eVort through a variety of HR practices which are deemed to support the employ-
ment relationship and encourage worker participation. This is consistent with the
conclusion of Strauss ( 1998 : 195 ) whose review of studies of organizational partici-
pation conWrms that such schemes are unlikely to prove successful without
‘appropriate human-resource policies.’ Thus, changes in the eVort bargain are to
be underpinned by commitments to just rewards (Lawler 1986 ), job security
(Kochan and Osterman 1994 ; Osterman 2000 ), and improved employment rela-
tionships through a combination of ‘high-commitment’ HR practices (Wood and
Albanese 1995 ).
In practice, lean production has polarized opinion. Proponents argue that new
arrangements of work and organization will lead to greater autonomy through an
‘empowered’, multi-skilled workforce (Wickens 1987 ). From this perspective, work-
ers are the ‘heart’ of the lean production model (Womack et al. 1990 ) and will
become involved in all aspects of the decision-making process as part of a partici-
pative and high-trust relationship (Walton 1985 ). Some proponents of this
‘human-centered model’ argue that organizational adaptability and learning are
best served by greatly lengthened work cycles and a return to craftlike work forms
that give teams ‘responsible autonomy’ in how they perform their tasks and
authority over what have traditionally been higher-level management decisions
(Adler and Cole 1993 ). Womack et al. ( 1990 ) argue that the potential for organiza-
tional success will be maximized in a system based on specialized work tasks
supplemented by modest job rotation and greater discipline through detailed
work procedures. Adler and Borys ( 1996 ) suggest that the systematization of
processes can prove ‘enabling’ for shopXoor employees if the bureaucracy is geared
toward supporting this employee involvement and creative input. These interpret-
ations of developments in manufacturing organization have generally positive
views of the implications for workers but the empirical evidence is mixed.
Critical assessments based on early examples of lean manufacturing ranged from
the sceptical to the openly disapproving (Parker and Slaughter 1988 ; Fucini and
Fucini 1990 ). Critiques have been founded upon both conceptual and empirical
grounds. For instance, labor process theory contends that new technologies and
management practices are introduced to enhance managerial control over the
workforce (Delbridge et al. 1992 ). This, it is argued, is particularly true in the
labor-intensive production of standardized products. In addition, case study
research has consistently failed toWnd evidence that workers perceive new manage-
ment practices to be beneWcial to their experience of work or oVer greater involve-
ment in decision-making (Delbridge 1998 ; Graham 1995 ; Rinehart et al. 1997 ). Even
those researchers reporting the beneWcial impact of lean work for employees have
recognized that these ‘successes’ rely on the promotion of worker identiWcation
with the enterprise, often at times when that organization faces closure (Adler 1993 ;
Barker 1993 ; MacDuYe 1995 b). The examples of NUMMI (Adler 1993 ) and ISE
(Barker 1993 , 1999 ) appear to rely heavily on a threat to the very survival of the
410 rick delbridge