Peer Review in the Factory of the Future

Abstract

When the big combine was subjected to severe competition in the 1980s, management decided to change the organization from one of mass-production and managerial hierarchy to a flexibile and innovative one with higher quality in production. In order to mark the occasion, an entirely new plant was being built. It was called the ‘Factory of the Future’. Trade unions were forbidden (they were regarded as an unwanted external influence), teams were introduced, the employees were to be empowered and managers would no longer have authority simply because of their position but would function as technical coaches. The road to the plant was constructed in such a way that it was physically impossible to carry out demonstrations or arrange meetings outside. All employees were carefully screened so that anyone who could bring suspicious attitudes and values into the factory could be sifted out. The job interviews therefore contained a detailed mapping of the applicant’s mentality and social life. The HR department saw to it that only one member of a family was employed, that people who already had friends there friends were not hired and that only a small number from the local area got work. Management did not want the employees to share any other allegiances than the team and the company.