Transnational production arrangements have been widely argued to lessen the organising capacities of industrial workers, none more so than in the case of women workers in ‘export’ or ‘world market’ factories in developing countries. This thesis contests this assertion by showing that women workers’ ability to form enterprise unions in the Philippine garments industry are enhanced by transnational production arrangements involving an overseas market. Specifically, the thesis demonstrates that, in order to meet the quality and delivery requirements of overseas buyers and contractors, local owners and/or production managers are forced to routinely keep more production in-house in order to exert more direct controls over the work processes of their women sewers. By thereby limiting the amount of local subcontracting which is done, women workers are agglomerated in larger numbers in the one place and, consequently, their capacities to engage in collective action – as indicated by the establishment of enterprise unions – is markedly increased. Empirically, the argument of the thesis draws on a ‘multiple-case’ study of sixty-five garment-making establishments located in and around Manila. The study involved interviews with owners, production managers and/or trade union officials about the local subcontracting practices of their establishments. The conclusions drawn about the links between export production and enhanced labour organising capacities at the enterprise level are corroborated by the ‘commodity chain’ literature on industrial deepening in the international garments industry and the status of the Philippine industry in this regard. But rather than think simply in terms of industrial deepening, this thesis is concerned with the impacts of exporting on class processes. Theoretically, the thesis thus draws on the Marxist view that capitalist development entails changes in the social form of labour, through the real subsumption of labour. But, whereas Marx linked the real subsumption of labour to greater capitalist controls over the labour process, in this thesis the real subsumption of labour is also tied to concomitant changes in the spatial form of the labour process. From this standpoint, the thesis engages with labour process theory after Braverman (accusing it of often failing to link capitalist control to class processes) and with theories of class (which often ignore the social and spatial form of the labour process). In tying organising capacities of women workers at the enterprise level to changes in social and spatial form of the labour process, it is nevertheless argued that these capacities are also shaped at the national level by the legal framework for legitimate organising and by ‘political space’ in which the law in fact operates. In this regard, it is argued that, whilst the state often passes laws to protect labour standards, it does not grant workers the means to ensure such standards are actually enforced. The thesis also challenges the view that the recruitment of women is a strategy which employers deliberately use in the Philippine garments industry to limit industrial conflict. Against this assertion of a rational economic basis to women’s employment, the thesis argues that women are employed for sewing jobs as a result of the sex-typing of such jobs; but that this is also more an effect than a cause as the feminisation of sewing in the modern garments industry is embedded in class processes in the nineteenth century in Europe and the United States. Gender is a dimension of labour control, but women workers in the garments industry are not employed to limit enterprise unionism.

[pt] O objetivo da dissertação é desenvolver um modelo de processo de planejamento apropriado para pequenas e médias empresas - PMEs -, apoiado nos conceitos do processo de planejamento adaptativo, levando-se em conta os aspectos da filosofia da qualidade total e da abordagem sócio-técnica. A partir de uma fundamentação teórica, é desenvolvida uma análise das relações entre a abordagem de planejamento adaptativo, o enfoque sócio-técnico e a qualidade total. Como complemento à fundamentação teórica foi desenvolvido um estudo de caso, em uma pequena e outra média empresa, visando identificar aspectos práticos relevantes para o modelo a ser proposto. O modelo proposto incorpora as características de adaptação, flexibilidade, simplicidade, continuidade, integração e coordenação, identificadas nas análises teórica e prática como essenciais para que sua aplicação atinja efetivamente os resultados desejados, possibilitanto a constante reavaliação das ações planejadas. / [en] This dissertation aims at developing a model for planning process, based on concepts of adaptative planning, which integrate elements of total quality philosophy and sociotechnical systems, appropriate for small and medium size companies. From a theorical basis, the relationship between these three approaches are analized. A case study, covering two companies of the sizes here considered, was conducted, in order to identify the relevant pratical aspects of na effective planning system at this level. The proposed model was developed with the following characteristics: flexibility, simplicity and continuity, with the objective of providing the organizations that may adopt it with the proprieties of adaptation, integration and coordination, here identified, both at theorical and applied levels, as necessary to ensure na effective planning process. / [es] EL objetivo de la disertación es desarrollar un modelo de proceso de planificación apropriado para pequeñas y medianas empresas - PMEs -, apoyado en los conceptos del proceso de planificación adaptativo, llevando en cuenta los aspectos de la filosofía de la calidad total y del enfoque socio-técnico. A partir de una fundamentación teórica, se desarrolla un análisis de las relaciones entre La abordagen de planificación adaptativo, el enfoque sócio-técnico y la calidad total. Como complemento a la fundamentación teórica fue desarrollado un estudio de casos, en una pequeña y una mediana empresa, com el objetivo de identificar aspectos prácticos relevantes para el modelo. EL modelo propuesto incorpora las características de adaptación, flexibilidad, simplicidad, continuidad, integración y coordenación. El análisis teórico y práctico identifica estas características como esenciales para que la aplicación del modelo alcance efectivamente los resultados deseados, permitiendo la constante reevaluación de las acciones planificadas.

No / A significant potential beneficial impact of foreign direct investment arises from a foreign affiliate's propensity to purchase inputs from suppliers in the host economy. This issue is of particular interest where the host is a developing country and the linkage is likely to contribute to the development of local suppliers. We compare variations in local input linkages across four countries: Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Viet Nam, all member countries of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN). Using multiple linear regressions, our findings indicate that the degree of local input linkages is highest when foreign affiliates perform a strategic role in the transnational corporation network and are embedded in the host economy. Non-firm factors are also important determinants, especially the industry of investing firms and the existence of a supply base. Building on the findings, a series of policies to enhance supplier-foreign affiliate linkages are proposed.

Purpose: The purpose of the study is to identify the challenges that small garments manufacturers in Pakistan face in an IOR with large retailers regarding power dominance. The paper also seeks to examine how those garment manufacturers can use the Boundary Control Systems as a strategic response to power dominance. Methodology: The study is Qualitative, Exploratory in nature. It adapts critical realism as its research philosophy while developing the study with an Abductive Approach. The data for this paper was collected through related literature, articles, and a series of semi-structured interviews. The collected Empirical Data was analyzed using Creswell's Six Steps method. Findings: The paper explores the challenges faced by the small garments manufacturers in an IOR with large retailers in the Garments Industry of Pakistan, which include the struggle to have fair pricing, dominant behavior of the retailer, over-controlling inspections of the production, unavailability of resources to manage the production scale, overly strict sanctions or price cut by the retailers, and misunderstandings created by cultural and lingual diversity. These challenges almost always start from the Negotiation stage of the collaboration leaving the small garments manufacturer little to no room for mitigating them. The most effective strategy that the small garments manufacturers can adopt while dealing with power dominance. It is to apply Boundary Systems as early as the Negotiation Stage to prevent the retailer from imposing opportunistic behavior. Involving Boundary Spanners can be useful to have better control over the challenges. Originality and Contribution: The paper attempts to explore the fairly under-studied area of power dominance between small garments manufacturers and large retailers working in the developing garments manufacturing-supplying industry in Pakistan and how Boundary Systems can be used in this dynamic. A significant lack of awareness and studies were identified while researching for this study. Hence this paper can be considered a new and fresh way to look at the issue that has been previously undermined. And a contribution to the literature and future researchers to further the studies in this area.