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Chaos on the Shop Floor

A Worker's View of Quality, Productivity, and Management

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Tom Juravich

"Juravich argues that problems in declining American productivity and competitiveness-often and conveniently blamed on workers-can be placed principally in the laps of management."
—Socialist Review

Reviews

"[Juravich] provides valuable insights into the operations of a small manufacturing firm, emphasizing the role of worker ‘tradecraft’ practiced on the job.... Of greatest interest to institutions with strong sociology/industrial psychology holdings serving upper-division and graduate students, but also relevant for libraries serving vocational and technical students."
—Choice

From his well-placed vantage point, Juravich has produced an interesting and valuable ethnography of factory life in the industrial periphery.... I recommend this book to those interested in the sociology of work. It is written clearly and straightforwardly, and it is well suited for undergraduate or graduate courses.
—Contemporary Sociology

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About the Author(s)

Folksinger Tom Juravich has been a machine mechanic, and is currently Assistant Professor of Labor Studies at Pennsylvania State University.

Subject Categories

Labor Studies and Work
Sociology

In the series

Labor and Social Change, edited by Paula Rayman and Carmen Sirianni.

Labor and Social Change, edited by Paula Rayman and Carmen Sirianni, includes books on workplace issues like worker participation, quality of work life, shorter hours, technological change, and productivity, as well as union and community organizing and ethnographies of particular occupations.

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