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Analysis of the effect of using labour from brokers on operational costs, efficiencies and employee morale : a case study.Manilall, Priya. January 2006 (has links)
Low cost and high efficiencies are probably the most common of strategies used in large businesses
today. This requires, however, optimum levels of commitment and performance from the
employees coupled with an excellent taste for change. The transition from the use of Mondi
employees to labour broker employees is a change process that impacts on a company's most
valuable asset - their employees. It is with this in mind that the researcher conducted a case study
aimed at identifying the impact of using labour broker employees in the waste handling operations
on the morale of the affected employees. The researcher found it essential to evaluate the impact of
this change on operational costs and efficiencies of the section.
The three research questions that were outlined to meet the above aims were:
(1) Does the use of labour broker employees in the waste paper handling part of the recycling
operations impact positively or negatively on the morale of the Mondi waste paper handling
operators?
(2) Does the use of labour broker employees in the waste paper handling part of the recycling
operations reduce the operational costs in that section?
(3) Does the use of labour broker employees in the waste paper handling part of the recycling
operations decrease or increase the operational efficiencies in that section?
The initiative to use labour broker employees in the waste paper handling operations was not set up
as an experiment. It was already in motion and the researcher opted to study it. Direct observation
and unstructured interviews were used to answer research question (1). It was found that the
change had completely demotivated the Mondi waste handling operators. Their morale levels
dropped to particularly low levels as they felt disliked, not part of a team and unappreciated for their
efforts and past service. The impacts of this low morale were hidden due to the plant being under
utilised against its design capacity. They also had a prevailing sense of insecurity and uncertainty
regarding their jobs, which made them uneasy. Factors associated with operational costs and
efficiency was measured before (2004) and after the initiative (2005) to establish the impact of
using labour broker employees on them. Direct observations and a quantitative analysis of data
from the company's finance and technical departments were used to answer research questions (2)
and (3). It was noted that there was a decrease in the operational costs due to the lower rate of pay
of the labour broker employees and them doing overtime. The use of labour broker employees
resulted in no significant improvement on the operational efficiencies. / Thesis (MBA)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, 2006.
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The political economy of everyday precarity : segmentation, fragmentation and transnational migrant labour in Californian agricultureMieres, Fabiola January 2014 (has links)
This thesis examines the qualitative transformation taking place within the processes of transnationalisation of labour markets that drive a substantive increase in the segmentation and fragmentation of migrant labour. The thesis argues that by either focusing on the agential elements or strictly structural constraints, conventional perspectives on the role of intermediaries in processes of international migration lack a comprehensive transnational theorisation of labour markets. A focus on the transnationalisation of labour markets through the role of cross-border farm labour contractors aims to address these limitations by analysing the complex nature of processes of transnationalisation in the provision of migrant labour in Californian agriculture. A transnational labour market approach is developed to show how three regimes of segmentation-fragmentation operate at the Federal (nation-state) and state (regional) levels and also at a local level through the actions of farm labour contractors in the organisation of movement and workplace practices along formal and informal lines. The core argument of this thesis is that the tensions between fragmentation and segmentation within the process of transnationalisation of labour markets between Mexico and the United States conflate in everyday precarity for migrant workers. Everyday precarity involves not only the conditions under which migrant workers perform their activities in the workplace, but also extends beyond to include aspects of their everyday lives in a transnational fashion. Farm labour contractors play an important role in organising and coordinating flexibility in fragmented agricultural labour markets. Through their position at the heart of the tensions of the interplay between the three regimes, farm labour contractors gain power over the labour process, thereby contributing to further fragmentation. This power is linked to the migration and protection policies established by nation-states at the first regime of segmentation-fragmentation, and is also shaped by the regional (Californian) labour legislation at the second regime of segmentation-fragmentation. The thesis concludes that a transnational theorisation of labour markets, which places intermediaries such as farm labour contractors within the tensions of processes of transnationalisation that account for not only segmentation but also fragmentation, is required to fully understand everyday precarity beyond national boundaries. Therefore, farm labour contractors are key channels of transnationalisation by contributing to further fragmentation at the local level in already highly segmented labour markets.
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