ABSTRACT
This chapter considers the distinguishing characteristics of the labour process perspective and debates within it. It discusses key themes in the development of the perspective which have a bearing on the subsequent examination of the social work labour process and front-line management. The chapter deals with the legacy of Marx, moves on to Braverman's 'rediscovery' of the labour process. It also discusses the post-Braverman debate in relation to four themes: managerial control strategies; the indeterminacy of labour power; worker consent; and monolithic management. To begin with, Marx describes the features of the labour process in any social formation as purposeful activity combined with the deployment of instruments in order to produce use values from the object of labour. Braverman's thesis begins from a review of Marx's theory of the labour process in the context of a detailed examination of changes in the organisation of production under monopoly capitalism.
