Introduction

The development of this book's subject wiil be in the context of the manufacturing industries. This group of industries is extensive, both in size and in variety of work done. In highly industrialized countries, the proportion of the work force engaged in manufacturing typically ranges from 20 to 40 per cent. The category 'manufacturing' includes wide differences in work content and patterns, from primary materials production to small-scale fabricating operations. Consequently, we shall be forced to choose specific areas to illustrate our discussion, but there should be much scope for making valid inferences in respect of other work situations both within and outside manufacturing.