Yes / This paper investigates the relationship between workplace flexibility practices (WFPs) and corporate performance using data from the British Workplace Employment Relations Survey 2004. Disaggregating WFPs into numerical, functional and cost aspects enables the analysis of their relationships to an objective measure of corporate performance, namely workplace financial turnover. Furthermore separate analyses are presented for different types of workplace: differentiated by workforce size; ownership; age; wage level; and unionization. Results show that different types of workplaces need to pay attention to the mix of WFPs they adopt. We find that certain cost WFPs (profit-related pay, merit pay and payment-by-results) have strong positive relationships with corporate performance. However, training delivers mixed corporate performance results, while the extent of job autonomy and the proportion of part-time employees in a workplace have an inverse association with corporate performance. Given the limited existing research examining disaggregated measures of WFPs and objectively measured corporate performance, this paper offers useful insights for firms, policy makers and the overall economy.

The article focuses on emotional labour and self-identity at the Irish-owned Aer Lingus airline from 1998 to 2008. It has been suggested that emotional labour is likely to be an increasingly important feature of frontline service jobs. However, in this case management has reduced the level of emotional labour requirement while work organization, recruitment policy and training have changed to focus on sales and lower labour costs, intensifying workloads and reducing cabin crew autonomy. Although some may suggest that a reduction in emotional labour requirement would be a positive outcome for employees, this is not how it has been perceived by some cabin crew. Long-serving cabin crew in particular see these changes as an attack on their professionalism and a challenge to their identity as skilled emotion workers.

The article examines how and why a new independent trade union was established in McDonald’s Japan in 2006. We discuss these developments both within the McDonald’s ‘system’ and the broader context of the growth of community unions in the Japanese employment system. The findings suggest that the ‘McUnion’ could be seen as a new form of trade union organizing in Japan; unlike an enterprise union it is independent of the employer and recruits ‘non-regular’ workers, yet unlike most community unions is established in one large employer, on a national rather than regional basis, has largely retained its membership and was established and operates with the direct involvement of the main Japanese Trade Union Confederation, Rengo.

Yes / Irrespective of the fundamental role of legitimacy in industrial relations as well as social and organisational life, little is known of the subtle meaning-making strategies through which organisational concepts, such as employment relations and engagement, are legitimised in modern world of work, particularly in developing countries such as Nigeria, which results in managerial capture. As a result, this paper explores the discursive legitimisation strategies used when making sense of employment relations in Nigeria’s conflictual, non-participatory employment relations terrain. Relying on Leeuwen’s (1995) legitimisation strategies, critical discourse analysis (CDA) and call by Bailey, Luck & Townsend (2009) and Legge (1995) to widen employment relations discourse, we explore interview, focus group and shadow report data, and distinguish and analyse five legitimisation strategies. The strategies include authorisation, moralisation, mythopoesis, rationalisation, and management. Therefore, we contend that while these specific legitimisation strategies appear in separate data source, their recurrent manifestation and application underscores legitimising discourse of managerial capture in Nigeria’s employment relations.

The Paternalistic employment relations practice was in existence in most areas now known as Nigeria before the advent of the British colonialists (Ubeku, 1993).The British colonialists replaced the Nigerian Paternalistic employment relations system with their Voluntarist employment relations system. This was done without any considerations for the differences in the socio-cultural realties of Britain and Nigeria and the differences in the socio-cultural realities of the various ethnic groups that were merged to become Nigeria. This thesis however demonstrates the importance of socio-cultural factors in the transfer. The Nigerian Paternalistic employment relations practice was based on the predominantly agricultural economy, culture and traditions which formed the basis for systems of work and reward while the British Voluntarist employment relations practice was developed based on the prevailing social, political and economic philosophy at the period of industrial revolution of the 18th and early 19th centuries in Britain. This was that of lasisez-faire, with respect for individual liberty based on the Benthamite utilitarian principle (Yesufu, 1982:31; Florence, 1957:184). As there are very few studies (if any) on comparative employment relations practice between the developed countries of the world and the developing African countries; this study relying on secondary sources of data collection and the case study methodology identified a close relationship between culture and employment relations practice in particular and management practices in general. The study concludes that it is very problematic if not impossible to device a template of employment relations practice and other management practices in one cultural area and transfer to another cultural area or areas.

In North America, deepening economic integration under free trade has led to the formation of several cross-border regions between Canada and the United States and such regions have become a significant focus for public policy research in Canada. A key question is whether, as a result of increased economic integration, there are tendencies towards policy and institutional convergence within cross-border regions; especially in areas viewed as critical in determining competitive economic advantage. One such area is employment relations. However, relatively little research has focused on how, or even if, employment relations are changing within cross-border regions. Previous studies comparing differences and similarities in employment relations between Canada and the United States have tended to focus on one of three scales: the nation, the firm, or the individual workplace. Here, the focus is on employment relations within a cross-border region. Such regions often share similar economic and social characteristics. Thus, we might expect that if cross-national employment relations are becoming more similar due to deepening economic integration this would manifest most clearly at this scale. The empirical focus is the forest products industry in the cross-border region of Cascadia, comprised of British Columbia, Washington state, and Oregon. Employment relations are compared across three components of the forest products industry: pulp and paper, solid wood processing, and logging. Data are organized around case studies of each component and focus on employment, wages, and productivity; the restructuring of firms and ownership; the labour movement; work practices, training, and the reproduction of the labour force. The dissertation concludes that employment relations in the pulp and paper and logging industries in Cascadia are becoming more similar cross-nationally, while those in solid wood processing are increasingly differentiated cross-nationally. Moreover, it concludes that employment relations in British Columbia’s solid wood processing and pulp and paper industry are becoming more similar, while employment relations in the PNW solid wood processing and pulp and paper industries are increasingly differentiated. The dissertation contributes to broader debates in economic geography by examining the tensions between national and sub-national political economic actors contribute to the production of scale and territory. / Thesis (Ph.D, Geography) -- Queen's University, 2010-05-28 11:48:30.745

Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T14:13:57Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 HenioFM.pdf: 256943 bytes, checksum: a24e105096f52a86fae871daa49637e1 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2005-04-15 / Brazilian Law n? 9.615 of 24 March, 1998 established new paradigms in the employment relations existent between the soccer athlete and the sport association, both of whom are accustomed to the former legislation. They do not seem to have organized themselves in the sense of understanding the practical effects of the legal precepts currently in force, raising doubts that hinder the professional practice of the former and the performance of the latter in relation to managing these human resources. The purpose of this study is to analyze the degree of knowledge displayed by the professional soccer athlete about the legal recourses at his disposal in relation to the employment relations established in his work contract, as well as investigating the stress habits and stress situations that he most often experiences. This descriptive study consisted of a sample of 105 players under contract with clubs participating in the final phase of the state soccer championship. A questionnaire was used as the data collection instrument, whose analysis allows us to verify the lack of knowledge, on the part of the subjects studied, about the laws that regulate their profession, as well as identifying the stress habits and stress situations that are most reflected in their lifestyle. The lack of knowedge of regulate norms of their profession influences, in a negative way, in the lifestyle of soccer professional athlete from Rio Grande do Norte, Brasil / A Lei n? 9.615, de 24 de mar?o de 1998, com suas altera??es, estabeleceu novos paradigmas nas rela??es de trabalho existentes entre o atleta de futebol e a associa??o de pr?tica desportiva, os quais, acomodados que estavam com a legisla??o de outrora, parecem n?o ter se organizado no sentido de melhor conhecer os efeitos pr?ticos gerados a partir da vig?ncia dos referidos ditames legais, acarretando d?vidas que dificultam o exerc?cio profissional do primeiro, bem como a atua??o do segundo com rela??o ? administra??o desses recursos humanos. O presente estudo tem como objetivo analisar o n?vel de conhecimento do atleta profissional de futebol, acerca dos dispositivos legais que disp?em sobre as rela??es trabalhistas pactuadas no seu contrato de trabalho, como tamb?m investigar os h?bitos e situa??es de stress que lhe s?o mais vivenciadas. Trata-se de pesquisa de natureza descritiva, na qual utilizou-se uma amostra de 105 jogadores com contratos firmados com os clubes que participaram da fase final do campeonato potiguar de futebol. Utilizou-se o question?rio como instrumento de coleta de dados, cuja an?lise permitiu concluir pela falta, por parte do sujeito estudado, do conhecimento devido acerca dos preceitos legais que regulam suas rela??es trabalhistas, ao mesmo tempo em que identificou os h?bitos e situa??es de stress que mais se refletem no seu estilo de vida. Assim, restou claro que o desconhecimento das normas reguladoras de sua profiss?o influi, de forma negativa, no estilo de vida do atleta profissional de futebol do Rio Grande do Norte

This dissertation provides a journey into the world of beliefs and values of Saudi Arabia’s organisations, people and society at large, and how these influence and shape HRM practices and the employment relationship in the country. Designed as a single country case study, the dissertation uses a multi-case research design where two large companies operating in Saudi Arabia (an indigenous and a foreign multinational corporation) are explored and compared through methodological triangulation in data collection methods (interviews, surveys and focus group). The main findings identify that institutional pressures (regulatory and normative) are strong catalysts facilitating the impact of Islamic teachings on the workplace in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The regulative forces represent the organisations’ rules, regulatory constraints (forced by regulatory bodies) and penalties for violations. They are a result of the KSA’s legal system and its political culture. The normative forces identify values and social behavioural norms which define how things should be done within the organisation. They are a result of the wider Saudi culture. Apart from its contribution to knowledge of the HRM practices of Saudi Arabia at micro- and meta- level, the dissertation also provides an analysis at two additional levels. it contributes firstly to the growing knowledge on the influence of Islamic beliefs in the workplace, and secondly, to the enlargement of theory on the subject of religion and its impact in the workplace. Moreover, the dissertation makes a contribution to the literature on HRM practices and approaches in Saudi Arabia. This extends to other countries of the Arab Gulf, holding strong potential to become a source of knowledge and reference for foreign organisations which operate and wish to operate in that region.

This thesis examines elements of continuity and change in systems of pay determination in UK local government, with a specific focus on the period of austerity since 2010. Spending cuts present significant challenges for collective bargaining through the National Joint Council (NJC), which also serves as a ‘critical case’ to test our understanding of contemporary collective bargaining and industrial relations. The research draws on 56 interviews with a total of 62 key actors from the employers’ representative organisations and trade unions at both national and local level, and eight local authority case studies. The interview data are complemented by a range of secondary qualitative and quantitative data sources. It seeks to understand the changing power relationships between employers and unions as they attempt to navigate increasingly turbulent waters, and the pragmatic trade-offs both sides are willing make over pay, terms and conditions, and working practices in pursuit of longer-term strategic goals. These issues are addressed through three levels of analysis. Firstly, building on a rich tradition of industrial relations research, the thesis shows how the national employers have repositioned the sector level collective agreement as a means to deliver cost control rather than ‘fair wages’, which the unions have so far tolerated in preference to a complete dissolution of national bargaining. Second, drawing on contingency models of pay and HRM, case study data are used to explore the mixture of managerialism and political opportunism which characterises the development and implementation of pay and reward strategies at the level of the organisation. The findings identify the continued importance of transparent job evaluation processes in determining wage structures, but also show how pay practices act as a means to signal desired behaviours from employees, and are used to reinforce local level political narratives. Finally, through a critical re-appraisal of New Public Management (NPM) reforms in local government since the 1980s, further case study data reveal the way in which employers have reorganised staffing structures to match reduced budgets, but it appears that increased levels of work intensity for a significantly depleted workforce are beginning to impact on service standards. The findings also suggest that the on-going process of restructuring serves as a means to increase managerial control of ‘the labour process’ through the efforts to standardise working practices and break down embedded departmental and professional identities. Taken together, the evidence suggests that although the formal institutions of employment relations have proved to be remarkably resilient, collective bargaining as a dynamic mode of joint regulation built on the notion of partnership has steadily been crowded out from both above and below. The meaningful content of negotiations has been squeezed by the tight financial constraints applied by central government, and in the vacuum created by stalled sector level negotiations local level pay and HRM strategies are becoming increasingly important to explain the level and distribution of wages. Perhaps as important as negotiations over pay are negotiations over working practices which fall outside the formal regulatory scope of the collective agreement, and change expectations about working time, task discretion, and job boundaries. A degree of drift across these three dimensions has resulted in an increasingly fluid adjustment of the wage-effort bargain over which the unions have a declining sphere of influence.

The Paternalistic employment relations practice was in existence in most areas now known as Nigeria before the advent of the British colonialists (Ubeku, 1993).The British colonialists replaced the Nigerian Paternalistic employment relations system with their Voluntarist employment relations system. This was done without any considerations for the differences in the socio-cultural realties of Britain and Nigeria and the differences in the socio-cultural realities of the various ethnic groups that were merged to become Nigeria. This thesis however demonstrates the importance of socio-cultural factors in the transfer. The Nigerian Paternalistic employment relations practice was based on the predominantly agricultural economy, culture and traditions which formed the basis for systems of work and reward while the British Voluntarist employment relations practice was developed based on the prevailing social, political and economic philosophy at the period of industrial revolution of the 18th and early 19th centuries in Britain. This was that of lasisez-faire, with respect for individual liberty based on the Benthamite utilitarian principle (Yesufu, 1982:31; Florence, 1957:184). As there are very few studies (if any) on comparative employment relations practice between the developed countries of the world and the developing African countries; this study relying on secondary sources of data collection and the case study methodology identified a close relationship between culture and employment relations practice in particular and management practices in general. The study concludes that it is very problematic if not impossible to device a template of employment relations practice and other management practices in one cultural area and transfer to another cultural area or areas.