Book reviews

Books reviewed: Jill C. Humphrey. Towards a Politics of the Rainbow Brendan Burchell, David Lapido and Frank Wilkinson (eds). Job Insecurity and Work Intensification Peter Ackers and Adrian Wilkinson (eds). Understanding Work and Employment: Industrial Relations in Transition     

Human Resource Management In Building Societies: Making the Transformation?

Ed Snape, Tom Redman and Adrian Wilkinson examine the implications of the changing competitive environment for the management of staff in building societies. In particular, they draw on the results of a detailed case study to discuss attempts to introduce policies and practices associated with ‘HRM’. the conclusion is that the competitive pressures which led to the demand for these policies and practices may also make their successful implementation especially dificult. Ed Snape is a Lecturer in the Department of Human Resource Management at the University of Strathclyde, Tom Redman a Lecturer at Teesside Business School, and Adrian Wilkinson a Lecturer at the Manchester School of Management (UMIST).     

Book reviews

Book reviewed in this article: STATES OF EMERGENCY: BRITISH GOVERNMENTS AND STRIKEBREAKING SINCE 1919 Keith Jeffery and Peter Hennessy THE SHOPFLOOR POLITICS OF NEW TECHNOLOGY Barry Wilkinson MANAGERIAL PREROGATIVE AND THE QUESTION OF CONTROL J. Storey ENGINEERS AT WORK 1939–1945 Richard Croucher     

TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT AND EMPLOYEE INVOLVEMENT

Adrian Wilkinson and his colleagues discuss the growing importance of quality management in the UK, outline the basic principles of TQM, and examine its implications for employee involvement. They suggest that there are contradictions between the ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ sides of TQM. This can be exemplified in the relationship between TQM and employee involvement which has not been fully explored. Drawing on a major programme of research on employee involvement, three cases are analysed. They argue that the links between TQM and employee involvement are more complex than the TQM literature would have us believe and there are tensions between employee involvement and TQM. Finally, there is a wider discussion of the subject which analyses a number of constraints on the implementation of TQM in the UK. Adrian Wilkinson, Mick Marchington and John Goodman are respectively Lecturer, Senior Lecturer and Professor in the School of Management at the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology. Peter Ackers is a Lecturer at Loughborough University Business School.     

Book reviews

Book reviewed in this article: Managing Employee Performance: Design and Implementation in Organisations
Richard S. Williams Managing Employment Change: The New Realities of Work
Huw Beynon, Damian Grimshaw, Jill Rubery and Kevin Ward Job Insecurity and Work Intensification
Brendan Burchell, David Lapido and Frank Wilkinson (eds)     

Book Reviews

Books review in this article: Training For Personal Safety At Work Chris Cardy Making Quality Critical – New Perspectives On Organisational Change Adrian Wilkinson and Hugh Willmott (eds). The Ascendant Organisation: Combining Commitment and Control For Long-Term, Sustainable Business Success Peter Wickens In Search of Management: Culture, Chaos and Control In Managerial Work Tony J. Watson Outdoor Games For Trainers Carmine M Consalvo     

Book reviews

Book reviewed in this article: Call Centres and Human Resource Management
Stephen Deery and Nicholas Kinnie (eds) European Integration and Industrial Relations: Multi‐Level Governance in the Making
Paul Marginson and Keith Sisson (with the collaboration of James Arrowsmith) Understanding Work and Employment: Industrial Relations in Transition
Peter Ackers and Adrian Wilkinson (eds)     

The human resource barriers to managing quality in China

China has one of the fastest growing economies in the world. The challenge for the future is likely to be the extent to which Chinese operations can utilize modern management techniques to improve product and service quality. This paper explores some of the problems that were affecting the management of quality within two foreigninvested enterprises (FIEs) based in the Shenzhen region of China. The paper argues that the provision of new factories and machinery was not sufficient in itself to ensure the maintenance of quality standards. Quality management in the West has become synonymous with increased employee involvement and developing customer-orientated cultures (Rees, 1998). The success or otherwise of quality management initiatives therefore depends upon the co-operation and enthusiasm of employees (Wilkinson et al ., 1998; Oliver and Wilkinson, 1992). Quality management within the case companies was hampered by the prevailing work ethic and was hindered by inadequate human resource and management systems. The study highlighted poor standards of training, dissatisfaction over levels of remuneration, and poor communication within the case companies. The paper argues that the problems experienced by the companies were inextricably linked to aspects of China's historical development. This history has helped to engender employee attitudes and behaviours that are poorly understood. Models of quality management are needed which are sensitive to the Chinese operating context.     

BOOK REVIEWS

Book Review in this Article Sabel , Charles F. Work and Politics: the Division of Labour In Industry. Harvey , Brian , Smith , Stephen and Wilkinson , Barry Managers and Corporate Social Policy: Private Solutions to Public Problems? Barbash , J. The Elements of Industrial Relations. Wolfgang Streeck Industrial Relations In West Germany: A Case Study of the Car Industry. Clinton , A. Post Office Workers: A Trade Union and Social History.     

Book Reviews

Industrial Relations in the Future: Trends and Possibilities in Britain over the next Decade M. Poole, W. Brown, J. Rubery, K. Sisson, R. Tarling and F. Wilkinson Invitation to Industrial Relations T. Keenoy Years of Recovery: British Economic Policy 1945–1951 Alec Cairncross Britain's Economy: The Roots of Stagnation Aubrey Jones Challenges and Choices Facing American Labor Thomas A. Kochan (ed.) The Politics of Safety and Health G. K. Wilson Industrial Relations and New Technology Annette Davies Technological Change, Rationalisation and Industrial Relations O. Jacobi, B. Jessop, H. Kastendiek and M. Regini (eds.)     

Book reviews

Book Reviewed in This Article: CORE PERSONNEL AND DEVELOPMENT Mick Marchington and Adrian Wilkinson MANAGING THE ORGANISATIONAL MELTING POT: DILEMMAS OF WORKPLACE DIVERSITY P. Prasad, A. J. Mills, M. Elmes and A. Prasad (eds) MANAGING DIVERSITY: HUMAN RESOURCE STRATEGIES FOR TRANSFORMING THE WORKPLACE E. E. Kossek and S. A. Lobel (eds) HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT FOR HOSPITALITY SERVICES Alistair Goldsmith, Dennis Nickson, Donald Sloan and Roy C. Wood PATHS OF CHANGE Will McWhinney CREATING PATHS OF CHANGE Will McWhinney, James B. Webber, Douglas M. Smith and Bernie J. Novokowsky INNOVATION, ORGANISATIONAL CHANGE AND TECHNOLOGY Ian McLoughlin and Martin Harris (eds)     

Tqm: Instant Pudding For the Personnel Function?

Adrian Wilkinson and Mick Marchington, who are Lecturer and Senior Lecturer in Industrial Relations at the Manchester School of Management, consider the long-running debate about the role of the personnel function and, in particular, the argument that line managers are now taking the lead in the development of HR initiatives. They argue that this debate obscures the reality of organisational diversity and that a more fruitful line of enquiry is to focus on the different roles which personnel practitioners may play. They stress the diversity and multiplicity of personnel contributions in the development of TQM initiatives uncovered in their recent case study research, and suggest that there is perhaps a more optimistic future for the personnel function than implied elsewhere.     

SOCIAL CHANGE AND ECONOMIC LIFE IN BRITAIN IN THE 1980s

Books reviewed in this article:
Duncan Gallie, Catherine Marsh, and Carolyn Vogler (eds.) (1994) Social Change and the Experience of Unemployment.
Jill Rubery and Frank Wilkinson (eds.) (1994) Employer Strategy and the Labour Market.
Alison McEwan Scott (ed.) (1994) Gender Segregation and Social Change: Men and Women in Changing Labour Markets.
Roger Penn, Michael Rose, and Jill Rubery (eds.) (1994) Skill and Occupational Change.
Michael Anderson, Frank Bechhofer, and Jonathan Gershuny (eds.) (1994) The Social and Political Economy of the Household.
Duncan Gallie, Roger Penn, and Michael Rose (eds.) (1996) Trade Unionism in Recession.     

Book Reviews

Book reviewed in this article: Industry and Society in Europe: Stability and Change in Britain, Germany and France Christel Lane Labour Relations and Political Change in Eastern Europe John Thirkell, Richard Scase, Sarah Vickerstaff (Eds.) Politics and Ideology in the Italian Workers’ Movement Gino Bedani The Puzzle of Strikes: Class and State Strategies in Postwar Italy Roberto Franzosi The Politics of Quality in the Public Sector Ian Kirkpatrick & Miguel Martinez Lucio (Eds.) Making Quality Critical: New Perspectives on Organizational Change Adrian Wilkinson & Hugh Willmott (Eds.) Cold War in the Working Class: The Rise and Decline of the United Electrical Workers Ronald Filippelli and Mark McColloch The New Industrial Relations In Australia Ian Hunt and Chris Provis (Eds) Mediation of Industrial Disputes Macken, J. J. and Gregory, G. Negotiation as a Social Process Kramer, R. M. and Messick, D. M. (Eds.)     

Book reviews

A Restatement of Economic Liberalism Samuel Brittan Macmillan Japanese Style Management Transferred: The Experience of East Asia K. John Fukuda Routledge Japanese Management in America and Britain Donald Duncan Gordon Gower The Japanization of British Industry Nick Oliver Barry Wilkinson The Finances of British Trade Unions 1975–1985 Paul Willman Industrial Relations in Small Firms—Small Isn’t Beautiful Al Rainnie Routledge Managers of Discontent: Trade Union Officers and Industrial Relations Managers Diane Watson Routledge Recruitment and Selection in the Labour Market Paul Windolf and Stephen Wood Gower Safety at work: the limits of self-regulation Sandra Dawson, Paul Willman, Martin Bamford and Alan Clinton Debating Coal Closures: Economic Calculation in the Coal Dispute 1984–5 David Cooper and Trevor Hopper Helping the Unemployed Professional Roland Pearson and Anne Heyno Wiley Incompressible Unemployment John Naylor and Barbara Senior Avebury The Individual in the Economy: A Survey of Economic Psychology Stephen E. G. Lea, Roger M. Tarpy Financial and Economic Analysis of Enterprises Karl Hedderwick     

BOOK REVIEWS

Book Review in this Article Morgan , Gareth (Ed.) Beyond Method: Strategies For Social Research. Earl , Michael J. (Ed.) Perspectives On Management - A Multidisciplinary Analysis. Karabadse , Andrew The Politics of Management. Poole , M., Brown , W., Rubery , J., Sisson , K., Tarling , R. and Wilkinson , F. Industrial Relations In the Future: Trends and Possibilities In Britain Over the Next Decade. Bradley , Keith and Gelb , Alan Worker Capitalism: the New Industrial Relations. Durcan , J. W., Mccarthy , W. E. J. and Redman , G. P. Strikes In Post-War Britain: A Study of Stoppages of Work Due to Industrial Disputes, 1946-73.     

BOOK REVIEWS

Book reviews in this article: LABOUR IN THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY: The Migration of Workers in the United Kingdom and the European Community by W. R. Böhning LABOUR IN THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY: Labor Movements in the Common Market Countries by Marguerite Bouvard LABOUR IN THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY: Employment Conditions in Europe by Margaret Stewart TRANSNATIONAL INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS: Proceedings of a Symposium held at Geneva by the International Institute for Labour Studies by Hans Günter MULTINATIONAL CORPORATIONS AND BRITISH LABOUR: REVIEW OF ATTITUDES AND RESPONSES by John Gennard INDUSTRIAL CONFLICT—A COMPARATIVE LEGAL SURVEY by B. Aaron and K. W. Wedderburn WORKERS PARTICIPATION IN MANAGEMENT IN BRITAIN by R. O. Clarke, D. J. Fatchett and B. C. Roberts DO TRADE UNIONS CAUSE INFLATION? by D. Jackson, H. A. Turner and F. Wilkinson HANDBOOK OF INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS by D. Torrington ORGANISATIONS IN THEORY AND PRACTICE by Cyril Sofer THE SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY OF WORK by Michael Argyle     

DISCIPLINING THE PROFESSIONAL: THE CASE OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT*

Despite its rapid growth in recent years, Project Management has received very little critical attention, particularly when compared to the more ‘hyped’ managerial fashions such as TQM (cf. Wilkinson and Willmott, 1995 ) and BPR (cf. Grey and Mitev, 1995 ; Grint, 1994 ). My intention in this paper is to critically examine the ongoing construction of Project Management as a professional discipline in modern organizations. Drawing on an understanding of ‘discipline’ based in Foucauldian work, I will briefly trace the historical construction of Project Management as a form of managerial knowledge, outlining the key models and techniques which make up contemporary Project Management. Through an empirical study of the articulation and reproduction of Project Management within two Financial Services institutions, the everyday construction of Project Management as an ‘objective’ and ‘abstract’ body of knowledge will be described. I then contrast this with the embodied and power‐laden operation of Project Management, with disciplinary effects not only on those employees whose work is restructured in line with Project Management principles but equally upon self‐professed Project Management professionals themselves.     

Book Reviews

Book reviewed in this article: Human Rights and Labour Law. Essays for Paul O'Higgins K. D. Ewing, C. A. Gearty and B. A. Hepple, (Eds) Working for the Union–British Trade Union Officers John Kelly and Edmund Heery Agenda for change: An International Analysis of Industrial Relations in Transition J. Niland and O. Clarke, Editors Labour and Industry in the Asia-Pacific: Lessons from the Newly-Industrialized Countries Barry Wilkinson Comparative Industrial Relations: An Introduction to Cross-National Perspectives (2nd Edition) Ron Bean Gender and Trade Unions Elizabeth Lawrence Purchasing Power: Consumer Organizing, Gender and the Seattle Labor Movement Dana Frank Youth and Work: Transition to Employment in England and Germany John Bynner and Ken Roberts (Eds) Becoming Adults in England and Germany Karen Evans and Walter R. Heinz (Eds) Regulating Employment and Welfare. Company and National Policies of Labour Force Participation at the End of Worklife in Industrial Countries Frieder Naschold and Bert de Vroom (eds) Scandinavia in a New Europe Thomas P. Boje and Sven E. Olsson Hort (eds) Craft, Class and Control Ian Roberts Union Education in Britain: a TUC activity John Holford