Showing papers in "Industrial and Labor Relations Review in 1993"
TL;DR: A Life at Hard Labor: Capitalism and Working Hours as mentioned in this paper discusses the overwork in the household and the Insidious cycle of work-and-spend in the American workforce.
Abstract: * The Overworked American * Time Squeeze: The Extra Month of Work * A Life at Hard Labor: Capitalism and Working Hours * Overwork in the Household * The Insidious Cycle of Work-and-Spend * Exiting the Squirrel Cage
1,619 citations
925 citations
853 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors provide an in-depth analysis of the organizational principles and policy initiatives that appear to give industrial districts a competitive edge, comparing the experiences of the Italian industrial districts with those of other countries, namely Canada, Cyprus, Germany, Denmark and Spain.
Abstract: This book contains two basic questions: how do the experiences of the Italian industrial districts compare with those of other countries, namely Canada, Cyprus, Germany, Denmark and Spain?; and what are the policy interventions needed in order to sustain existing industrial districts and guide other regions considering pursuing a similar strategy in the interests of local economic regeneration? The book attempts to provide an in-depth analysis of the organizational principles and policy initiatives that appear to give industrial districts a competitive edge.
808 citations
546 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors reviewed evidence that the bargaining structure is becoming more decentralized in Sweden, Australia, former West Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Abstract: The author reviews evidence that the bargaining structure is becoming more decentralized in Sweden, Australia, the former West Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, and the United States, although in...
442 citations
293 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the effects of a state-financed training grant program for manufacturing firms in Michigan were explored, and they found that receipt of these grants is associated with a large and significant, though one-time, increase in training hours, and with a more lasting reduction in scrap rates.
Abstract: This paper explores the effects of a state-financed training grant program for manufacturing firms in Michigan. Using a three-year panel of data from a unique survey of firms that applied for these grants, the authors estimate the effects of receipt of a grant on total hours of training in the firm and the product scrap rate. They find that receipt of these grants is associated with a large and significant, though one-time, increase in training hours, and with a more lasting reduction in scrap rates.
239 citations
TL;DR: This paper analyzed the labor force participation of married immigrant Asian women in the United States by country of origin compared with married immigrant women from Europe and Canada using 1980 Census data and found evidence from both across groups and within groups indicates that a womans decision to work is affected by whether she has a husband who invests in skills specific to the U.S. labor market and also by the extent of that investment.
Abstract: Using 1980 Census data the authors analyze the labor force participation of married immigrant Asian women [in the United States] by country of origin compared with that of married immigrant women from Europe and Canada. The results suggest the existence of a family investment strategy: evidence from both across groups and within groups indicates that a womans decision to work is affected by whether she has a husband who invests in skills specific to the U.S. labor market and also by the extent of that investment. Such a family response may help offset the low earnings of immigrant men who initially lack skills for which there is a demand in the American labor market. (EXCERPT)
193 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the applicability of Western management techniques in developing countries: a cultural perspective, Alfred M.Jaeger and Rabindra N.Kanungo is discussed.
Abstract: Part 1 Managing organizations in developing country environment: macro-level perspectives. Part 2 Strategic development organizations: some behavioural properties, Pradip N.Khandwalla. Part 3 Managing structural adjustment in developing countries: an organizational perspective, Moses Kiggundu. Part 4 Organizational life-cycle and effectiveness criteria in state owned enterprises: the case of East Africa, Jan J.Jorgensen. Part 5 Leadership and strategy making for institution building and innovation: the case of a Brazilian University, Cynthia Hardy. Part 6 Organization and culture in developing countries: a configurational model, Fritz Rieger and Durhane Wong-Rieger. Part 7 Limitations of Western techniques in the management of organizations in developing countries. Part 8 The applicability of Western management techniques in developing countries: a cultural perspective, Alfred M.Jaeger. Part 9 Limitations to the application of sociotechnical systems in developing countries, Moses Kiggundu. Part 10 Will China adopt Western management pratices?, Shirley C.Zhuang. Part 11 Indian organizations: value dilemmas in managerial roles, Indira Parikh and Pulin Garg. Part 12 Developing indigenous perspectives: work motivation and organizational leadership in developing countries. Part 13 Work alienation in developing countries: Western models and Eastern realities, Rabindra N.Kanungo. Part 14 Holistic strategies for worker disalienation in developing countries, K.M.Srinivas. Part 15 Managing people for productivity in developing countries, Manuel Mendonca and Rabindra N.Kanungo. Part 16 Model of effective leadership styles in India, J.B.P.Sinha. Part 17 Management of development in other cultures: ideology and leadership, Sitakant Mahapatra. Part 18 Managing political modernization: charismatic leadership in developing countries, James Woycke.
173 citations
TL;DR: Using data from the 1987 Survey of Veterans, the authors presented estimates of the effect of veterans benefits on schooling completed since entering the military and on subsequent earnings, which implies annual earnings approximately 6% higher than would have been expected in the absence of the benefits.
Abstract: Veterans benefits that subsidize education and training constitute the largest federal program for student aid. Using data from the 1987 Survey of Veterans, the author presents estimates of the effect of veterans benefits on schooling completed since entering the military and on subsequent earnings. Veterans benefits are estimated to increase schooling by roughly 1.4 years, which implies annual earnings approximately 6% higher than would have been expected in the absence of the benefits. This premium appears to accrue primarily to the 77% of benefit users who attended college or graduate school. Beginning with the 1944 G.I. Bill, the federal government has subsidized education and training for veterans of the armed forces. The rationale for the original G.I. Bill was to speed the transition to peacetime production and to compensate veterans whose educational plans were interrupted by military service. Increasingly, however, veterans benefits have come to be seen as an essential
TL;DR: Schneider as discussed by the authors analyzed career patterns and appointments of 281 high officials in the Brazilian government to understand when and why the Brazilian bureaucracy contributes to industrialization, and argued that politics and personalism can in fact enhance policy effectiveness and state capacity.
Abstract: Brazil was one of the most successful examples of state-led industrialization in the post-1945 era. Yet the Brazilian bureaucracy is very fragmented, personalized, and ad hoc. Turnover is high, all policy-relevant positions are subject to political appointment, and officials spend only a short time in positions for which they often lack expertise. How can such a state function, let alone foster rapid economic transformation? To solve this riddle, Ben Ross Schneider looks beyond the traditional models of organizational behaviour and bureaucratic politics. To explain when and why the Brazilian bureaucracy contributes to industrialization, he analyzes career patterns and appointments which structure incentives and power more than formal organizations or institutions. Politics and personalism, of the right sort, can in fact enhance policy effectiveness and state capacity. Using a survey of the careers of 281 high officials and case studies of four major industrial projects in the 1970s and 1980s (including Acominas and Carajas), Professor Schneider opens up the "black box of the state". This empirical work aims to help revise prevailing interpretations of Brazilian authoritarianism. His alternative careerist approach challenges conventional theories in the comparative study of bureaucracy.
TL;DR: Goodman et al. as discussed by the authors described the sense-making in new technologies and the individual in an organizational context, and proposed the notion of technology as equivoque, where the individual and the technology are equivocal.
Abstract: Technology as equivoque - sense-making in new technologies, Karl E.Weick understanding technology and the individual in an organizational context, Paul S.Goodman, et al work groups - autonomy, technology and choice, Gerald I.Susman technology and structure - an organizational-level perspective, W.Richard Scott technology, management and competitive advantage, James G.March and Lee S.Sproull technology and organizations - a cross-national analysis, Leonard H.Lynn technology and organizations - an economic/institutional analysis, David C.Mowery a technological perspective on new forms of organizations, Raj Reddy technology and organizations - integration and opportunities, Lee S.Sproull and Paul S.Goodman.
TL;DR: The authors used 1969-87 major league baseball data to investigate the impact of managerial quality on team winning and individual player performance, finding that higher quality managers lead to higher winning percentages and players tend to play better, relative to their prior performance levels, the higher the manager's quality.
Abstract: This paper uses 1969–87 major league baseball data to investigate the impact of managerial quality on team winning and individual player performance. Managerial quality and player performance are measured as predicted pay based on salary regressions; these market-based measures permit conclusions about costs and benefits of managerial quality. There are two major findings. First, when player inputs are controlled for, higher-quality managers lead to higher winning percentages. Second, players tend to play better, relative to their prior performance levels, the higher the manager's quality. These findings suggest that, as emphasized by the human resource management literature, the quality of management makes an important difference in the performance of organizations.
TL;DR: This paper examined changes in skill requirements for production jobs in 93 manufacturing establishments between 1978 and 1986 and clerical jobs in 211 firms between 1978-1988 and found that significant upskilling is occurring within most production jobs within manufacturing; shifts in the composition of the work force toward higher-skill production jobs contribute a smaller amount to the overall rise in average skill requirements.
Abstract: This paper examines changes in skill requirements for production jobs in 93 manufacturing establishments between 1978 and 1986 and clerical jobs in 211 firms between 1978 and 1988. The unique data set allows an analysis not only of changes in the distribution of employment across jobs—the usual approach—but also of changes in skill requirements within job titles. The results suggest that significant upskilling is occurring within most production jobs in manufacturing; shifts in the composition of the work force toward higher-skill production jobs contribute a smaller amount to the overall rise in average skill requirements. Changes in clerical jobs are more complicated and suggest an even split between jobs that were upskilled and those that were deskilled. The development of new office equipment appears to be associated with the deskilling of specific clerical jobs.
TL;DR: This article found that teachers in districts that use merit pay do not seem demoralized by the system or hostile toward it, and teachers of disadvantaged and low-achieving students are generally supportive of merit pay.
Abstract: This examination of data from the 1987–88 Schools and Staffing Survey challenges the common supposition that most teachers oppose merit pay. The authors find that teachers in districts that use merit pay do not seem demoralized by the system or hostile toward it, and teachers of disadvantaged and low-achieving students are generally supportive of merit pay. Private school teachers favor merit pay more than do public school teachers, a difference that may reflect differences in management in the two sectors and a more entrepreneurial spirit among staff in private schools.
TL;DR: This article analyzed the movements in work hours and employment of female employees as reported in Decennial Censuses from 1940 to 1980 and in Current Population Surveys from 1980 and 1988, finding that women with relatively little schooling were working fewer hours than in 1940; the reverse is true of well-educated women.
Abstract: The authors analyze the movements in work hours and employment of female employees as reported in Decennial Censuses from 1940 to 1980 and in Current Population Surveys from 1980 and 1988. Women with relatively little schooling were working fewer hours in the 1980s than in 1940; the reverse is true of well-educated women. These patterns remain when the data are disaggregated by marital status and the presence of children, and they are also little affected by controls for changes in real wages. In conjunction with results reported in the authors' parallel study on men (January 1993 ILR Review), these findings suggest that gender differences in work behavior are becoming less manifest than skill differences.
TL;DR: In this paper, the scope, nature, determinants, and effects of Japanese employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) were examined using data for various years, including new data for 1973-84, and the authors argue that ESOPs have played an important and largely overlooked role in the success of the Japanese economy over the past two decades.
Abstract: Using data for various years, including new data for 1973–84, the authors examine the scope, nature, determinants, and effects of Japanese employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs). In 1988, of firms listed on Japan's eight stock exchange markets, 91% had an ESOP, and the average (non-executive) employee plan participant owned stock worth about $14,000. Probit estimates for a sample of manufacturing firms show that firms were more likely to adopt ESOPs when recent business performance was below average, the capital/labor ratio was relatively low, and employment growth was relatively fast. Evidence is also found that ESOPs enhanced enterprise productivity. The authors argue that ESOPs have played an important, and largely overlooked, role in the success of the Japanese economy over the past two decades.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined changes in work hours of male employees as reported in Decennial Censuses from 1940 to 1980 and in the 1980 and 1988 Current Population Surveys.
Abstract: This paper examines changes in work hours of male employees as reported in Decennial Censuses from 1940 to 1980 and in the 1980 and 1988 Current Population Surveys. Aggregate data analyzed in previous research do not reveal the changes in hours that have occurred among workers of different skills. Although median weekly hours were virtually constant from 1940 to 1988, the upper tail of the hours distribution fell for those with little schooling and rose for the well-educated. Hours declined for young and older men (especially black men), but changed little for white men in their prime working years.
TL;DR: A review of the literature on determinants of union growth and decline in Britain can be found in this paper, where the authors differentiate structuralist and interventionist studies from environmental determinants, such as the business cycle, and place more emphasis on the influence of unions themselves.
Abstract: Trade union density, defined as the number of union members divided by the total number of workers, fell in Britain from 55% in 1979 to about 41% in 1989. (By comparison, the corresponding U.S. figures for those years are 23% and 16%.) Even before the decline began, British scholars and practitioners began focusing increasing attention on the determinants of union growth and decline. This literature review traces debate on the subject in Britain to the work of George Bain and his colleagues starting in the mid-1970s, and examines several key contributions of more recent years. The authors differentiate “structuralist” studies, which emphasize environmental determinants of union membership (such as the business cycle), from “interventionist” studies, which place more emphasis on the influence of unions themselves (through the involvement of full-time officials in recruiting, for example).
TL;DR: In this paper, the availability of disaggregate annual unionization data compiled from the Current Population Surveys (CPS) has been discussed, including union membership, membership density, and contract coverage density for employed civilian wage and salary workers.
Abstract: This note informs readers about the availability of disaggregate annual unionization data compiled from the Current Population Surveys (CPS). Union membership, membership density, and contract coverage density are calculated for employed civilian wage and salary workers from the monthly CPS for January 1983 through December 1991. Workers are classified by demographic and labor market characteristics, industry, occupation, state, metropolitan area, and state-by-industry. The union membership and coverage files described in the note are available from the authors, without charge, in machine-readable form.
TL;DR: This article investigated the degree to which non-random selection of participants in job training partnership act (JTPA) Title II-A programs is responsible for the high placement rates in those programs and found that creaming does take place, especially through non-selection of those handicapped by poor education or poor health.
Abstract: The authors investigate the degree to which “creaming”—nonrandom selection of participants—in Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) Title II-A programs is responsible for the high placement rates in those programs. An analysis of data from Tennessee JTPA agencies, in conjunction with Current Population Survey data, shows that creaming does take place, especially through non-selection of those handicapped by poor education or poor health. The extent of creaming, however, is not as large as some critics have suggested: the 71 % placement rate in Tennessee would fall only to about 62% if participants were randomly selected from among the economically disadvantaged population eligible for training. In contrast, targeting only high school dropouts for training—which would have the virtue of serving a group with particularly large barriers to employment—would reduce success rates by nearly one-quarter.
TL;DR: In this paper, a longitudinal analysis of employment in 510 Canadian firms over the period 1980 to 1985 provides evidence that union firms in both the manufacturing and nonmanufacturing sectors experienced substantially slower employment growth than comparable nonunion firms.
Abstract: This longitudinal analysis of employment in 510 Canadian firms over the period 1980 to 1985 provides evidence that union firms in both the manufacturing and nonmanufacturing sectors experienced substantially slower employment growth than comparable nonunion firms. Controlling for industry sector, firm size, and firm age, the author finds that within the manufacturing sector, union firms grew 3.7% more slowly per year than nonunion firms, and within the nonmanufacturing sector, union firms grew 3.9% more slowly than nonunion firms. Small firms in both sectors, however, appear to have escaped any negative union effect on employment growth. Of the control variables, firm age appears to be much more important than firm size in explaining employment growth.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined the effect of changing the level of unemployment insurance (UI) benefits on workers who do not receive UI, and they hypothesize a spillover effect between insured and uninsured workers whereby an increase in UI benefits, which leads to longer durations of unemployment for insured workers, results in a reduction in the duration of unemployed for the uninsured.
Abstract: This paper examines the effect of changing the level of unemployment insurance (UI) benefits on workers who do not receive UI. The author hypothesizes a spillover effect between insured and uninsured workers whereby an increase in UI benefits, which leads to longer durations of unemployment for insured workers, results in a reduction in the duration of unemployment for the uninsured. This prediction is supported in tests of data from several March Current Population Surveys, the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, and aggregate, state-level data.
TL;DR: This article found that black unions in South Africa had by that year made wage gains similar to those of unions in more developed countries, despite the disenfranchisement of black workers, the state's refusal to officially recognize black unions until 1980, and police repression of the union movement.
Abstract: Despite the disenfranchisement of blacks in South Africa, the state's refusal to officially recognize black unions until 1980, and police repression of the union movement, this analysis of data for 1985 shows that black unions in South Africa had by that year made wage gains similar to those of unions in more developed countries. The union effect on wages for black blue-collar workers was 24%, which is in the range of effects found in studies of U.S. unions and above the range of effects found for European unions. Another finding is that black unions compressed wages across skill levels, an effect probably owing to black unions' primary emphasis on improving the lot of unskilled workers.
TL;DR: This paper found that women in this sample accurately perceived gender wage discrimination, and built that perception into their judgment of the amount by which they were underpaid, and found a strong, positive correlation between women's perceptions of the gender income differences they were experiencing and econometric estimates of those differences.
Abstract: Using data from a 1987 American Medical Association survey of young physicians, the authors investigate how accurately the women in the sample perceived the gender wage discrimination affecting them. Contrary to the conclusion of some studies that women inaccurately perceive gender discrimination against them, this study finds a strong, positive correlation between women's perceptions of the gender income differences they were experiencing and econometric estimates of those differences. The women in this sample accurately perceived gender wage discrimination, and built that perception into their judgment of the amount by which they were underpaid.