Showing papers on "Industrial relations published in 1985"

The Second Industrial Divide

Abstract: This is a book unlikely to be read by historians. Or rather, they may read it, but in their capacity as citizens concerned as the book's subtitle puts it about "Possibilities for Prosperity." The Second Industrial Divide is indeed a work of contemporary analysis. Like other books this publishing season, it is intended to give us the lowdown about the economic crisis of the 1980s. But this one is also very much a work of history. The book is remarkable in general for its intellectual breadth, but in particular for its reliance on recent scholarship in American social and economic history. More than that, it is deeply historical in perspective and sensitive to the contingent, complex nature of industrial change. Historians are accustomed to draw on the social sciences. In this book, the terms of trade have shifted. Historical scholarship contributes crucially to the making of The Second Industrial Divide. What it offers in return are not the standard commodities of socialscience industry not conceptual and methodological tools that can be appropriated for the historian's use but lessons in the art of sweeping historical analysis and conclusions about the nature of industrial change worth pondering by historians. Michael Piore is a labor economist, well known for his work on labormarket segmentation and labor migration. Charles Sabel, the younger of the two, is the author of Work and Politics: The Division of Labor in Industry (1982), a highly original comparative analysis of shop-floor relations in modern industrial systems. Both are MacArthur Fellows and members of a notable assemblage of MIT social scientists working on industrial relations and technological change. Piore and Sabel can perhaps best be characterized as modern-day institutionalists and, like John R. Commons in his time, contemporary empirical analysis has led them to a serious engagement with history. The key concept of their book is that of "industrial divides" the moments at which choices are made that fix the future course of industrial develop-

Assessing the Effects of Industrial Relations Systems and Efforts to Improve the Quality of Working Life on Organizational Effectiveness

Abstract: This study assesses the relationships among characteristics of industrial relations systems, efforts to improve the quality of working life, and selected measures of organizational effectiveness in 25 manufacturing plants belonging to one company. On the basis of both research from organizational behavior and industrial relations, the paper offers the proposition that industrial relations systems affect organizational effectiveness through two channels. The empirical results show (1) strong evidence of an association between measures of the performance of industrial relations systems and economic performance, and (2) evidence that efforts to improve quality of working life have little impact on economic performance.

The State and the Unions: Labor Relations, Law and the Organized Labor Movement in America, 1880-1960

Abstract: Editor's preface Preface Part I. The Legitimacy of the Labor Union: Introduction: 'Labor's ultimatum to the public' 1. The corporate political economy 2. Law, labor, and ideology 3. From conspiracy to collective bargaining Part II. Labor and the Liberal State: Introduction: 'Who bears the business risks' 4. The New Deal collective bargaining policy 5. A legal discourse 6. Utopians and technocrats Part III. 'Lie Down Like Good Dogs': Introduction: responsible unionism 7. The road to Taft-Hartley 8. The Taft-Hartley Act 9. The state and the unions Bibliographical essay Index.

In Defense of the Contract at Will

Abstract: The persistent tension between private ordering and government regulation exists in virtually every area known to the law, and in none has that tension been more pronounced than in the law of employer and employee relations. During the last fifty years, the balance of power has shifted heavily in favor of direct public regulation, which has been thought strictly necessary to redress the perceived imbalance between the individual and the firm. In particular the employment relationship has been the subject of at least two major statutory revolutions. The first, which culminated in the passage of the National Labor Relations Act in 1935,1 set the basic structure for collective bargaining that persists to the current time. The second, which is embodied in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964,2 offers extensive protection to all individuals against discrimination on the basis of race, sex, religion, or national origin. The effect of these two statutes is so pervasive that it is easy to forget that, even after their passage, large portions of the employment relation remain subject to the traditional common law rules, which when all was said and done set their face in support of freedom of contract and the system of voluntary exchange. One manifestation of that position was the prominent place that the common law, especially as it developed in the nineteenth century, gave to the contract at will. The basic position was well set out in an oft-quoted passage from Payne v. Western & Atlantic Railroad:

Comparative Industrial Relations: An Introduction to Cross-national Perspectives

Abstract: Introduction: Comparative Approaches Trade Unions Employers and Managements Collective Bargaining The Role of the State Industrial Conflict and Strikes Workers' Participation Industrial Relations in Multinational Enterprises Industrial Relations in Developing Countries Industrial Relations Systems and Economic Outcomes.

The Evolution of Labor Relations in Japan: Heavy Industry, 1853-1955

Abstract: The century-long process by which a distinct pattern of Japanese labor relations evolved is traced through the often turbulent interactions of workers, managers, and, at times, government bureaucrats and politicians. The author argues that, although by the 1920s labor relations had reached a stage that foreshadowed postwar development, it was not until the 1940s and 1950s that something closely akin to the contemporary pattern emerged. The central theme is that the ideas and actions of the workers, whether unionized or not, played a vital role in the shaping of the system. This is the only study in the West that demonstrates how Japanese workers sought to change and to some extent succeeded in changing the structure of factory life. Managerial innovations and the efforts of state bureaucrats to control social change are also examined. The book is based on extensive archival research and interviewing in Japan, including the use of numerous labor-union publications and the holdings of the prewar elite's principal organization for the study of social issues, the Kyochokai, both collections having only recently been catalogued and opened to scholars. This is an intensive look at past developments that underlie labor relations in today's Japanese industrial plants.

Member Participation in Union Activities: Perceptions of Union Priorities, Performance, and Satisfaction

Abstract: Data obtained from union respondents of a survey using a national probability sample that is representative of the U.S. labor force revealed that members’ perceptions of their unions’ effectiveness in obtaining both extrinsic and intrinsic benefits and the unions’ responsiveness to membership were significantly related to member participation in union activities. Union satisfaction was inversely related to participation. Perceptions of union power and service and demographic variables, such as age and education, were found to have less significant linkages with member participation.

Industrial Relations in Britain.

Abstract: This work has 17 chapters, covering trade unions, management, collective bargining, industrial conflict, the labour market, labour law and state intervention in industrial relations. Each chapter is an essay which brings together the most up-to-date theoretical and empirical work. Each focuses on trends over the past two or three decades, and says something about likely developments over the 1980s. The emphasis is on analysis and explanation, as well as on description.

A radical perspective on the disclosure of accounting information to trade unions.

Abstract: The major aim of this paper is to present an alternative view of the issues which should be raised in the discussion of the managerial disclosure of accounting information to trade unions for collective bargaining. It is an attempt to present a radically different stance as regards the major concerns that need to be confronted in the above debate. Central to our argument is the recognition that different conceptualisations of the management-labour relationship can generate different conclusions with respect to the potentialities for the use of accounting information in industrial relations.

The Aging Worker: Research and Recommendations.

Abstract: The Aging Worker presents the largest compilation and analysis of the literature on ageing and work, presenting current scientific evidence, recommendations for organizational action, and future directions for research. Written for social researchers, policy makers, planners and personnel managers, it describes the psychological characteristics and work behaviours of ageing workers. It goes on to deal with such issues as career planning, training, compensation, pensions, wages, and retirement. In addition to an exhaustive bibliography, the authors provide an array of tables showing the results of key research. '...tightly written and...the coverage of the literature, much of which is usefully presented in tabular form in a lengthy appendix, is truly impressive, as is the list of bibliographic references and the index.' -- Choice, November 1983 'The authors have located and carefully examined several hundred relevant studies. The organization and presentation of results, as well as the discussion of related topics is good...a good first step in the right direction.' -- Personnel Psychology, Vol 37 No 1, Spring 1984 '...the value of the daunting task undertaken by the authors...is unquestionable. The book provides a masterly review of a selection of the material pertinent to the ageing workers' situation; and that in itself makes their efforts worthwhile. They have broken new ground in what they have done...' -- Ageing and Society, Vol 4 No 1, 1984 '...the book is an important resource for professionals in and out of the workplace, primarily because of the extensive list of investigations following the overview of the area...The book will be used again and again by psychologists, sociologists, economists, and by corporate officials, all of whom are concerned about the characteristics of older employees and their impact on the work force.' -- Journal of Gerontology, September 1984 '...the authors make a valuable contribution in pulling together a great deal of research material relating to the work implications of an aging population...the volume certainly will be useful to anyone teaching or contemplating research in the field of aging and work.' -- Industrial and Labor Relations Review, January 1985 'This book is undoubtedly an essential reference and starting point for those concerned with managing an aging work force.It is with a practical aim that the authors have so tirelessly and thoroughly studied work relating to older workers in the hope of stimulating further research and organisational planning. Their research and recommendations should not be ignored if organisational effectiveness is to remain unimpaired.' -- Personnel Review, Vol 13 No 2 1984

Location Processes, Urbanization, and Territorial Development: An Exploratory Essay:

Abstract: The paper opens with an overview of the problem of commodity production in capitalism. It is shown how a determinate pattern of industrial organization grows out of the labor process. The problem of the integration and disintegration of productive activities is dealt with. Functional disintegration is shown to lead to the formation of polarized complexes of productive activity. The human consequences of the emergence of such complexes are described. In particular, brief discussions are presented of (1) local labor markets, (2) the reproduction of the labor force, and (3) the development and meaning of a local political culture. The inner decay of productive complexes is then shown to proceed on the basis of internal changes within the industrial system. These same changes lead to a decentralization of units of capital and to the emergence of a new spatial/international division of labor. The paper concludes with a brief allusion to the historical emergence of the global city.

Casual Labour: The Unemployment Question in the Port Transport Industry 1880-1970

Abstract: This study examines the changing nature of work and the work force in the British port transport industry since the 19th century. The authors explain the reasons for the prevalence--and persistence--of the system of casual employment on the docks, and assess its influence on the social attitudes, economic status, and working practices of dockers. Focusing on both industrial relations and government policy, the book casts new light on the role of trade unions and employers to the state and on the effects of official welfare measures and manpower planning.

The roles of accounting in collective bargaining.

Abstract: In this paper, the roles that accounting information appeared to play in the negotiations between a not-for-profit organization and the association representing its professional employees are described and assessed Using a case mode of inquiry, and drawing on the industrial relations and recent accounting literature, the paper explores the impact of accounting on both the process and outcome of the negotiations, and concludes by offering some tentative hypotheses on the roles of accounting in collective bargaining

The Changing Nature of Personnel Management

Abstract: The trend is towards a gradual increase in emphasis on manpower control, and a high commitment to employee relations. The ideal of the 1970s, that of developing and maintaining agreeable working relationships, is still professed by many personnel managers. Research arising from detailed questionnaires distributed to 350 establishments as part of a Leverhulme Trust/IPM‐funded project has identified six broad tendencies in personnel departments. These cover the enabling function (action as a service to managers and department); the “odds and ends” function (being given “bits” of responsibility); the attenuated function (having rank and responsibility but little professional support); the symbolic function (developing a symbiosis between personnel departments and consultants); the futuristic function (moving towards adopting information technology); and the professional function (being technically skilful, using consultants sparingly but effectively).

Is Small Beautiful? Industrial Relations in Small Clothing Firms

Abstract: The first part of the article traces, briefly, the political and ideological background to the resurgence of interest in small business. Largely unresearched and uncritically adopted, the theory th...

Labor Relations in China

Abstract: This article explores labor relations in the State-owned industrial enterprises of China: where they are now and where they appear to be heading. Both the theory and practice of labor relations in the People's Republic of China are currently undergoing substantial changes. Some of the changes desired by the top leadership are taking place more rapidly than others. It is questionable whether some desired goals can be achieved under current policies and procedures.

On Employer-Specific Information and Internal Labor Markets

Abstract: The human capital literature, of which Becker's [2] paper is the seminal work, stresses the productivity enhancing effects of schooling and on-the-job training. Later work by Spence [21] and others emphasizes the fact that it is difficult for employers to ascertain the productivity of potential employees and suggests that activities such as schooling may provide employers with "signals" as to workers' productivities. In the signalling literature, it is assumed that information generated concerning an individual's abilities is general in that it is known to all potential employers. Yet the information that an employer gathers concerning his workers' abilities is not likely to be completely transferable to other employers. As a consequence, as Rosen [18,249] points out, there are "limitations on the ability of the price system ... to achieve efficient assignments. If the price system is incomplete there is a role for entrepreneurial activity of assembling an optimal work force." This paper analyzes the employment relations that arise when employers' information concerning new workers' abilities is incomplete until after a period of employment. The acquisition of such employer-specific information is shown to lead to what has been referred to in the literature as "internal labor markets". Internal labor markets, as identified by Dunlop [5,32], are "the complex of rules which determine the movement of workers among job classifications within administrative units ... these movements may be transfers, promotions, demotions, or layoffs to the exterior labor markets." Doeringer and Piore [3] emphasize "skill specificity" and on-the-job training as the key factors in the emergence of the internal labor market. Along similar lines, Williamson, Wachter, and Harris [22] point out that "job idiosyncracy" can result in employment relations with attributes like those of internal labor markets. By way of contrast, this paper emphasizes the role of employer-specific information in generating internal labor markets. The theory provides an explanation as to why employers dismiss current employees at the same time that new employees are hired. (Evidence that dismissal rates are not insignificant is presented in section IV.) The theory also provides a new rationale for long-term em-

Reforming the labour market

Abstract: There is nothing new about Government attempts to "reform" the labour market. The primary emphasis put upon this aspect of economic policy by the two Conservative Gov ernments since 1979, however, is perhaps unique. This emphasis is in part the conse quence of a new stress on "supply-side economics", and of a belief that many "imperfections" in the labour market are in fact removable by a mixture of measures de signed to alter the attitudes of both institutions and individuals, and the environment in which they operate. Having been shocked into heightened receptiveness by the re cession, actors and institutions have been regaled by a variety of measures. These in clude trade union and industrial relations legislation; the abolition of the Fair Wages Resolution; a review of Wages Councils; measures on social security benefits; initiatives on training and mobility; incentives for individual and community enterprise; and schemes to reduce the size of the effective labour force.

Employers Associations and Industrial Relations: A Comparative Study.

Abstract: little selective; there are, after all, other qualifying \"advanced industrial democratic countries.\" Second, the book lacks a sense of how counting procedures evolved over time in different countries and, hence, of the historical continuity of certain tabulations. Third, Walsh argues, with some justification, that crossnational analyses of strike measures of a crosssectional nature are likely to be flawed. But he further argues that the comparison of historical trends among countries is less problematic because flaws in the counting procedures are \"constant\" over time within a country. This assumption ignores not only the problems related to historical continuity, but the likelihood that the efficiency of counting procedures has increased over time wholly apart from any changes in the procedures themselves. Overall, this book is a significant contribution to statistical studies of strikes because it makes researchers more mindful of the frailties of their data base and causes them to think more assiduously about the validity of their measures and about certain epistemological questions that confront the field. Whether these and other questions can be adequately answered within the parameters of existing collection and tabulation practices remains to be seen.

Black Labor and the American Legal System: Race, Work, and the Law

Abstract: Covering the period from the abolition of slavery through the events that preceded and affected the adoption of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, "Black Labor and the American Legal System" examines the major legislative and legal developments relating to the employment discrimination. The historical consequences of the racial practices of employers and organized labor, as well as of the federal government, are analyzed within the context of law and social change. The evolution of federal labor policy is traced through key decisions of the National Labor Relations Board and the courts as they have interpreted the application of labor law to racial discrimination.

Talcott Parsons and the Capitalist Nation State: Political Sociology As a Strategic Vocation

Abstract: authors stand in the debates. However the text is not sufliciently comprehensive to be a textbook for an undergraduate course in industrial sociology. Wider debates and changes in industrial relations are largely ignored, as are the significant contributions of feminist research on the labour process. Nevertheless the book deserves a significant place on reading lists for being up to date on the debates it does cover and especially its coverage of new developments in the workplace. Most of all perhaps, its 'textbook value' lies in the straightforward writing and accessibility to non-specialists. Paul Bagguley University of Lancaster

Corporatism in Industrial Relations: a Formal Model

Abstract: When classifying industrial relations systems in terms of corporatist theory, it is useful to think of a continuum, starting at one extreme with contestative relations, moving through pluralist bargaining and bargained corporatism, and ending at authoritarian corporatism. Elsewhere (Crouch, 1983b) I have defined the poles of this continuum in terms of the role of representatives being, respectively, purely representative and purely disciplinary. But this tells us very little of the inner dynamics of different ideal typical systems. How do these different kinds ofindustrial relations ‘work’? In particular, how, in detail, do pluralist and corporatist forms of bargaining differ? This can be done most clearly if the argument is set out formally. There is nothing that can be called mathematics in this, but readers who have a horror of formal analysis can skip the symbols, as everything is contained within the verbal account.