Sunday, March 8, 2009

Labor Divisions from ICTs

The three categories of labor given in the article are routine production, in-person service, and symbolic analysts.  As Lisa said, the divisions between the categories are mainly based on the level of training and education involved in each, especially involving the use of ICTs.  Routine production jobs would in most cases require the least amount of education - usually just a short job training.  The level of training required for an in-person service job would depend more upon the specific situation.  Both serving food in a cafeteria and nursing would fit this category but nursing requires much more education and training.  Symbolic analysts, such as employee managers and doctors, usually require the most training and education.  Most of all, this last category is the most dependent upon the use of ICTs.

What makes these categories most different from blue-collar and white-collar jobs is that they are more dependent on the use of ICTs.  Even if they do not use them in their occupations, their jobs are usually directly affected or managed through the use of ICTs.  Even routine production workers, who need the least amount of training, usually use ICTs to make their jobs much easier; a good example would be a telemarketer or office receptionist.  These kinds of jobs use ICTs a lot, but companies can very easily train a new employee in the use of a telephone, email, spreadsheets, or other information technologies.  The demand for a skilled receptionist becomes much less with the simplifying of the occupation which then leads to lower salary for these kinds of jobs.  

A company's highest demand then becomes for a skilled and creative employee who can create effective systems for training employees in the routine jobs, utilizing ICTs most efficiently, and cutting down labor costs through the use of these ICTs.  This sort of management requires much more education than the routine or service jobs.  When a person does not have access to ICTs to gain these skills, or cannot get an education to prepare them for such a job, they must take much lower-paying jobs in the fields of routine production and service jobs.

1 comment:

  1. I do not believe that the a company's highest demand are for skilled and creative employees. It depends on what the company's goals are. Some companies might need in-person service workers more that symbolic analysts. If you where in charge of running a hospital, then it might be more important to have an in-person service worker. A creative hospital employee might be less important than a consistent one that does not make mistakes on patient information, or a friendly employee that has good people skills. Some companies don't need skilled and creative employees. It would not be profitable for fast food restaurants to hire expensive skilled workers.

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