Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:
http://hdl.handle.net/1942/11871
Title: | Diversity in the lean automobile factory: doing class through gender, disability and age | Authors: | ZANONI, Patrizia | Issue Date: | 2011 | Publisher: | SAGE PUBLICATIONS LTD | Source: | ORGANIZATION, 18(1). p. 105-127 | Abstract: | This study advances a critical re-conceptualization of 'diversity' through class. Drawing on the case of CarCo, the Belgian branch of a North American automobile company, I show how the discursive constructions of various socio-demographic identities reflect underlying class relations between labour and capital and are, in turn, implicated in their reproduction. Reflecting the instrumental conceptualization of labour as the source of economic value in the capitalist mode of production, female, older and disabled workers were discursively constructed as unable or unwilling to perform as expected within the factory lean production system. These negative identities in turn legitimized the elimination of 'different' workers in the company restructuring and the outsourcing of the phases of the production process that could be carried out by them, materially reproducing class relations. The analysis unveils the 'dark' business case against diversity at CarCo, a company which was renowned as a 'best' case for diversity in Belgium. I argue that the re-conceptualization of diversity through class offers a powerful analytical tool to better understand how unequal power relations are played out in contemporary organizations. | Notes: | [Zanoni, Patrizia] Hasselt Univ, SEIN Ident Divers & Inequal Res, Fac Business Econ, B-3590 Diepenbeek, Belgium. [Zanoni, Patrizia] Katholieke Univ Leuven, Res Ctr Org Studies, Fac Business & Econ, Louvain, Belgium. patrizia.zanoni@uhasselt.be | Keywords: | automobile industry; class; diversity; identities; power;automobile industry; class; diversity; identities; power | Document URI: | http://hdl.handle.net/1942/11871 | ISSN: | 1350-5084 | e-ISSN: | 1461-7323 | DOI: | 10.1177/1350508410378216 | ISI #: | 000287233000006 | Rights: | © The Author(s) 2011 | Category: | A1 | Type: | Journal Contribution | Validations: | ecoom 2012 |
Appears in Collections: | Research publications |
Files in This Item:
File | Description | Size | Format | |
---|---|---|---|---|
zanoni2010.pdf Restricted Access | Published version | 377.64 kB | Adobe PDF | View/Open Request a copy |
SCOPUSTM
Citations
53
checked on Sep 3, 2020
WEB OF SCIENCETM
Citations
76
checked on Apr 30, 2024
Page view(s)
64
checked on Sep 7, 2022
Download(s)
44
checked on Sep 7, 2022
Google ScholarTM
Check
Altmetric
Items in DSpace are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.