Employment Relations

Consideraciones Teóricas Sobre La Movilidad e Inserción Laboral De Trabajadores Comunitarios Y Del Este En Cataluña

by Luis Garzon

Co-authors:
Amado Alarcón
David Garcia
Albert Terrones
Sarai Samper

Institutions Are What Actors Make of Them: The Changing Construction of Firm-Level Employment Relations in Spain

by Marco Hauptmeier

British Journal of Industrial Relations. Forthcoming. 2012

This article analyses the variation and change in firm-level employment relations in Spain between the transition to... more This article analyses the variation and change in firm-level employment relations in Spain between the transition to democracy and the global financial crisis. Using three auto companies as case studies, I address a crucial puzzle in the institutional literature on comparative employment relations: How do employment relations change and vary, even when national employment relations institutions do not? This article argues that differences in actor ideologies shape the construction of national institutions at the firm level, which explains change and variation of employment relations over time and across cases. The study identifies four drivers of ideological change—generational change, leadership change, identity work and diffusion — that impact the variation and change in employment relations at the firm level.

Reassessing Markets and Employment Relations

by Marco Hauptmeier

In: Paul Blython, Ed Heery and Peter Turnbull. Reassessing the Employment Relationship. Palgrave Macmillan: Hampshire. pp. 171-194. 2012.

In this chapter I explore how markets shape employment relations. In this chapter I explore how markets shape employment relations.

Visibility and Voice in Organisations: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered Employee Networks

by Fiona Colgan

co-authored with Aidan McKearney

Purpose - This paper considers organisation and union lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered (LGBT) networks and... more Purpose - This paper considers organisation and union lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered (LGBT) networks and groups in the U.K. The paper explores the rationale for establishing LGBT trade union and company networks and examines the ways in which they can facilitate employee visibility and voice for LGBT organisational members.

Design/methodology/approach - Primary Research took place during a two-year period 2004-2006. The fieldwork involved in-depth interviews with 149 lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) employees and 55 management, trade union and LGB group representatives within 14 case study organisations across public, private and voluntary sectors.

Findings - The research highlights the pivotal role played by LGBT employees in driving, establishing and sustaining organisation and union networks. Findings indicate that LGBT company employee networks and LGBT union groups were highly valued by most LGB respondents as important support mechanisms and as a potential vehicle for encouraging and facilitating LGB voice and involvement. Employers and trade unions supported the development of networks and there was broad recognition of the organisational benefits that such diversity networks offered.

Practical implications - This paper provides important insights into the rationale for and potential benefits of LGBT company networks and union groups. These insights are of practical assistance to practitioners, employees and others involved in the equality and diversity management arena.

Originality/value - Despite the growing number of British based organisations which have established LGBT company networks, there has been little research or inquiry aimed at evaluating how such groups work. The research addresses this gap by focusing on organisations which are perceived as ‘good practice employers’.

Income Inequality in Hungary, 1990-2010

by TARKI Social Research Institute

The presentation covered possible effects of the economic crisis on income distribution and on household well-being in... more The presentation covered possible effects of the economic crisis on income distribution and on household well-being in Hungary, through the results of the latest wave of the Tárki Household Monitor Survey conducted in 2010. Employment declined substantially during the crisis year 2009, which resulted in significant income loss for the households concerned. Households were also affected by the unfavourable movement of Forint exchange rates, which led to an unexpected increase in repayment instalments on mortgages and other foreign currency denominated loans. The survey permitted analysis of both the effect of rising unemployment on incomes and the effect of the crisis on indebtedness of households

Le travail indépendant des immigrés et sa sociologie

by Alberto Riesco-Sanz

Publié dans/Publicado en: Desmarez, P.; Lanciano-Morandat, C.; Monchatre, S.; Stroobants, M. y Vatin, F. (Coord.), Temps, travail et salariat. Actualité de la pensée de Mateo Alaluf et Pierre Rolle, Octarès, Toulouse, pp. 57-66, 2012 [ISBN: 978-2-915346-95-4]

A Freestanding Right or a Means to an End? The Right to Strike in the ILO and the EU Legal Frameworks

by Mimi Zou

(2012) Trinity College Law Review, Vol XV

Women’s Empowerment through Employment Policies: Case Studies in South Africa and India

by Zeynep Ekin Aklar

Master Thesis in Berlin School of Economics and Law / Global Labour University - 2010

South Africa and India initiated an Expanding Public Works Programme (EPWP) in 2004 and National Rural Employment... more South Africa and India initiated an Expanding Public Works Programme (EPWP) in 2004 and National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) in 2005, respectively. The implementation of these policies is based on the idea of employment as a last resort (ELR) with the aim of reducing unemployment eradicating poverty. Within this context, this thesis aims to analyze to what extent these programmes have capacity to empower the women. In addition this thesis will try to explore the intersection points between the programmes and the two feminist development theories, women in development (WID) and gender and development (GAD). This analysis will be realized by using some gender sensitive indicators. This thesis argues that EPWP leaning to GAD has more capacity to empower women than NREGA designed in reference with WID approach.

Key words: EPWP, NREGA, Employment as a Last Resort, WID and GAD Approaches and Empowerment

Workplaces and Social Networking: The Implications for Employment Relations

by Tom Higgins

Co-authored with Andrea Broughton, Ben Hicks & Annette Cox

This report sets out the results of a small-scale research project commissioned by Acas examining the implications of... more This report sets out the results of a small-scale research project commissioned by Acas examining the implications of social networking and mobile information and communications technologies (ICT) for employment relations. Social networking involves use of an online platform or website that enables people to communicate, usually for a social purpose, through a variety of services, most of which are web-based and offer opportunities for people to interact over the internet, e.g. via e-mail and ‘instant messaging’.

The Crisis in Employment and Consumer Demand: Reconciliation with Environmental Sustainability

by Ralph Hall

Nicholas A. Ashford, Ralph P. Hall, and Robert H. Ashford

Abstract: This paper argues that a sustainable industrial system depends not only on good environmental and public... more Abstract: This paper argues that a sustainable industrial system depends not only on good environmental and public health outcomes, but also on adequate employment and earning capacity in a well-functioning and equitable economic system. These concerns are likely to dominate future national political debates, requiring responses that increase the earning capacity of individuals through changes in the nature of work and employment, and in the ownership of productive capital. Making the economy greener, while certainly necessary for long-term economic and societal survival, does not necessarily mean more and better paying jobs on a large enough scale to make serious progress to reducing unemployment and underemployment. At present, national and global reforms are focused on improving the financial system, which is not synonymous with reforming the economic system or improving the economic status of individual citizens. This paper discusses specific policies and initiatives that need to be considered to ensure sustainable employment and livelihoods.

Discriminating in hiring on the basis of statistics: Conceptual and ethical issues

by Vanessa Scholes

THIS PAPER IS CURRENTLY UNDER SUBMISSION TO A JOURNAL. PLEASE CONTACT ME BEFORE CITING THIS PAPER. Use the "Send Vanessa a message" box at the bottom of the left hand column of my Academia page.

This paper is currently under submission to a journal. Please contact me before citing this paper.

ABSTRACT... more This paper is currently under submission to a journal. Please contact me before citing this paper.

ABSTRACT Assessing job applications with the aim of improving the productivity of an organization will involve attempting to predict the likely performance of applicants. A focus on efficiency in forecasting performance promotes group-level discrimination if there is group information that is statistically linked to productivity. What are the ethical concerns with employers aiming to identify and hence exclude applicants who engage in behaviours that are statistically correlated with lower performance? This paper examines the differences between lawful statistical discrimination and other ways of using information to make choices in hiring. Conceptual and ethical analyses are drawn from consideration of the practical nature of statistical discrimination in hiring, with reference to the perspectives of both applicants and employers. The paper concludes that it is not necessarily unfair for employers to use statistical discrimination in hiring, despite its potential unfairness for some applicants.

Whither the Japanese employment system? The position of the Japan Employers' Federation

by Terje Gronning

Industrial Relations Journal, Volume 29, Issue 4, pages 295–303, December 1998

This article analyses a policy of the Japanese Employers’ Federation regarding the ‘desired direction’ of the Japanese... more This article analyses a policy of the Japanese Employers’ Federation regarding the ‘desired direction’ of the Japanese employment system. The analysis shows that the Federation in a number of respects advocates radical change, but also that the overall position regarding the relationship between continuity and change is of an ambiguous or unresolved character.

The dynamism of organizational practices: the role of employment blueprints

by Georges Romme

Forthcoming in: British Journal of Management, 2012 (co-authored by Elena Antonacopoulou, Deborah Mulders and Susan Taylor)

We explore how founders’ blueprints affect the dynamism of organizational practices, and in particular the capability... more We explore how founders’ blueprints affect the dynamism of organizational practices, and in particular the capability to sustain as well as change practices. First, a theoretical argument is developed on the critical role of founders’ blueprints of the employment model, which are difficult to alter and mark firms’ future paths by affecting the dynamism of organizational practices over an extended period of time. Subsequently, case studies of several organizational practices in three management consulting firms in the USA, the Netherlands and the UK illustrate how founders’ conceptions of the employment relationship (i.e. their employment model) affect the way in which competing demands of continuity and renewal are addressed. Moreover, engineering- or commitment-oriented blueprints appear to facilitate the capability to adapt, while autocratic blueprints do not.

The European Migrant Workers Union: Union Organizing through Labour Transnationalism

by Ian Greer

co-authored with Nathan Lillie and Zyama Ciupijus. Forthcoming in the European Journal of Industrial Relations.

Despite the presence of hyper-mobile migrant workers in the European Union, there is very little research on... more Despite the presence of hyper-mobile migrant workers in the European Union, there is very little research on transnational union organizing efforts. This paper examines the European Migrant Workers Union (EMWU), which signalled a shift by the German union Industriegewerkschaft Bauen-Agrar-Umwelt (IG BAU) in its approach to migrant workers away from national protectionism and toward transnational organizing. The EMWU, however, failed to thrive as an organization, primarily because of decisions by other unions to reject the transnational approach and instead to defend existing jurisdictions. We argue that this inaction constitutes a setback for union reassertion of control over markets and for bringing industrial citizenship to Europe’s hyper-mobile workers.

Identity Work: Sustaining Transnational Collective Action at General Motors Europe

by Ian Greer

co-authored with Marco Hauptmeier, forthcoming in Industrial Relations (Berkeley)

What are the conditions under which transnational collective action is initiated and sustained? This paper presents a... more What are the conditions under which transnational collective action is initiated and sustained? This paper presents a case study of General Motors Europe, where labor leaders have mobilized the workforce and bargained with management at the transnational level repeatedly over more than a decade as a response to management whipsawing and threats of plant closures. In contrast to structuralist interest-based theories of union behavior, we identify a process of ‘identity work’ that was necessary to sustain transnational worker cooperation.

The system versus the street: Employment and contracting in the international welfare-to-work industry

by Ian Greer

co-authored with Mark Stuart and Ian Greenwood, working paper

'Activating' the jobless – bringing them into or closer to paid work – has become a government-funded industry. What... more 'Activating' the jobless – bringing them into or closer to paid work – has become a government-funded industry. What are the dynamics of employment relations in this sector, constituted as a mixed market of non-profit, for-profit, and public sector bodies? Drawing on in-depth qualitative research in the UK and Germany, we argue that there is a tension between two levels of bureaucracy: system-level policymaking and planning and street-level service provision. This tension creates varying interorganizational contracting arrangements, which shape the institutional regulation of work. Under ‘marketized’ contracting – i.e. relatively short-term, price-based, standardized, and open to many competitors – frameworks of collective bargaining and worker representation are relatively difficult to apply, leading in extreme cases to a low-wage precarious pattern of employment relations.

Whistle Blowing, Religiosity, Spirituality and Integrity: Understanding the Impact of Social Dominance Orientation and Environmental Context

by Daniel Martin

Journal of Moral Organizational Psychology (Forthcoming)

Individual differences have been shown to impact whistle blowing (Miceli & Near, 1988; Mesmer-Magnus &... more Individual differences have been shown to impact whistle blowing (Miceli & Near, 1988; Mesmer-Magnus & Viswesvaran, 2005; Brinker, Dozier & Miceli, 1985). This study empirically examines previously unexplored effects on whistle blowing of a specific set of individual differences variables. These variables are religiosity, spirituality, integrity, and preference for social hierarchies. In addition, in that contextual variables can be expected to modify the impact of individual differences, we test the effects of our target independent variables in alternate organizational contexts (both academic and accounting). Analyses found weak positive relationships between whistle blowing and spirituality in an accounting scenario, with no relationship existing between religiosity and likelihood of whistle blowing in academic setting. Stronger positive relationships emerged between integrity and whistle blowing in both scenarios, with preference for maintenance of social hierarchies having a positive relationship with the accounting scenario being established. Considerations for future research and applications are offered.

Beyond Lifetime Employment? Re-Fabricating Japan's Employment Culture

by Peter Matanle

Book chapter.

Matanle, P. (2006) Beyond lifetime employment? Re-fabricating Japan's employment culture. In Matanle, P. and Lunsing, W. (eds) Perspectives on work, employment and society in Japan, Basingstoke: PalgraveMacmillan: 58-78.

Japanese working cultures have for many decades been dominated by the so-called system of lifetime employment in large... more Japanese working cultures have for many decades been dominated by the so-called system of lifetime employment in large organizations. Although the proportion of the working population employed under this system is often in dispute,1 it dominates the employment horizon. Moreover, the system radiates out beyond the boundaries of the Japanese firm. For example, it is the system to which the secondary and higher education systems are geared and towards which Japan's most academically successful students are steered, and its structure has provided the regime around which are arranged many of the institutions of the post-war Japanese nuclear family. Its influence is such that, even in the dual labour market that continues to characterize employment conditions in Japan, small and medium-sized enterprises must take its normative power into account when they organize their own employment practices.

Differential validity by sex in employment settings

by Hannah Rothstein

Multinational Corporations and Employment Relations in the People's Republic of China: the Case of Beijing Hyundai Motor Company

by Mimi Zou

Published in: The International Journal of Human Resource Management, Volume 20, Issue 11 November 2009 , pages 2349 - 2369.

Co-authored with Professor Russell Lansbury.

This contribution examines the transfer of employment relations policies and practices from the domestic operations of... more This contribution examines the transfer of employment relations policies and practices from the domestic operations of the Hyundai Motor Company (HMC) in Ulsan, Korea to its joint venture in China, the Beijing Hyundai Motors Company (BHMC). An integrated 'political economy' theoretical framework is used to analyse the complex interaction of institutional, strategic and micro-political forces that have shaped the hybrid model of employment relations at BHMC. The study shows that the transfer of policies and practices from Ulsan to Beijing has been influenced not only by institutional differences between the home and host countries and the strategies pursued by HMC management, but also by the political contests between various actors within and outside BHMC. Our research findings show that HMC headquarters has sought to maintain control over employment relations at BHMC through the transfer of its core policies and practices from its Korean operations to BHMC. However, a hybrid model has emerged at BHMC with some notable differences to HMC's Ulsan plant. Utilising an integrated political economy perspective, this contribution has shown that BHMC's employment relations policies and practices have been shaped and conditioned by a complex interplay of institutional and market forces, strategic choices and ongoing political contests between various actors within and beyond BHMC.