The "team concept" in modern organizations is a strategy designed to increase managerial control over workers. Traditionally it has been resisted by labor unions. The question to be addressed in this doctoral dissertation research concerns why so many American workers would prefer the implementation of this managerial approach. Despite numerous studies on the team concept, to date none has answered this question adequately. Given the prevalence and accelerating rate of organizational change in an era of union decline and economic restructuring, answering this question is both timely and relevant to ongoing sociological debates about the nature of current labor process innovations. This research will employ a unique team-level analysis to examine the meaning of team-based production for U. S. auto workers at the General Motors (GM) truck plant in Shreveport, Louisiana. Findings from this organizational analysis will be complemented by an historical analysis of bargaining over the team concept at the plant. GM-Shreveport was the first team concept plant in U.S. auto assembly production and has played an important role in the diffusion of organizational innovations in the industry. No study has yet examined the development of the team concept at this historically significant facility, and the results of this research should fill a void in our understanding of labor relations.
