Can employee ownership and human resource management policies clash in worker cooperatives? Lessons from a defunct cooperative

The article analyzes the interaction between employee ownership, HRM policies and practices, and HRM outcomes in what was the world's biggest industrial worker cooperative for decades, and now defunct, Fagor Electrodomésticos. Using longitudinal internal data and detailed interviews with key stakeholders, this paper sheds light on how employee ownership conditioned HRM policies. HRM outcomes—such as job satisfaction and absenteeism—are also analyzed over a long period of time. Chronic nepotism when recruiting new members, failures in the training policy, impoverished and Taylorist working systems, and reverse dominance hierarchies are analyzed as factors that increased free riding and caused low satisfaction and the disengagement of working members. This case study contributes to the literature on HRM and worker cooperatives as it provides some insights that are rarely found in that literature. It also provides guidance to worker cooperatives about increasing the fit between employee ownership and HRM policies and outcomes.     

Financial Insecurity in a World of Plenty

Abstract

The U.S. economy is addicted to the simulative impacts of household borrowing. Household debt has grown dramatically since the 1990s and has served to mitigate the detrimental effects of stagnant household wages. The accumulation of this debt has also had the macroeconomic impact of stimulating the economy, pushing it closer towards full employment. However does full employment stimulated by household indebtedness actually represent economic progress? It is argued that even the poorest citizen in a modern industrialized society is better off than a king of feudal Europe, yet in the United States such material prosperity is often tied to social insecurity thanks to debt. The growth of this debt has been enabled by a financial system that has evolved dramatically over the past forty years. The U.S. financial system’s primary role is no longer to finance investment but is rather a tool that enables a separation of ownership from use. Debt has fueled corporate profits which have enriched the shareholding class while at the same time the system has reduced the financial security of the majority of workers. This article crystalizes these issues by analyzing the differentials in financial circumstances faced by workers and shareholders in several major U.S. firms.     

科学技术对农民工市民化的影响因素分析

农民工市民化,是指他们在身份上获得城市居民相同的合法身份和社会权利的过程,最明显的标志是获得所在地的城市户口及相应的社会权利。科技进步促进了农民工市民化的进程,但同时科技进步对农民工市民化也提出了挑战,我们必须加快科技进步,促进农民工向市民的尽快转变,找到我国“三农”问题的突破口。     

代际角度下农民工市民化差异分析与政策诉求的变化——基于襄阳市农民工的调查

通过对襄阳市100位农民工的深度访谈,了解到两代农民工在家庭生活、职业发展、社会融入、心理期待、价值观念等方面还存在着较大代际差异及政策诉求的变化。认为应从户籍制度、职业技能培训、住房制度改革、政治参与等政策调整来应对农民工代际差异所产生的新诉求。     

农民工的城市归属感与定居决策

本文利用2008年珠三角九城市农民工调查数据,对农民工城市定居决策的影响因素进行了实证分析。结果发现,农民工的城市归属感是其定居决策的关键影响因素。农民工的归属感与工资收入、家庭教育、居住条件等显著正相关,与打工时间、年龄、收入缺口、是否存在劳动者权益侵犯等显著负相关。而农民工是否购买保险、是否加入工会、是否接受职业培训等不会显著影响农民工的城市归属感及定居决策。这说明我国的医疗养老保险制度、工会制度、职业培训政策等并未切实保护农民工的利益,需要进行相应的改革。     

农民工工资水平偏低的原因及对策

文章认为,就业歧视、农民工素质偏低、城市化滞后和产业结构不合理以及有关部门调控监管不力等是造成农民工工资水平偏低的重要原因。深化就业制度改革、加快城市化进程和第三产业发展、加大对农民工培训力度、建立健全农民工工资正常增长机制等,是推动农民工资性收入持续增长的重要举措。     

“以人为本”视角下女工维权研究

女工维权问题是一个亟需解决的现实问题,也是经济社会发展过程中必须面临的一个问题,解决这一问题,需要在"以人为本"理念的指导下,国家、企业、女工三方共同努力。     

河北省城镇下岗职工隐性就业问题研究

当前 ,河北省国有企业下岗职工基本生活保障和再就业工作面临严峻的形势 ,但下岗职工隐性就业现象却相当普遍地出现了 ,并引起社会各界的关注。本文在分析我省城镇下岗职工隐性就业现状的基础上 ,指出隐性就业的正负效应 ,并进而提出解决隐性就业问题的对策 :一、以法治市 ,加大政府的调控力度 ;二、完善社会保险制度 ,建立再就业托底及帮困工程 ;三、从观念引导和有效机制设计上 ,促使隐性就业显性化 ;四、严格控制下岗职工总数 ,制定经济性裁员实施办法。     

解决好农民工问题的经济学思考

由于长期受二元经济结构的束缚,农民工这一社会群体一直处在产业的边缘、城乡的边缘、体制的边缘。因此,要解决好农民工问题,就必须打破二元经济结构,在深化户籍制度改革、建立城乡统一劳动力市场、建立健全农民工社会保障体系等方面加大力度。     

Development and validation of a hospitality idiosyncratic deals scale

This study explores middle and senior hotel managers’ perceptions of their own idiosyncratic deals (i-deals) and develops a scale to measure i-deals in the Chinese hospitality industry. The study uses a mixed research method consisting of a questionnaire survey of 675 middle and senior hotel managers and in-depth interviews with 20 knowledge workers in the hotel industry in mainland China. The findings reveal that there are three types of i-deals in the Chinese hospitality industry: (1) career and incentives i-deals; (2) task i-deals; and (3) flexibility i-deals. The study proposes and validates a three-dimensional scale of hotel managers’ i-deals, thereby enriching our understanding of the idiosyncratic terms of employment in the hospitality industry.