The central idea – broadly stated – is that while for much of the industrial age, ‘labour’ was treated as an unfortunate ‘cost’, it became possible to view it in an entirely different light; as an ‘asset’. Economists and accountants routinely classified labour as one the main ‘variable costs’. Accordingly, procedures and managerial systems were aligned with this view. Labour was seen as plentiful and dispensable.
Little thought was given to its recruitment, little investment was made in its development, and the modes of ‘industrial discipline’ were based on direct command and control mixed occasionally with the strictures of perfor-mance related pay. ‘Hire and fire’ was a common term. In these circumstances, conflict was expected and industrial relations officers were employed in order to negotiate ‘temporary truces’ (otherwise known as collective agreements). These were considered successful if they delivered compliance with managerially-prescribed rules.