ABSTRACT
There are distinct differences between Germany and France in the way industrial production technology has developed. This chapter attributes these differences to structures and processes which are represented by the terms 'social reproduction of technical personnel' and 'social structuring of technical competence and knowledge'. In France, agreement was fairly unanimous that the nation needed a strategy of technological development and industrial innovation based on the utilization of computers and computer science; for this reason, mastery of computer technology was considered decisive for the future of industry and the professional chances of the coming generation. In contrast, the more machine-oriented development path of German manufacturing technology is explained by the relative stability of the skilled worker tradition and its connection to the training of engineers. The French strategy of technical innovation and industrial modernization, however, is characterized by innumerable failures, abortive Computer Integrated Manufacturing (CIM) applications and discontinued processes of product development.
