : (i) There will be relatively little difference in the task characteristics of production and research organizations. These will differ more in their predominant orientation than in intrinsic task character­ istics. (ii) The existing rigid walls between production and research organizations will disappear. Increasingly their tasks overlap, and this will make possible an increasing mobility of personnel in both directions.

(iii) There will be a fundamental change i n the role requirements for researchers and specialists in terms of their relations with clients. Whereas, at present, researchers and specialists tend to have an authoritarian and prescriptive role, they will need to accept the role of consultants to operating teams in a joint search for solutions to technical and social problems. (iv) Temporarily, at least, specialists and researchers will feel their status and special prerogatives threatened. Neither universities nor research organizations may be able to continue their traditional role of providing almost the only accepted protected retreat from social involvement. While the need to conserve open spaces in nature is being recognized, the need to conserve open and free spaces in society may not be understood and recognized until it

is too late. The major determinants of the characteristics of a research organization are likely to be the nature of its source of funds, the kinds of client it has, and the type of relationship it has with funding and client organizations if these are distinct.

A

systematic typology

of the transactional structure of research organizations and an analysis of the dynamic properties of possible configurational structures would appear to

be

of particular importance.

Both the analysis of research tasks and the analysis of the transac­ tional relationship structure of research organizations require the development of new techniques. The study of the internal structure

1 60

RESEAR C H TASKS AND RESEARCH ORGANIZATION

of research organizations

presents fewer p roblems

since here w e can of work

apply already existing techniques for s tudyi ng the structure organizations. 4. T H E E C O L O G Y OF R E S E A R C H O R G A N I Z A T I O N S

A n essential optimization

problem o f science policy is concerned with the of the total ecology of research organizations, client systems, and funding sources within, mi ni mally, a national regio n. However, in order to tackle probl ems at this level, some under­ standing of each of the subordinate levels is required As far as research strategy is concerned, the best p o int of entry might be at the third level, since the d evel opmen t of techniques for studyi ng the transactional structure of research organizations would help to identify the vari abl es required for mapping out ecological netwo rk structures. Furthermore, by starting at this level it would be possi ble .

to test the adequacy of possible conceptual frameworks by means of relatively easily accessible

d ata.

A CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK FOR THE STUDY OF RESEARCH TASKS In the remainder of this chapter we shall consider, first, the intrinsic characteristics of

research

tasks and, second, their implications for

research organization.

D E FI N I TI O N S

We shall employ as a basic concept an operational unit defined of:

in

terms

(i) an initial state, (ii)

initial state, (iii)

S1

an operati on or sequence of operations performed on the

a

71'

final outcome state

achieved,

S(J.

A sequence of operations that leads from a given initial state to final state is referred to as a route. A route generally refers to a method or technique. An operational unit provides a definition of a task. a

161

TASKS AND ORGANI ZATIONAL STRUCTURE

A task is said to be determinate if the application of a specific set of operations to a given input state always results in a predictable output state. The principle may be determinate or stochastic. This may be put in the form 7T

(S J --+ S0•

A task is said to be indeterminate if one or more elements are unknown . Assumption 1 : Research tasks involve the reduction of the indeter­ minacy level of a task. We shall show in the following that, when the operational-unit concept is used, there are at least three dimensions in terms of which a research task can be analysed. The three dimensions are referred to as indeterminacy level, innovation level, and generality level. I N D ET E R M I N A C Y LEVEL

Given that a task can be defined in terms of three elements, an initial state, an operation performed on the initial state, and an outcome state, then we can define a first-order research task as one in which any two elements of the operational unit are given and the third element has to be found. A second-order research task is one in which only one element (generally an initial state or an outcome state) is given and the remaining two elements of the operational unit have to be found. A zero-order research task can in this case be defined as one in which all three elements are given and therefore it does not constitute a research task. Our initial assumption may thus be rephrased to state that the ideal aim of research is to achieve a zero-order research task. INNOVATION LEVEL

I n terms o f decreasing level of innovation a research project may be : (a) innovative, if n o previous solution t o the problem exists and it is not soluble by means of known routines or techniques ; (b) alternative innovative, if an alternative solution to a problem is found, the requirement generally being that the new method or 1 62

T A B L E 1 1-1

R E S E A R C H T A S K S D E F I N E D IN T E R M S OF I N D E T E R M I N A C Y L E V E L AND INNOVATION LEVEL

Innovation level

Indeterminacy level Initial state

Route

Outcome state

Innovative

Alternative innovative

Factfinding

Marginal X

Replicative X

Second-

given

unknown

unknown

order

unknown

given

unknown

X

X

task

unknown

unknown

given

X

X X

First-

given

unknown

given

order

given

given

unknown

task

unknown

given

given

X

X

given

given

given

X

X

X

X

X

X

Zero-order

task

Note :

x

signifies combinations that are not possible.

X

X

TASKS AND ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE

solution i s more economical than the previously known solution or gives superior results ; (c)

fact-finding,

using established methods or techniques to obtain

new findings ; (d)

marginal,

improving

or

optimizing

existing

methods

or

techniques to make them more economical or more effective ; (e)

replicative,

checking on or repeating previous findings.

The above order does not necessarily imply a descending scale in terms of the value of the project.

Theorem I: No first-order research task can be innovative unless it involves finding a route from a given initial state to a final state. Theorem 2: All second-order research tasks are innovative or fact-finding. In terms of the two variables considered so far, the possible types of research task can be set out as shown in

Table 11-1.

Those com­

binations that are not possible are indicated in the table by x

.

It

will be noted that the replicative task is a zero-order one, since the initial state, route, and final state are all given. What is tested in this case is that the operational principle does in fact hold. For an analysis of the intrinsic characteristics of research tasks, a

third variable is still needed.

GBNBRALITY LBVEL

( l a)

Working Principles

Many of the most significant discoveries began as simple working principles. For instance, certain herbs were found to have curative effects ; some substances when mixed were found to be explosive ; some metals when allowed to rotate freely were found to come to rest in a constant direction ; some chemical reactions were found to proceed only

if

another substance was added as a catalyst. The

research technique employed is basically one of trial and error, and systematic replication of findings is required in each case since no other method of providing evidence is available at this stage. What is discovered is a route that leads from an initial state to a final state. What is not known is which of the initial state conditions

164

RSEARCH TASKS AND RESEARCH ORGANIZATION

and which o f the operations implemented are essential and which are irrelevant.

( l b)

Operational Principles

At the next stage the essential conditions under which a principle operates are determined. In the case, say, of herbs that have been found to be curative, the active ingredient is identified.

A new

research task may in this case be to find a chemical synthesis of the active agent. What is at this stage still unknown is why the principle operates ; that is, the complete sequence of operations that, given a specified initial state and a set of implemented operations, leads to the final state. Thus, while the principle of catalytic action has been known and applied for a long time, it is only relatively recently that some progress has been made in discovering how different catalysts operate.

( l c)

Scientific Operational Principles

A scientific operational principle requires the specification of all the essential initial conditions and the complete sequence of operations (including those that have to be implemented) that lead predictably to a given outcome state. Stochastic principles are a special case that come into the same category. In this case the structural details and phases of the stochastic process have to be completely specified.

All operational principles have the nature of a model with quasi-causal characteristics.

(2) Functional Laws If we use the analogy of a street map, then all the operational principles considered so far provide us with information as to what route to follow in order

to get from

one particular location to another one.

A

functional law is a principle that enables us, using the same analogy, to derive all the possible routes that can be taken from any one location to any other and provides us, so to say, with the total street map. 1 65

TAS KS AND ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE

Thus the gas law, relating pressure (p), volume (v), and temperature

(T),

pv T

=

R

tells us, for any initial state of the volume of a gas, what will be the effect of the operation of increasing the pressure at any given tempera­ ture. It also tells us, for any initial state of the pressure, what will be the effect of the operation of increasing the temperature for any given volume of the gas. Quite generally, functional laws should

be

reducible to or transformable into a set of operational principles that can

be

empirically tested. 1

Finally, the aim is to arrive at a postulate system.

(3) J>ostulate �)lster,n A postulate

system makes it possible to derive the total network of

functional laws within a given discipline from a minimal set of postulates. It will be seen, from

Table 11-2,

that the analytical scheme is ap­

plicable to research tasks ranging all the way from abstract theoreti­ cal work to production engineering. The table shows that there are basically three types of second­ order task, depending on the type of question asked, as follows :

T)lpe of task

Question asked

Convergent

How can we achieve it ?

Divergent

What can we do with it ?

Method-oriented

How can this method or technique be utilized ?

Each type of problem can arise in basic and applied research, and it will be noted that, as far as the intrinsic characteristics of research tasks are concerned, no necessary relation exists between the nature of the task and whether it is in the field of basic research, applied research, or production engineering. With regard to the implications of the intrinsic characteristics of 1

However, given

sequences

are

temperature 1 966).

a functional law, all theoretically possible operational

not necessarily realizable. In the present

can

case,

no change of

be achieved by alteration of the pressure and volume (Wold,

166

T A B L E 1 1 -2

Second-order tasks Given Unknown

T Y P E S OF S E C O N D - O R D E R R E S E A R C H T A S K

Theory formulation

Chemical research

Production engineering

Outcome

Initial

To discover proof of a theorem,

To discover a method of

To discover a method, and the

state

state,

or theoretical derivation of an

synthesizing a chemical

components required, for the

Route

empirical principle

substance

manufacture of a specific mechanism

Initial

Route,

Given a set of conceptual

Given a class of chemical

To develop production tech-

state

Outcome

elements and definitions, to

substances, to discover which

Diques for utilizing specific raw

state

discover the theorems that

can

be derived from them Route

new compounds

can

be

materials

synthesized from them

Initial

Given a new theory, model, or measurement technique (i.e.

Given a new analytic tech-

To discover alternative utiliza-

state,

nique or a new synthesizing

tion of a production-process

Outcome

information theory, open-

technique, to discover its

technique

system theory, factor analysis),

possible utilization

state

to investigate its utilization within a given field of study

TASKS A N D O R G A N I Z A T I O N A L S TRUCTURE

research tasks for research organization, the analytical scheme suggests the following :

1.

To the extent that the task has a determinate structure, the orga­

nizational requirements will approximate to those found to be applicable to production processes, and the research organization could well

be located within or attached to the client system (e.g.

industrial laboratories in the case of industrial research).

2.

Different types of organizational requirement appear to be

indicated for convergent, divergent, and method-oriented research. In the field of applied research, convergent tasks are undertaken in mission-oriented and action-research institutes. Divergent tasks are carried out in institutes concerned with discovering alternative uses and exploitation possibilities for available resources and products. Method-oriented research institutes appear to

be particularly

prevalent in the social sciences (possibly because they provide practitioners with a basis of demonstrable competence). Method­ oriented research is found, for instance, in institutes for survey research, Gallup polls, personnel-testing, factor analysis, scaling techniques, etc. There is possibly a tendency also for institutes, whatever their starting-point, to develop in the direction of method-oriented research if they begin to accumulate costly equipment, and personnel with particular skills. The utilization of existing equipment (such as an expensive computer) and available skills can in this case become a

primary

concern.

Convergent mission-oriented research requires that members of the institute share a common set of values with respect to the aims to

be achieved. Divergent research requires relative independence and autonomy

to generate and explore alternatives, and a primary orientation towards economic feasibility and market requirements. In method-oriented research the method itself tends to become an object

of value, and research tends to be either its

routine applica­

tion provided as a service to clients, or marginal improvements in the technique itself. There is, finally, an important class of first-order problems that require the discovery of an effective route from an

initial

state

to

an outcome state. An example is desalination research. Here research

168

RESEARC H

TASKS

AND

RESEARCH

ORGA N I Z ATION

and development work is being carried out, employing completely different processes based on physical, biological, and chemical principles. The organizational requirement will be similar to that for divergent research, namely a number of relatively independent competing units with a provision for sharing information obtained. Not all research projects can be looked at as problem-solving tasks of the kinds considered so far. In the development of a new field of study, or the development of a theory, none of the elements - initial state, route, or outcome state - may initially be given. Within the present analytical framework this would correspond to a third-order task that would always be innovative or alternative innovative. Research of this type, which cannot be pre-specified in detail, generally requires individual research workers with sufficient freedom to formulate their own research projects. The aim in this kind of research is to reduce the problem to an identifiable second- or first-order research task. Once this is achieved, the research task may become sufficiently specifiable to be taken over by appropriate research teams.

1 69

CHAPTER 1 2

The Structure of Science and Developmental Trends1

---

·---

Developments in any one scientific field generally have consequences for other fields as well. In this chapter an attempt is made to show how a mapping-out of the structural relationship between different sciences makes it possible to discern possible developmental trends in the structure of science as a whole. This approach also has policy implications in the way of identifying possible support requirements of different applied fields. T H E S T R U C T U R E OF S C I E N C E IN T E R M S OF L I N K I N G DISCIPLINES

The extent to which scientific fields are linked to one another can be mapped out, to begin with, in terms of connecting disciplines. We shall take as basic subjects physics, chemistry, biology, psychology, sociology (including anthropology, political science, and international relations), and economics. The major linking disciplines at present are between physics and chemistry (physical chemistry), chemistry and biology (biochemistry), psychology and sociology (social psychology), and sociology and economics (socio-economics). Weaker linking disciplines exist, such as biophysics and psycho­ chemistry (effects of drugs on behaviour, and brain chemistry). There is no direct linking discipline at present between physics and any of the behavioural sciences. If these relationships are mapped out, it will be seen (Figure 12-1) that there exists an ordinal distance scale going from physics on the one hand to economics on the other. Strong linking disciplines 1 Written as a working paper for a study group on science policy of the Scandinavian Summer University, 1 966.

170

THE STRUCTURE OF SCIENCE AND D EVELOPMENTAL TRENDS

exist between adjacent fields ; weaker links exist between fields that are two positions apart ; and no linking disciplines exist between fields separated by a greater distance. The appearance of two distinct clusters - with physics, chemistry, biology on the one hand, and psychology, sociology, economics on the other - seems to be due primarily to the weakly developed link between biology and psychology. Mathematics is, surprisingly, linked most strongly to the two most distant fields, physics and economics, so that the total structure takes on a cyclic form. We can use the existing structure to make some predictions about developmental trends, at least in the immediate future.

F I G U R E 1 2-1

T H E S T R U C T U R E OF S C I E N C E IN T E R M S O F

�� v � EXISTING LINKING DIS CIPLINES

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