Such developments have led to recognition that employment systems are
increasingly centered on the organization rather than on an industry or occu-
pational basis (Katz and Darbishire 2000 ). Blyton and Turnbull ( 2004 : 81 )
suggest that this represents an attempt by management to insulate the organ-
ization from the external labor market but not the product market; workers are
encouraged to identify with their employer and its struggle with competitor
Wrms. It has been further suggested that this indicates a move ‘from control to
commitment’ (Legge 1995 ) with managers seeking to establish mutual obligation
with their employees rather than authoritarian direct control. And the rise of
human resource management in manufacturingWrms has been closely associated
with these attempts to engender greater employee commitment, particularly in
association with so-called ‘high-performance’ work systems, such as teamwork-
ing, and lean production practices (Appelbaum et al. 2000 ; MacDuYe 1995 a).
However, the empirical evidence on the extent to which such practices have
been successfully adopted is mixed and their likely impact on workers has been
the subject of considerable debate. It is suggested here that the disconnections
between spheres of economic activity and business organization that increasingly
characterize contemporary capitalism (Thompson 2003 ) result in tensions at the
workplace which undermine the prospects for local managers and employees to
secure and maintain the eVort and job security bargains that are key. This
conWrms the signiWcance of local conditions, workplace–corporate organization,
institutional context, and political economy in understanding the challenges
confronting human resource management in contemporary manufacturing
(Godard 2004 ).
TheWrst sections of this chapter outline the key elements of organization and
HRM associated with contemporary high-volume production, in particular the
key arguments and characteristics of lean manufacturing. Lean manufacturing and
the associated high-performance work system model has been inXuential in the
development of management practices throughout manufacturing sectors and
beyond. However, they are primarily premised on labor eYciencies and incremen-
tal improvement. The chapter reviews the evidence on the implementation and
outcomes of lean adoption. The second main section reviews alternatives to ‘lean.’
The requirement for innovation and higher value added noted above has meant
that a greater emphasis on creating and managing knowledge than that associated
with lean manufacturing has become central. One insightful, and increasingly
inXuential, way of conceiving of this challenge has been developed from the
concept of ‘communities of practice,’ i.e. groups of largely autonomous and self-
organizing experts. The notion of communities of practice is introduced and
the implications for organization and management are considered. In theWnal
sections we argue for the importance of situating the management of manufac-
turing workers in context.
hrm and contemporary manufacturing 407