The New Division of Labor : How Computers Are Creating the Next Job Market

As the current recession ends, many workers will not be returning to the jobs they once held--those jobs are gone. In __The New Division of Labor__, Frank Levy and Richard Murnane show how computers are changing the employment landscape and how the right kinds of education can ease the transition to the new job market. The book tells stories of people at work--a high-end financial advisor, a customer service representative, a pair of successful chefs, a cardiologist, an automotive mechanic, the author Victor Hugo, floor traders in a London financial exchange. The authors merge these stories with insights from cognitive science, computer science, and economics to show how computers are enhancing productivity in many jobs even as they eliminate other jobs--both directly and by sending work offshore. At greatest risk are jobs that can be expressed in programmable rules--blue collar, clerical, and similar work that requires moderate skills and used to pay middle-class wages. The loss of these jobs leaves a growing division between those who can and cannot earn a good living in the computerized economy. Left unchecked, the division threatens the nation's democratic institutions. The nation's challenge is to recognize this division and to prepare the population for the high-wage/high-skilled jobs that are rapidly growing in number--jobs involving extensive problem solving and interpersonal communication. Using detailed examples--a second grade classroom, an IBM managerial training program, Cisco Networking Academies--the authors describe how these skills can be taught and how our adjustment to the computerized workplace can begin in earnest.

a Timely Contribution. the New Division Of Labor Adds An Important Level Of Understanding To The Changes We Are Witnessing In Our Labor Markets. There Is A Message Regarding The Skills That Are Required By Our Economy And Implications For Educational Reform And A Message As To The Political Tensions That Accompany This Transition. The Phenomenon Described Is Of Global Relevance.---john Reed, Interim Chairman Of The New York Stock Exchange

levy And Murnane Go Beyond Conventional Accounts Of The Effect Of Automation On The Workforce To Take A Comprehensive And Thoughtful Look At How Increased Use Of Technology Is Affecting The Occupational Distribution In The U.s., And Precisely What Skills Are Likely To Be Valued In Tomorrow's Labor Markets. This Should Be Read By All Who Care About The Future Of Work In America.--lawrence H. Summers, President, Harvard University

a Fascinating, Important Book. Levy And Murnane Tackle One Of The Most Important Questions In Contemporary Economics, How Computers Change The Way Work Is Organized And How Labor Markets Reward Skill. The Answer They Offer Is Simple And Powerful.--james B. Rebitzer, Case Western Reserve University

this Book, Through A Wealth Of Examples, Gives The Reader A Concrete Sense Of How Computers Have Changed The Nature Of The Workplace.--john Bound, University Of Michigan

computerworld

in Their Brilliant New Book The New Division Of Labor: How Computers Are Creating The Next Job Market, Frank Levy And Richard J. Murnane Write That The Future Belongs To People Who Excel At Expert Thinking (solving Problems For Which There Are No Rules-based Solutions) And Complex Communication (interacting With People To Acquire Information, Understand What That Information Means And Persuade Others Of Its Implications For Action).

"As the current recession ends, many workers will not be returning to the jobs they once held -- those jobs are gone. In The New Division of Labor, Frank Levy and Richard Murnane show how computers are changing the employment landscape and how the right kinds of education can ease the transition to the new job market. The book tells stories of people at work -- a high-end financial advisor, a customer service representative, a pair of successful chefs, a cardiologist, an automotive mechanic, the author Victor Hugo, floor traders in a London financial exchange. The authors merge these stories with insights from cognitive science, computer science, and economics to show how computers are enhancing productivity in many jobs even as they eliminate other jobs -- both directly and by sending work offshore. At greatest risk are jobs that can be expressed in programmable rules -- blue collar, clerical, and similar work that requires moderate skills and used to pay middle-class wages. The loss of these jobs leaves a growing division between those who can and cannot earn a good living in the computerized economy. Left unchecked, the division threatens the nation's democratic institutions. The nation's challenge is to recognize this division and to prepare the population for the high-wage/high-skilled jobs that are rapidly growing in number -- jobs involving extensive problem solving and interpersonal communication. Using detailed examples -- a second grade classroom, an IBM managerial training program, Cisco Networking Academies -- the authors describe how these skills can be taught and how our adjustment to the computerized workplace can begin in earnest. Book jacket."--Jacket Cover 1 Contents 6 Acknowledgments 8 CHAPTER 1 New Divisions of Labor 14 PART I: Computers and the Economy 24 CHAPTER 2 Why People Still Matter 26 CHAPTER 3 How Computers Change Work and Pay 44 PART II: The Skills Employers Value 68 CHAPTER 4 Expert Thinking 70 CHAPTER 5 Complex Communication 89 PART III: How Skills Are Taught 110 CHAPTER 6 Enabling Skills 112 CHAPTER 7 Computers and the Teaching of Skills 122 CHAPTER 8 Standards-Based Education Reform in the Computer Age 144 CHAPTER 9 The Next Ten Years 162 Notes 172 Index 182 A 182 B 182 C 182 D 183 E 183 F 184 G 184 H 184 I 184 J 184 K 184 L 184 M 185 N 185 O 185 P 185 Q 185 R 185 S 186 T 186 U 186 W 186 X 187 ON MARCH 22, 1964, THE AD HOC COMMITTEE ON THE TRIPLE Revolution sent a fourteen-page memorandum to President Lyndon Johnson.