As information technology (IT) capabilities increase, manufacturing businesses are realigning their information systems infrastructure to remain competitive. This has resulted in substantial increases in IT use in technical areas of the business. Nevertheless, conventional paper-based information systems are still common at the shopfloor. Hence, manufacturers need to understand whether there is any benefit in extending IT functionality to the shopfloor. The focus of this research is the support of the CNC machinist, who has a specific set of craft skills and knowledge that are a core business capability in the metal cutting industry. By evaluating the impact of hypermedia information systems upon the independent decision-making and communication capabilities of CNC machinists, this research aims to provide an understanding of the shopfloor performance benefits of replacing existing paper-based systems with this relatively new technology. This research finds that in CNC machining environments where there are limited divisions of labour, hypermedia-based manufacturing instructions support CNC machinist independent decision-making and cross-boundary communications as effective as paper-based manufacturing instructions. CNC machinists also demonstrate an acceptance of the new technology. Hence, the sponsor and the research community can pursue continued research to develop the technical and social systems to achieve predicted business benefits.

Whilst a high percentage of organisations claim to be using practices associated with quality management, there has been a lack of research that explore shopfloor accounts of their experiences of quality management (Clark et al., 1998; Bacon, 1999). This research examines shopfloor worker experiences of, and responses to, quality management in two manufacturing companies, with a focus upon human resource issues. The study examines how the 'rhetoric' of quality management was experienced in the workplace. It reveals that shopfloor responses were shaped not only by the formal translation of quality management into the workplace, but also by other factors. These included the degree of acceptance from the trade union (or consultative committee). This issue has been raised in the literature (Edwards et al., 1998). However, responses were also affected by lateral relationships that fall outwith the formal management/employee interface. This has not been widely recognised to date. Specifically, informal workplace relationships formed another filter through which quality management was judged. Furthermore, responses were also moulded by perceptions of the needs of key external stakeholders. These included the customer, and non-work based stakeholders including the family and in one case presented here, the local community. This study suggests that in order to produce a deeper understanding of employee experiences of work, both vertical and lateral relationships must be acknowledged and accounted for. This approach helps explain why workers may retain their loyalty to a firm, despite downsizing, insecurity and day-to-day frustrations or why they may appear to have assimilated the quality management rhetoric, at the same time as feeling an intense alienation from work.