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Article
Publication date: 7 August 2017

Girish Balasubramanian and Santanu Sarkar

The purpose of this paper is to delve into some of the key internal and external factors that led to the choice of specific strategies for union revitalization using the…

421

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to delve into some of the key internal and external factors that led to the choice of specific strategies for union revitalization using the theoretical framework built upon framing perspectives, the strategic action field (SAF), and the strategic choice theory.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors used a stringent definition and corresponding operationalization of trade union revitalization. The present research has been carried out on a registered industrial union within the context of Global South, specifically in India.

Findings

Evidence was found for the trade union adopting a mix of strategies for revitalization, namely, union organizing, social movement unionism, and union restructuring. A mix of both internal and external factors identified informed the choice of revitalization strategies.

Research limitations/implications

Specific limitations include the subjectivity of the inference in spite of taking due precautions, and lack of generalizability of the findings based on a single case study.

Practical implications

A strong identity, coupled with structural vitality and optimum use of resources enables trade unions to frame the need of a strategy for revival in order to counter the strategic action of employers resulting in union revitalization.

Originality/value

The theoretical novelty of this research stems from the amalgamation of collective action frames, SAF, and strategic choice framework to understand the union revitalization in the context of Global South.

Details

Employee Relations, vol. 39 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0142-5455

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Article
Publication date: 9 February 2015

Peter K. McGregor, Jason Birt, Kelly Haynes, Ruth J. Martin, Lawrence J. Moores, Nicola J. Morris, Brender Willmott and Andrew C. Smart

A significant (8-18 per cent) proportion of higher education (HE) students in the UK are hosted by colleges. The quality of college HE provision has been questioned. The purpose…

301

Abstract

Purpose

A significant (8-18 per cent) proportion of higher education (HE) students in the UK are hosted by colleges. The quality of college HE provision has been questioned. The purpose of this paper is to present the case studies showing an HE ethos and student scholarship in a college environment from two levels of degree, three areas of science and contexts from submission to government consultations to tropical fieldwork, and from event organisation to volunteering.

Design/methodology/approach

Five case studies are presented, each of which was developed and delivered by a subset of the authors (see biographies for details). During delivery, individual staff developed opinions on the success of components of the approaches; these were discussed with co-deliverers, other authors/staff members and degree programme external examiners during the academic year. The information reported in this manuscript is a composite of these views.

Findings

All of the case studies were designed to have elements of HE ethos and student scholarship that contribute towards a high-quality student experience. The extensive links with potential employers and outside professionals help to ensure student engagement with real world issues and provide opportunities for individual enhancement, often through extracurricular activities.

Originality/value

The range of case studies presented here indicates the potential for engagement and enhancement in a college HE context; it also indicates the college-wide culture of progression and scholarship. Whilst the details are necessarily specific, the diversity of the case studies indicates the potential of the approaches outlined in other subjects.

Details

Higher Education, Skills and Work-Based Learning, vol. 5 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2042-3896

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Book part
Publication date: 1 January 2005

Allison R. Johnson and David W. Stewart

Abstract

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Review of Marketing Research
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-0-85724-723-0

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Book part
Publication date: 11 April 2009

Vidu Badigannavar

In Britain, labor−management partnership has been the fulcrum of the Labor Government's employment relations programme since its election in 1997. The Involvement and…

Abstract

In Britain, labor−management partnership has been the fulcrum of the Labor Government's employment relations programme since its election in 1997. The Involvement and Participation Association (IPA, 1997; website: http://www.partnership-at-work.com) − the influential employers’ organization − has been at the forefront of promoting labor−management partnership to improve productivity in UK firms through greater employee involvement and participation (see http://www.partnership-at-work.com). The Trades Union Congress (TUC; partnership institute website: http://www.partnership-institute.org.uk) and several of its constituent unions have also endorsed partnership with employers as a route to promote employee ‘voice’ at work, secure better bargaining outcomes and improve union membership levels and density (Undy, 2001). Union density in the UK private sector has declined from 19.9 per cent in autumn 1997 to 17.2 per cent in autumn 2005, while in the public sector it has declined from 60.9 per cent to 58.6 per cent over the same period of time (Grainger, 2006). Advocates of partnership argue that such arrangements deliver mutual gains to the parties involved, viz. higher productivity and profits for employers, better wages and higher employment security to workers and greater influence over management decisions for unions, which in turn help them to attract and recruit new members (e.g. Haynes & Allen, 2001; Deery & Iverson, 2005).

Details

Advances in Industrial & Labor Relations
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-84855-397-2

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Article
Publication date: 1 August 2004

Stewart Johnstone, Adrian Wilkinson and Peter Ackers

This paper presents the findings of a case study undertaken in a UK utility company, referred to as Energy Co. The main aim of the study was to assess how the agreement of a…

4268

Abstract

This paper presents the findings of a case study undertaken in a UK utility company, referred to as Energy Co. The main aim of the study was to assess how the agreement of a partnership arrangement in 1995 had affected the conduct of employment relations. The study found that partnership was born out of a poor industrial relations climate, and driven primarily by management. They hoped that it might improve industrial relations, raise employee commitment, inform and educate the workforce, and increase employee contribution. Partnership was not intended to encourage joint governance or power sharing. In practice, partnership combined direct employment involvement (EI) such as team briefing and problem solving groups, with representative participation through a formal partnership council system. Management suggested that, on balance, partnership had been successful, with benefits including improved industrial relations, quicker pay negotiations and increased legitimacy of decision making. It was also suggested that there was a positive link – albeit indirect and intangible – with organisational performance. Union representatives also proposed that partnership was a success, citing benefits including greater access to information, greater influence, inter‐union co‐operation, and more local decision making. Employee views were more mixed. There was also clear evidence of several tensions. Four were particularly noteworthy: employee apathy, management‐representative relations, employee‐representative relations, and the role of full‐time union officials (FTOs). Despite espoused partnership, management hostility to unions was evident, and a preference for non‐union employment relations clear. Consequently, the future of the partnership in its current form is uncertain.

Details

Employee Relations, vol. 26 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0142-5455

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Article
Publication date: 1 June 2005

Graham Dietz, John Cullen and Alan Coad

The purpose of this paper is to explore a number of issues pertaining to the conceptualisation, operationalisation, feasibility and effectiveness of workplace partnership…

4764

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore a number of issues pertaining to the conceptualisation, operationalisation, feasibility and effectiveness of workplace partnership arrangements in a non‐unionised setting.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper discusses the most common definitions of partnership to discern whether scope exists for non‐unionised forms. It then presents a detailed case study, based on 38 semi‐structured interviews with 29 interviewees, inside a non‐unionised company to analyse whether its people management arrangements conform with the definitions presented, and to examine the employees’ experience of those arrangements.

Findings

The paper notes that most partnership definitions can accommodate non‐unionised forms, if the arrangements for people management inside such firms meet certain standards on employee voice mechanisms and the exchange of mutual gains. The evidence from the case study suggests that its unusual policies and practices do conform with a viable model of non‐unionised partnership – albeit with some reservations. The benefits and concerns are discussed in the paper.

Research implications/limitations

The paper presents a credible definition and observable operationalisation of partnership for researchers to adopt. It encourages future research on the extent to which so‐called “partnership” organisations, including non‐union enterprises, comply and suggests comparative research between paired unionised and non‐unionised cases. However, it is limited to one case study.

Originality/value

The paper's primary value is in its extension of the partnership debate beyond its current “union‐only ghetto” into examining non‐unionised forms, as well. The case study is also unique in the literature as an example of non‐unionised partnership.

Details

Employee Relations, vol. 27 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0142-5455

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Article
Publication date: 1 August 2002

Pawan Budhwar, Andy Crane, Annette Davies, Rick Delbridge, Tim Edwards, Mahmoud Ezzamel, Lloyd Harris, Emmanuel Ogbonna and Robyn Thomas

Wonders whether companies actually have employees best interests at heart across physical, mental and spiritual spheres. Posits that most organizations ignore their workforce �…

64534

Abstract

Wonders whether companies actually have employees best interests at heart across physical, mental and spiritual spheres. Posits that most organizations ignore their workforce – not even, in many cases, describing workers as assets! Describes many studies to back up this claim in theis work based on the 2002 Employment Research Unit Annual Conference, in Cardiff, Wales.

Details

Management Research News, vol. 25 no. 8/9/10
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0140-9174

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Article
Publication date: 1 June 1998

Isabel P. Albaladejo‐Pina and Joaquin Aranda‐Gallego

The present paper focuses on market area delimitation as a measure of trade centre position. Because of the inadequacy of existing methods to locate the existence and the level of…

583

Abstract

The present paper focuses on market area delimitation as a measure of trade centre position. Because of the inadequacy of existing methods to locate the existence and the level of store competition from a spatial perspective, our aim has been to develop a method which allows us to solve this problem. This method enables us to make an analysis of a store’s position in the region with regard to its competitors, both from a spatial perspective and from the perspective of customer type classification. The model is implemented by application to a set of retail stores in the city of Murcia for sales of fish and sea products.

Details

European Journal of Marketing, vol. 32 no. 5/6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0309-0566

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Article
Publication date: 29 November 2013

Barbara M. Burns, Lora D. Haynes, Ariel Bauer, Amala Shetty, Joanna Mendoza, Felicia Fregoso, Katherine Strong and Brenda Arellano

The purpose of this paper was to describe the research literature on the science of children's resilience and show its application to parenting interventions for high-risk…

746

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper was to describe the research literature on the science of children's resilience and show its application to parenting interventions for high-risk families. Information about the design and conduct of pilot work to develop a parent program with homeless mothers was included to illustrated this application.

Design/methodology/approach

The design of this report was descriptive. The scientific rationale for promoting children's resilience. The scientific rationale for strengthening children's resilience by focusing on parent's promotion of attachment, executive function skills, and stress/reduction mindfulness was detailed, and the design and format of a pilot parent program was outlined.

Findings

Substantial research evidence affirmed the importance of strengthening children's resilience in high-risk families. Details from pilot work with homeless mothers illustrated the process by which activities were included in workshops to promote children's resilience. Future work will test the efficacy of this program in a controlled study with a range of pre- and post-assessments.

Practical implications

The current paper expanded the traditional focus of parent education to include strengthening children's resilience as a way to better address the myriad of critical needs faced by children and families experiencing homelessness.

Originality/value

The design and format of a community-based parenting program to strengthen children's resilience by focusing on attachment, executive function skills, and stress reduction/mindfulness were novel. Future research will test the efficacy of this new program with high-risk families.

Details

Therapeutic Communities: The International Journal of Therapeutic Communities, vol. 34 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0964-1866

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Article
Publication date: 3 January 2017

Samantha Evans, Amanda Pyman and Iona Byford

The purpose of this paper is to explore the consequences of a managerial approach to renewal for a union’s behaviour by analysing the UK’s fourth largest trade union – The Union…

739

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the consequences of a managerial approach to renewal for a union’s behaviour by analysing the UK’s fourth largest trade union – The Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (USDAW).

Design/methodology/approach

The findings draw on in-depth semi-structured interviews with union officials.

Findings

The research findings show the significance of a managerialist approach to UDSAW’s renewal strategy and its correlation with existing renewal strategies of organising and partnership. However, this approach was not immune to context, with tensions between agency and articulation challenging the basic concept of managerialism and influencing union behaviour.

Research limitations/implications

The data were collected from a single case with a small sample size.

Practical implications

The authors’ findings suggest that tensions between bureaucracy and democracy will mediate the extent to which managerialist approaches can be used within unions adding support to the strategic choice theory and underlying arguments that unions can influence their fortune. However, institutional and external pressures could see managerialism becoming more prevalent, with oligarchic and bureaucratic forces prevailing, which could be particularly applicable to unions operating in challenging contexts, such as USDAW. The managerialisation of unions has consequences for union officers; with officers facing increasing pressure in their roles to behave as managers with attendant implications for role conflict, identity and motivation.

Social implications

If managerialism is becoming more prevalent with unions, with oligarchic and bureaucratic forces prevailing, this has potentially wider societal implications, whereby collectivism and worker-led democracy could become scarcer within unions and the workplace, thus irretrievably altering the nature of the employment relationship.

Originality/value

This paper brings together disparate themes in the literature to propose a conceptual framework of three key elements of managerialism: centralised strategies; performance management and the managerialisation of union roles. The authors’ findings demonstrate how there is scope for unions to adopt a hybrid approach to renewal, and to draw upon their internal resources, processes and techniques to implement change, including behavioural change. Consequently, theories and empirical studies of union renewal need to better reflect the complexities of approaches that unions are now adopting and further explore these models within the agency and articulation principles that underpin the nature of unions.

Details

Employee Relations, vol. 39 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0142-5455

Keywords

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