The Emergence of a Computer Integrated Manufacturing Facility: A Case Study

Abstract

This paper outlines the results of a case study of a large manufacturing firm that is transforming its technoorganizational culture toward a form of computer integrated enterprise. It focuses on the developmental experience of its "factory of the future" in the context of corporate-wide re-structuring. The case study method uses a fonn of critical discourse analysis of written and spoken texts which mark the unfolding internal changes within this firm. To organize the case study meaningfully, four overarching research questions were designed to address the findings and summarize the implications of such a development on issues related to Taylorism, computing technology, anthropocentric design, and workplace democracy. The case study reveals that the corporate transformation is laden with labor conflicts and institutional contradictions as it strives to achieve greater operating efficiencies via computing technologies, organizational innovations, and cultural renewal.