Untitled - socium.ge

180 Chris Bennerservices means that a growing proportion of profitability is based on knowledgeand accurate interpretation of shifting consumer tastes and cultural preferences.These interpretative tasks may be specialized amongst a group ofdesign and marketing occupations, but in fact the “social life” of informationin this context requires reflexivity in a large portion of the workforce (Brownand Duguid, 2000). Even in assembly-line, contract manufacturing facilities inthe Valley continuous improvement systems based on input and reflexiveactivities of frontline workers are widespread (Gee et al., 1996).In sum, numerical flexibility and volatility, rapidly changing skill requirements,and reflexivity in work are all aspects of greater flexibility in workactivities. These various types of flexible work practices are largely driven byfactors that operate at a fundamental level in the economy: widespread diffusionof information technology, the need for constant innovation for firms toremain competitive, the nature of competition in information-rich commoditiesand markets, and so on (Shapiro and Varian, 1998; Maskell and Malmberg,1999). These work practices cut across firm boundaries and are shaped byforces that are more diffuse and less malleable than the forces that shapeemployment relations.Flexibility in EmploymentWork is distinct from employment. Employment refers to the nature of the relationshipbetween worker and employer, the processes employers use in directing,motivating, and monitoring workers’ activities, and the nature ofcompensation provided for the activities performed. Flexible employment,therefore, is rapid change in employment contracts with little penalty in time,effort, and performance. Temporary employment, part-time employment, selfemployment,independent contractors, and various compensation schemes thatlink compensation to performance (such as stock options, performance evaluations,and so on) are all issues related to flexible employment, but may ormay not be directly linked to flexible work. For example, temporary employeesat an electronic manufacturing services firm doing routine assembly maybe performing routine work while being engaged in flexible employment.Changes in employment relations are more direct and more visible thanmany of the changes in the nature of work. Employment relations are moredirectly shaped by institutional factors, including the legal and regulatoryframework, the organizational structure and dynamics of firms and theirmanagement practices. The implications of the employment relationship havea much more visible, immediate, and direct impact on the livelihoods of workerssince it fundamentally shapes most people’s primary source of income.There are three dimensions of flexible employment relationships that areparticularly salient in Silicon Valley: (1) the growth in non-standard employ-