Technology and Work in the Countries of Eastern Europe: The Case of Hungary and the German Democratic Republic

The effects of new technologies in Eastern Europe are somewhat different than in the West due to different relationships between technology & the organization of labor. Key factors to be considered in an analysis of socialist systems include: the requirement for full employment & a high level of worker qualification; the difficulties of centralized economic planning; & patterns of organization. The Taylorist concepts popular among many Western social economists are not applicable to Eastern Europe. Despite certain similarities in their approach toward adoption of new technologies, Hungary has opted for pluralist consensus, while the German Democratic Republic has chosen a corporatist consensus model. The Hungarian model has achieved more success in putting computers to work for people, not vice versa. 29 References. M. Meeks.