'Hanging Tongues\r'

'In the denomination â€Å"Hanging Tongues: A Sociological attend with the Assembly channel” Thompson (1983) there atomic number 18 many connections between the Physical anatomical structure of the bang affect go badings and the accessible structure of those hunting in spite of appearance it. The layout, human body and decor of the beef bring twain directly and metaphorically impact on the favorable structure within the plant life, pertaining to (among separate examples) a sense of isolation, hierarchies, formalisation and standardisation.\r\nThe fleshly layout of the beef processing plant appears to be similar to many close other concourse line factories, the ‘ gobble up understructure’ as Thompson refers to it, being a large inconsiderate billet with cash in stars chips spots find nigh the ara. Thompson describes an â€Å"Overhead stainless brace rail… curved its way around all(prenominal) work space in the plant. â₠¬Â We examine that although sensiblely all the different work stations on the ‘ extinguish floor’ atomic number 18 connected, the connection is mechanical, disclose of the layout of the mill. Despite the open plan space in the mill there is practically isolation among the workers, even though they atomic number 18 all working(a) on the resembling production line.\r\nAlthough most workers bonk distributively other on sight, it is unlikely that they would know more(prenominal) than than first names payable to the record of the work they are doing. distributively worker on Thompson’s ‘offal’ station was expected to handle 187 tongues per hour, plus cleanup of racks and trays. This is quite a high work rate and there is little duration for small-talk with co-workers. This rate required from workers creates a component part between the workers who gain little age to stop, besides inventionated breaks and wariness who seemingly à ¢â‚¬Ëœ amaze behind their desks all solar day’.\r\n too concerned with the layout of the factory was the separation of the ‘ butcher floor’ with the executive offices. This layout in the factory underlines the hierarchy of the affable structure within the plant. At the bottom of the ladder we work the workers. They work on the ‘ push down floor’ which is the dirtiest, most serious and most unconditional job. The Management and executives of the company are at the top of the hierarchy, they are separated somatogenicly from the ‘kill floor’ as they cannot be seen to stand dirty themselves. This would make them subordinates to their ‘equals’ in the business world.\r\nLittle is noted of the heed in â€Å"Hanging Tongues” except that they â€Å"seldom ventured” to the ’kill floor’ where Thompson’s explore took place. Their offices are separate, keeping them isolated from the dirty, dange rous work on the factory floor. The other physical separation in the beef plant was between the inspectors and the workers. there is comprehensible animosity between the two groups. As they lead the inspectors are on a lower wage than the workers. This is presumably because the nature of the inspector’s job is a lot less dangerous, and less physically demanding than that of the ‘beefers’.\r\nThe only inter carry out between inspectors and workers is of a prejudicious nature, as the inspector exit be telling the worker that the work is not of a high comme il faut standard, this slows the progress of the workers and causes resentment towards the inspectors. Due to this negative interaction, inspectors are kept separate from workers alimentation â€Å"in a separate lunchroom” fit to Thompson. The design and decor of the beef processing plant also contribute to the brotherly structure of the workers. Almost everything on the ‘kill floor’ i s made of stainless steel, the benches, knives, tubs etcetera\r\nThis sterile equipment makes a sterile working environment, which makes the workers feel that their workplace is even more impersonal. Some other aspects of decor and design also lead the workers to this isolated mindset. sloshed cement floors and Ceramic tile walls are cold and impersonal. Everything is cleaned down at every break and reposition change, as if the workers had never been there. There is no sense of personal identity for the workers, instead we see in action the â€Å"metaphor of the organisation as a machine” Morgan (1998).\r\nWhereby the workers are not considered as individuals, but as functioning move of a machine, objects that do their part in order to create a perfect product (in this case a butchered cow). other example of the decor observed by Thompson was that of the safety posters plastered over the walls, reminding workers that they should be wearing safety equipment, and working guardedly at all times. This decor around the workspace (where we can imagine that management have pictures of their families instead) creates another division between â€Å"us” (the workers) and â€Å"them” (management).\r\nThe posters also serve to remind the workers that their jobs are undeniably dangerous, workers being forced to incline the fact that every day they are working they are in physical danger from the jobs they do. One last notification about the decor in the factory is the lack of clocks. Management try to tick certain aspects of the workers day, this is one way in which they do it. By not permit workers know that their break / end of shift is going to arrive management are trying to avoid the inevitable ‘ shirk off’ before the end of a shift, or ducking out early.\r\nThis project is one thing that workers have well-tried to regain, as the person at the start of the production line starts â€Å"clanging his wound against the met al” when the break in the line appears. The knife banging gets passed from station to station and Thompson said he knew that â€Å"it was exactly 35 minutes until the end of the line would win me”. Even though it is really precisely a symbolic way of gaining some control back, it is an important form of intercourse between the normally isolated workers.\r\nFormalisation, pertaining to rules and procedures employ at the beef processing plant are an important dimension of organisational social structure. Hatch (2006), states that â€Å"formalization tends to reduce the sum of discretion employees have in acting their work tasks”. The physical structures that the beef plant has that connect with this statement are numerous. The posters about wearing safety equipment are one example; the sterile, dangerous equipment they use is another. Formalisation, check to Hatch, also helps to determine pay levels.\r\nIn Thompson’s â€Å"Hanging Tongues” we s ee a specific example of this in the savoir-faire note stating that the ‘shackler’ is paid 10cents per hour more than the workers because of the more dangerous nature of his job, dealing with flying hooves, and hooks and chains. Standardisation is a dimension of organisational social structure that is intact in Thompson’s â€Å"Hanging Tongues”. a lot mention is made of the monotony of the work. The workers do the same job, in the same way, day after day. Their surroundings and equipment are ever so the same. It is this ombination of standardised work and surroundings that connects the social and physical structures in this beef plant. The work may be efficient, but the monotony and the dangerous aspects of the job are critical factors in the high turnover of stave in assembly line jobs. There are many connections between the physical and social structures of the beef processing plant that Thompson has studied. Hierarchies and divisions of labour are common radiation pattern in social structure, as in many organisations they are the easiest way to get work done effectively.\r\nThe same is real of physical structures based upon keeping management away from the dirty work, or ‘kill floor’. What is important is that we can see how these structures impact upon each other reservation the business what it is. References Hatch, M. J. (with Cunliffe, A) (2006). Organisation Theory: modern, symbolic, postmodernist perspectives. (2nd Ed. ). Oxford: Oxford University Press. Morgan, G. (1998). Images of organisation: The executive edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage pp 3-13. Thompson, W. E. (1983). Hanging Tongues: A sociological encounter with the assembly line. Qualitative Sociology 6 (3), 215-237.\r\n'