Divisions of Labor

The three new categories are routine production workers (data processors, payroll clerks, and factory workers), in-person service workers (janitors, hospital attendants, and taxi drivers), and symbolic analysts (software engineers, management consultants, and strategic planners). These categories are different than the old blue and white collar workers because these new categories are based on computer and internet usage where the blue and white collar categories were based on if you worked in the office or did more hands on activities. The first two groups in our new categories only use computers in routine ways to do easy tasks, but the last group can use the ICTs in more advanced ways, such as the analyzing data, because of the specific training and education they are recieved. This plays into our discussion because companies are willing to pay much more for those people in the last group because of their education and it puts the people in the other two categories at a disadvantage because of their lack of training with computers.