A Study on the Changes of Subcontracting System and Work System under the Effect of the Information Technology in the Manufacturing Industry

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

We can observe the changes of employment structure by distinguishing the changes within the firm and the changes among the firms. The changes within the firm were caused by the change of characteristics workers skills resulted from technological changes (information technologies). The changes among firms can be observed by analyzing, especially, the changes of subcontracting system. In this report we especially attended the automobile industry. In that industry the proportion of production worker within the firm has fallen greatly. As for the subcontracting system, big assembly plants changed the form of ordering automobile parts from subcontractor (supplier). Assembly plants transformed the buying pattern. Those plants nominated one company as the organizer. To be more concrete, by stopping the pattern of directly ordering or buying from supplier, assembly plant became ordering and buying through the organizer (company). The result was that the organizer could keep the position of the … More primary supplier, other companies deteriorated the position into the secondary or third supplier. That changes of subcontracting system involved changing employment structure within the firm. At the primary supplier, on the one hand, the proportion of production worker got smaller, on the other hand, that of engineer got larger. Also, the changes of subcontracting system affected the local employment structure. At secondary or third supplier, the proportion of production worker got larger. In addition, at that class supplier, the amount of automobile parts ordered by assembly plant has been decreasing gradually. Tendency above mentioned had significant impact on the local labor market. Surely that tendency influenced the employment structure in two areas we analyzed, namely the proportion of production worker reduced a little. But the number of workers, who are employed by manufacturing industries, has not so decreased in the cities have a long history of that industry. In order to plan the local employment policy, it is vital to take account of the industrial characteristics of each district. Less