Most research on the careers and expectations of workers comes from blue- and white-collar workers employed in manufacturing industries. Yet the manufacturing sector is shrinking in comparison with the service sector. In most advanced industrialized economies, more than half of private-sector workers are employed in services, compared with approximately 20 percent in manufacturing.
It is difficult to make generalizations about the nature of service-sector employment and careers, as the jobs vary widely. For example, while average wages in service-sector jobs are lower than average wages in manufacturing, the wage differential between the best and the worst jobs in services is also larger than the comparable differential in manufacturing. This greater inequality of income (and skill requirements) helps explain why workers who are displaced from manufacturing jobs experience, on average, significant pay cuts when they take new jobs in the service sector. The best predictor of the size of the difference in pay between the job lost and the new job is the amount of education and transferable training the worker possesses. Again, education and training are critical not only to income but also to job security and career advancement.
Service-sector jobs differ in several other important dimensions. First, the ratio of women to men in service jobs is much higher than in manufacturing. Second, service firms employ a relatively large and growing number of part-time workers; some work part-time by choice, while others move to a full-time job only when and if one is available. Third, low-paid service jobs tend to have high rates of turnover and lack many of the fringe benefits, training opportunities, seniority rules, and union protections found in the more stable and better-paying manufacturing jobs; this is not the case, however, for high-paying professional service and public-sector jobs. Finally, service firms tend to be smaller in size and more vulnerable to changes in market or technological developments outside the control of their owners. For all of these reasons, the shift in the labour base from manufacturing to services has engendered vigorous debate over the ability of these new jobs to meet the high and ever-expanding expectations of the work force.
The first research in industrial relations focused on blue-collar workers. Gradually attention spread to foremen and then to higher levels of management. Considerable attention has also been devoted to the study of scientists and engineers who work in industrial organizations. Interest in such technical professionals reflects the importance organizations attach to the development and use of new scientific discoveries and technologies. How well these technical professionalsâand the research and development processes they engage inâare managed can have substantial effects on the long-run profitability of a firm and on the competitiveness of the larger economy.
Scientists or engineers are often thought of as solitary individuals who work in a laboratory on some abstract problem or idea. While this may accurately represent a relatively small number of scientists who work on basic research, the vast majority of technical professionals in organizations actually work together in teams or project groups on applied research and development tasks. Their primary role is to transfer new scientific discoveries or ideas from the laboratory to manufacturing and out to the marketplace by creating new products or technologies. These company-wide project teams often include specialists in marketing, manufacturing, and human resources management as well as representatives of various scientific disciplines or technical specialties.
What do technical professionals want from their jobs and careers? Like all other workers, scientists and engineers are concerned about their employment security and long-term career opportunities, especially because their job security can depend on winning contracts from customers or on obtaining budget funds from top managers. This uncertainty leads some firms to try to keep their permanent research and development staffs rather small; additional engineers or technicians are hired as consultants on a contract-by-contract basis.
Like other professionals, scientists and engineers also want to gain the respect of peers in their field of work. Recognition of this desire led many early researchers to speculate that these professionals were more interested in contributing to science than they were in meeting the needs of their particular employer. Later research showed, however, that most technical professionals also want to work on problems that are critical to the success of the firm. They want to understand the firmâs goals and be given an opportunity to help meet them. Above all else they seek important and challenging projects that are accompanied by the resources, influence, and autonomy needed to complete the projects successfully.
Not all technical professionals want to remain in technical jobs throughout their careers. Some aspire to move into management; others want to continue to do technical work but want the status and economic rewards that normally come with promotions to higher management. This has led many organizations to establish a dual-ladder, or dual-track, progression system. Individuals in mid-career can seek promotions to more senior assignments on the technical ladder or to administrative positions on the management ladder. In theory the steps on each ladder are supposed to provide equivalent economic rewards, influence, and status. In practice, however, the management track usually provides broader exposure within the organization and thus better access to senior executive positions. Experience has shown that dual-ladder systems are extremely hard to administer.
Organized research and development
In the past, research and development work was organized in a linear fashion, with a project passing from one group of specialists to another until it was ready to be given to the manufacturing section. The metaphor of âthrowing it over the wallâ was often used to describe this mode of organization, signifying both the serial and the isolated nature of each stage of the process. Research evidence convinced most organizations that this was very inefficient and time-consuming, and firms now encourage more cross-functional communication and participation by bringing together teams of representatives from each stage of the development process. The goal is to coordinate the process better and to identify and avoid problems that otherwise might be discovered only at a later stage. Specific management techniquesâsuch as quality circles (small, project-oriented teams comprising representatives from all relevant areas of the company)âreflect one way organizations attempt to improve communication and increase productivity.
To work effectively in these cross-functional project teams, scientists and engineers must have both up-to-date knowledge of their technical disciplines and skill in the communication, problem-solving, and group decision-making processes essential for successful teamwork. Universities have developed curricula to teach these skills, while organizations reinforce them through their career-development paths and reward systems.
One key to the success of the research and development process is the project leader, who must motivate, lead, and coordinate team members. At the same time, the leader must represent the groupâs interests in the larger organization by serving as an advocate for the teamâs project and by winning the support and resources needed to get the job done. In the end, it is the project leader who is responsible for keeping the project on schedule and within budget.
