The crisis in fordism and the rise of a new technological paradigm

Abstract The sometimes contradictory general tendencies in social and institutional structures spring partly from control problems and partly from the application of new technology. In contrast to the mass-production concept which was so characteristic of Fordism, now other features are appearing: flexibility, deregulation, dualization and polarization, and segmentation. As a result, existing labour and social relations, as well as interindustrial relations, will be drastically changed. In nearly all economic and social areas there appears to be a tendency toward flexibility. Greatest flexibility is found in the size of the workforce and the next most flexible area is the input level of a variety of tasks demanded of employees (so-called internal flexibility).