5.5

Jon Clark's study of the effect of the
modernization of a telephone exchange on exchange
maintenance work and workers is a solid
contribution to a debate that encompasses two
lively issues in the history and sociology of
technology: technological determinism and social
constructivism.
Clark makes the point that the characteristics of a
technology have a decisive influence on job skills
and work organization. Put more strongly,
technology can be a primary determinant of social
and managerial organization. Clark believes this
possibility has been obscured by the recent
sociological fashion, exemplified by Braverman's
analysis, that emphasizes the way machinery
reflects social choices. For Braverman, the shape of
a technological system is subordinate to the
manager's desire to wrest control of the labor
process from the workers. Technological change is
construed as the outcome of negotiations among
interested parties who seek to incorporate their own
interests into the design and configuration of the
machinery. This position represents the new
mainstream called social constructivism.
The constructivists gain acceptance by
misrepresenting technological determinism:
technological determinists are supposed to believe,
for example, that machinery imposes appropriate
forms of order on society. The alternative to
constructivism, in other words, is to view technology
as existing outside society, capable of directly
influencing skills and work organization.
Clark refutes the extremes of the constructivists
by both theoretical and empirical arguments.
Theoretically he defines "technology" in terms of
relationships between social and technical variables.
Attempts to reduce the meaning of technology to
cold, hard metal are bound to fail, for machinery is
just scrap unless it is organized functionally and
supported by appropriate systems of operation and
maintenance. At the empirical level Clark shows how
a change at the telephone exchange from
maintenance-intensive electromechanical switches
to semielectronic switching systems altered work
tasks, skills, training opportunities, administration,
and organization of workers. Some changes Clark
attributes to the particular way management and
labor unions negotiated the introduction of the
technology, whereas others are seen as arising from
(50) the capabilities and nature of the technology itself.
Thus Clark helps answer the question: "When is
social choice decisive and when are the concrete
characteristics of technology more important?"



120. The primary purpose of the passage is to
(A) advocate a more positive attitude toward
technological change
(B) discuss the implications for employees of the
modernization of a telephone exchange
(C) consider a successful challenge to the
constructivist view of technological change
(D) challenge the position of advocates of
technological determinism
(E) suggest that the social causes of technological
change should be studied in real situations


121. Which of the following statements about the
modernization of the telephone exchange is supported
by information in the passage?
(A) The new technology reduced the role of
managers in labor negotiations.
(B) The modernization was implemented without the
consent of the employees directly affected by it.
(C) The modernization had an impact that went
significantly beyond maintenance routines.
(D) Some of the maintenance workers felt victimized
by the new technology.
(E) The modernization gave credence to the view of
advocates of social constructivism.


122. Which of the following most accurately describes
Clark's opinion of Braverman's position?
(A) He respects its wide-ranging popularity.
(B) He disapproves of its misplaced emphasis on
the influence of managers.
(C) He admires the consideration it gives to the
attitudes of the workers affected.
(D) He is concerned about its potential to impede
the implementation of new technologies.
(E) He is sympathetic to its concern about the
impact of modern technology on workers


123. The information in the passage suggests that which
of the following statements from hypothetical
sociological studies of change in industry most clearly
exemplifies the social constructivists' version of
technological determinism?
(A) It is the available technology that determines
workers' skills, rather than workers' skills
influencing the application of technology.
(B) All progress in industrial technology grows out
of a continuing negotiation between
technological possibility and human need.
(C) Some organizational change is caused by
people; some is caused by computer chips.
(D) Most major technological advances in industry
have been generated through research and
development.
(E) Some industrial technology eliminates jobs, but
educated workers can create whole new skills
areas by the adaptation of the technology.


124. The information in the passage suggests that Clark
believes that which of the following would be true if
social constructivism had not gained widespread
acceptance?
(A) Businesses would be more likely to modernize
without considering the social consequences of
their actions.
(B) There would be greater understanding of the
role played by technology in producing social
change.
(C) Businesses would be less likely to understand
the attitudes of employees affected by
modernization.
(D) Modernization would have occurred at a slower
rate.
(E) Technology would have played a greater part in
determining the role of business in society.


125. According to the passage, constructivists employed
which of the following to promote their argument?
(A) Empirical studies of business situations involving
technological change
(B) Citation of managers supportive of their position
(C) Construction of hypothetical situations that
support their view
(D) Contrasts of their view with a misstatement of
an opposing view
(E) Descriptions of the breadth of impact of
technological change


126. The author of the passage uses the expression "are
supposed to" in line 27 primarily in order to
(A) suggest that a contention made by
constructivists regarding determinists is
inaccurate
(B) define the generally accepted position of
determinists regarding the implementation of
technology
(C) engage in speculation about the motivation of
determinists
(D) lend support to a comment critical of the
position of determinists
(E) contrast the historical position of determinists
with their position regarding the exchange
modernization



127. Which of the following statements about Clark's study
of the telephone exchange can be inferred from
information in the passage?
(A) Clark's reason for undertaking the study was to
undermine Braverman's analysis of the function
of technology.
(B) Clark's study suggests that the implementation
of technology should be discussed in the context
of conflict between labor and management.
(C) Clark examined the impact of changes in the
technology of switching at the exchange in
terms of overall operations and organization.
(D) Clark concluded that the implementation of new
switching technology was equally beneficial to
management and labor.
(E) Clark's analysis of the change in switching
systems applies only narrowly to the situation at
the particular exchange that he studied.