7 34,. [7!“ NOV-1 E 1339 “EC?!“ .f’xJ / ABSTRACT CLERICAL WORK - AN ANALYSIS OF STRUCTURAL CONDITIONS AND AFFIRMATIVE ACTION PROGRAMS IN STATE, MONOPOLY AND COMPETITIVE SECTORS By Deborah A. Hebert According to the dual economy and radical theories of economic discrimination, inequalities in the labor market are linked to the economic sector within which minorities and women are employed. Labor in the primary or monopoly sector is characterized by high wage rates, unionization and high skill levels. Labor in the competitive or sec- ondary sector is characterized by low wage rates, non-unionization and low skill levels. State labor falls somewhere in between, tend- ing more towards the monopoly sector. The purpose of this study is to look at clerical work in light of the dual economy and radical analyses. I have studied four sep- arate cases of clerical employment (not necessarily representative) from each sector and found that clerical work at each place is not accounted for by radical and dual economy theories. If future re- search confirms this initial finding, reassessment of the dual econ- omy and radical approach to understanding sexual inequality in the marketplace will be necessary. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I believe that value is created by the collective input of many people. This is my opportunity to thank those who collectively con- tributed to this thesis. Dr. Mary Corcoran initially suggested that I write about struc- tural conditions of clerical work. By doing this, she introduced me to an important field of research. My friends Del, Judy, Kay, Mary and Regi, often without knowing it, provided enough emotional sustenance to carry me through those especially dreary early stages. 0n occassional days when self-confidence left me, a long-time friend, Paul, usually managed to convince me that I was capable. Dr. Barrie Thorne deserves a very special thanks. She has con- siderably eased an otherwise trying process, for me as well as many others. Without both her support and expertise, this thesis would still be in its rough draft form. Finally, to my parents, Jack and Kay Hebert, two very important people who have contributed in more ways than can be enumerated. Through the years, their quiet but unwavering support has proved a continuous source Of inspiration, not only for myself, but for an entire family. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ......................... CHAPTER I II III IV THEORIES OF ECONOMIC DISCRIMINATION .......... Trends of Female Employment .............. Orthodox Theories of Economic Discrimination ..... The Dual Economy Approach to Economic Inequality A Radical Analysis of Economic Discrimination ..... ORGANIZATIONAL STUDIES ................ The Importance of Integrating Macro and Micro Levels of Analysis ..................... The Public and/or Private Nature of Work Organizations and Its Effects on Economic Discrimination . . . . . Organization Size and White Collar Work ........ Authority Hierarchies and Organization Size ...... The Role of Technology in Organization ........ Communication Systems and Hierarchies ......... Physical Segregation ................. Presence or Absence of Unionization .......... METHOD OF ANALYSIS .................. Some General Comments About the Case Study Approach . . Case Selection .................... Data Sources ..................... Problems of Methods In This Study ........... FOUR CASE STUDIES ................... General Motors .................... Oldsmobile: .................... Fisher ...................... Michigan State University ............... First National Bank of East Lansing .......... Jacobson's ............... - ....... ANALYSIS OF DATA ................... iii Page 72 72 73 78 . 82 87 93 CHAPTER Page VI EFFORTS AT CHANGE ................... 112 A review of Affirmative Action Requirements . ... . . . 112 General Motors .................... ll5 Michigan State University ............... llB First National Bank of East Lansing .......... lZO Jacobson's ...................... 122 Analysis ....................... l24 VII SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS ................ 128 BIBLIOGRAPHY ......................... l32 iv INTRODUCTION Over the past few years, much has been written about the econ- omic condition of women in the United States. Groundbreaking works in this area include Oppenheimer's Female Labor Force in the United States, Kreps' Sex in the Marketplace, and Mitchell's Woman's Estate. Unfortunately, there is still a dearth of information about specific aspects of the more general economic roles ascribed to women in this society. The purpose of this thesis is to explore the condition of one large segment of U.S. employed women--clerical workers--in rela- tionship to some broader theories of economic discrimination. More specifically, I will look at four different samples of clerical work, with each case belonging to a different economic sec- tor (i.e., monopoly, competitive or state). The analysis of each case will be for comparative purposes and will involve a considera- tion of structural factors, including hierarchical work arrangements, division of labor, wage structure and presence or absence of unions. Following a discussion of differences and similarities among the four cases, I will analyze clerical work in light of two fairly well- established theories of economic discrimination--radical and dual economy theories. Originally, I expected that clear and identifiable differences would become apparant among clerical groups and that these differences I would be based on the sector within which each work organization be- longed. Radical and dual economy theorists suggest that different types of labor markets correspond with the varied types of business sectors. For example, labor within the monopoly or core sectors is different from labor within the competitive sector, a difference based to a large extent upon unionization and wage levels. To my surprise, I discovered that the specific characteristics of clerical work are not accounted for by radical and dual models of the labor markets. This exploratory study suggests that clerical work is similar every- where, regardless of sector. This conclusion, as well as a discus- sion of its meaning for radical and dual economy perspectives will comprise the first five chapters of this thesis. Chapter one is a review of the literature on theories of economic discrimination. Chapter two involves a look at some of the research on organizatinal structures and their effects on human behavior. The remaining three chapters comprise a description and analysis of the four cases con- sidered here. The final chapter of this thesis will focus on current efforts to change the work patterns of men and women, especially clerical workers. Special emphasis will be placed upon the extent to which these efforts are addressing structural conditions of clerical work, as outlined in the first chapters. Current efforts at instituting change in the marketplace pri- marily revolve around affirmative action programs. The only addi- tional source of change are unions, which are sometimes responsible for changing work patterns in addition to wage levels. Because of the ob- vious linkages between structural conditions of clerical work and 3 efforts to change work patterns between men and women I decided to look at specific affirmative action programs at each of the four case studies. Upon identifying the primary goals and objectives of each, it was discovered that very little effort is being made to include clerical workers in affirmative action programs at any of these four cases, and that no consideration has been given the possibility of changing clerical job structure as a means of changing imbalances be- tween jobs and gender. In the last two chapters of this thesis, ques- tions are raised as to the effectiveness of this strategy. Clerical work is, in every sense of the word, a complex Subject of study. It is also important, as indicated by the fact that cler- ical work is the largest single category of work in the United States. As a primary source of employment for women, it provides a crucial link in combining theories of sexual inequality with theories of the economy, particularly theories of economic discrimination. Most of the attempts to combine these analyses have failed to accurately ex- plain the reality. It is hoped that this small, exploratory under- taking will contribute to an eventual understanding of occupational segregation as manifested in clerical work. CHAPTER I THEORIES OF ECONOMIC DISCRIMINATION Trends in Female Employment For those interested in studying the overall position of women in the United States labor force, a few basic assumptions appear to be consistently held across disciplines in spite of the varying theor- ies as to why_the situation exists. Three primary trends have been cited with little if any opposition. First of all, women are now a larger and more permanant group in the labor force than they were in the past. The rate of labor force participation for women has steadily increased throughout the twentieth century (Oppenheimer, 1970; Kreps, 1970; Bergmann, 1973; Lyle and Ross, 1973; Keyserling, 1976). For example, in 1910, women comprised 20% of the total civilian labor force;1 in 1950 that figure rose to 28% and in 1960, 33% of the total civilian labor force was female.2 At the present time, this rate is a significant 48.6%.3 Not only has the percentage of the labor force which is female been on the rise as indicated by the above figures, but so too has the percentage of all women who are employed. In 1940 29% of women be- tween the ages of 16 and 65 were employed in the civilian labor force. By 1970, looking only at those women 18 and over, we find employed 4 more than half (55%) of the potential female labor force. Import- antly in the last two decades, the largest influx of women into the 4 5 workforce has been those who are married, particularly older women who enter the labor force after raising a family and who often have a remaining worklife expectancy of about twenty years. Juanita Kreps points to the fact that in 1940 the highest percentage of working women in the United States consisted of younger women in their teens and early twenties. Today, women in their forties are returning back to work in such significant numbers that they now make up an equally sizable group of female workers. In 1940, married women with hus- bands present accounted for 30% of the female labor force. In 1970 that number doubled to 60% so that now married women comprise the maj- ority of women workers.5 As Kreps has pointed out, "the worklife 'expectancy of women aged 20 who do not marry is about 45 years; for ' wives who have no children, it is 35 years."6 However, even in the case of wives with children, the worklife expectancy ranges from twenty-five to seventeen years depending on the number of children born to that woman.7 In short, women are becoming an increasingly significant propor- tion of the U.S. labor force. More women are entering the labor force than ever before, they are comprising a larger percentage of the total force, and they are remaining in the work force for longer and longer periods of time. At the same time, women today earn significantly less than men do. Although this claim may not be surprising, what is surprising is the consistent decline over the years in the wages earned by women as compared to men. In 1956, women's median salary and wage income for year round, full-time workers was 63% of men's.8 9 In 1968 the figure had declined to 58% and in 1975, the median salary and wage income 6 fbr women was still a disturbing 58% of that earned by men--$7,719 compared with $13,144.10 Thus, in spite of the interest many have taken in the position of women in the labor force (particularly as a result of the woman's movement), the economic situation for women is steadily declining in comparison to that of men. A third and final point of emphasis in recent theories concern- ing the economic position of women in the U.S. labor fbrce involves the tendency toward occupational segregation by sex; men and women tend to work at different jobs. Barbara Bergmann estimated that in 1960, 73.3% of all female workers in the civilian labor force were in sex- typed jobs (where at least 70% of employees were women). In 1970 this 1] Even more alarming is figure decreased but only slightly, to 72.6%. the observation by Jerolyn Lyle and Janet Ross that in 1960, nearly one third of employed women were in just seven occupations: secretaries, sales-women in retail trade, general private household workers, teachers in elementary schools, book- keepers, waitresses and nurses. By 1970, even more than one third of working women were concentrated in these seven occupa- tions.12 Work described as woman's work tends to be of a certain nature. It is low in pay, lacking in authority and most often involves some function which is an extension of the mother-wife role. In what is perhaps the most important work on this t0pic, The Female Labor Force in the United States by Valerie Oppenheimer, one further characteris- tic of woman's work is developed. Oppenheimer suggests that jobs which are female sex-typed require the attainment of skills outside and before entering the workplace (e.g., typing and shorthand). Un- like jobs which men tend to occupy. there is little on-the-job train- ing for women, training which, for men, inevitably leads to promotional advances up the career ladder. One of the primary occupations dominated by women is clerical work. In 1950, 26% of the female working population was clerical workers. Ten years later, this number increased to 29.1%. In 1970, 34.8% of all females employed worked in clerical jobs.13 Not only is such a large percentage of working women concentrated into one occu- pation (where in 1973 the median income was $6,500), but the occupa- tion itself is predominately comprised of women workers. And even more importantly, in one attempt to analyze the categories of working class jobs, Martin Oppenheimer points to the fact that clerical work- ers comprise the single largest group in the labor force. Seventeen percent of all jobs are clerical as compared to 16.3% fOr blue collar operatives (the largest category in blue collar jobs) and 13.5% for 14 Therefore, if conditions of clerical work are not service workers. accounted for by any one of the various theories explaining economic discrimination, it is clear from these figures that such failure would have important consequences for that theory as a whole. Cler- ical work represents too large a percentage of employment in general, and female employment in particular, to be neglected. In summary, three basic trends are characteristic of the situa- tion of working women in the U.S.: (1) women are increasingly pre- sent in the paid labor force, especially married women, (2) on the average, women earn considerably less than men and (3) women tend to be concentrated in few job categories, so that women and men are fOr the most part doing different work. Clerical employment is one example of this process of occupational sex-typing. 8 Orthodox Theories of Economic Discrimination In the face of all of this data, the need to understand why these situations exist becomes of paramount importance. What are the causal factors behind the obvious wage and occupational differences that occur between men and women? The question is indeed a complex one, and there have been many and varied attempts to answer it. In this section, a survey will be made of three major analyses; a dis- cussion of both the merits and drawbacks of each will also be included. Perhaps the most developed and most prolific body of literature which attempts to explain economic inequality (as defined by the three trends cited earlier) belongs under the broad heading of marginal productivity theory. In a very general sense, this theory argues that income differences between individuals vary according to the capabil- ities of each, capabilities which are at least in part tied to the in- dividual's investment in human capital. Marginal productivity theorists (Becker, Arrow and Thurow) recognize, however, that only under purely competitive conditions will this relationship (wages paid according to worker productivity) be real. In fact, other factors Operate to interfere with this hypothetical relationship, and the man- ner in which various authors interpret and resolve these interferences constitutes some important differences in theory as well as in proposed programs for change. A primary factor responsible for the malfunction of a purely competitive market is economic discrimination. Gary Becker was perhaps the first to define economic discrimina- tion from an economic perspective. Simply put, Becker argues that if an employer has a "taste" for discrimination, s/he must be willing to pay a monetary fine in the form of paying artificially higher wages 9 for those who are hired.15 Artificially high wages are produced by the arbitrary reduction of the labor supply that occurs as a result of refusing to hire certain groups of individuals on the basis of purely demographic reasons. Although Becker's analysis was developed for the purpose of explaining racial discrimination, in order for it to be a valid model, it should also be applicable to the situation of women in the marketplace. Thus, it is interesting to note Becker's belief that employer discrimination runs contrary to a free market system (it is not in the economic self-interest of employers) and for that reason should decline over time. In fact, statistics show that this is not the case and in some instances, wage and occupational dif- ferences between men and women and between blacks and whites have even worsened in the last two decades. One particular problem with Becker's analysis is that it assumes perfect knowledge on the part of the employer about the relationship between supply and wages in aggregate terms--if not while discrimin-' atory practices occur then at least if these practices are to cease. In other words, because Becker connects the cause of economic discrim- ination to the demand side of the labor supply and demand relationship, difficulties may occur in proposing strategies for change. In fact, Becker does propose a particular stragegy for change but before looking more closely at it, it will be useful to outline the arguments of a second marginal productivity theorist, Lester Thurow, who proposes the same strategy. Whereas Becker looks at economic dis- crimination in a competitive sense (black and white workers are in competition with each other), Thurow looks at racial discrimination 16 from what is called a monopoly perspective. Thurow defines white 10 workers as a monopolistic force in relation to black workers since white workers monopolize the better jobs and since white workers bene- fit as a group from the effects of racial discrimination. Because such a large group does in fact benefit from the process of discrim- ination, Thurow does not believe that it will decline over time. He argues that since white employees are dissatisfied with not only working with black employees but particularly gng§r_black workers, any attempt to fbrce racial integration will result in workplace ten- sion and instability. Thus, employers have no apparant incentive to hire minorities (or women) even if they do not have any personal pre- ference for who is hired. As distinguished from Becker who focuses on employg§_discrimin- ation, Thurow's focus is on white employgg_discrimination against other (in this case, minority) employees. However, Thurow, like Becker, ends up in a similar dilemma because it is unclear what courses of action are then available to implement change. Interestingly enough, both Becker and Thurow develop similar strategies insofar as they both concentrate on the utility of increasing individual human capital as at least a partial solution.17 Human capital is the acquired charac- teristics of employees such as education, specific skills, job exper- ience, etc. The theory of developing human capital as a strategy for eliminating the practice of economic discrimination involves the notion that if one increases one's marketable skills, improved job opportunities will inevitably fOllow. Implicit in this assumption of course, is the positive relationship between wage income and produc- tivity inherent in marginal productivity theory; workers are paid according to how much they contribute to marginal increases in output. 11 And since productivity is determined by three factors (human capital, ,physical capital and efficiency of the sector in which one is employed), improving one's resources in any one of these areas should logically lead to an increase in one's income. Both Becker and Thurow support the objective of increasing dis- advantaged workers' human capital; however, they disagree on the manner in which this should occur. Thurow looks to the government as the mechanism whereby human capital programs can be implemented and en- forced. Important to Thurow's objective of eliminating economic discrimination in the private sector are laws, regulations, and gov- ernment programs which have as their purpose improved job opportunities for minorities. On the other hand, Becker does not view the govern- ment so much as an enforcer of programs as a provider of opportunity. In other words, Becker does not emphasize the role of the state in improving human capital for disadvantaged workers. Instead, Becker emphasizes the role of time--he believes that the competitive nature of the system will eventually and necessarily lead to the elimination of discrimination by employers who will realize its harmful effects on profits. The economic system is viewed as a free enterprise system and there is little constructive intervention the government should initiate in order to effect change. There are some problems with the analyses of Becker and Thurow. Those which involve the basic assumptions made by both will be pre- sented in a later section. However, taking their assumptions of mar- ginal productivity as given, there is still one major dilemma. First, both Becker and Thurow begin by assuming that workers' incomes are determined within the free marketplace on the basis of their 12 productivity. Each goes on to recognize that, in fact, this relation- ship does not always accurately describe reality due to the inter- ference of economic discrimination. At this point, the two theorists part ways, with Becker empha- sizing the role of the individual employer's taste for discrimination and Thurow emphasizing the role of the white co-workers' prejudices against working with and particularly under black workers. Although Becker and Thurow are in fact raising two separate but important issues in attempting to explain discrimination--the role of racist (as well as sexist) employers and the role of racist (as well as sexist) co- workers--there is a theoretical gap between their basic perspectives on roots of discrimination and their correspondflng strategies for re- ducing and/or eliminating economic discrimination. In short, if the focus is on employers and co-workers as roots of discrimination, where is the link connecting this to a focus on improving the human capital of blacks (and women) as a strategy for change? The cause is located in the demand side of the labor supply and demand relationship, while the remedy is suggested for the supply side. Perhaps human capital programs can be an effective strategy but neither Becker nor Thurow addresses this theoretical inconsistency. Furthermore, if one looks at the position of women in the market- place, doubt as to the usefulness of this strategy is strengthened. It is not always true that work related skills of women are less de- veloped than those of white males. First, women are much more likely to be trained before entering into the job market (Bergmann, 1973 and Oppenheimer, 1970) whereas men are more likely to be trained on the job. Secondly, various studies (e.g., Sawhill, 1973) have controlled T3 for differences in education, skill level, job experience and employ- ment stability between women and men. Virtually all of the findings suggest that significant gaps between male and female wages still exist--unexplainable gaps which range anywhere between 8% and 18%, de- pending on the methodology used. The human capital strategy for change ignores the possibility that other factors may be responsible for economic inequality.‘ For example, the recent Supreme Court ruling concerning the constitutionality of maternity leave has very important ramifications for the economic position of women that cannot be elim- inated through programs improving the educational level of women or their skill attainment. A second and closely interrelated point which must be addressed if one is to accept the human capital theory of change concerns what may be some dangerous implications. If one wholly accepts the neces- sity of human capital improvement as the primary tool for changing patterns of economic discrimination, one comes dangerously close to presuming that most disadvantaged workers are in jobs they truly de- serve. This argument denies the reality of any form of discrimina- tion other than discrimination in initial opportunity, such as educa- tion or training. For example, the human capital argument ignores discrimination which results by giving low paying jobs to individuals who are equally qualified for high paying jobs. As Thurow himself points out, there are other kinds of discrimination than that involved in access to education; high unemployment among certain groups, un- equal pay for equal work and occupational discrimination are all forms of discrimination which have no clear-cut relationship to the advantages of developing human capital among disadvantaged workers. 14 In response to this over-emphasis on human capital improvement as a strategy for change, a third version of orthodox theory was de- veloped which theoretically and strategically fbcuses on the supply aspect of economic discrimination. One proponent of this theory is Barbara Bergmann who develops an occupational framework for looking ‘8 Rather at the position of blacks and women in the marketplace. than linking economic discrimination to employer tastes or to co- workers preferences, Bergmann looks to the phenomena of sex and race- typing by occupation as the primary cause of wage inequality. Blacks and women are channeled into certain jobs and those jobs tend to in— volve low wages and little status. Thus, the problem is not unequal pay for equal work, but unequal job opportunities for those with equal qualifications. In addition to this channelling of blacks and women into low wage jobs, the rangg_of jobs and occupations open to blacks and women is also limited. As a direct result of these two factors, then, jobs which are traditionally filled by blacks and women become overcrowded, eventual- ly leading to a further decline in wages. Bergmann cited the histor- ical case of clerical workers as a particularly good example of how this overcrowding theory works. As women became more and more active in the labor force--a trend which began around the turn of the cen- tury--they moved into particular occupations such as teaching at the lower levels, nursing, and clerical work. As the number of women moving into the labor force increased, so too did the labor supply for these particular occupations (rather than women expanding into other occupations). Thus, with the labor supply becoming artific- ially high, the wages in these occupations became artifically low. 15 In her presentation of some new data findings, Isabel Sawhill 19 Based on supports the overcrowding thesis developed by Bergmann. a sample of 32,997 individuals listed in the 1967 Current Population Survey, Sawhill reports that if one controls for a variety of employ- ment factors between men and women, a significantly large gap still remains between the wages paid to both. She found that schooling, age, race, city size and region had negligible impact on the earnings of women and men. Unionism, absenteeism and turnover rate had only minor impact. Women's more limited work experience was found to have the greatest impact on the earnings differential between men and women. However, the impact was not great enough to account for econ? omic inequality by itself, and in fact, the impact was found to be much smaller than is usually proclaimed by most theorists when trying to account for wage differentials. Mary Stevenson also found the phenomenon of job segregation to be of primary importance in accounting for wage inequality between men and women. She argues that job segregation is even more intense for women 20 In her analysis, Stevenson divides occupa- than it is for blacks. tions according to their skill requirements and finds that the crowding hypothesis appears to hold true; job segregation is positively rela- ted to low wages. Proponents of the crowding hypothesis have identified an impor- tant manifestation of economic discrimination. However, by itself, the crowding theory does not suffice as an explanatory theory for racial and sexual economic discrimination. Occupational segregation and over- crowding may explain wage differentials but it then becomes necessary to explain the cause of occupational segregation. Once again, we are 16 forced back to the issues grappled with by Becker and Thurow. Can occupational segregation be attributed to employer discrimination or to co—worker discrimination, or to both in some combination? In short, only if linked to a more comprehensive theory of explanation, can crowding theory be important in developing a useful analysis of economic discrimination. The Dual Economy Approach to Economic Inequality For many, orthodox theories of economic discrimination which are based on the acceptance of marginal productivity do not provide satisfactory analyses of the problem. Many of these dissatisfied theorists prefer to focus on the institutional or structural factors which, they argue, necessitate or at least encourage the division of labor along race and/or sex lines. One such framework is known as the dual labor market theory. Basically, proponents of this theory divide the American economy into two sectors: the core and the periphery. The core is comprised of primary firms and primary labor markets. Primary labor markets are characterized by factors such as high worker productivity, advanced technology, relatively high wages, fringe benefits for employees, a high degree of employment stability and a tendency toward unioniza- tion. Not surprisingly, primary firms are for the most part, large, multi-national, oligopolistic firms. Their markets are national and international in scope and their position within the economy allows them to pass on the costs of labor and production to their customers. On the other hand, the periphery sector is comprised of second- ary firms and secondary labor markets. Secondary labor markets are 17 characterized by a very different set of conditions: low worker pro- ductivity, simple technologies, low wages for employees as well as few fringe benefits, high labor turnover rates, unskilled work, and a tendency not to be unionized. Firms which are within the periphery sector tend to have little or no oligopolistic control, relatively small profit margins and are usually small in size. Bennet Harrison offers a very useful diagram to facilitate an understanding of the di- vision of the economy into core and periphery sectors.21 The Core The Periphery +Education Welfare Primary Secondary Training Labor Market Labor Market "The Hustle" +Job Placement As indicated by the diagram, included within the periphery are welfare recipients, individuals devoting energies toward training programs and individuals such as ghetto hustlers who depend upon illegal sources of income. 22 Robert Averitt also develops a theory of the dual economy. Like Harrison, Averitt identifies firms and labor markets according to spe- cific sets of criteria: economic size, organizational structure, in- dustrial location, time perspective, and market organizations. The individual periphery firm is economically weak because it is economically small. The center economy is defined by un- limited potential, and potential is directly related to econ- omic size. The most important longrun attributes of any firm are the availability of funds (internal and external) and the quality of its management. Given adequate funds and creative 18 management, center firms can diversify, decentralize, integrate vertically and horizontally (when antitrust will allow) and embrace new technologies. Inherent financial limitations and inappropriate managerial structures effectively prohibit per- iphery firms from utilizing these essentials of long-run sur- vival and prosperity.23 Averitt introduces three important characteristics of core and periphery sectors which are not outlined by Harrison. The first of these is time perspective; that is, center firms when faced with decisions concerning, for example, investment or technological expansion, can base their de- liberations on long term planning. They know their existance is assured for an almost indefinite period of time. In fact Averitt suggests only three crises which may conceivably result in the destruction of a cen- ter firm: (1) major anti-trust movements on the part of the federal government, (2) major shifts in foreign trade policies as a result of the spread of leftist ideology in other countries, and (3) major changes in the goals of organized labor, for example the establishment of work- ers councils. Secondly, Averitt introduces the concept of a hierarchy of indus- tries based on economic importance to the national economy. He ident- ifies certain key industries which produce key commodities. These in- dustries include mining, transportation, finance, manufacturing and construction. If a firm belongs to one of these key industries it will tend to belong to the center. Finally, Averitt looks more closely at the relationship between firm organization and pricing behavior and its mode of technical pro- duction. Technological production is divided into three general cat- egories: unit and small batch (usually linked with periphery firms), large batch and mass (linked with both center and periphery firms 19 although usually the former) and process production (linked with cen- ter firms producing physically "flowing" materials, such as oil). Although Averitt does not specifically address the problem of economic discrimination against women and minorities, he does give us some insight into his probable analysis when he addresses the issue of full employment. Averitt believes the problematic feature of this economic system to be its uncontrollable business cycles which fluc- tuate between periods of recession and inflation. The solution, therefore, involves developing some sort of planned economy. Averitt reasons that since center firms possess such an in depth understanding of the national economy, and since the interest of center firms are identical with the national interests of maintaining a healthy econ- omy (i.e, full employment), center firms should be allowed to follow their natural course of devemopment. This, in effect, would eventu» ally result in a planned and stable business market. The role of government should not be one of interference (the results of which are usually only negative) but rather should be one of "nudging" center firms toward acting in accordance with the "social good." A third and final version of the dual labor market theory which will be reviewed in this section involves the notion of internal labor markets as a second means of identifying differences in the structural make-up of various firms. Peter Doeringer and Michael Piore have de- veloped this theory most explicitly.24 Their argument is based on dividing labor markets into more than the primary and secondary markets suggested by Harrison and Averitt. They introduce another categoriza- tion which cuts across primary and secondary labor markets: internal and external labor markets. 20 Internal labor markets are comprised of highly trained employees with low turnover rates. External labor markets include less skilled and less economically stable groups. The difference between the inter- nal/external and core/secondary categories for labor‘is that internal/ external labor markets are not strictly related to the status of the firm as a whole. In other words, a firm which is considered a core firm because of its size, scope of market, etc., may hire workers from the internal labor market to perform certain work while at the same time employing workers from the external labor market to perform other work. Simply put, internal labor market theory argues that all em- ployees in one firm do not necessarily belong within the same labor market. Doeringer and Piore suggest that internal/external labor divisions were generated by three fundamental forces. First, as technological production became more complex, many job classifications became more skill specific. As a result, training costs for labor increased over time. In order to minimize costs, employers consciously moved to re- duce labor turnover for skilled jobs. This was most often accompTEjshed by increasing job attractiveness through raising wages--a savings in the long run. Secondly, Doeringer and Piore argue that as the occurrence of on-the-job training increased (training which is usually performed by supervisors or co-workers), job distinctions became blurred. Thus, employees who performed more than one skilled task became even more important to keep. Finally, a general desire to maximize efficiency as various cost factors increased due to inflation resulted in even further dependence on low worker turnover. All of these factors, then, contributed to the development of internal labor markets for 21 skilled work, where employee stability was realized by maintaining high wages and benefits. According to Doeringer and Piore, the external labor market an- swers the needs of three separate kinds of employment. First are totally unstructured jobs which do not involve any special skill level, e.g., casual construction work, domestic labor and dishwash- ing. A second type of employment filled by workers within the exter- nal labor market are jobs which are structured and which involve some degree of skill--but which are characterized by numerous entry-level positions, limited mobility clusters, low pay and often unpleasant work. Examples of this are sales clerks in a dimestore. The final type of work filled by those in external labor markets involve jobs in firms where most employees belong to the internal labor market, but where a small percentage of employees perform non-skilled labor (e.g., woodyard work in pulp and paper mills). Doeringer and Piore offer their model as a device for explaining economic discrimination. Internal labor markets are comprised primar- ily of white males while external labor markets are comprised of min- orities and women. In fact, the internal/external labor classifica- tion does not really explain why_divisions of workers occur along race and sex lines, any more than does the core/periphery classification. Both merely describe how inequalities manifest themselves. Doeringer and Piore do propose some strategies for changing economic inequalities. As with Averitt, they assert that full employ- ment and growth would provide jobs for many of those presently unem- ployed as well as for the movement of some external workers into inter- nal labor markets. A second solution fOr improving 22 employment opportunities for some secondary workers involves training and anti-discrimination programs such as those undertaken by the govern- ment. This solution is similar if not identical to that proposed by Becker and Thurow and the human capital theory. Finally, Doeringer and Piore propose a new plan of attack for eliminating the economic dilemma of external workers. They suggest that emphasis be placed on providing external workers with internal jobs. Two different strategies to accomplish this end are offered: secondary workers should be categorized according to productivity (Doeringer and Piore provide such a scheme) and as primary jobs open up, the best external workers should be allocated. However, since this method is limited by the (l) relatively few number of jobs which would open up to allow the influx of external workers into internal jobs and (2) resultant social tension which would probably occur as fears of displacement on the part of primary workers developed, a second strategy is offered which might prove to be more useful. Doeringer and Piore prefer emphasis to be placed on changing secondary jobs into primary jobs. The government could have a crucial impact on accomplishing this end by expanding the Taft-Hartley act to promote unionization among non-unionized sectors, for example, or by establish- ing higher minimum wage laws. The dual labor market theory is a useful line of analysis for radical economic theory. This is true particularly in terms of des- cribing wage and occupational inequalities that exist between certain groups of pe0ple. The key insight provided by the dual labor market theorists lies in the emphasis upon institutional and structural for- ces and the perceived impact of these forces on labor market 23 segmentation. The U.S. labor force is not viewed as a competitive process such as Becker and perhaps even Thurow might argue. Dual labor market theory attempts to explain various economic phenomena based on this reality. There are however, some major theoretical problems with the dual labor market theory as outlined above. First, as stated earlier, the dual labor market theory (whether internal/external or secondary/pri- mary) fails to explain how and why women and minorities fill the jobs they do. Secondly, and particularly with the analysis provided by Doeringer and Piore, jobs are too simply classified into external and internal categories. More than wages and benefits must be considered in classifying jobs. Factors such as kind of work performed, decision- making opportunities and amount of supervision over one's actions must also be included in the categorization of jobs. In addition, the economic role of the state as a force in and of itself has not been adequately recognized by dual labor market theorists. In the view of orthodox theorists, the state is perceived primarily as a political institution which interferes with the natural economic order as needed (or not needed, some would argue). Doeringer and Piore look to the state as the enforcer of certain economic pro- grams which have as their aim the improvement of work conditions for non-primary employees, programs which are by nature interventionist. Harrison suggests that by investing in government training programs for individuals within the periphery (particularly for welfare re- cipients and the unemployed), the supply of secondary workers will artificially increase, resulting in depressed wages for those em- ployees. And Averitt specifically states that intervention by the 24 state is not desirable. In short, the dual labor market theory does not include an analysis of the economic system with the state a pri- mary actor. A second difficulty with the dual labor market theory involves its implicit assumption that some jobs will and should remain per- iphery in nature. Given this assumption, it becomes necessary to define wh9_secondary employees should be. And as Doeringer and Piore so clearly pointed out, one of these groups includes "secondary earn- ers with family obligations"; it is no secret that such earners are usually women. As long as secondary jobs exist, it is not unlikely that women will be used to fill them, given the absence of large- scale ideological, cultural and economic change in this country. Finally, an entire set of arguments can and will be raised in answer to Averitt's strategic proposal that center firms be left to develop in their own natural manner. Averitt assumes that the inter- est of multi-national corporations are basically identifical with the interests of "society at large," those interests being the develop- ment of a healthy,full-employment economy. Averitt ignores two ser- ious conflicts which refute the notion of identical interests between large firms and society. First, the inherently contradictory nature of the labor-owner relationship is not addressed, not only in terms of the conflict between level of wages paid and the corporation's drive for profit, but also in terms of the nature of work conditions. This directly leads to the second problem: the drive for profit is not usually compatible with long range planning for the preservation of resources, or with the establishment of quality day care centers for employees with children, or with breaking down hierarcharical 25 workplace arrangements. In short, there is more at stake than a planned or stable economy which will eliminate business cycle ups and downs. A Radical Analysis ofEconomic Discrimination Radical economic theory is a third and final theory which attempts to explain wage and occupational inequalities in the marketplace-~a theory which also responds to most of the theoretical and empirical difficulties encountered by orthodox or dual labor market assumptions. A number of assumptions are unique to radical theory. Perhaps one of the most important distinctions between radical and non-radical theories involves the emphasis placed on an analysis of pgwgr_relation- ships which operate in all realms of social interaction. In other words, one cannot simply look to the marketplace for the cause and effect of wage and occupational inequalities, since the marketplace does not operate in a vacuum. By utilizing a wider perspective for looking at inequalities, assertions that it is not in the economic self-interest of employers to discriminate become highly questionable. As Morris Silver has pointed out in a critique of this argument, seg- regation in the marketplace extends to the political and social 25 Political and social segregation along both race and sex spheres. lines will decrease the effectiveness of colletive action in any and all spheres. Collective action (such as demands for workplace day care centers) on the part of those who are presently fragmented would necessarily have deleterious long range effects on employers. Thus, whether or not one accepts the notion that divisions between workers are instigated by employers or by institutional processes inherent to 26 a monoply capitalist system, it is difficult to deny that these di- visions benefit employers, and, therefore, that it is in the econom- ic self-interest of the employer to maintain them. Marilyn Power Goldberg argues this point particularly in regards to women.26 Exploitation against women as a group, she hypothesizes, is especially productive in a marketplace where the driving force is profit maximization. Such exploitation involves part time and tempor- ary cheap labor; in addition, Goldberg suggests (as does Oppenheimer) that many female sex-typed occupations combine a need for relatively high-level training and education with correspondingly low wages. Thus, Goldberg offers at least two reasons for employers to initiate and/or maintain divisions among workers along sex lines; it provides a work group which will fill jobs traditionally refused by men, i.e., temporary and part-time low wage work, and it provides a work group which must invest in developing skills before being hired, therefore eliminating that expense for employers. Silver and Goldberg suggest that the threat of collective action in all realms (economic as well as others) is partly responsible for the conscious efforts of employers to maintain labor segmentation in the marketplace. This theory is part of a larger belief that women's economic condition cannot be divorced from other, equally important conditions of existance. Radical theory involves the crucial assump- tion that if one is concerned with explaining economic inequalities between men and women rather than describing them, an analysis of other areas of inequality must be integrated with an analysis of economic inequality. In this way, an understanding of how and why discrimination exists can be better developed. 27 Juliet Mitchell accomplishes this task perhaps more comprehen- sively than most in her analysis of the four primary structures which define the reality of women: production, reproduction, sexuality and the socialization of children.27 All theories which focus on the position of women in relation to a society's mode of production, and which do so t9_the exclusion of the three other structures which are uniquely central to the lives of women, fail to adequately address the concrete reality of women's economic position. Mitchell suggests that the complex totality of women's experience (of which her worklife is a part) is determined by varying combinations of these four struc- tures. . . the unity of women's condition at any time is in this way the product of several structures, moving at different paces . . . .23 Orthodox and dual labor market theories lack any such comprehensive analysis of the interconnections which exist between economic and other societal structures, and the importance of these interconnec- tions in particular (though certainly not exclusively) for women. It is precisely because of this failure that dual and orthodox analyses succeed only in describing (if that) and not explaining economic in- equality. A second unique characteristic of radical economic theory in- volves an entire analysis of the function of the state in relation” to the economy. On this issue, James O'Connor as well as others, sug- gest that the state exists to insure an environment conducive to the accumulation of private profit. To this end, the state must perform two specific functions: (1) where necessary, it must subsidize large undertakings of powerful corporations and industries and (2) it must 28 assure legitimacy of the economic system in the eyes of those who do not wield any economic power. In order to successfully accomplish these ends, the state super- vises two kinds of monetary allocations: social capital and social expenses. Social capital is productive because it is the outlay pro- vided by the state and required by private industry to insure and/or improve private profit accumulation. These outlays are usually too large to be provided by the company without significantly cutting in- to profit margins. Social capital outlays can be further broken down into two sub-categories: social investment and social consumption. Good examples of the first are state expenditures for the construction and maintainence of highways (necessary to the success of the auto- mobile and trucking industries, for example; one needs only to look at the historical process of suburbanization as outlined by Harvey30 to understand the full impact of this argument) as well as state ex- penditures for implementation of pollution control devices (most of which are too costly to be voluntarily assumed by corporations respon- sible for the pollution). One important criticism of this view of the state is the argu- ment that these manipulations on the part of industry and/or the state cannot be factually supported. In fact, re-evaluation of his- torical events does need to be pursued; however, some very useful and insightful studies are presently available through which to witness the state/monopoly sector relationship. One good example of the state's role in social investment is provided by Gabriel Kolko in his analysis of the movement to establish meat inspection in the 31 early 19005. Popular opinion credits Upton Sinclair's account of 29 meat packing work conditions in his book The Jungle as the source of change in establishing better meat inspection practices. What in fact occurred is more complicated. Twenty years before Sinclair's book was published, a move toward federal meat inspection was inia- ted by the large U.S. meat packers. The reason for this was the in- creasing number of European countries who were banning the import of American meat into their markets, due to the presence of disease in the meat. These large packers iniated a campaign for legislation re- quiring mandatory meat inspections. This effort was unsuccessful and as a result of worsening conditions the Bureau of Animal Industry supplied millions of examinations for diseases in 1892. It soon be- came clear that such programs did not reach the small firms, leading to the conclusion that the only practical solution was uniform, man- datory inSpection laws for all. After additional efforts on the part of the large meat packers, a bill was eventually passed by Congress providing for precisely this kind of inspection. However, an import- ant addition was the inclusion of a section appropriating $3 million for implementation. Thus, in relation to O'Connor's framework, the meat packing industry was not only able to pass advantageous legisla- tion but to socialize the cost of such implementation as well. The other kind of social capital expenditure is social consump- tion outlay. This sub-category is central to the particular discus- sion at hand because it means an investment which contributes to the welfare and maintenance of the working class so that industry can draw from this group for their labor power. Thus, with reference to human capital theory, government programs which take on the responsi- bility of training unskilled secondary workers or the chronically 3O unemployed are in fact, providing a larger pool of labor for industry to draw from and are consequently: (l) preventing the artificial rise of wages for primary sector workers by maintaining a large supply of workers to draw from and (2) reducing and/or eliminating training costs for employers by using tax money to provide this training. The second of O'Connor's categories of state outlays is defined as social expenses. These are primarily expenditures allocated to projects and services which are essentially unproductive in nature but which serve to (l) legitimate the existence of the state and (2) to eliminate or at least to discourage the outbreak of violent threats to the stability of the system. Francis Piven and Richard Cloward have developed a theoretical analysis of this type which attempts to explain welfare expenditures at the national level.32 In general, Piven and Cloward suggest that relief arrangements are not determined according to human need but are instead iniated or expanded as a direct result of civil disorder which is precipitated by mass unemployment. Likewise, these programs are abolished or contracted when stability is restored. Expansive relief policies, therefore, are interpreted as attempts to maintain stability in the face of economic shifts inherent to the capitalist system, while restrictive relief policies are interpreted as attempts to reinforce work norms so that a willing supply of cheap labor is available when needed. In one section of their work, Piven and Cloward review relief policies adopted at the national level throughout the 19605. Their focus is primarily on large urban centers such as New York, Philadel- phia, Detroit, Chicago, and Los Angeles (although some recognition is 31 given to lesser but similar trends occurring elsewhere, for example, in the south and in rural communities). Piven and Cloward point to the significant increases in welfare rolls, particularly in large cities, which occurred throughout this period: a 31% increase through- out the period 1960 to 1964 and a 58% increase throughout the period 1964 to 1969. In assessing many of the traditional explanations for this development, Piven and Cloward conclude that during this same period of time, 1960 to 1969, there was also occurring an overall breakdown in social order. For blacks, who migrated to the North in particularly large numbers throughout the 19405 and 19505, the exper- ience of relatively high unemployment rates over a long period of time may in fact have produced a deterioration in social controls. City riots, criminal violence and militant grass roots movements were manifestations of this development. Thus, in the 19605, the increas- ing instability (both political and otherwise) of city blacks may account at least in part for the significant increase in numbers of welfare recipients. Piven and Cloward conclude that expanding relief practices in the 19605 may have been precipitated not by an increase in actual need, but rather as a result of increasing civil unrest. A third differentiating factor between radical and non-radical economic theories of discrimination involves the concept of class. Basically, radical economic theory posits the definition of class as dependent upon one's relation to the means of production: capitalists are those who derive their income from capital investments; workers are those who derive their income from selling their labor in return for a wage. One's class is rooted in economics but extends to the political and social realms as well. Within radical economic 32 literature there is some debate as to the importance of division be- tween categories of workers such as those between blue and white collar; overall, however, the importance of class as a broad analytic category within radical economic theory remains. In terms of the discussion at hand, clerical workers are considered part of a class of workers which sells labor power to those who own the means of production in return for a wage. Implicit in the recognition of class as an important analytic tool is the significance of identifying the degree of control (or lack of it) which workers can exert over their working conditions. Howard Wachtel argues that one's status in the workplace is dependent upon four variables: (1) individual characteristics over which the individual has some, but not total control, (2) individual character- istics over which individuals have no control (e.g., sex and race), (3) characteristics of the industry where one is employed (dual labor market theory) and (4) characteristics of the local labor market.33 The interaction of these four variables determines one's position with- in the labor force. Looking back to the discussions presented above concerning orthodox and dual labor market theories, it is possible to see that the emphasis of human capital strategists is on the first variable (individual characteristics over which one has some but not total control), while the emphasis of occupational crowding theorists is on the secondw(individual characteristics over which one has no control). Dual labor market theorists focus on the third variable (characteristics of industry where one is employed) in terms of ex- plaining occupational and wage inequalities within the marketplace. For purposes of this paper, emphasis will be on interconnections 33 between all four, but with particular emphasis placed upon character- istics of the firm (industry) and labor market. This is because the empahsis of this thesis is on structural conditions of clerical work; however, one cannot develop an accurate analysis of clerical work without taking into consideration the impact of individual character- istics of employees (e.g., gender). A fourth distinctive characteristic of radical economic theory is the assertion that accumulation is the driving force of a capital- ist society. The specific purpose of production within a capitalist society revolves around improving the economic situation of the owners of capital. Marx defines this system as one that both begins and ends with money; that is, money is used to accumulate more money: M-C-M' (where M = money, C = commodity and M' is greater than M). The difference between M' and M constitutes surplus value and is the income of capital owners. The source of this surplus value is the workers' labor power. In a day's work the laborer produces more than a day's means of subsistence. Consequently the working day can be divided into two parts, necessary labor and surplus labor. Under con- ditions of capitalist production the product of necessary labor accrues to the laborer in the form of wages, while the product of surplus labor is appropriated by the capitalist in the form of surplus value. The process of increasing the amount of surplus value, that is, the process of converting surplus value into capital which is then util- ized to appropriate more surplus value, is the driving force of capital- ist production. It is defined as accumulation. Accumulation therefore, is inherent to capitalism. A direct and inevitable result of accumula- tion is the tendency of capitalism away from competitive relationships within the marketplace, i.e., the development of monoploy capitalism: 34 concentration and centralization. By concentration is meant the in- crease in quantity bf capital in the hands of one owner, the logical consequence of a successful capitalist business endeavor. Increase in capital accumulation leads to the development of larger scale produc- tion. While some of these business interests are successful at accum- ulating surplus value, others are not. The second process, central- ization, involves the takeover by successful business of unsuccessful businesses for the purpose of increasing profit. In other words, centralization involves the combination of already established capital under the control of one. Both of these processes occur within the natural development of capitalism. Competitive capitalism is only a temporary stage in terms of analyzing capitalist development from a historical perspective. In short, the drive for accumulation, if successful, leads inevitably to the concentration of more surplus value-turned-capital into fewer and fewer hands. This larger produc- tion unit may swallow up smaller, less successful units. The overall result is the tendency of capitalism away from competition and toward monopolistic control. Thus, in regards to Becker's argument that com- petition is increasing, thereby improving the opportunities for pre- sently discriminated against employees, radical economists argue pre- cisely the opposite, that is, that segmentation among workers is increasing, via the development of hierarchical work arrangements in- herent to large organizations. There are other differences between radical and non radical theories of economic discrimination which will not be gone into detail at this time. In concluding this discussion of economic theories of 35 discrimination-~a discussion which attempts to address crucial issues and assumptions inherent to any analysis of women's position within the marketplace--a sunmary of David Gordon's analysis of the differences between these theories will be presented.35 Gordon suggests four prin- cipal areas of difference between orthodox, dual labor market and radical theories. First, Gordon looks at the differences in analytic methodologies. Orthodox theorists tend to look at the world as a fairly static and concrete set of occurrences--present systems are accepted as given and unchanging. As a result, the‘importance of in- dividual choice is highlighted as well as the notion that competing interests can be coordinated and compromised for the purpose of main- taining the status quo. On the other hand, radical economic theory emphasizes the dynamics of change, especially in terms of contradic- tions and conflicts inherent to the development of all historical processes. The world is not static but rather, an ever-changing re- sult of certain historical processes which have interacted through conflict to produce the present reality, which is itself a moving pro- cess eventually to result in a different future reality. Like radical economic theory, dual labor market theory emphasizes interaction and change but fails to incorporate the notion of conflict and change. Besides this difference in analytic methodologies, there is also, as posited by Gordon, the difference in conceptualization of economic class (a difference already discussed above). Briefly put, Gordon suggests that whereas class is central to a radical analysis, orthodox theorists perceive class interests and divisions as potentially har- monious. In contrast, dual labor market theorists fail to include any explicit analysis of class; specifically, they fail to make any 36 connection between secondary-primary and class divisions. The final two differences among theories as outlined by Gordon. are also the two most important points in terms of the discussion at hand. One crucial difference between orthodox, dual labor market and radical theories involves their varying analyses of the divisions be- tween workers along race and sex lines. Orthodox theorists usually conlcude that these differences will erode over time (Becker provides a good example of this kind of thought). The importance of this con- clusion has to do with the resulting tendency of these theorists to shy away from active efforts at changing any of the existing inequal- ities of the system. Radical and dual labor market theorists on the other hand, assume that labor differences will remain and in fact, will intensify. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, these differenecs in basic theoretical perspectives lead to important differences in re- gards to strategies embraced by various people in order to bring about change. As stated earlier, since orthodox theorists tend to assume the individual's ability to determine his/her productivities (within broad limits) in the labor market, emphasis for changing inequalities is placed on education and training programs for the individual. Dual labor market theorists provide a different strategy for implementing policies directed toward change. They recognize that educational and training programs will not normally result in improved job opportun- ities for secondary workers since job design, job structure and job characteristics inherent to the dual model favor primary employees. However, the stragegy which sometimes j§_proposed by dual economy theorists, according to Gordon, involves furthering the transition 37 process of secondary workers into high-paying, stable jobs. A radical analysis is similar to the dual economy analysis in that it does not foresee the elimination (within this economic system) of the second- ary sphere as a realistic solution to wage and occupational inequal- ities. Furthermore, and unlike dual economy theory, a radical analysis does not define the state as a potential solution because of its very definition of the function of the state. Therefore, the only long-run solution of wage and occupational inequalities involves conscious action taken on the part of the working class. 38 1Lyle and Ross. Women in Industry: Employment Patterns of Women in Corporate America. Lexington Books, Toronto, 1973. 2Oppenheimer, Valerie. Female Labor Force in the United States: Demographic and Economic Factors Governin its Growth and Changing Composition. .Institute of Internationa Studies, University of Calif- ornia, Berkey, 1970. 3U.S. Dept. of Labor. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Employment and Earnings, v. 24 (September, 1977). 4Keyserling, M.D. "The Economic Status of Women in the U.S." American Economic Review, v. 66:2, May, 1976, 205-212. 5Kreps, Juanita. Sex in the Marketplace: American Women at Work. The John Hopkins Press, Baltimore, 1971. 6 Ibid., p. 4. 71131 Q 8Bergmann, Barbara. "The 1973 Report of the President's Council of Economic Advisors: The Economic Role of Women." American Economic Review, v. 63: September, 1973, 509-14. 9 Kreps . , 9p_. c_i_t. 10Statistical Abstract of the U.S.: 1976. U.S. Bureau of the Census, 97th Annual Edition. nBergmann, op, cit, 12Lyle and Ross, 99, £13,, p. 3. 13Keyserling, op, git, 14Oppenheimer, Martin. "What is the New Working Class?" New_ Politics, v. 10: Fall, 1972, 29-43. 15Becker, Gary. The Economics of Discrimination. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1957. 16Thurow, Lester C. Poverty and Discrimination. Brookings Insti- tution, Washington, D.C., 1969. 17Becker, Gary S. Human Capital and the Personal Distribution on Income: An anaLytical Approach. Institute of Public Administra- tion and Department of Economics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 1967; and Thurow, Lester C., op, cit. 18 Bergmann, op, cit. 39 19Sawhill, Isabel. "The Economics of Discrimination Against Women: Some New Findings." Journal of Human Resources, v. 8:#3, Summer, 1973, 383-396. 20Stevenson, Mary. "Women's Wages and Job Segregation." Politics and Society, v. 4: Fall, 1973, 83-96. 2lHarrison, Bennett. "The Theory of the Dual Economy." In The Worker in Post Industrial Capitalism. (ed. by Silverman and Yan- owitch), The Free Press, A Division of Macmillan Publ. Co., Inc., New York, 1974. 22Averitt, Robert T. The Dual Economy: The Dynamics of Amer- ican InduStry Structure. W.W. Norton and Company, Inc.; New York, 1968. 23 Ibid., p. 101. 24Doeringer and Piore. Internal Labor Markets and Manpower Analisis. D.C. Heath and Co., Massachusetts, 1971. 25Silver, Morris. “Employer Tastes for Discrimination, Wages and Profits," in Economics: Mainstream Readings and Radical Critigges. (ed. by David Mermelstein). Random House, New York; 1973. 26Goldberg, Marilyn Power. "The Economic Exploitation of Women" also in Mermelstein (see above). 27 1971. 28 Mitchell, Juliet. Woman's Estate. Vintage Books, New York, Ibid., p. 101. 29O'Connor, James. The Fiscal Crisis of the State. St. Martin's Press, New York; 1973. 30Harvey, David. "The Political Economy of Urbanization in Advanced Capitalist Societies: The Case of the United States." (ed. Gary Gappert) in The Social Economy of Cities. Sage Publications, Beverly Hills, Calif., 1975. 3lKolko, Gabriel, The Triumph of Conservatism: A Reinterpre- tation of American History, 1900-1916. (Chicago: Quadrangle Paper- backs/Guadrangle Books, 1964. 32Piven, Frances Fox and Richard A. Cloward. Regulating the Poor. Pantheon Books, New York, 1971. 33Wa¢hte1, Howard M. "Lookin at Poverty from a Radical Per- spective" in Mermelstein (see above?, #25. 4O 34Sweezy, Paul. A Theory of Capitalist Development: Principles of Marxian Political Economy. Oxford University Press, 1942, New York, p. 62. 35Gordon, David M. Theories of Poverty and Underemployment: Orthodox Radical and Dual Labor Market Perspectives. D.C. Heath—and Co., MassaChusetts, 1972. CHAPTER II ORGANIZATIONAL STUDIES The Importance of Integratinngacro and Micro Levels of Analysis In this thesis, it is suggested that a structural analysis of firms and industry is essential for understanding and therefore chang- ing the position of clerical workers. Strucutral factors are dis- tinct from, although not unrelated to, attitudinal factors which oper- ate to maintain occupational segregation of clericals. For example, attitudes on the part of clericals themselves may inhibit long range planning or orientation to management positions; similarly, attitudes on the part of male bosses may inhibit the promotion of women, partic- ularly clerical, into upper managerial positions. The role of these attitudes in developing and in maintaining divisions based on gender cannot be denied. However, the importance of structural arrangements (e.g., formal mobility paths, unions) in producing these same divisions (and perhaps these very attitudes) must be analyzed further, if we are to truly explain occupational segregation. The last chapter outlined three theories explaining degrees of economic inequality with varying success. Two of these theories focus on general structures of the economic system (i.e., sectors) as causes for discrimination. Other theories which may be useful to this analy- sis focus on specific features of organizations and how they function 41 42 to initiate or maintain inequalities along sex lines. If we are to understand economic discrimination as manifested in clerical work, micro-level theories analyzing specific organizational stuuctures and their effects on human behavior must be carefully integrated with macro-level economic explanations. Thus, the goal is to combine two different levels of analysis into a single and comprehensive one. Structural features of the larger system (e.g., the economy) should not be divorced form structural features of the specific organization (e.g., size). In this chapter, I will review some of the literature on human behavior in organizations as well as some of the literature on economic discrimination based on factors other than those discussed by radical and dual economy theorists. Some of the linkages between theories on economic discrimination and human behavior in organizations are obvious. For example, a fac- tor such as size is addressed by O'Connor and Averitt as a primary condition of monopoly sector firms. Size is also an important focus in the literature on human behavior in organizations. To develop an accurate analysis of clerical work, both levels of theory should be integrated where possible, and where not, explanations should be de- veloped so that analysis can continue. This chapter reviews some of the literature on the effects of organizational structures on human behavior. Factors looked at will be size, public/private nature of the organization, hierarchies of authority and communication, technol- ogies, physical space allocation, and unionization. 43 The Public and/or Private Nature of Work Organizations and Its Effect on Economic Discrimination Various authors suggest that public and private sectors differ in degree of discrimination and efforts to institute change. The arguments usually propose that less discrimination occurs in public sector employment than in private sector employment. However, this is not to say that public institutions do not discriminate, or, as some would argue, that public institutions are in fact practicing reverse discrimination. Inequalities based on sex and race still exist in the public sector. Nancy M. Gordon analyzed non-academic employee data at one large university by comparing male/female income differences while at the same time controlling for a variety of factors such as education, job 1 and tenure. She found that married women on campus were earning 7%, 13% or 17% less than men, depending on the kind of statistical measure- ment method used. Marianne Ferber and Anne Westmiller also looked at non-academic wages but at the Urbana-Champaign campus at Illinois, 2 which employs a total of 4,800 full-time employees. It was discov- ered that employees in a single job category tended to belong to one race/sex group. Ferber and Westmiller analyzed employee data and con- cluded that: Both nonminority males and females are very unfavorably affected by an increasing percentage of women and minorities. Minority females also find their wages depressed by a rising proportion of women. These results are in accord with findings based on Census data that for all occupations, earnings of both men and women are negatively affected by the presence of women.3 As these two university studies indicate, discriminatory practices do exist in the public sector. James Long looked at some data on black 4 males eighteen years of age and older. He concluded that when 44 'controlling for education and productivity, differences in black/white earnings do indicate that less employment discrimination occurs in the public sector than in the private sector. According to Long, factors whiCh may be responsible for this difference include bureaucratic or institutionalized personnel practices, political pressures, coverage and effectiveness of equal-opportunity policies (closely linked to political pressures) and the degree of competition among workers for state jobs. Lest this line of research assign legitimacy to the process of lumping all private business enterprises into one simple category, it should be noted that some studies have been reported which identify distinctions between various types of private firms in their level of discrimination. Sharon Oster has dealt with precisely this issue in a study of male sex-typed occupations filled by women found in a maximum of fifty-six manufacturing industries per occupation.5 While concluding that discrimination is indeed productive, Oster also dis- covered some differences between methods of discrimination among in- dustries. Oster suggests that large concentrated firms are more likely to utilize standardized wage scales, which leads to quantity discrim- ination rather than wage discrimination. Even though the effects of these two forms of discrimination may be the same (occupational segre- gation), the methods are different. In the first case, standardized wage scales insure that people doing one kind of work are paid similar salaries (women get paid less for doing different kinds of work than men). In the second case, a woman may get paid less than a man doing the same work simply because she is a woman (unequal pay for equal work). Industries which discriminate by paying women low wages 45 because of formal job distinctions are less likely to discriminate in the ggmpeg of women hired. In fact, these companies may (and some do) hire a majority of female employees since often a majority of their jobs involve stereotypically female work. In short, Oster appears to suggest two relationships, if not directly then by implication: large, concentrated firms depend on standardized wage scales which make individual wage discrimination unnecessary or difficult and which promote occupational discrimina- tion. 0n the other hand, small firms which do not depend on standard- ized wage scales tend to discriminate on an individual basis, a pro- cess which also promotes occupational discrimination. Whereas Oster's emphasis is on differences in methods of dis- crimination according to firm, another study has focused on differences in degree of discrimination according to firm. Jerolyn Lyle and Jane Ross completed a study of 246 firms in an attempt to identify struc- tural differences in relation to level of sex discrimination by 6 firm. They focused on thirty-six factors. Below are the conclusions which resulted from their tabulations. 1) firms which exhibit a fairly equal distribution of the sexes by occupation tend to also have a small proportion of sex- typed jobs in their occupational structure. 2) overall, firms which were the least discriminatory tended to be the largest and most powerful. More specifically, 3) non-industrial firms with a moderate number of female em- ployees and with a low-level of discrimination also exhib- ited high degrees of product diversification, tended to be located in small towns or suburbs and had contracts with non-defense government agencies. 4) non-industrial firms with small or large numbers of female employees and with a low level of discrimination are those 46 with the largest number of white collar jobs. 5) capital-intensive modes of production (heavy industry) require a minimum of'personal contact and so lead to less occupational discrimination.7 It is interesting here to note a potential controversey which could arise from the different conclusions drawn by Oster and by the Lyle and Ross study. When Oster differentiates between the mechanisms of dis- crimination according to firm, she does not specify whether quantity discrimination practiced by firms with a centralized wage structure is more or less likely to occur than individually-based discrimination. Lyle and Ross conclude that in fact, large firms tend to be less dis- criminatory than small ones. An important question which arises from this, but one which cannot be answered in this study, revolves around the relationship between centralization of wage structure and firm size. One might expect that centralization of wage structure for clericals would be positively associated with large, complex firms, but more analysis is necessary before this relationship can be under- stood. In this study, it will not be possible to establish which of the four cases exhibits a higher or lower degree of discrimination against clerical employees. Data necessary for such a comparison are not available for the private firms. However, all of these cases involve traditional patterns of occupational segregation, although there may be slight variations in degree between firms/institutions. Rather than looking at differences in degree of discrimination, therefore, I will instead compare (1) structural conditions of clerical work in each case and (2) deliberate efforts to correct the effects of past discrimination, particularly via affirmative action programs. The 47 remainder of this chapter will review literature on some of the more specific organizational structures affecting clerical work. Organization Size and White Collar Work The size of an organization generally determines many facets of both its membership structure and patterns of interaction among mem- bers. Theodore Caplow has deVeloped a model which arranges groups in four categories according to size.8 These size categories are deter- mined by how many and what kinds of interactions between members can occur. Thus, in what Caplow defines as a small group, all members can interact with each other, whereas members of a giant group cannot possibly know and interact with every other member. More importantly, Caplow attributes a number of organizational characteristics to size increase. First, the argument is made that the process of ". . . in- 9 'Secondly, creasing size is nearly universal for organized groups." larger groups involve a much denser network of interactions and con- sequently also involve a greater incidence of communication problems within the organization. Third, as an organization increases in size, the proportion of resources which are devoted to its own maintenance also increases. Finally, an organization's increase in size raises the likelihood that its organizational design will be similar to other groups of its size. Thus, Caplow suggests that increasing size is positively related to stability, frequency of interaction and commun- ication problems, proportion of resources devoted to self maintenance and uniformity of design. Rosabeth Kanter emphasizes the connection between size, central- ).1O ization and hierarchy (also, see Mills More specifically Kanter 48 looks at the history of large corporations and the development of hierarchical systems which went hand in hand with growth in size. Large corporations began to develop administrative apparatuses around the turn of the century. Part of this phenomenon involved the rise of managers and the introduction of rational business principles. Ration- ality and objectivity became highly valued as proper behavior guide- lines within an enterprise. The individual's making decisions accord- ing to his/her own instincts no longer was an acceptable way to run a business. One result of applying scientific principles of rational- ity to business was the stereotypical division of employees into two categories: management (seen as rational) and workers (seen as irra- tional). Kanter also links these two categories to stereotyped sex types--the masculine (rational) and feminine (emotional). In short, Kanter argues that the growth in size of corporations necessitated a corresponding growth in administrative units. Combined with the stereotypical division of employees into management/masculine/rational and worker/feminine/irrational categories, enough "women's jobs" were created to allow fbr large scale influx of women into the clerical labor market. Growth in size of business organization, therefore, is crucial to an understanding of growth of the white collar category. It is assumed in this paper that increases in organizational size will lead to rational, hierarchic work arrangements and more complex communica- tion systems within an organization. The effects of these two factors (as well as others) on clerical working conditions will be looked at more closely in the fOllowing pages. 49 Authority Hierarchies and Organization Size Various authors have suggested a tendency for size and therefore, bureaucratization to be positively associated with hierarchy of auth- ority. In fact, some of these arguments go so far as to necessarily link the two together. Reinhard Bendix argues that inherent to a bureaucratic organization is the universal tendency of the individuals within it to identify their own interests with those of the organiza- 11 Therefore, it follows that obeying rules and directives tion. which iniate at the top seem, on the surface, to be in the individual's own self-interest. More importantly, Bendix argues that without this kind of subordination and discipline, the operation of large economic enterprises could not successfully continue. Robert Merton presents a similar theory in his analysis of the 12 In relationship between bureaucratic structure and personality. large, formal and rationally organized structures, every activity should be related to the purpose of the organization as a whole. Hierarchical arrangements are buttressed by specified sets of rules and directives. One of the most important consequences of this develop- ment, according to Merton, is the elimination of personalized relation- ships and non-rational behavior. As a result, discipline and control dominate. 1) an effective bureaucracy demands reliability of response and strict devotion to regulations, 2) such devotion to the rules leads to their transformation into absolutes; the are no longer conceived as relative to a set of purposes, 3 this interferes with ready adaptation under special conditions not clearly envisaged by those who drew up the general rules, 4) thus, the very elements which conduce toward efficiency in general produce inefficiency in specific instances.13 Thus, whereas Bendix points to an employee's immediate tendency to 50 identify with the interests of a large, complex hierarchy, Merton addresses the consequences of that identification for both the indi- vidual employees and the efficiency of the organization. Rosabeth Kanter proposes another factor which reinforces the centralization of authority and discipline within a large organization.14 Focusing on managers within one large firm, Kanter concludes that the tremendous amount of emphasis placed upon upward mobility leads to a concern on the part of employees with presenting conservative, non- bhreatening images. The accepted norm of behavior is one that avoids controversey, except in rare instances where supporting the "right" side may pay off in quicker advancements and promotions. Finally, and in line with Kanter, Mills points to the fact that almost all formal authority in white collar hierarchies is rooted in 15 However, he also points to the importance of the managerial staff. status and occassionally power, which operates within clerical groups. Status may be linked to one's office arrangements, or with whom one knows. Power, on the other hand, is sometimes exhibited by upper level personal secretaries. Both Kanter and Mills point to the ability of these secretaries to exercise discretion over which clients and/or organization members have access to their boss as an example of infor- mal power. The importance of these theories to the study at hand has to do with the effect of hierarchical arrangements and the centralization of authority on clerical employees. Although none of these studies speaks directly to this issue, some apparant relationships have been deduced. These theories suggest that size and hierarchy are positively related. Hierarchy means the centralization of authority, an arrangement which 51 limits the use of discretion and decision-making on the part of lower level white collar employees. Clerical workers for the most part are not invested with any meaningful authority, thus limiting their for- mal opportunity for upward mobility. One cannot successfully prove oneself capable of responsibility if the structures which allow for assuming responsibility are not there. Especially important is the tendency of these hierarchies toward caste-like positions which allow little if any upward mobility. This is an important difference from the development of hierarchical systems comprised of fluid, interchange- able parts so that identification with one system (e.g., clerical) does not forever preclude identification with another (e.g., manage- ment). Thus, hierarchical structures and centralization of authority which at some point solidify into caste like structures, clearly deter- mine the nature of clerical work. The Role of Technology in Organizations The role of technology has been construed by some as an important factor in the analysis of organizations and human behavior. Technology also plays an important role in the dual economy and radical analyses, where it is argued that labor in the core sector possesses higher tech- nical skills than labor in the competitive sector. For this reason, the role played by technology in clerical work should be addressed. Jerald Hage and Michael Aiken emphasize the importance of distin- 16 They guishing between routine and non-routine levels of technology. suggest that as technology is routinized, work organizations become increasingly coordinated through centralized planning, which is simul- taneously accompanied by a centralization of power and a formaliza- tion of roles. As a result, Hage and Aiken propose that work 52 organizations with routinized technologies are likely to be concerned with stability and high profits (in the case of private companies) whereas organizations with non-routinized technologies (e.g., factor- ies involving unit assembly by teams rather than assembly lines) are likely to be concerned with growth, quality of the work place and in- novation. In their own study of 1967, Hage and Aiken analyzed data from sixteen social welfare and rehabilitation agencies in a large mid-west metropolis and found that l) organizations with routine work are more likely to be char- acterized by centralization of power, 2) organizations with routine work are more likely to have greater formalization of roles, and 3) no relationship exists between the degree of routine work and organizational stratification.17 In this sense, it becomes important to establish the relationship be- tween clerical work and routine levels of technology. According to the Hage and Aiken study, if clerical work is routine in one sector or industry, it should also be characterized by formalized responsibilities and roles and by centralized systems of power. As it turns out, all clerical work in this study regardless of sector in which located, presently involves routine levels of technology and formalized roles of centralization of power. Mills also links the role of technology to organization structure 18 in his work on white collar workers. Specifically, Mills positively associates technology with hierarchy. As machines spread, they began to prompt newer divisions of labor to add to those they had originally merely implemented. The new machines, especially the more complex and costly ones, require central control of offices previously scattered through- out the enterprise. This gsntralization . . . prompts more new divisions of labor . . . . This relationship between mechanization and routinization is of 53 particular importance to understanding clerical working conditions. Historically, one may note two primary developments in clerical work. First was the feminization of clerical work, a process which has been clearly outlined by many (Sandler, 1977; Benet, 1972; Mills, 1956). As Mark Sandler emphasizes, this process of feminization re- fers not only to the numerical percentages of men and women in the job category but more importantly, it refers to the "second-wife" function/of secretaries (see also Benet).20 This notion identifies basic secretarial responsibilities at work as supplementary respon- sibilities of the wife at home. Simultanious with the feminization of clerical work was its mechanization (e.g., via the typewriter) and consequent routinization. In understanding job structures of clerical workers today, therefore, it is important to analyze level of routinization in the bob. Communication Systems and Hierarchies Communication systems and authority hierarchies are closely re- lated structures about which much has been written. John Brewer looks at two sources of authority which immediately affect communication 2] More systems: expert knowledge and hierarchical arrangements. specifically, Brewer suggests that narrower spans of control (or, less differentiation between superiors and subordinates) lead to higher levels of upward and downward communication between roles. Whereas Brewer looks at the effect of hierarchic structures on communication, Alex Baveles considers the effect of communication structures on the 22 organization as a whole. He proposes that centralized communication structures lead to stability as well as fewer errors in performance. 54 However, Baveles also notes that centralized communication structures may lead to a decrease in employee morale which over time, will lead to a reduction in organization efficiency and stability. Cartwright and Zander pursue this interest in the effect of 23 centralized communication structures on individual behavior. Clearly _/ emphasizing the individual, Cartwright and Zander discuss the relation- ship between one's position in a communication structure and the level of satisfaction with one's performance. They suggest the more central one's role in the communication structure of a group, the more likely one is to take on decision-making responsibilities and the more likely one is to be satisfied with one's performance. Finally, an important study by Hage, Aiken and Morrett, proposes some useful relationships between organizations and communication struc- tures.24 The study involved sixteen social welfare and rehabilitation organizations (the same data base for the Haige and Aiken study cited on page 51). The hypothesis focused on three organizational dimen- sions--complexity, formalization and centralization--and the relation- ship of each to communication processes. What Hage, Aiken and Morret expected to find was: 1) the greater the degree of complexity (i.e., number of occupa- tions) in the organization, the greater the rate of work- related communication and the greater the horizontal commun- ication. 2) the greater the degree of formalization (i.e., importance of job descriptions), the lower the rate of work related communication and the greater the rate of vertical (upward/ downward) communication. 3) the greater the degree of centralization (concentration ’of power), the lower the rate of work-related communication and the greater the proportion of vertical task communica- tion. 55 In fact, Haige gt_gl, fOund: 1) the more diversified the occupational structure (complexity) the more informal communication occurs which is positively associated with horizontal communication. 2) formalization is negatively associated with average fre- quency of participation in organization committees; the greater the degree to which jobs are programmed, the less frequently staff members attend departmental meetings and the less frequent are unscheduled meetings. 3) organizations with wide participation in decision-making have a higher rate of interdepartmental communication; this holds true for both upward and downward information flows. The greater the decentralization, the greater the interde- partmental communication in all directions. Needless to say, an organization's size, hierarchic structure, level of technology, routinization of work, and finally, communication struc- tures are all interrelated. The importance of each of these factors in terms of the subject at hand has to do with (1) identifying simil- arities and differences between clerical working conditions within in- dividual organizations and (2) their impact on the opportunity for clerical mobility in an organization. Thus, to what extent are such arrangements as centralization of authority and rigid job structures present in the firms and/or institutions looked at here? Furthermore, how do such structural factors affect efforts at improving job Oppor- tunities for clerical employees such as affirmative action? Before going on to suggest answers for these and other questions, some consid- eration will be given to two additional factors of interest here. Neither of these are closely related to all of the previously dis- cussed factors, but each poses what may be equally important ramifi- cations for change. 56 Physical Segregation Unfortunately, few have explored the role that physical surround- ing; and physical location can play in occupational segregation. One line of research which raises some interesting questions looks at the impact on employee expectations and behavior patterns of physical seg- regation from, or physical proximity to, other individuals in the organ- ization's hierarchy. Most firms do not pursue an explicit policy of separating male and female employees; however, in arranging the physical placement of work- ers according to status or rank, the same end can in effect be achieved. If women are clerks and men are managers, providing managers with their own private offices physically segregates them from clerks or secre- taries who share two or three-woman offices. In the case of low status typing or clerical pools, large groups of women are together, their job assignments relatively, if not exactly, the same. 'Kanter mentions effects induced by physically grouping together low-mobility workers. Some of these effects involve a decrease in concern with work-related issues and an increase in concern with social relations and events; overriding group loyalty, and antagonism toward supervisors; and little perceived chance for mobility. On the other hand, upper level clerical employees (e.g., personal secretaries to the higher-ups) may experience very different physical surroundings. These workers tend to be more isolated fromother secretaries in terms of the daily interaction which physical proximity can encourage. Both Kanter and Benet discuss the likelihood that personal secretaries will identify strongly with indi- vidual bosses. The office wife relationship necessarily involves trust and loyalty, particularly towards the boss. 57 Rosabeth Kanter also discusses the importance of numerical per- centages of women and minorities in predominately white male employee groups. Although her analysis is directed toward women entering into management positions and is therefore not specifically related to the subject at hand, it may provide valuable insights into the introduc- tion of men into predominately female employee groups, such as secre- tarial work. Kanter divides groups into four kinds: skewed (where one type of member predominates with the exception of a few tokens), tilted (where the dominant group is still a majority but where tokens expand into a significant minority), balanced (where the ratio of mem- bers is 50:50) and finally, uniform (where only one type of member be- longs). She claims that individual behavior patterns are at least in part determined by one's association with like and unlike members ggg_the relative numbers of each. Thus, female managers are likely to be more Confident and less threatened when they are in tilted or even balanced groups (in terms of sex) of managers, then when females are tokens. In summary, physical segregation from, or physical proximity to, various types of individuals in the organization's hierarchy can lead to differing kinds of expectations and behavior patterns. Presence or Absence of Unionization In chapter one, as well as in the first section of this chapter, some attention was given to distinctive labor conditions as determined by employment sector. Among other distinctions, core sector employees are more likely to be unionized and are more likely to receive higher wages and more benefits than those employed in the secondary sector. 58 Most of the literature pr0posing these distinctions, however, refers to working conditions of blue collar workers, particularly in the core sector. In fact, white collar workers in both the primary and secondary sector have not historically been a union-oriented group. In the U.S. at the present time, not more than 15% of clerical workers 26 Various explana- are unionized as opposed to 70% of plant workers. tions have been offered to account for this phenomenon. Dick Bruner, a union organizer himself, looks to some of the differing working con- ditions of white and blue collar workers as reasons for the differing tendencies to unionize.27 Bruner suggests that an important incentive in blue collar organizing is the desire on the part of these workers to gain dignified treatment; white collar workers perceive themselves in dignified jobs (particularly those whose backgrounds are blue collar or agricultural in nature ) even though, to use Bruner's term, it is— only a will-o'-the wisp dignity. White collar workers have more job independence (although often it is only in physical movement) and a certain amount of status. Consequently, they tend to identify upward rather than downward. However, Bruner argues that white-collar workers are the most exploited group in our economy. Tied to a fixed non-negotiable salary, victims of every price raise (with no escalator clause to help them), without a political voigg raised in their behalf, they are truly on the short-end. Dolores Wilbur and Judy McLean are also concerned with the prob- 29 Their emphasis, however, is lems of organizing white-collar workers. on organizing difficulties which are specifically related to women, who comprise such a large percentage of white collar workers partic- ularly in the nonmanagement positions. Wilbur and McLean cite three major reasons why women may be more difficult to unionize. First, a 59 large percentage of female workers have child care responsibilities requiring a good deal of time and energy which might otherwise be spent on union and/or political activities. Second, as mentioned above, secretaries often view themselves as extensions of their boss; therefore union affiliation is perceived as a conflict of loyalties between boss and union. Finally, women traditionally have not been trained to feel comfortable with the exercise of authority and de- cision-making skills at the workplace. In addition to these organiz- ing impediments which are specifically related to woman's experience, Wilbur and McLean also cite the failure of manufacturing unions to organize clericals in their industries for fear that conflicting demands between clericals and factory workers will occur at the bar- gaining table. Wilbur and McLean do not presume that these and other difficul- ties extinguish all hopes of clerical union activity developing. In fact, they point to the spread of clerical unionization which has be- gun in recent years. They attribute this to the increasing routiniza- tion of clerical work, which leads to more factory-like working condi- tions, which are more amenable to unionizing efforts. A special issue of Work Force Magazine contains a report on the progress of a group in Boston known as 9 to 5.30 In response to discovering that over forty major employers in the Boston area meet regularly to compare and make decisions about wage rates (Boston is the third lowest paying city for clerical workers of all the large cities), clerical workers formed their own group which meets regularly to compare notes. The importance of unionization in an analysis of the structural conditions of clerical workers may be more of an up-and-coming than a 60 present concern, given the low current rate of unionization. In- creased unionization may lead to increased pressure on employers to structure systems which allow for clerical mobility into better posi- tions. As Mark Sandler has suggested, the unionization of large groups of women workers, especially along feminist lines, would un- doubtedly prove more radical a movement than the traditional trade unidn organizing which has dominated the American scene to date. The factors discussed in this chapter may all exert some influ- ence on the working conditions of clerical employees. As Jane Weiss has argued, there are two kinds of factors which are responsible for 3' Both the present condition of women: socialization and structures. Weiss and Kanter are convinced that situational, structural factors are more important than socialization in predicting sex differences in political awareness and participation. This thesis adopts a similar theoretical perspective. I Little systematic research focuses on system level or societal agagacggrgstigiuthgtolgflgence the institutional location of This is especially true for women who are clerical workers. Little research, at least in this country, has been organized around the im- pact of structural conditions as discussed in this chapter on clerical work. 61 FOOTNOTES 1Gordon, Nancy M. and T.E. Morton. "Staff Salary Structure of a Large Urban University." Journal of Human Resources, v. 11, Summer, 1976, 374-382. 2Ferber, Marianne A. and Anne Westmiller. "Sex and Race Dif- ferences in Non-Academic Stages on a University Campus." Journal of Human Resources, v. 11, Summer, 1976, 366-373. 31bid., p. 372 4Long, James E. “Public - Private Sectoral Differences in Em- ployment Discrimination." Southern Economic Journal, v. 42, #1, July, 1975, 89-96. 5Oster, Sharon M. "Industry Differences in the Level of Dis- crimination Against Women.“ Quarterly Journal of Economics, v. 89, May, 1975, 215-229. 6Lyle, Jerolyn and Jane L. Ross. Women in Industry: Employment Patterns of Women in Corporate America. Lexington Books, D.C. Heath and Co., Lexington, Mass, 1973. 7 Ibid., pp. 51-77. 8Caplow, Theodore. "Organizational Size." Administrative Science uarter1 , v. 1, #4, March, 1957, 484-505. 91bid., p. 501. 10Kanter, Rosabeth Mass. Men and Women of the Corporation. Basic Books, Inc., New York; 1977. nBendix, Reinhard. Work and Authority in Industry: Ideologies of Management in the Course of Industrialization. Harper & Row, Publishers, New York; 1956. 12Merton, Robert K. "Bureaucratic Structure and Personality." in Complex Organizations: A Sociological Reader (Ed. Etzioni, Amitai) Holt, Rinehart & Winston, New York;1196l. 131bid., p. 53. 14 Kanter, pp, git, 15Mills, C. Wright. White Collar. Oxford University Press, New York; 1956. 16Hage, Jerald and Michael Aikin. "Routine Technology. Social Structure and Organizational Goals." Administrative Science Quarterly, 14:3, September, 1969, 366-378. 171m. 62 18Mills, 9p, git, 191m. 20Benet, Mary Kathleen. The Secretarial Ghetto. McGraw-Hill Book Co., New York; 1973. Mills, 92:.EiE- Sandler, Mark. "The Transformation of Clerical Labor in Capitalist Development." Michigan State University, Ph.D., Dept. of Sociology, 1977. 21Brewer, John. "Flow of Communications, Expert Qualifications and Organizational Authority Structures." American Sociological Re- 228aveles, Alex. "Communication Patterns in Task-Oriented Groups." In Group Dynamics: Research and Theory. (ed. See below) 23Cartwright, Darvin and Alvin Zander (ed.) Group Dymanics: Research and Theory. Row, Peterson & Co., N.Y., 2nd ed., 1960. 24Hage, Jerald, Michael Aiken and Cora Bagley Morrett. "Organ- ization Structure and Communication," American Sociological Review, 36:5, October, 1971, 860-871. 25 Ibid. 26Oppenheimer, Martia. "What Is the New Working Class?" Neg! Politics, 10: Fall, 1972, 29-43. 27Bruner, Dick. "Why White Collar Workers Can't Be Organized." Man, Work and Society (ed. S. Nosow and W.H. Farm) Basic Books, New York; 1962. 28Ibid., p. 194. 29Wilbur, Dolores and Judy McLean. "Keyboard Power: The White Collar is Fraying," Moving On, 1:1, March, 197), 6-10. 30Work Force Magazine, #41, July-August, 1974. 31Weiss, Jane A. gt_al, "Female Participation in the Occupa- tional System: A Comparative Institutional Analysis," Social Problems, V. 23’ June, 1976’ 593-608. 321bid., p. 593. CHAPTER III METHODS AND ANALYSIS Some General Comments About the Case Study Approach The goal of this thesis is to compare specific samples of cler- ical work with two theoretical analyses of economic discrimination, dual economy and radical perspectives. To accomplish this task, I have chosen to look at four case studies. By looking at these spe- cific samples, I hope to compare specific realities with general analysis in an effort to point out some of the problems which must yet be resolved if we are to truly understand sexual inequality in the marketplace. The case study is one approach to analyzing a subject. Howard Becker traces its history to the medical profession, where in depth analysis of a single case often provided important information about 1 In the social sciences, the case study particular medical problems. has been adapted to the study of organizations or communities. Its usefulness has expanded to include not only an analysis of one case, but an analysis of what this case means for various theories explain- ing some part of reality. In her dissertation, Elizabeth Nall suggests that the case study method has several unique characteristics. Case studies are empirically grounded, that is, theory is built upon reality. Other research approaches tend to begin with a set of theoretical assumptions 63 64 from which are logically inferred a series of deducations about a sub- ject. Theory is built apart from empirical data. Both approaches have their advantages and disadvantages. The advantage of a case study approach is that it is especially conducive to future research; in a sense, theory is built upon case study after case study. In addition, case studies, which involve as few precon- ceptions as possible, allow for the recognition of other, serendipi- tous observations about the subject under study, observations which may in the end, have far-reaching impact on further development of a particular line of research. A disadvantage of the case study approach is that is requires a long period of time, as well as a look at numer- ous studies before clear trends can be cited as probable truths. In this study, I am addressing the question of whether clerical work is best conceptualized by dual economy and radical models of an- alysis. By using the case study approach, I have observed specific samples in an effort to identify the validity (or invalidity) of two theories of economic discrimination. TWo important observations were discovered: (l) clerical work is not accurately described by either dual economy or radical models and (2) the similarity of clerical work across sectors raises important questions for efforts to change the economic imbalance between men and women. Case Selection The four cases chosen for this study are General Motors (in particular, the Oldsmobile and Fisher Body plants in Lansing, Michi- gan), Michigan State University, the First National Bank of East Lansing and Jacobson's, in East Lansing. Each organization was 65 chosen on the basis of certain criteria. First, it was decided that one institution from each of the three sectors should be analyzed in order to address the basic question of this study. GM provides a sample from the monopoly sector, MSU from the state sector and Jacob- son's from the competitive sector. In addition, the First National Bank of East Lansing was chosen as a sample of an institution which does not clearly fit into any of the sectors proposed by dual economy and radical models. Finance institutions such as banks, and insurance companies, are not considered part of the competitive sector no matter how small they are. This is due to the existance of a strict regu- latory system over finance institutions, monitored by the federal government, which significantly reduces the effect of "natural" bus- iness forces on these institutions. Neither do all finance institu- tions clearly fit into the monopoly sector, since many are very small and deal in localized markets. However, since a significant percent- age of employees in finance institutions are low level office posi- tions (e.g., tellers) filled by women, it was felt that a consideration of a sample from this category may prove useful, and would certainly not prove harmful to the analysis at hand. Second, some attention was paid to size in selecting the four cases presented here. I felt it important to look at institutions with significant variations in size so that possible structural con- ditions relating only to size could be identified. As it turned out, each sector provided a sample of different size, in line with the dual economy and radical models of large monopoly firms and smaller competitive firms. The monopoly sector sample, GM, is very large, the state sector sample, MSU is medium-sized and Jacobson's and FNBEL are 66 small. Thus, differences among these institutions cannot clearly be attributed to either size or sector, and may well be a result of both. Finally, it was necessary that each case employ a clerical force. Although the necessity of this criterion is obvious, it was not as simple to fulfill as was first expected. The problem rested primar- ily in the competitive sectOr. First, there is a tremendous variety of work organizations which fit into the competitive sector descrip- tion. More than any other sector, competitive firms vary in size, kind of work performed, degree of organization, etc. Choosing a sample from the competitive sector, therefore, presented an array of problems concerninnghat to look for. Secondly, many competitive firms successfully operate with a clerical force of only one or two. It was not clear that analysis of such a small clerical force would provide a reliable basis for comparison with larger systems. This question--the importance of firms with one or two clerks for theories of clerical working conditions--is open to research. An important problem in choosing any of the samples of this study revolved around the definition of clerical work. In national statistics, clerical work includes a hodgepodge of jobs which cannot be described as the typical office work of filing and typing. One example of this is the inclusion of sales work under the clerical category. Since the purpose of this study is to compare work organ- izations across sectors, I decided to only look at work in each sample that was similar to work in the other samples. Thus, in the case of Jacobson's, sales workers were not included in the analysis since they performed work that did not compare with work done by clericals at GM, MSU, or FNBEL. 67 A similar problem exists for the work defined as clerical at Fisher. Only a few clerical positions were described as strictly secretarial in nature. Also included under the clerical heading were jobs such as security desk maintenance and basic accounting. Al- though clerical work at all of these cases involves some bookeeping skills, a small percentage of Fisher clerical employees perform more complex levels of bookeeping and/or accounting functions. In compar- ing this work to the job of a teller at the bank or to a clerk-typist at Olds, the difficulty of treating clerical work as a single category including so wide a variety of work becomes obvious. For purposes of this thesis, I have included as clerical, any work that is described by the company as clerical and which also involves as its primary respon- sibility, record keeping and the processing of paper work. In this sense, security desk personnel at Fisher qualify as clerical employees; they keep records of who enters into the plant as well as process special request forms, for example, obtaining proper signatures where required. Data Sources Due to a number of limitations, the data sources for this study are not as reliable as one might wish. With a few exceptions, most of the data was obtained through interviews with managerial personnel at each of the organizations. Information about GM was obtained through short interviews with the affirmative action directors at both Fisher and Olds and through in depth interviews with assistant personnel directors at both plants also. No interviews with clerical employees were obtainable. 68 My information about MSU is the most complete. For the past two years, I have worked as a clerical employee at the MSU Library. During this time, I have become very familiar with both formal and informal aspects of MSU clerical employment. I was particularly for- tunate to be there during a reclassification of all clerical and tech— nical positions and as a result, participated in many informal and formal (i.eu, union) discussions of the nature of clerical employment. A number of my friends are employed in other departments within the university and have provided me with valuable insights about their work conditions. In addition, for purposes of this study, I have in- terviewed the Special Assistant to the Executive Vice-President as well as the Employee Relations Area Manager. Over the past year I have also had the opportunity to discuss various aspects of clerical employ- ment with the two top officials in the MSU clerical union. My information sources at the First National Bank of East Lans- ing are an interview with the personnel officer (who is also a branch officer) and with an ex-employee, who had been employed at FNBEL for nine months and had terminated spring l977--around the same time this study was initiated. Finally, only one interview could be obtained from Jacobson's, perhaps because the store is small enought\to be run as a "one man show." The General Office Manager heads the store which includes a very small office staff of fifteen persons. His control over that office situation inhibited any contact on my part with clerical em- ployees. The analysis of Jacobson's, therefore, is especially subject to error or misinterpretation. 69 Problems of Methods in This Study Access to information about private business concerns has al- ways been a problem for researchers. I found this to be especially true when I explained to those interviewed that part of my purpose was to look at the affirmative action programs at their organizations. I was not welcome to interview employees; nor was I welcome to spend a day or more of observation at their work place. Thus, particularly for GM and Jacobson's, my information sources are necessarily biased in nature since no clerical employee interviews were obtained. Where- ever possible, in the text, I have tried to refer to this bias. A second limitation of the data sources in this study has to do with the element of time. Observation over a long period of time is necessary for accurate analysis of cases. Ideally, I would have preferred to spend a certain period of time at each workplace, inter- viewing a variety of employees, while at the same time observing daily interactions. Finally, limitations exist for accurate comparisons among these institutions. Olds and Fisher are two divisions of a much larger or- ganization; the same is true for Jacobson's. By contrast, FNBEL and MSU are analyzed as entire systems, rather than as one division or department within a larger system. Therefore, in comparing communica- tions and authority systems and in defining them as loose, rigid, open or closed by virtue of accessibility to top management, one may run into problems in defining what comparative top positions within each organization are. For example, the president at FNBEL is the head of the entire organization while the general office manager at Jacobson's is the head of only a sub-system within a larger organization. 70 For purposes of this thesis, an arbfitrary definition of top manage- ment positions will be proposed: those top positions within each physical working place will be looked to for measuring authority and communications systems. In spite of the various limitations of this study, I felt it was still worthwhile to continue this study for two reasons. First, I hope to raise questions which can be answered more fully as additional research is undertaken in this area. Perhaps individuals who have personal experiences with the kinds of work systems discussed here (experience such as mine at MSU) will be motiveated Unwrite about them, providing support or criticisms of the observations offered here. Secondly, since my emphasis in this study is on structural conditions of clerical work (such as unionization, wages, etc.), sources of information are not as important as they are in other studies. In this sense, managerial interviews suffice as reliable sources of information about wages, benefits, and the absence or pre- sence of a union. However, in looking at communication and authority systems, for example, my conclusions are on shakier grounds. In short, this study is primarily an exploratory one, concerned with raising questions and issues which have so far been lacking in the literature on clerical work. 71 FOOTNOTES 1Becker, Howard S. Sociological Work: Method and Substance. Aldine Publishing Co., Chicage, 1970. 2Nall, Elizabeth Williams. Social Movement to Social Organiza- tion: A Case Study of A Woman's Center. Ph.D., M.S.U., Dept. of Sociology. 1976. CHAPTER IV FOUR CASE STUDIES The purpose of this thesis is to explore the utility of dual economy and radical theories of economic discrimination for clerical work. For this reason, I have chosen to look at four specific sam- ples of clerical employment. These cases were chosen according to the sector in which they belong, so that samples of clerical work in each sector could be examined. This chapter will describe the conditions found at each of the cases: General Motors, Michigan State Univer- sity, First National Bank of East Lansing and Jacobson's Department Store. General Motors Two large and complex organizations will be looked at in this study. They are two divisions of the same corporation--General Motors. The divisions are Oldsmobile and Fisher Body, both of which are located in Lansing. General Motors is one of the largest corporations in the U.S. and qualifies, in every sense of the word, as a monopoly or core firm. It is tremendous in size and it is multi-national in scope. In Lansing, it is a primary source of employment of white, as well as blue, collar workers. Last year, GM's net sales after costs and depre- 1 ciation were accounted for, was $5,153,700.000. Oldsmobile is the second largest category of cars sold by the GM corporate structure. 72 73 In this study, Oldsmobile and Fisher Body have been chosen to represent this large corporation. Although it cannot be said with certainty that either of these two are typical, all of the managers interviewed have indicated that policies and structural arrangements would be similar in any other GM division. Oldsmobile Oldsmobile employs a large clerical staff. The total number of white collar employees working there are estimated to be about 1200. roughly 600 based in zones outside Lansing with the remaining 600 based at the home office in Lansing. Of this 600, approximately 150 are categorized as clerical which involves primarily secretarial, steno/clerk or typist work. The remainder of the white collar employ- ees are for the most part, salespeople and managers. Every job is classified at a particular level. Clerical levels begin at level three (there are no levels one or two) and proceed up to and including level five; level six begins lower management positions. Most of the three's are entry level, although occassionally someone with a college degree or equivalent work experience may enter in at a four or five. For the most part, however, Oldsmobile prefers to advance from within, that is, clerical employees tend to move to upper level clerical posi- tions and low level managers move to upper level management. Each level consists of many position codes and titles. For ex- ample, a level three includes the title "clerk." This position is assigned a specific salary range (a minimum and a maximum) and specific types of duties and responsibilities.. If a person in this position were to advance, it would be to a level four, where the same position 74 is "clerk-secretary." From this position, one would likely advance to a level five, "secretary" position, once again involving similar duties but with more responsibilities. Three observations about this situation relate to the discussion in chapter two. First, the process of assigning job levels to particular job positions is determined in large part by job content and responsibilities. The assistant per- sonnel director interviewed stated that responsibility is the strong- est determining factor in assigning levels. Responsibility is defined primarily as the ability to keep confidential information confidential. As an individual progresses up the ladder, s/he is entrusted with in- creasingly classified information. Therefore, the official view is that responsibility in these clerical positions does not revolve so much around the development of decision-making skills, or, the ability to successfully handle authority, but rather with the entrustment of secret information. This process is indicative of the "second wife" syndrome referred to by Benet--one can advance from level three to level five if one can prove personal loyalty to the boss and the com- pany. A second point of emphasis concerns the lack of any formalized steps connecting clerical and managerial ladders. In order to advance to a managerial position, one must possess a college degree. No educa- tional programs or assistance exists for those clericals who would like to eventually move into level six positions and up. In fact, even if a clerical individual does possess a college degree, opportunities for advancement are not automatically assured. Within the past few years, a department of Human Resources has been established at GM, responsible for identifying employees within the company who have potential for . 75 advancement. It is up to this department not only to identify these people, but to also take steps which will result in their actual dd- vancement. Many of these employees are identified by virtue of their college degrees. Unfortunately, this approach means that the clerical employee is dependent upon someone else watching out for him or her, as opposed to having the option of independently choosing any one of a number of logical career paths. The third observation is the existence of a "very rigid" (in the words of the assistant personnel director) supervisory hierarchy. This hierarchic structure is very clearly defined as is indicated by an organizational chart which outlines who is under whom. Thus, in terms of the formal authority/hierarchy factors discussed in Chapter two, Oldsmobile can be classified as a distinctly hierarchical organ- ization. This information is based solely on interviews with managers; clericals in the organization may see it differently but I wasn't able to obtain their views. The level of technology involved in the three, four and five levels at Oldsmobile was described by the assistant personnel director as fairly simple. In response to questions concerning the technical complexity of clerical jobs, he identified electric typewriters as the ‘primary machines used by clericals. Some computer employees, such as keypunch operators are involved with machines other than typewriters, but for the most part, these employees are assigned only simple, tech- nical jobs. Individuals involved in more complex computer work are not classified at clerical levels. An important point to raise at this time concerns the impact (or lack of it) that technology has had for clerical work. Although only routine technical tasks may be 76 performed by GM clerical employees, complex tasks of another nature (such as problem-solving or administrative functions) may fall under their responsibility. Unfortunately, managerial interviews do not give forth this kind of information. Up until a year ago, according to the assistant personnel dir- ector, communication systems were fairly rigid, corresponding to hierarchical authority arrangements. Formal and informal contact between clerks, low level managers and upper management was primarily on a downward basis. GM does subscribe to the “open door" policy, which officially allows for the very low level employees to request interviews with top management. However, according to the assistant personnel director, this does not occur very often and he is not aware of it ever having occurred in his plant since he has been there. Presently, some changes are being made in formal communication sys- tems, more of which will be discussed in chapter six. The manager in- terviewed feels, however, that no matter what changes are attempted, some communication problems will always remain due to the size of the organization and the number of employees. Insofar as physical conditions at GM are concerned, clerical employees at Oldsmobile are not grouped into large pdols such as has been described elsewhere. In fact, two or three idividuals at most are usually assigned to an office. The absence at Olds of large pools of clerical workers has some important ramifications for rad- ical theory, particularly if indicative of the general situation of clericals. Various radical theorists have argued that the organiza- tion of clerical workers into large pools will result in a prole- tarianization effect. They argue that paper work performed in 77 assembly line fashion recreates the conditions of production work and will therefore give rise to unionization. Further research is needed to identify current trends of clerical work away from, or towards, large pools. An important question which should be raised as a part of this research involves the question of whether or not large pools ever really existed--and if so, whether current trends away from them indicate conscious responses on the part of business to reduce the proletarianization effect. Physical conditions of clerical work are important in a second sense--as symbols of status. Interestingly, physical surroundings such as carpeting or presence or absence of windows, is determined by the status of one's boss. This situation was pointed to by both Kanter and Benet as an example of vicarious status sources for clerical work- ers. As the manager interviewed mentioned, many clerical employees lower in the job hierarchy than she, worked'hinicer office arrange- ments than hers (i.e., more space, bigger desks, etc.) simply because their bosses were higher in the job hierarchy. In the case of cler- ical workers who are not personal secretaries, physical environment is dependent upon the status or importance of the department. In chapter two, I reviewed various factors relating to the fail- ure of white collar workers to organize. Wilbur and McLean pointed to the sense of conflict some clerical workers may feel between union and boss. This situation could be the case at GM Since clerical mo- . bility depends upon proving loyalty to the company (or, a boss). In addition, Wilbur and McLean cite the failure of manufacturing unions to devote resources toward organizing clericals within their own industries due to a fear that conflicting demands at the bargaining 78 table may be the end result. It is not clear that the UAW has de- veloped a stragegy for increasing their size by incorporating auto clerical workers into their organizations. Further research is war- ranted on the union or non-union status of clericals in firms or in- dustries where production workers are unionized. The important point for this study is that clerical workers at GM--a monopoly sector firm-- are not unionized. This fact has very important ramifications for the dual economy and radical analyses. Fisher Fisher Body is somewhat different from Oldsmobile due to the lack of as many clerical employees who can be classified as steno- graphic and secretarial in nature. Out of 4,600 employees at the Fisher plant in Lansing, only 100 are clerical levels. This differ- ence is due primarily to the fact that it is strictly a manufacturing plant with a pre-determined customer--GM. The clerical job positions at Fisher differ from the same clerical level positions at Olds. Fisher's 3, 4, and 5 levels involve: accounting (level 5), general manufacturing paper work (4 and 5), security, technical manufacturing and personnel. Strictly secretarial positions number only four or five in the entire plant. Thus, in looking at Fisher clerical per- sonnel, the nature of duties described as clerical (e.g., security) must be considered when comparing against other organizations. Out of these 100 clerical positions, the ratio of women to men is roughly 50:50, with some (unspecified) positions involving more of one sex than the other. Salaries which correspond to the varying levels are considered confidential information; however, the manager 79 interviewed at Fisher did indicate that clerical annual salaries are at least equal to those earned by unionized employees, which, based on the figures he gave to me, places a beginning clerical in- come at $13,000 or higher. As was stated above, each position cor- responds to a salary range. Supervisors are allowed discretion in awarding merit increases not to exceed the maximum figure for that position. As with Oldsmobile, the hierarchic job structure is a farily rigid one. Each individual is identified with a position so that responsibilities and task activities are clearly outlined. Lines of authority are.u.also specified. 'Plant positions report ultimately to the plant manager who then reports to higher croporation officials outside the plant. At the same time, individual managers inside the plant are also responsible to corporation division managers, a sys- tem which crosses plant lines. In the event of any conflict, cor- poration divisions take priority. Thus, the impact of low level clerical workers on matters involving important decisions is virtu- ally negligible. The level of technology at Fisher is slightly more complex than at Oldsmobile. Clerical workers perform some routine computer work according to the assistant personnel director. Likewise, routiniza- tion of clerical work is slightly less developed. At Fisher, basic accounting tasks are included under the heading of clerical work. It seems that at Fisher, more emphasis is placed on the technical process of producing cars than on sales, and therefore, paper work as at Olds. Insofar as communication structures are perceived, the manager 8O interviewed feels that there are direct and accessible paths for up- ward communication. Obviously, this is a biased observation, coming from an assistant personnel director--it is not clear that a GM secretary would agree. Meetings with outside-plant corporation com- mittees are regularly scheduled. Fisher also subscribes to the open door policy as mentioned under Olds, which theoretically, at least provides a structure whereby the lowest level three clerk can pro- ceed through a series of meetings right up to a Vice-President of the corporation. In fact, no one at Fisher Body has ever yet followed this path to the end but the manager interviewed does feel that such an n event is not inconceivable. Once again, a clerical employee's per- ception of the situation would prove immensely valuable--the fact that no one has even taken advantage of the open door policy makes it highly suspect. As with Oldsmobile, Fisher has also recently implemented a new program to improve communication upward; this will be discussed in the next chapter. It is interesting to note that the assistant personnel directors at each division, Olds and Fisher, differed in their percep- tions of the communication system at their respective places. Olds was described as very rigid whereas Fisher was described as a little more open. If this is true, perhaps one of the factors responsible is the nature of the clerical work at each plant. Where clerical workers do work that is more stenographic and secretarial in nature, commun- ication may be more rigidly controlled. This would be true particular- ly if stenographic work is connected (in the minds of managers) to routine work. The Haige and Aiken study cited in chapter two found that routine work is more likely to be characterized by centralization 81 of power and formalization of roles. By contrast, where clerical work is more technical and less routinized in nature, perhaps more flexible systems of communication tend to develop. Further research on these relationships is warranted. Finally, the physical environment for clericals (as well as for managers) at Fisher is quite uniform: plain and simple for everyone. There are no large pools of clerical workers and in most cases, not more than a few people share an office. As with Olds, clerical em- ployees are not unionized; however, the manager interviewed felt quite strongly that benefits were higher for non-unionized employees than for those unionized. Although he cited profit sharing as an ex- ample, it is not clear that other benefits would hold up under in- spection. To summarize, some structural relationships which affect cler- cial working conditions as outlined in chapter two can be clearly seen in the GM corporate structure. The two plants have developed rigid hierarchical job divisions, as well as fairly rigid communication sys- tems (although the degree of rigidity may vary somewhat according to plant). Policy is set at the top of the corporate structure, and must be implemented at the lower management levels. Routinization of work is the norm for clerical employees, with some possible variation by plant. Although promotions from within are stressed, this in reality only applies to promotions form 3 to 4 to 5 levels for cler- icals. Promotions into management positions are not automatic and are in fact rare for clerical employees. The possession of a college degree is a crucial qualification for entry into management, and is one which functions as a means of limiting clerical entry into 82 management. Michigan State University The only public sector employer which will be considered in this study is Michigan State University. As of June 1976 it employed a total of 8,889 employees, 2,569 of whom were clerical-technical. Out of this number, 443 were men compared to 2,126 who were women. As a public institution, its income depends on legislative budget alloca- tions. Thus, as James Long has pointed out, the institution as an employer is subject to political pressures from without. As indicated by the large number of employees, MSU is a large organization, certainly the single largest employer in the East Lans- ing area. Administrative units are numerous and complex. Each depart- ment and service area at the university involves its own administra- tive apparatus. In terms of stability, MSU (as well as Oldsmobile and Fisher) . is assured of a fairly long lasting future. Its status as a state financed university contributes to the likelihood of its continued ex- istence, although budgetary allocations may vary from year to year. Since it is not a sales or production oriented organization a great pr0portion of its resources are devoted to self-maintenance. MSU is a bureaucratic system but in a different way than either Oldsmobile or Fisher. At MSU, a great deal of autonomy is accorded the individual units, albeit within the general guidelines set up by the central administration. Virginia Nordsby, Affirmative Action dir- ector at the University of Michigan, has.attributed this tendendy of autonomy at universities to the strong ideology of academic freedom and independence which pervades higher education in America. (This 83 statement was made in an interview in spring of 1977.) The amount of centralization and/or decentralization of decision-making at MSU is largely dependent on one's place of work. For example, in a small department with only a few clerical workers, contact and communica- tion with supervisors and administrators may differ considerably from the situation of clerical workers in the Administration Building, where large numbers of clericals are gathered together experiencing little direct contact with the higher administrators of their unit. Clerical positions are divided into ten levels, ranging from three to twelve. Salary ranges start at around $7,000 forentry level positions and may range as high as $17,746 for top clerical positions, where the individual in it has years of seniority. Each level has its own job classification which describes certain (somewhat ambig- uous) levels of responsibility and routinization involved in each position. Thus, an Office Assistant I and Library Clerk II are both level 5 positions and should therefore both involve the same general level of responsibilities and routinization and/or specialization of work. Entry level positions tend to be primarily at the 3rd, 4th and 5th levels, although this does not necessarily operate as a hard and fast rule. (Further elaboration on this point will be discussed under unionization.) Levels of responsibility vary widely from job to job and from workplace to workplace. The duties of clerk in one department may be arranged so as to reduce to a minimum the amount of decision- making and access to infbrmation required. On the other hand, a secretary to a top administrator may be invested with quite a bit of responsibility even to the extent of assuming some administrative 84 tasks. Communication systems may also be quite diversified depending on the work location of a position. Smaller units (i.e., small depart- ments) may have different communication/interaction structures than a larger unit where greater numbers of workers are gathered. An impor- tant distinction to make here is that although ultimate authority is vested in a central administrative unit (just as with Oldsmobile and Fisher), quite a bit of discretion is allowed individual administra- tors of departments and this discretion allows for a wide range of variety in terms of all the factors focused on here. It is not clear that this diversification is unique to MSU. Perhaps inside knowledge of Olds or Fisher would uncover the same vairety. However, the ideo- logical emphasis on departmental authority and the physical separation of work units may result in real differences among organizations. Not only might various departments vary from place to place, so too do physical working conditions. Unlike Olds or Fisher, MSU em- ployees are not all concentrated in one building. On campus, the age of the building often determines the physical working conditions in- volved. For example, carpeted floors, air conditioning and number of people in an office varies from building to building as well as from status to status. In 1974, MSU clerical and technical employees organized the MSU Employees Association (MSUEA). The formation of the association has had three major ramifications for clerical working conditions. First, MSUEA has played an important role in the introduction of job classifications to the MSU emplyee system. Prior to the association, there were no clearly delineated job classification systems on campus 85 for clericals. Wages and responsibilities were defined to a large extent by individual administrators and therefore, varied widely from unit to unit. The implementation of specific job categories produced two results. On the one hand, it served to further the pro- cess of bureaucratization for clericals. In some cases, this meant a downgrading of jobs. At the same time, however, it provided some protection against over-work for under-pay. A second impact of the MSUEA on MSU clerical workers had to do with the introduction of a mechanism whereby formal upward communica- tion could be guaranteed. Specifically, clerical employees now have channels to follow in the event of job related dissatisfactions. This includes a grievance procedure which allows an employee to bring to arbitration a question of job responsibility. A final and perhaps the most important impact of the MSUEA on “MSU clerical working conditions involved the control over hiring prac- tices which the association was able to assert. Whenever a position within the bargaining unit opens up, the job must be posted in a list- ing which is published weekly. This posting must be placed in a position where all employees can see it and must be kept there for a week. During this time, anyone within the bargaining unit can sub- mit an application to the personnel department. This department then selects three employees with the most seniority and sends these appli- cations on to the hiring unit. The hiring unit must interview these three applicants and if none are chosen, a written reason must be submitted to, and approved by, the personnel department. Most often, the hiring unit does choose one of the applicants. Although this system provides assurance that promotions will be available to all 86 clerical employees with seniority, the system does not work as strict- ly with administrative posts. In filling administrative positions, the university is not required to hire from within and can easily go off-campus to hire. Thus, paths from clerical to administrative posi- tions are not clearly developed. To sunmarize, MSU is a large, complex organization, although not as large as GM. It depends on a hierarchic, bureaucratic job struc- ture although perhaps not quite as rigid as Oldsmobile or Fisher. Routine levels of technology are utilized by clerical workers, a separate category of technical employees being responsible for ad- vanced technological work. Clerical levels are clearly defined with particular duties and responsibilities accorded each level. In all of these ways, then, MSU clerical working conditions are very similar to those described under Olds and Fisher. However, some differences may exist among the organizations. First, it appears that a greater variety of clerical working conditions may exist at MSU. This is indicated by both the number of clerical employees as well as the variety of clerical levels. There are more ’ steps in the clerical career ladder at MSU; however, pay scales dif- fer widely between organizations. GM's starting clerical wage is about double the starting wage of MSU clericals, probably due to its position as a monopoly sector firm. Another difference between the two organizations involves source of income. MSU, as a public in- stitution must justify expenditures to a political body which then determines how much money will actually be given. By contrast, GM as a private corporation is accountable to a much smaller group, the board of directors. The amount it spends is determined at least in 87 part by the profit it earns. A final possible difference is the less rigid and centralized authority structure at MSU than at Olds- mobile and Fisher. Although a formal chain of authority at MSU cer- tainly does exist, with some central administrators exerting great impact on clerical working conditions, generally speaking, departments at MSU may exercise greater autonomy than departments at Oldsmobile and Fisher. Further research should be pursued to verify this obser- vation. First National Bank of East Lansipg; The third work organization which will be looked at in this study is a small suburban bank, the First National Bank of East Lansing (FNBEL). The bank consists of one main branch, adjacent to MSU, and two additional branches, one serving a middle income area and the other serving a lower income area. The number of individuals employed by this bank is relatively small: one president, six officers, three secretaries, between twenty and twenty-five tellers and twelve office employees. For purposes of this study, FNBEL clerical employees will be defined as the secretaries, tellers and office employees. Further information will be provided later on in this section. Banks are difficult institutions to define in terms of the rad- ical and dual economy perspectives. Strict government regulation pre- vents small banking systems from feeling the effects of competitive market forces. In addition, some of the larger U.S. banks are closely akin to firms and industries located in the core sector. Although it is not within the scope of this study to resolve the question of where banks should fall in the radical or dual economy perspectives, what 88 will be addressed is an analysis of the clerical working conditions at this bank, and the relationship of these working conditions to the core, secondary and state labor market categories. In the case of FNBEL, clerical working conditions closely approximate those one would expect to find within the competitive sec- tor, should the radical or dual economy models hold true for clerical work. Wages are low, turnover is high, benefits are few. FNBEL has recently implemented a formalized job classification system. Positions at the bank are now organized into descriptive cat- egories, with a minimum and maximum salary range assigned to each. Although salary ranges are considered confidential information, I was told that some entry level positions start at minimum wages. At the bottom of this classification system are the file clerks. As indicated by the job title, these positions involve simple filing and alphabetizing functions. The next step up the classification ladder is a Clerk II, or, Clerk-Typist. Duties at this level are expanded to include, for example, typing accounts. Loan clerks are next and are responsible primarily for the paper work generated by the granting of a loan by an officer. Proof Operators are the most technical class- ifications at the clerical level; the work includes processing of all paper work resulting from one business day in an effort to prepare this work to be submitted to the Michigan National computer system. (FNBEL is too small to have its own computer system so they rent time on Michigan National's.) A bookkeeper (or an Account Clerk 1) is next up the ladder and is responsible for general bookkeeping func-r n tions. Beginning with tellers who follow bookkeepers, the ability to interpret bank policy becomes a factor in the job classification. The 89 personnel officer interviewed felt this since the ability to exercise tact, discretion and the ability to interpret and apply bank policy to a variety of situations is of paramount importance. Tellers are divided into three categories: Tellers I, II and III. These dis- tinctions are based primarily on level of experience. Following tellers in the classification scheme are the Branch secretaries, one at each bank. These secretaries perfbrm standard secretarial functions as well as open up new customer accounts. Next are the Account Clerk 11's who are responsible for maintaining specified bookkeeping areas in proper order (e.g., installments). Head Tellers are located at each bank. These positions involve the only supervisory responsibil- ities. In general, Head Tellers are responsible for supervising the work and work flow of each Teller, and they also assist in some aspects of long and short range personnel planning. Heading the cler- ical classification system is the Executive Secretary. She is at the main branch and is directly responsible to the President for general secretarial functions as well as for some of the more specialized banking functions such as opening new accounts. The formal authority structure at FNBEL is also fairly organized. The following chart provides an overview of the authority system as it was formally designed. Board of Directors | , [- a President Personnel Officer Cashier Audit Chief Executive Executive Officer I Personnel Officer Secretary | Branch Head Managers Teller Office Branch Tellers Clerks Pers. 90 This is not a full chart as it does not include all of the officers' positions within the system. However, it does provide an insight into the positions of clericals within the general structure of auth- ority. As is usually the case, authority systems made into a chart do not always describe the way authority really works in a particular organization. As described by a former employee, intercommunication at FNBEL (both in a formal and informal sense) tends to take on some interesting characteristics. Both formal and informal communication among Tellers is frequent. Meetings are held weekly, during which time questions and problems are raised and policies clarified. Only Tellers attend these meetings, with the Head Teller relaying any messages from the higher ranks of authority. In addition, social or informal communication among tellers occurs on a daily basis. Close physical working space provides the opportunity for frequent, informal interaction. On the other hand, very little communication exists between Tellers and Officers. Although physical separation may account for some of this (Officers are on the other side of the room at the main branch, and are separated from clericals by sections at the two branches), the physical distance is not so great as to account for such a total lack of intercommunication between the two groups. Even when Officers have formal information to get out, it is virutally al- ways done via the Head Teller. Physical distance is unacceptable as an explanation especially when one considers the frequency of inter- communication which takes place between the Tellers upstairs and the clerical personnel downstairs at the main branch. In fact, according 91 to the employee interviewed, various outside-of-work friendships have developed between some of the people upstairs and some of those down- stairs. Thus, what appears to be happening at FNBEL is that more frequent communication takes place between same-status individuals than between different-status individuals, despite barriers of phys- ical distance. Bank employees at FNBEL are not unionized. Perhaps related to this is the fact that wages are significantly low in comparison to MSU and GM clerical salaries. Although salary ranges for each job classification were unobtainable, the one-time employee interviewed verified the statement of the personnel officer that starting salaries for the lower end of the clerical hierarchy at FNBEL consist of Fed- eral minimum wages. Thus, the lowest paid clerical is paid less than the lowest paid clerical at MSU (by a difference of almost 2,000 dol- lars) and is paid considerably less than the lowest paid clerical at GM. Wage increases, when awarded, are based on merit. Three months after an employee is hired, an automatic review of that employee's work performance is undertaken by the Head Teller. An increase in pay may be awarded at this time. Thereafter, pay increases are done on an annual basis while work reviews are done quarterly. Occassion- ally, cash bonuses are awarded for work performance beyond the call of duty, i.e., after unusually heavy business periods. These bonuses, however, are rare. In light of the unusually low wages paid to FNBEL full-time employees, it it interesting to take note of an observation made by the former employee who was interviewed. This individual feels that a surprising amount of responsibility is accorded tellers at FNBEL. 92 She makes this observation based on her experience at two other banks (in Detroit) where she had previously been employed. Level of respon- sibility is defined by dollar amounts which can be handled by tellers without supervisor approval as well as by the ability to enter into the vault, to name two examples. I Level of technology at FNBEL is fairly simple, as is also the case at GM and MSU. Both the employee and the personnel officer whom I interviewed felt that any of the technical skills needed to perform satisfactory work at the clerical level are easily learned on the job. To summarize, although FNBEL cannot be placed in a particular category in line with the radical or dual economy models, clerical working conditions at FNBEL clearly approximate conditions described as belonging to the competitive, or secondary labor market. These char- acteristics include low wages, high turnover rates, few benefits and the lack of a union. The authority structure at FNBEL is fairly rigid although little direct contact occurs between Officers and Tellers. In addition, the clerical working conditions at FNBEL approximate those at MSU and Olds and Fisher as well, with a few exceptions. Wages and benefits are considerably higher at the two GM divisions than at FNBEL, and MSU clerical employees are unionized whereas FNBEL's are not. Looking at three of the four case studies, then, we find that structural conditions at all are basically the same for clerical workers. This is not in line with the dual economy and radical per- spectives, which propose that definite differences should exist in working conditions--differences such as wage level, unionization and technical skills--depending upon whether one is employed in the state, 93 monopoly or competitive sector. In fact, only one dual economy and radical characteristic has held true for these case studies, the significantly higher wage level at GM. Jacobson's According to the radical and dual economy analyses, a compet- itive sector firm is one which operates within a local, state or some- times national market. Competitive firms' level of product diversi- fication is usually limited, the wages such firms pay out to their employees are low and profit margins are not as great as those which can be fbund in the monopoly sector. Jacobson's is a retail store which fits the description of a competitive sector firm. Founded in 1869, Jacobson's began as a women's clothing store. Since then, its only expansion has been in size and in the introduction of home furn- ishings and men's and children's clothing. Not only is the level of product diversification at Jacobson's limited to these markets, the nature of these markets is also very competitive. Jacobson's is national in scope. The entire corporation con- sists of fourteen stores, located in the states of Michigan, Ohio and Florida, with the corporation headquarters based in Jackson, Mich- igan. In total, Jacobson's employees number 3,300. Currently, the company is on an upswing and has embarked upon an impressive expan- sion program. Over the past ten years, sales have advanced at the compound annual rate of twelve percent. The stores cater primarily to middle and upper income families. Despite these positive character- istics, the apparel market is competitive and Jacobson's is sensi- tive to changes in the economic conditions of the locality. 94 A descriptive account of only one of the fourteen stores will be presented here. The store is located in East Lansing and includes a clerical staff of about 175 (if one includes sales clerks in the classification). Although accounts of clerical workers (such as those cited in chapter one) often include sales workers in that category, little emphasis will be placed on Jacobson's sales personnel in this study. This is because of the difficulties involved with comparing clerical working conditions across institutions when one of the groups of clerical employees, performs an entirely different kind of work. Thus, only the office employees at Jacobson's will be referred to in this analysis. (An additional note of interest here involves the comments made by the General Office Manager concerning the nature of sales work as opposed to clerical work. He feels that sales work is more creative work since it involves working with a public, and selling merchandise. Sales employees are sales people first, concerned with the transfer of ownership of goods, and clerical people only second- arily. Their wage levels correspond to this "creative" approach to sales work. Minimum salaries are awarded these clerks with an addi- tional percentage of their sales receipts awarded at the end of the month. The more a sales clerk sells, the higher his or her income will be.) Only fifteen of the total number of clerical workers are office clerks. These employees are primarily concerned with paperwork: the recording and processing of sales write-ups and general bookkeeping responsibilities. The lowest paid office position at Jacobson's is assigned very simple duties of filing, alphabetizing and some typing. A more advanced position is the Sales Audit Clerk, who is responsible 95 for checking the daily sales records of the store. Even further up the clerical ladder are positions called EDP operators (electronic data processing). Credit Authorization clerks are the highest ranking clerical positions at Jacobson's. It is the responsibility of these workers to take over any customer credit problems which arise on the floor. Because of the problem-solving nature of this position, the clerk must be able to quickly trace the problem to its source, all the while exercising great tact and discretion in her interaction with the customer. The job categories themselves are structured so that duties and wages correspond. However, job classifications at Jacobson's are not as distinctly structured as has been found at GM, MSU or FNBEL. More specifically, fOrmal classifications within which each job is placed according to various criteria have not yet been developed at this store. Sales jobs are ranked informally according to depart- ment or kind of merchandise sold, which is directly related to the amount of money one can earn. Office jobs are ranked according to level of difficulty i.e., from simple bookkeeping to sales auditing to credit problem solving. There are no, for example, Bookkeeper I and II positions or Sales Audit Clerk I and II. Neither are there clear lines of progression from one job to another as there are when one type of work involves various formal levels of responsibilities. Therefore, when an individual begins at Jacobson's as an entry level file clerk, the next step upward is not clear, as it is when one en- ters into the bank or MSU or GM. This does not necessarily mean that clerical office workers at Jacobson's do not progress upwards; it merely means that the line of progression is not as obvious as it is 96 at the other places. It is not clear whether this arrangement is better or worse for clerical mobility. Progression along strict, occupational categories such as that at GM may inhibit advancement out_ of the clerical category even though it may encourage advancement with- in that category. On the other hand, a loose progression structure such as that at Jacobson's may inhibit clerical advancement even within the clerical category. Only an in-depth analysis of promotion trends over time would provide answers to these questions. Although the classification system is not as structured at Jacobson's as it is at other places, a clearly defined authority sys- tem does exist, at least on paper. At the top of the hierarchy, is the General Office Manager. Directly below this position are the Furniture Store Manager and the Apparel Store Manager, the Comptroller and such staff line positions as Advertising Manager, the Display Manager and the Personnel Manager. Under the Apparel Store Manager are Floor Supervisors who directly supervise department heads. The Furniture Store Manager is not only responsible for the furniture store but has also been delegated a special assignment--management of the Jacobson's restaurant--due to his background in hotel and restaurant management. The Comptroller supervises the operating functions of the store, such as receiving, shipping and purchasing. A chart indicating the flow of authority is shown below: General Office Manager Office and Furniture Apparel Store Comptroller Others i.e., Credit Man. Store Manager Personnel Manager I Manager Office I | Floor Superv. Operating Clerks Dept. Rest- | Personnel Heads aurant Dept. Heads Sales Personnel 97 Jacobson's authority structure does not appear to be as rigid as that of GM. I fbund as an interviewer, that one simple trip to the store got me right into the General Manager's Office whereas a somewhat complicated series of phone calls over a period of days were necessary to make contact with the assistant personnel director at Fisher. My observations throughout the interviews indicated that access to top management for clerical personnel was also more open at Jacobson's; however, a more in depth observation period may prove this assumption erroneous. If authority is more flexible and top management more accessible at Jacobson's, it may be due to the presence of a public so close at hand. It is feasible that where employees have direct contact with a public, less control is exerted over their activities. The public may be viewed as a non-static variable in the work process so that pre- formed rules and regulations and procedures can only generally (not strictly) be adhered to by employees. Conversely, it is possible that when working in an environment which is not as sensitive or dependent on the human variable, the expected is more likely to occur. Thus, the presence of a public at some departments at MSU, FNBEL and Jacob- son's may account for the possible slight difference of authority rigidity. The level of technology is, once again, fairly simple. Typical office machinery is the extent of technological advancement at Jacob- son's. It is possible that a work organization's level of technology does pgt_play an important role in the case of clerical working condi- . tions at the present time. Historically, the invention of the type- writer has been cited as a primary factor in the feminization of the 98 clerical work force. In the future, widespread use of the computer may have significant impact on present structures of clerical Work, especially in regards to keypunch operators. For these cases, how- ever, technology does not appear to have significant importance for clerical working conditions. As with authority structures, communication systems at Jacob- son's also appear to be somewhat more open than in the other case studies looked at in this thesis. It is possible that open communica- tion is a direct result of size. Whereas clerical employees at the other institutions described in this chapter communicate with their immediate supervisors, it is not clear that communication takes place between clericals and top management. At Jacobson's, office employees have frequent visual contact with the General Office Manager, the top administrative position within the organization, due to the layout of the office (to be described in more detail). This situation does not hold true fOr GM, MSU or FNBEL. Authority and communication systems may be more open at Jacobson's than at FNBEL or at GM or at some departments at MSU. However, this should not imply that cler- ical workers have easy access to top management in any important ways (e.g., fbrmulating policy). In fact, it is highly probable that most of the inter-conmunication consists of supervisor problem-solving or downward exchange of information. As for physical working conditions, all of the office employees at Jacobson's work on the same floor in the same section. Therefore, no real variation in physical conditions according to status exists. One exception to this however, is the allocation of space. The gen- eral physical area is divided into separate offices or cubicles. The 99 general office manager occupies the largest (although it is hardly large in the "important executive" sense) office while the Personnel Manager occupies the second largest. Both of these offices are en- closed by solid walls. The clerical employees for the most part share cubicles which are enclosed in glass, probably fbr the purpose of improving their visibility. In addition to these status differences in allocation of space, a clear division of status along sex lines is immediately noticeable. All of the clerical employess are women and the general office man- ager is a man. However, the three remaining management positions with- in the office are filled by women. These positions are Office, Credit and Personnel. It is interesting to note that one of these, the Per- sonnel Manager, performs no supervisory function nor does she make decisions on who should be hired or fired. The position is a staff- line function which means in essence, that she exists to aid the depart- ment heads in choosing satisfactory personnel. As fbr the other two office management positions, they are in fact fairly low in Jacobson's hierarchy of managers. Jacobson's employees are not unionized. Not surprisingly, wages are relatively low. Office clerks are paid on a straight salary basis unless part-time, in which case, wages are hourly. Starting pay for an entry level position is presently $2.50 per hour. This adds up to $100 a week, or, $5,200 a year. The highest wage earned by an in- dividual clerk is earned by the woman with the most seniority. Her salary is $200 a week, or, $10,400 a year. Clearly, these ranges are considerably lower than MSU and GM; however, Clerical wages at Jacob- son's closely approximate clerical wages at FNBEL. 100 At Jacobson's, wages are increased according to (1) federal min- imum wage laws and (2) merit increases. Thirty days after an employee begins working at Jacobson's, s/he is evaluated on the basis of job performance. Sixty days later, a second evaluation is given, which nay--and often does, according to the General Office Manager--result in a pay increase. Three months later, a third evaluation and pos- sible wage increase occurs at an annual rate based on the employee's beginning employment date. These annual reviews are automatic but the merit increases are not. Merit raises are determined according to the individual's capabilities of handling responsibilities, at least as judged by supervisors. The General Office Manager expresses concern that Jacobson's is at the low end of the wage scale. He is not surprised at the high turnover rate in his store, which he attributes to the low wages. In addition, he feels the labor pool from which he draws is largely a transient one--comprised in part, of MSU students who often desire em- ployment for anywhere from three to nine months out of the year. He cites a third contributing factor to the high turnover rate--the necessity of working undesirable hours. The main bulk of business transactions take place on Saturdays, therefore, most employees are expected to work these hours. In addition, at least one and some- times two night slots are required to be covered. In order to minimize the low wage structure, (which he feels is necessary due to the posi- tion of the store as a small scale operation), transient labor force and undesirable work hours, the General Office Manager has developed a policy whibh emphasizes promoting from within. If an individual em- ployee proves capable in an entry level position, efforts are made 101 to advance that employee as quickly as openings will allow, in an effort to prevent that employee from moving on to another employer. However, this rule of thumb works more successfully with the sales work force than with the clerical work force at Jacobson's because clerical advancement doesn't include significant pay increases as well. Sales advancement means transfer to a more lucrative depart- ment, where one can see significant increases in pay almost immedi- ately. Significant pay increases within the clerical sector can only be achieved through the long process of building up seniority. To summarize this description of Jacobson's, a number of factors will be reviewed. First, Jacobson's is a competitive sector organiza- tion, medium-sized and based on a three-state market. The authority structure at Jacobson's does not appear extremely rigid although a definite line of authority does exist. The same observation holds true for Jacobson's communication structure. The level of technology is fairly simple as is also the case with the other organizations looked at in this study. Physical environment for all office employ- ees is fairly similar with the exception of the physical allocation of space. Finally, Jacobson's employees are not unionized and are paid extremely low wages. 102 1Moody's Industrial Manual. Moody's Investor Service, Inc., New York, 1977, vol. 1. CHAPTER V ANALYSIS OF DATA According to the radical and dual economy theorists, firms and workers can be categorized according to their position within the core, state or secondary sector. Core firms are for the most part, large, multi-national and oligopolistic. Characteristics of core la- bor are high worker productivity, advanced technical skills, high wages, a high degree of employee stability and a tendency toward un- ionization. On the other hand, secondary or competitive firms have little or no oligopolistic control, relatively small profit margins and are usually smaller in size than core firms. Their labor markets are characterized by low worker productivity, simple technical skills, low wages, high turnover rates and a tendency away from unionization. Both radical and dual economy theories describe the state labor market as tending more toward characteristics of the core. The four cases in this study were chosen for the purpose of com- paring the structural working conditions of one specific group of workers, clericals, in a sample institution (which may not be repre- sentative) drawn from each sector. The aim was to test the theory that clerical labor conditions vary from sector to sector as des- cribed in the radical and dual economy analyses outlined above. Two divisions of the large, multi-national, oligopolistic firm, General Motors, were chosen to represent a sample of core sector clerical 103 employment. 104 conditions for clericals in a state sector institution. Michigan State University provides a glimpse of working Not clearly de- fined as belonging to any sector, the First National Bank of East Lansing was chosen because women employed as clerical workers are often found in banking institutions. And finally, clerical workers at Jacobson's Department Store were chosen to represent a sample of cler- ical work in the competitive sector. resentative of the sectors they are identified with. It is recognized that these few cases are not necessarily rep- It is also clear that these few cases cannot provide conclusive evidence about the utility of dual economy and radical analyses of clerical work in gen- eral. whichwfill spark further research into this area. vations discussed in this chapter. It is hoped, however, that questions and insights can be raised The chart below provides, at a glance, a summary of the obser- Size Auth. Tech. Comm. Union Wages Sector GM lg. rigid simp. hierar- no high core chical MSU med. varies, simp. hierar- yes low state rigid chical FNBEL sm. rigid simp. hierar- no low unde- chical fined Jac. med. rigid simp. hierar- no low compet- chical itive According to the findings of this study, clerical work is not over- whelmingly characterized by differences based on sector. No out- standing differences in the structure of clerical work are evident 105 across the four institutions studied. However, a few variations among organizations do exist, all of which will be looked at here. One exception to the general findings of this study is the sig- nificantly high wage rate paid to clericals in the core sector sample firm, G.M. This one exception does support the general theories of radical and dual economy perspectives which predict that wages in the monopoly sector will be considerably higher than wages in the other sectors, particularly the competitive. Clerical workers at GM can be paid more than wages paid at state and secondary sector organiza- tions since GM's profit margin is considerably higher. Besides the ability to pay, GM also has the incentive to pay. If the wages and/or benefits of white collar workers were to fall significantly behind those of GM's unionized blue collar workers, conditions would be such as to encourage unionization of white collar workers, an occurrence which GM top management would like to avoid. A second difference which exists among cases in this study is that which is based on the public or private nature of an employer. MSU, the only state institution in this study, is the only case where clerical employees are unionized. It is also the only case where all clerical working conditions do not tightly fit into the rigid authority and hierarchical communication patterns described in all of the other cases. However, this generalization should be qualified in several ways. First, if MSU truly deviates, at least in some of its departments, from the patterns observed in this study, the deviance may in fact be due to its role as an institution of higher education rather than its role as a public institution. As pointed to earlier, institutions of higher education may be subject to a strong ideological 106 emphasis on departmental autonomy. If this is so, the structural con- ditions which vary according to department may in reality be ascribed to differences in personalities and work style of the heads of depart- ments. This variation may not be found in other public employment in- stitutions. Secondly, due to my own position as a clerical employee at Michigan State University, I may have inside knowledge of the vari- ations among departments which I do not have for the other cases, but which may still exist. Finally, and most importantly, the variation of authority rig- idity and communication flow that may be occurring in different depart- ments at MSU may not, in fact, be as great as they appear. The import- ance of the ability to feel comfortable approaching a supervisor with a complaint or a suggestion, or the ability to monitor one's work schedule, may pale in comparison to the ability to participate in truly important administrative decisions such as policy formulation or reorganization of work assignments, an opportunity which clerical work- ers on campus do not have. Thus, even though MSU clerical working conditions may differ somewhat from the other cases looked at in this thesis, the variation is not of critical importance to the overall working conditions of MSU clerical employees. Hierarchical working arrangements still exist, and major decision-making opportunities are not present for clerical workers. A third variation in the descriptive comparisons among the four cases looked at here involves the observation that GM's authority struc- ture is slightly more rigid than those at some MSU departments, FNBEL and Jacobson's. It is not clear that further, more in depth research would result in the same conclusions. However, if GM's authority 107 system is, in fact, more rigid than elsewhere, some possible explan- ations can be suggested. First, the simple fact that GM is an extreme- ly large organization may explain at least some of the tendency to- wards increased rigidity in authority systems. As pointed out in chapter two, the argument has been made that size and hierarchical arrangements are positively related. Perhaps GM's tendency toward more rigid patterns of authority supports this proposition. Secondly, the presence or absence of an immediate public to be served may account for a tendency away from, or toward, rigid authority. As described earlier, the presence of a public involves the presence of an unpredictable, human element. Therefore, efficiency may dictate the delegation of more authority to all staff members be they clerical or otherwise. It is important to point out that overall, the differ- ences in rigidity of authority do not indicate the absence of rigid- ity at MSU, FNBEL and Jacobson's, but merely a slight drop in degree. Clerical workers at all of the four institutions are governed by fairly rigid authority systems. A final,and perhaps the most important, variation in structural characteristics among clericals involves the unionization of state clerical workers. None of the other institutions have unionized clerks. It is difficult to point to a particular set of reasons for explaining why some clerks organize and others do not. However, it is possible to recognize some structural changes in MSU clerical working conditions since the inception of the Michigan State University Em- ployees Association (MSUEA), even in spite of its general weaknesses. TWo immediate effects were an increase in salary and the implementa- tion of a grievance procedure system whereby an employee had recourse 108 (for the first time) to a higher authority should unfair work situa- tions occur. Overall, however, the introduction of a clerical union at MSU did not significantly affect general working conditions. Wages were not raised a great deal (especially compared to the GM clerical wage level) and grievances, although they occur, do not pro- vide a systematic method of changing existing patterns of work arrange- ments. A strict classification system of jobs was also implemented and it is not yet clear if this has worked to the advantage or disadvant- age of MSU's clerical employees. In short, despite some minor variations, clerical working condi- tions appear to be genreally the same at GM, MSU, FNBEL and Jacobson's. Authority systems are generally rigid and communication systems are hierarchical. Technical skills are simple and the physical environ- ment at each place tends to involve a division of clericals into small units. Unions are not common. If the results of this study are indicative of the general con- ditions of clerical workers everywhere, dual and radical theorists must develop an analysis which explains this important deviation from their framework. The failure of clerical work to fit into their analysis does not necessarily mean that the analyses are not useful. As cited earlier, looking at the distribution of the work force into competi- tive and monopoly sectors by sex clerarly indicates that a dispropor- tionate percentage of women can be found in the competitive sector. In 1970, when women comprised about 38% of the total work force, 61% were employed in the competitive sector as compared to 39% of male workers, 1 who comprised about 62% of the labor force. Thus, dual economy and radical analyses provide an informative model for understanding this 109 aspect of economic discrimination based on sex. In addition, dual economy and radical perspectives may accurately explain firm and labor market differences for those who fall into the traditional Marxian concept of productive workers. Productive labor, as defined in MarXian analysis, refers to labor that results in the creation of new surplus value. Auto workers' labor contributes to the acutal production of new cars; clerical workers' labor at auto firms furthers the distribution as opposed to production of new cars; therefore, it is in Marxist tarms, unproductive labor. It is possible that the difference between productive and unproductive labor (a differ- ence which involves some controversey, i.e., is the category useful?) is important to the dual economy and radical models of labor. In other words, the dual economy or radical analysis may be applicable to pro- ductive labor but not to unproductive labor in general. Unfortunately, it is outside the scope of this study to determine the nature of this relationship. More in depth case studies are necessary--studies not only of additional clerical forces but also of other kinds of unproduc- tive labor, e.g., waitressing. In addition, unproductive work that is dominated by men must also be investigated to check for the impact of gender on structural working conditions. Finally, productive labor dominated by men and productive labor dominated by women must be looked at in order to develop accurate further analysis. Although the role of unproductive labor categories will be left open to further research, two other factors which may be responsible for the failure of clerical work to fit into dual economy and radical models of analyses will be introduced at this time. First, a variety of structural factors (which are inherent to 110 clerical work) may be responsible for the tendency of clerical work to be the same everywhere. Some of these structural factors may be those which were considered in the descriptive case accounts given earlier in chapter three. For example, clerical work, at least in theory, involves the separation of routine paper work from decision- making positions of responsibility. Thus, most clerical jobs are defined by their repetitive, routinized work assignments. This fact concerning clerical work (if consistent across sectors) may, at least in part, be responsible for the similarity of clerical work everywhere. However, there is a problem with suggesting that the sameness of cler- ical work by nature is responsible for the sameness of clerical work across sectors. Factory workers everywhere are also, by definition, performing work which is repetitive and routine and which is separated from decision-making, responsible positions. However, factory work is considered by radical and dual economy theorists to be accounted for by the sector analysis. Therefore, perhaps a second possibility for explaining the tend- ency of clerical work to be unaffected by firm status has to do with the overriding impact of gender on clerical work. In other words, per- haps the fact that clerical work is so overwhelmingly performed by women is the most important explanation for the failure of clerical work to fit into dual economy and radical categorizations. For what- ever historical reasons, women are now concentrated into clerical jobs. If this fact is responsible for the failure of dual economy and radical theories to account for clerical work, perhaps it is because separate analyses must be integrated to explain male working conditions and economic discrimination based on sex. 111 FOOTNOTES 1Sandler, Mark. "The Transformation of Clerical Labor in Capitalist Development.“ Michigan State University Ph.D. disserta- tion. Dept. of Sociology, 1977. CHAPTER VI EFFORTS AT CHANGE--AFFIRMATIVE ACTION A Review of Affirmative Action Requirements In the first five chapters structural characteristics of clerical work in four separate organizations were identified for two purposes: (1) to discover whether the dual and radical analyses applied to cler- ical work and (2) to discover specific characteristics of clerical work in general. This chpater will focus on the effectiveness of cur- rent efforts to change clerical working conditions, with particular emphasis placed upon the role of changing the structure of clerical work. Most current efforts at changing the kinds of jobs women do within a work organization are rooted in federal affirmative action requirements. As expected, such is the case for the few attempts at changing clerical jobs, or people in them, in the four organizations ' considered here. To date, affirmative action programs where required by law have had an almost negligible impact on clerical working con- ditions and/or clerical mobility. Before describing the particular efforts at change presently occurring within each of these organiza- tions, a brief history of the events which have led to affirmative action will be presented. Accounts vary as to what legal act gave rise to current legal requirements of affirmative action. Perhaps the first legal document 112 113 which directly addressed the problem of economic discrimination was the Equal Pay Act of 1963. Essentially what the act provided for was equal pay for equal work. Equal pay between the sexes became a requirement wherever men and women were engaged in work demanding equal skill, equal effort, equal responsibility and which was performed under sim- ilar working conditions. In 1972, an amendment was added which expanded the act's coverage to include all private and public educational insti- tutions. In 1964, the Civil Rights Act was enacted and one year later, Title VII went into effect. Specifically, Title VII prohibits dis- crimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national or- igin. Employment discrimination was defined to include such areas as job assignments, layoff and recall, promotions, training, sick leave time and pay, medical and insurance coverage, vacations and overtime. The bfoq (bona fide occupational qualification) provides for situations where specific skills or physical requirements are necessary to per- fbrm satisfactorily. For example, for some jobs, a prospective em- ployee must be required to lift a specific weight amount before being eligible for hire. Such qualifications are acceptable under Title VII. However, it is specified that such qualifications must be applied to. job candidates on an individual basis so that no bfoq's can be applied to any group as a whole. This act in effect, nullified individual state protective labor laws. Responsibility for the enforcement of Title VII was accorded the EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission). At first, the EEOC was limited to informal methods of settling disputes with accused companies and individuals. If an employer refused to settle with the 114 EEOC, it was left up to the individual filing the grievance to pursue the situation further, usually by obtaining a court order. Currently, .and effective as of 1972, the EEOC has the right to bring action in a U.S. District Court if an employer does not settle within thirty days. In 1965, Johnson iniated Executive Order #11246 which became ef- fective three years later. This order required government contractors with more than fifty employees and with contracts totalling more than $50,000 to develop affirmative action programs to correct inequalities within their organization. Order #11246 is enforced by the OFCC (Of- fice of Federal Contract Compliance) within the Department of Labor. The importance of this order lies in its requirement that contractors go beyond Title VII by taking specific steps to change employment opportunity. In later years, the department of Labor issued revised order #4 which expanded coverage of #11246 to include non-construction contracts with the government. In 1972, the Equal Employment Opportunity Act was ammended to include companies with fifteen or more employees, ed- ucational institutions, state, and local government agencies and labor unions with fifteen or more members, effective in 1973. Currently then, employment discrimination on the basis of sex (as well as other qualities) is prohibited by law. Furthermore, any organization which is involved with the government through contracting and which employs at least fifteen employees, must not only refrain from discrimination but must take steps to rectify imbalances which have resulted from past discriminatory practices. This is accomplished through the implementation of affirmative action programs. 115 An acceptable affirmative action program must include an an- alysis of minority and female participation in all levels of the organization to determine if minorities or women are being under-utilized. Under-utilization is defined as 'having fewer minorities or women in a particular job category than would be reasonably expected by their availability.‘ Once the deficien- cies are identified, the contractor must set goals and time- tables to which good-faith efforts will be directed to increase the utilization of minorities and women at all levels where deficiencies exist.1 Thus, all of the employers looked at in this study are subject to federal anti-discrimination laws and two (the exceptions are FNBEL and Jacobson's because they are not involved in federal contracting) are required by law to develop affirmative action programs. The remainder of this chapter will examine the status and progress of affirmative action programs or conscious efforts to combat discrim- ination at each of the four cases, particularly as they relate to clericals. General Motors As required by law, General Motors must develop its own affirma- tive action program. It is not only subject to equal opportunity and anti-discrimination laws but due to its position as a federal contrac- tor, it must take active steps to correct the imbalances caused by past discriminatory practices. Part of the affirmative action requirement involves an annual progress report which evaluates the previous year's goal attainments. This evaluation is written up and submitted to the government for monitoring. Unfortunately, because GM is a private corporation, this information is confidential as agreed to by GM and the government. Therefore, I was unable to refer to the report as a source of infor- mation. Instead, most of the facts and interpretations about GM's aff frc anc ma so ma na 116 affirmative action program presented in this section were obtained from an interview with the assistant personnel managers at both Olds and Fisher, as well as from a few phone conversations with the affir- mative action directors at both of these divisions. I recognize that some of the information may be of biased nature. However, where this may be the case, the attempt will be made to point out possible alter- native analyses. Of all the four case studies looked at in this thesis, GM's affirmative action program is the most difficult to understand, par- ticularly as it relates to clerical workers. Officially, GM emphasizes the advancement of all employees because it strongly adheres to the notion of promotion from within. However, two separate interpreta- tions of what, in fact, occurs were given by two different people. First, the individual interviewed at Fisher feels very strongly that the sex make-up of those in clerical positions at his plant is divided just about evenly. He would not, however, commit himself to an esti- mate of: (l) the percentage of women in the lower clerical ranks and the percentage of men in the higher clerical ranks such as basic accounting or security and (2) the promotion rate of female clericals compared to the promotion rate of male clericals, particularly, pro- motion out of the clerical ranks. If indeed, male and female employees comprise near equal percentages of the total clerical force, it is unclear how much of this is due to the soemwhat more technical nature of clerical jobs at a strictly manufacturing plant at GM. Since cler- ical work performed at Fisher has been described as work that is slightly more skilled in nature (see chapter four) than clerical work in the other three cases, it may be possible that more men are 117 attracted to these jobs. The surprising number of men who are cleri- cal workers at Fisher may also be a result of the unusually high wages received, once again, a condition of work which may attract more interested men. On the other hand, the situation at Olds is somewhat different. There, it was said by the individual interviewed, most clerical posi- tions are filled by women. Furthermore, very little, if any, clerical advancement into management levels occurs. This was attributed quite sincerely to the overall lack of interest on the part of clericals for advancing out of the clerical category. It was suggested that since clerical personnel prepare specifically for clerical work, they do not conceive of doing any other. This was viewed as true even for the clericals who had bachelor's degrees. In short, it was clear that no conscious attempts to move clerks into management is taking place at Olds. The clerical work performed at Olds is also more secretarial in nature than that performed at Fisher. If kind of work is a deter- mining factor of the sex make-up of an occupation (i.e., the "second- wife" role of secretaries inhibiting male entry into that occupation), the difference between Olds and Fisher clerical workers may be partial- ly explained. The combination of high pay and some non-traditional work may attract male applicants for clerical jobs at Fisher. A conscious attempt to improve formal upward and downward com- munication patterns has recently been implemented at GM. Annual eval- uations of employees are now given, evaluations structured in a man- ner which aims to encourage inter-communication. The evaluation form is devised so that the employee being evaluated must respond to the supervisor's statements. It is not clear whether these new forms are 118 having any positive effects on communication. The managers inter- viewed feel thay are; however, employees may feel differently. To summarize, clerks at GM do not advance out of the clerical category unless the clerical work performed tends to be of non-tra- ditional nature (e.g., accounting)--and even then the rate of advance- ment is not great. Very little has been done to include clerical ad- vancement as a part of affirmative action goals and programs. Michigan State University The first affirmative action program to be instituted at MSU was in 1970. According to both the department of Labor's order #4 and the 1972 Equal Employment Opportunity Act, public institutions of higher education such as MSU are bound by law to develop affirmative action programs, as well as to provide proof of progress in attaining their objectives. In an interview, the Special Assistant to the Ex- ecutive Vice President identified various mechanisms whereby clerical personnel are promoted into administrative positions. Generally speak- ing, clerical promotions are the responsibility of individual depart- ments wherein a clerk is employed. The personnel office is respon- sible for assisting departments in achieving their stated affirmative action goals. Often this assistance takes on the form of reminders to carry out affirmative action plans. In the end, however, the per- sonnel office cannot demand that a department hire an unwanted appli- cant. Once again, as was pointed to earlier, MSU may differ slightly from the private sector institutions looked at here in terms of some degree of autonomy exercised by individual departments (possibly in line with the tradition of autonomy in higher education). 119 Insofar as the Special Assistant's analysis of the level of com- mitment of top administrators to affirmative action, she feels that while the personal commitment is there, tight budgets caused by re- cessionary fiscal policies are responsible for slowing down much sig- nificant progress. In spite of recessionary budgeting, however, she points to a number of specific mechanisms which have as their purpose the advancement of clerical personnel. First, within the personnel department is an individual whose responsibility it is to aid in the career planning of individual MSU clerks who request it. Specifically, he sits down with each employee and helps him/her evaluate individual skills, life goals, educaitonal background, etc. for the purpose of mapping out possible career paths. It is not clear how often this service is used or what the actual ef- fect on clerks moving into administrative jobs has been. A second mechanism for promoting clericals into administrative positions is what is called release time for education. Under this plan, any MSU clerical employee who has been employed for at least two years can enroll in courses at a Michigan college and get full tuition reimbursement for up to five credits (unless the grade earned is under a 2.0) as well as up to five hours of released time. Through this plan, it is hoped that clericals who need degrees in order to ad- vance can have a realistic method of obtaining them. It is important to note that the educational release program was not instituted at the behest of the university. Instead, it was agreed to by the university as one of the conditions of the first MSUEA contract. Thus, the most effective means of encouraging the promotion of clerical personnel at MSU was obtained only through collective action. 120 A final mechanism whereby MSU clericals can more easily advance into administrative positions is the required method of posting univer- sity job openings. Also a result of the MSUEA contract, this method of posting requires that university job openings be placed in a spot where all university personnel has access to it. The list must be posted in this manner for a total of five_working days. In this way, it is hoped that the tendency of jobs to be consistently filled by word of mouth, thus leaving out those who do not have "ins" at the administrative level (i.e., most clericals) will be reduced. Unfortunately, there is no way in this study to evaluate the success which these mechanisms have had in promoting clerical employees to administrative levels. However, in terms of structural aids or mechanisms for advancement, it does appear that MSU is more developed than any of the other cases looked at in this study. Possible reasons for this will be discussed at the end of this chapter. First National Bank of East Lansing The FNBEL is not required by law to develop an affirmative action program. It is, however, loosely monitored by the government to insure that no discriminatroy hiring practices occur. In terms of discrimination based on sex, the personnel officer at FNBEL feels that no outright discriminatory hiring practices against women exist. He points to the fact that although none of the present officers are women, the supervisory (for the most part, head tellers) positions are filled entirely by women. However, it should be noted that the actual work performed by these supervisors is basically clerical in nature. For example, the head teller, although supervising other tellers, may 121 also take on teller duties as well as problem solving and answering questions. All in all, the personnel officer admits that it has historic- ally been rare for a clerical member at FNBEL to enter into the ranks of management. (Only one example could be pointed to.) However, a program has been introduced very recently which involves a management training period for promising employees. This does not exclude cler- ical levels. According to the former employee interviewed, employees are approached on an individual basis and informed about the program. It is not something that is perceived as a viable long-range goal for everybody upon entry into the organization--and in fact, very few clericals are ever approached. First of all, in order to reach the rank of an officer, a college degree must be obtained. Since most of the clerical personnel are not college students and do not have future college plans, hopes for futher advancement are immediately extinguished. Secondly, everyone cannot enter into the training program since there would hot be enough openings to absorb all of the newly trained people. In fact, this is a general problem at FNBEL. Opportunity for mobility is not clearly present for clerical employees. For example, the head teller at the main branch has worked at FNBEL for eight years and is not expected to leave for quite some time. There are only officer positions to be had and virtually all go to college educated, white males. The structure of opportunity does not appear to be present in the FNBEL organization and so it is likely that most female clerical employees view themselves in dead end jobs. In short, no real efforts are being made to improve clerical mobility at FNBEL. The opportunity structure is obviously limited, 122 and as mentioned by the former employee interviewed, no one (clerical) ever even considers an advancing future at that bank. Jacobson's Jacobson's does not fall under the jurisdiction of Executive Order #11246 or the Department of Labor's order #4. Because Jacobson's is not involved with federal contracting, the development of affirmative action programs is not mandatory. However, the law does require Jacob- son's to file an Equal Opportunity Report with the Equal Opportunity Commission. As a matter of fact, a large percentage of Jacobson's managers are women. As the general office manager explains it, the bulk of sales at Jacobson's is comprised of women's apparel--and only women can successfully sell women's clothing. Most of these women, however, are not situated at top levels of management. Because women already comprise a large percentage of Jacobson's managerial force, their Equal Opportunity Report involves little em- phasis on recruiting more women into their system. Rather, the prime focus tends to be on the recruitment of minorities. At a glance, it is clerarly obvious throughout Jacobson's that few (if any) minority in- dividuals hold positions of public visibility. The general office man- ager is aware of this and has been visited several times by repre- sentatives of the Civil Rights Commission, for example, inquiring about this situaion. The General Office Manager attributes the lack of minority personnel, not to any failure in effort or openness on the part of Jacobson's, but rather, to what he describes as the high degree of competition for recruiting minorities which exists among 123 state agencies, MSU and other private employers in the Lansing area. While this may or may not be true, the fact that most of the clientele at Jacobson's tends to be of a white, middle or upper income level can- not be ignored. It is possible that the fear of losing some of these customers if a noticeable increase in minority personnel were to occur, may also be at the bottom of this problem. In terms of efforts at Jacobson's to improve working conditions or opportunities for clerical workers, the situation is similar to (and possibly even worse than) what was found at GM, MSU, FNBEL. That is, although some encouragement does exist for clerical employees to advance, the advancement is almost always limited to positions within the clerical category. Clerical mobility does not extend outside the clerical sphere. When queried about why clericals do not advance into management positions at Jacobson's, the General Office Manager responded with a specific set of reasons. He feels that the nature of clerical work is very different from the nature of sales and/or managerial work. As stated earlier, sales and managerial work is considered to be much more human oriented, emphasizing persuasive skills, and the ability to work well with people. On the other hand, clerical work is viewed as more systems-oriented, that is, emphasis is placed upon routine, detailed paperwork. Thus, should a clerical individual per- form well--even outstanding--it is unlikely that s/he would advance out of the clerical range since successful performance of clerical work does not necessarily indicate probable success at managerial work, in the view of Jacobson's General Office Manager. Clerical workers who do well at clerical work do so because they 'enjoy' that work--and it is not likely that they would enjoy doing or be successful at 124 something else. It is clear in this case that ideology--in addition to structural factors-—provides a rationale and a support system for maintaining present status and power arrangements at work. In short, not only are conscious attempts to advance the posi- tion of clerical employees at Jacobson's lacking, but in addition, a major barrier to clerical mobility exists in the form of a General Office Manager's (not unique) conc1usions that clerical "types" are different from managerial "types." Analysis It is farily obvious that affirmative action programs, or efforts to mitigate discriminatory practices based on sex, at the four case studies looked at here are relatively ineffective in achieving change for clerical employees. Not only are these efforst ineffective, but attitudes and ideologies about clerical workers appear to contrib- ute to the failure of serious consideration toward clerical advancement. The only possible exception to this finding may be the case of Michigan State University. At this organization, a few concrete mechanisms to structurally improve clerical mobility have been implemented. Examples of these mechanisms are the release time (for education) program and tuition reimbursement and the public posting of all university job openings. In order to know if these mechanisms operate effectively, a comparative analysis over time of the four cases investigated here would be necessary. However, at the present time, note can be made of the structural mechanisms at MSU which have been implemented to encourage clerical advancement--mechanisms which have not been implemented at any of the other three cases looked at in this thesis. 125 Perhaps related to the above observation concerning MSU is the additional observation that MSU clerical employees are the only ones in this study who are unionized. Furthermore, the structural mechan- isms which have been implemented were done so because they were part of the MSUEA bargaining contract and not because the university felt it should live up to its affirmative action obligations. Thus, under- standing the importance of unions for clerical mobility is pointed to as a possible avenue for research. It could be argued that only purpose- ful organization of clericals into collective, actiOn-oriented groups can result in meaningful change. On the basis of these four case studies, it is clear that little, if anything is being done to improve the working conditions or mobility rates for clerical employees. MSU may be the exception but more an- alysis is needed before it is known whether--and if so, uhy--this is true. It is suggested here that unless efforts to change current pat- terns of clerical work address the structural factors which appear in- herent to clerical work itself--little change will ever be achieved. Given this proposal, a number of larger questions must be raised. If clerical work remains the way it presently is organized, a large percentage of employees must necessarily be channelled into these posi- tions. Even if the distribution of people filling these jobs is pro- portionately divided among men, women, blacks, other non-whites, whites and various age groups--a situationlurtlikely to occur--certain indi- viduals will still be locked into dead end jobs with little opportunity for mobility. Since this is undesirable, the goal then becomes cent- ered around the reorganization of work in general, with particular em- phasis upon the way work is allocated. As Rosabeth Kanter points out: 101 em} 6C br 126 . . organizational reform is not enough. It is also import- ant to move beyond the issues of whether or not concrete indi- viduals get their share to questions of how shares are determined. in the first place--how labor is divided and how power is concen- trated.1 To date, affirmative action programs have primarily been attempts to re- form organizations merely by equalizing the percentages of upper level employees who are women and who are non-white. However, if affirmative action programs are to become effective, they will have to address the broader questions of how this economic system is organized. Focus on ‘ questions involving the decentralization of work organizations, on-the- job training and collective decision-making about important policies are necessarily involved in any serious attempt to change current econ- omic inequalities. And linked to these issues is an underlying threat to all of those who are presently in positions of power. Thus, effective affirmative action plans for clericals appear unobtainable without large ideological and structural change in every realm. 127 FOOTNOTES 1Kanter, Rosabeth Moss. Men and Women of the Corporation. Basic Books, Inc., New York, 1977. CHAPTER VII SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS The purpose of this thesis was to explore the relationship be- tween clerical working conditions and radical and dual economy theories of economic discrimination. Specific samples of clerical work from each of the sectors were chosen for study, in an effort to identify structural similarities and/or differences by sector. It was expected that, in line with the dual economy and radical perspectives, clerical work would be differentiated according to the sector-~monopoly, compet- itive or state--in whiCh it was performed. As it turned out, clerical work at GM, MSU, FNBEL and Jacobson's does not exhibit any overriding differences among sectors consistent with the dual economy and radical analysis. With just a few exceptions, all of the cases involve clerical work characterized by simple technical skill levels, low wages, non-unionization, centralized authority systems and physical segregation according to status, and therefore, sex. The exceptions to these findings involve two primary ones. First, wages paid to GM's clerical employees are significantly higher than those paid to clericals in any of the other samples. This find- ing supports the position of dual economy and radical theorists who argue that an important characteristic of work in the monopoly sector is its high wage level. However, a second exception to the general findings of this study, 128 129 is the unionization of MSU clerical workers. This finding refutes the position of radical and dual economy theorists on two counts. First, MSU clerical workers (a sample from the state sector) are unionized whereas, GM clerical workers (a sample from the monopoly sector) are not. According to radical and dual economy theorists, GM clerical em- ployees, due to their position as monopoly sector labor, should be unionized. Secondly, although MSU clerical workers are unionized, their salaries are considerably lower than those paid at GM. Accord- ing to radical and dual economy theorists, the relationship between wage level and unionization should be a positive one. Overall, the findings of this study do not suggest that radical or dual economy theories accurately describe clerical work. If the findings of this study were eventually proven true for clerical work in general, they would have important ramifications for radical and dual economy theories of economic discrimination. Al- though these theories may accurately account for some aspects of econ- omic discrimination (e.g., the fact that in 1970, 61% of employees in the competitive sector were female whereas 39% were male), serious reconsideration would have to be given work which is dominated by women, both in the competitive and monopoly sectors (as well as the state). Probably the most important problem of dual economy and radical theorists is the age-old tendency to project research about a male population onto a female population. Perhaps radical and dual economy theories accurately describe male work, but it is not clear, particu- larly as a result of this study, that the analysis holds true for fe- male work. The faulty presumption that it does, may be rooted in the unspoken belief that sexual inequality, particularly in the marketplace, 130 is a relatively simple phenomenon to understand. In fact, if we are to truly understand economic discrimination based on sex, we must necessar- ily have a grasp on the way in which sexual inequality operates in all other realms. One reason is that women's work has traditionally in- volved so much more than that performed in the marketplace. An import- ant failure of the radical (as outlined by O'Connor) and dual economy sector models is their failure to include, even peripherally, a consid- eration of the specific workings of sexual inequality. It is clear that the relationship between economic discrimination and the sector model of analysis is still fully open to research. In addition to gender, questions are raised about the impact on economic discrimination of factors other than sector. These factors include size, presence or absence of unionization and the unproductive (in Marxian terminology)nature of clerical work. For example, attention must be given the role of unionization and its effects on clerical work- ing conditions, with particular consideration for the sector where union- ized clerical workers are most likely to exist. If it is discovered that monopoly sector clerical workers are not as highly unionized as some other sector, crucial revisions would be necessary for radical and dual economy theorists. Further research must also be done on the relationship between structural conditions of clerical work and present efforts to implement change in the work patterns of women and men. Unless such efforts in- clude an analysis of specific structures of work, programs and plans will prove ineffective. And if we address specific structural conditions of work for the purpose of changing them, we are forced to look at and make judgments about the general structure of work, that is, the ways 131 in which wages, status, power and responsibilities are allocated. Research about the present conditions surrounding pools of cler- ical workers must also be pursued. If large clerical pools are no longer the norm, it becomes important to develop explanations for why this process of the proletarianization of clerical workers has ceased. In fact, it is necessary to determine whether clerical work ever was being organized into assembly line fashion. A final avenue of research pointed to by this study is the need for more in depth case studies of various work organizations. As was stated in chapter three, one disadvantage of the case study approach is the necessity of building case study upon case study so that theory can be revised, confirmed or even developed. 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