Review

Author(s): Paul S. Adler

Review by: Paul S. Adler
Source: Contemporary Sociology, Vol. 21, No. 4 (Jul., 1992), pp. 515-516
Published by: American Sociological Association
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2075895
Accessed: 01-02-2016 12:43 UTC

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 REVIEWS 515
talentof one authorpredisposesmanyarchi- management ideas in theUnitedStatessince
tectsto taketheinputsof otherparticipants
in 1945. The book's originalitylies in this
the designprocessas constraints ratherthan ambition:othersdo a betterjob summarizing
contributions.On theotherhand,thehabitof the nuancesof management theory,but too
extremelyintensepeaks of work (also ac- few have framedtheiraccountwithbroader
quiredin school) seems a good preparation social theory.
forexcellentpractice,whichdemandsdevo- Waring's premise is that management
tion withoutcountingtime to projectsthat ideas should be understoodnot as science
matter. but as ideology.Starting fromthis,manage-
In school,architects
learnto be profession- ment writers' claims to objectivityare
als and to respectmainlythe judgmentof
assumedto be largelyirrelevant.The writers
otherarchitects.
Cuffrecommends thateduca-
are seen ratheras "mandarins"-servants of
tionrecognizethecollectivenatureof archi-
a rulingclass, servantswhose identification
tecturalworkand mirror thecomplexities of
practice. In practice,the developmentof with thatclass conditionstheirvalues and
architecturalcareersis veryslow and com- vision.
pletelydependenton the artifactscreated. The book's essentialthesiscan be easily
Otherachievements requiredby thearchitec- summarized. The introduction of Frederick
turalenterprise should also be attendedto. Taylor's "scientificmanagement" -under-
WhileCuff's wholebook arguesagainstthe stoodby Waringto consistessentially of the
individualisticideology extolled by Ayn centralization of power and the specializa-
Rand'sFountainhead, sheimpliesthatachiev- tionof tasks-crystallizeda set of problems
ingarchitecturalquality(ofthekindthatgives formanagement, in particularworkerresent-
the public joy) also depends in part on ment.Elton Mayo attempted to reintegrate
ideology:excellentofficesmustneverforget workersinto the social fabricof the firm
theyare businessesand shouldlook to break withoutabandoningscientificmanagement.
eveneconomically, buttheirprincipalsshould The task was, assertsWaring,impossible.
never forgetthat making money is less Two clustersformedin subsequentmanage-
important thanmakingarchitecture. The best ment thought,"post-Taylorist bureaucrats"
partsof thisbook illustratehow thishappens and "post-Mayoistcorporatists."Neither
in theprocessof designingforconstruction. could transcend theinternal contradictionsof
This beautifully producedbook is clearly Taylorism,since theydid not come to grips
written.The firstthreechapters,thoughrich with the inevitabledivergenceof interests
in information, have the woodenexpository betweenmanagersand workersin capitalist
qualityof a treatise,in which the author firms.
speaks "as a social scientistamong archi- The post-Taylorist bureaucratssoughtto
tects,"as thejacketsays. I prefer,
byfar,the refinescientificmanagement so as to over-
last three, in which she speaks "as an come the technicallimitationsof its early
architectamongsocial scientists"and adds a forms.Underthisheading,Waringreviews
solid studyto the literatureon workand on operationsresearch, managementscience,
thefastest-growing Americanprofession. systemstheory,and HerbertSimon's re-
search.Waringarguesthattheeleganceofthe
models generatedby this type of research
TaylorismTransformed: ScientificManage-
couldneverchangetheworkeralienationand
ment Theorysince 1945, by Stephen P.
powerlessnessendemicto the bureaucratic
Waring. Chapel Hill: Universityof North
model.
CarolinaPress, 1991. 288 pp. $34.95 cloth.
Waringcharacterizes the secondstrandof
ISBN: 0-8078-1972-7.
post-Mayoist management writing-therele-
PAUL S. ADLER vantchaptersdeal withDrucker,sensitivity
School of BusinessAdministration training,job enrichment, and most of the
University ofSouthernCalifornia "learningfromJapan"literature-as"corpo-
ratist,"becauseit attemptsto finda common
Waringis a historian,and in thisbookhe sets ground between workers and managers.
out to write an intellectualhistory of Waringtakesitas axiomaticthatthiscommon

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All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
516 REVIEWS
groundis largelyillusory,and thuscharacter- comfortable withandrespectful ofthewomen
izes thisstrandas utopian. she interviews,and she conveysthemeaning
The organizational sociologistand manage- of workin theirlivesquiteablyto thereader.
mentresearcherwill findWaring'saccount The extensiveuse ofdirectquotesfromoffice
of managementtheoryto be sometimes workersand managers,combinedwithCos-
lackingin nuance.In particular, he seemsto tello's analysis,gives thereaderan opportu-
assume that all the important problemsof nityto understand theimportance of circum-
contemporary managementstem from the stanceand specificity in workingconditions
capitalistnatureof the firmand thatnone and labor disputes. Costello is especially
are due to the more genericdifficulties of skillfulat usingherrespondents' own words
large-scale,complexorganizations. Neverthe- to make the reader feel the tensionand
less, his "outsider's"view could be tonic excitementof the experienceof risk and
for a field thathas tendedto isolate itself change. This techniquegives voice to the
fromrelateddisciplinesand thus fromthe women and helps the reader identifythe
more criticalperspectivesthat have flour- issues.
ishedin sociologyand history. One of the largestemployersof women
Social theoristsunfamiliarwith manage- officeworkersis theinsuranceindustry. She
mentwriting will benefitfroma well-writtensetsout to examinehow specificexperiences
overviewthathas enoughdetailto give the at fourworkplacesaffectconsciousnessand
flavorof thekeyissuesanddebates.Butthey labor activism.How workersaddressthese
will be frustrated by thesomewhatsimplistic conditionsis the substanceof the book.
theoretical scaffolding. The notionof corpo- More specifically,Costello directsher re-
ratismis too loosely definedhere, and it searchto understanding how workersreact
assumeswhatitseeksto demonstrate, namely to different managerialstyles and develop
thatthecommongroundbetweenworkers and variousdegreesof class consciousness,and
managersis so smallthatthesearchforforms to examiningthe interplaybetween work
ofmanagement thatsituatethemselves on this and familyroles. The differences foundin
territory is illusory. each of theseareas affectthe likelihoodof
successfullabor organizing,the decisionto
strike,and women's perceptionof them-
We'reWorth It! Womenand CollectiveAction selves as workers.The details with which
in theInsuranceWorkplace,by CynthiaB. she describes each of the four work
Costello.Urbana:University ofIllinoisPress, environments clarifiesCostello's main the-
1991. 154 pp. $23.50 cloth. ISBN: 0-252- sis, thatlaboractivismamongwomenoffice
01803-6. workersvaries accordingto the working
conditions,relationship to management, op-
ROBERTA GOLDBERG portunitiesfor interaction,and degree of
TrinityCollege participationin decisionmaking.
The fourworkplacesexaminedrangefrom
In We'reWorth It! CynthiaCostelloprovides one wherea striketookplace in an authoritar-
a freshview of womenofficeworkersand ian companyto anotherwhere enlightened
labor organizingby examiningsignificantlymanagement enabledworkers in
to participate
different workplaceswithinthe insurance somedecisionmaking.Most interesting were
industry. This book is an important contribu- two quitedifferent withina single
situations
tion to the currentresearch on women company,one where women unionizedin
workers. What makes We're Worth It! theiroffices,theotherinvolvinghome-based
especiallyusefulis thecomparison of several workers.The latter case provides useful
workenvironments in whichuniqueexperi- insightintothe lives of womenas marginal
ences lead to very different outcomesfor workerstrying to earna livingand maintain
labor activism.The detaileddescriptions of respectas membersof theworkforcewhile
the work settings,managerialstyles, and also meetingfamilyneeds.
experiencesof officeworkersat each work Costello'sconcludingchapteranalyzesthe
site are insightful and make for interestingsignificanceof the different work settings
reading. It is clear that Costello is very forlabor organizing.She addressesthe role

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