論工業社會及其未來-120

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在這個體系內為目標感以及自治權留出空間的努力不過就是個笑話。

舉例來說，一間公司要員工組裝整個部件而不是部件的一部份，聲稱這麼做是為了給員工目標感以及成就感。

有些公司嘗試給他們的員工在工作上有更大的自主權，但因為實際的原因此舉只能在非常有限的程度下執行，且不論如何，員工在最終目標上永遠不會獲得自主權 — 他們「自主的」努力永遠不會導向他們個人選擇的目標，只會導向他們雇主的目標，例如公司的存活和成長。如果允許員工採取其他行動，任何公司都會很快就倒閉了。

同樣地，在社會主義制度下的任何企業，工人必須將目標導向企業的目標，否則企業將無法達成作為該制度一部份的目標。

再一次地，純粹因為技術的原因，在工業社會中大部分的個體或小型團體是不可能有太多自治權的。

即使是小企業主通常也只有有限的自治權。除了政府必要的監管，小企業主被限制必須要融入這個經濟體系並符合其要求。舉例來說，當有人發展了一種新技術，小企業者不論他想不想通常都必須使用該技術以保持競爭力。

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Efforts to make room for a sense of purpose and for autonomy within the system are no better than a joke. For example, one company, instead of having each of its employees assemble only one section of a catalogue, had each assemble a whole catalogue, and this was supposed to give them a sense of purpose and achievement. Some companies have tried to give their employees more autonomy in their work, but for practical reasons this usually can be done only to a very limited extent, and in any case employees are never given autonomy as to ultimate goals — their “autonomous” efforts can never be directed toward goals that they select personally, but only toward their employer’s goals, such as the survival and growth of the company. Any company would soon go out of business if it permitted its employees to act otherwise. Similarly, in any enterprise within a socialist system, workers must direct their efforts toward the goals of the enterprise, otherwise the enterprise will not serve its purpose as part of the system. Once again, for purely technical reasons it is not possible for most individuals or small groups to have much autonomy in industrial society. Even the small-business owner commonly has only limited autonomy. Apart from the necessity of government regulation, he is restricted by the fact that he must fit into the economic system and conform to its requirements. For instance, when someone develops a new technology, the small-business person often has to use that technology whether he wants to or not, in order to remain competitive.