Patrick Gunnigle, Jonathan Lavelle and Anthony McDonnell
This paper examines the use of “double breasting” as a means of union avoidance among multinational companies (MNCs). Double breasting refers to the practice whereby…
Abstract
This paper examines the use of “double breasting” as a means of union avoidance among multinational companies (MNCs). Double breasting refers to the practice whereby multi-establishment organizations simultaneously operate establishments on both union and non-union bases. Using survey data from the largest and most representative empirical investigation of employment practice in MNCs in Ireland, supplemented by qualitative data gathered from case-based investigations in the subsidiary operations of American-owned MNCs, we profile the incidence and pattern of this particular form of union avoidance as well as providing insights on management's rationale for so doing. Our findings suggest that a substantial and increasing number of unionized MNCs in Ireland are engaging in double breasting. This phenomenon is most evident among U.S. MNCs. We also find that employers, at both local and global levels, have proactively initiated double breasting as a strategic ploy to increase management prerogative and better position subsidiary operations to attract new investment from corporate levels.
Patrick Gunnigle, Jonathan Lavelle and Sinéad Monaghan
This paper aims to examine the impact of the global financial crisis on human resource management (HRM) in multinational companies (MNCs) in Ireland. It focuses on four key areas…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine the impact of the global financial crisis on human resource management (HRM) in multinational companies (MNCs) in Ireland. It focuses on four key areas of HR, namely staffing, pay and benefits, industrial relations and the HR function.
Design/methodology/approach
It uses a mixed methods approach involving four major data sources combining objective information reported on the impact of the GFC on HRM with subjective perspectives on HRM practice within MNCs.
Findings
Specific findings are presented in regard to staffing, pay and benefits, industrial relations and role of HR function. The authors find extensive evidence to indicate that MNCs have been in the vanguard of organisations engaging in multidimensional restructuring programmes in response to the GFC, incorporating many initiatives in the domain of HRM. These include job cuts, short‐term working, reduction in training and development expenditure, pay cuts and freezes, reduced benefits and changes in industrial relations. While the authors find that HR function has played a central key role in “delivering” responses to the GFC within MNCs, they also find evidence of a reorganisation of, and financial pressure on, the HR function itself.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to and develops the extant literature on the impact of economic crisis on human resource management.
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Jonathan Glazzard and Anthea Rose
In this chapter, the authors argue that technology can be advantageous to children and young people’s mental health. The authors argue that social media platforms can foster…
Abstract
In this chapter, the authors argue that technology can be advantageous to children and young people’s mental health. The authors argue that social media platforms can foster social connection, social support and access to important information to support mental health. The authors also highlight the risks, particularly the research which links technology to mental ill-health. The authors argue that the digital curriculum in schools should develop young people’s knowledge of digital literacy, digital citizenship and digital resilience. Finally, the authors explore the potential role that technological applications (apps) can play in supporting children and young people’s mental health. The authors argue that although research is in its infancy, some studies have produced promising results.
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Chris F. Wright, Alex J. Wood, Jonathan Trevor, Colm McLaughlin, Wei Huang, Brian Harney, Torsten Geelan, Barry Colfer, Cheng Chang and William Brown
The purpose of this paper is to review “institutional experimentation” for protecting workers in response to the contraction of the standard employment relationship and the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to review “institutional experimentation” for protecting workers in response to the contraction of the standard employment relationship and the corresponding rise of “non-standard” forms of paid work.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper draws on the existing research and knowledge base of the authors as well as a thorough review of the extant literature relating to: non-standard employment contracts; sources of labour supply engaging in non-standard work; exogenous pressures on the employment relationship; intermediaries that separate the management from the control of labour; and entities that subvert the employment relationship.
Findings
Post-war industrial relations scholars characterised the traditional regulatory model of collective bargaining and the standard employment contract as a “web of rules”. As work relations have become more market mediated, new institutional arrangements have developed to govern these relations and regulate the terms of engagement. The paper argues that these are indicative of an emergent “patchwork of rules” which are instructive for scholars, policymakers, workers’ representatives and employers seeking solutions to the contraction of the traditional regulatory model.
Research limitations/implications
While the review of the institutional experimentation is potentially instructive for developing solutions to gaps in labour regulation, a drawback of this approach is that there are limits to the realisation of policy transfer. Some of the initiatives discussed in the paper may be more effective than others for protecting workers on non-standard contracts, but further research is necessary to test their effectiveness including in different contexts.
Social implications
The findings indicate that a task ahead for the representatives of government, labour and business is to determine how to adapt the emergent patchwork of rules to protect workers from the new vulnerabilities created by, for example, employer extraction and exploitation of their individual bio data, social media data and, not far off, their personal genome sequence.
Originality/value
The paper addresses calls to examine the “institutional intersections” that have informed the changing ways that work is conducted and regulated. These intersections transcend international, national, sectoral and local units of analysis, as well as supply chains, fissured organisational dynamics, intermediaries and online platforms. The analysis also encompasses the broad range of stakeholders including businesses, labour and community groups, nongovernmental organisations and online communities that have influenced changing institutional approaches to employment protection.
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Gavin J. Nicholson and Geoffrey C. Kiel
To date, corporate governance research agendas have tended to concentrate on one particular role that a board performs. For instance, agency theory concentrates on the monitoring…
Abstract
To date, corporate governance research agendas have tended to concentrate on one particular role that a board performs. For instance, agency theory concentrates on the monitoring role, resource dependence theory concentrates on the board providing access to resources and stewardship theory concentrates on the board’s advice‐giving or strategic role. While these approaches provide practitioners with useful guidelines regarding issues such as board independence, we contend that practitioners need to take care not to act on the recommendations from a single theory in isolation from the others. To address this concern, we provide a model of board effectiveness that uses the construct of board intellectual capital to integrate the predominant theories of corporate governance and illustrate how the board can drive corporate performance. We further contend that boards that wish to improve their performance need to review their intellectual capital. We conclude by linking the model to a practitioner‐focused framework that identifies four key areas on which a board must concentrate to develop its intellectual capital.
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Jiafeng Zhou, Ernest Lam, Cheuk Hang Au, Patrick Lo and Dickson K.W. Chiu
As current university students may access information for their study anytime, anywhere with ubiquitous mobile technologies, this research re-examines the roles of study space in…
Abstract
Purpose
As current university students may access information for their study anytime, anywhere with ubiquitous mobile technologies, this research re-examines the roles of study space in students' learning and campus life.
Design/methodology/approach
A survey was conducted to collect students' opinions and habits regarding the usage of different study spaces. Results in three different academic majors (science and engineering, arts and business) of a comprehensive international university were compared.
Findings
The authors’ findings showed a more diversified space usage among students, with the library café increasingly important in students' learning and life while learning commons remain important. However, there were only minor differences among these three study majors towards the learning and entertaining spaces, as these students generally apply inquiry-based learning.
Originality/value
While some researches have investigated students' usage of university and library learning spaces, few studies have focused on the study space issue in Hong Kong or other metropolises in the East under the current mobile learning environment. This study's insights could help libraries and universities improve the management of their physical spaces to meet student needs.