ABSTRACT
Craftsmen were far less likely to acknowledge satisfactory career opportunities for manual workers. Prior to nationalisation the scope of decision-making was largely confined to the enterprise and the process of work regulation was plant-bound. Unofficial strikes were increasing and strains in plant work control systems had appeared. This seemed inconsistent with any notion of passive co-operation based upon the existence of a docile labour force. What hopefully will emerge from the reports is a pattern of individual work experiences and occupational expectations of work, some of which were widely shared and some which appeared to be diversified by occupational groups at Ironhill. Investigating the social imagery of employees is helpful, therefore, only to the extent that it informs our understanding of the objectives selected by a particular occupational group in particular circumstances, the means they adopt to achieve such objectives, and the action which ensues.
