ABSTRACT
This chapter describes job redesign theory in terms of its core propositions, and their empirical support. It explores both perspectives to two detailed case studies in order to assess their relative utility and validity and focuses on the neglected economic costs of job redesign. The two case studies are: The Meccano Case and The Ahmedabad Textiles Mills Case. The two cases chosen for detailed description are typical instances of job redesign in the sense that the changes introduced in job content conform to the prescriptions of the conventional theories, and both were described and recognised as bona fide instances of job redesign. They may therefore enable us to compare the explanatory power of classical job redesign theories with that of economic and structural analysis of the employment relationship and work performance. The employment relationship therefore contains an inherent, structural antagonism derived from the exploitation of labour which is central to the capitalist mode of production.
