ABSTRACT
Paternalism as a management style and expected behaviour of management by employees was an important determinant of the industrial relations context at the lock companies. The chapter explores the impact of managerial style on industrial relations. It focuses on the way in which passed traditions of management style inform the expectations and experiences of contemporary employees. The lock companies indicate to people quite clearly the importance of historical legacy to contemporary industrial relations. The use of ethnographic methods within the lock cases illustrates clearly that the concept of paternalism remains highly relevant to comprehending the change process at such deeply rooted contemporary organisations. Ethnographic analysis at the lock companies highlighted the importance of historical legacy, handed down through generations of workers to generate a collective memory of experiences and expectations. The chapter supports a view in which paternalism should not be seen as bounded by time but by social structure.
