The Skill Impact of Automation. Reprint No. 136
REPOR TRESUMES ED 020 355 VT 004 625 THE SKILL IMPACT OF AUTOMATION.REPRINT NO. 136. BY- SULTAN, PAUL PRASOW, PAUL CALIFORNIA UNIV., LOS ANGELES PUB DATE 64 EDRS PRICE MF-$0.25 HC NOT AVAILABLE FROM EDRS. 22P. DESCRIPTORS- *AUTOMATION, *LABOR ECONOMICS,EMPLOYMENT, *UNEMPLOYMENT, *JOB SKILLS, IMPROVEMENT,EMPLOYMENT PATTERNS, EMPLOYMENT PROBLEMS, WORK SIMPLIFIC 'ION,EDUCATIONAL NEEDS, VOCATIONAL RETRAINING, LABOR SUPPLY,*PRODUCTIVITY, LABOR MARKET, THIS SAMPLING OF COLLECTED TESTIMONY WASINTENDED TO ILLUSTRATE SOME OF THE DIMENSIONS OFMANPOWER PROBLEMS FACED EVENIN EXPANDING LABOR MARKETS. A REVIEWOF SELECTED "STRUCTURAL" ASPECTS OF EMPLOYMENT ANALYSISGAVE PARTICULAR ATTENTION TO THE IMPACT OF AUTOMATION ONEMPLOYMENT WHEN CONSIDERATION WAS GIVEN, NOT TO THE AMOUNTOF LABOR DEMANDED, BUT TO THE QUALITY OF LABOR THATMUST BE SUPPLIED. SO LONG AS PARITY IS PRESERVED BETWEEN THE TOTAL OFJOB OPPORTUNITIES AND THE NUMBER IN THE LABOR FORCE,UNEMPLOYMENT REFLECTS THE PROBLEM OF MATCHING THE SPECIFICQUALITIES OF LABOR DEMAND WITH THE SPECIFIC ATTRIBUTES OF LABORSUPPLY. THIS MATCHING PROCESS IS IMPEDED BY AN ACCELERATIONIN THE PACE OF TECHNOLOGY. AND A "GESTATION" BARRIER,REPRESENTED BY THE LENGTH OF TIME REQUIRED TO DEVELOP SKILLSDEMANDED. A SECOND MAJOR POINT OF THE STUDY WAS THATAUTOMATION INVOLVES NOT ONLY SKILL-UPGRADING BUT SKILL-DOWNGRADING AS WELL, SINCE MANY JOB FUNCTIONS ARE "DILUTED" TOADJUST TO CHANGING TECHNOLOGY. THE SKILL IMPACT OF AUTOMATIONIS TO INCREASE THE PRODUCTIVITY OF A SMALL NUMBER OF SKILLEDWORKERS WHILE DECREASING THE, PRODUCTIVITY OF A LARGERNUMBER OF LESS-SKILLED WORKERS. THE IMPLICATIONSOF THESE SUGGESTED FINDINGS WERE RELATED TO EDUCATIONALPROGRAMING, WAGE POLICIES, RECRUITMENT, TURNOVER, ANDOTHER ASPECTS OF MANPOWER POLICY. THIS IS A REPRINT FROM"EXPLORING THE DIMENSIONS OF THE MANPOWER REVOLUTION,VOLUME 1 OF SELECTED READINGS IN EMPLOYMENT ANDMANPOWER," COMPILED FOR THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON EMPLOYMENT AND MANPOWEROF THE COMMITTEE ON .LABOR AND PUBLIC WELFARE, U.S.SENATE, 1964.
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