THE ROLE OF PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERS IN THE DIFFUSION OF BEST PRACTICE PRODUCTION CONCEPTS - A COMPARATIVE APPROACH

This paper argues that engineers are a central yet largely neglected a gency within the labour process, and that their different pattern of f ormation influences the opportunities for work reform within advanced capitalist economies. It explores the making of engineers in several c apitalist societies, and highlights four primary models of integrating engineers into the firm. The paper then goes on to explore the effect s of these cross-national differences in the formation of engineers on the generation and diffusion of 'best practice' production concepts w ithin global capitalism. It suggests that some societies and systems o f engineer formation are more in keeping with modern trends in manufac turing organization, while others offer more radical or societal-speci fic recipes for work organization. The paper argues that by inserting the different ways in which engineers are produced into the debate abo ut the global impact of new production methodologies, we are in a stro nger position to evaluate their differential impact, and better able t o criticize the assumed universal or essential influence these ideolog ies will have.