Liberalization and labour: The fate of retrenched workers in the cotton textile industry in India

Abstract

In 1991 the Indian government began to tread seriously the path of liberalization. It started to open up the economy, discuss the privatization of the public sector, invite foreign investment and reform the labour market. Liberalization has proved to be highly controversial. While there has been considerable debate about the consequences for labour, there have been few empirical studies of the effects so far. This paper intends to address this lacuna by focusing on the case of retrenched workers in the cotton textile industry. Our argument is fourfold. First, it cannot be assumed that the informal sector can readily absorb a sudden localized surge in unemployment. Second, even where retrenched workers have found employment in the informal sector, their conditions of employment in terms of wages, working hours, health and safety and representation are likely to be worse. Third, the National Renewal Fund has not been effective as a social safety‐net for retrenched workers nor as a mechanism for regenerating industry. Finally, it cannot be assumed that the trade unions will be able to negotiate a satisfactory deal for redundant workers. These points are explored through an investigation into retrenched workers in the cotton textile mills of Ahmedabad, Gujarat state.     

The fourth industrial revolution,agricultural and rural innovation,and implications for public policy and investments: a case of India

The Indian Government and public–private partnerships are developing and disseminating a dizzying number of innovative, networked solutions, broadly known as the Digital India initiative, to increase the efficiency of safety nets and worker productivity and to improve life. Yet, challenges to turn the power of information and other technologies into a farmer‐friendly technological revolution for India's 156 million rural households are considerable, including: (1) reliable, up‐to‐date, location‐specific message content for a diverse agriculture to help stratified households shift to productive, knowledge‐intensive agriculture as a business—government, private sector, and civil society have big roles to play; (2) digital literacy, i.e., teaching farmers how to choose and use apps, even where the digital divide is absent; apps are, or soon to be, in regional languages; and (3) monitoring actual use and impacts on users’ lives by understanding the adoption and adaptation processes. These challenges call for bottom‐up, complementary investments in physical, human, and institutional capital, and farmer‐friendly e‐platforms, while forging ahead with many top‐down policy and institutional reforms currently underway, in which progress is real and constraints holding back greater success are better understood.     

Impact of culture on organisation members' styles of interactions with the external environment

This study explores the extent to which specific cultural factors influenced members' styles of interactions with constituents in their external environment. A sample of 156 Malaysian and Singaporean nationals studying in the USA responded to a questionnaire which simulated an organisational scenario involving members' interactions with external suppliers of raw materials. Results of a stepwise regression analysis indicated that it was important for the Southeast Asians in this study to feel a sense of alignment (rather than standoffishness) with their clients in the external environment irrespective of whether they adopted bureaucratic, market, or clan mechanisms of mediation. The implications of this cultural tendency for multinational corporations are discussed.The authors would like to thank Dr. Corinna T de Leon for her critical comments on the earlier version of this paper presented at the Culture and Management Styles conference in Singapore in December 1986.The authors are from the Department of Management, Southern Illinois University.     

Trade Reforms and the Efficiency of Firms in India

In this paper, we analyse the impact of reforms on manufacturing efficiency in India. The sector chosen--the cotton textile industry in India--is a very large employer and exporter and also has considerable historical significance. Its response to the reforms therefore is being watched with some concern. The paper concludes that while there was considerable dispersion in efficiency levels before the reforms, this dispersion has decreased since the reforms. To analyse this, we estimate a best practice frontier for the industry and then measure efficiency as the distance from this frontier. We find that efficiency has increased because the reforms have influenced other factors such as market shares, exports and imports and capital-labour ratios. Our results also indicate that geography--the location of the firm within a state and its proximity to a major urban centre--influences the efficiency levels of firms within it.     

Redefining Rural Tourism in Malaysia: A Conceptual Perspective

There is little consensus on the definition for rural tourism. Researchers from different countries have developed their own definitions based on their unique experiences or contexts. In Malaysia, the current definition for rural tourism is rather vague, narrow and focuses on homestay programmes in rural areas. As rural tourism is an important component of the tourism industry in Malaysia, there is a need to redefine what rural tourism is, so that it encompasses the multiple dimensions and complexities. Hence, this paper proposes to redefine rural tourism in Malaysia. The objective was achieved through a content analysis of the different definitions used in selected developed and developing economies that were available in the published literature. With the clear understanding of what rural tourism should ideally encompass, the findings from the study can be used to guide the Malaysian Government in re-positioning rural tourism as a key niche industry and boost the tourism industry higher up the value chain.     

Extending the theory of metaphor in marketing: The case of the art gallery

Abstract

This study analyses the metaphor of spirituality in the non-profit art gallery, a metaphor overlooked in previous marketing research. Using content analysis and interviews in a single depth case study, this article illustrates how spirituality has been a staple in the non-profit art gallery over time. It was found that even though the non-profit art gallery acknowledges its use of spirituality, it has a paradoxical attitude to it. Therefore this article (a) traces the historical influences that led to the extension of metaphor in the art gallery and its relationship to marketing theory, and (b) draws on Hunt and Menon (1995 Hunt, S.D. and Menon, A. 1995. Metaphors and competitive advantage: Evaluating the use of metaphors in theories of competitive strategy. Journal of Business Research, 33(2): 81–90. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) to identify deliberate and emergent strategies using metaphor in the non-profit cultural organisation.     

Can psychological capital reduce stress and job insecurity? An experimental examination with indian evidence

Increasingly, work stress and job insecurity have become pervasive issues in today’s dynamic workplace. Extant literature suggests that individual psychological resources play a significant role in job insecurity and stress. A review of the literature on psychological capital (PsyCap) suggests that there is a dearth of experimental investigation on the effect of PsyCap interventions (PCI) on stress and job insecurity. The primary purpose of this study is to experimentally examine whether an increase in PsyCap through PCI results in a significant decrease in stress and job insecurity. This experimental investigation was conducted on a sample of 234 adults employed in the telecom sector. This study used a two-group (treatment group and placebo control group) pre-test and post-test design. Subjects were randomly assigned either to the treatment group (N?=?124) or the placebo control group (N?=?110). Findings suggest that those subjects who were given PCI (treatment group) developed their PsyCap and there was a significant reduction in stress and job insecurity. On the contrary, participants of the placebo control group did not report any significant change in stress and job insecurity. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.