Manufacturing Resistance: Rationalizing the Irrationality of Managerial Control on the Shop Floor in a US Medical Electronics Factory

Juravich (1985) asserts that the organization of US industrial manufacturing is irrational as well as appearing chaotic from the workers’ viewpoint because of management’s refusal to integrate the workers’ knowledge into the production process. Because of this, Juravich argues, if and when the workers’ knowledge is integrated into the production system, the workers no longer will experience “chaos on the shop floor.” Extending Devinatz’s (1993) analysis in response to Juravich, this article argues that workers use resistance as a logical strategy for rationalizing what they perceive to be the irrationality of the shop floor. Utilizing Kusterer’s (1978) work, I argue that the use of many, but not all, resistance strategies constitutes a type of “survival knowledge” acquired and used by workers in response to managerial control. I maintain that these strategies constitute a special type of workplace resistance which I refer to as “pure and simple resistance.”     

Evaluating employee integrity: Moral and methodological problems

This paper reviews the research on proprietary paper and pencial tests of integrity or honesty, which have effectively supplanted polygraph examinations in evaluating the moral attributes of employees and applicants. Moral integrity is a complex issue that encompasses more than conventional notions of honesty and is difficult to operationalize as a psychological trait or construct. Integrity test questions are largely derived from polygraph interrogations and the tests validated through polygraph results. The field studies reviewed and an exploratory test cast doubt on the ability of these paper and pencil instruments to meet standards of construct validity. Other studies show promise of predictive validity in some situations. Unfortunately, the research designs used to substantiate the predictive powers of integrity tests failed to hold other workplace influences constant. In light of these findings, employers are urged to exercise caution in the use of these tests until further independent research is reported because of potential infringements on privacy and equal opportunity.     

Caught in the Middle: Organizational Impediments to Middle Managers’ Work-life Balance

As increased work demands and longer working hours become the reality for many employees, the concept of work-life balance has received increasing attention. This paper presents findings from an exploratory study of Australian middle managers, which investigated the impact of middle managers’ daily organizational experiences on their lives both in and beyond the workplace. We focus on respondents’ reports of the difficulty in achieving work-life balance, specifically, the organizational impediments to creating balance. Three particular areas where these impediments were apparent are: the impact of new technologies; limits to autonomy and control in the middle management role; and difficulties in taking advantage of flexibility initiatives in the workplace. As middle managers are caught in the middle between work and personal life, there is a need for organizations to support middle managers’ efforts to achieve work-life balance if the organization’s long-term goals are to be achieved.     

What is behind low wages in central and eastern Europe?

This paper compares wages across Europe in relation to the characteristics of workers and firms, with a particular focus on wage levels in central and eastern European countries. Worker and workplace endowments can be taken as a proxy for labour productivity. We estimate the extent to which wage differences observed at an aggregate level can be related to the different compositions of workforces and workplaces, as well as the types of jobs conducted in separate countries. We also decompose the observed differences in returns on endowments by identifying the sectors and occupational categories that contribute most to the wage gaps observed at the aggregate level. The wage gaps in low-wage countries actually appear larger once differences in worker, work and workplace characteristics are controlled for. In contrast, the differences in wages between high-wage countries diminish when we control for these endowments. The wage gap between East and West thus seems to be explained by a much lower return on skills and other characteristics rather than by differences in the composition of workforces and firms. Sectoral and occupational analysis suggests that central and eastern European countries have developed a generalised low-cost and low-wage model, with relative returns particularly low on higher skills. There is much less wage disparity across European countries in more labour intensive and lower-paid services sectors, such as accommodation and food service activities. The magnitude of the wage gap seems to be driven by the relative position of sectors and occupations in high-wage countries.     

战略性招聘和甄选与机会平等、无歧视的兼容性分析

本文通过分析(SR&S),探讨SR&S是否与机会平等、无歧视等工作措施相兼容。首先从学术理论探讨SR&S的发展历程,以及与机会平等、无歧视工作措施的联系,其次探讨他们的一致性和矛盾性,最后根据Compton et al.(2009)的观点提出可行性建议。     

Uncovering the relationship between workaholism and workplace destructive and constructive deviance: an exploratory study

Given the significant social and economic costs and/or benefits associated with workplace deviance, researchers have been interested in examining the antecedents of deviant behaviour. Similarly, as the incidence of workaholism has increased, there has been a need to further understand the positive and negative consequences of workaholism in an organizational context. This exploratory study examined the relationship of three workaholism components with measures of workplace destructive and constructive deviance. Data were collected from 142 male and female employees working in six companies in Brazil using anonymously completed questionnaires. The results suggest that the workaholism components were significantly related to two measures of deviance. This provides partial support for the hypothesized relationship. Future research directions and practical implications are discussed.     

Is there a relationship between workplace atmosphere and innovation activities? An empirical analysis among French firms

We examine empirically the relationship between workplace atmosphere and innovation activities. A generalized method of moments estimator of Poisson regression is applied to a set of 5574 observations in French firms. Our estimation results show that firms in which employees report good workplace atmosphere are more likely to engage in innovation activities. Nevertheless, while a positive relationship is found between workplace atmosphere and product/service innovation, other types of innovation activities, namely process, organizational and marketing, are not related to better workplace atmosphere.     

育龄妇女职场性权益保护的研讨

当前,职场性骚扰问题已经受到各界的普遍关注,保护职场育龄妇女性权益势在必行。本文从理论与法律上对性骚扰进行了分析,最后提出了育龄妇女在职场面对性骚扰时应采取的对策与证据。     

Work‐to‐Family Spillover Effects of Workplace Ostracism: The Role of Work‐Home Segmentation Preferences

This study considers workplace ostracism as a source of stress and examines its spillover effects on the family. By integrating the work‐family interface model with boundary theory, we investigate the impact of workplace ostracism as perceived by employees on their family satisfaction by examining the mediating role of work‐to‐family conflict and the moderating role of work‐home segmentation preferences. The results from a three‐wave field survey of 233 employees in China indicate that workplace ostracism is negatively related to family satisfaction; this relationship is also mediated by work‐to‐family conflict. In addition, work‐home segmentation preferences attenuate the mediating effect of work‐to‐family conflict on the relationship between workplace ostracism and family satisfaction. The theoretical and managerial implications of these findings are discussed.     

Accommodating Religious Expression in the Workplace

Religious expression in the workplace has been gaining more prominence and attention with the increasing diversity of the population. Employers are legally required to reasonably accommodate the religious practices and beliefs of their employees. This article will examine the most common types of religious expression in the workplace and will discuss the extent of the legal obligation of an employer to accommodate those expressions.