The purpose of this study is to develop an understanding of the causes and effects of gender discrimination in the Thai workplace. The research focuses on gender differences related to recruitment, occupational segregation, compensation, pay raises, promotion opportunities, fringe benefits, and personnel policies and practices. Three hundred employees and ten supervisors of "Grarui and So Co., Ltd. participated in the study. Also, personnel policies and regulations were reviewed and evaluated. The findings showed female workers were more satisfied with fringe benefits and the practices of their supervisors, than were their male counterparts. Moreover, male workers perceived that their female coworkers were treated better by supervisors, especially in regard to compensation, pay raises and promotions. Traditional Thai social value and culture may be at the root of these unexpected findings / Master of Urban and Regional Planning

<p>The central question in this research asks why some women do "men's work." The literature suggests two basic approaches: according to the demand approach, women are placed in certain jobs because of employment practices; according to the supply approach women are inclined to look for certain kinds of work. The supply explanation suggests that the socialization of a woman influences her work motivation and the kinds of work she will consider for employment. Our research focus is on such supply factors. Our general hypothesis is that women who enter non-traditional occupations will have had non-traditional socialization experiences; women who enter traditional occupations will have had traditional socialization experiences. Specific hypotheses are developed to capture the influence of the family and, in particular, the role of a working mother on the work behavior of the daughter.</p> <p>To test our hypotheses a sample of 111 women was drawn. Our aim was to select both a traditional and nontraditional occupation in professional and non-professional categories. Two occupations were chosen--elementary school teachers and registered nursing assistants--and defined as traditional areas of female employment. Two occupations--pharmacists and policewomen--had a small number of women employed and they were titled non-traditional female occupational areas of employment. The quantitative and qualitative data gathered through interviews are used to test specific hypotheses and explore patterns within each hypothesis. The data are presented in three chapters: the influence of the family of origin, the effect of education and school experiences and the importance of the work environment and conjugal family on the work behavior of women in traditional and non-traditional occupations.</p> <p> The research shows that the socialization experiences within the family of origin reveal no significant difference between women who selected traditional occupations and those who selected non--traditional employment. In fact, almost all of the women in our sample, in all occupations, expressed traditional values regarding work and home. However, the research did find that socialization experiences are important in providing more general occupational orientations which directed the women toward either "professional" goals or "work" goals. Moreover, social class variables were more important in determining these occupational orientations than were the hypothesized sex-role variables.</p> <p>As well, the women's attitudes regarding school were largely a function of their socialization experiences in the home. Professional women placed a high evaluation on schooling and were more likely to report that they had done well in school. This was rarely the case for the non-professional woman. For women who had acquired professional aspirations, academic performance seems to have been an important factor in their occupational choice. The women who did not aspire to careers and who therefore did not view formal education as an important occupational route seem to have been most vulnerable to the vagaries of chance. The most important factor in their occupational choice appears to have been the influence of close informal work contacts.</p> <p>With respect to their experiences at work, women in non-traditional occupations were more likely to report that they had experienced sexual discrimination than were women in traditional occupations. However, the data suggest that such perceptions may reflect a greater consciousness of a "minority status" than actual discrimination. Almost all of the married women in our sample were concerned about the potentially conflicting demands of family and work. However, professional women seem to have the greatest number of alternatives in dealing with these demands. The problems are greatest for those women who work because they need the money and who work in occupations which are inflexible. </p> <p>The central theme of the data suggests clearly that women's early socialization experiences are important in the development of professional or job orientations but less important in the selection of a traditional or nontraditional occupation. In the most general terms, the research suggests that supply factors are important in constraining women's occupational behavior. However, the data also lead us to believe that as more male dominated occupations are ''opened up" to women, there will be women-even traditional women--to take the positions.</p> / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

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No / The fast-food industry is one of the few industries that can be described as truly global, not least in terms of employment, which is estimated at around ten million people worldwide. This edited volume is the first of its kind, providing an analysis of labour relations in this significant industry focusing on multinational corporations and large national companies in ten countries: the USA, Canada, the UK, the Netherlands, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, and Russia. The extent to which multinational enterprises impose or adapt their employment practices in differing national industrial relations systems is analysed, Results reveal that the global fast-food industry is typified by trade union exclusion, high labour turnover, unskilled work, paternalistic management regimes and work organization that allows little scope for developing workers' participation in decision-making, let alone advocating widely accepted concepts of social justice and workers' rights.

This article examines the employment practices of McDonald's and other US-owned multinational corporations (MNCs) in the global fast-food industry from the 1970s to date. It focuses on the impact that different host institutions have had on pay and working conditions in different countries in the industry. The author argues that US fast-food MNCs still adopt the underlying principles of their US practices, even if the practices themselves could not be imposed in their entirety, often keeping unions out of workplaces and preserving their management prerogative, even when sector-level collective agreements have been imposed, and often limiting the impact of such agreements. Whilst some improvements have been achieved in some countries, adequate representation remains a serious problem, with many employees experiencing low pay, inadequate hours, insecure work, unpaid hours and sometimes hazardous and intimidating working conditions. The theoretical effect of host-country influences cannot therefore be automatically assumed; rather, the variations that arise across countries, while indicating national diversity, also emphasize variation within national systems and a limited form of convergence or ‘low-road Americanization’ in this sector.

No / This paper is based on a study of the employment practices of one Italian-owned multinational corporation (MNC) and one US-owned MNC in the Italian quick-food service sector and examines such issues as work organization, unionization, employee representation and pay and conditions. The paper focuses on the concept of ‘dominance’ and the related convergence and divergence theses. The findings suggest that dominance can not only be interpreted as a mode of employment or production emanating from one country, but could also be associated with one dominant MNC in one sector. Consequently, it is argued that while the effect of host and home country influences may be significant factors in cross-border employment relations practices, more attention needs to be paid to organizational contingencies and the sectoral characteristics within which firms operate.

No / This article reports on the union recognition dispute that took place at the MacDonald's food-processing plant in Moscow. It examines this dispute in the context of McDonald's employment practices worldwide, the interventions made by international and local unions, and Russian government bodies. Despite these interventions it became impossible to either organise the workforce or establish a collective agreement. The case illustrates the difficulties facing both local unions and global union federations when confronted by intransigent multinational companies, especially in low-skilled sectors in transitional economies.

No / This article examines the labour relations practices of multinational corporations (MNCs) in the German and Spanish quick-food service sectors. The demand for greater profitability and lower costs is leading to a greater standardization of work methods across a widening range of food service operators, resulting in the gradual elimination of more expensive, skilled and experienced workers, and an increasingly non-union approach in employee relations practices. The outcome involves increasing standardization, union exclusion, low trust, low skills, and low pay. These sectoral characteristics appear to outweigh both country-of-origin and host-country effects. The findings therefore confirm continuing variation within national industrial relations systems and the importance of sectoral characteristics and organizational contingencies in understanding MNC cross-border behaviour.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether application forms used in Texas public schools for teachers and administrators were in compliance with federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and Texas Human Rights Commission Act (THRCA) regulations regarding preemployment practices. Participating in the study were 740 public school districts in Texas. The study also attempted to determine if these application forms are in violation of EEOC regulations pertaining to pre-employment practices and whether classification based on the districts' size, wealth, student ethnicity and geographical location has a bearing on the degree of compliance with and awareness of EEOC and THRCA regulations. A model employment application form and set of guidelines were developed for school districts to use in securing pre-employment information. Inferential statistics were used through various applicable designs. Three different types of analysis were utilized. These were a Descriptive Analysis, a Goodman- Kruskal Gamma (y) Coefficient—chi-square analysis and a Multiple Regression analysis. The descriptive analysis included the calculation of percentages of the suspect questions appearing on teacher and administrator application forms utilizing the Criteria Used to Determine EEO Compliance and Awareness Among Texas School Districts. The Goodman-Kruskal Gamma (y) Coefficient and the chi-square analysis were employed in order to determine differences in compliance and awareness based on the districts' size, wealth, student ethnicity and geographical location. The GAMTAU. ASC Computer Program was used to test the Gamma values, with a standard z-score. The Multiple Regression analysis was employed to determine to what extent variation in the use of total suspect questions correlated with size, wealth, ethnicity and geographical location. The results of the data analyzed reveal that the size and ethnicity of the school district had a weak but significant correlation with EEO compliance and awareness based on employment application forms for teachers and administrators and that school districts in Texas were not in compliance with EEOC and THRCA regulations regarding application form pre-employment practices.