Unions have been ambivalent about the introduction of teamwork and other forms of work reorganization, which they fear could create greater pressures on their members. However, recent enterprise agreements have incorporated new concepts of work organization that are accompanied by training and skills-related pay. It is dominated by a few large multinational corporations, although there are also a large number of small companies. The products are, for the most part, designed and manufactured outside of Australia, and most of the activities in Australia relate to the sales, supply and service of information technology. The industry is highly competitive and subject to continuously changing technologies.
Emphasis is placed on individual competition between employees, particularly within marketing areas.
This tends to militate against teamwork and reinforces a competitive culture. The industry is largely nonunionized so issues of work organization have not been the subject of enterprise bargaining. However, the exposure of the industry to rapidly changing technologies and the emphasis on customer service mean that work organization is likely to become an increasingly important area for gaining competitive advantage. In summary, there appears to have been greater standardization of work in some sectors of industry, and greater diversification in others. In the latter areas, there are more flexible job definitions and less demarcations as well as greater multi-skilling, use of teamwork, networks and a fusion of planning and execution of tasks.