Bartleby
The human touch
Crafts and the future of work
May 8th 2021 | words 715
IN THE REPAIR SHOP, a British television series, carpenters, textile workers and mechanics mend family heirlooms that viewers have brought to their workshop. The fascination comes from watching them apply their craft to restore these keepsakes and the emotional appeal from the tears that follow when the owner is presented with the beautifully rendered result.
heirloom / elum; NAmE erl- /
noun
a valuable object that has belonged to the same family for many years
:
a family heirloom
keepsake / kipseik /
noun
a small object that sb gives you so that you will remember them
SYN memento
render / rend(r) /
verb
PRESENT STH
(formal) to present sth, especially when it is done officially
SYN furnish :
The committee was asked to render a report on the housing situation.
Perhaps the idea of craftsmanship is not simply nostalgic. In a new paper* in the Academy of Management Annals, five academics examine the idea of crafts as a way of remaking the organisation of work. They define craft as a humanist approach to work that prioritises human engagement over machine control. Crafts require distinct skills, an all-round approach to work that involves the whole product, rather than individual parts, and an attitude that necessitates devotion to the job and a focus on the communal interest. The concept of craft emphasises the human touch and individual judgment.
nostalgia / nstld; NAmE ns-; ns- /
noun [U]
a feeling of sadness mixed with pleasure and affection when you think of happy times in the past
:
a sense / wave / pang of nostalgia
She is filled with nostalgia for her own college days.
nostalgic / nstldik; NAmE ns-; ns- /
adj.:
nostalgic memories
I feel quite nostalgic for the place where I grew up.
nostalgically / -kli / adv.
to look back nostalgically to your childhood
all-'round (BrE) (NAmE all-a'round)
adj. [only before noun]
1. including many different subjects, skills, etc.
:
an all-round education
2. (of a person ) with a wide range of skills or abilities
:
She's a good all-round player.
Essentially, the crafts concept seems to run against the preponderant ethos of management studies which, as the academics note, have long prioritised efficiency and consistency. Frederick Winslow Taylor, a pioneer of management studies, operated with a stopwatch and perceived human workers as inefficient, and potentially disobedient, machines. Craft skills were portrayed as being primitive and traditionalist.
preponderant / pripndrnt; NAmE -pn- /
adj. [usually before noun]
(formal) larger in number or more important than other people or things in a group
preponderantly adv.
ethos / is; NAmE is /
noun [sing.]
(formal) the moral ideas and attitudes that belong to a particular group or society
(),:
an ethos of public service
The contrast between artisanship and efficiency first came to the fore in the 19th century when British manufacturers suddenly faced competition from across the Atlantic as firms developed the American system using standardised parts. Initially these techniques were applied to arms manufacture but the worldwide success of the Singer sewing machine showed the potential of a mass-produced device. This process created its own reaction, first in the form of the Arts and Crafts movement of the late 19th century, and then again in the small is beautiful movement of the 1970s. A third crafts movement is emerging as people become aware of the environmental impact of conventional industry.
fore / f(r) /
noun
IDIOMS
be / come to the 'fore (BrE) (NAmE be at the 'fore) to be / become important and noticed by people; to play an important part
():
She has always been to the fore at moments of crisis.
The problem has come to the fore again in recent months.
bring sth to the 'fore
to make sth become noticed by people
There are two potential markets for those who practise crafts. The first stems from the existence of consumers who are willing to pay a premium price for goods that are deemed to be of extra quality. This niche stretches all the way down from designer fashion through craft beers to bakeries offering artisan loaves.To the extent that automation takes over more sectors, this niche seems likely to become more lucrative; there is snob value in owning a good that is not mass produced. The second market lies in those consumers who wish to use their purchases to support local workers, or to reduce their environmental impact by taking goods to craftspeople to be mended, or recycled.
niche / ni; nit; NAmE nit; ni /
noun
(business ) an opportunity to sell a particular product to a particular group of people
():
They spotted a niche in the market, with no serious competition.
a niche market
the development of niche marketing (= aiming products at particular groups)
loaf / luf; NAmE louf /
noun (pl. loaves / luvz; NAmE louvz / )
an amount of bread that has been shaped and baked in one piece
():
a loaf of bread
Two white loaves, please.
a sliced loaf
snob / snb; NAmE snb /
noun (disapproving)
1. a person who admires people in the higher social classes too much and has no respect for people in the lower social classes
:
She's such a snob!
snob value:
a quality that makes something attractive to people who are snobs
Expensive cars have snob value.
old foreign films with snob value
For workers, the appeal of craftsmanship is that it allows them the autonomy to make creative choices, and thus makes a job far more satisfying. In that sense, it could offer hope for the overall labour market. Let the machines automate dull and repetitive tasks and let workers focus purely on their skills, judgment and imagination. As a current example, the academics cite the agile manifesto in the software sector, an industry at the heart of technological change. The pioneers behind the original agile manifesto promised to prioritise individuals and interactions over processes and tools. By bringing together experts from different teams, agile working is designed to improve creativity.
cite / sait /
verb
(formal) 1. ~ sth (as sth) to mention sth as a reason or an example, or in order to support what you are saying
()():
He cited his heavy workload as the reason for his breakdown.
2. to speak or write the exact words from a book, an author, etc.
manifesto / mnifestu; NAmE -festou /
noun (pl. -os)
a written statement in which a group of people, especially a political party, explain their beliefs and say what they will do if they win an election
an election manifesto
the party manifesto
But the broader question is whether crafts can create a lot more jobs than they do today. Demand for crafted products may rise but will it be easy to retrain workers in sectors that might get automated (such as truck drivers) to take advantage? In a world where products and services often have to pass through regulatory hoops, large companies will usually have the advantage.
hoop / hup /
noun
1. a large ring of plastic, wood or iron
:
a barrel bound with iron hoops
hoop earrings (= in the shape of a hoop )
regulatory hoop
History also suggests that the link between crafts and creativity is not automatic. Medieval craft guilds were monopolies which resisted new entrants. They were also highly hierarchical with young men required to spend long periods as apprentices and journeymen before they could set up on their own; by that time the innovative spirit may have been knocked out of them. Craft workers can thrive in the modern era, but only if they dont get too organised.
guild / gild /
noun [C + sing. / pl. v.]
1. an organization of people who do the same job or who have the same interests or aims ():
the Screen Actors' Guild
2. an association of skilled workers in the Middle Ages
(),
entrant / entrnt /
noun ~ (to sth)
1. a person who has recently joined a profession, university, etc.
:
new women entrants to the police force
university entrants
journeyman BrE /dnimn/ NAmE /drnimn/)
1. (in the past) a person who was trained to do a particular job and who then worked for sb else
2.a person who has training and experience in a job but who is only average at it
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