ALIENATION AND CONTROL AMONG "SEMI-AUTONOMOUS WORK GROUPS" IN THE NON-UNIONIZED RESIDENTIAL SECTOR OF THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY (INDUSTRIAL DEMOCRACY, COOPERATION, RESEARCH METHODOLOGY)

"Semi-autonomous work groups" have become the theoretical core of workplace experiments designed to increase production and decrease alienation. The introduction of the "craft administration of production" to the workplace, while increasing production, has resulted in problems relative to supervision not adequately explained by psychological theories of alienation. The research process itself (action research) becomes problematic when it becomes consultancy research. The dynamics of "semi-autonomous work groups" is not well understood. This research involves the study of pre-existing "semi-autonomous work groups" working in the open shop sector of the construction industry as "sidig applicators." The growing open shop sector is examined and contrasted with the more easily studied unionized sector. The history and structure of this occupation and one particular shop in a midwestern city provides the context for viewing these workers as an "ideal type" of semi-autonomous work groups. Sources of conflict between owners and workers are examined by means of participant observation, informal interviews, examination of company records, and formal interviews. These workers have nearly complete job site autonomy yet experience difficulties with "supervision" not easily explained as direct supervision. One of the major goals of workers, "being my own boss," is frequently attempted when they become "independents." The source of conflict, when autonomy and "craft administration of production" are present is traced to necessarily conflicting goals of owners and workers. The necessity of maintaining or increasing production is incompatible with worker goals of time freedom and being one's own boss even under the piece work system of pay. High levels of job site autonomy are found to be related to high expectations of freedom and control. These expectations are found to be related to higher needs for cooperation in the administration of production. When a model of a construction cooperative is presented this is seen by workers as more desirable than "being the boss," even when the "costs" of participation (more meetings, less pay) are introduced. The conflict in workplace democracy research settings requires that action research retain its dialectical nature and that the concept of alienation be expanded beyond psychological theories of "job satisfaction.".