Paternalism
Paternalism is an attitude that is to behave like a father to others on which exercises or attempts to exert authority. This attitude can be voluntary as involuntary and unconscious.
This term is used especially in areas such as economics, morality or politics. This is called paternalism economic, moral, political, social etc..
The paternalistic attitude amounts to consider adults as children. A paternalistic infantilizes those on which it engages, or seeks to exercise authority. Conversely it is because they have already raised this child back a paternalistic trend.
A similar term to mean the same thing is patriarchy.
Summary |
Paternalism in the economic and social
Until the nineteenth century , the prevailing strategy of the stick in the factories and mills. But violence has its limits. It can force obedience but never manages to gain acceptance. It is not enough to moralize the working class. The challenge then is to indoctrinate the working class with capitalist values. This is to legitimize the wage relation, and hence to obey the working class. The role of paternalism is to address problems by supporting the worker. Paternalism is defined as the familial relationships between employers and employees. The boss assumes authority and duties of a father towards his "child employees." He is responsible for their well-being in return for which they owe him respect and obedience. "The boss must be a father to whom God is an obligation to fulfill the duties of fatherhood as well as to spiritually and materially. "
Several companies like Le Creusot in the nineteenth century and twentieth century have developed a paternalistic management, which - often - workers could bring a number of benefits that the company could not yet provide a generalized as education, housing, medical care ...
The idea that prevailed then - for some enlightened employers, or liberal Christians - was the idea of taking care of "their" workers to keep them happy - even proud - of their business, productive work and faithful to the employer who often stood in its economic model of "lifetime employment for its workers." That is to say that the poor or more generally the classes need to be framed, directed, moralized in order to access any status envied middle-class or privileged classes.
One way to proceed was to put decorations to deserving workers or organize competitions, such as competition policy and domestic cleanliness.
This was especially employers created works designed to control workers' workers, and the coach and try to take a phased manner and a healthy life saving, so on returning in a production system.
In the late nineteenth century, for the Liberals in Belgium , education and culture are the main means of improving social conditions. Catholics responded with great efforts for the "good news" and the choice of "good books".
The objectives of industrial paternalism
Paternalism helps fight against the inadequacy of the workforce. This inadequacy is specific: it concerns a fierce competition to attract workers: benefits are provided. The turnover is recurring in the nineteenth century and coincides with the introduction of paternalism. In France, the turnover often exceeds one tenth of the size of a business day, which poses serious problems of management: the engineers can not build forecasting serious business. In the late 1830s, the exploitation of workers was very strong. This awareness has made in three reports: those of the prefects of the departments most industrialized, whom the army sent in 1840 and throughout the report Villerm. Finally, the objective of paternalism is to legitimize the employment relationship. Strategy and stick with the legal arsenal brought mixed results, the bosses had to change their ways.
The procedures of paternalism
Dysfunctional behaviors are repressed by a system of negative sanctions or restrictions on individual freedoms. The regulations are strict, duties and obligations are for multiple workers. The regulations were in fact a result of bans of any kind. Punishment is only part of workers' control. This method is relatively inefficient. It creates tension and causes the release of workers in factory work and capitalism. Moreover, its implementation is expensive. Paternalism abandons the stick in favor of the carrot: the paternalistic policies are to favor the sanctions by rewarding positive behaviors valued by employers rather than punishment. Investment in paternalistic policies can save on recruitment costs, reduce turnover and absenteeism , and finally reduce the number of conflicts. The effectiveness of paternalism is an advantage for the workers. To attract labor, industrial employment has to be desirable: the company therefore had to differentiate itself from competitors by offering "something more". Fix the workforce is necessary. For this, the departure of the worker himself was made costly by offering sufficient benefits for the opportunity cost of leaving a deterrent. The company paternalism pervades all aspects of the privacy of its workers: housing, consumption, education, welfare, leisure ... The control is total. The worker depends on the company in all areas of daily life. Joeuf , where the largest plant of the company Wendel , gives an idea of control of a company on social life: "Everything in this town belongs to society. Not only the company and the factory, but also the houses, the village hall, the hospital, the cooperative. The station could not grow on the surrounding land owned by the Company. The church was built on land belonging to the Company. Many roads serving the town are private roads owned by the Company. The Commissioner of Police lodge in a house belonging to Wendel. The mayor is an employee of the factory. "
Industrial paternalism was total control, he completed outside the factory industrial discipline. According to Perrot, paternalism requires support from employees to management mode, "there can be no consent of paternalism. "The relationship between employer and employee relationship is like a father / son. The boss gives himself as the father through the existence of an authority of a father whose only concern is the "common good". There is also a mother by her concern for material welfare and moral education that leads him to make available to workers homes, schools, places of leisure ... Goff analysis paternalism as "the silence and the word" it would:
- integrate the life out of the factory worker in a private space, identified with the contractor and under its control,
- to find a way to make the workers the authority of the boss
- introduce a report of affective type between boss and worker: "what is the precise rules since we love each other? . The relationship between management and workers are individualized.
The higher the deprivation of a benefit is an embarrassment and it is more effective as an instrument of control. Accommodate employees with the push to stay in the company, otherwise they lose their homes. Thus, the barracks , housing estates or mining in France, "company towns" American owned capitalist, enabled him to extend his control over the working life outside the walls of factories. By a policy of low rents, capitalists make effective policy and moral discipline. Thus, workers behave better and are more present. The employee must comply with the standards without which it loses home and garden cheap. The housing policy is implanted in all industrial regions (eg textile Mulhouse, Lyon: 38 establishments and 65,000 workers). The company also encouraged its workers to access the property by developing "a passion for property." Saving is encouraged to address the "foresight" and "misconduct." The factory town is the basis for developing a host of institutions that framed all of the behaviors of the daily life of workers. The overall reproduction of the work force is supported by employers, including housing, workers' consumption (, cooperatives, bakeries, laundries, restaurants, a credit system which is derived from wages), leisure (equipment, sports, music ...), training (general or vocational schools housewives, evening ...) spiritual life (a place of worship was built) ... These are the indirect wage benefits. The problem of labor is partially solved by the fact that all family members were put to work, which also facilitates the transmission of hereditary profession. The family is the transmission of various expertise and a culture that permeates children from an early age.
Industrial firms known to have developed a paternalistic management in previous centuries are:
- the textile industry ,
- the mining industry ,
- The company Michelin ,
- The company Briare enamel created by Jean-Felix Bapterosses
- The company Menier
- The familistre of Guise, created by Jean-Baptiste Andr Godin
- The company Schneider , created by Eugene Schneider
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