Globalization and Workplace Change: A Case Study in the Aluminium Industry

How globalization is shaping workplace change is increasingly debated. Much discussion has focused upon the forms of work organization, such as teamworking, which appear to be associated with global production systems (Geary, 1995, Elger and Smith, 1994). This paper examines a teamworking initiative at a British aluminium smelter, part of a Canadian multinational company. At the smelter, direct supervision was largely abolished and team‐based, self regulating workgroups were introduced. The nature and effectiveness of this programme are assessed.