Doctoral Dissertation: Variability and Control of Industrial Work Organization in the Post-Socialist Czech Republic

Southern Methodist University, Dallas TX

Investigators

Abstract

This project by a doctoral student of anthropology investigates how industrial workers and managers in a post-socialist setting (the Czech Republic) pursue strategies which impact the economic "transition" to fully capitalist forms of enterprise. Through surveys, interviews, and as an employee in the factory setting, the student will collect the data needed to analyze the processes whereby groups of workers come to think about their work and organize themselves, and how these, in turn, affect processes and goals within specific enterprises. The research will also document the political processes among workers and identify how power and authority are exercised within the factory. This research will contribute to the body of theory regarding industrial work in different cultures and will provide practical approaches to enterprise management as well as valuable insight to business ventures in the region.