Decentralisation of collective bargaining: a case study

While a number of surveys have identified a trend towards decentralised bargaining, this article is one of the first to examine the process of decentralisation. The decision of Coats Viyella PLC to decentralise bargaining in its apparel division is examined in detail and the outcomes of the first round of decentralised negotiations are analysed.     

Brewer-licensee relations: a case study in the growth of collective bargaining and white collar militancy

The brewing industry is experiencing an upsurge of militancy amongst the tenants and managers of its public houses. How has this come about? Where is it likely to lead?     

Workplace bargaining in hospitals and schools: threat or opportunity for the unions?

Government policy has aimed to encourage the development of workplace bargaining in both the education and health services. This article traces those developments and looks at trade union opposition to the shift from national to workplace bargaining     

Women at work: a case study of the insurance industry

This article reports the results of a survey of women employed in the Australian insurance industry. Three main issues are discussed: attitudes to work, experience at work and the role of the trade union in the workplace.     

Coordinated employer bargaining and globalisation: a study of the men's clothing industry in Quebec, 1974–2012

This article looks at the political economy of employer coordination of collective bargaining in the clothing or apparel manufacturing industry in Canada over three phases of globalisation: from the Multi‐Fiber Agreement in 1974 to the impact of the entry of China in the WTO. Although prevailing accounts emphasise the force of exogenous change and the likely decentralisation of bargaining structures and demise of bargaining coordination by employers, this case highlights how unions and employers sought to preserve their institutional model. We find that actor strategies and their interrelations are a central part of the explanation of this apparent institutional stability, despite the real force of economic, organisational and public policy factors. However, it is a dynamic stability in which change processes, reflecting shifting power relations, are leading to important shifts in the nature of employer coordination.     

Harmonizing the notes in the UK and France: a case study in de jure harmonization

This paper provides a case study of the process of de jure harmonization of financial reporting by examining the extent to which in the UK and France the regulations relating to the notes on the accounts (annexe) have been harmonized by the Fourth and Seventh Company Law Directives of the European Union and ‘deharmonized’ by other regulations. It looks at the requirements of the directives in relation to the notes and the reactions in the two countries to those requirements. It examines a number of areas in which implementation of the directives has been different, viz. consolidated financial statements; exemptions and extensions; financial statement formats; accounting policies; true and fair view; and tax. Finally, it explores the problem of readability and understandability and the choice between disclosure in the notes and disclosure elsewhere.     

Improving demand forecasting in the air cargo handling industry: a case study

Air transportation plays a crucial role in the agile and dynamic environment of contemporary supply chains. This industry is characterised by high air cargo demand uncertainty, making forecasting extremely challenging. An in-depth case study has been undertaken in order to explore and untangle the factors influencing demand forecasting and consequently to improve the operational performance of an air cargo handling company. It has been identified that in practice, the demand forecasting process does not provide the necessary level of accuracy, to effectively cope with the high demand uncertainty. This has a negative impact on a whole range of air cargo operations, but especially on the management of the workforce, which is the most expensive resource in the air cargo handling industry. Besides forecast inaccuracy, a range of additional hidden factors that affect operations management have been identified. A number of recommendations have been made to improve demand forecasting and workforce management.     

Decentralised bargaining of working time in the German automotive industry

The article addresses the question whether or not the trend towards the decentralisation of collective bargaining on working time in Germany entails a loss in the binding power of industry‐level agreements. To this end, both working‐time agreements and practices are examined at the firm or establishment level in the automotive industry. Additionally, the article examines the extent to which workplace micro‐level changes are reflected in official statistics. The findings indicate that unions and works councils have taken on new roles preventing a widespread erosion of collective regulations.     

Outsourcing a satisfied and committed workforce: a trucking industry case study

The steady growth of R&;D costs and the increasingly widespread dissemination of information and communication technology over the past decade have resulted in the affirmation of the paradigm of open innovation, which consists in the continual expansion of access to sources of technological innovation outside the firm itself. Industrial companies are, in fact, turning more frequently to collaboration with university departments and other public and private research centers, and there is a notable increase in agreements regarding technological cooperation and the exchange of know-how between companies. In addition, recourse to highly specialized small research companies is on the rise. This is common, for example in the pharmaceutical sector and, more generally, in the area of biotechnological research. Furthermore, we are witnessing the development of the new role of innovation broker. These factors alter the traditional profile of company R&;D structures, within which the role of researchers and technologists often changes. In particular, matrix and network organizational models are on the increase, and the professional figures of ‘integrators of knowledge and expertise’ (T-men) are assuming major importance at the expense of traditional scientists. As a consequence, the model for training and managing scientific personnel tends to change. This model, as it moves away from the prevailing pattern adopted by firms in Anglophone countries, is continually drawing closer, even from a cultural standpoint, to the R&;D management approach found in the Japanese and German companies. The aim of this article is to investigate how the adoption of open innovation has changed the organizational structures of R&;D and altered the methods used in managing its personnel. The results of the study are based on the analysis of four case studies of Italian multinational firms operating in the pharmaceutical, food, specialty chemical, and aerospace industries.     

产业集群的成因与作用——以北京顺义汽车产业集群为例

揭示了促使产业集群形成的历史因素、基本因素和市场因素,并以北京顺义汽车产业集群为例,详细阐述了产业集群的作用.     

The skilled revolt against general unionism: the case of the BL Toolroom Committee

During the 1970s, the position of craft workers became increasingly acute: their traditional differentials over semi-skilled and unskilled workers were eroded to an unprecedented degree; and their privileged position within their trade unions was weakened. Here Hugh Scullion examines developments through a case study of the BL Toolroom Committee.     

Introducing team working - a motor industry case study

Team working is seen as a key component of an HRM strategy, and is often viewed as an attack on union influence in the workplace. This case study, based on its introduction in one motor plant, looks at the problems it can pose for both managers and unions.     

Allocation of resources within subgroups of an industry: a case study in the Chinese industrial sector

Journal of Productivity Analysis - Facing bottlenecks of economic growth, two important policy concerns of the Chinese government are the regional fragmentation and ownership distortion. This paper...     

The cluster role in the development of the Thai car industry

The Thai automotive industry first developed around Bangkok where Japanese car–makers were the first to open plants. During the 1980s, car–makers had to increase their local purchasing to cope with government local content policies. This led to a broader penetration of Japanese parts–makers who also tended to locate their plants close to their affiliated customer. In the 1990s, however, some changes appeared: firstly, the increasing market and the expectation of further growth pushed Japanese car–makers to establish new plants; secondly, the need to cut costs because of increased competition resulted in a new penetration of Japanese parts–makers and subcontractors; thirdly, the excessive concentration around Bangkok pushed the government to implement new policies to develop and industrialize peripheral areas by investing in infrastructures and offering incentives. Additional clusters appeared in several new industrializing areas outside the Bangkok suburb, mainly on the eastern seaboard, with Japanese car and parts–makers opening their new plants in these areas, and with Ford and GM, followed by American parts–makers, also choosing such locations. The article presents these changes in the clustering dynamics in relation to firms’ strategies and public policies, discussing these issues within the framework of the role of the Thai automobile industry in South–East Asia (ASEAN). L’industrie automobile thaïlandaise s’est dans un premier temps développé autour de Bangkok où les constructeurs automobiles japonais ont ouvert les premières lignes d’assemblage. Dans les années quatre–vingt, la politique de contenu national mise en uvre par le gouvernement a incité les constructeurs à augmenter leurs achats locaux, ce qui a conduit à l’implantation dans la même région, des fournisseurs japonais pour alimenter les usines de leurs clients. La décennie suivante a été marquée par plusieurs inflexions: la croissance effective et potentielle du marché a conduit les constructeurs japonais àédifier de nouvelles usines d’assemblage; le renforcement de la pression concurrentielle a rendu nécessaire une réduction des coûts, favorisant l’arrivée de nouveaux entrants dans l’industrie des composants; la concentration excessive dans la région de Bangkok a amené le gouvernement a mettre en uvre une politique de développement et d’industrialisation des régions périphériques par la construction d’infrastructures et des mesures volontaristes d’aide à l’aménagement du territoire. Des complexes automobile se sont édifiés dans de nouveaux espaces en dehors de Bangkok et sa banlieue, principalement vers le bord de mer au sud est. Les nouvelles implantations de constructeurs et fournisseurs japonais ont été suivies par l’arrivée des firmes américaines (Ford et GM). Le papier retrace l’évolution de ces dynamiques d’agglomération en Thaïlande, résultats des stratégies des firmes automobiles et des politiques publiques, tout en analysant la place que prend ce pays en Asie du Sud Est (ASEAN).     

Restructuring as a reaction to growing pressure on trade unionism: the case of the Austrian ÖGB

After charting the specific problems that the Austrian Trade Union Confederation (ÖGB) faces, this article describes the ÖGB's predominant strategy in reaction to growing pressure: structural adjustments. They focus on external restructuring, especially mergers, and union administration. The article analyses the motivations for restructuring and assesses whether transformative restructuring can be observed.     

The Industrial Training Act and the hotel and catering industry: a case study*

The 1964 Industrial Training Act had three main aims. The first was a quantity objective, aimed at obtaining “an adequate supply of properly trained men and women at all levels in industry” second was a quality and efficiency objective, aimed at securing “an improvement in the quality and efficiency of industrial training” and the third was an equity objective, designed to “share the costs of training more evenly between firms”. In general, the Act attempted to achieve these objectives through Industrial Training Boards with their levy-grant systems and advisory services. The purpose of this article is to present the results of a case study which examined the effects of the 1964 Act on training in the hotel and catering industry. The methodology used will be outlined and then the results will be presented and interpreted. Some evidence will be provided on the extent to which the objectives of the Act have been achieved.