This dissertation examines the relationship between social structure and the average length of time in economic exchange. The corporate merger and acquisition market is examined over a 19 year period to study the statistical relationship between the average length of time in deal negotiations and measures of institutional forces as well as established sociometric measures. Survival regression modeling is employed to assess the role social structure plays in the length of time in deal making. At the actor level, network position among investment bankers plays a role in the average length of time in deal negotiations. Investment bankers use degree centrality and exploit structural holes within their ego networks to further their duration goals. At the group level, properties of the overall network of investment bankers are related to the average length of time in deal negotiations as well. Network density of the investment bank community is related to the average length of time in deal making. Institutional forces play a role in the average length of time in negotiations as well. Measures of coercive, normative, as well as mimetic institutional forces are statistically related to the average length of time in deal negotiations. The passage of time itself is statistically related to lengthening the remaining length of time, on average, in deal negotiations.

The study of arbitration in the Boston Schools is an analysis of teacher grievance arbitration cases during the period 1980-1989. The research comes from the case files of the Boston Schools, the Boston Teachers' Union and the American Arbitration Association (AAA) and represents all the cases which have proceeded to arbitration for resolution during a nine year period. The study is designed to coincide with the three union contracts commencing 1 September 1980 and ending 31 August 1989, with a three year term for each contract. The major causes of grievance arbitration during the period were found in the areas of (1) appointment and assignment of teachers (36% of the cases); (2) teacher compensation and pay (27%); (3) working conditions regarding class size and assignment of students (12%); (4) teacher discipline issues (11%); (5) the performance and evaluation of teachers (6%); and (6) actions taken by management without notice to the union (5%). Of the 90 cases which were awarded by arbitration during the period, those awarded in favor of the union numbered 53 (59%) and 37 (41%) favored the school committee. In a review of the cases in the Boston Schools it was concluded that the grievances were generally caused by: an outright violation of the school contract; a disagreement over contract language; a disagreement over the way the contract was implemented; disputes over fairness and reasonableness of management actions; or the enforcement of an administrative decision. Arbitration allows both sides some protection. If the contract was violated by the administration and the rights of teachers have been wronged, or if a teacher has violated the rules, the arbitrator will affirm the rights entitled to the individual teacher or that of the school. Arbitrators will impose discipline on both parties to the contract. Union and school bargaining and the adversarial positions played by both parties continues to dominate public education. The process of teacher grievance definition and any resultant arbitration is considered a rational and effective method for resolving confrontational issues. Arbitration is the preferred method of resolution because of its benefits in lower costs and speedy resolution of disagreements. Arbitration has made a lasting imprint upon the public education system in the United States (US) and will be an important part of school administration. This process will continue to play an important role in the management of education reform.

A study of the perceptions on one hundred and one teachers in four public and two private urban high schools to discover if four motivational needs of workers as described in the literature also hold for teachers. In addition, the study attempted to discover possible correlations among the six selected characteristics of high schools and the motivational needs. This study poses three questions: (1) What is the strength of higher order motivational needs of teachers in the six high schools (four public and two private)? (2) What correlations exist among higher order motivational needs and organizational characteristics of the schools? (3) Do such correlations differ across schools by type? A questionnaire was developed and field-tested and given to teachers on a voluntary basis. Results were cross-tabulated at.01 degree of significance using an SSPX program. Results showed teachers in the study had strong higher order motivational needs for decision input and achievement and to a lesser degree in autonomy and recognition. Correlations were found for only a few organizational characteristics and varied by schools. There was little difference between the public and private school teachers. The exam schools did not differ significantly from the district and private schools. Conclusions were drawn that this study divulged important trends which should be further investigated on a larger sample of teachers since the findings are significant for a system embarking on a school-based management model of governance.

The temporary help supply (THS) industry is an ideal prism through which to view the labor market. As one of the fastest growing industries in the United States it is an important phenomenon in its own right. As a labor market intermediary which weakens the attachment between employer and employee the industry is indicative of larger changes in the organization of labor relations. Finally, as an industry two thirds of whose employees are female, it captures some of the dynamics of the way in which gender operates in the labor market. The dissertation considers three aspects of the temporary help industry. First, the relationship between the temporary help industry and the increase in female labor force participation rates is considered. A common argument in the literature is that women with family responsibilities choose THS employment because of the flexibility it affords. Using Current Population Survey microdata tapes, this hypothesis is tested and rejected. Instead, I argue that the gender of the worker is a salient feature in the determination of occupational characteristics. This is in contrast to other political economy models which view the labor market as divided into good jobs and bad jobs, with workers then allocated according to their position in a social hierarchy. Second, if growth in the industry is not being driven by employee preferences, what is driving it? Explicitly incorporating conflict into the labor market, I argue that part of the markup, i.e. the difference between what the THS firm pays the worker and what it charges its client firms, is the cost of disciplining a worker who otherwise has little stake in the company's future and therefore might incur productivity problems for the client firm. Finally, I discuss the conditions under which reliance on a temporary help firm is a viable option for employers. Using annual data from County Business Patterns I demonstrate that neither cyclical nor secular variability in demand nor the growth of service employment fully explain the growth of THS employment. Rather, THS employment reflects structural change in the system of labor relations.

This dissertation examines the use of "Japanese management" in a cross section of American businesses from a labor market perspective. It presents an historical analysis of the development and transformation of American capitalism in order to establish the current business context. It introduces what Zucco, Tausky, and Sutton (1989) identify as the attributional approach to skill and argues that this approach aids in the perpetuation of the segmentation of labor in America. It presents the philosophy behind "Japanese management," an example of the use of "Japanese management" in an American organization, and questions concerning the adaptation and use of "Japanese management" in American business. It presents original research which surveyed the use of "Japanese management" in a number of American businesses. The research elaborates on the characteristics of the segmented labor market, on worker involvement in decision making and organizational change, and on worker alienation. It examines the effects of the segmentation of labor and the use of "Japanese management" on worker involvement in decision making and organizational change, on worker alienation, and on one another. It compares and contrasts organizations and workers in organizations which do and do not use "Japanese management." It identifies structural obstacles to decision making and organizational change and to the use of "Japanese management." Finally, it introduces and empirically grounds a new approach to skill, the task mastery approach, in the experiences of workers and suggests that the recognition and use of this approach can eliminate structural obstacles and lead to improvements in quality, productivity, and market share in American business.

Through quantitative and qualitative analyses this project argues that newspaper reportage and writing about the labor movement is an ideological act. The evidence in this only study of its kind suggests that a lack of "instructive imagery" is flat, lifeless journalism that leads to perceptions of a flat, lifeless social movement. The research features: (a) the correlation of public opinion with union membership and union election rates tracked over a 30-year period; (b) the linkage of selected metaphor in newswriting to an ideology about a controversial political and social realm; (c) the extension/expansion of implicit communication theory to print news, and, more specifically, to labor reporting; (d) the extension/expansion of language intensity propositions; and (e) an alternative view that "dead" metaphor is not the research topic of choice.

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<p> This quantitative study contributes to the limited research on day laborers and domestic workers by analyzing data gathered in 2014 and 2015 through structured interviews with 201 members of a worker-led day labor center and hiring hall in rural western Sonoma County, California. The data provide a point-in-time snapshot of the characteristics pertaining to a singular enclave of this marginalized and disenfranchised group.</p><p> The study&rsquo;s results were largely congruent with the findings of other national surveys: the vast majority of day laborers are male, foreign born, and earn less than $15,000 a year. This study revealed that length of center membership did not have a significant effect on English proficiency or earnings.</p><p> This quantitative evidence emphasizes the need to synthesize data pertaining to day laborers and domestic workers into larger studies, such as the Portrait of Sonoma County and the Sonoma County Farmworker Survey, as well as to include this population in workers&rsquo; compensation insurance benefits.</p>