No / This article reports on the union recognition dispute that took place at the MacDonald's food-processing plant in Moscow. It examines this dispute in the context of McDonald's employment practices worldwide, the interventions made by international and local unions, and Russian government bodies. Despite these interventions it became impossible to either organise the workforce or establish a collective agreement. The case illustrates the difficulties facing both local unions and global union federations when confronted by intransigent multinational companies, especially in low-skilled sectors in transitional economies.

No / This article analyses the establishment and subsequent meetings of the McDonald's European Works Council and raises a number of questions. Who is an `employee representative' for the purposes of the EU Directive? How are such representatives elected in practice and what roles do existing national sub-structures play? Can employee representatives adequately coordinate their roles in the absence of significant unionisation? The experience of the McDonald's EWC suggests that where workforces have low levels of unionisation and employers are opposed in principle to the prescribed arrangements, a non-union firm can frustrate even the limited aims of the Directive. Furthermore, legally underpinned national-level sub-structures, which are often assumed to make such European-level bodies accountable, may fail to do so in practice.

The thesis explores the formation and development of agricultural production co-operativesin the context of market socialist transition. It examines how changes in the organisation ofproduction and reproduction affected gender relations. At the same time, it explores the waysin which the prevailing relationships between men and women provided incentives andcreated patterns for economic development. State socialist emancipatory rhetoric aimed atdeveloping a 'humanised' society. Humanisation was to come about through participation insocialist wage labour, while the functions of the family household were to shrink and giveway to the all-pervasive expansion of the state. These two principles were common in thestate socialist projects of agricultural collectivisation and of women's emancipation. However, the proletarianisation of the peasantry could not be accomplished due to the stubbornresistance of the peasantry. They kept alive the institution of household-based production.,Meanwhile, the state placed dual demands on women's creative forces: they were to reachparity with men in the labour force while, at the same time, they were also to nurture thecoming generations. The economy's demands for more workers mobilised the female labourreserves, but women's integration presupposed a reduction of women's reproductive responsibilities. However, rather than balancing out the burdens between men and women, reproductive rights were constructed as women's rights. Consequently, women were integrated as a 'deviant' labour force. The evolving gender segregation of labour in the collective and household sphere was explained by the changing constructions of 'masculinities' and 'femininities'. The evolving economic differentiation served as the basis for the materialisation of gender relations yet could not by itself determine the gender specific outcome of the changes in economic cycles.

Im Herbst 2010 fanden sich an der UB Leipzig zunächst vier Mitarbeiterinnen des gehobenen Dienstes und ein Fachreferent spontan im gemeinsamen Gefühl zusammen, dass die Kommunikation im gesamten Bibliothekssystem verbessert werden muss und die MitarbeiterInnen bei der Zukunftsplanung der Bibliothek mehr integriert werden sollten. Auslöser dieses Prozesses waren Signale, die in zunehmendem Maße aus der Mitarbeiterschaft an uns herangetragen wurden und mit denen auch wir in unserem beruflichen Alltag konfrontiert waren. Die verstärkte Wandlung des bibliothekarischen Alltags, Unsicherheit und Fragen zur Perspektive des Berufsbildes, Zentralisierungstendenzen, Auslagerung traditionell bibliothekarischer Tätigkeiten, stetig abnehmende Erwerbungsmittel – es handelte sich um ein breit gefächertes Spektrum an Fragen, Sorgen und Nöten, welche die MitarbeiterInnen an der UB stark bewegen und auf die nicht in ausreichendem Maße geantwortet wurde oder werden konnte. Verstärkt wurde diese Problematik durch die historisch gewachsene Tatsache, dass die UB Leipzig aus einem System von etwa zwei Dutzend Teilbibliotheken besteht, was den Kommunikationsfluss erschwert. Es wurde uns sehr schnell deutlich, dass es Defizite bei der Vermittlung von Informationen gibt. Diese zu beheben hatten wir uns zum Ziel gesetzt.

The thesis describes and analyses a long-term transformative change program conducted at ICI (Australia) Botany Site between the years 1987 - 1997. The change program is unusual in that, after a massive and destructive confrontation between management and the unions, a new collaborative approach to change was developed which led to significant organisational renewal. Change interventions developed in the program have diffused through Australian industry over the decade. The program is analysed within the framework of a theoretical model which describes a path taken towards achieving a capable organisation which can sustain productive performance. The thesis uses evidence from the case to investigate issues of management style, governance, flexibility, 'bundled interventions', productivity, work organisation, downsizing, reward systems, skills acquisition and self-managed teams. A theoretical model of organisational change is developed which suggests how the treatment of these contingencies can lead to organisational capability.

<p>Social work is a social phenomenon, existing in most societies, that has given rise to a multitude of special organizations and professions. For that reason social work is dealing with a complex identity. The purpose of this study is to illustrate how social workers and the scientific discourse interpret the concept of social work. In addition to that the study intends to show similarities and differencies. The research process containes two studies, one based on qualitative interviews with five social workers and the other consisting a surway of academic litterature. To enable a comparison of the results the studies start out of some, deliberatly choosen, themes. These are “definitions of social work”, “socialworkers”, “society, law and organization” and “ethics”.</p><p>In summary, the results, reviled a surprising unity in the interpretations of social work. Social workers, as well as the scientific discourse, manifest social work as a profession that promotes social change and problem solving in human relationships. The differencies concern social work beeing interpret normative by the social workers and more descriptive by the scientific discourse.</p>

This dissertation aims to contribute to the discourse on the future of manufacturing in Sweden. It is argued that the real threat does not come from lower wages in Eastern Europe and Asia. Rather it comes from an inability to make the most of existing manufacturing systems. The joint contribution of the underlying studies that this dissertation is based on provides compelling support for corroborating this line of thought. More important, however, is that in addition to showing that there is room for improvement, a lot of input is provided on how to act creatively for enhanced performance. The discussion on how to act mainly focuses on three research issues. First, enhancing continuous improvement capability. The continuous improvement abilities considered most important for Swedish manufacturers to develop are pointed out. That is, the ability to adopt a systematic and strategic approach to continuous improvements, the ability to lead the way towards continuous improvements, and finally the ability to involve customers and suppliers in continuous improvements. Furthermore, the likely positive performance impact of accomplishing this is clarified. Second, adopting the principles of lean manufacturing. Rather than reinforcing Taylorism, it is shown that lean manufacturing seems to contribute to the creation of sustainable work systems in Sweden. However, a broad process of change awaits the many companies that might aspire to transform their operations in this direction. In order to reap the full potential of this strategy, the work organisation, as well as management accounting and remuneration systems, must change, not only manufacturing processes. Third and finally, making more effective outsourcing decisions. It is shown that any positive effects of outsourcing manufacturing are more likely to be realized if concurrent initiatives are taken to develop the capability of the manufacturing function. The analysis also indicates a potential for taking a more strategic approach to outsourcing, i.e., outsourcing in order to increase focus on core manufacturing activities and take advantage of the supplier’s higher innovation capability. Moreover, a potential for selecting suppliers more appropriately is also indicated, such as by trying to achieve greater economies of scale. The chosen methodological approach has been to combine two large-scale surveys of representative samples of Swedish engineering industry companies with two multiple case studies. The surveys measured continuous improvement behaviours, lean manufacturing and outsourcing, and provides descriptive statistics as well as tests of theoretical assumptions. The case studies provide a deeper understanding of researched issues. One was designed to illustrate how the Balanced Scorecard may enhance the continuous improvement capability level, and the other, to hearing some voices of the empirical field. / QC 20100525

Social work is a social phenomenon, existing in most societies, that has given rise to a multitude of special organizations and professions. For that reason social work is dealing with a complex identity. The purpose of this study is to illustrate how social workers and the scientific discourse interpret the concept of social work. In addition to that the study intends to show similarities and differencies. The research process containes two studies, one based on qualitative interviews with five social workers and the other consisting a surway of academic litterature. To enable a comparison of the results the studies start out of some, deliberatly choosen, themes. These are “definitions of social work”, “socialworkers”, “society, law and organization” and “ethics”. In summary, the results, reviled a surprising unity in the interpretations of social work. Social workers, as well as the scientific discourse, manifest social work as a profession that promotes social change and problem solving in human relationships. The differencies concern social work beeing interpret normative by the social workers and more descriptive by the scientific discourse.

À partir des années 1990 la reconnaissance est de plus en plus souvent un mot d’ordre des mobilisations de groupes professionnels. Aujourd’hui, les sociologues du travail s’approprient de nouveau cette notion aux origines ambivalentes, après les travaux de R. Sainsaulieu et de P. Bernoux de la fin des années 1980. Les entretiens menés auprès de salariés en France montrent que les attentes de reconnaissance se déploient en quatre registres, l’activité, les relations, la récompense et la personne. Le découpage de l’activité et l’intensification du travail empêchent l’exercice de soi et le sentiment d’utilité dans l’activité, dans un contexte où la crainte de la précarité confine le plus souvent les plaintes au niveau individuel. Une comparaison entre des ingénieurs en France et en Finlande fait ressortir la mesure du temps de travail comme condition de la reconnaissance de la contribution et de la vie hors travail. Les analyses menées sur l’Enquête européenne sur les conditions de travail 2010 confirment la structure des attentes de reconnaissance pour les salariés du secteur privé en France bien que celle-ci varie dans le reste de l’Europe. Enfin, un modèle de médiation- modération souligne le rôle déterminant de la reconnaissance dans la construction de la santé au travail, notamment lorsqu’une plus grande implication est attendue des salariés. / Since the 1990’s, recognition has taken on greater importance as a watchword for mobilization by occupatio- nal groups. Nowadays, Labour sociologists have again appropriated this notion that has ambivalent origins, after R. Sainsaulieu and P. Bernoux’s works from the late 1980’s. Interviews carried out with employees from different firms in France show that recognition expectations open out into four categories, activity, relation- ships, reward and the person. The cutting up of activity and work intensification prevent the deployment of self-hood as well as the feeling of usefulness in a context where the lack of job security tends to limit complaints to the individual level. A comparison between engineers in France and in Finland emphasize working time measurement as a necessary condition for one’s contribution as well as time off work to be recognised. Factor analysis using the data of the European Working Conditions Survey 2010 confirm the structure of recognition expectations for French employees from the private sector, whereas it differs in the other European countries. Finally, the elaboration of a mediation-moderation model provides results that underline the key role of recognition in the building of health at work, notably when a greater involvement is expected from employees.

The thesis is about what the buildings at manor estates, vicarages and farms looked like and how they changed during the agrarian revolution of the 18th and 19th centuries. Through new clearings, mechanisation, land partition, and increased work distribution and specialisation, production increased vigorously during the period, which generally caused an increase in prosperity and lay the foundation for the subsequent industrial revolution. The aim was to study how houses and outbuildings were affected by changes in agriculture, household composition and work organisation, an area which to date has been relatively unexplored. The study, which was based on conditions in Lagunda, a flat-country town in central Sweden, shows that there has been both change and continuity in building developments. The buildings became increasingly larger as arable land acreage and livestock numbers increased, and they were also gradually rendered more efficient to facilitate production. The increase in profit led in turn to an increase in the standard of living and both houses and outbuildings were increasingly lavishly built. However the increasingly larger and better buildings were not only a product of improved economy but also a response to the increasing need for manifestation felt by the manor owners, clergymen and farmers whereby they could clearly mark their positions in relation to each other and to a growing class of non-propertied people. The boundaries between family and employee, as well as between ‘clean’ and ‘dirty’ functions, were all the more clearly demarcated, both indoors and outdoors. Even if the changes were considerable on the whole, there was a clear line of continuity. Household reproduction was the primary aim and providing for the family could not be jeopardised, which explains why most changes took place in small steps at a time.