Mobilizing consent: paternalism and cellular manufacturing

In this paper we explore the dynamics of the introduction of New Systems and Structures of Work Organization (NSSWO) in the context of the forces impacting upon organizational change in the unionized sector of manufacturing industry throughout the Thatcher period. This we do by way of a detailed case study of a major UK auto-components manufacturer. We explore a number of changes in work organization, including the introduction of a cellular-based system of manufacturing, from its initial strategic conception through to its implementation; the delegation of responsibility for quality to shop-floor operators and the use of more flexible working practices. In doing so, we reconsider the context of change, the detailed processes of change and the pattern of accommodation between labour and management. Drawing upon our previous work on the nature of paternalism (Ackers,and Black, 1991), we explore its significance in terms of management’s constant drive for more economic work practices and patterns of organization. Specifically we explore the significance of paternalism as a relevant concept in interpreting the case, and hence, also, as a relevant concept in understanding HRM. The case challenges the prevailing ideology that the ‘successful’

economic organization requires (a) a de-regulated labour market and (b)

a trade union free environment, or, failing this, that management needs to

develop an individualistic approach towards the work-force, moving from the

more pluralist‘industrial relations’approach towards an essentially ‘unitarist framework, as found in certain interpretations of ‘uman resource management’(Guest, 1987)

The paper is thus a contribution to the continuing analysis of those ‘tensions and struggles through which the open ended potential of labour power have been managed, through shifting patterns of coercion, accommodation and compliance into profitable forms of production’(Elger and Smith, 1994: 12; Thompson, 1990). By means of this case we attempt to explore this issue with respect to three interconnected

themes:

The place of paternalism as a relevant concept in the age of HRM.

The extent to which organizations may be better advised to look towards ways

to build upon their existing organization culture, rather than seeking solutions

from overseas models.

Linking with previous work on the ‘Joint Process’in the US (Black and Ackers, 1994), the paper raises issues concerning the ‘strategic issue . . . which managers have to face . . . the balance between joint regulation and joint consultation’(Storey and Sissons, 1993: 221), and hence the role of trades unions in organizational change programmes.     

令人瞠目的不同世界:西欧与中国近代早期的国家与经济

本文强调,西方崛起或工业化并非斯密所描述的自由市场竞争的结果,而是国家意志、海外贸易和奉行了军事财政体制造成的.与此相应的是,中国在近代以降并未象英国、欧美那样走上强国的工业化之路,也并非缺乏斯密所说的那种市场经济体制.事实上,出现在一系列历史著述上的核心观点,即"富国之所以富有是因为拥有市场的自由,穷国之所以贫弱,是因为拥有官僚的专制"并没有真实地解释中、西方在历史演化轨迹中所出现的"大分岔".谓予不信,基于英国或其他发达的工业国早期历史上的军国主义的财政策略和中国清代以降所采取的悲天悯人的家长式的农业制度的对比研究将提供详尽答案与深刻启示.     

On Nudging: A Review of Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health,Wealth and Happiness by Richard H. Thaler and Cass R. Sunstein

This paper reviews the case for libertarian paternalism presented by Thaler and Sunstein in Nudge. Thaler and Sunstein argue that individuals’ preferences are often incoherent, making paternalism is unavoidable; however, paternalistic interventions should ‘nudge’ individuals without restricting their choices, and should nudge them towards what they would have chosen had they not been subject to specific limitations of rationality. I argue that the latter criterion provides inadequate guidance to nudgers. It is inescapably normative, and so allows nudgers’ conceptions of well‐being to override those of nudgees. Even if nudgees’ rationality were unbounded, their revealed preferences might still be incoherent.     

和谐社会构建与政府干预的路径选择-从英国政府拟实行人体器官捐赠"推定同意"规则谈起

和谐社会的要义在于,政府干预在增加某些居民的福利时,不能以另外一些居民的福利损失为代价。目前在各国盛行的以新古典经济学理性经济人为假设前提的自由主义政府干预理论难以满足这种严格的帕累托改进要求。本文采用行为经济学分析框架,以器官捐赠为例,剖析居民认知偏差导致行为偏误的形成机制,以此重新构建政府干预的微观基础,修正政府干预边界,促成政府干预的技术创新。行为经济学框架下以锁定政策为代表的不对称家长制干预技术,能够有效纠正那些具有认知偏差的居民的行为偏误,却不会对理性居民造成负的外部性影响。这种干预效果的非对称结构与帕累托改进标准存在逻辑上的一致性,可为和谐社会政府干预提供系统的解决方案。     

The transformation of industrial authority and paternalistic capitalism in the global economy: case studies of Taiwan's textiles industries

Abstract This paper is an attempt to theorize changing employment relations in capitalist development, drawing upon Taiwan's experience of industrialization within the context of global economic competition and undertaking case studies in the textiles industries. It aims to investigate changes in the nature of employment relations, with special reference to authority relations, by examining how they have been shaped by changes in Taiwan's textiles industries. It argues that a transformation of paternalistic capitalism is under way in Taiwan. The study also examines how changes in economic activities have profoundly affected people's lives and experiences. It is suggested that the underpinnings of traditional authority are being shaken. Loosened personal ties and claims for statutory working rights have led to the emergence of different sources of industrial authority. Here is a crucial 'ideological break' in terms of workers' consciousness. Moreover, the 'communal paternalism' or 'enterprise paternalism' of labour regimes in Taiwan propounded by Deyo (1989, 1998) is now called into question.     

Why incoherent preferences do not justify paternalism

A variety of recent arguments emerging from behavioural economics claim to undermine the credibility, and even the conceptual coherence, of the economist’s traditional rejection of paternalism. Indeed, some suggest that the incoherent nature of preferences inevitably implies a form of paternalism, since some basis for officiating between expressed preferences is required, and some preferences will be over-ridden in favour of others. This paper reviews and contests these arguments. It argues that markets operate according to a normatively defensible and non-paternalistic principle of mutual advantage, and that this principle does not require preferences to be coherent.      

司法决策中的“父爱主义”管制逻辑

在包括赵春华案在内的诸多引发舆论关注的争议案件中,法官或许并非不是不懂得如何利用社科法学的判断能力与法教义学的裁判技术去弥合司法标准与公众认知之间的巨大断裂,而更可能是基于其“父爱”式的社会“管制”取向而对司法后果的实质合理性问题做出了“爱之深,责之切”的价值决断。在中国特色社会主义法律体系已经形成的历史背景下,为了保证良法的颁行能够导向预期的善治,法律必须以其作为“社会交往机制”的系统潜力而彰显其公理性与司法的合理性。只有首先确立基于交往原则和承认社会自主性的权力逻辑与法律决策结构,那种体现“人性化”“人文化”和“人权化”的方法论逻辑才有可能在法律的运作中获得国家体制官僚无法武断拒斥的实效。     

Taxing Sin Goods and Subsidizing Health Care*

We study the taxation of sin goods in a two‐period, three‐good model. Individuals can buy health care to compensate for the damages caused by their earlier sin‐good consumption. Individuals are myopic and underestimate the effect of the sinful consumption on health; in their second period, they may acknowledge their mistake or persist in their error. We characterize and compare the first‐best and the (linear) second‐best taxes in these different settings. In particular, we examine how the results are affected by the way sin‐good consumption and health care interact in health production technology.     

Untangling African indigenous management: Multiple influences on the success of SMEs in Kenya

This article examines the nature of indigenous management in relation to the success of SMEs in sub-Saharan Africa, taking Kenya and six SMEs under the management of Kenyan Africans, Kenyan Asians and Kenyan British as examples. It proposes that management systems, styles and practices, when appropriate to the local cultural contexts, will give rise to successful organizations. By formulating tentative hypotheses about this relation after reviewing the literature, the data from these case studies are interrogated first by using a ‘template’ derived from theories of management control to investigate the inter-continental cultural influences on local management, and then inductively to modify and develop the original hypotheses in view of possible intra-country influences. Paternalism, emerges as a common theme in the way cultural influences are combined, suggesting different types of paternalism for in-group and out-group organizational members. This is a possible success factor for local SMEs. Implications for future research in these areas and management practice are discussed.     

Book Reviews

The history of music in the workplace is a neglected area of study. This article explores the policies towards music in the paternalist Rowntree and Cadbury confectionery factories from the late nineteenth to the late twentieth century. We argue that the two firms were pioneering in their early use of music before becoming key players in the industrial welfare movement following the First World War. The broadcasting of music by Rowntree and Cadbury in the mid to late twentieth century is then placed in the context of a widespread adoption of tannoyed music in factories. We argue that music was employed as a means of easing the monotony of factory work whilst simultaneously aiming to improve productivity levels. However, as we demonstrate through oral history, women workers experienced music in ways not always in tune with management objectives.