Factories of the Past and of the Future: the Impact of Robotics on Workers and Management Accounting Systems

Abstract

Just as 1984 was once viewed as being a time in the distant future, the science fiction creation known as a robot2 has become a phenomenon of the present. The use of robots all over the world has become commonplace. Depending on one’s definition (See Appendix I) there are approximately 7000 robots in use in the United States, 80 000 in Japan, and over 400 in the United Kingdom (Chase and Aquilano, 1985; Scarborough, 1981).