Jürg K. Siegenthaler

Flexible work schedules, older workers, and retirement.

ABSTRACT Older workers in the United States indicate that they would prefer flexible work arrangements rather than abrupt retirement, yet management has done very little to make this possible. A review of two bodies of literature from the late 1980s is presented: social science writings including sociological, gerontological, and economic literature, and business and management literature. There is a clash between the way jobs are traditionally scheduled and the needs of growing numbers of older workers. Workers continue to be subject to obstacles to phased retirement due to the structuring of health care and pension benefits, downsizing, organizational inflexibility, and “corporate culture.” Thus, general views among social scientists regarding the desirability of flexible schedules toward retirement will not produce real changes unless management becomes committed to such changes and they are securely embedded in company policies.

The Challenge of social change

The Challenge of social change , The Challenge of social change , کتابخانه دیجیتال و فن آوری اطلاعات دانشگاه امام صادق(ع)

Office Automation, Gender, and Change: An Analysis of the Management Literature

This study examines the consequences of computerization for women who do information work. Syntheses of research findings from both the general social science literature and the business and management periodical literature are compared with each other. The two bodies of research results converge with respect to employment consequences and shifts in work, but differ markedly when it comes to control of the labor process and training. In contrast to social scientists, management researchers pay scant attention to differential gender effects of microcomputer deployment. Similarities and differences between the two research traditions show that social science and business research, if combined, yield a better understanding of the changes prompted by new information technology.