Introduction

There are an increasing number of courses under the heading of organisation studies or related titles, whose primary focus is on work organisations. The study of work organisations has traditionally been a meeting ground for contributions from a variety of disciplines and sub-disciplines. These include: Industrial Sociology/Sociology of Work: social relations, attitudes and behaviour at work, particularly those deriving from the division of labour; work experience, satisfaction and alienation; design and control of work; industrialisation processes, industrial institutions and the wider social structure. Management Science/Theory: industrial management techniques in relation to worker performance, efficiency and productivity; how organisations function and how they should be managed; management functions, notably the control of human and technical resources. Organisational Sociology: the nature and problems of large-scale organisations, including bureaucracies; the causes and consequences of various types and dimensions of organisation and organisational experience. Industrial/Organisational Psychology: the human factor at work and how managers and organisations can make better use of it; the effects of organisational processes on individuals and group behaviour and attitudes; fitting the person to the job and the job to the person. Industrial Relations: the employment relation and related institutions in the workplace; formal and informal systems of bargaining and other structured relations between employers, managers and workers; patterns of industrial conflict and co-operation.