Showing papers on "Job security published in 1993"

The impact of corporate turbulence on: Managers' attitudes

Abstract: This cross-level study tested the relationship between organizational turbulence as reported by 49 strategic business unit managers from 17 Fortune 500 companies and the attitudes of 679 midlevel managers in these companies. The results indicated that turbulence clustered into four dimensions that were differentially related to managers' attitudes. Incremental negative turbulence was negatively associated with satisfaction with job security. Financial restructuring was positively associated with career loyalty. Growth was positively associated with career loyalty and with job involvement. Organizational breakup was positively associated with career loyalty. The long-term implications for companies of the career-loyallcompany-loyal, job-involved but job-insecure management cadre produced by the corporate turbulence of the 1980s are discussed.

Job Security in America: Lessons from Germany

Abstract: American employers rely heavily on layoffs to reduce the size of their work force during downturns. While layoffs are unavoidable in any competitive economy, they are far more common in the United States than in other industrialized countries. But can US workers be offered more secure employment without burdening the companies that employ them?. Katharine Abraham and Susan Houseman address this question by comparing labor adjustment practices in the US where existing policies arguably encourage layoffs, with those in Germany, a country with much stronger job protection for workers. Based on statistical analysis of the two countries' manufacturing sectors, they conclude that German policies generally have been successful in providing workers with more stable employment without inhibiting labour adjustment. In their assessment of the German experience, Abraham and Houseman emphasize the interaction of various labour market policies. Stronger job security in Germany has been accompanied by an unemployment insurance system that facilitates short-term work as a substitute for layoffs. In the US the unemployment insurance system has encouraged layoffs while discouraging the use of work-sharing schemes. The authors recommend reforms of the US unemployment insurance system that include stronger experience rating and an expansion of short-term compensation programs. They also point to the critical link between job security and the system of worker training in Germany, and advocate policies that would encourage more training by US companies.

Production workers' reactions to a plant closing: the role of transfer, stress, and support

Abstract: This study investigated the reactions of Canadian unionized production workers following a plant closing announcement. Workers who had been transferred reported significantly greater job security, more trust in the company, greater commitment to the company, and higher job performance than workers who remained at the plant. They also reported less trust in their union than the remaining workers. Perceived supervisor support was positively related to company trust and company commitment and perceived union support was positively associated with union trust and union commitment. High stress appraisal (perceived injustice and job insecurity) was associated with increased strain, lower job performance, reduced trust in the company, and reduced company commitment, but had no significant effect on the union-related outcomes. The implications of these findings for companies and unions are discussed.

Job Satisfaction, Job Involvement, Job Security, and Customer Focus of Quick-Service Restaurant Employees:

Abstract: This study examined the relationships of customer focus and job satisfaction, job involvement, and job security for quick-service restaurant employees. Results indicated that job satisfaction, job involvement, and job security do tend to predict customer focus for restaurant employees, and, consequently, increasing job satis faction, job involvement, and job security may improve an employee's customer focus. Having a better understanding of employees and factors which affect their focus on the services they provide to others is critical for restaurant managers as they hire and train employees.

Correlations between job insecurity and psychological well-being among White and Black employees in South Africa.

Abstract: In a South African manufacturing company the correlations between perceived job insecurity and psychological well-being were examined among 54 white managers in relatively ‘safe’ jobs and 78 black production workers in relatively ‘unsafe’ jobs. The former felt more secure in their jobs but not less anxious or depressed than the latter. Job insecurity was positively related to both anxiety and depression (.30 to .40) in both groups, confirming the benefits of perceived job security to employees, irrespective of whether they felt initially secure or not in their jobs.

New developments in the labor market : toward a new institutional paradigm

Abstract: The structure of employer/employee relationships is changing. These original contributions report on new developments taking place in today's labor market and on the role of public policy in shaping that process. They provide an illuminating description of the current state of internal labor market theory and practice, document the evolution of trends in the public and private sectors, and are joined in a concern for disadvantaged and unemployed workers that is all too rare in scholarly work. A central theme is the adaptation of labor market institutions to the important environmental changes of recent years, including the shift to an international marketplace for goods and services, the spread of new workplace technologies, new work force demographics, and changing conceptions of the role that government should be expected to play.Katharine Abraham is Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Maryland. Robert McKersie is Professor of Industrial Relations at the Sloan School of Management at MIT.Contents: Introduction, Katharine G. Abraham. Norms and Cycles: The Dynamics of Nonunion Industrial Relations in the United States, 1897-1987, Sanford M. Jacoby. The Effects of Worker Participation in Management, Profits and Ownership of Assets on Enterprise Performance, Michael A. Conte, Jan Svenjar. Restructuring the Employment Relationship: The Growth of MarketMediated Work Arrangements, Katharine G. Abraham. The Evolving Role of Small Business and Some Implications for Employment and Training Policy, Gary W. Loveman, Michael J. Piore, Werner Sengeneberger. Employment Security and Employment Policy: An Assessment of the Issues, Paul Osterman, Thomas A. Kochan. The Equity and Efficiency of job Security: Contrasting Perspectives on Collective Dismissal Laws in Europe, Susan N. Houseman. ContinuousProcess Technologies and the Gender Gap in Manufacturing Wages, Susan B. Carter, Peter Philips. Reducing Gender and Racial Inequality: The Role of Public Policy, Peter Gottschalk. Government and the Labor Market, Robert M. Solow.

Stress among Job Insecure Workers and Their Spouses.

Abstract: Questionnaires were collectedfrom 111 couples from staff andfaculty members at a university experiencing a budgetary cutback. Data were examined to study the effects of employee versus spouse of employee status, age, emotional well-being, physical health, number of marrage and family problems, and job stress on general perceived stress. Multiple regression analysis was used to test hypotheses that each of these variables, except employee versus spouse, would predict general stress during a time of perceived job insecurity. Results support each of the hypotheses. Several implications are discussed for family professionals and other practitioners, policymakers, andfor intervention programs to benefit employees and their spouses who are undergoing job insecurity.

Patient-focused care.

Abstract: The trend away from a departmental focus and toward "patient-focused" care in hospitals is described; advantages of and barriers to such a change and its effects on pharmacy are discussed. Patient-focused care is characterized by decentralization of services, cross-training of personnel from different departments to provide basic care, interdisciplinary collaboration, various degrees of organizational restructuring, use of "clinical pathways"--recommended components of care for patients with a particular diagnosis, simplification and redesign of work to eliminate steps and save time (e.g., providing care according to predetermined protocols and charting only exceptions to the protocol), and increased involvement of patients in their own care. Its objectives are to use nonclinical and clinical staff more effectively and to improve patients' perceptions of the quality of care and staff members' job satisfaction. It is unrealistic to expect quick reductions in hospital costs through patient-focused care, and workers will worry about job security if an institution overemphasizes this aspect. A 1993 survey of 311 hospitals found that almost half had or planned to have patient-focused care projects. Adoption of patient-focused care projects may be slowed by workers' fear of new responsibilities and new reporting relationships. However, not all patient-focused care models involve radical organizational changes, and reorganizations can be such that pharmacy staff members are still connected to the pharmacy department even if they are supervised by a nonpharmacist. In some institutions patient-focused care projects have given pharmacy its first opportunity for decentralization.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Pay for Perfor Mance Incentives and Work Attitudes

Abstract: Using survey data from 565 private sector employees in Australia, this article tests how perfor Mance-related incentives influence worker attitudes. It is concluded that job satisfaction is related to incentives based on individual or small group perfor Mance, while organisational commitment is more strongly related to company-level incentives (gains-sharing). Tests for the bundling of incentives and participatory management and for the interactive effects of incentives, participatory managment and job security are insignificant in this data set.

Winning Commitment: How to Build and Keep a Competitive Workforce

Abstract: To survive the current trends in downsizing and rapid technological change, companies of every size need employees who identify with and support the company's goals Commitment is crucial for innovation, improvement and productivity, but managers are often at a loss as to how to develop and maintain high levels of commitment Gary Dessler takes readers behind the scenes at 10 of America's top companies and provides company documents, such as mission statements and interviewing and training aids The book focuses on tools, techniques and battle strategies that managers and supervisors can use to develop and retain highly committed, motivated workforces essential for long-term, high-performance results "Winning Commitment" is based on extensive research and company interviews with managers and workers at IBM, Delta Airlines, 3M, Federal Express, Saturn Corp, Mary Kay, Toyota, Publix and Ben and Jerry's Throughout, it zeroes in on concrete management steps for driving employee commitment by: creating shared, transcendent goals, linking employees to the company's values, vision, and traditions; implementing personal growth and development practices; fostering genuine, shared commitment at all employee ranks and functional areas; providing employees with the knowledge and skills to assume even more challenging tasks; building cohesive work teams united by common purpose and a sense of community; and creating financial incentives, such as profit sharing and benefits packages, that enhance job security

Does Employment Protection Inhibit Labor Market Flexibility? Lessons from Germany, France, and Belgium

Abstract: Laws in most West European countries give workers strong job rights, including the right to advance notice of layoff and the right to severance pay or other compensation if laid off. Many of these same countries also encourage hours adjustment in lieu of layoffs by providing prorated unemployment compensation to workers on reduced hours. This paper compares the adjustment of manufacturing employment and hours in West Germany, France and Belgium, three countries with strong job security regulations and well-established short-time compensation systems, with that in the United States. Although the adjustment of employment to changes in output is much slower in the German, French and Belgian manufacturing sectors than in U.S. manufacturing, the adjustment of total hours worked is much more similar. The short-time system makes a significant contribution to observed adjustment in all three European countries. In addition, we find little evidence that the weakening of job security regulations that occurred in Germany, France and Belgium during the 1980s affected employers' adjustment to changes in output. These findings suggest that, given appropriate supporting institutions, strong job security need not inhibit employer adjustment to changing conditions.

Trade Unions in the Hotel and Catering Industry: The Views of Hotel Managers

Abstract: Given the principal characteristics of hotel and catering industry employment – low pay, low job security, high labour turnover, often arbitrary management – it is a matter of some interest that the industry is unionized to only a limited extent. Offers a brief summary of the principal reasons advanced for explaining low unionization in the industry before proceeding to focus on the attitudes of hotel managers towards these explanations. Reports research based on interviews with managers in Scotland, during which individuals were asked to respond to a range of points with a view to ascertaining the continuing relevance or otherwise of the findings of previous research. Principal findings are that a tension exists between a general, if reluctant, acceptance of the need, by managers, for union representation in the industry and a belief in their own managerial efficacy which makes unions irrelevant to their particular circumstances.

The Salaries of Ph.D's in Academe and Elsewhere

Abstract: It has long been known that Ph.D.'s working for academic institutions earn less than Ph.D.'s in the same disciplines working for other kinds of employers, especially government and industry. It has not been possible to tell, however, whether this difference in earnings represents a difference in average quality of the employees in the two sectors or whether it represents a compensating differential reflecting the greater autonomy and freedom from control of superiors in the academic sector and the greater job security of tenured professors. It is now possible to answer this question through the use of special tabulations of data from the Survey of Doctoral Recipients of the National Research Council (1989).

Longitudinal effects of merger and behavioral interventions on job insecurity.

Abstract: This longitudinal field experiment examined the effects of an acquisition on employees job insecurity perceptions. Our results suggest that employees of acquiring firms experienced lower job insecu...

Does Employment Protection Inhibit Labor Market Flexibility? Lessons from Germany, France, and Belgium

Abstract: A revised version of this paper appears in R. Blank, ed., Social Protection vs. Economic Flexibility: Is there a Trade-Off?. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1994. Please cite the revised version.

Back to the Future: Lessons from Free Market Experience

Abstract: Describes the labour economics of the hotel and catering industry, which produce two characteristics: individual contracts and low unionization. Draws parallels between the free market behaviour of this traditional industry and the general direction of change in the industry as a whole. Suggests that greater insecurity, a heightened sense of immediacy in tasks, and more unsocial hours may lead to a propensity for mobility and a lack of organizational commitment – behaviour which is familiar in the hotel and catering industry.

Social attributes and job satisfaction among newsworkers

Abstract: The effects of social attributes on multiple measures of job satisfaction were examined using a stratified random national sample of Canadian newsworkers. A relatively high level of satisfaction coupled with brief careers was identified. This apparent incongruence derives from sector differences. Newspaperworkers are more satisfied and have longer careers than those in broadcast news. Newspaperworkers are pulled to the occupation by high levels of autonomy, control and job security, while broadcast newsworkers are pushed away ostensibly by a lack of autonomy, control, job security and high staff turnover. These conclusions validate the findings reported in studies of professionalism, and underscore the need for continued research on the nature and impact of newsroom policies.

Child Care Enterprise, Community Development, and Work

Abstract: Child care enterprise can be a vehicle for community-based economic development. Beyond the critical goal of child care service, day care as an enterprise can help build capacity for job creation and entrepreneurship in the inner city and in disadvantaged communities. Stable child care institutions with quality jobs can sound a counterpoint to the feminization of poverty.The demand for child care services is substantial and growing. In single parent families and in households with two working parents, day care is essential to enable parents to work or go to school. Further, high quality early childhood programs can have a positive impact on child development.But child care teachers face the dual obstacle of a public attitude that devalues their work and a harsh economic environment that relegates child care enterprise to the margin. The economic and social reality for day care centers too often means low-wage jobs for women, with few benefits and little opportunity for advancement.In any child care enterprise, the quality of care for the children substantially depends on the caregivers and on the quality of their work life. The quality of work, in turn, requires respect for the workers and sufficient resources to provide them with decent wages, benefits, and job security. The challenge, then, for a community economic development approach is two-fold. First, particularly in low-income neighborhoods, child care centers need to forge linkages beyond their own enterprises to external institutions with available resources. Second, they need to transform those resources into a corporate culture that values the work force and balances staff interests with the needs of the children and parents.Part I of this article describes the contours of the child care industry and underlying societal values that keep it at the economic margin. Part II locates child care in a community economic development context, with attention to child care employment and theories about women and work. Part III describes selected enterprise models, all of which involve child care centers strengthened by creative linkage with other institutions and one model that empowers staff through a participatory culture and worker ownership.

Gender, disability, and employment.

Abstract: This chapter traces the employment picture for women with disabilities over the last two decades. It shows that supply-based explanations, such as medical need or willingness to work, do not explain the proportion of persons with disabilities in the workforce as well as general labor-market trends do. The growth of the service industry has provided more opportunities for women with disabilities to join the labor force over the last two decades, but often in roles of part-time work, less job security, lower pay, and little or no benefits.

The theory of the labour-managed firm revisited: The voluntary interactive approach

Abstract: Membership in the authors' labor-managed firm is determined in the long run by expected income maximization. In the short run, upon the realization of output price, each member may leave the labor-managed firm. However, a decision to leave when the entire membership quits is associated with fixed cost. This arrangement ensures ex post egalitarianism and sense of job security. The authors' short-run result is that employment does not exhibit a perverse response to price variations. The long-run result is that their labor-managed firm is more populous than the Illyrian firm and may even be more than its capitalistic twin. Copyright 1993 by Royal Economic Society.

The Economic Payoffs to Workplace Literacy

Abstract: This paper focuses on one of the potential benefits to improving the Nation's literacy the economic payoffs. A more literate workforce provides economic benefits to the members of the workforce themselves, to employers, and to society. Workers who improve their basic skills through participation in workplace literacy programs should be more productive and hence earn higher wages and have greater job security. Employers with more productive workers will be more competitive in their industries and will be more profitable. Society gains by having a more productive and stable economy, by having more individuals employed with higher earnings and thus paying more in taxes, and by having fewer individuals unemployed who would otherwise be drawing transfer income from the government. The key nexus in the argument that workplace literacy engenders significant economic benefits is that a more literate worker will be more productive on the job. Were that not the case, the economic benefits to workplace literacy programs would all but evaporate. Whereas literacy advocates would easily accept the notion that more literate workers are more productive, the evidence is far from clear. In fact, the status quo provides a strong counterargument. The business sector is characterized by a very low incidence of workplace literacy programs despite the fact that there is a substantial need, as measured by the percentage of the workforce who are deficient to some extent in basic skills (see Hollenbeck 1993). It can be legitimately asked why, if workplace literacy programs are so beneficial economically, is there such a paucity of programs? Why haven't more employers increased their profits by adopting such programs? This paper presents findings that suggest that there are substantial productivity payoffs to workplace literacy programs. The answer to the question as to why there is such a low incidence of programs is that there must be market failures such as inaccessible capital, lack of information, or uncertainty about costs or payoffs that are dampening more widescale adoption of programs. In the next section of the paper, I review prior literature on the economic payoffs to workplace literacy programs and suggest a model for determining their payoffs. The third section describes the data that I use to analyze the issue, which come from two national surveys of individuals. The fourth, fifth, and sixth sections of the paper present my empirical findings. In the fourth section, I analyze participation in workplace literacy programs the characteristics of the individuals who participate. The fifth section presents tabular analyses of program characteristics as reported by the participants and in the sixth section, I analyze the economic benefits to workers from participation. The final section presents conclusions.

Literacy and long-term unemployment : options for adult guidance, support and training.

Abstract: This paper addresses recent government policy concerning basic skills training and long‐term unemployed people and the notion of developing a ‘training culture’ amongst adult workers. We report on a qualitative interview study with 100 long‐term unemployed people which explores their perceptions of their basic skills needs, the barriers they face in getting jobs and the guidance and training opportunities currently available to them. We use this evidence to argue that the attitudes, perceptions and priorities of long‐term unemployed people do not fit closely with those of policy makers. They rely strongly on informal support and information networks, their main goals are to obtain financial and job security and they are uninterested in low quality training programmes that do not lead to employment. Their past experience has not led them to think of themselves positively as learners. The views of long‐term unemployed people need to be taken into account in designing effective systems for guidance,...

Job satisfaction in the medical imaging profession: alleviating the shortage of personnel.

Abstract: The dramatic growth of the diagnostic imaging field has not been accompanied by a similar increase in trained personnel. As a result, a personnel shortage exists in nearly every area of diagnostic medical imaging. A study was conducted to examine job satisfaction among imaging personnel to determine what issues need to be addressed among current employees so that the field of diagnostic imaging may be made more attractive to potential imaging personnel. A total of 71 participants from four hospitals in a mid-size city in the southeastern United States completed a 29-question survey. Demographic characteristics and regression models were then used in statistical analysis. The models examined length of employment, work performance, salary, career advancement, and work environment. Significant factors found to relate to job satisfaction were: relationship with supervisor, opportunity for career advancement, job security, adequate staffing, and job stress. Prioritizing these concerns over other nonsignificant findings should promote job satisfaction and in turn alleviate the current shortage of diagnostic imaging personnel.