Is Germany a model for managers?

Most American managers have a hard time making sense of Germany. The country has a fraction of the resources and less than one-third the population of the United States. Labor costs are substantially higher, paid vacations are at least three times as long, and strong unions are deeply involved at all levels of business, from the local plant to the corporate boardroom. Yet German companies manage to produce internationally competitive products in key manufacturing sectors, making Germany the greatest competitive threat to the United States after Japan. The seemingly paradoxical nature of the German economy typically evokes one of two diametrically opposed responses. The first is to celebrate the German economy as a "model" worth emulating--indeed, as the answer to declining U.S. competitiveness. The alternative, more skeptical response is to question Germany's staying power in a new, more competitive global economy. According to Kirsten Wever and Christopher Allen, the problem with both points of view is that they miss the forest for the trees. Observers are so preoccupied with praising--or blaming--individual components of the German economy that they fail to see the dynamic logic that ties these components together into a coherent system. In their review of recent research on the German business system, Wever and Allen argue that managers can learn an important lesson from Germany. In the global economy, competition isn't just between companies but between entire socioeconomic systems. Germany's ability to design a cohesive economic and social system that adapts continuously to changing requirements goes a long way toward explaining that country's competitive success.     

Human resource management and organizational strategies in German- and US-owned companies

The development of the international economy over the past twenty years has bred considerable diversity in the form and substance of employment relations (labour-management relations, human resource management practices) throughout the world. Cases of ‘social partnership’ are today found in the ‘free market’ United States economy; some companies operating in Germany's ‘social’ market economy are rejecting traditional forms of social partnership in the name of more unilateral strategies.

This paper examines (a) the extent to which ‘strategic diversity’ – variation in human resource strategies and policies – is possible within the heavily institutionalized, co-operative and codeterminative German economy, and (b) how managers perceive the effects of different kinds of HR approaches on organizational change and industrial adjustment. It is based on empirical evidence drawn from seven large chemicals companies operating in Germany – three of them US-owned firms and four German-owned.

The main conclusions are that considerable strategic diversity is possible within the German context, and that managers perceive distinct costs and benefits to specific aspects of the typically American ‘unilateral’ style and the more German ‘negotiated’ approach to structuring the relationship with human resources. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications of these trade-offs for the transferability of HR strategies across international borders, giving special attention to policies to avoid some of these potential costs.     

Sustainable consumption in Vietnam: an explorative study among the urban middle class

The middle class of Vietnam is growing and so is their consumption, especially in urban areas. This is due to the effects of rapid economic growth, industrialization and increasing wealth in combination with a young, growing population. This paper aims to understand current consumption patterns and consumption categories that can provide a start for sustainable lifestyles among the Vietnamese middle class. Data was collected in the capital Hanoi, in the north of Vietnam. The current level of awareness, knowledge and attitude was explored on five specific consumption topics: energy, transport, water, waste, and food. A combination of quantitative and qualitative data was collected: 5 focus groups, 5 in‐depth interviews and a survey among 158 Vietnamese urban middle class consumers. The results are discussed according to the MOA model that explains behaviour as a function of three components: Motivation, Opportunity and Ability. The research concludes that awareness and knowledge of the urban middle class in Vietnam on sustainable consumption is generally low. However, the motivation to live healthy lifestyles and protect the planet for their future generations is rather high. In order to support more sustainable lifestyles, the awareness of environmental issues needs to be increased; knowledge needs to be made available and accessible (ability); and role models need to set an example for the urban middle class of Vietnam. Furthermore, health in combination with food is the most important reason for people to pursue a sustainable lifestyle (motivation) and the need to change was expressed. However, a general distrust towards business and governmental actors was also found. Therefore, opportunities for bottom‐up initiatives for sustainable food consumption must be explored in the future. This could support in engaging the middle class of Vietnam in sustainable lifestyles.     

International Labor Revitalization: Enlarging the Playing Field

This survey of international union strategies distinguishes between approaches that add microeconomic value, adjust institutional frameworks, and enlarge the "playing field" on which unions organize and represent worker interests. It considers unions' efforts across advanced capitalist economies to use the latter approach to solve public goods problems while organizing new members. This strategy is limited by difficulties of coordinating multiple social interests but holds revitalizing potential by adding social value in times of socioeconomic instability.