Introduction

This section introduces technology as an input affecting human behaviour in organisations. For case discussion purposes technology is here defined largely in the narrow sense of knowledge and techniques relevant to the production of physical goods – in the cases bread, cars and coal – and its influence on people operating and working with the technology. The focus here is on technology in the sense of its effect as an immediate determinant of individual and group job designs, as a significant influence on the behaviour of people in organisations at the ‘micro’ rather than the wider ‘macro’ level. Cases which implicate the effect of technology on organisation structures are deferred until Section Five. Study of the cases and references in this section is intended to foster comprehension of the impact of technology on people, the fit between technological and human inputs, and the action choices facing management in this area.