Within the field of International Political Economy (IPE), and across the social sciences more broadly, analysis of restructuring and guides to its management have tended to use the master concept of globalisation as 'common sense' knowledge about social change. As a result, a discourse surrounding restructuring has emerged which presents a cause-effect and uni-linear model. Thus, restructuring processes within statesocieties and firms are viewed as responses to the imperatives of global change. Building on insights from contemporary IPE approaches, which highlight the historical and institutional contingency of these processes, the central purpose of this thesis is to reconsider global change as contested within and across societies. This is pursued through a consideration of the restructuring of productive and working practices as they are negotiated and contested in the key social terrain of states and firms. The inquiry proceeds through three stages. First, the use of globalisation as a master concept for framing knowledge of social change generally, and of changes in working practices particularly, is outlined. Second, through a focus on the debates surrounding the restructuring of work in Britain and Germany, it is argued that interpretations and experiences of restructuring are socially rooted and, therefore, distinctive. It is demonstrated that state-societies do not simply absorb global imperatives; that firms, as social arenas, do not respond to intensified competition in an unproblematic way; and that social groups actively experience and participate in the restructuring of embedded practices. Finally, it is suggested that perceived technological or economic pressures to restructure working practices take on distinctive meanings for particular societies, raising specific conflicts, and reflecting discrete social understandings. From this perspective, globalisation and social restructuring cannot be meaningfully understood as a single, universal or convergent process. Rather, globalisation and restructuring take on distinctive meanings as they are understood and experienced within specific social contexts.

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.

<p>This master thesis has been carried out at Billerud AB in Skärblacka and Gruvön and at the Department of Science and Technology, University of Linköping. The purpose of this thesis work is to evaluate the new standardised IT system in comparison to the old systems in reference to create routines, models and working practices and to see how the daily work will be affected for the delivery coordinators.</p><p>Billerud is a packaging paper company with four production sites located in Gruvön, Karlsborg, Skärblacka and Beetham (United Kingdom). The company’s sales organisation is made up of sales offices around the world.</p><p>The thesis is based on the problem with differences in calculated and actual freight costs that have arisen over the years. Part of the study has therefore been aimed at reaching an understanding of why these differences occur.</p><p>Freight cost data has been gathered from Billerud Skärblacka and Billerud Gruvön for the years 2005 and 2006. From this data the author has seen for himself that a problem exists but also that there might be a way to change the trend.</p><p>The study then focused more on the current working practices and the forthcoming ones that will come with the implementation of the new IT system BonD. This system is meant to replace the IT systems of Billeruds four mills in 2007. The new IT system will shift focus to be more market oriented and hope is that working practices at the mills will be more unified.</p><p>The study of the new system has shown that alterations need to be made, and they need be made rather quickly. There are aspects that initially are lost from the old system that could prove troublesome in the future. One of these aspects that the author fears will lead to a worse situation is the decrease in importance of roll numbers; traceability can become an issue if nothing is done to ensure that the current traceability is maintained and improved.</p><p>A number of proposed measures for improving the working practices are stated in the recommendations. The main conclusion is that even though BonD will be an easier system to work with, largely depending on the user interface, there are factors and working practices that need to be changed in order facilitate the work of the delivery coordinators. With the difference in freight charges in mind, Billerud also needs to evaluate, review and revise the current freight charges allocated to their customers.</p>

This master thesis has been carried out at Billerud AB in Skärblacka and Gruvön and at the Department of Science and Technology, University of Linköping. The purpose of this thesis work is to evaluate the new standardised IT system in comparison to the old systems in reference to create routines, models and working practices and to see how the daily work will be affected for the delivery coordinators. Billerud is a packaging paper company with four production sites located in Gruvön, Karlsborg, Skärblacka and Beetham (United Kingdom). The company’s sales organisation is made up of sales offices around the world. The thesis is based on the problem with differences in calculated and actual freight costs that have arisen over the years. Part of the study has therefore been aimed at reaching an understanding of why these differences occur. Freight cost data has been gathered from Billerud Skärblacka and Billerud Gruvön for the years 2005 and 2006. From this data the author has seen for himself that a problem exists but also that there might be a way to change the trend. The study then focused more on the current working practices and the forthcoming ones that will come with the implementation of the new IT system BonD. This system is meant to replace the IT systems of Billeruds four mills in 2007. The new IT system will shift focus to be more market oriented and hope is that working practices at the mills will be more unified. The study of the new system has shown that alterations need to be made, and they need be made rather quickly. There are aspects that initially are lost from the old system that could prove troublesome in the future. One of these aspects that the author fears will lead to a worse situation is the decrease in importance of roll numbers; traceability can become an issue if nothing is done to ensure that the current traceability is maintained and improved. A number of proposed measures for improving the working practices are stated in the recommendations. The main conclusion is that even though BonD will be an easier system to work with, largely depending on the user interface, there are factors and working practices that need to be changed in order facilitate the work of the delivery coordinators. With the difference in freight charges in mind, Billerud also needs to evaluate, review and revise the current freight charges allocated to their customers.

No / The NHS needs to make real term cost savings whilst maintaining and, where possible, enhancing the quality of essential services. The performance of maternity services is seen as a touchstone of whether the NHS is delivering quality health services in general. Recent events in relation to increased infant and maternal mortalities demonstrate the necessity of the benefits of continued improved patient safety. The pressing issues which maternity services face are financial, quality and safety.

This exploratory study examined the perceptions and realities of work life balance among medical doctors in Nigerian Public Hospitals. The study aimed to investigate the coping strategies adopted by medical doctors to manage work life balance and finally to examine the gender differences in the lived experiences of male and female medical doctors in Nigeria. The literature revealed that conceptualising work life balance models or employee flexibility in an African work setting is problematic when juxtaposed with primordial African cultural values where work and life are an indissoluble existential unit. The transition from an agrarian economy to new capitalist workplaces in many African countries is still relatively new. This study fills the gap by unveiling the implications this narrative has for understanding contemporary WLB. Forty-one semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted for this study. It involved male and female doctors from public hospitals across three geopolitical zones of Nigeria. The sample of doctors interviewed were specifically resident doctors with a wide range of specialties. Thematic method of data analysis was adopted to provide major themes which were used to discuss the findings of the research investigations. The findings reveal that work in the Nigerian medical sector is notoriously intense as it underscores challenges of long working hours, intense work demand and staff shortage. The findings further suggest women must tread a ‘delicate balance’ between subordination to male authority, domestic responsibilities and ambition/achievement in a professional career. This study makes two key contributions to knowledge. Firstly, the study contributes to existing literature on work-life balance in the Nigerian context, elaborating the situation with work-life balance initiatives and how medical doctors in Nigeria manage to cope with the shortcomings of the organisations. Secondly, the findings fostered a useful extension of the work-family border theory. The border theory explains how individuals navigate between life domains and boundary management. However, the theory has provided little information on the factors that affect how employees manage and negotiate between the domains. This led to the development of the work spiritual life balance model.

The diploma thesis is focused on so called new risks, which currently include the risks associated with various nanomaterials - their production, introduction into practice and use. The paper summarizes the up-to-date knowledge about the characteristics of nanoparticles used and it proposes a procedure to estimate potential consequences of their exposure. The experimental part of the paper is represented by a case study, which introduces the practical application of the proposed procedure aiming at estimated exposure to nanoparticles on the workplace where metal working is executed and resulting occupational risks. The aim of this part of the study was to measure selected parameters of aerosols using a special measuring system working on the principle of laser photometry combined with diffusion charger and detector using Faraday cage. The object of the measurements was to determine the numerical concentration of nanoparticles present in working environment and the representation of size groups of submicron particles. The measurement procedure was designed in accordance with ČSN EN 689, ČSN EN ISO 16000-1 and ČSN ISO 8756 standards and data gained were subsequently interpreted. Afterwards the results were used to design the measures to reduce the risk of health damage when facing chronic inhalation...