Thesis (M.A.) - Carleton University, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 132-143). Also available in electronic format on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Rutgers University, 2009. / "Graduate Program in Industrial Relations and Human Resources." Includes bibliographical references (p. 96-107).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Rutgers University, 2009. / "Graduate Program in Industrial Relations and Human Resources."

Recent research at Japanese manufacturers in the UK has tended to simply focus on their employee relations practices, arguing that where they operate effectively they result in a loyal and highly productive workforce. It often goes on to point out that there is a link between these practices and the companies' production systems, suggesting that employee relations practices are an integral part of the production system at a Japanese company. However, the research fails to adequately show the implications of this link. Its attempts to examine the issue have remained descriptive, devaluing its results and conclusions. This research remedies this deficiency. The research's central argument and findings are that production systems vary considerably between Japanese manufacturers in the UK and that contrary to popular belief some of these companies' production systems display serious shortcomings. It argues that employment relations practices at these companies though an integral part of their production systems are only one of several sets of characteristics necessary to the successful operation of the company. It is also important to consider a company's organizational structure and managerial effectiveness. Strengths and weaknesses in these other production system characteristics affect employee responses to a company's employment relations practices, impeding or assisting the intended improvement of individuals in the performance of their work. Either a vicious or virtuous circle can therefore emerge since employee responses to a company's employment relations practices will further contribute to its production performance. Testing this argument involves the design and use of an innovative model that identifies the key characteristics necessary for the production system at a Japanese manufacturing transplant in the UK to perform efficiently. Identification of these characteristics allows the model to be used as a benchmark against which to compare the production systems of Japanese manufacturers. The research applies the model to the production systems of nine Japanese companies in the UK's consumer electronics sector and identifies a number of differences in their production system characteristics. Two of these nine companies are then selected as case studies and their production systems are examined in detail. In addition, workforce reactions to the employee relations practices at these two companies are also measured using questionnaire and interview data. The results confirm the research's argument that the closer a company's manufacturing system comes to displaying the model's full set of production system characteristics, the more likely it is that its employee relations practices will elicit workforce attitudes and behaviour desired by the company.

The central purpose of the thesis is to interpret in the context of theories of class structure certain developments in the industrial relations policies of British governments between 1956 and 1971. Although British sociology has long been pre-occupied with class, and although the relevance of industrial relations to the historical development of class relations is generally recognised, it is only in very recent years that a few authors have attempted class analyses of recent policy changes. The present study is probably the first to attempt a detailed analysis of the policies in this context, though the period has been one of institutional innovation rivalling the immediate postwar years. In tackling this task the thesis brings together three usually separate literatures: that on class and stratification, that on industrial relations and that on political processes. The first two of these are dealt with at length, the last less so (and perhaps, on reflection, inadequately). Nearly all the themes discussed will be found elsewhere in the literature, but originality is claimed for (i) the particular combination of themes achieved, and the relations made between them and (ii) the detailed relation of these themes to the particular body of empirical material studied. For example, the central contention examined - that recent policy developments constitute the rise of the corporate state - has very recently found its way into general discussion, but the present thesis tries to define corporatism systematically, demonstrate its place within a theory of class relations, and assess precisely the corporatist content of policies. Methodologically the thesis is unadventurous and conventional and makes no use of sophisticated techniques. Further, the great bulk of empirical material studied consists of published documents. However, it is considered that it goes beyond many conventional treatments in the extent to which its analysis of empirical material relates closely to the theoretical framework which is established. Further, although the data used are not original in the sense of having never before been exposed to public gaze, their use is original in the sense that they are studied in terms and for purposes very different from those intended by their authors. In summary, the contributions claimed for the thesis are as follows: (1) starting from a Marxian/Weberian perspective it directs attention to a central aspect of class which has been neglected in sociology's pre-occupation with problems of the identification of and subjective attitudes of classes, viz the particular combination of economic, political and ideological constraints that provide the structure of different forme of class relations; (2) it relates issues of class to recent industrial relations strategies more systematically than is usually the case in recent debates; (3) in particular, it establishes the outlines of two contrasting strategies called the Compromise and corporatism; (4) it makes use of these and other concepts to provide a sociological analysis of incomes policies and industrial relations law reform measures; (5) in less precise detail, it provides an histoire raisonée of political developments in the period concerned, interpreting them in the terms established earlier; (6) it makes an empirical study of, and relates together, certain other themes of recent literature, such as managerialism, administrative rationality as ideology, the changing role of the state and the problems this creates for existing political, ideologies.

The research was multi-method as it combined qualitative semi-structured interviews with quantitative surveys. The thesis concludes by discussing cultural implications for the formation of trust among business people in the UK and China, and future research directions.

During the 1990s within Australia, a regulated industrial relations system which had fostered the growth of collective bargaining and trade unionism was dismantled and replaced by a neo-liberal approach to labour law. During this period trade union membership declined dramatically. Although overall union density has dropped, some unions have managed to arrest membership decline. The Association of Professional Engineers, Scientists and Managers, Australia and the National Tertiary Education Industry Union have successfully traversed the neo-liberal environment despite having adopted different processes. Through an analysis of both external and internal contingencies of these two successful but different union types, lessons were drawn as to effective forms of unionism. A comparative analysis of the empirical information suggest the benefits of a participative structure and collective ideology to enact a range of activities including industrial, political, solidarity and service. It is through this process that unions have the best possible means to generate alternative methods of social organisation to protect the rights and wellbeing of wage earners within a neo-liberal political economy.

Thesis (PhD)--University of South Australia, 2001

In this thesis an integrated approach to analysing small In this thesis an integrated approach to analysing small firm employment relations is proposed and used to investigate the image of industrial harmony in small firms. This approach accommodates small firm heterogeneity, provides an analytical framework for ordering the effect of a range of factors (not simply size) on employment relations, and incorporates a dialectical relationship between structure and agency. In Chapters 2 and 3 some of the key theoretical and methodological gaps in small firm research, particularly their employment relations, are highlighted. At the conclusion of Chapter 2, it is suggested that an analysis of small firm employment relations must start with the totality of economic and social relations in a particular sector, and its contradictory constituents, rather than the small firm per se. Rainnie’s (1989) heuristic device, drawing upon Marxist theory of combined and uneven development, is adopted to accommodate small firm heterogeneity. After reviewing studies of small firm industrial relations and human resource management, it is argued, in Chapter 3, that by incorporating the dialectical relationship between structure and agency with a labour process analysis, an explanation for why ‘industrial harmony’ appears to typify small firm employment relations can be sought. (For complete abstract open document)

In the context of China’s growing influence over the global economy, its newly developed labour market and the subsequent series of industrial relations issues have captured much attention. However, research on industrial relations and labour problems in China is relatively underdeveloped. The classic three-party industrial relations model, which was developed for western economies, has often been difficult to apply to China’s circumstances. The biggest difference between China and western countries in the matter of labour issues lies in the different institutional settings of the industrial relations systems. As a sub-system of the broader social system, the industrial relations system of a country is significantly affected by the fundamental socio-political system in that particular country. In view of this, Chapter One of this thesis will first review the relevant existing industrial relations theories and explore their applicability to China. The thesis then continues with the proposal of a new six-party taxonomy for the analysis of Chinese industrial relations. The new taxonomy takes into account distinctive industrial relations actors with “Chinese characteristics” as well as their inter-relationships which form at different social levels. This taxonomy provides a useful tool for drawing a broad picture of the evolving industrial relations in China, which constitute the main content of the later parts of this thesis: in Part One (Chapters Two to Four), we analyse the historical and current situation of the six Chinese industrial relations actors, namely the party-state, employers’ associations, the All China Federation of Trade Unions, grass roots unions, employers and employees; while in Part Two (Chapter Five and Six), we describe the interactions between each of these actors from a historical perspective. With the new taxonomy and the analyses that follow, this thesis aims to provide a new insight into Chinese industrial relations and labour studies. It attempts to present to the readers a broad picture of the Chinese industrial relations system. We believe that the discussion will be valuable for those interested in China’s social development (in particular, the development of modern industrial relations in the context of the Chinese political economy). Limitations of length, however, preclude the detailed discussion in this thesis of all Chinese industrial relations issues. Various future research topics have been identified in the concluding chapter, and we recognize that they are undoubtedly important questions in need of enormous research efforts. Therefore, we see this thesis as the beginning of a series of related works, which aim to contribute to a better understanding of industrial relations in the context of Chinese political economy.