Le syndicalisme est-il la réponse au problème des « cadres »?

Après avoir souligné la modification relativement récente, en divers milieux québécois, des attitudes traditionnelles à l'endroit des«  cadres » d'entreprise, l'auteur déplore la faiblesse lexicologique du terme«  cadres » dans ce contexte, de même que l'ambiguïté de ce vocable globaliste, eu égard à la grande diversité des agents qu'il recouvre. A partir donc d'une esquisse de typologie des«  cadres », il s'interroge ensuite sur leursproblèmes présumés ou réels— qu'il s'agisse plus largement d'«  aliénation » ou plus spécifiquement de divers malaises concrètement identifiables à partir d'une échelle donnée de besoins. Pour chacun de ces problèmes, l'auteur examine enfin diversessolutions institutionnelles qui sont à la disposition des«  cadres » : action patronale, association de cadres, syndicalisme de cadres et législation élargieIn recent years, managerial and supervisory personnel have elicited quite a bit of interest, not only from top managementwithin the business organization — this is, of course, not a new development, since top management has always seen all their levels of management and supervision as one monolithic block—, but also from various quartersoutside the firm proper, namely :1)university pofessors (and especially sociologists and industrial relations specialists), who have always been sympathetic and sensitive to collective problems and solutions, to proletarian miseries (are we not now talking and writing more and more about the « new proletarians of knowledge » ?) and to democratic values everywhere, respect and freedom for man ; and who easily see in unions of all types and levels of employees an « irreversible » trend, and a good and necessary one at that, which should be fostered by intellectuals and legislation ;2)union leaders, who used to blast any and all executives or foremen as capitalistic exploiters or technocrats, and who now discover in them a great reservoir, both strategic and numerous, to be tapped in order to multiply union strength tenfold ;3)government people, who are quite ambivalent about management and. supervision, since they act as both employer and lawmaker ; in the first rote, they are stuck with very difficult problems of an administrative nature : assaults by politicians, a history of nepotism, and an increasingly large bureaucracy spread over a broad territory ; in the second, they are tempted to enact all-embracing legislation (for all employees of all sectors, whether public or private) to solve problems which initially and basically could and should be solved at home.This newly-oriented interest in management and supervision from outside groups coincides with some aspirations of some levels of management, mainly in the public and para-public sectors, toward some form of unionization, especially in the Province of Quebec.All this interest, however gratuitous or selfish, should blind no executive to the basic postulate that he, and he alone, should be the one to define his problems and to find appropriate solutions for them, according to the great variety which is evident among his ranks : does he act in a line or a staff capacity, and then, at what level of supervision or management ? Obviously, problems and solutions will differ in kind and intensity according to the nature of the function held by the executive.And then, if one turns to theproblems of managers or supervisors, one should not « overkill » with such broad diagnoses as « alienation », which today means just about everything and then nothing, not being specific enough and leading nowhere in terms of remedies. What needs are not met by managers and supervisors : are they, or do they feel, relatively powerless, meaningless, normless, isolated, and self-estranged ? Is it a problem of not having enough of the primary needs satisfied : physiological-hygienic or safety (not enough money, not enough security) ? Or does it go deeper and more diffuse in terms of lack of belonging, esteem, and self-achievement ?And finally, if we now turn to solutions.Which are the ones most closely adapted to the specific problems diagnosed ? Will it be a new realization by top management, aided by lower levels, of the need for more of the behavioral satisfactions : more communication, more information, more participation in decision-making, more warmth in the day-to-day relation-ships ? Should this fail, will it lead to in-firm managerial or supervisory associations ? Should these appear inadequate, will they be turned into regular unions, with the standard paraphernalia of collective bargaining ? And then, will these affiliate to an outside federation of managerial people exclusively, or rather will this affiliate with a central labour body ?Before deciding, managerial and supervisory personnel should first evaluate their problems realistically, and then reach first for the means closest to their reach. Unions carry their own brand of bureaucracy and « alienation » ; they are not a dogma or a postulate any more, even among their own membership ; they have not yet made much headway in North America, at the professional and managerial levels ; for the time being, at least, they may seem like a jack-hammer cracking a nut. So, legislation at this level of personnel seems at this time inopportune and would create much ambiguity

Le professionnel salarié dans la grande entreprise

L'auteur décrit brièvement quelques-uns des cas de conflit que rencontre le professionnel salarié dans la grande entreprise. Il lui apparaît important pour bien poser un problème aussi complexe de suggérer quelques esquisses de solutions plutôt que d'aligner des recettes nombreuses à partir d'une maigre définition ou d'une fausse évaluation de la réalité conflictuelle de la profession et de l'entreprise.It has always been Man's basic challenge to tame and dominate his material environment, and particularly his work situation, which is likely to be within the framework of the large-scale organization, whether industrial, commercial, governmental, etc. Man is increasingly a member of Peter Drucker's « employee society », working for wage or salary under the authority of others in a big, rather impersonal enterprise.Professional people, especially, grow numerically more than any other group in the labour force, as befits a strongly industrialized society ; and most of them work for a salary in ever larger organizations. The contact between profession and enterprise may be painful, in view of the nature of both institutions ; flexible accommodation, however, will make their collaboration stable, efficient, and satisfactory to both.THE PROFESSIONWestern Man is primarily what he does. This serves to explain why the newer professions like Engineering, Administration, Accounting, Industrial Relations, have shot for the ultimate in the range of occupations, namely for the traits and prestige of the full-fledged, traditional profession (e.g., Law, Medicine). It is true that the new salaried professionals possess, in common with their non-salaried colleagues, such characteristics as an extensive intellectual training, a high degree of specialization, a professional association, a legal framework, a code of ethics, a specialized literature, and so on. However, the nature of services rendered by the salaried professionals, as shall be demonstrated later, differs sharply from those dispensed by the traditional professions to a diversified clientele in exchange for fees ; such services were specific (rather exclusive, by professional X to client Y at time Z) and original ( personal, routineless and based on « ad hoc » judgment ) ; and the service relationship was usually discontinuous, direct, and immediate. The traditional profession, furthermore, enjoyed (almost) total autonomy, in the sense that its members could render their services in complete freedom with regard to choice of methods, type of conduct, and the « layman » ; needless to say, things are relatively different in the large-scale organization.THE ORGANIZATIONIdeally, the large-scale organization seeks maximum efficiency of means toward clear objectives set in an authoritarian fashion ; it seeks pragmatic results through rational means and according to detailed, compulsory norms, within a rigid hierarchy of positions and people. Each employee works with strictly defined limits of responsabilities, within the sphere of his specific competence ; he is subject to discipline, formalism, social and hierarchical distance.PROFESSION IN BIG ENTERPRISE : SOME AREAS OF CONFLICTSome traits of the traditional profession help define specific, potential areas of conflict between profession and enterprise. It must be kept in mind, however, that those two institutions are compatible, and that their intermingling and co-operation have produced new heights of efficiency for mankind while modifying them mutually so that organizations are more and more being governed by professional norms, and professions become increasingly aware of, and responsive to organizational demands.Extensive intellectual training : the professional is a man of rationality who does not readily identify with the policies and procedures of management. He is very demanding in terms of communication, knowledge, creativeness, control, evaluation. His desire to increase knowledge may clash with the immediate interests of the enterprise. In the latter, science and the professions are regarded as instruments amongst other : high-caliber, often irreplaceable, but instruments nonetheless.High degree of specialization; the professional in industry tends to aim at exclusive actions in given areas which often conflict with « managerial rights » to determine the nature and hierarchy of jobs, to set performance standards, to recruit, transfer and promote, and so on. To managers, the area of competence is not necessarily exclusive.Service : the salaried professional in large-scale organization is quick to realize how far he is from the service ideal formed at a time when the economy was dominated by the activity of individuals as such, and how close he gets to the notion of a global service provided by large organizations which are, in the final analysis, the modern expression of the profession. The professional, then, will still serve the community, but in most cases as a salaried employee in an organization which will synthesize and coordinate all professional and non-professional efforts required ; the organization is the client of the salaried professional, whose services are likely to be less specific, less discontinuous and less personal than those provided in private practice.Professional association : this would clash with the enterprise, should it demand an exclusive loyalty from its members ; for, the large organization also requires unreserved allegiance from all its personnel, professional or other. Dual loyalty, therefore, must be nurtured by the professional man in enterprise.Autonomy : the freedom of the salaried professional with regard to choice of objectives, methods, and rhythm of work, and also to non-members, is limited by the imperatives of the organization itself. Management intends to determine urgency and importance, to be free from outside pressure if at all possible. It cannot accept willingly that professions claim to be sole judges of work performed within its framework. For in the eyes of management, authority originates from the position, assignments, and delegation, and not from the specialized competence of the job holder. For instance, the enterprise cannot easily allow the salaried professional to choose freely his own problems and field of activity : for where the professional may want to expand, management for equally good, but different, reasons may wish to cut down ; the « science-oriented » professional will frequently be shocked by the « profit-minded » entrepreneur ; when is essential to one will often be secondary to the other ; what is urgent to one will not always be so to the other ; and the professional in the large organization may easily be a harsh judge of administrative orders or procedures which are most warranted from another point of view. And yet, the salaried professional cannot scorn the need for punctuality, work standards, discipline, hierarchical levels, and modes of delegating authority. Though it is natural for him to want only a minimum of strict rules and interventions from higher up, he must understand that such elements cannot be completely eliminated if the organization is to maintain its cohesion and coherence. He must recognize that he cannot enjoy full autonomy in his professional work for the pure and simple reason that he does not possess all the skills and ability required to accomplish an extremely complex job, subdivided into many parts. He is only one part of a whole extending far beyond the realm of his specific professional competence ; thus, his share of the collective endeavour must hinge on that of others, coordinated with other activities, and tempered by rules geared to the overall objectives of the organization, which are too broad to be fulfilled by the efforts of one professional, and even of one profession, alone.ACCOMMODATION AS A SOLUTIONBeyond the frictions between profession (or the individual professional) and the enterprise over matters of autonomy, status, financial rewards and work environment, there is the obvious need for reconciling the two institutions through compromise, mutual respect, accommodation, and co-operation.The ProfessionThe Profession (and the professional) cannot lay claim to total freedom in matters of work and discipline. It must integrate, with some loss of autonomy, its main function (that of protecting standards leading to creative activity) into the framework of the organization. The professional needs the powerful resources of the organization ; so must he help maintain a proper balance between professional liberty and administrative authority.The OrganizationThe Organization, for its part, must successfully meet the challenge of making full use of science and the professions, not as enemies to subjugate, but as allies to liberate in all their potentialities. It must show imagination in order to see in its professionals people of a special type and training, who bring to the organization a complex body of knowledge, sentiments, and expectations which must be fully understood and utilized. Such an attitude is distinct from favouritism and paternalism, and must respect basic administrative rules of justice and equality. The firm should constantly revise its definitions of efficiency, profitability and the « best » way to perform professional work, re-examine its disciplinary standards for professional employees, and never hope for the total identification of the professional with corporate means of reaching ends. The organization must take into account the particularises of the professional labour market, place as much emphasis on the professional job holder as on the job itself, and sacrifice some tempting uniformities and conformities in favour of a genuine acceptance of opinion differences and non-conformity as essential elements of the organization. It must also improve communications with its professional employees, foster an atmosphere of creativity, which is essentially one of freedom, and respect the professional standards of excellence, disinterestedness, foresight, and prestige inasmuch as they do not go against basic corporate policy. In short, management must confidently utilize science and the professions as prodigious industrial resources.Personnel administrators have a leading role to play in this process of accommodation between profession and enterprise. Personnel Research must constantly probe into the psycho-sociological and economic aspects of human adjustment to organization, and support long-range planning of professional manpower. Recruitment of professionals must be performed with special care, realism and a total absence of « buttering-up ».Development must be accomplished by use of all relevant resources, inside and out (courses, study sessions, trips, « refreshers », reorientation), on all pertinent matters (technical, administrative, economic, psycho-sociological), in order to victoriously fight obsolescence. Remuneration must be adequate and » fair », in terms of internal logic and market situations ; management should not be scared to experiment in terms of « career scales » and « dual ladders » of promotion (technical and administrative). Welfare must show flexibility in devising plans for specific groups, inasmuch as administratively feasible. And finally, Industrial Relations, whenever involved, must realistically accept the forms of association which the salaried professionals will want to establish, with due respect, of course, for sound administrative practices and clear lines of demarcation within the hierarchical structure.CONCLUSIONProfession and organization are compatible ; their marriage, however, does not always go without frictions ; these may be alleviated, if not altogether eliminated, by a proper understanding of the nature of both institutions, by mutual respect and confidence, and by a joint effort to attain a compromise which will safeguard the basic needs of both the firm and the professionals. Such harmonious and realistic co-operation may only lead them both to new peaks of accomplishment

Bilinguism in Quebec Business

Je ferai, dans les lignes qui suivent, quelques remarques sur l'aspect humain du bilinguisme et du biculturalisme, sur les systèmes de valeurs et idéaux, sur les différences culturelles et surtout sur cet élément culturel de base qu'est la langue.Au-delà des différences psychologiques, statistiques et politiques, je suis porté à conclure que les hommes ont, et ce partout dans le monde, un certain nombre de caractéristiques communes d'une façon telle que ce qui les unit est toujours plus fort que ce qui les différencie. La nature humaine est la même partout : ce qui est différent, ce sont ses manifestations.Pour ce qui est de la situation québécoise, nous nous devons en premier lieu d'établir la différence entre la réalité et les différents mythes traditionnels qui existent quant à la personnalité et aux aspirations des Québécois. Il existe cependant dans le cas du Québec une différence certaine qu'on ne peut pas nier : on y trouve à la fois une culture et surtout une langue propre.Les québécois combattent pour conserver leur identité, et leurs valeurs culturelles : encore il faudra noter qu'ils recherchent non seulement la survie mais encore le progrès dans l'éducation, un meilleur contrôle de leur vie économique et une grande part d'autonomie politique.Le Québec est membre d'une entité politique dont il ne se veut pas dépendant. Quoiqu'étrangers ou hostiles à l'autre culture, les québécois en subissent une influence certaine. Il n'est alors pas surprenant que le québécois se sente parfois étranger ou plutôt membre minoritaire dans plusieurs parties du monde des affaires ou de l'industrie.LE BILINGUISME DANS L'INDUSTRIE QUÉBÉCOISELe bilinguisme exige au départ une définition de la LANGUE qui à son tour présuppose une juste compréhension de la Culture dont l'élément de base est la langue. Ce n'est qu'après avoir suivi ce cheminement qu'il sera possible de considérer l'industrie avec ses caractéristiques et de déterminer si la possibilité de coexistence des deux langues risques ou non d'en ébranler la base.La cultureDisons en résumé qu'en plus d'être un caractère attribué à une communauté, la culture représente la sommation des traits propres à tout groupe humain tels la langue, les us et coutumes, la façon de vivre, les idées, les pratiques, les sentiments, les idéaux, les opinions, la philosophie, et les moyens techniques et rationnels par lesquels les hommes ont toujours cherché à maîtriser leur environnement et à se contrôler eux-mêmes.La langueDe tous les aspects de la culture, la langue fut la première à recevoir une forme hautement développée : sa perfection essentielle est un prérequis à la culture en tant que tout. En fait, c'est un système de symboles phonétiques utilisés pour l'expression de pensées et de sentiments communicables.Le nationalisme et la langueDepuis toujours, des différences de langue ont reflété des différences culturelles. La langue principale est un symbole d'identité pour une entité politique et nationale donnée. La langue est le facteur le plus important dans le nationalisme moderne, parce qu'elle est la somme de toute existence spirituelle et intellectuelle. C'est donc la pierre angulaire de l'existence nationale.Les différences de culture (surtout de langue) ne doivent pas être considérées à la légère. Au contraire, elles atteignent ce qu'il y a de plus fondamental chez les individus et les groupes.Le bilinguismeSi on entend par bilinguisme la coexistence de deux langues dans un pays, une province ou même en affaires, nous n'y voyons pas d'objection. Mais nous devrons noter que la survie des deux langues exige pour chacune d'elles un statut égal sinon on aboutira en pratique à l'unilinguisme.Si on entend par bilinguisme l'usage habituel des deux langues, ou la capacité d'en parler une et de comprendre l'autre avec presqu'autant de facilité, nous devrons noter qu'aucun individu n'est jamais parfaitement bilingue quelles que soient ses illusions sur le sujet.Nous croyons que le bilinguisme parfait au niveau des individus est un mythe et que la personne soi-disant parfaitement bilingue est coincée entre deux cultures qui toutes les deux la rejettent.Si de telles considérations s'avèrent vraies pour une élite culturelle donnée, il est facile de concevoir jusqu'à quel point elles s'appliquent à la population en général. Ni l'économie ni aucune autre réalité ne devrait forcer les membres des échelons inférieurs de l'entreprise à maîtriser les deux langues surtout si ce bilinguisme n'est pas imposé à l'autre groupe culturel.L'industrieNous devons tous reconnaître que la préoccupation principale de toute organisation industrielle et bureaucratique est d'être conçue comme une institution rationelle principalement centrée sur l'efficacité technique et administrative. Mais ces éléments techniques et administratifs de l'efficacité sont autant reliés au social, à l'économique et à la politique que l'organisation elle-même. En d'autres termes, l'efficacité est essentiellement une valeur. Mais en fait une organisation ne peut pas être entièrement rationelle et efficace : on y remarquera toujours un certain nombre d'éléments irrationnels qui entrent en ligne de compte. (La tradition, les us et coutumes, les considérations personnelles et les sentiments.)Le bilinguisme vs la compétence ou l'efficacité peut être autant un faux problème que l'unilinguisme vs compétence ou l'efficacité vu qu'à la fin ce ne sont que les résultats qui comptent. Ce qui peut sembler inefficace, dangereux ou même irrationel d'un point de vue interne peut devenir absolument nécessaire face à une certaine pression de l'extérieur de la part d'un grand groupe de fins de la même culture. J'irais même jusqu'à dire que les compagnies agiraient intelligemment en considérant les Canadiens français autant comme des clients et des consommateurs éventuels que comme des employés possibles et ce autant au Québec que dans le reste du Canada. Pour ce faire, elles devront évidemment les engager sur un même pied que leurs collègues de langue anglaise en ne les obligeant pas plus à être bilingues qu'ils ne l'exigent des Canadiens anglais.Tant et aussi longtemps que cette égalité de traitement ne sera pas atteinte, il y aura toujours quelque chose qui ira mal avec l'industrie et le Canada surtout au Québec.Nous savons tous que des étrangers ont établi l'industrie au Québec et qu'ils se sont traditionnellement entourés de gens de même langue pour les seconder. Même si c'est compréhensible, nous pouvons nous demander si cela est encore efficace même en termes techniques et administratifs. La langue ou le groupe ethnique comme seul critère de promotion ne serait-il pas faux et coûteux? Combien de talents ont ainsi été perdus ? Cela n'explique-t-il pas la frustration profonde et la protestation au nom du nationalisme ?Il n'y aurait alors pas à se surprendre que le critère d'évaluation des employés canadiens-français ait été leur adaptabilité à la façon de travailler de leurs employeurs.L'industrie canadienne et le monde des affaires en général est forcée par la protestation politique croissante et par une pression économique à faire un examen de conscience, à penser les problèmes de langues et de cultures. Tout ceci aurait dû être commencé depuis très longtemps : il n'est cependant pas trop tard pour que le tout soit changé.A l'avenir, il devra être rendu possible au Canadien français de se joindre à l'industrie sans sacrifier ses valeurs humaines et culturelles de base, sans être constamment en désavantage parce que même s'il est bilingue, il ne parle pas l'autre langue aussi bien que son semblable de langue anglaise et parce qu'il est jugé et évalué selon des critères injustes, souvent non pertinents, et étrangers.Aujourd'hui, les maisons d'éducation de langue française préparent des individus plus compétents et plus sensibilisés aux problèmes de l'industrie. Ceci rend l'argument du manque de compétence complètement désuet.Toutes les organisations canadiennes, autant publiques que privées, se doivent de faire de leur mieux pour conserver un Canada bilingue et fort en plus de fournir les mêmes chances et opportunités à tous les Canadiens quelle que soit leur langue maternelle.CONCLUSIONLa réalité culturelle québécoise exige certaines formes de bilinguisme et de biculturalisme intelligents et flexibles.On devra en autant que possible améliorer le caractère bilingue des communications dans l'industrie : les dirigeants devront s'assurer que le recrutement, la formation, les négociations, etc., sont faits dans une ou des langues qui conviennent aux employés des différents niveaux.Tout ceci n'est pas une idéologie, c'est du sens commun de la courtoisie. En fait, c'est la façon efficace de faire des affaires et de fournir des services au Québec.The author defines in general terms, to the English-speaking businessman, the complex concepts and problems of language as an essential part and vehicle of culture, the relationship of language to nationalism, and the insertion of bilingualism in the business organization of today, especially in Québec

Reading without books

Lector de Pierre Bourdieu se bien las seducciones y trampas de la ilusión biográfica. Escribir recuerdos personales es siempre (conscientemente o no) plasmar una representación de si mismo que construye un pasado deseado, imaginado, que no corresponde necesariamente a lo que fue realmente

Les conseillers en relations industrielles et la profession

Le conseiller en relations industrielles est-il vraiment un professionnel? Il est significatif qu'on se pose la question, aussi bien à l'intérieur de la nouvelle société des conseillers en relations industrielles, qui jouit pourtant depuis plus d'un an d’un statut juridique non équivoque, à l’instar de groupements professionnels plus anciens.Tel n'est pas le propos de ce document de travail de démontrer à tout prix que la réponse à la question précitée doit être affirmative. Il ne part, au contraire, d'aucune idée préconçue, visant modestement à étaler des éléments de réponse et à susciter la méditation sur les critères de la profession dans la mesure où ils s'appliquent au cas des conseillers en relations industrielles.Whether the Industrial Relations Specialist is a professional or not is still and important question within the new « Society of Industrial Relations Counselors » as well as outside, at a time when it is recognized by a legal status in a non-equivocal manner when compared to older professional groupings.The purpose of this working paper is not to demonstrate at any rate that the above question should be given a positive and clear-cut answer. On the contrary, I am starting out with no preconcieved ideas. I intend to point out some elements of an answer and provoke thinking about the criteria of a profession as long as they pertain to the situation of « Industrial Relations Counselors ».A profession can be defined as an occupation characterized by a specialized and protracted intellectual education, by the application of a technique which rests on a theoritical bedrock, by the emergence of a professional association, and also by the idea of service rendered to a client for a certain amount of money.The tendency toward professionalization evolves from the very characteristics of an emerging industrial society. Large-scale bureaucratic organizations present an extensive division of labor and require a certain degree of impersonality. Professional associations provide a shield against a possible loss of identity or a possible feeling of alienation since one of the dominant features of a profession resides in the possibility for the individual to be independent and autonomous. An additional explanation of this tendency toward professionalization can be found in the tremendous development of scientific knowledge and the need for the expert to protect his self-image.The professionalization can be looked upon as a moving and dynamic process which unrolls itself along a continuous line of development characterized by the following stages:1 — A regular full-time work in the area of a speciality.2 — The creation of an association.3 — A formal academic education usually offered by a university.4 — The classification of would-be members according to established normsof eligibility for membershipholding.5 — The struggle for setting the boundaries of a specific field pf knowledge.6 — A code of professional ethics.7 — A political pressure for legal recognition.8 — An attempt to control university education.The definition of a profession which has been given above contains most of the earmarks for differentiating a professional occupation from a non-professional one. Keeping those criteria in mind, it is interesting to examine the situation of a professional working for a large-scale organization. Here are some possible conflicting issues. The salaried-professional will serve other people through the social system of a business enterprise, a government agency, or a trade-union. He is not providing a service for a specific client. The opportunity for autonomous decion-making is narrower, since top-management defines the order of priorities. His view of administrative efficiency may be at odds with top-management's. Those are only some possible conflicting points that have to be dealt with in modem bureaucracies by a category of experts which also encompasses « Industrial Relations Counselors ».« Industrial Relations Counselors » have passed through the phases of professionalization. Most of them enjoy full-time work and are members of legally-recognized association, Most of them have benefited from an university education and have been exposed to advanced specialization. All of them are providing services, but the majority does it in a bureaucratic framework, The main features of those services are incongruent with traditional professional services. In a near future, the association will have its code of ethics

Les rapports linguistiques à l’Hydro-Québec

Dans cet article l'auteur fait état des résultats d'une recherche, entreprise par le Département de sociologie de l’Université de Montréal, portant sur les rapports linguistiques à l’Hydro-Québec. Après une analyse de la composition du groupe de langue française et du groupe de langue anglaise au niveau de la direction et de la maîtrise avant et après la nationalisation, l’auteur présente les initiatives entreprises à la suite de cette recherche.The second phase of the nationalization of the private electric power companies in the Province of Quebec was set in motion on May 1st 1963. Hydro-Quebec not only more than doubled its personnel but also enlarged its territory, until then largely centered in greater Montreal, to the dimensions of the whole Province. But for this state owned enterprise, the recent nationalization has meant much more a change in its nature than a change in its dimensions. In a very short time, it had to give itself a new interpretation, under all aspects, and readapt itself to constantly changing situations. In short, most of the measures taken by this large public enterprise in the last two years originate from nationalization.It is symptomatic, in such a context of total reorganization, that hardly more than a month after the official nationalization, the Quebec Hydroelectric Commission should have asked the Department of Sociology of the University of Montreal to conduct a survey on the language relations among its personnel and more particularly among its middle and top management, comprising an executive personnel numbering 312 and a supervisory personnel of 1,510.Following a thorough study of the structures of Hydro-Quebec and its subsidiaries, numerous and lengthy interviews with its personnel as well as the compilation of comprehensive statistical data, the sociologists Jacques Brazeau and Jacques Dofny submitted, in May 1964, an « exploratory » report on « Communications within Hydro-Quebec from a language point of view ».The object of this paper is to sum up the essential elements of the report ; points covered in this résumé were discussed with the authors of the report, a first summary of which was made by Mr. André Thibault, a sociologist employed by Hydro-Quebec.SOME HlSTORICAL FACTSIt will no doubt be useful, for a good comprehension of the language situation at Hydro-Quebec, to review a few historical facts. When in 1944, the corner stone of the structure of a state owned public service of electricity was laid by nationalizing the Montreal Light, Heat and Power Co. Ltd., and the Beauharnois Power Company, the majority of the executive and technical personnel was English speaking and English was the language of communication. At that time, the French-speaking Universities were producing very few engineers, and this was particularly true in the fields of mechanics and electricity. Moreover, existing traditions in recruiting and acceptance of a given language in internal communications were just as important factors as technical training in assigning members of each ethnic groups to respective tasks within the enterprise,The first phase of the nationalization was slow in changing the language of communication and the ethnical composition of the executive personnel. The first French-Canadians to rise to this level of management were trained by English-speaking executives and, forcibly, spoke the only language which these executives could use. And the use of French as much as English came gradually with the rise of more French-speaking employees to the level of management, until French was in greater use than English. The remarkable headway made in the development of dams, electric power plants and substations during the fifties on the one hand and the increasingly rapid number of French-speaking electrical and mechanical engineers on the other hand, were at the origin of this transformation as well as the overall growth of the enterprise, the rate of growth being far beyond the capabilities of absorption of the English executive personnel. These ethnical changes produced mainly French-speaking language zones which are constantly gaining ground with respect to the English-speaking sectors. In the early sixties, Hydro-Quebec decided to act as its own general constructor for most of its dams, power plants and transmission lines as was the case at Carillon, Manicouagan, Outardes and other sites. Accordingly, French became the official language first on construction sites, and than at its Head office.The second phase of the nationalization, on the other hand, has introduced into this language situation, at the managerial level, elements differing in ethnical composition and in work methods. This is very true in the case of Gatineau Power Company, and that of Northern Quebec Power and somewhat less true in the case of Shawinigan Water and Power and that of Southern Canada Power ; Quebec Power, on the other hand, is almost entirely French speaking ; and, as for both Lower Saint Lawrence Power Corporation and Saguenay Electric, French is the only language used at the management level with which we are dealing here. The net result then, following the second phase of the nationalization, is that French is the predominant language : this new situation must be analysed and, possibly, requires a language policy more sharply defined than that of the old laissez-faire tradition.THE PSYCHO-SOCIOLOGICAL PROBLEMSuch a policy can be strictly utilitarian and pragmatic, entirely devoid of any ideology of cultural conquest or emotional nationalism ; the enterprise must, for purely practical reasons, guarantee the efficiency of its operations by smooth communications. However, one cannot deny the fact that Hydro-Quebec, small as it may be, if looked upon on a provincial basis, does occupy a privileged position in the context of Quebec taken as a whole. The problem of language communication at Hydro-Quebec reaches far beyond the structures of the enterprise. Can this problem be effectively dissociated from the technical and economical world to which Hydro-Quebec belongs ? For, one must not forget that the members of each of the two ethnic groups are bound by attitudes and socio-cultural objectives in larger context with Hydro-Quebec being a privileged field of application.A language policy for the enterprise can only be appraised from several angles ; lacking the necessary amount of time I shall only enumerate these, so as to draw your attention to the complexity of the problem.1. From the technical point of view, what are the imperatives which will impose the use of what language in such and such a sector? The enterprise, as we have seen, draws much from the outside and produces for the outside : what then will be the modalities and the frequency of each language in external communications ?2. The « technical imperatives » are the results of value judgments of personal choice on more general questions, of a search for an equilibrium, of conflicts of interests and of struggle for power. In other words, any modification to a given language policy has a direct effect on established positions and acquired rights according to the ethnic sector concerned.3. Some choices, easily justified from a technical point of view, bear the mark of a certain vision of the future ; thus, overall nationalization being a fait accompli, resistance to the French language becomes on the part of the English-Canadian executive who wishes to pursue his career at Hydro-Quebec, meaningless and without justification.4. Finally, the successful implementation of a language policy is wholly conditioned by the proper choice of the important sectors which from a strategic point of view are most liable to this successful implementation. This successful implementation depends on the need and the desire expressed by each individual.THE STATISTICAL DATABefore establishing a language policy at Hydro-Quebec a certain amount of information had to be known. Some statistical data had to be collected, the numerical dimensions of the problem of the contact of two languages had to be estimated and the geographical limits of the principal sectors of difficulty had to be established. All this had to be accomplished at both the executive and supervisory levels, in Hydro-Quebec and in each one of its subsidiaries, and in all departments therein. Various tables of statistics will be found on the last three pages of this paper. At this stage, I will only discuss the more revealing aspects of these statistics.In the original Hydro-Quebec, that is prior to May 1st 1963, management (executive and supervisory personnel) was 86% French speaking (executive, 72%; supervisory, 88%). These percentages have been somewhat modified by the nationalization. In the Hydro-Quebec of today, that is, on a provincial basis, 77% of the managerial personnel is French speaking, hence, a decrease of 9% ; as for the executive personnel, the percentage has dropped from 72% to 53% ; and in the case of supervisory personnel, from 88% to 82%. Thus, it is principally at the executive level that a regression in the predominance of French-speaking personnel following nationalization can be observed. At this level, French predominance has passed from a stage of a comfortable numerical advantage to that of simply nominal majority.If one now effects a breakdown of the data found in the tables according to each company, one discovers a group of situations clearly differentiated one from the other. If we now look at the French sectors on a provincial scale, we find that at the level of management in which we are interested, there are three companies with percentages comparing favourably with the old Hydro-Quebec which was 86% French speaking : these are Lower St. Lawrence Power Corporation and Saguenay Electric where this proportion is 100% and Quebec Power which is 93% French speaking. The other four companies constitute a sector which is dominated by the English element at the executive level, but where the French element is predominant at the supervisory level (although somewhat less predominant than in the other four companies). Thus, Shawinigan is 62% French (executive level, 28%) (supervisory level, 71%) ; Southern Canada Power, 60% (executive level 45%, supervisory 66%) ; Gatineau Power, 60% (executive 45%, supervisory 66%); Gatineau Power, 57% (executive 10%, supervisory 63%); and finally Northern Quebec Power is 45% French speaking (executive 0% and supervisory, 56%).If we now turn to operations, provincial scale, we arrive at conclusions very similar to that above. On the one hand, one finds that in the engineering departments, 33 1/3% of the executives and 70% of the supervisors are French speaking. On the other hand, in the Personnel departments, these proportions are respectively 84% and more than 90%. In the other departments, French speaking elements have a slight majority among the executives while the same elements constitute more than 4/5 of the supervisory personnel.These classifications based on the language spoken according to geographical areas and sphere of activity are not without relationship with classifications based on the concept of « generation ». On the whole, more French-speaking elements were recruited after 1945 than prior to this date ; the opposite is true as far as English-speaking elements are concerned. Similarly, in the predominantly French-speaking companies, including the old Hydro-Quebec, 3/4 of the managerial personnel joined after 1945, while this proportion is less than 50% in companies where management is predominantly English speaking. The French elements have thus profited from both factors of time and change while the English elements have been favoured with much stability.As far as formal education of the managerial personnel is concerned, each group compares equally with the other, independently of the language spoken. On the whole, 36% of this personnel holds a university degree ( 65% of the executive personnel, 30% of the supervisory personnel). Finally, among the English-speaking elements of both the executive and supervisory levels of Hydro-Quebec taken on a provincial scale, 200 have declared that they speak very little or no French at all, another 200, fairly well and 27, fluently. In the French sector (that is the old Hydro-Quebec and the three predominantly French companies) the majority of the English elements claim to speak French fairly well. In the English sector, the corresponding majority has declared that it speaks little or no French ; this majority is larger at the executive level than at the supervisory level.OPINIONS AND ATTITUDESThe sociologists, using an unstructured interview technique, endeavoured to go beyond their statistical data and discover the opinions and attitudes of the managerial personnel towards the problems of languages in Hydro-Quebec, on a provincial basis.Beyond the « physical » dimensions of the problem of languages at Hydro-Quebec, one finds individual human beings, with human sensitivity and emotions, who define this problem in terms of their own attitudes, their own interests and their own objectives. The enquirers directed their efforts in view of gathering opinions regarding the value of each language in the prominently industrial world of the North American context of today, particularly in the electrical field. On the whole, the managerial personnel of the old Hydro-Quebec and of the predominantly French-speaking companies that are witnessing intensive efforts in the last few years to give the French language its proper place in technical and administrative fields, think that it is just as possible and advantageous to use French as English for language communications in daily business operations. Many of them see an even greater advantage, from the strict point of view of efficiency in using the language of the majority. On the other hand, many among the English-speaking personnel (and some French-speaking elements who have pursued their career in companies predominantly English speaking) of subsidiaries such as Shawinigan Water and Power, Southern Canada Power, Gatineau Power and Northern Quebec Power rather think that English is decidedly the only language used in industry and commerce in North America, and therefore the efforts to re-introduce the use of French in the same sectors are utopic and can only lead to an undesirable situation ; according to some, it is impossible to re-introduce the use of French among technicians, even as a language of internal communications, bearing in mind overall external context.As for the language of external communications all agree that it should be the one used by the customer and in the case of large suppliers of machinery and materials, Hydro-Quebec will have to use the English language for some time to come. Some people therefore insist on the need of Hydro-Quebec, on a provincial basis, to employ and recruit English-speaking employees, or employees that are bilingual, to treat in a fair manner employees whose mother tongue is English, and even appoint an English-speaking Commissioner.Many of those interviewed gave their own definition of bilingualism, insisting on many ways of applying it and its usefulness to the whole of Hydro-Quebec, on the verge of becoming exclusively French speaking. Idealistically, it would be reading, writing, understanding and speaking both languages fairly well, in this order of progression and difficulty. Before reaching this stage, however, our wish is that is that everyone could at least read and understand the two languages, so that it would be possible for everyone to speak or write in the language he knows best, with the assurance of being understood by a person of the other tongue, who, in turn, can act in the same manner.Members of both ethnical groups, at the management level and with regards to the integration of Hydro-Quebec subsidiaries, voiced their opinions with all frankness. Among many English-speaking employees coming from the subsidiaries, the experts noted a strong feeling of insecurity before an uncertain future.They showed a certain anxiety at the thought that the personality of their original privately owned company would be dissolved in an heartless state controlled company or its efficiency lost in the vastness of a Public Corporation. They were afraid of political interference, unfair distinctions, retaliations ; they feared the loss of acquired rights ; they were afraid of becoming mere official numbers or of entering into a misalliance.On the other hand, many French-speaking employees belonging to the same subsidiaries expressed a feeling of satisfaction and hope following the nationalization. These employees believe that in a predominant French-speaking public service, their chances of advancement have been greatly increased. It should also be mentioned that certain French-speaking elements of the old Hydro-Quebec fear that the integration will bring in new competitors, their avenues of promotion having seemed until then free from any opposition.THE RESULTS OF THE BRAZEAU-DOFNY REPORTThe experts advocated a well defined language policy for the whole of Hydro-Quebec in order to bring to perfection, give form to and accelerate the natural process described above by removing any irritating elements from it. They foresaw the immediate and unchalenged priority of the French language in the French sectors of the old Hydro-Quebec, Saguenay Electric, Quebec Power and the Lower Saint Lawrence Power Corporation without an exclusion of English where the latter would be required in external communications. For the English sector (Shawinigan, Southern, Gatineau and Northern) the experts foresaw an intermediate and transitory phase of systematic bilingualism ; knowledge of French as a condition of employment, comprehensive translation services, a marked preference for memos and reports written in French and finally, transfers of personnel from one region to the other so as to enhance the knowledge of French, now in more general use. But above all, the sociologists recommended accelerated French language courses for the English speaking managerial personnel, so as to reach a minimum level of bilingualism which would allow every one to express himself in his native tongue with the hope of being understood by everyone.As early as last September in greater Montreal and in October for the Hull region the Quebec Hydroelectric Commission approved French « intra-muros » courses using the excellent method known as « Voix et Images de France ». This method was conceived by « le Centre de recherches et de diffusion du français de Saint-Cloud », in France. The Commission engaged the best teachers from this Institute, it approved the necessary expenditures to make certain that the « students » would be provided with the best teaching aids and find themselves in the most favourable atmosphere.Absolutely everyone of the English-speaking administrators willingly accepted the invitation of the Commission which was formulated in terms conveying the least amount of obligation.In Montreal, 171 students, from the old Hydro-Quebec, from Shawinigan Water and Power particularly as well as from Southern Canada Power have already completed or are attending either the elementary course of 300 hours or one of the two intermediate courses of 90 and 60 hours, according to their needs ; a more advanced course will be offered in due course for those who express either the need or the desire for such a course. In Hull, one administrator submitted a written request to the effect that he and his colleagues should be granted the same opportunity. He wrote :« It is obvious from official pronouncements made by Hydro-Quebec and my observations of the working of committees and discussions that a thorough knowledge of the French language is essential for efficient conduct of business within Hydro-Quebec and its affiliates. It is also obvious that it would not be possible for anyone who is not familiar with French to receive promotions that his other abilities might entitle him to. If the Gatineau Power Company employees are not provided with the same opportunities for learning the French language, they will be at a disadvantage compared to other Hydro-Quebec and affiliated employees. »Along with his colleagues, he has been given the opportunity, today 37 executives from that region have attended or are attending an accelerated 30-week course at the rate of 28 hours per week. In Shawinigan, 27 executives of the Shawinigan Water and Power Company will soon be taking the same course. Various interviews have revealed the enthousiasm of the students and the remarkable results which the Saint-Cloud method used by three full time teachers has on the students' ability to express themselves almost fluently in French and this without any false embarrassment.Another event has taken place, which may have a considerable influence on the language situation. Hydro-Quebec has in effect proceeded with a fundamental administrative and geographical reorganization of its structures which will in the near future and for all practical purposes, dislocate the social groups which felt a particular attachment to either the old Hydro-Quebec or to one of its subsidiaries by replacing them with new groups constituted on a more rational geographical basis. The assignment of personnel to these new regional units is not yet completed. It will certainly influence the proportion of members from each ethnic groups that will be called upon to work together. This will provide an opportunity for observations, which from a strategic point of view will be as interesting as they will be important.PERSPECTIVES OF FUTURE RESEARCHThe statistical part of the report has permitted the collecting and i

Lenguas y Lecturas en el mundo de la comunicación digital (Lección magistral con motivo de su investidura como Doctor Honoris Causa por la Universidad Carlos III de Madrid)

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Poder y escritura : el Príncipe, la biblioteca y la dedicatoria (siglos XV-XVII)

Se muestra cómo la lectura y la escritura son actos sociales perfectamente normativizados en la cultura de la Edad Moderna. Se exponen los ejemplos de la biblioteca, una institución en la que tan importante como el material que conserva son las relaciones sociales que se establecen entorno a ella (así en las "bibliotecas reales" como en las particulares), y de la dedicatoria de libros, en la que los autores desarrollan un lenguage muy sutil que les permitía relacionarse de forma especial con el destinatario.Roger Chartier shows how reading and writing were perfectly normativized social acts in the culture of Modern Age. As a demonstration of his assertions, he sets two examples: the first concerning libraries, institutions where materials preserved there were as important as social relationship established round it (both in regal libraries and in private ones), the second about the dedications written in books, through which their authors developed a very subtle language that allowed them to set up a kind of especial relation with their final addressees