Embellishing the past: Middle manager identity and informality in the implementaion of new technology

Abstract

This article illustrates how themes which were prominent in the industrial sociology of the 1960s and 1970s can refine our understanding of how management processes impact on the introduction of new technology and the employment relationship. Using a case study in the air traffic sector, this paper shows how middle managers' competitive struggles and over-reliance on worker informality can lead to omissions in the planning of technical change and the neglect of worker concerns during its implementation. © Blackwell Publishing Ltd 2004.