Deskilling in the 21st Century: The case of rail privatisation

Bart Cole, Christine Cooper

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

32 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

This paper considers the impact of privatisation on the tacit knowledge and skills of the railway industry staff. It argues that while rail privatisation was consistent with the neo-liberal economic agenda, the particular form that it took in the UK in some ways exacerbated the loss of worker knowledge within the industry. Arguably, this loss of knowledge had an impact of safety. The form that the privatisation took was shaped by many factors including the activities of large accounting firms and advisors to government. However, accounting skills could have been used to enhance the safety of the industry.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)601-625
Number of pages24
JournalCritical Perspectives On Accounting
Volume17
Issue number5
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jul 2006

Keywords

  • rail privatisation
  • economic agenda
  • accounting skills

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