Paul J. Gollan - Böcker

Employee participation encompasses the range of mechanisms used to involve the workforce in decisions at all levels of the organization - whether direct or indirect - conducted with employees or through their representatives. In its various guises, the topic of employee participation has been a recurring theme in industrial relations and human resource management. One of the problems in trying to develop any analysis of participation is that there is potentially limited overlap between these different disciplinary traditions, and scholars from diverse traditions may know relatively little of the research that has been done elsewhere. Accordingly in this book, a number of the more significant disciplinary areas are analysed in greater depth in order to ensure that readers gain a better appreciation of what participation means from these quite different contextual perspectives. Not only is there a range of different traditions contributing to the research and literature on the subject, there is also an extremely diverse sets of practices that congregate under the banner of participation. The handbook discusses various arguments and schools of thought about employee participation, analyzes the range of forms that participation can take in practice, and examines the way in which it meets objectives that are set for it, either by employers, trade unions, individual workers, or, indeed, the state. In doing so, the Handbook brings together leading scholars from around the world who present and discuss fundamental theories and approaches to participation in organization as well as their connection to broader political forces. These selections address the changing contexts of employee participation, different cultural/ institutional models, old/'new' economy models, shifting social and political patterns, and the correspondence between industrial and political democracy and participation.

Employee participation encompasses the range of mechanisms used to involve the workforce in decisions at all levels of the organization - whether direct or indirect - conducted with employees or through their representatives. In its various guises, the topic of employee participation has been a recurring theme in industrial relations and human resource management. One of the problems in trying to develop any analysis of participation is that there is potentially limited overlap between these different disciplinary traditions, and scholars from diverse traditions may know relatively little of the research that has been done elsewhere. Accordingly in this book, a number of the more significant disciplinary areas are analysed in greater depth in order to ensure that readers gain a better appreciation of what participation means from these quite different contextual perspectives.Not only is there a range of different traditions contributing to the research and literature on the subject, there is also an extremely diverse sets of practices that congregate under the banner of participation. The handbook discusses various arguments and schools of thought about employee participation, analyzes the range of forms that participation can take in practice, and examines the way in which it meets objectives that are set for it, either by employers, trade unions, individual workers, or, indeed, the state. In doing so, the Handbook brings together leading scholars from around the world who present and discuss fundamental theories and approaches to participation in organization as well as their connection to broader political forces. These selections address the changing contexts of employee participation, different cultural/ institutional models, old/'new' economy models, shifting social and political patterns, and the correspondence between industrial and political democracy and participation.

In the last decade, nonunion employee representation (NER) has become a much discussed topic in the fields of human resource management, employment relations, and employment/labor law. This book examines the purpose, structure, and performance of various types of employee representation bodies created by companies in non-union settings to promote collective forums for voice and involvement at the workplace. This unique volume presents the first longitudinal evidence on the performance, success, and failure of NER plans over an extended time period. Consisting of twelve detailed, in-depth case studies of actual NER plans in operation across four countries, this volume provides unparalleled evidence on such matters as: the motives behind the initial establishment of NER, different organizational forms of NER in industry, key success and failure factors over the long-term, pro and con evaluations for employers and employees, and more. Voice and Involvement at Work captures an unequalled international and comparative perspective through a wide cross-section of different NER forms.

This volume contains distinctive papers that explore important aspects of contemporary employment relationships, some on micro level in orientation, whereas others are more macro oriented. Some papers contain extensive quantitative analysis, while others feature deep qualitative analysis, all shedding new light on their chosen topics. Contributors provide evidence and examples from the USA, the UK, Canada, and the Netherlands, dealing with topics such as: the dual alignment of industrial relations activity in terms of strategic choice and mutual gains; evidence from Canada about first contract arbitration and its implications for the proposed USA Employee Free Choice Act; the search for an integrated model of worker participation and organizational performance at the level of the firm; the impact of employee well-being policies and sickness absence on workplace performance; the role of participation in decision making in reducing work-life conflict; an institutional analysis of union engagement in Western New York State economic development; and, the International Labor Organization's enforcement of labor standards in the global maritime industry.

In the last decade, nonunion employee representation (NER) has become a much discussed topic in the fields of human resource management, employment relations, and employment/labor law. This book examines the purpose, structure, and performance of various types of employee representation bodies created by companies in non-union settings to promote collective forums for voice and involvement at the workplace. This unique volume presents the first longitudinal evidence on the performance, success, and failure of NER plans over an extended time period. Consisting of twelve detailed, in-depth case studies of actual NER plans in operation across four countries, this volume provides unparalleled evidence on such matters as: the motives behind the initial establishment of NER, different organizational forms of NER in industry, key success and failure factors over the long-term, pro and con evaluations for employers and employees, and more. Voice and Involvement at Work captures an unequalled international and comparative perspective through a wide cross-section of different NER forms.

Volume 20 of Advances in Industrial and Labor Relations (AILR) contains seven papers that deal with important aspects of employment relationships in a variety of industries, countries and research contexts. The first three papers, each of which analyzes the effects of an exogenous variable (e.g., fiscal adversity, globalization, and new technology, respectively) on labor-management relations, have specific industry/sector settings, namely, pubic schools (primary education), civil aviation and nursing homes (health care), respectively. The first and third of these papers are set in the U.S., the second in Britain. The next four papers, each of which analyzes the effects of enacted or contemplated legislation on specific aspects of labor-management relations and workplace dispute resolution, are set in Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the U.S., respectively. The research designs featured in these papers include quasi-experimental, case studies, interviews, surveys and simultaneous equation modeling.

Advances in Industrial and Labor Relations is a refereed research volume published annually or biannually. Although the series is designed to focus on industrial relations issues, volumes also focus on diverse disciplines, such as economics, law, history, organizational behavior, psychology, and sociology.

In recent years many employers in the U.S., Great Britain, Ireland, and elsewhere, often in partnership with their unions, have turned to new approaches to managing and resolving workplace disputes. In the U.S. this movement is often called “alternative dispute resolution” (ADR), an approach that involves the use of mediation, arbitration, and other third-party dispute resolution techniques, rather than litigation, to resolve workplace disputes. Some employers have established so-called “conflict management systems,” a pro-active, strategic approach to handling workplace conflict. This volume contains chapters by some of the world’s leading scholars of workplace dispute resolution and conflict management as well as chapters by emerging younger scholars in these fields. The chapters present original research that combines cutting-edge thinking about the theoretical dimensions of ADR and conflict management along with rigorous empirical analyses of real-life data.

Within the labor relations paradigm, employee voice is broadly defined as the ways and means through which employees ‘have a say’ and influence organizational issues at work. Whilst we know much about employee voice in the Anglo-American (developed) world, we know much less about how employee voice operates in emerging economies. This volume explores the nature of employee voice in four emerging economies: Argentina, China, India and South Korea. The volume brings together an internationally renowned group of contributors who are experts in their field and an authority on their countries, to combine cutting edge research and theory in this essential exploration of voice in emerging economies. This volume identifies, inter alia, novel forms and channels of employee voice, new institutional and informal actors, new challenges to social dialogue and representation in emerging economies, and, the importance of cultural norms in predicting employee voice behaviors. The volume therefore provides a timely challenge to the predominant assumptions that underline the nature, operation and effectiveness of employee voice in the Western world.

Volume 24 of Advances in Industrial and Labor Relations (AILR) contains eight papers highlighting important aspects of the employment relationship. The papers deal with such themes as shifts in workplace voice, justice, negotiation and conflict resolution in contemporary workplaces. Consistent with previous AILR volumes, the papers in Volume 24 reflect a variety of quantitative and qualitative research methods, including case studies, survey, interviews, historiography, theory building, and longitudinal and cross-sectional research designs and analysis. These papers also reflect a global perspective on workplace issues. The specific topics of these papers include social construction of workarounds, workplace dispute resolution, employee involvement at Delta Air Lines, voice and empowerment practice in an Australian manufacturing company, democracy and union militancy and revitalization, adapting union administrative practices to new realities, pro-social and self-interest motivations for unionism and implications for unions as institutions, and high performance work systems and union impacts on employee turnover intention in China.

Volume 27 of Advances in Industrial and Labor Relations (AILR) contains five peer-reviewed papers highlighting key aspects of employment relations across a variety of disciplinary perspectives.These papers feature historical and legal analyses of work regulation, intra-organizational analysis of employee development and entry-level hiring decisions, prospects for unionization and other forms of collective association in gig economy companies, and analysis of on-line versus in-person mediation of employment disputes involving allegations of discrimination.As with prior AILR volumes, the papers in Volume 27 display a variety of quantitative and qualitative research methods. These range from primary research methods such as case studies, survey, interviews, and historiography to longitudinal and cross-sectional empirical studies and theory building.

Volume 25 of Advances in Industrial and Labor Relations (AILR) contains eight new peer-reviewed papers highlighting key aspects of employment relations from a global perspective. Topics discussed include dispute resolution through ombud and arbitration arrangements, union organizing in an informal economy, domestic and foreign firm labor market competition, occupational safety in coal mining, work and social protections in a platform economy, workforce training for older workers, and right-to-work law effects on the stock market. Consistent with previous AILR volumes, the papers in Volume 25 reflect a variety of quantitative and qualitative research methods. These range from primary research methods such as case studies, survey, interviews and historiography to longitudinal and cross-sectional research designs and theory building. Some of the research included in this volume was first presented at the 70th annual meeting of the Labor and Employment Relations Association (LERA) held in Baltimore, Maryland (USA) during June 2018.

Volume 26 of Advances in Industrial and Labor Relations (AILR) contains six new peer-reviewed papers highlighting key aspects of employment relations a variety of disciplinary perspectives. The topics of these papers include a historical analysis of the first trade association of commercial printers, the prospects for free riding in public sector unions following a key U.S. Supreme Court decision, the increasing stratification of college and university faculty, procedural and distributive justice aspects of sexual harassment arbitrations in unionized settings, the effects of third-party neutral sourcing and qualifications on employment ADR practice in large companies, and the measurement of democratic spillover from workplaces to politics. As with prior AILR volumes, the papers in Volume 26 display a variety of quantitative and qualitative research methods. These range from primary research methods such as case studies, survey, interviews and historiography to longitudinal and cross-sectional empirical studies and theory building. Some of the research included in this volume was first presented at the 71th annual meeting of the Labor and Employment Relations Association (LERA) held in Cleveland, Ohio (USA) during June 2019.