Introduction

This chapter explains the subjective perceptions of skill, core and periphery in the context of Fordist and post-Fordist organisational structures. It suggests that these dualisms are unsustainable, the articulation of flexible production technology with Taylorist management strategies and work patterns renders any attempt to categorise firms as Fordist or post-Fordist irrelevant. The chapter suggests that the articulation of flexible production technology with Taylorist management strategies and work patterns renders any attempt to categorise firms as Fordist or post-Fordist irrelevant. The argument that individual firms' organisational structural features cannot be understood in relation to Fordist and post-Fordist dualisms raises issues. The development of organisational structures and the configuration of organisational features are far more complex and uneven that the Fordist-post-Fordist dichotomy allows for. Exploration of subjective perceptions of skill in the context of Fordist and post-Fordist organisations breaks down in the face of the complex nature and formation of organisational structures.