The ambivalence of the "Métier". Organisational "Métier" versus Engineer's "Métier" in an Aeronautical Company

Abstract

This article explores the implementation of engineering regulation by the construction of a "métier" in an industrial aeronautics group. In an organisational context, the French term "métier" can mean either "skill" or "function". As an instrument of rationalisation, the "métier" is not experienced by most engineers as a way of increasing their autonomy but rather as an organisational innovation that imposes greater restrictions on their work. This managerial instrument and the resistances it encounters reveal the engineers' representations of their work and the deep-level functioning of the organisation. The article shows the tension between the "métier" as a rationalisation of R&D work and the project-based management approach. However, engineers feel little commitment to the "métier" because they interpret it - as an organisational structure - as a restriction on their autonomy as skilled professionals. It shows the tensions between engineers' own perception of their role and attempts by the organisation to regulate it. The engineer's autonomy lies in the mastery of complex technical systems rather than of specific specialties.