Unions,organisation change and alcohol policy

There is little doubt that company policies which successfully attempt to change employee behaviour patterns require a high level of trade union involvement. Workplace alcoholism policies are an example of this kind of initiative. This article presents some preliminary, survey evidence on the extent to which alcohol policies have been introduced in Scotland.     

Packaging,business, and society

The objective of this paper is to present the impact of packaging material on sustainability. The article analyzes the size of the problem that arises from the use of packaging and the effect of various types of packaging material on waste management. The data on solid waste from the United States and the European Union reinforce that the problem is not only huge but also requires immediate attention. The research found that paying attention to packaging has the potential to improve economic, environmental, and social sustainability. Reducing packaging in supply chains improves profitability for organizations, reduces environmental impact, and helps societies in lowering the cost of disposal. The cost of packaging materials and the costs of disposal and landfill, are borne by the end consumers. Suggested approaches to minimizing the generation of packaging waste include concerted efforts for reducing packaging throughout supply chains where elimination of packaging is not feasible, the formation of a global policy on the use and disposal of packaging materials, and educating consumers.     

Unions and involuntary job separations

In contrast to the extensive literature on the effects of unions on wages, productivity and voluntary job endings, the effect of unions on involuntary job endings has received relatively little attention. This article demonstrates how unions alter involuntary job separation (redundancies, temporary job endings and dismissals) rates at different tenure levels using the British Household Panel Survey data from 1991 to 2008. A novel finding is that being a union member reduces a person's redundancy probability at low‐tenure levels, relative to an employee of a non‐unionised firm, but has no significant effect at high tenure levels. Union membership and union recognition are not related to different rates of temporary job endings.     

Chaebol,Unions, and the Profitability of Korean Firms Before and After the Crisis

Before the 1997 crisis, Korean firms destroyed shareholder value and chronically produced nonperforming loans for financial institutions. In particular, chaebol‐affiliated and unionized firms did so, with lower profitability among the financially unsound firms. Chaebol and unions thus functioned as institutional devices whereby managers and workers undermined the interest of taxpayers as well as shareholders. After the crisis, firms no longer destroy shareholder value or produce nonperforming loans. Chaebol‐affiliated and unionized firms have higher profitability among the financially unsound firms. Chaebol and unions have thus ceased to function as institutional devices whereby managers and workers undermine the interest of shareholders and taxpayers. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Unions and the economic basis of attitudes

Unions make differences to employee satisfaction that correspond to their effects on individual economic advantage. Panel data reveal how changes in economic circumstance and changes in job satisfaction are linked to changes in union coverage. When individuals move into a union covered job they receive a wage mark‐up and express enhanced pay satisfaction. Conversely, those moving from a union covered job on average lose any mark‐up and have significantly reduced satisfaction. Similar findings emerge for working hours. On average individuals prefer shorter hours, something they tend (not) to achieve on moving (out of) into a unionised job, resulting in higher (lower) satisfaction. Switching into union coverage lowers satisfaction with job security, even though coverage has no effect on the risk of unemployment. This is because covered employees suffer greater costs of re‐employment for a given level of unemployment risk, partly because of loss of the union mark‐up.     

In Defence of the Unions

Professor Minford's claim that unions force a million workers out of jobs neglects several important factors, according to J. R. Shackleton, who cites various studies in support. Professor Minford replies with the rasoning behind his estimate and maintains his claim formassive reduction in union power is unaffected.     

沃尔玛教派文化遭遇工会挑战

“给我一个W！给我一个A！给我一个L！给我一个M！给我一个A！给我一个R！给我一个T！拼起来是什么？沃尔玛(Wal－Mart)！谁是第一？顾客！”沃尔玛的员工每天早上都会狂热地叫喊这句话，不管他们愿不愿意，他们都必须叫喊。这是沃尔玛的创始人山姆·沃尔顿想到的主意，据说，经常这么做能培养大家的忠诚和热情。这也许是个不错的主意，“沃尔玛式欢呼”已经让沃尔玛员工感到了教徒般的快乐，在《基业长青》这本书里，作者詹姆斯·柯林斯称其为沃尔玛教派文化。如果谁不相信沃尔玛对顾客的狂热奉献，他将被沃尔玛扫地出门。但不久前，中…     

Sharing,gift-giving,and optimal resource use in hunter-gatherer society

Economics of Governance - Hunter-gatherer societies are characterized by decentralized decision making and shared access to resources. Goods are distributed via reciprocal exchange, sharing, and...     

“全国企业文化建设深化与推进第四期研修班”主题演讲 和谐社会构建的理论基础及社会背景——构建和谐企业系列谈之一

党的十六届四中全会正式提出建设社会主义和谐社会的历史目标，胡锦涛总书记2005年2月19日和6月27日，两次在中央党校举办省部级主要领导干部班发表重要讲话，明确指出，构建社会主义和谐社会。     

Unions Bow before Winds of Change

The revolutionary agreement between the Japanese car manufacturer, Nissan, and the Associated Union of Engineering Workers (AUEW) at Nissan's Washington plant (top right) could herald an extraordinary change in British labour relations. Dr Charles Hanson (right) of the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, argues that British manufacturing must follow the Nissan example or the future will look bleak.     

Unions fit for young workers?

If trade unions are to reverse the membership decline sustained since 1979, more young workers must be recruited. This paper examines the views of young workers towards trade unions by reference to survey data. It argues that there is little evidence of a ‘Thatcher’s children’ effect in which principled opposition to trade unionism is widespread. Instead the paper shows that shifts in the labour market, the effects of employer resistance to trade unionism and union inefficiencies have a marked effect on the unionisation of young workers.     

经济增长稳定期的趋势分析（下）

党的十六届四中全会正式提出了建设社会主义和谐社会的历史目标.胡锦涛总书记2005年2月19日和6月27日,两次在中央党校举办省部级主要领导干部班发表重要讲话,明确指出,构建社会主义和谐社会,关系到最广大人民群众的根本利益,关系到巩固党执政的社会基础、实现党执政的历史任务,关系到全面建设小康社会的全局,关系到党的事业兴旺发达和国家的长治久安.要求全党同志都要从这样的战略高度,深刻认识构建社会主义和谐社会的重大意义,自觉承担起和谐社会建设的历史任务.     

Trade Unions in a Free Society

What is the function of trade unions in a free society? G.R.Steele, of Lancaster University, analyses the paradox that trade unions, which are only possible in a free society, are ultimately in conflict with it.     

From risk society to audit society

Contrary to what is sometimes claimed, the 2008 banking crisis occurred in an ultra-regulated environment. Legislative and regulatory financial-security regimes have in fact multiplied in recent years. The economic crisis is accelerating the transition of the risk society towards the audit society. But the G20 （Group of Twenty） declarations in Washington and London also reveal a managerial utopia： the march towards a society of confidence or harmony that would make controls superfluous. In this context, the article seeks to call upon philosophical, sociological and managerial references to risk, from Foucault to Power by way of Beck, Giddens ＆ Ewald, to shed light on the official declarations of the leaders of the world＇s main economies. The documentary corpus examined includes all the G20 works published between November 8, 2008 （preparation for the Washington Summit） and April 2, 2009 （conclusions of the London Summit）. The political philosophy underlying the G20＇s works remains fundamentally liberal, even though saving the worldwide market economy involves established security systems as well as self-control and control of others. In the end, the leaders do not decide between reinforcing the existing tools and inventing new systems. The updating of security technologies is meant to serve the preservation of the capitalist managerial utopia. This gives rise to a new variant of Beck＇s risk-society paradigm, too often confined to environmental threats alone, in three phases： （1） The crisis is a consequence of financial modernity and in particular of the inefficiency of regulation in the face of growing sophistication in techniques; （2） To restore confidence, the states and international institutions want, paradoxically, both to reinforce regulation and promote flexibility; （3） Thereupon, flexi-security controlled by worldwide economic governance characterizes the second financial modernity.     

Product market integration,wage dispersion and unemployment

International product market integration enhances both the export possibility of supplying to foreign markets and the import threat of foreign firms penetrating into domestic markets. These mechanisms affect labour markets since they amount to increased job mobility. At the same time heterogeneity may increase since it is unlikely that the opportunities and threats are uniformly distributed across different groups/sectors. In a Ricardian trade model admitting heterogeneity in the labour market, it is shown that lower trade frictions are associated with aggregate welfare gains, increased trade and specialization, but also more dispersion in wages. Structural labour market problems caused by union market power are reduced while those caused by minimum (reservation) wages are strengthened.