Citation
Kalleberg, Arne L. & Leicht, Kevin T. (1986). Jobs and Skills: A Multivariate Structural Approach. Social Science Research, 15(3), 269-296.Abstract
In this paper, we illustrate a multivariate structural approach to explaining inequalities in job skills. We argue that skill differences are produced by work structures operating at several levels of analysis, including organizations, occupations, technology, and unions. In addition, background characteristics of individuals are important for allocating men and women to positions in the technical division of labor. We derive measures of two dimensions of job skills (substantive complexity and autonomy) from questionnaires completed by 4567 workers, managers, and supervisors of 54 plants in 7 manufacturing industries in south-central Indiana. We supplement these questionnaire data with information on work structures obtained from interviews with key informants in each plant, which yielded information on the organizational and technological correlates of skill; and measures of occupational activities from the Dictionary of Occupational Titles (3rd ed., U.S. Bureau of the Census, U.S. Govt. Printing Office, Washington, DC 1965). Our contextual models provide evidence that the different work structures have distinct impacts on the two dimensions of job skills.URL
https://doi.org/10.1016/0049-089X(86)90009-8Reference Type
Journal ArticleYear Published
1986Journal Title
Social Science ResearchAuthor(s)
Kalleberg, Arne L.Leicht, Kevin T.