European trade unions and ‘atypical’ workers

The increase in ‘atypical’ or precarious forms of work, including part‐time, temporary or agency, contracted‐out, posted, dependent self‐employed and undocumented work, has created one of the major challenges facing trade unions in Europe today. Indeed, the ‘atypical’ has become more and more ‘typical’ in a number of European countries, particularly among women and younger workers. The rise in atypical forms of work calls for changes in the way trade unions develop strategies, policies and structures and presents a challenge to their traditional ways of thinking and organising. This article begins with the definition of atypical work and a general overview of the literature on the subject before moving on to the nature of the challenge it creates for trade unions in Europe and an overview of their responses, drawing on preliminary findings from a three‐year research project in unions in 10 European countries. The article concludes that while unions have made a great deal of progress in addressing the concerns of atypical workers, they will have to make substantial changes to their structures, thinking and way of operating in order to be fully able to respond to the challenge of this growing form of work.     

Environmental management: from ‘fit’ to ‘stretch’

Environmental management is a budding discipline that studies the development and shaping of environmental policy in business. This article discusses what progress has been made in theory building in the field of environmental management, and what priorities should be set for future research. The level of ambition of a company with respect to its environmental performance is seen as the result of the following three variables: the coincidence of increased eco-efficiency and market opportunities; the internal structure and culture of the company (including the influence of a number of important actors in it) and the pressure from the immediate and wider social environment to take environmental measures. Research in the field of environmental management can improve our understanding of the conditions under which companies will strive for higher eco-efficiencies. It is argued that such research must concentrate on the interaction of the three variables mentioned above and on how they affect the actions of companies. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.     

Making ‘Global Sydney’: Spatial Imaginaries,Worlding and Strategic Plans

This article critically examines the expression of global spatial imaginaries in urban policy and planning. Following recent calls to understand how the global is ‘made up' in and through cities, we argue for the usefulness of Roy and Ong's concept of ‘worlding’. By analysing how strategic spatial plans envisage ‘Global Sydney’, the article reveals a constitutive spatial imaginary informed by the articulation of three interrelated elements: global city standards, comparative techniques and extra‐local policy models. Unpacking how cities are selectively worlded through spatial imaginaries, the article advances an approach to urban globality as actively cultivated and differentially produced.     

Combating environmental repercussions through ‘TQEM’ and ‘ISO 14000’

Business is totally dependent on society although we sometimes do not experience it that way. All business, even in their most limited form, confront environmental issues, some more than others. Business leaders will be actively addressing social and environmental issues. These companies will be going for certification to ISO 14001 (EMS) and progressive organizations have moved beyond EMS requirement, seizing control of environmental operations through Total Quality Environmental Management (TQEM). Industry leaders are incorporating environmental thinking into every aspect of their operations. As a long‐range plan towards TQEM, an organization can have a road map and a clear model for achieving excellence in the area of Environmental Management. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment     

‘House poor’ or simply ‘poor’?

This paper defines a set of indicators for distinguishing housing affordability problems resulting from high rents from those chiefly arising from low income. In place of the common ratio of rent to income, it uses a residual income indicator with indicators of over-consumption and over-paying for housing services. The indicators are computed for a sample of renter households in Switzerland, one of the countries with the greatest rental share. They help define more precisely who needs general income assistance and who needs specific housing aid (only one fourth of the former).     

‘A Land of Milk and Honey’? Reengineering the ‘Past’ and ‘Present’ in a Call Centre*

ABSTRACT This article explores how managers, in the Call Centre of a Bank, (re)defined, and drew boundaries around ‘past’ cultural conditions, in relation to the introduction of a Business Process Reengineering (BPR) regime. Managers represented the ‘past’ negatively, in terms of conflict and coercion, whilst the ‘present’ was largely described as a Shangri‐La of teams and consensus. This eschewing of the ‘past’ and sublimation of the ‘present’ stood in opposition to the representations of the staff. Both the ‘staff’ and ‘managers’ seemed to reject or embrace discourses that challenged or coincided with their understanding of how things are or should be. In view of this, their understanding of the past/present is inseparable from a consideration of power and identity. The article examines the interplay between discourses and individuals, arguing that it is bound up with fear and anxiety, hope and aspiration, memory and nostalgia, among other, everyday life experiences.     

Responding to ‘Skill Shortages’: Recruitment and Retention In A High Technology Labour Market

Gordon Causer, who is a Lecturer in Sociology in the Department of Sociology and Social Policy at the University of Southampton, and Carol Jones, who is Senior Lecturer in Employee Relations in the Lancashire Business School, University of Central Lancashire, explore the responses of twenty electronics companies in central Southern England to problems of recruitment and retention of professional engineers employed in research, design and development functions. They argue that organisations might be expected to treat such staff as a long-term resource, subject to processes of careful selection, extensive training and flexible utilisation. In practice these tendencies are modified to a greater or lesser degree by a variety of structural constraints, including the volatile nature of the electronics industry, the disciplinary heterogeneity of its labour force, the funding of research and development activities and the labour market conditions faced by organisations.     

Beyond ‘Euroland’: British trade unions,the single currency and European integration

British trade unions have differing perspectives as to the desirability of UK membership of the eurozone. This paper provides a critical review of the spectrum of union views and highlights key points of disagreement and areas of common ground. An agenda for further reflection upon the euro by the unions is also offered. Finally, the paper considers union positions on the implications of the wider process of European integration for industrial relations.     

The political economy of ‘ordered competition’ in European telecoms

This article discusses the current efforts of policymakers to spur development of telecommunications infrastructure. It argues that the policy of ‘ordered competition’, widely implemented in this sector, has formed a highly beneficial environment for major players, who have the ability to influence the regulatory machine. The system protects the status quo, impedes the efficiency of the market process and allows unnecessary public subsidy of the industry's development. The main alternative to this regulatory regime is structural reform of the industry and the formation of a genuinely competitive marketplace which could function without ex ante regulation.     

The ‘science’ and ‘practice’ of HRM in small firms

This paper looks at the ‘science’ and ‘practice’ of human resource management in small firms. While there is growing evidence that the practice of human resource management in small firms is characterized by informality, there is less evidence about the science, or explaining why this is the case. We look to writing on strategic human resource management, which has at its heart the resource based view of the firm, for possibilities offered to understanding the science of human resource management in small firms.     

Urban Governance and the ‘European City’: Ideals and Realities in Dublin,Ireland

Throughout recent decades, a significant amount of attention has been given to the notion of the ‘European city’ within policy formation and academic enquiry. From one perspective, the ideal of the ‘European city’ is presented as a densely developed urban area with a focus on quality public transport and a more balanced social structure. More recently, however, the particular elements of the ‘European city’ associated with pedestrianized public space, urban design and image‐making strategies have become central features of entrepreneurial urban policies throughout Europe. This article undertakes an examination of the notion of the ‘European city’ in urban change in Dublin since the 1990s. Specifically, the article illustrates the degree to which a wholly positive spin on the urban design and image‐making elements of the ‘European city’ in Dublin has served as a thin veil for the desired transformation of Dublin according to neoliberal principles.