Discusses job discretion (the degree of worker autonomy) and the American "work ethic" in a historical context and in regard to the current shift from a manufacturing economy to one based on information services and new technologies. (ML)

Critics call computerized innovations and other changes in the workplace examples of the employers'"dumbing down" of jobs for illiterate workers. Others disagree and say the changes free workers from routine, monotonous tasks and permit them to learn more complex procedures and to take on more responsibility. Findings of a survey of business…

Automated office technologies, such as office automation systems, management information systems, teleconferencing, message systems, and robotics, are providing momentum for the trend towards the "paperless office" by allowing new means of carrying out office tasks and aiding in the management of time, data, and messages. The success of these…