This thesis examines the formation, development, role and behaviour of the Singapore National Employers' Federation (SNEF). Its focus is primarily the field of labour management. It addresses key issues in the role of the SNEF from its formation in 1980 to 2004, in the institutional context of Singapore's politics, economic development and industrial relations. This longitudinal study makes a substantial original contribution to understanding Singapore's leading national employers' association, and is a pioneering study of a national employers' association in East Asia. The thesis is a qualitative case-study, using fieldwork interviews, primary documents and the secondary literature as data sources. Through the critical event method, the work focuses analysis on key junctures for the SNEF's development and change during the period examined. In addition, the author employs the Sheldon and Thornthwaite (1999) model of employers' association strategy in framing the analysis of the thesis' central questions, and in examining SNEF's strategic decisions in response to changes in its external environment. By analysing how the SNEF's external roles and internal relations changed during each period, the research draws attention to the dynamic nature of this employers' association in the rapidly changing conditions marking Singapore's development. Given the central role of the People's Action Party (PAP) in Singaporean society, a central theme of this thesis is how the SNEF balances political pressures from Singapore's government-dominated corporatist system, with the needs of its diversified membership. The narrative core of the thesis identifies five distinct periods of Singaporean industrial relations - through the lens of the SNEF - reflecting larger economic developments through which the government guided the economy and society. The thesis finds that, while the SNEF is an independent and apolitical organisation, it is nevertheless deeply embedded in the Singaporean variant of corporatism. Accordingly, the SNEF's role and behaviour are inherently guided by the PAP's ideology of pragmatism and, in Singapore, sectoral interests deferred to and institutionally served national interests.

This thesis examines the formation, development, role and behaviour of the Singapore National Employers' Federation (SNEF). Its focus is primarily the field of labour management. It addresses key issues in the role of the SNEF from its formation in 1980 to 2004, in the institutional context of Singapore's politics, economic development and industrial relations. This longitudinal study makes a substantial original contribution to understanding Singapore's leading national employers' association, and is a pioneering study of a national employers' association in East Asia. The thesis is a qualitative case-study, using fieldwork interviews, primary documents and the secondary literature as data sources. Through the critical event method, the work focuses analysis on key junctures for the SNEF's development and change during the period examined. In addition, the author employs the Sheldon and Thornthwaite (1999) model of employers' association strategy in framing the analysis of the thesis' central questions, and in examining SNEF's strategic decisions in response to changes in its external environment. By analysing how the SNEF's external roles and internal relations changed during each period, the research draws attention to the dynamic nature of this employers' association in the rapidly changing conditions marking Singapore's development. Given the central role of the People's Action Party (PAP) in Singaporean society, a central theme of this thesis is how the SNEF balances political pressures from Singapore's government-dominated corporatist system, with the needs of its diversified membership. The narrative core of the thesis identifies five distinct periods of Singaporean industrial relations - through the lens of the SNEF - reflecting larger economic developments through which the government guided the economy and society. The thesis finds that, while the SNEF is an independent and apolitical organisation, it is nevertheless deeply embedded in the Singaporean variant of corporatism. Accordingly, the SNEF's role and behaviour are inherently guided by the PAP's ideology of pragmatism and, in Singapore, sectoral interests deferred to and institutionally served national interests.

Les entreprises américaines implantées en France ont été étudiées de 1890 à 1990 à partir des archives de la Chambre de Commerce américaine en France (AmCham). Cette source permet d’analyser les actions collectives qu’elles ont menées et l’influence qu’elles ont eue sur le milieu des entreprises françaises, dans cinq périodes successives où la cohérence entre leurs actions et celles des autorités américaines a été plus ou moins étroite. Dans la première période (1890-1914), l’AmCham est un club de riches hommes d’affaires dans un environnement prestigieux. Dans la deuxième (1914-1945), elle est une association d’entreprises, plus nombreuses mais placées dans un contexte de guerre et de crise, sans stratégie commune. Dans la troisième (1945-1970), elle est un outil efficace du Plan Marshall puis du « défi américain ». Dans la quatrième (1970-1990), les implantations se multiplient mais la montée en puissance de l’union européenne, les réticences américaines sur l’investissement à l’étranger et la francisation des filiales américaines font apparaître des facteurs de fragilité et finalement dans la cinquième (après 1990), l’AmCham, dont l’influence a décliné, cherche, avec difficulté, des éléments de solidarité entre ses adhérents dans le contexte nouveau de la mondialisation. A partir de cette source, on a étudié les interactions culturelles entre l’AmCham et son milieu et la diffusion du modèle de management américain, qui a conduit à une forte francisation des filiales américaines en France. / American firms in France have been studied from 1890 to 1990, from the archives of the American Chamber of Commerce in France (AmCham). This source provides the elements of an analysis of the collective actions they implemented and the influence they had on French firms over five successive periods where there was more or less a consistency between their actions and the US government’s decisions. In the first periode (1890-1914), AmCham was a club of wealthy businessmen in a prestigious environment. In the second one (1914-1945), it was an employer’s association, with more members but in a context of wars and crisis, without a common strategy. In the third one (1945-1970), it was an efficient instrument of the Marshall Plan and later the « American challenge ». In the fourth one (1970-1990), with a growing number of firms, with the European project gaining ground, US policy’s reluctance to FDI and US firms becoming more and more « frenchized », significant factors of fragility appeared and finally in the fifth one (after 1990), AmCham, whose influence has diminished, is trying painfully to identify new elements of solidarity between its members in the new context of globalization. From this source, the study focuses on cultural interactions between AmCham and its environment and the spread of the American management model, which led to a large « frenchization » of American subsidiaries in France.

<p>The purpose of this essay is to examine wage-earners' investment funds from the ideological point of view. Were they in any way an integrated part of social democratical democratic socialism and reformism? I emphasize Olof Palme´s ideological idea of democratic socialism and reformism, and how he handled the issue. How did the question of these funds correspondent with the basic ideological points of view, and what was the standpoint of Palme in this issue.</p><p>My method is built upon a deep study and analyses of SAP board of party and the standing committees protocol in the light of Olof Palme´s and SAP's ideology. I even use information from literature, inquiries and dissertations. I will mainly focus on Palme´s standpoint during this time.</p><p>There are the tree question areas and answers in this essay. There is an obvious tension between the two poles of labour movement, the state socialism represented by the social democratic party with a social outlook from above and the movement socialism, represented by the trade union movement with view from below. How did the wage-earners' investment funds stand to this traditional tension? How did Olof Palme remain to it? The answers to these questions are, that Olof Palme was very aware of this tension and he warned the trade union to be too radical. The proposal had a more reformistic formation when it was transmitted from the movement socialistic pole to the state socialistic pole.</p><p>How did the wage-earners' investment funds fit in democratic socialism? The proposal of the wage-earners' investment funds meant that the function socialistic line, which traditionally was brought by the social democracy, now was changed to the line of ownership. Was it Palmes intention to implement a socialistic society with the help of the wage-earners' investment funds, to be more an a large public sector? The final proposition was a compromise and had lost its radical characteristics. It was never Olof Palme’s intention to implement a socialistic society with the help of the wage-earners' investment funds.</p><p>How did the wage-earners' investment funds fit in the reformistic point of view? Were they system changing or system preserving, or both? The answer to this in this essay is, that the origin proposal was radical and system changing. The final proposal was both system preserving and system changing.</p>

The purpose of this essay is to examine wage-earners' investment funds from the ideological point of view. Were they in any way an integrated part of social democratical democratic socialism and reformism? I emphasize Olof Palme´s ideological idea of democratic socialism and reformism, and how he handled the issue. How did the question of these funds correspondent with the basic ideological points of view, and what was the standpoint of Palme in this issue. My method is built upon a deep study and analyses of SAP board of party and the standing committees protocol in the light of Olof Palme´s and SAP's ideology. I even use information from literature, inquiries and dissertations. I will mainly focus on Palme´s standpoint during this time. There are the tree question areas and answers in this essay. There is an obvious tension between the two poles of labour movement, the state socialism represented by the social democratic party with a social outlook from above and the movement socialism, represented by the trade union movement with view from below. How did the wage-earners' investment funds stand to this traditional tension? How did Olof Palme remain to it? The answers to these questions are, that Olof Palme was very aware of this tension and he warned the trade union to be too radical. The proposal had a more reformistic formation when it was transmitted from the movement socialistic pole to the state socialistic pole. How did the wage-earners' investment funds fit in democratic socialism? The proposal of the wage-earners' investment funds meant that the function socialistic line, which traditionally was brought by the social democracy, now was changed to the line of ownership. Was it Palmes intention to implement a socialistic society with the help of the wage-earners' investment funds, to be more an a large public sector? The final proposition was a compromise and had lost its radical characteristics. It was never Olof Palme’s intention to implement a socialistic society with the help of the wage-earners' investment funds. How did the wage-earners' investment funds fit in the reformistic point of view? Were they system changing or system preserving, or both? The answer to this in this essay is, that the origin proposal was radical and system changing. The final proposal was both system preserving and system changing.