early years of the present century, as epitomised in the steel mills. Because expensive capital equipment and the attainment of a rapid through-put of production were central to this development,' the craft skill and judgement of the workers had to be as much as possible superseded, as did the control of workers over the pace of work' (Lazonick, 1983, p. 112). Profitable mass production necessitated not only employer control over the planning and organisation of work, but also reliable, attentive and loyal workers to perform it. One management response in the USA was therefore to introduce a range of welfare policies, and employee representation plans, generally known as' company unions'. Similarly, in some of the large industrial enterprises in Germany during the inter-war period with the introduction of standardised mass-production techniques a parallel emphasis was placed upon welfare measures (company housing, provision of leisure activities, etc.) as a means of motivation, promoting integration and worker commitment to the company. However, in contrast to the situation in the United States and Germany, recent comparative