13 THE SOCIOLOGY OF ECONOMIC BEHAVIOUR

Abstract

Each of these pieces is a clear and simple exposition of a very different theme. Each, however, shows how deep{y embedded in social structures are the workings of economic systems; the history, values, attitudes and inter­ personal behaviour of men and women play a large part in shaping economic activities, while much social behaviour in turn is shaped or influenced by the operation of the economy. The first piece about labour-management relations in Japan was written by a Japanese social scientist during the mid-rg6os, a period during which the Japanese rate qf economic growth was outstripping that qf the leading Western economies. As this article reveals, a different set of social values and relationships have resulted in Japan in a type qf labour­ management relationship radical{y different from that in Western Europe or the U.S.A. This is a reminder that there is nothing inevitable about the type qf 'trade union', for instance, that we have in Britain. The second article by Roy first appeared in the 'American Journal qf Sociology' in 1955. ·This fascinating and high{y amusing article shows some qf the ways in which a group qf workers seek to control the work situation in face qf a management-inspired piecework system qf payment. Such 'informal' behaviour is, qf course, known about by management.