Labour / income economics Books

Book SynopsisHow can we secure jobs in the shift towards sustainable production?Trade Review'Just Transition has become a broad concept providing justification for very different interest groups. Going back to its roots, the authors of this book recover its radical edge by showing what Just Transition means within a concrete social context. Essential reading for anyone interested in understanding the true meaning of the concept' -- Bela Galgoczi, Senior Researcher at the European Trade Union Institute (ETUI), Brussels'Just Transitions gets the politics, economics, and the morality right - this book shows us the way!' -- Joseph B. Uehlein, Founding President of the Labor Network for Sustainability'This brilliant book demonstrates how the concept of a 'just transition' has become a battlefield. It should be at the heart of a powerful narrative strengthening justice and sustainability; instead it is appropriated by powerful forces blocking the revolutionary change that the climate crisis requires. Readers will be forced to choose sides' -- Jacklyn Cock, author of 'The War Against Ourselves Nature, Power and Justice''Would forestalling a climate catastrophe lead to a crisis for workers? Just Transitions provides historical perspective, thoughtful analysis, and revealing case studies demonstrating that a just transition for workers is difficult, but indeed possible' -- Jeremy Brecher, author of 'Against Doom: A Climate Insurgency Manual''This path breaking volume validates the concept of a Just Transition while intellectually combating attempts to appropriate it and empty it of its transformative potential. If you are serious about climate politics this is an essential read' -- Vishwas Satgar, Principal Investigator for Emancipatory Futures Studies at the University of Witwatersrand'When Just Transition is discussed by governments and academics, what it means for workers who experience the effects of climate change and for unions who are responsible for protecting their members' rights often gets lost. This collection of excellent papers seeks to explore who the term is for, and the politics underlying the concept' -- David Uzzell, co-editor of 'Trade Unions in the Green Economy: Working for the Environment''To tackle the climate crisis without tackling social inequality will be impossible. 'Just transition' is meant as a concept to integrate both crises. Covering countries around the world, this work lays out why both crises need to be confronted simultaneously and how this might be achieved' -- Nora Rathzel, co-author of 'Transnational Corporations from the Standpoint of Workers''This book puts the demand for a Just Transition right at the heart of the discussion around the Green New Deal. It situates the need for internationalism and demonstrates how a radical vision of Just Transition can ensure that workers in neither the global North nor the global South end up being sacrificed in the name of the climate emergency' -- Asad Rehman, Executive Director at War on WantTable of ContentsList of Illustrations List of Acronyms Acknowledgements Introduction: The Genealogy and Contemporary Politics of Just Transitions - Dimitris Stevis (Colorado State University, USA), Edouard Morena (University of London Institute in Paris, France) and Dunja Krause (United Nations Research Institute for Social Development) 1. 'No Jobs on a Dead Planet': The International Trade Union Movement and Just Transition - Anabella Rosemberg (Greenpeace) 2. Business in Just Transition: The Never-Ending Story of Corporate Sustainability - Nils Moussu (Université de Lausanne, Switzerland) 3. Australian Business: Embracing, Reconceptualising or Ignoring a Just Transition in Australia - Caleb Goods (University of Western Australia, Australia) 4. Tales From the Frontlines: Building a People-Led Just Transition in Jackson, Mississippi - Kali Akuno (Cooperation Jackson, USA) 5. What Transition? Collectively Imagining a Just and Low-Carbon Future for Río Negro, Argentina - Martín Álvarez Mullally (Observatorio Petrolero Sur, Argentina), Fernando Cabrera Christiansen (Observatorio Petrolero Sur, Argentina) and Laura Maffei (Sustainlabor, Argentina) 6. Resource Rich and Access Poor: Securing a Just Transition to Renewables in South Africa - Sandra van Niekerk (Public Services International Research Unit, UK) 7. The Story of Coal in Germany: A Model for Just Transition in Europe? - Alexander Reitzenstein (E3G, Germany), Sabrina Schulz (E3G, Germany) and Felix Heilmann (E3G, Germany) 8. A Top-Down Transition: A Critical Account of Canada’s Government-Led Phase-Out of the Coal Sector - Hadrian Mertins-Kirkwood (Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, Canada) and Ian Hussey (Parkland Institute, Canada) 9. Just Transition Solutions and Challenges in a Neoliberal and Carbon-Intensive Economy - Darryn Snell (RMIT University, Australia) Notes on Contributors Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe politics of punishment meet labour exploitation in this new analysisTrade Review'This book is an illuminating interrogation into captive labour, disposable workforce and state harm. Grasping the intricacies of labour, immigration, capital and criminalisation, this thought-provoking work will revolutionise our understanding of the carceral state' -- Fidelis Chebe, Director, Migrant Action'A magnificent piece of scholarship. It is eloquently written, meticulously researched and filled with profound insights: an instant classic' -- Dr David Scott, The Open University and author of 'For Abolition''A brilliant study of carceral labour as a form of neoliberal statecraft with deep historical roots that haunt it today' -- Avery F. Gordon Visiting Professor Birkbeck School of Law and author of 'The Hawthorn Archive: Letters from the Utopian Margins''Brilliant - shows how carceral labour shapes the world of work in ways that are more important than we have ever acknowledged, and adds an indispensable dimension to our understanding of capitalism. Read this book and learn how the strategies deployed in prisons and in immigration detention centres spread into labour markets in ways that discipline all of us' -- David Whyte, Professor of Socio-Legal Studies at the University of Liverpool and co-editor of 'The Violence of Austerity''Compelling, compassionate and original. It highlights the hidden scandal of, and resistance to, carceral labour in the haunted environment of immigration removal centres' -- Professor Joe Sim, Liverpool John Moores University'Academically rigorous, rich in detail and makes an important contribution to our understanding of carceral labour’ -- Dr Monish Bhatia, Birkbeck, University of London'Brings debates on prison labour to a new level of theoretical sophistication, insightfully exploring its modern-day, reworked manifestations across the various spheres of the carceral state and laying bare its crucial role as a form of statecraft' -- José A. Brandariz, Professor of Criminal Law and Criminology, University of A Coruna, SpainTable of ContentsTables and Figures Acknowledgements Introduction 1. Labour Discipline and Reform 2. The Immigration Detention Estate 3. Carceral Haunting 4. Political Anatomies of Labour 5. Labour Control Regimes Conclusion Appendix: Methodological Note Notes Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe politics of punishment meet labour exploitation in this new analysisTrade Review'This book is an illuminating interrogation into captive labour, disposable workforce and state harm. Grasping the intricacies of labour, immigration, capital and criminalisation, this thought-provoking work will revolutionise our understanding of the carceral state' -- Fidelis Chebe, Director, Migrant Action'A magnificent piece of scholarship. It is eloquently written, meticulously researched and filled with profound insights: an instant classic' -- Dr David Scott, The Open University and author of 'For Abolition''A brilliant study of carceral labour as a form of neoliberal statecraft with deep historical roots that haunt it today' -- Avery F. Gordon Visiting Professor Birkbeck School of Law and author of 'The Hawthorn Archive: Letters from the Utopian Margins''Brilliant - shows how carceral labour shapes the world of work in ways that are more important than we have ever acknowledged, and adds an indispensable dimension to our understanding of capitalism. Read this book and learn how the strategies deployed in prisons and in immigration detention centres spread into labour markets in ways that discipline all of us' -- David Whyte, Professor of Socio-Legal Studies at the University of Liverpool and co-editor of 'The Violence of Austerity''Compelling, compassionate and original. It highlights the hidden scandal of, and resistance to, carceral labour in the haunted environment of immigration removal centres' -- Professor Joe Sim, Liverpool John Moores University'Academically rigorous, rich in detail and makes an important contribution to our understanding of carceral labour’ -- Dr Monish Bhatia, Birkbeck, University of London'Brings debates on prison labour to a new level of theoretical sophistication, insightfully exploring its modern-day, reworked manifestations across the various spheres of the carceral state and laying bare its crucial role as a form of statecraft' -- José A. Brandariz, Professor of Criminal Law and Criminology, University of A Coruna, SpainTable of ContentsTables and Figures Acknowledgements Introduction 1. Labour Discipline and Reform 2. The Immigration Detention Estate 3. Carceral Haunting 4. Political Anatomies of Labour 5. Labour Control Regimes Conclusion Appendix: Methodological Note Notes Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisWomen's lives are burdened by the weight of debt. But collectively, it can be resistedTrade Review'An exciting, novel feminist book on the financialisation of life. It rescues debates on debt from abstraction and provides a key cartography of oppression. A great read, opening new avenues for social reproduction analyses and feminist struggles' -- Alessandra Mezzadri, Senior Lecturer in Development Studies at SOAS, and author of 'The Sweatshop Regime' (CUP, 2017) and editor of 'Marx in the Field' (Anthem, 2021)'This book is of great value to those interested in the financialisation of everyday life and social reproduction - essential reading for those studying and involved in building feminist movements in Latin America and beyond' -- ‘LSE Review of Books’Table of ContentsForeword by Tithi Bhattacharya Translator’s Note Preface Introduction: Taking Debt Out of the Closet 1. Diagnosing Forms of Violence 2. Exploitation and Difference 3. A Feminist Reading of Debt 4. Debt and Social Reproduction 5. Financial Extractivism and Dispossession 6. What is Debt? 7. New Era: Financial Terror 8. Debt as a “Counter-revolution” of Everyday Life 9. The Writing on the Body of Women 10. Neither Victims nor Entrepreneurs 11. Feminist Insubordination and Fascist Neoliberalism 12. Counter-offensive 13. Gentlemen’s Agreement 14. The Patriarchy Has My Missing Contributions 15. Debt and Urban Development in the City of Buenos Aires 16. From Finance to Bodies 17. Voluntary Termination of Debt 18. Hunger and Gender Mandates 19. The Debt of Care 20. A Feminist Analysis of Inflation 21. How to Disobey Finance? 22. We Want Ourselves Alive and Debt Free! 23. Us Against Debt 24. “They Owe Us a Life” 25. A Feminist Strike Against Debt: 2020 26. Excursus. Rosa Luxemburg: In the Lands of Debt and 27. Consumption 28. Some Milestones of a Brief Chronology 29. Interviews 30. Manifestos Bibliography Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisHow Universal Basic Income could help liberate the working classesTrade Review'A carefully argued case for basic income as central to a democratic transformation of society. Basic income must be seen not just as an anti-poverty policy but as a means for achieving both individual socio-economic independence and collective self-government. It can become the fulcrum around which lack of freedom within employment, domestic life and throughout social life more generally can be confronted. [It] can thus be seen as vital for solving a political problem, which also demands the appropriate universalist policies and structure of rights to uphold unconditional freedom for everyone.' -- Carole Pateman, political theorist, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Political Science UCLA'An ethical defence of basic income constructed on the value of republican freedom, an important proposal in an era of rentier capitalism that allows plutocrats to pocket more and more wealth. We need a new system of distribution with basic income acting as an anchor.' -- Guy Standing, author of 'The Corruption of Capitalism' and 'The Precariat''David's path-breaking work throws new light on how we understand work, freedom, and emancipation in today's highly precariatised and insecure world. He is provocative and equally tender in his treatment of human condition in our particular moment of capitalist evolution, painstakingly sketching what true emancipation looks and feels like, and what role a basic income could play in the process. A must-read for students and teachers, policymakers and activists who are keen to make this world a better place for all of us.' -- Sarath Davala, Sociologist, Chair, Basic Income Earth Network''This is a very important and timely book. The focus on 'social power' adds a new and much needed societal dimension to research and debate about basic income in an age of economic and political upheaval. This excellent book … is a must-read for anyone wanting to gain a broader perspective on basic income reform.' -- Louise Haagh, author of 'The Case for Basic Income''Casassas firmly retraces the Republican case for basic income to its traditional Left-wing origins of combatting structural domination and unequal social power. A timely anti-dote to those propagating the myth of basic income as a trojan horse of the Right!' -- Jurgen De Wispelaere, Visiting Professor, Götz Werner Chair of Economic Policy & Constitutional Theory, University of Freiburg'A useful, militant book, useful because it clearly, rigorously, and skilfully sets out the basic principles of the universal basic income, and militant because it doesn’t hide its position, which I’d describe as radical. In this, [Casassas] follows the advice of our mutual friend and teachermentor, Antoni Domènech, for whom, "If you don’t know how to be sufficiently radical, you’ll always end up in the folly of hyperrealism."' -- Daniel Raventós, author of 'Basic Income: The Material Conditions of Freedom'Table of ContentsAcknowledgements Introduction: Cap and Life Part One: Cartographies Of Social (Dis)Order: Why Something Like a Basic Income? 1. Psychosociology and Politics of Elitist Verticalism 2. The Fallacy of Autogenous Social Orders 3. The Liberal-Organicist Synthesis 4. Resisting Tutelage: Fraternity for the Civilising of a Conflictive World Part Two: Holding the Gaze: Republicanism and Democracy 5. Socioeconomic Independence and Worlds in Common 6. Bargaining Power: Exit Options for Entry Doors and the Emancipatory Potential of Basic Income 7. Universalisation of Citizenship and Universalisation of Property 8. Unconditional Freedom: Basic Income as Predistribution Part Three: Flexible, Multi-Active Lives: The Dimensions of Social Power 9. Basic Income and Democratisation of Work 10. Why Do We Want Bargaining Power? 11. Our Flexibility Is Our Freedom Part Four: The Dream Is Over: Post-Neoliberalism (or Why a Basic Income Now And How) 12. “Wanting Everything Back”: Basic Income in Contemporary Social Movements 13. Societies of the Market or Societies with Markets? 14. Grappling with Customs in Common: A People’s Political Economy? 15. Leaving the Proletariat and Becoming Free Workers Epilogue: Unconditional Freedom at the Frontiers of Capitalism Bibliography Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe Economic Horror is an impassioned book addressed to the dominant political and economic elites in our society. Those in power, Forrester tells us, continue to present employment as the norm -- and by doing so make the unemployed feel worthless.Trade Review"People have found many scapegoats to explain the rise of unemployment and the inability to combat it - globalization, multinationals, neo-liberalism, even the end of history. Viviane Forrester goes beyond these concepts. Her book sets the terms of a real debate at last. Others will say whether her analyses are relevant, her concepts sound and her facts accurate - in short, whether she is right or wrong. But the reader of Economic Horror will undoubtedly be persuaded of one thing: what she says is just." Le Monde "Economic Horror also comes to us as a European publishing sensation ... she does have a vision of contemporary capitalism which focuses almost exclusively on its destructive, disorientating side. And which does so in a passionate, pulsing style, clearly attuned to the everyday fears of its predominantly middle-class readership, but not asking them to think too theoretically about the sources of their angst ... Powerful stuff" Sunday Herald (Glasgow) "Amid so many contemporary arguments about "Third Ways" and the inevitability...of capitalism, it is refreshing to read such an impassioned account of its essential malignance. Some may feel that the case is overstated by the lack of qualification of claims about globalisation and the lack of differentiation between nations, classes, ethnicities, genders. But this is partly deliberate, in order to present starkly that which is usually masked in qualification, to hold onto the wider picture, to refuse to set different sections of the population against each other."Ruth Levitas, Work, Employment and Society. 'Viviane Forrester's The Economic Horror, a bestseller in her native France, is full of passion for the destructive nature of employment. While governments advocate the "sanctity" of work, the unemployed are made to feel excluded, worthless, detached from the mainstream of society. With the razzmatazz of new Labour's New Deal fast fading, Forrester's arguments have a knowing persistence that upsets the conventional wisdoms of even the most modernised politics.' Mark Perriman, New Statesman

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis major new textbook provides a concise introduction to employment and industrial relations. Unlike many other textbooks, this adopts a comparative approach, examining the changing nature of employment practices in relation to the processes of globalization, and engaging critically with the literature on Human Resource Management.Trade Review'Jack Eaton's Comparative Employment Relations is one of the few books on the market that actually compares different employment relations systems, rather than simply providing a set of discrete chapters that encourage the reader to make the comparisons ... Such a book can only ever be an introduction, but Eaton has provided a valuable beginning.' Times Higher Education Supplement 'Jack Eaton's declared aim for his text is that of "providing food for thought of an analytical kind, especially for the student new to the subject of comparative industrial relations". In this he has succeeded admirably, and not just for the new student; there is plenty here for old hands as well ... An important merit of Eaton's book lies in his preparedness to develop a cohesive argument rather than bringing together what can seem like a random collection of data from different counties.' Industrial Relations Journal "A thought-provoking introduction to worldwide trends and issues in employment relations. It addresses many of the hard questions that students and teachers in this field have to face." Labour & IndustryTable of ContentsAcknowledgements. 1. Overview - Convergence or Continuing Diversity of Industrial Relations Systems?. 2. From the Fabulous East: the Japanese Origins of Human Resource Management and the Convergence Hypothesis. 3. Japanese-style Employment Practices Outside Japan. 4. Trade Unions - in Need of some International Solidarity. 5. Comparative Collective Bargaining. 6. Training - Comparative Routes to Skill Formation. 7. The Rules Governing Employment: A Comparative View. 8. Comparative Labour Law - Individual Employment Rights. 9. Collective Labour Law. 10. Transnational Companies, Globalization and Industrial Relations. 11. Minimum Standards in International Trade. 12. Participation: Partnership or Teamworking for Productivity. 13. Conclusions and Prospects for Comparative Industrial Relations. References. Index.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe idea was simple: pack a suitcase, go to another city where you have no connections and try to find a job, anonymously. That was the idea that took Florence Aubenas - one of France's most accomplished undercover journalists - on a journey into the worst recession since the Great Depression.Trade Review"Aubenas's story is bleak because it lacks a conviction that things could be different. The story lies in the rubble - literally - of the achievements and failures of organised labour."The Guardian "The Night Cleaner records Aubenas' time among those for whom the job of supermarket cashier is 'prestigious' and a refuse collector is 'well paid' ... While 'l'exception francaise' may still mean something to those in the middle, there is little sign of it in the world documented by Aubenas. Perhaps she has hit on the exception to the exception."London Review of Books "This personal account of the unmaking of the French working class is not only great journalism, it is a true work of literature: beautifully written, intense, unforgettable."Katha Pollitt, The Nation "Follow Florence Aubenas into the armies of the night, among the invisible souls who clean up the mess we make by day, absorb her insights into the great recession and its impact on the most marginal."Beatrix Campbell, author of Wigan Pier Revisited "Too often, the impact of the global recession is reduced to general statistics. But in Florence Aubenas' provocative and passionate book it is captured in exquisite detail, emotion, and human faces. Whether in Cairo, Caen, or Wisconsin, the desperation that accompanies the soul-destroying search for work and economic stability continues to push people to the brink of their patience and dignity. What makes Aubenas' book so brilliant is that this culmination of her undercover investigation does not simply linger on their lack of hope, but also on the depth of their spirit."Nomi Prins, author of It Takes a Pillage "A vivid account of the insecurities and indignities of trying to cobble together a living from the part-time, temporary jobs of the West's postindustrial economy. The insufficient hours, abrupt layoffs, and inadequate wages Aubenas describes so clearly will be with us long after the current global recession ends."Stephanie Coontz, author of The Way We Really Are: Coming to Terms with America's Changing Families "Recommended for those wanting to understand more about what it means to be on the bread line."New Times

Read more less

Book SynopsisLabor is the source of all wealth. Without workers, the world's natural resources cannot be transformed into finished goods and services cannot be delivered. Labor, though, is a uniquely important resource for the very simple reason that working people have sentience.Trade Review"Superbly explicated and assisted by well-chosen case studies, Andrew Herod's analysis of the uniqueness of labor as a resource is both captivating and convincing. Wonderful work!"—Jon Agnone, University of Washington "In this bold and pithy text Herod reminds us that labor is a vital resource with a mind of its own. This book is an excellent introduction to the fast-changing world of work and why it matters so much."—Jane Wills, Queen Mary, University of London "... an accessible text for undergraduates, and while clearly driven by a geographic imagination, it should be read by all labor studies students."—Economic Geography "In his new book, geographer Andrew Herod brings the labor question back into the heart of understanding the global economic processes shaping the world we live in."—Antipode "Herod's Labor is an excellent book. It succeeds brilliantly as an introductory text, but also presents important arguments and evidence deserving a wider readership."—Journal of Industrial Relations "... fresh and compelling."—Rick Halpern, University of TorontoTable of Contents Table of Contents List of Figures List of Tables Acknowledgement Introduction Chapter 1 – A Resource Unlike Any Other Labor as Object Labor as Subject Summary Chapter 2 – Labor in Global Context Moving On Rural to urban migration Intra-continental migration Inter-continental migration Growing in Place Summary Chapter 3 – Globalization and Labor FDI’s Implications for Labor GPNs and Labor as Object and Subject Waste, Global Destruction Networks, and Labor Summary Chapter 4 – Neoliberalism and Working Precariously Neoliberalism and Precarious Work Forms of Precarity and Their Present Dynamics Summary Chapter 5 – From Drudge Work to Emancipated Workers? Laboring in the Old Economy On the Swing to the Cancer in the Bush Iron Ore Mining in Western Australia Sweet Work? – Cocoa Plantation Workers in West Africa Fishy Business – Forced Labor in the Seafood Industry Summary Chapter 6 – Meet the New Economy – Same as the Old Economy? Laboring in the New Economy Chips off the Old (Economy) Block? Call Centers – Dark Satanic Mills of the New Economy? Ghost Workers of the New Economy Summary Chapter 7 – Workers Fight Back Workers Coming Together Organizing in the Age of Precarity Summary Chapter 8 – Concluding Thoughts Bibliography

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis book contends that various forms of regulation have costs as well as benefits and it examines the impact of government regulation on the innovativeness of 'monopolies' - in this book meaning firms with the power to affect market price. The government regulation analyzed in this case is limited to rate-of-return regulation. Using theoretical models such as the Averch-Johnson model and a two-stage Nash equilibrium model, this volume examines whether regulated monopolies engage in more or less technological innovation than unregulated monopolies. Furthermore, if the unregulated (or less regulated) monopolies do engage in more research and development than regulated ones, it questions whether social welfare would be greater with the former. Using a case study of ten privately-owned electric utilities in the State of Texas, USA, it then tests out the general propositions brought forward by the theoretical modelling and finally makes its conclusions taking into consideration both thTrade Review’This book will be of interest to anyone concerned with technological change and/or the impact of public policy on growth...In addition to its application to rate-of-return regulation, the reader will find this book suggestive for further research into the impact upon technological change of other forms of regulation.’ Professor Barry J. Seldon, University of Texas, USA ’This book has provided a thorough overview and interesting extension of the impact of government regulation on innovativeness.’ Review of Industrial OrganisationTable of ContentsContents: Introduction; The rate of return regulation; The Averch-Johnson model; Augmented Averch-Johnson; Research joint ventures; Evidence from electric utilities in Texas; Implications and conclusions; Bibliography; Index.

Read more less

Book SynopsisContains in-depth or comparative case studies of specific occupations in America and other countries. This volume gives special emphasis to unusual occupations and unusually organized occupations. It includes analyses of tattoo artists, exotic dancers, sex workers, traveling nurses, catholic liturgists, marginalized computer workers, and others.

Read more less

Book SynopsisHow do technology, public works projects, mental health, race, gender, mobility, retirement benefits, and macroeconomic policies affect worker well-being? This volume contains fourteen original chapters utilizing the econometric techniques to answer this question.Table of ContentsList of contributors. Preface (S.W. Polachek). Technology, unemployment, and inflation (S. Danninger, J. Mincer). The incidence of overschooling and underschooling and its effect on earnings in the United States and Hong Kong (E. Cohn, E. Johnson and Y.Chu Ng). Do higher returns to college education encourage college enrollments? an analysis by race (S.L. Averett, M.C. McLennan and M. Young). Do compulsory school attendance laws alone explain the association between quarter of birth and earnings (J. Bound, D.A. Jaeger). Motivation and labor market outcomes (A.H. Goldsmith, J.R. Veum and W. Darity Jr.). Career hierarchy in dual-earner families (A.E. Winkler, D.C. Rose). Job mobility in the 1990s Britain: does gender matter? (A.L. Booth, M. Francesconi). Measuring relative quality of life from a cross-migration regression, with an application to Canadian provinces (S. Douglas, H.J. Wall). Employer provided pension data in the NLS mature women's survey and in the health and retirement study (A.L. Gustman, T.L. Steinmeier). A test of Lazear's mandatory retirement model (S. Stern, P. Todd). Do public works programs work in Eastern Germany? (F. Kraus, P.A. Puhani and V. Steiner). The supply-side effects of universal health coverage: what can we learn from individuals with spousal coverage? (A.J. Wellington, D.A. Cobb-Clark). Dimensions of the wage-unemployment relationship in the Nordic countries: wage flexibility without wage curves (K. Albo et al.). The extent and consequences of downward nominal wage rigidity (J.G. Altonji, P.J. Devereux).

Read more less

Book SynopsisHow do workers fare in a continually changing labor market? This volume contains fifteen original scientific papers each examining how socio-economic changes affect worker wellbeing.Table of ContentsPreface (Soloman W. Polachek). Inter-generational labor market and welfare consequences of poor health (T.J. Kniesner, A.T. LoSasso). The effect of health on employment transitions of older men (D.M. Blau, D. B. Gilleskie). Abuse and work among poor women: evidence from Washington State (M.W. Smith). Early test scores, school quality and sex: longitudinal effects on wages and employment outcomes (J. Currie, D. Thomas). School quality and the distribution of earnings (E.R. Eide, M.H. Showalter). Worker training in a restructuring economy: evidence from the Russian transition (M.C.Berger, J.S.Earle, K.Z.Sabirianova). A comparison of the human capital and signaling models: the case of the self-employed and the increase in the schooling premium in the 1980's (M. Lofstrom). Do returns human capital equalize across occupational paths? (J.A.Freeman, B. T. Hirsch). Has compensation become more flexible? (S.A Cannon et al.). Skill based technical change and trends in employer size effects (T. Idson). Employment of women and demand-side forces (D.K. Ginther, C. Juhn). Revising women's preferences about future labor force attachment: what effect do they have on earnings, and what are they affected by? (B. Sen). Getting ahead: the determinants of and pay-offs to internal promotion for young U.S. men and women (D. A. Cobb-Clark). Looking again at instrumental variable estimation of wage models in the gender wage gap literature (A. Kunze). Less-skilled workers, welfare reform, and the unemployment insurance system (C.K. Gustafson, P.B. Levine).

Read more less

Book SynopsisNo question is more pertinent to worker welfare than explaining changes in overall income inequality. The papers presented in this volume explore this important issue and evaluate government programmes and their impact upon welfare.Table of ContentsList of contributors. Preface (S.W. Polachek). Accounting for income inequality and its change: A new method, with applications to the distribution of earnings in the United States (G.S. Fields). The relationship between the economy and the welfare caseload: A dynamic approach (S. Haider et al.). New Jersey's family cap and family size decisions: Findings from a five-year evaluation (M.J. Camasso et al.). Tracking the household income of SSDI and SSI applicants (J. Bound et al.). Minimum wages and on-the-job training (D. Acemoglu, J.-S. Pischke). Racial and ethnic difference in pension wealth (W.E. Even, D.A. Macpherson). Count-level estimates of the employment prospects of low-skill workers (D.C. Ribar). Determinants of immigrant selectivity and skills (M. Zavodny). Immigration and the labor force participation of low-skill native workers (H. Johannsson et al.). Children, nondiscriminatory provision of fringe benefits and household labor market decisions (M.C. Berger et al.). Wage gains from better health and employment-based health insurance (P. Fronstin et al.). The family gap in pay: Evidence from seven industrialized countries (S. Harkness, J. Waldfogel). Why choose women's work if it pays less? A structural model of occupational choice (M.M. Pitts). New evidence on culture and the gender wage gap: A comparison across ethnic origin groups (H. Antecol). Gender differences in reasons for job mobility intentions in higher education (J. Van Gilder et al.).

Read more less

Book SynopsisContains thirteen chapters on topics relating to worker well-being. This work deals directly with how economic institutions affect individual and family earnings distributions. It covers topics such as: job training, worker and firm mobility, unions, collective bargaining, minimum wages, unemployment insurance, and schooling.Table of ContentsEARNINGS INEQUALITY AND MARKET WORK IN HUSBAND-WIFE FAMILIES EMPLOYMENT DYNAMICS AND BUSINESS RELOCATION: NEW EVIDENCE FROM THE NATIONAL ESTABLISHMENT TIME SERIES WHO PAYS FOR GENERAL TRAINING IN PRIVATE SECTOR BRITAIN? WAGE ARREARS AND INEQUALITY IN THE DISTRIBUTION OF PAY: LESSONS FROM RUSSIA COMPUTERS AND THE WAGE STRUCTURE THE INFLUENCE OF STOCKS AND FLOWS ON MIGRANTS LOCATION CHOICES WAGE AND JOB DYNAMICS AFTER WELFARE REFORM: THE IMPORTANCE OF JOB SKILLS FIRMS, INDUSTRIES, AND UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE: AN ANALYSIS USING EMPLOYER-EMPLOYEE DATA BARGAINING AND ARBITRATION WITH ASYMMETRIC UNCERTAINTY THE IMPACT OF DEUNIONISATION ON EARNINGS DISPERSION REVISITED MATERNAL EDUCATION AND CHILD SCHOOLING OUTCOMES IN NEPAL MINIMUM WAGE EFFECTS ON WAGES, EMPLOYMENT AND PRICES IN BRAZIL THE EMPLOYMENT-PRODUCTIVITY RELATIONSHIP WITH EMPLOYMENT CRITERIA

Read more less

Book SynopsisCovers various aspects of the employer-employee relationship. This book answers labor market questions that include: Why has part-time work increased so dramatically in the 15 European Union countries? What changes in retirement behavior will be expected as countries change pension laws? And, why do firms often use fixed-term employment contracts?Table of ContentsLabor supply with social interactions: econometric estimates and their tax policy implications. Overtime work, dual job holding, and taxation. Transitions between unemployment and low pay. Why Europeans work part-time? A cross-country panel analysis. Projecting behavioral responses to the next generation of retirement policies. Illegal migration, enforcement, and minimum wage. Earnings losses following job change in Japan: Evidence from a job placement firm. Wages and the Risk of Displacement. How are fixed-term contracts used by firms? An analysis using gross job and worker flows. Modeling the signaling value of the GED with an application to an exogenous passing standard increase in Texas. Occupational gender composition and the gender wage gap in Sweden. Earnings functions and the measurement of the determinants of wage dispersion: extending the Blinder–Oaxaca approach. Salary or benefits?. List of Contributors. Preface. Research in Labor Economics. Work, Earnings and Other Aspects of the Employment Relation. Copyright page.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe first scholarly history of the Ladysmith miners, the Great Strike of 1912-1914, and the coalmining industry on Vancouver Island.Trade ReviewJohn R. Hinde has written an engaged, subtle, and provocative account of coal miners on Vancouver Island. His study focuses on the 1898-1913 and on the mines in the vicinity of Ladysmith, but it includes context that illuminates the history of the industry throughout the island. -- Alan McCullough * Western Historical Quarterly, Summer 2005 *John R. Hinde’s rather understated title seems to imply that his book is simply as study of Vancouver Island’s coal industry as viewed through one community: Ladysmith. But his book is much more, for Hinde has a number of points to make about such topics as class-consciousness, radicalism, and militancy. In fact, this book is meant to be corrective. Throughout the text, he challenges interpretations other historians have developed while studying the area’s coal mines. Canadian labour historians will find the book interesting reading. -- David A. Wolff, Black Hills State University * Pacific Northwest Quarterly, Spring 2005 *Hinde’s community study is well researched and well grounded in Canadian working-class historiography. -- Sean T. Cadigan * Canadian Literature 184, Spring 2005 *The author provides a thorough and sensitive post-mortem of Ladysmith’s most troubled days. Well-researched, lucid, and supplemented with almost two dozen photographs, When Coal was King will appeal to a variety of readers. -- Chris Morier, University of Victoria * Scientia Canadensis, Vol. 28, 2005 *This history of coal-mining in and around Ladysmith on Vancouver Island from the 1850s to the First World War is scholarly and well research, sympathetic to the coal miners and their families and aware of the context and the times of their rough lives. -- Patricia Marchak * University of Toronto Quarterly, vol. 75, no. 1, Winter 2006 *Table of ContentsIllustrationsIntroduction1 A Selfish Millionaire2 A Town of Merry Hearts3 Down in the Dark and Gloomy Dungeons4 Death’s Cold Hand5 From Pillar to Post6 The Great Strike7 No Ordinary RiotConclusionNotes; Bibliography; Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisA pioneering study of Canadian labour leaders’ approach to immigration from the 1870s to the Great Depression.Trade ReviewDavid Goutor skilfully explores the meanings and consequences of organized labour’s opposition to wholesale recruitment of labour abroad and to different streams of immigration ... Goutor’s most significant contribution is to explore the relationship between labour’s attitudes to immigration and its ability to develop as an effective political force. -- James Naylor, Brandon University * BC Studies, No. 155, Autumn 2007 *Table of ContentsAcknowledgmentsPart 1: Issues and Arguments1 Guarding the Gates2 Setting the Stage: Labour, Industry, and Immigration in Canada, 1872-1934Part 2: Labour’s Anti-Asian Agitation3 The Bounds of Unity: Opposition to Chinese Immigration, 1880-874 The “Old Time Question”: The Campaign for Exclusion, 1888-1934Part 3: Labour and Atlantic Immigration 5 Superfluous People: Labour’s Construction of Immigrants from Europe and the British Isles6 Importing Victims: The Assault on the Commerce of ImmigrationPart 4: Immigration, Ideology, and Politics7 Immigration, Joseph Arch, and the Producer Ideology, 1872-798 Imported Labour, the Tariff, and Land Reform, 1880-19029 Retreat, Corporatism, and Responsible Management, 1903-34ConclusionNotes; Bibliography; Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisSolidarity First examines the concept and practice of social cohesion in terms of its impact on, and significance for, workers in Canada.Trade ReviewSolidarity First is about working class experience in the era of globalization and neo-liberalism; the contributors show how this experience provides an invaluable lens through which to evaluate the discourse and set of practices that go under the label "social cohesion." Well-written and clear, it will be read by researchers in a variety of social science disciplines. -- Stephen McBride, co-editor of Global Turbulence: Social Activists' and State Responses to GlobalizationTable of ContentsTable of Contents Acknowledgments 1 Introduction: Canadian Workers and Social Cohesion / RobertO’Brien Part 1: Conceptualizing Social Cohesion 2 Gendering the Concept of Social Cohesion through an Understandingof Women and Work / Belinda Leach and Charlotte Yates 3 Social Cohesion, International Competitiveness, and the"Other": A Connected Comparison of Workers’Relationships in Canada and Mexico / Holly Gibbs Part 2: Constructing Social Cohesion 4 Workplace Cohesion and the Fragmentation of Solidarity: The MagnaModel / Wayne Lewchuk and Don Wells 5 Working Time and Labour Control in the Toyota Production System /Mark Thomas 6 Cultural Production and Social Cohesion amid the Decline of Coaland Steel: The Case of Cape Breton Island / Larry Haiven Part 3: Internationalizing Social Cohesion 7 Civil Society Targets the International / RobertO’Brien 8 International Labour Norms and Worker Disorganization in Canada /Roy Adams 9 ILO Action on "The Scope of the EmploymentRelationship": Lessons from Canada on the Gendered Limits ofFostering Social Cohesion / Leah F. Vosko 10 Conclusion: Beyond Social Cohesion / RobertO’Brien Notes References List of Contributors Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisSarathy draws on interviews, government documents, and media accounts to trace the Latinization of forest labour in the US Pacific Northwest and the marginalization of Latino workers.Table of Contents1 Invisible Workers 2 Cutting and Planting 3 From Pears to Pines 4 The Marginality of Forest Workers 5 A Tale of Two Valleys 6 Conclusions Appendix; Bibliography; Notes; Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe survival and success of public organizations depends on employee satisfaction and motivation to improve performance. New Strategies for Public Pay addresses one of the strongest motivators?compensation. The book outlines proven strategies, many of which are successfully used in private industry, that are also well-suited for government organizations. Specific programs are described and analyzed by experts from government, academia, think tanks, labor unions, and private business, running the gamut from merit pay to competency-based pay to gainsharing. New Strategies for Public Pay introduces a range of alternative pay systems that show public sector managers how they can: ? Set standards that match the unique needs of individual organizations ? Stimulate desired new behaviors necessary to overcome the fear of change and business as usual mentality ? Energize employees and provide a fresh incentive for continuing improved performanTable of ContentsRethinking Government Compensation Programs One: Understanding Salary Management 1. Are Current Programs Working? Views from the Trenches, Barbara S. Wamsley 2. Salary Structures: The Framework for Salary Management, Howard Risher 3. Aligning Pay Levels with Prevailing Labor Market Rates, Charles Fay 4. Job Classification: The Support System for Personal Decision Making, Lynn Holley, James O'Connell 5. Job Evaluation: The Search for Internal Equity, Howard Risher, Lois Wise 6. Rewarding Skills in the Public Sector, Nina Gupta 7. Competency-Based Pay: The Next Model for Salary Management, Howard Risher 8. Executive Salary Management: The Clash of Political and Labor Market Realities, Howard Risher Two: Linking Pay to Performance 9. Managing and Assessing Employee Performance, Doris Hausser, Charles Fay 10. Merit Pay: Motivating and rewarding Individual Performance, Howard Risher, Charles Fay, James Perry 11. Gainsharing in Government: Group-Based Performance Pay for Public Employees, Ronald P. Sanders 12. Paying for Performance: Lessons Learned in Fifteen Years of Federal Demonstration Projects, Brigitte W. Schay Three: Public Compensation in Unionized and International Contexts 13. The Role of Collective Bargaining in Public Sector Pay Determination, Bonnie Bogue 14. Public Pay Programs in OECD Countries, Anke Freibert Planning for the Future, Howard Risher, Charles Fay

Read more less

Book SynopsisMajor changes within and between organizations are now generally negotiated by the parties that have a stake in the consequences of the changes. This was not always so. In 1965, with A Behavioral Theory of Labor Negotiations, Richard Walton and Robert...Trade ReviewThis book is an excellent resource for students, teachers, researchers, and ADR practitioners. It's certainly a worthy follow-up to McKersie and Walton's classic work. The book shows how negotiation theory is holding up amid all the changes in our society, and it even expands the theory's applicability. * Dispute Resolution Journa *

Read more less

Book SynopsisResorts have become important to American society and its economy; one in eight Americans is now employed by the tourism industry. Yet despite the ubiquity of hotels, little has been written about those who labor there. Drawing on eight years of participant observation and in-depth interviews, the renowned ethnographers Patricia A. Adler and Peter Adler reveal the occupational culture and lifestyles of workers at five luxury Hawaiian resorts.These resorts employ a workforce that is diverse in gender, class, ethnicity, and nationality. Hawaiian resort workers, like those in nearly all resorts, consist of four groups. New immigrants hold difficult and dirty low-status jobs for little pay. Locals provide an authentic Polynesian flavor for guests, a ready pool of youthful high-turnover employees, and a population trapped in a place that offers few occupational alternatives. Managers tend to be middle-class, college-educated young and middle-aged men from the mainland whose lifestTrade ReviewAdler and Adler's genuine skill as storytellers... really elevates this book to an engaging and compelling read, bringing to life this fascinating milieu. Too often research in the hospitality sector has tended to rely on the managerial voice alone and this book clearly avoids such a trap. Indeed, it takes its place alongside several other crucial works emanating from the United States, where ethnographic study has allowed us a real insight into the working lives of those employed in the hospitality sector. * British Journal of Industrial Relations *The Adlers, highly published... sociologists, examine the work and lifestyle experiences of staff at five luxury resort hotels along a Hawaiian beach. They interviewed staff from four employee categories: new immigrants and locals, labeled trapped workers; and managers and self-supporting 'seekers' driven by leisure interests, labeled transient workers.... The Adlers... view resorts as postmodern global communities that focus on commercialization.... Recommended. Resort industry practitioners; students and researchers of labor, sociology, and ethnography. * Choice *For seven years, ethnographers Patricia and Peter Adler made twice-yearly sojourns to a group of resort hotels located in one of Hawaii's popular tourist destinations, intent on mixing business with pleasure. The product of their effort is Paradise Laborers, an insightful and delightfully readable account of the occupational cultures, worker lifestyles, and career patterns featured in these resorts.... Throughout the book, the authors maintain that resort hotels are distinctly postmodern workplaces whose unconventional nature shapes workers' experiences and identities.... Paradise Laborers is a well-written and wonderfully grounded study rich in descriptive detail. The authors' close, long-standing relationships with informants lend the book a degree of intimacy that is often lacking in ethnographic accounts of work and occupations, while its quasi-longitudinal approach allows the reader to follow the experiences of specific informants over time. Although this book will be most useful to readers with an interest in translent labor, service work, and occupational dynamics in the travel and tourism industry, those with a general interest in work and occupations will also find it to be an engaging read. * Administrative Science Quarterly *The book is a result of a participant/ethnographic study and the research experience unfolds before the reader making the book an appealing read.... The authors were involved in participant observation in five luxury resorts, with over 500 resort workers and they interviewed 90 workers in-depth. The data provides a rich tapestry to draw inferences from and reveals much about workers' experiences and understanding about their working lives behind the glamorous façade of palm trees and golden beaches. * The Journal of Industrial Relations *Paradise Laborers... makes a fine contribution to organizations, occupations, and work studies in this first ethnographic study of work culture among resort employees in Hawaii, where tourism is the leading industry. * Work in Progress *Table of Contents1. Entering Paradise 2. Researching Resorts 3. Trapped Laborers: New Immigrants and Locals 4. Transient Laborers: Seekers and Management 5. Transient Lifestyles 6. Seasonal Laborers 7. Temporal Laborers 8. Stratified Laborers 9. Careers in Paradise: Short-Term and Intermediate 10. Careers in Paradise: Long-Term 11. Understanding Paradise LaborAppendix: The Participants Notes References Index

Read more less

Book Synopsis"An ethnography with a twist, in that it portrays the domestic workers in their own terms, speaking for themselves through their experiences and reactions, including the strategies of resistance developed by the workers."-China JournalTrade ReviewThis ethnography is an indisputable contribution to both Asian studies and anthropology and a pioneering work in the field of transnational migration studies. I strongly recommend this lively and readable study of the complex lives of domestic workers in Hong Kong as a textbook for use in a variety of classes. * American Ethnologist *An ethnography with a twist, in that it portrays the domestic workers in their own terms, speaking for themselves through their experiences and reactions, including the strategies of resistance developed by the workers. * China Journal *Constable undertakes extensive naturalistic and participant observation.... The interviews are lively, presenting an array of experiences. * China Quarterly *Maid to Order in Hong Kong is a stimulating and compellingly written book. * American Anthropologist *The combination of analyses of the social structural forms of domination and the individual forms of resistance makes Constable's work insightful and useful. * Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society *This book contains rich qualitative data and provides sophisticated analysis of the plights, resistance, and accommodation of domestic workers. The writing is highly engaging. I strongly recommend it to students of qualitative methodology, gender and migration studies, as well as to all those who are interested in agency and contestations of women, and who care about the struggles of the disadvantaged. -- Catherine C. H. Chiu * Work and Occupations *

Read more less

Book SynopsisWhat happens when the world's biggest retailer and the world's biggest country do business with each other? In this book, a group of thirteen experts from several disciplines examine the symbiotic but strained relationship between these giants.Trade ReviewAnita Chan's newly edited book, Walmart in China, is one of the best academic works on Chinese labor in recent years..As one of the finest scholarly works generated from international cooperation, this book opens at least two important areas for further exploration. First, labor relations in Walmart stores are worth further ethnographic exploration. Second, it would be interesting to study the evolving role of trade unions since the CCP-led state has emphasized trade union reform and wage bargaining from 2010. -- Chris King-Chi Chan * The China Journal *The authors demonstrate how the sheer scale of Walmart intimidates suppliers into accepting tight lead times, leading to illegally long working hours, an increase in outsourcing, and an atmosphere of insecurity and powerlessness at almost all levels in the supply chain.... Chan and her fellow contributors provide labour activists with considerable food for thought, and—who knows—maybe even a few sleepless nights for some of the most committed antitrade union executives on the planet. -- Tim Pringle * British Journal of Industrial Relations *The book provides a multidimensional analysis of Walmartization in China.... The essays show some optimism for the future of Walmart's labour movement, with critical suggestions provided for key parties. -- Xuebing Cao * Work, Employment & Society *The book's contributors used cloak-and-dagger fieldwork skills to provide a sharp picture of labor conditions at Walmart’s suppliers and in its Chinese stores. They show that the company’s Ethical Standards Program has done little to prevent sweatshop-like abuses among its suppliers. On the other hand, its store employees have taken easily to the corporate culture, whose Christian- and rural-inflected ethos meshes with Chinese traditions of moral exhortation, mutual surveillance, and the pursuit of personal ambition through collective service. -- Andrew J. Nathan * Foreign Affairs *This is a skillfully crafted account of the phenomenon known as the Walmartization of China. All the chapters are nicely woven together in a cohesive whole, a rare feat and noteworthy achievement. It is informative, insightful, and so very timely. I would strongly recommend it to anyone who wants to understand theglobal supply chain and how the growing dominance of retailing over manufacturing is shaping the world we live in. It will appeal to a wide audience, ranging from academics, managers, and businesspeople to anyone that has ever come into contact with Walmart. -- Maria N. DaCosta * China Review International *Table of ContentsIntroduction: When the World's Largest Company Encounters the World’s Biggest Country by Anita ChanPart One: The Walmart Supply Chain1. Walmart’s Long March to China: How a Mid-American Retailer Came to Stake Its Future on the Chinese Economy by Nelson Lichtenstein2. Outsourcing in China: Walmart and Chinese Manufacturers by Xue Hong3. Walmartization, Corporate Social Responsibility, and the Labor Standards of Toy Factories in South China by Yu Xiaomin and Pun Ngai4. Made in China: Work and Wages in Walmart Supplier Factories by Anita Chan and Kaxton SiuPart Two: The Walmart Stores5. Corporate Cadres: Management and Corporate Culture at Walmart China by David J. Davies6. A Store Manager’s Success Story by David J. Davies and Taylor Seeman7. Practicing Cheer: The Diary of a Low-Level Supervisor at a Walmart China Store by Scott E. Myers and Anita Chan Translation by Scott E. Myers8. Working in Walmart, Kunming: Technology, Outsourcing, and Retail Globalization by Eileen M. OtisPart Three: Walmart Trade Unions9. Unionizing Chinese Walmart Stores by Anita Chan10. Did Unionization Make a Difference? Work Conditions and Trade Union Activities at Chinese Walmart Stores by Jonathan Unger, Diana Beaumont, and Anita Chan11. Workers and Communities versus Walmart: A Comparison of Organized Resistance in the United States and China by Katie QuanNotes Notes on Contributors Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisVirginia Doellgast contends that high pay and good working conditions are possible even for marginal service jobs. This outcome, however, depends on strong unions and encompassing collective bargaining institutions.Trade ReviewThrough a compelling comparative analysis of work reorganization in U.S. and German call centers following the liberalization of telecommunications markets, Doellgast shows that workplace democracy and encompassing collective bargaining institutions are central factors shaping job quality in service settings where managers encounter strong incentives to cut labor costs.... Disintegrating Democracy at Work is a mandatory read for anyone interested in understanding the relationship between national institutions, management strategies, and worker outcomes in the expanding service sector. -- Tashlin Lakhani * ILR Review *There is something for everyone to take away from this book: academics, managers, union leaders, and policy makers alike. Doellgast also leaves the reader with some hope. Convergence on poor working conditions and low pay is not the inevitable outcome for noncore service workers. Differences in national industrial relations institutions and strategies adopted by worker representatives to pursue dignity in the workplace can reduce economic inequality and fundamentally alter management strategic choice in adoption of high- versus low-road employment models. -- Dionne Pohler * Work and Occupations *This study is exemplary in its impressive attention to details regarding working conditions and industrial relations machinery, and in its combination of enterprise and regulatory histories with present-day quantitative and qualitative results. Furthermore, the book excels by attractive writing and presentation: the reader is put in the picture right from the start by an excellent summary chapter that explains general results at length and in the comparative context of the two countries. This overview leads on to the more detailed chapters in such an appealing way that the reader at all times understands the specific results as part of the wider picture. -- Arndt Sorge * British Journal of Industrial Relations *The book is well written and in large part a pleasure to read.. The topic of the book—the influence of different industrial relations regimes on managerial strategies, the development of working conditions and pay—is not new, but the book is outstanding in its broad empirical base and richness of data.. For unionists and policy makers striving to improve job quality in call centers and similar industries with secondary service-jobs, the book is an excellent argumentation aid as it provides ample evidence that this aim can be achieved and demonstrates how it can be done. -- Sabine Blaschke * Comparative Labor Law & Policy Journal *The author presents a complex, evolving picture in the analysis of her data set.... Although Doellgast has been influenced by... the global call centre project, she extends the analysis in important ways. Intriguingly, while the global project did not find meaningful associations between trade unionism and high employee involvement systems this relationship lies at the heart of this book. Overall, the author provides valuable evidence of the challenges that globalization poses to social market labour regimes. -- Bob Russell * British Journal of Sociology *In vivid descriptions of the call centers she spent time in, and eye-opening interviews, Doellgast shows us the wide range of experiences call workers have.... She uses call centers to illustrate all that is wrong with advanced economies, as well as how things can be made right.... The object lesson is clear: high-skill, high-participation, high-wage workers are not just happier campers, they are better for business. -- Frank Dobbin * Administrative Science Quarterly *The author successfully claims a contribution in presenting a study of networked firms and the impact of decisions in one organization on its collaborating partners, concluding that regulation at the inter-organizational level is a necessary support to formal participation models.... Doellgast's extended study... supports the author's optimism that unions have an important contribution to make to lower skilled, secondary jobs in the service economy. -- Shelagh Campbell * Relations Industrielles/Industrial Relations *Determining Democracy reports an impressive body of empirical research. An innovative research design (four matched pairs of case studies) was used to study changes in the quality of employment systems in American and German call centres. -- Tom Langford * Labour/Le Travail *A valuable contribution to the field of comparative industrial relations. This book examines the role of unions within modern service workplaces by delving into case study analyses of the telecommunications and call center industries.... I highly recommend this book for those interested in comparative industrial relations and for anyone who wants to gain a better understanding of the telecommunications industry and/or U.S. and German employment systems.... Doellgast's theoretical framework and discussion of the findings offer an engaging read for students, scholars, and practitioners. -- Monica Bielski Boris * Labor Studies Journal *Table of Contents1. Introduction 2. Changes in Markets and Collective Bargaining 3. Using Power in the Workplace 4. Losing Power in the Networked Firm 5. Broadening the Comparison 6. ConclusionsAppendix A: Interviews conducted in the United States and Germany Appendix B: Organizational characteristics and employment practices by country, in-house and outsourced centers Appendix C: Organizational characteristics and employment practices by collective bargaining arrangements, United States and GermanyNotes Bibliography Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisCompelled by the extent to which globalization has changed the nature of labor relations, Harry C. Katz, Thomas A. Kochan, and Alexander J. S. Colvin give us the first textbook to focus on the workplace outcomes of the production of goods and services in emerging countries. In Labor Relations in a Globalizing World, they draw lessons from the United States and other advanced industrial countries to provide a menu of options for management, labor, and government leaders in emerging countries. They include discussions based in countries such as China, Brazil, India, and South Africa which, given the advanced levels of economic development they have already achieved, are often described as transitional, because the labor relations practices and procedures used in those countries are still in a state of flux.Katz, Kochan, and Colvin analyze how labor relations functions in emerging countries in a manner that is useful to practitioners, policymakers, and academics. They take accouTrade ReviewThis excellent comparative relations text written by three masters of the Wisconsin 'institutional' tradition analyzes employment through the perspective of industrial relations.... Readers will benefit from the insights the authors have derived from their own interventions as consultants and activists. Recommended for serious upper-division students and graduate students in labor relations, human resource management, sociology, and economics. -- D. C. Jacobs * CHOICE *Table of ContentsPART 1. The Strategic Level of Labor Relations 1. A Framework for Analyzing Labor Relations 2. Labor, Management, and Government Interactions 3. The Law and Legal Systems 4. The Role of the Economic, Technological, and Demographic EnvironmentsPART 2. The Middle (Functional) Level of Labor Relations 5. Employment Systems—Informal, Bureaucratic, and Human Resource Management 6. The Negotiations Process and Structures 7. Dispute Resolution ProceduresPART 3. The Workplace Level of Labor Relations 8. Workplace Labor Relations 9. Employment OutcomesPART 4. Special Topics 10. Labor Relations in the Public Sector 11. Global Pressures: Multinational Corporations, International Unionism, and NGOs 12. Economic Development Strategies and PoliciesGlossary Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisJohn W. Budd contends that the turbulence of the current workplace and the importance of work for individuals and society make it vitally important that employment be given "a human face." Contradicting the traditional view of the employment...Trade ReviewIn this book, John W. Budd articulates a stimulating (re)conceptualization of the employment relationship in modern society.... He brings together a rich treatment of industrial relations and human resource management perspectives under the eclectic rubric of HRIR. Budd concludes by making a valuable call for a renaissance in the subject area through stronger multidisciplinary linkages. The challenge is for those who study and research HRIR to make this a reality by taking forward the agenda with research and debate. -- Tony Dundon * Comparative Labor and Policy Journal Vol 24 No 3 *This is a very good book.... Budd's scholarship is impressive, and he marshals his material in a clear, systematic fashion, which both affords a worthwhile taxonomy and also supports his theoretical position.... Budd takes an unfashionable direction by aiming to articulate explicit ethical points as the foundation for detailed analysis of industrial relations arrangements, but he does so deliberately and carefully is an attempt to show that popular economic models are not the only systematic basis that can be set out as a foundation for critical appraisal of work arrangements. It is difficult to imagine how he might have done better. -- Chris Provis, University of South Australia * The Journal of Industrial Relations *Budd presents a powerful case for reform of American employment relations. He focuses primarily on three dimensions of work: efficiency, equity, and voice.... This book is a well-researched and thoughtful analysis of an important subject. * Choice *Employment with a Human Face is essentially an argument in favor of equally balancing the needs of efficient production, labor market equity, and employee voice. According to Budd, this triad of employment concepts is often out of balance, and results in inefficient production, underemployment, or poor worker satisfaction. Balancing that triad, in Budd's view will provide the best of all possible outcomes for the employment relationship and for the economy at large.... The strength of the book comes in Budd's ability to line up different schools of thought about the employment relationship, such as industrial relations, human relations, or critical industrial relations, with their ethical underpinnings. -- Joel Schoening, University of Oregon * Newsletter of Organizations, Occupations, and Work *It's a tall order to bring together the past century of labour relations research into a cohesive picture, especially if the system in question operates at various levels, from grievances on the shop floor to the globalization of labour standards. But Budd gives it the best shot in recent memory. Employment with a Human Face is really a book out of the blue.... Budd is an engaging writer with a talent for describing arcane IR topics in a way that is accessible not only to university students, but to anyone with even a passing interest in labour relations.... Employment with a Human Face offers much that is new. It is a work of original scholarship whose explanations of complex ideas are as clear as they are relevant. -- Rafael Gomez, London School of Economics * Relations Industrielles/Industrial Relations *

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis book brings together research in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand to answer a series of key questions...Trade ReviewWhat Workers Say examines the voice that employees have, and want, in the workplace and the role played by unions, employers, and governments in expanding, or restricting, that voice. The authors are interested in assessing and comparing what forms of employee voice are able to meet the needs and wants of workers in six nations: Australia, Britain, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, and the United States. * Work and Occupations *Freeman, Boxall, and Haynes provide the results of comprehensive on employee voice and the implications of their findings for labor unions in six countries.... Of the countries studied, the US has the most rigid, outmoded form of employee voice. Highly recommended. -- G. E. Kaupins * Choice *

Read more less

Book SynopsisSelling Technology offers a look at high-tech markets from within, through the experience of salespeople, purchasing agents, and engineers who construct markets for emergent technologies through their daily engagement in sales interactions. Although...Trade Review"Asaf Darr provides us with a much-needed look at the work of sales. While sales is an important part of the service sector, it is surprisingly understudied by social scientists. Yet information about the work of sales, and service work in general, is critical in an economy where jobs increasingly move across national boundaries. Darr puts a human face (or perhaps more accurately, faces) on such work. He demonstrates that salespersons come in a wide variety of forms, and the skills they use and the settings they work in are varied. In this sense, the very word 'salesperson' obscures as much as it reveals. Selling Technology encourages us to get behind the often inadequate labels of jobs in the information economy in order to ask, What is this work really about? Yet Darr's book is of more than academic importance, for it reminds us that preparing ourselves and other people for future worlds of work is best grounded in a firm understanding of how work is accomplished today. It is thus essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the growing worldwide importance of service work." -- Charles Darrah, San Jose State University

Read more less

Book Synopsis"Nursing, everyone believes, is the caring profession. Texts on caring line the walls of nursing schools and student shelves. Indeed, the discipline of nursing is often known as the 'caring science.' Because of their caring reputation, nurses top the...Trade ReviewThis collection of essays... shows that nurses in all settings tend to describe their work as caring, emotional, and compassionate, consciously avoiding mention of the knowledge and skill that are equally essential to the job.... The consequences... include early burnout owing to mistaken expectations and the greater use of unskilled workers, who are seen as equally capable of providing emotional care.... Well written and provocative. * Library Journal *Table of ContentsIntroduction - Sioban Nelson and Suzanne Gordon1. Moving beyond the Virtue Script in Nursing: Creating a Knowledge-Based Identity for Nurses - Suzanne Gordon and Sioban Nelson2. When Little Things Are Big Things: The Importance of Relationships for Nurses' Professional Practice - Dana Beth Weinberg3. Pride and Prejudice: Nurses' Struggle with Reasoned Debate - Diana J. Mason4. Moral Integrity and Regret in Nursing - Lydia L. Moland5. Ethical Expertise and the Problem of the Good Nurse - Sioban Nelson6. From Sickness to Health - Tom Keighley7. The New Cartesianism: Dividing Mind and Body and Thus Disembodying Care - Suzanne Gordon8. Nurses Must Be Clever to Care - Sanchia Aranda and Rosie Brown9. "You Don't Want to Stay Here": Surgical Nursing and the Disappearance of Patient Recovery Time - Marie Heartfield10. Research on Nurse Staffing and Its Outcomes: The Challenges and Risks of Grasping at Shadows - Sean ClarkeConclusion: Nurses Wanted: Sentimental Men and Women Need Not Apply - Sioban Nelson and Suzanne GordonNotes Contributors Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisMiddle-class Chinese women in the global city of Hong Kong have entered the workforce in unprecedented numbers over the past three decades, and the demand for foreign domestic workers has soared. A decade ago some foretold the decline in foreign workers and the influx of mainland workers. But today over 120,000 women from the Philippines, over...Trade ReviewThis ethnography is an indisputable contribution to both Asian studies and anthropology and a pioneering work in the field of transnational migration studies. I strongly recommend this lively and readable study of the complex lives of domestic workers in Hong Kong as a textbook for use in a variety of classes. * American Ethnologist *An ethnography with a twist, in that it portrays the domestic workers in their own terms, speaking for themselves through their experiences and reactions, including the strategies of resistance developed by the workers. * China Journal *Constable undertakes extensive naturalistic and participant observation.... The interviews are lively, presenting an array of experiences. * China Quarterly *Maid to Order in Hong Kong is a stimulating and compellingly written book. * American Anthropologist *The combination of analyses of the social structural forms of domination and the individual forms of resistance makes Constable's work insightful and useful. * Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society *This book contains rich qualitative data and provides sophisticated analysis of the plights, resistance, and accommodation of domestic workers. The writing is highly engaging. I strongly recommend it to students of qualitative methodology, gender and migration studies, as well as to all those who are interested in agency and contestations of women, and who care about the struggles of the disadvantaged. -- Catherine C. H. Chiu * Work and Occupations *

Read more less

Book SynopsisCaitrin Lynch shows how contemporary Sri Lankan women navigate a complex web of political, cultural, and socioeconomic forces. Lynch details precisely how gender, nationalism, and globalization influence everyday life in Sri Lanka.Trade ReviewAnthropologist Caitrin Lynch writes a provocative ethnography about women workers in Sri Lanka's 200 Garment Factories Program, a state initiative that brought international industry to rural villages. Working at the intersection of globalization, gender studies, and labor relations, Lynch discusses the localization of production, examining how transnational capitalist dynamics settle into local contexts. This engaging book is based on eighteen months of qualitative research performed in two garment factories. The pages brim with lively characters and trenchant analysis. * Journal of Asian Studies *In Juki Girls, Good Girls, anthropologist Caitrin Lynch powerfully displays women's ability to contest and adapt to larger social, political, and economic structures as they fashion identities that are both modern and traditional. Above all, it is about women's agency and thus challenges the victim-oriented globalization literature. Lynch illustrates how even when women enact subordinating practices, they do so on their own terms in an ongoing process of subject formation. Juki Girls is an instant classic, highly recommended to generalists, undergraduates, and graduate students for his accessibility, clarity, and significance. * Feminist Studies *In keeping with the best traditions of anthropology, Lynch connects individual experience to the politico-economic structures within which women act on and understand their worlds. Juki Girls, Good Girls is an empirically rich and theoretically informed account of gender as a site of struggle and change; few readers will be disappointed. It reminds us that women's empowerment, while a laudable development goal, is far more complicated than many of us suspect. There is much in this book that will interest development scholars as well as those in gender and feminist studies, and both seasoned and novice researchers. * Pacific Affairs *Table of ContentsIntroduction Rohini: Young Women and Garment Life 1. Globalization, Gender, and Labor Chinta 2. Localizing Production Mala: The Truth about Women Workers at Garment Factories 3. The Politics of White Women's Underwear Geeta 4. Juki Girls, Good Girls, and the Village Context Sita 5. The Good Girls of Sri Lankan Modernity Geeta: Untitled 6. Paternalism and Factory Conflicts Conclusion

Read more less

Book SynopsisWhat is work? Is it simply a burden to be tolerated or something more meaningful to one''s sense of identity and self-worth? And why does it matter? In a uniquely thought-provoking book, John W. Budd presents ten historical and contemporary views of work from across the social sciences and humanities. By uncovering the diverse ways in which we conceptualize worksuch as a way to serve or care for others, a source of freedom, a source of income, a method of psychological fulfillment, or a social relation shaped by class, gender, race, and powerThe Thought of Work reveals the wide-ranging nature of work and establishes its fundamental importance for the human experience. When we work, we experience our biological, psychological, economic, and social selves. Work locates us in the world, helps us and others make sense of who we are, and determines our access to material and social resources.By integrating these distinct views, Budd replaces the usual fragmentary approachesTrade ReviewBudd does an excellent job of describing how work has utterly triumphed among us... but also confronts the issue of the deeply and widely held view that work no longer offers food for the soul and that many people's experience of paid employment is characterized by a radical loss of meaningfulness beyond its obvious and fundamental functionality. -- Paul Gilfillan * Work, Employment & Society *John W. Budd's The Thought of Work provides a much needed and highly eloquent statement of the meanings and orientations to work across time and nations. It is essential reading for students of work from senior scholars to beginning undergraduates. -- Randy Hodson, Distinguished Professor of Social and Behavioral SciencesThe Ohio State University and past editor, * American Sociological Review *This is a really useful and important book for anyone working or especially teaching in the field of employment studies.... The book can be used in a number of ways and at different levels to teach about work. It is, for example, an excellent way to introduce students to the general subject matter of economic life. Importantly, it invites the reader to think in theoretical, conceptual and at times philosophical ways about work.... Budd and his publisher are to be congratulated on producing a text that will be an invaluable resource for teachers and students of sociology, philosophy, management and business, as well as other disciplines. The book deserves to be a staple on any self-respecting critical reading list on work and employment. The Thought of Work is part of a real renaissance in the interdisciplinary study of work and is to be applauded. -- Tim Strangleman * British Journal of Industrial Relations *Table of ContentsIntroduction 1. Work as a Curse 2. Work as Freedom 3. Work as a Commodity 4. Work as Occupational Citizenship 5. Work as Disutility 6. Work as Personal Fulfillment 7. Work as a Social Relation 8. Work as Caring for Others 9. Work as Identity 10. Work as Service Conclusion: Work MattersNotes Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisVirginia Doellgast contends that high pay and good working conditions are possible even for marginal service jobs. This outcome, however, depends on strong unions and encompassing collective bargaining institutions.Trade ReviewThrough a compelling comparative analysis of work reorganization in U.S. and German call centers following the liberalization of telecommunications markets, Doellgast shows that workplace democracy and encompassing collective bargaining institutions are central factors shaping job quality in service settings where managers encounter strong incentives to cut labor costs.... Disintegrating Democracy at Work is a mandatory read for anyone interested in understanding the relationship between national institutions, management strategies, and worker outcomes in the expanding service sector. -- Tashlin Lakhani * ILR Review *There is something for everyone to take away from this book: academics, managers, union leaders, and policy makers alike. Doellgast also leaves the reader with some hope. Convergence on poor working conditions and low pay is not the inevitable outcome for noncore service workers. Differences in national industrial relations institutions and strategies adopted by worker representatives to pursue dignity in the workplace can reduce economic inequality and fundamentally alter management strategic choice in adoption of high- versus low-road employment models. -- Dionne Pohler * Work and Occupations *This study is exemplary in its impressive attention to details regarding working conditions and industrial relations machinery, and in its combination of enterprise and regulatory histories with present-day quantitative and qualitative results. Furthermore, the book excels by attractive writing and presentation: the reader is put in the picture right from the start by an excellent summary chapter that explains general results at length and in the comparative context of the two countries. This overview leads on to the more detailed chapters in such an appealing way that the reader at all times understands the specific results as part of the wider picture. -- Arndt Sorge * British Journal of Industrial Relations *The book is well written and in large part a pleasure to read.. The topic of the book—the influence of different industrial relations regimes on managerial strategies, the development of working conditions and pay—is not new, but the book is outstanding in its broad empirical base and richness of data.. For unionists and policy makers striving to improve job quality in call centers and similar industries with secondary service-jobs, the book is an excellent argumentation aid as it provides ample evidence that this aim can be achieved and demonstrates how it can be done. -- Sabine Blaschke * Comparative Labor Law & Policy Journal *The author presents a complex, evolving picture in the analysis of her data set.... Although Doellgast has been influenced by... the global call centre project, she extends the analysis in important ways. Intriguingly, while the global project did not find meaningful associations between trade unionism and high employee involvement systems this relationship lies at the heart of this book. Overall, the author provides valuable evidence of the challenges that globalization poses to social market labour regimes. -- Bob Russell * British Journal of Sociology *In vivid descriptions of the call centers she spent time in, and eye-opening interviews, Doellgast shows us the wide range of experiences call workers have.... She uses call centers to illustrate all that is wrong with advanced economies, as well as how things can be made right.... The object lesson is clear: high-skill, high-participation, high-wage workers are not just happier campers, they are better for business. -- Frank Dobbin * Administrative Science Quarterly *The author successfully claims a contribution in presenting a study of networked firms and the impact of decisions in one organization on its collaborating partners, concluding that regulation at the inter-organizational level is a necessary support to formal participation models.... Doellgast's extended study... supports the author's optimism that unions have an important contribution to make to lower skilled, secondary jobs in the service economy. -- Shelagh Campbell * Relations Industrielles/Industrial Relations *Determining Democracy reports an impressive body of empirical research. An innovative research design (four matched pairs of case studies) was used to study changes in the quality of employment systems in American and German call centres. -- Tom Langford * Labour/Le Travail *A valuable contribution to the field of comparative industrial relations. This book examines the role of unions within modern service workplaces by delving into case study analyses of the telecommunications and call center industries.... I highly recommend this book for those interested in comparative industrial relations and for anyone who wants to gain a better understanding of the telecommunications industry and/or U.S. and German employment systems.... Doellgast's theoretical framework and discussion of the findings offer an engaging read for students, scholars, and practitioners. -- Monica Bielski Boris * Labor Studies Journal *Table of Contents1. Introduction 2. Changes in Markets and Collective Bargaining 3. Using Power in the Workplace 4. Losing Power in the Networked Firm 5. Broadening the Comparison 6. ConclusionsAppendix A: Interviews conducted in the United States and Germany Appendix B: Organizational characteristics and employment practices by country, in-house and outsourced centers Appendix C: Organizational characteristics and employment practices by collective bargaining arrangements, United States and GermanyNotes Bibliography Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisCompelled by the extent to which globalization has changed the nature of labor relations, Harry C. Katz, Thomas A. Kochan, and Alexander J. S. Colvin give us the first textbook to focus on the workplace outcomes of the production of goods and services in emerging countries. In Labor Relations in a Globalizing World, they draw lessons from the United States and other advanced industrial countries to provide a menu of options for management, labor, and government leaders in emerging countries. They include discussions based in countries such as China, Brazil, India, and South Africa which, given the advanced levels of economic development they have already achieved, are often described as transitional, because the labor relations practices and procedures used in those countries are still in a state of flux.Katz, Kochan, and Colvin analyze how labor relations functions in emerging countries in a manner that is useful to practitioners, policymakers, and academics. They take accouTrade ReviewThis excellent comparative relations text written by three masters of the Wisconsin 'institutional' tradition analyzes employment through the perspective of industrial relations.... Readers will benefit from the insights the authors have derived from their own interventions as consultants and activists. Recommended for serious upper-division students and graduate students in labor relations, human resource management, sociology, and economics. -- D. C. Jacobs * CHOICE *Table of ContentsPART 1. The Strategic Level of Labor Relations 1. A Framework for Analyzing Labor Relations 2. Labor, Management, and Government Interactions 3. The Law and Legal Systems 4. The Role of the Economic, Technological, and Demographic EnvironmentsPART 2. The Middle (Functional) Level of Labor Relations 5. Employment Systems—Informal, Bureaucratic, and Human Resource Management 6. The Negotiations Process and Structures 7. Dispute Resolution ProceduresPART 3. The Workplace Level of Labor Relations 8. Workplace Labor Relations 9. Employment OutcomesPART 4. Special Topics 10. Labor Relations in the Public Sector 11. Global Pressures: Multinational Corporations, International Unionism, and NGOs 12. Economic Development Strategies and PoliciesGlossary Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisIndustrial relations experts from eleven countries consider the state of the automobile industry worldwide.Trade ReviewAn informative book that provides an excellent overview of developments in the global auto industry. * American Journal of Sociology *For anyone interested in international trends in human resource management practices, reviews of lean production in practice, or detailed comparisons of manufacturing operations by nation in the car industry, After Lean Production is a valuable resource.... After Lean Production is a rich collection of case studies, offering detailed pictures of the manufacturing practices and employment policies of a number of plants. The case studies are... well written and informative. This volume... can be recommended for the scholar or practitioner who wants to learn more about how international trends in human resources practices are shaped and molded by the national institutions, laws, and traditions. * Personnel Psychology *The essays are useful because they analyze recent changes in the organization of work in various national automobile industries, connect these changes, in almost all cases, to some type of 'crisis,' and demonstrate that these changes are inspired by Japanese methods of so-called 'lean production.'... The relevance and timeliness of the essays make this book a worthy addition to any collection on the world auto industry. * Choice *

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe 1990s were years of turmoil and transformation in American work experiences and employment relationships. Trends including the growth of contingent labor, the erosion of the stable employment contract, the restructuring of jobs and companies, and...Trade ReviewCrossing the Great Divide is an expos' of the downside of the risk in the new economy. Vicki Smith argues that 'temporariness and risk' have become intertwined with workers' expectations of opportunity and advancement, which were understood in the days of the old economy as the rewards for hard work or even dedication. -- Gina Neff, Columbia University * Dissent *Providing a welcome change of direction... Vicki Smith's book argues convincingly that we should not take a romantic view of work in the age of mass production.... Her research has thrown up a plausible conclusion that today's booming US employment market with its 'turbulence, decentral-isation, variation, and unpredictability' offers many workers what they see as an opportunity... 'to invest themselves in their work.'. -- Robert Taylor * Financial Times *There is a growing literature on globalization, employment restructuring, and the postindustrial workplace. Much of that work may already be obsolete, however, as recent evidence suggests that both the cynics and the optimists are wrong—or, at least, only partly right. Crossing the Great Divide is among the first books that tackle this complexity head on and, in the process, provides students and researchers with new ways to think about employment in the 21st century. -- Amy S. Wharton, Washington State University * American Journal of Sociology *Each of the participants in Smith's four studies must cope with the contradictions faced by those whose jobs may be at risk but who also face new opportunities at the same time, and she explores how workers attempt to cross 'the great divide' and take advantage of the 'new economy.'. -- David Rouse * Booklist *Smith examines how different groups of workers acquire the skills, know-how, cultural and human capital, and mental aptitudes that might help them reap the benefits of the new economy. * Choice *

Read more less

Book SynopsisSebeok, and others.Trade ReviewBlonsky has grouped numerous original and newly translated works by those who have been highly visible forces in semiotic circles... His book functions as a unified voice proclaiming the power of semiotics to reveal the hidden practices and secrets of modern society. Journal of CommunicationTable of ContentsPrefaceFriendsIntroduction. The Agony of SemioticsPart I. Seeing SignsPart II. Understanding the Meaning of SignsPart III. Signs of LifeEndword. Americans on the MoveNotes on ContributorsAcknowledgementsIndex

Read more less

Book SynopsisHer interdisciplinary study draws from the fields of business history, engineering, technology, architecture, and theories of modernity. Why did some people want to rationalize the factory, she asks, and how did the system impact those who worked under it?Trade ReviewTraditional business history at its best, essential reading for anyone interested in the history of efficiency, technology, and work in the United States. -- William Roy Journal of American History Enhances our understanding of the shift away from a more romantic nineteenth-century artisanal world to the rational, machine- and factory-based, mass production of the twentieth century. Science, Technology, and Society This interdisciplinary study aptly illustrates how buildings are much more than silent historical witnesses; they are in fact central, active components within the process of social change. Michigan Historical Review An important addition to the literature of industrial development. -- Paul Israel American Historical Review The Rational Factory is a substantial contribution to the history of industrial engineering and industrial architecture in the 19th and 20th centuries. -- Charles K. Hyde Industrial Archeology

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis multidisciplinary, comprehensive assessment of the state of aging and work addresses a wide range of topics relevant to academic researchers and practitioners, government and industry leaders, and workers and managers in the public and private sectors.Trade ReviewA comprehensive, well-written volume addressing the numerous issues created by the interface of an aging workforce with the array of economic, global, information and technology-driven changes occurring in society. The conclusion provides an excellent summary of the volume and an outline of needed future directions for research and policy changes. This insightful volume will be of particular interest to researchers and practitioners concerned about the complex issues surrounding work and an aging population. Choice 2010Table of ContentsList of ContributorsForeword, by Richard Suzman Acknowledgments Introduction: Emerging Challenges for Organizations and Older Workers in the Twenty-first Century Part I: Employment Patterns and DemographicsChapter 1. Institutional and Individual Responses to Structural Lag: The Changing Patterns of Work at Older AgesChapter 2. Caregiving and Employment Chapter 3. Aging and Work: An International PerspectivePart II: Implications of an Aging WorkforceChapter 4. The Politics of Work and Aging: Public Policy for the New EldersChapter 5. Implications of an Aging Workforce: An Industry PerspectivePart III: The Changing Nature of JobsChapter 6. Trends in Job Demands and the Implications for Older Workers Chapter 7. Telework and Older WorkersChapter 8. Collaborative Work: What's Age Got to Do with It? Chapter 9. The Issues and Opportunities of Entrepreneurship after Age 50 Part IV: Work Performance IssuesChapter 10. Managers' Attitudes toward Older Workers: A Review of the Evidence Chapter 11. Work and Older Adults: Motivation and Performance Chapter 12. Skill Acquisition in Older Adults: Psychological Mechanisms Chapter 13. Preparing Organizations and Workers for Current and Future Employment: Training and Retraining Chapter 14. Age and Performance Measures of Knowledge-Based Work: A Cognitive PerspectivePart V: Workplace and Ergonomic IssuesChapter 15. Ergonomic Design of Workplaces for the Aging Population Chapter 16. Safety and Health Issues for an Aging WorkforceChapter 17. Work Organization and Health in an Aging Workforce: Observations from the NIOSH Quality of Life Survey Chapter 18. Health Promotion and Wellness Programs for Older Workers Conclusion. Synthesis and Future Directions Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisAmerican historians and anyone interested in the history of labor or Las Vegas will find this account highly original, insightful, and even-handed.Trade ReviewThis work is a welcome addition to the field of labor relations and labor history... Highly recommended. Choice 2010 This book would appeal to anyone interested in the history of Las Vegas, labor relations, organized labor, or knowing more about the worker struggles that took place behind the neon lights. -- Amy Butler Monthly Labor Review 2011Table of ContentsAcknowledgmentsIntroduction1. The Rise of Corporate Resorts2. Working in Las Vegas3. The First Work Stoppages4. The Struggle for the Casinos5. Workplace Incidents6. Fighting for Equal Rights7. The Spirit of '768. Management Digs In, 1982–19849. The Strike of 1984–1985AfterwordNotesEssay on SourcesIndex

Read more less

Book SynopsisTrade Review"This book is both an indictment of corporate greed and a snapshot of racial and social attitudes in an almost decade-by-decade examination."—David Mills, Western Historical Quarterly"Capitalist Family Values: Gender, Work, and Corporate Culture at Boeing provides a unique and nuanced account of the intersection between gender and workplace culture during Boeing's hundred year history."—Sarah Moore, Biography: An Interdisciplinary Quarterly"Polly Reed Myers's Capitalist Family Values traces the evolution of corporate culture at one of the world's largest aerospace companies in order to elucidate the role of gender at work and the dynamics of occupational inequality. . . . Her attention to men in managerial and engineering occupations makes this a particularly welcome addition to the literature on gender and work in the twentieth-century United States."—Natalie J. Marine-Street, Pacific Historical Review“Capitalist Family Values represents a rich contribution to ongoing studies of work and labor history, women’s and gender history, history of sexuality, and the history of business.”—Amy Bix, author of Girls Coming to Tech! A History of American Engineering Education for Women Table of ContentsList of Illustrations Preface: Finding Women at Boeing Acknowledgments Introduction: The Boeing Family Chapter 1: Fraternalism and the Boeing News in the 1930s Chapter 2: Manpower versus Womanpower during World War II Chapter 3: Women’s Place in Equal Opportunity Employment Chapter 4: Jane Doe v. Boeing Company Chapter 5: Employing Teamwork Conclusion: Corporate Capitalism in the Twenty-First Century Notes Bibliography Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisTrade Review"By studying the work of helping others find work, Mary Gatta shifts our attention to the link between government policy and the experiences of unemployed workers seeking work . . . Gatta has pointed to one approach by studying work beyond the employment relation. We would do well to follow her example with other approaches."—Mark Zbaracki, IRL Review"Gatta's research makes a significant contribution to the literature on the workforce development system as little is known about the One-Stop Career Centers and even less is known about women's experiences at the One-Stop Career Centers. In addition, Gatta's work is unique in its methodology. Whereas many existing studies are quantitative and outcomes-focused, Gatta uses participant observation and focus groups. In doing so, she is able to explore how women are experiencing the workforce development system rather than just how many women were served or obtained employment."—Skye Allmang, Social Service Review"Mary Gatta adds to the literature by focusing on the felt experiences of women at One Stop Career Centers. With qualitative data, Gatta explores the experiences of customers and front line workers at a New Jersey Center . . . With its lens on gender, this book is an important addition to workforce development literature."—Joyce Bialik, Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare"All I Want Is a Job! offers a valuable look inside our nation's main workforce development program. It should be required reading for anyone interested in low-wage work, labor markets, social welfare policy, and economic development."–Stephanie Luce, Gender & Society"In this short and very readable narrative, Gatta takes a different and unique approach. Posing as a client at a One-Stop Career Center, she experiences firsthand the trials and tribulations of job seekers. The author interviews the workers in these centers, discovering the difficulties of trying to implement policies set by others and the anxiety and stress in meeting the needs of the unemployed . . . The author concludes that there are no quick fixes, but at the margin there are key shifts to improve the system, which would serve the employed and unemployed alike and contribute to economic recovery and future prosperity . . . Recommended."—J. F. O'Connell, CHOICE"All I Want is a Job! is an engaging and timely book. It addresses the very pressing issue of the services provided to jobless workers, while also doing an excellent job of placing its findings in historical context."—Ofer Sharone, MIT Sloan School of Management"This is a special book that gives the reader a real sense of the world of One-Stop Career Centers. Delivering an insider's glimpse into their operation, Gatta's research will spark a serious discussion about the need to change our current system so that it actually meets the needs of those seeking employment."—Henry Plotkin, Former Executive Director of the New Jersey State Employment and Training Commission"Mary manages to discuss the problems that unemployed women face in finding work, not only from a practical point of view, but also from a personal standpoint. This book illustrates her rare talent for looking at individual concerns alongside bureaucracy with an eye toward reform. While giving us an intimate look inside the public work force system, she constructively suggests ways to improve government initiatives. All I Want Is a Job! is at once an eye opener and a beacon."—Frank Pallone, Jr., New Jersey Congressman"Mary Gatta has written a forceful, lucid, and critical guide for women to secure a living wage. Understanding the bewildering hell that is the public workforce system, Mary knowingly helps us to navigate it in order to produce the practical result we all seek: employment. This book is a 'must read' for those who care about lifting women out of poverty!"—Jim McGreevey, former Governor of New Jersey

Read more less

Book SynopsisAs the dust settles on nearly three decades of economic reform in Latin America, one of the most fundamental economic policy areas has changed far less than expected: labor regulation. To date, Latin America''s labor laws remain both rigidly protective and remarkably diverse. Continuity Despite Change develops a new theoretical framework for understanding labor laws and their change through time, beginning by conceptualizing labor laws as comprehensive systems or regimes. In this context, Matthew Carnes demonstrates that the reform measures introduced in the 1980s and 1990s have only marginally modified the labor laws from decades earlier. To explain this continuity, he argues that labor law development is constrained by long-term economic conditions and labor market institutions. He points specifically to two key factorsthe distribution of worker skill levels and the organizational capacity of workers. Carnes presents cross-national statistical evidence from the eightTrade Review"Rather than overturn previous research, Carnes's book extends and deepens it, both by expanding the time frame and by applying quantitative tools that reinforce and refine elements of earlier work . . . Carnes's book is an important addition to the literature on Latin American labor laws. His effort to provide a coherent explanation for the evolution of labor codes raises new questions as well, inviting more scholars to explore this complex topic." -- Maria Lorena Cook * Hispanic American Historical Review *"Carnes undertakes an ambitious exploration of Latin America's labor laws over the past several decades. Utilizing cross-national data from 18 major Latin American economies, the author presents qualitative and quantitative analyses that conclude that two factors—labor's organizational capabilities and the distribution of worker skills—determine the extent of labor reforms adopted by Latin American countries . . . Summing Up: Highly Recommended." -- L. W. Young * CHOICE *"This important book pushes us to think afresh about labor's enduring role in Latin American politics. Through a meticulous analysis of the region's diverse laws governing work and worker organization, Carnes helps us see how national-level organized union activity has shaped the path of labor law reform. It deserves high praise for its skillful combination of quantitative and qualitative methods—and rich case studies of Argentina, Chile, and Peru—which work together to tell a compelling and important story about the evolution of labor law in Latin America. Carnes' findings are especially pertinent now, as they help explain why Latin America has largely preserved labor codes that are mismatched for the competitive demands of a global economy. This book will be essential reading for those interested in Latin American labor, economic change, and political economy." -- Timothy R. Scully * University of Notre Dame *"This book will be a required read for labor scholars of Latin America and beyond, and a wonderful contribution to any course on labor or the political economy of development." -- Mark Anner * Latin American Politics and Society *"Carnes's conclusion that most labor codes in Latin America have not been rewritten to make them compatible with market reforms is significant. His work, further, shows how the industries deemed key for twentieth-century projects of nation-state formation (such as mining) had the most protective individual labor legislation (for instance, provisions structuring hiring and dismissal)." -- Alejandra González Jiménez * Latin American Research Review *Table of ContentsContents and AbstractsIntroduction: Introduction: Continuity Despite Change chapter abstractThis chapter describes the puzzling persistence of extremely protective labor laws in Latin America, in spite of significant competitive pressures from globalization and a series of attempted reforms in the 1980s and 1990s. It notes that labor laws have been more resistant to reform than any other area of economic policy, and motivates the rest of the book by explaining the importance of labor law as both a dependent variable and independent variable, outlining the history of study of Latin American labor laws, and describing the implications of different forms of labor regulation for outcomes as diverse as economic inequality and political participation. It concludes with an overview of the remaining chapters of the book. 1Explaining Enduring Labor Codes in Developing Countries: Skill Distributions and the Organizational Capacity of Labor chapter abstractThis chapter builds a general theory of labor regulation. It describes the labor law "policy space" and articulates a typology of four hypothetical labor law "regimes." It traces the origins to these regimes to two explanatory variables: (1) the distribution of skills in the economy, and (2) the ability of labor to organize to represent its interests. It argues that these factors played a critical role in shaping the earliest state efforts at regulating labor relations in Latin America, beginning in the late 1800s and early 1900s. It then develops a series of arguments about how skill distributions and labor organization functioned under successive waves of economic policy. During industrialization (as occurred in the middle of the twentieth century), they shaped the expansion of coverage of labor regulation. And under globalization (at the turn of the millennium), they constrained – and in many cases, severely limited – the extent of liberalizing reforms. 2Using Multiple Methods to Understand Labor Law Development in Latin America chapter abstractThis chapter describes the two-pronged methodological approach employed in the remainder of the book. First, it describes the original dataset assembled for the quantitative analysis – a comparative operationalization of 23 labor law features from 18 countries – and details the strengths and weaknesses implied in a quantitative research strategy. Next, it describes the qualitative, "analytic narrative" approach employed in the case studies. It discusses the selection criteria for choosing Chile, Peru, and Argentina as exemplary cases, and provides a preliminary comparison of their relative skill levels and labor organization throughout the twentieth century. 3Latin American Labor Laws in Comparative Perspective chapter abstractThis chapter employs an original cross-national dataset of individual and collective labor regulations to chart the range of variation in labor laws within Latin America during the 1980-2005 period. Econometric analysis finds that skill levels and organizational capacity are consistently correlated with differences in labor regulation "regimes" in recent decades. In addition, the chapter tests alternative hypotheses present in the literature, finding that government partisanship has important effects both through its historical legacies and through the reforms proposed by sitting governments. 4Fragmented Individualism: Professional Labor Regulation in Chile chapter abstractThis chapter examines Chile as an example of a "professional" labor law regime, characterized by laws that strongly protect individual labor relations but fragmented and weaken collective labor relations and unions. It traces the roots of Chile's early labor laws to patterns of labor recruitment in Chile's geographically isolated mines, its ports, and its urban professional sectors. It then shows how subsequent periods of economic development further fragmented coordination across labor unions, while preserving significant individual protections for a reduced share of the workforce in skilled or critical economic sectors. 5Contradictions, Division, and Competition: Encompassing Labor Regulation in Peru chapter abstractThis chapter examines Peru as an example of an "encompassing" labor law regime, which offers low levels of individual worker protections but facilitates independent union organization and activity. It argues that the lower level of skills in the Peruvian economy made organization around issues of individual contracting difficult. Further, frequent periods of authoritarian rule and weak ties between workers and political parties offered few opportunities for the advancement of labor's collective interests. As a result, during the globalization period, Peru has undermined even the weak labor laws it had developed, consigning an ever-greater proportion of the population to work without legal protection. 6Integration and Incorporation: Corporatist Labor Regulation in Argentina chapter abstractThis chapter examines Argentina as an example of a "corporatist" labor law regime, with high levels of both individual and collective labor regulations. It argues that the country's early labor market conditions – including significant immigration from Europe and relatively high education and skill levels – led to more extensive initial legal protections. In later decades, labor law became a vehicle for incorporating a broad swath of workers into the movement surrounding Perón and the party that has continued his legacy. It concludes by contending that in recent years, strong ties between the Peronist party and organized workers account for the relatively meager liberalization that has occurred. Conclusion: Conclusion: Politics and Labor Regulation in Latin America chapter abstractThis brief chapter accomplishes three tasks. First, it summarizes the book's major contributions, highlighting how its theoretical approach and long historical perspective permit a better understanding of the surprising stability in labor codes in Latin America, despite efforts and pressures for reform. Second, it discusses the implications of the book's findings for study of Latin American social policy, political economy, and corporatism. It concludes by suggesting future avenues for research on labor laws in the region, noting the need for more extensive study of variation in compliance and enforcement of legal regimes.

Read more less

Book SynopsisGlobal Talent seeks to examine the utility of skilled foreigners beyond their human capital value by focusing on their social capital potential, especially their role as transnational bridges between host and home countries. Gi-Wook Shin and Joon Nak Choi build on an emerging stream of research that conceptualizes global labor mobility as a positive-sum game in which countries and businesses benefit from building ties across geographic space, rather than the zero-sum game implied by the global war for talent and brain drain metaphors.The book empirically demonstrates its thesis by examination of the case of Korea: a state archetypical of those that have been embracing economic globalization while facing a demographic crisisand one where the dominant narrative on the recruitment of skilled foreigners is largely negative. It reveals the unique benefits that foreign students and professionals can provide to Korea, by enhancing Korean firms'' competitiveness in the global Trade Review"Overall, this book offers theoretical lessons for general research on transnationalism and cultural and social capital of highly skilled migrants, even though it focuses most explicitly on business and labor markets. It invites the attention of policy makers and business strategists, who also appear to be its intended audience." —Keumjae Park, International Migration Review"Advanced economies like Korea face a growing mismatch between low birth rates and increasing demand for skilled labor. Shin and Choi use original, comprehensive data and a global outlook to provide careful, accessible and persuasive analysis. Their prescriptions for Korea and other economies challenged by high-level labor shortages will amply reward readers of this landmark study."—Mark Granovetter, Professor of Sociology, Stanford UniversityTable of ContentsContents and Abstracts1Towards a New Model of Engaging Skilled Foreigners chapter abstractKorea has pursued new opportunities for continued growth, but has been hampered its lack of global talent— individuals with key skills conferring valuable advantages in global markets. Countries like the United States have generated such advantages by recruiting skilled foreigners. Korea has had difficulty recruiting such foreigners because its strong ethnic nationalism makes it comparatively unfriendly for foreigners. Yet, Korea can leverage skilled foreigners by inviting skilled foreigners for a short-term sojourn. Since they will have difficulty assimilating, such foreigners are not expected to stay and contribute their human capital over the long-term. However, if they return home, they can become transnational bridges linking Korea with their home societies and create mutually beneficial opportunities for information exchange, cooperation and trade. Overall, Korea and similar countries in Europe and Asia can benefit from participating in global brain circulation, even if their ethnic nationalism hampers them from assimilating skilled foreigners. 2Foreign Students in Korea chapter abstractIn recent years, Korean universities have attracted an increasing number of foreign students, mainly within the Asian region. Some students expressed mainly instrumental reasons to study in Korea such as the lower cost, the availability of scholarships, and Korea's geographical proximity and social similarity to their home countries. In contrast, other students expressed mainly social identity reasons to study in Korea, mainly the opportunity to learn about Korea's development experience and to experience firsthand a culture they had learned to appreciate while consuming Korean cultural products abroad. Such individuals also expressed a desire to bridge Korea and their home countries for mutual benefit, a tremendous opportunity for all involved. Understanding this, several Korean firms have begun to recruit foreigners studying in Korea and begun training them to run subsidiaries in their home countries. 3Korean Students Abroad chapter abstractKoreans study at U.S. and Canadian universities to receive what they perceive to be a better education. On average, such students have a moderately high desire to return to Korea after completing their degrees, being more familiar with the Korean environment and wanting to spend more time with family and friends back home. Indeed, many individuals want overseas work experience to enhance their career prospects when they eventually return. However, two subgroups of Korean students abroad have less desire to return home. Choki yuhak students, who started studying overseas at a relatively young age, have become acculturated into in the U.S. and Canada and feel more comfortable there than in Korea. Also, students who attend Korean churches feel less homesickness, as these churches function as small-scale ethnic enclaves. Although they prefer to remain abroad, both groups have the capability and desire to bridge Korea with their host societies. 4The Korean Diaspora chapter abstractThe Korean diaspora includes some of the best-educated citizens of the U.S. and Canada. This group encompasses a range of individuals, from corporate ladder-climbers to freewheeling artists, who may or may not be familiar with Korea. Individuals unfamiliar with Korea express a strong desire to sojourn in Korea to reclaim their lost identities, but react very differently to actual sojourns based on their goals and interests. While business-oriented individuals react positively to the ample opportunities they encounter in Korea, others react negatively to the conformity and sexism they perceive as being prevalent. Individuals more familiar with Korea have little need to reclaim identities they never lost, and express greater interest in relocating to Korea long-term based on career opportunities they find there. Overall, a shared ethnic identity draws the diaspora back to Korea, where they can potentially contribute the abundant human and social capital they possess. 5Expatriate Indians and Korean Engineering chapter abstractThe manufacture and export of high-technology goods represents a crucial pillar of the Korean economy. Yet, the ongoing convergence between hardware and software threatens to topple this pillar, given Korea's shortage of software engineers. India produces more high-quality software engineers than its economy requires, creating an opportunity for foreign firms to recruit skilled engineers. However, Korean firms face competition from American rivals and are handicapped by Korea's ethnic nationalism. Although Korean firms may have difficulty recruiting graduates of the elite Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs), they are nevertheless attractive to non-IIT graduates who are nearly as qualified. Indeed, such individuals express special interest in East Asian countries to avoid social competition with IIT graduates. This example illustrates how social differences amongst skilled foreigners create opportunities for countries like Korea to recruit highly desirable groups despite intense competition. 6Towards a Global Korea chapter abstractThis book examines four different groups of skilled foreigners in the Korean context. The findings presented in the book have important theoretical and practical implications. Theoretically, the findings not only integrate geographic research on cross-national boundary spanners with sociological research on transnationalism, but also illuminate why individuals consciously decide to function as transnational bridges. Practically, the findings not only suggest how governments and firms might benefit from transnational bridging, but also how they might promote such behavior through university reforms and public diplomacy. However, the findings also suggest that Korea cannot fully benefit from transnational bridging without fundamental changes to its social institutions and corporate organizations. Although the book focused on the Korean context, its findings are also relevant towards many other economically advanced countries characterized by ethnic nationalism, such as Germany and Japan.

Read more less

Book SynopsisTrade Review"Mary Gatta provides an important look at how the current—and future—retirement crisis affects some of the country's most vulnerable workers. Her research should inspire academics, activists, and policy makers to address the large segment of the workforce that is unable to sustain themselves at the end of their working years."—Deborah Harris, Texas State University"Mary Gatta's new book is a timely and necessary addition to the literature on restaurant workers. A career for millions of Americans, the industry does not ensure the economic security of its workforce. Gatta gives voice to the people who have devoted their lives to restaurant work, providing a much-needed warning call for the country and addressing the steps we must take to ensure a better future."—Teófilo Reyes, UC Berkeley Goldman School of Public Policy and Restaurant Opportunities Centers United"An intimate account of the startling impacts of the restaurant industry's precarious conditions. Women in particular have been subject to a wage structure that creates economic volatility, perpetuates harassment, and offers a blurry image of their future. In this groundbreaking historical moment, Mary Gatta provides a timely call to action, stressing that we need one fair wage and long-term economic security."—Saru Jayaraman, author of Forked: A New Standard for American Dining"Sociologist Gatta has provided a compassionate, clearly written, and jargon-free account of the difficult situation of American low-wage restaurant workers who do not retire, because they cannot afford to...She displays their nuanced situation without condescension or blame. Recommended."—R. R. Shield, CHOICETable of Contents1. The New Normal: Economic Insecurity in America 2. The Fast Money Trap 3. Aging in Low-Wage Work 4. Retiring in a Coffin 5. Crisis or Come Together

Read more less

Book SynopsisWhat was daily life like for a working man or woman in the Roman Empire? This text examines Roman commemorative inscriptions from the 1st and 2nd centuries AD to determine ways in which slaves, freed slaves and unprivileged freeborn citizens used work to frame their identities.

Read more less