bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Industrial Change in Europe: The Pursuit of Flexible Specialisation in Britain and West Germany
Authors: Lane Christel
Published: September 2003

This paper examines industrial change during the 1980s in two advanced capitalist societies - the Federal Republic of Germany and Britain - and assesses how far the evidence lends support to the Piore and Sabel thesis that a new model of industrial organisation - referred to as `flexible specialisation' - is emerging in advanced societies. The paper concludes that, although some movement towards flexible specialisation is discernible in both societies, the emergent pattern in each case is very different and more complex than suggested by Piore and Sabel. The tendency towards flexible specialisation is found to be more pronounced and more consistent in Germany than in Britain, and the study tries to clarify what aspects of industrial organisation facilitate or impede the adoption of a new manufacturing policy. Lastly, the paper relates the changes in industrial organisation, observed in the two societies, to the debate on the labour process and discusses the different implications in each case for managerial control, costs and benefits to workers, and future economic development.
Temporary Workers: Cause for Concern or Complacency?
Authors: Dale Angela , Bamford Claire
Published: September 2003

Increases in temporary working and an associated peripheralisation of the workforce have been the subject of a great deal of recent debate. This paper uses nationally representative data from the Labour Force Survey to (1) highlight the importance of clarifying concepts such as `temporary working' which are not defined by employment legislation and (2) to provide some background information on the social and economic characteristics of `temporary' workers.
The Restructuring of Welfare Work: The Introduction of General Management and the Contracting out of Ancillary Services in the NHS
Authors: Cousins Christine
Published: September 2003

This paper examines recent attempts by the state to restructure welfare organizations by the introduction of market rationality and criteria into the NHS. The paper consists of two case studies of the implementation of recent government policies. The first case study discusses the initial effects of the introduction of new management arrangements based on private sector principles (the Griffiths Report), and the second examines the political imposition of a programme of contracting out ancillary services in the NHS. Both case studies draw on research carried out by the author in two district health authorities.

The case studies illustrate the nature of the `political contingencies' operating on managers, workers and trade unions within the NHS. It is argued that attempts to introduce forms of market rationality in the NHS have undermined and obscured the purposes of state welfare work and have produced a number of tensions and problems for managers which have further to be resolved. Evidence from the research also suggests that these recent policies have begun to change the terms, conditions and security of employment for both general managers and ancillary workers.
Gender and Recruitment: People and Places in the Labour Market
Authors: Curran Margaret M.
Published: September 2003

This paper provides an account of the processes by which people were recruited to particular places in the labour market, and explores the implications of this account for conceptualisations of recruitment and of gender divisions in employment. On the basis of a survey of recruitment to 101 retail and clerical job vacancies in the North East of England, it is argued that the social and `tacit' skills required in the performance of such jobs are so inextricably linked with, and embedded in, gender that the jobs themselves may be seen as gendered. Gender itself thus has a direct influence on the separation of `men's jobs' and `women's jobs', which is distinct from the indirect effects of domestic responsibilities and the sexual division of labour in households.
Work and Flexible Automation in Britain: A Review of Developments and Possibilities
Authors: Jones Bryn
Published: September 2003

The convergence of information technologies into flexible automation systems underlies theories of both the upgrading and deskilling of jobs in manufacturing. Relevant empirical studies are analysed using a distinction between the system-integration and operational flexibility dimensions of the technologies. The review shows that their use in Britain is still limited and that the present pattern of accompanying work roles and occupational statuses includes both enhancement and degradation of work, even within the same occupation. The social and technological patterns are attributed to: organisational constraints on unions, the financial priorities of enterprises operating within a dual industrial structure, and state policies' emphasis on the cost-saving gains of the advanced system-integration forms of technology.
Big Blue and the Unions: IBM, Individualism and Trade Union Strategy
Authors: Dickson T. , McLachlan H. V. , Prior P. , Swales K.
Published: September 2003

The system of industrial relations operated by IBM at its main British manufacturing plant in the west of Scotland is designed to individualise workplace relationships whilst, at the same time, generating employee loyalty to a well-defined corporate culture. The major characteristics of the IBM system are examined, together with the attitudes of a sample of employees towards the company and a number of more general social issues. It is argued that, although most employees have a very positive attachment to the highly individualistic non-union ethos at IBM, this is not reflected either in a generalised hostility to trade unionism per se or by a sympathy toward individualsitic solutions to social problems similar to those espoused by the Thatcher administration of recent years. Although their current work environment seems to indicate little need for trade unions, and the perceptions of most IBM employees of trade union practice are negative, these workers should not be regarded as permanently lost to the trade union movement.
State Ownership and the Problem of the Work Incentive: An Egyptian Case Study
Authors: Henley John S. , Ereisha Mohamed M.
Published: September 2003

Research on the labour process has recently been extended to include studies of state socialist enterprises. One of the most innovative streams has been based on Hungarian experience. So far little empirical research has been carried out on the `foot-prints' of East European practice left by advisers in developing countries. A case study of a large Egyptian state textile enterprise is presented which suggests that many of the rigidities of traditional state socialism identified by Kornai are faithfully replicated. However, instead of `to each according to contribution' the overriding principle for pay is `to each according to age'. With a buoyant external labour market for manual workers and limited scope for officially personalising rewards, managers introduce flexibility by tolerating various forms of work avoidance and indiscipline. Workers use `effort saved' to take a second outside job.
Women in Banking: Continuity and Change Since the Second World War
Authors: Crompton Rosemary
Published: September 2003

Employment relations in the major clearing banks have been the subject of sociological attention since the 1950s, when they presented the apparent epitome of the bureaucratic career. However, the banks have increasingly become major employers of female labour. Women in banks have not historically had the same career opportunities as men, for a variety of reasons ranging from deliberate male exclusion practices to the broken and often short-term nature of many women's work histories. This contrast between the experiences of men and women in the same occupation is used to question the `conventional view' of occupational class analysis, where the (male) occupational structure is treated as if it were the `class structure'. The argument is developed using a number of sources, including the occupational history of a female bank employee with over thirty years work experience, as well as the findings of recent equal opportunities investigations.
New Technology and Work Organization in Hungary
Authors: Bogdán János
Published: September 2003

This paper argues that Hungarian managers have neglected issues of work organization in introducing new technology. The introduction of new technology is motivated firstly by technical considerations and secondly by profitability, whilst manpower considerations, including work organization issues, emerge only in short term plans. However, in conditions of labour shortage, economic efficiency as well as the need to improve the social conditions of life, requires that increased attention should be given to work organization.
Management, Labour Process and Agency
Authors: Armstrong Peter
Published: September 2003

This paper is motivated by an unease that a labour process approach to managerial work, if it is to be based upon simplistic assumptions that management itself is a labour process will actually obscure many of the contradictions which exist within managerial capitalism and which a true labour process approach should be concerned to expose and analyse. To that end Braverman's treatment of management as a labour process is criticised and shown to be inconsistent with his own analysis of the fate of productive labour in monopoly capitalism. The paper then argues that the core feature of management within capitalist social relations of production is the agency relationship. This is shown to contain contradictions between the inevitable dependence of employers and senior managers on trust and the fact that this is expensive, which gives them incentives to dispense with it, so far as is possible, in favour of the deskilling and monitoring of management work. This inbuilt contradiction creates a micro-political and historical dynamism within capitalist management organisation which makes broad-brush sense of many of the developments which have occurred over the last century and which promises much for more detailed analysis.
Problems of Employment-Effective Working Time Policies — Theoretical Considerations and Lessons from France, the Netherlands and West Germany
Authors: Bastian Jens , Hinrichs Karl , van Kevelaer Karl-Heinz
Published: September 2003

Central to this paper is the question of whether the actors dealing with working time policy are in the position to adopt a policy of working time reduction when unemployment becomes acute and to make it an effective strategy for improving the employment situation. Particularly relevant to this question are the intraorganisational problems of unions reaching a consensus on this issue. Unions' strategic problems are analysed as well as the preconditions for aiming at compromises with the other collective actors involved (employers' associations and the state). Empirically, this is demonstrated by evaluating the recent working time reductions in France, the Netherlands and West Germany. In all three countries this policy has not attained the originally desired goal of reducing unemployment.
The Labour Force Participation of Older Men in Britain, 1951-81
Authors: Johnson Paul
Published: September 2003

This paper evaluates the relative impact of a range of health, economic and structural factors on the employment experience of older male workers in Britain in the 30 years since 1951. It is based on a cross-sectional analysis of data on age of workforce in 34 industrial sectors drawn from the decennial censuses from 1951 to 1981. It finds that early retirement is influenced primarily by economic factors, although health becomes important in 1981. Retirement at age 65 appears to be conditioned by structural factors, particularly the way in which exit from the labour force at age 65 is managed by employers and trade unions. By showing that retirement and early retirement behaviour are influenced by different factors, and that the importance of these factors has changed over time, this paper demonstrates why earlier research focusing on monocausal explanations has been unable to generate robust results.
Unemployed Youth: A Lost Generation?
Authors: Jehoel-Gijsbers Gerda , Groot Wim
Published: September 2003

Based on a two-wave panel survey (1984 and 1986) of Dutch unemployed youngsters, we addressed the following questions: Do value orientations and well-being change with the duration of unemployment? Which characteristics determine the length of the unemployment spell? We found that there is hardly any change in value orientations; that there is a change in well-being at the beginning of the unemployment period and just a little deterioration after that. With regard to the second question the results of the duration analyses showed that there is a great effect of the unemployment duration on re-employment probability. Education is another important factor. Interpreting these findings it should be kept in mind, however, that only 30 per cent of the unemployed youngsters had found a stable job after two years. About 35 per cent had a career pattern characterised by temporary jobs.
Sex Segregation in Local Labour Markets
Authors: Walby Sylvia , Bagguley Paul
Published: September 2003

The paper addresses the question of whether sex segregation in the labour market, one of the most significant causes in gender inequality in paid work, has changed recently. The paper starts by suggesting new ways of distinguishing between the horizontal and vertical components of segregation, by separating industrial from hierarchical segregation. Further, while most previous analysis has been at either a national level or at the level of specific industries, this paper approaches the issue in actual local labour markets, or travel-to-work areas. The paper uses these newly refined measures to address the issue of changes in sex segregation during 1971-1981. We argue that while some aspects of segregation have decreased, such as the extreme horizontal clustering of men in the same industries, other aspects have increased, especially the vertical segregation of women.
Flexibility Agreements and their Significance in the Increase in Productivity in British Manufacturing Since 1980
Authors: Marsden David , Thompson Marc
Published: September 2003

Flexibility agreements have increased in frequency since the 1970s, and so have coincided with the increase in labour productivity in British manufacturing since then. This article analyses the content and extent of a sample of flexibility agreements culled from the specialist industrial relations press, and taking these with evidence from many other sources, seeks to interpret their nature and significance in industrial relations change, and to assess their possible contribution to the manufacturing productivity increase. The evidence suggests that they were genuine agreements, and that although not themselves directly responsible for many of the changes observed, they have often facilitated other changes in working methods.
The End of Japanese-Style Employment?
Authors: Whittaker D. H.
Published: September 2003

`Japanese-style' employment is confronting serious challenges in the form of rapidly ageing workforces, changing youth attitudes, rising numbers of female employees, new technology, `internationalization' and `servicization'. Japanese companies are responding to these challenges with notable innovations in personnel management. These include: `multitrack employment' with specialist tracks; `group employment' whereby workers are transferred beyond individual enterprises; increased scouting and `new job-based wages'. The innovations are significant, but do they constitute the end of Japanese-style employment? Seen in a historical perspective, Japanese-style employment has evolved; in fact change may be considered an inherent feature (as are predictions of its demise). This paper concludes that we are witnessing significant evolution but not yet outright abandonment.
Information Technology and the Legacy of Taylorism in France
Authors: Durand Jean-Pierre
Published: September 2003

The computerization of a machining line entails changes in work organization. The main innovations are the use of work teams, collective responsibility and the multiskilling of operatives. Yet these changes are not enough to ensure a satisfactory working of the line because of the way information technologies increase the complexity of the manufacturing process. To overcome the crisis of unskilled work and to increase the optimum use of the integrated machining line, we propose a new organization of work between all departments of production and not just within machining.
The Commercialisation of Employment Relations: The Case of the Water Industry
Authors: Davidson Julia O'Connell
Published: September 2003

This paper draws upon research into restructuring and changing employment relations in the public utilities. It describes how one water authority, `Albion Water', is extending and developing its use of non-standard labour and it provides a case study of one particular group of direct employees. By commercialising its relationship with these employees, Albion has exacted greater internal flexibility from them and at the same time undermined their job security.

These developments are of some theoretical significance. They suggest that the link between job content and employment relations is not as direct as is sometimes implied. They also show that the analytical distinction, drawn by the `flexible firm' model, between management's desire for internal flexibility and its desire for numerical flexibility does not always help to explain management practice.
Gender, Work and Leisure in the Eighties - Looking Backwards, Looking Forwards
Authors: Deem Rosemary
Published: September 2003

This paper reviews some of the major features of British sociological research on gender in the fields of employment, leisure and unpaid work carried out during the nineteen eighties. It examines both the achievements and the failings of such research. These include the development of feminist theory and methodology as well as the documentation of women's differential experiences. The article then traces the connections between the studies done during the eighties and the significant economic, political and social events of the decade, pointing out that not all of those events have been reflected in the research undertaken. Finally the paper considers what some of the major social, economic and political trends of the nineteen nineties might be and suggests some possible future directions for research on work and leisure, including the widening out of gender studies to include other dimensions of inequality.
Professions in the Current Context
Authors: Crompton Rosemary
Published: September 2003

Commentaries on `the professions' have long reflected a tension between two, apparently conflicting, perspectives. On the one hand, professions are viewed as uniquely ethical occupations; on the other, as powerful groups who have masked their pursuit of self-interest behind essentially spurious ethical codes. It is argued that this paradox reflects a more general problem evident in the sociology of work; that is, that the division of labour in capitalist society incorporates and reflects co-operation, as well as exploitation and conflict. Since Parsons' early distinction between `professionals' and `bureaucrats', `professions' have been regarded as particular types of occupations; it is argued that the concept of profession does not describe a generic occupational type, but rather, a mode of regulation of the exchange of expert labour which has powerful universalist overtones. This professional ideal (which may, of course, often not be evident in practice) is found to be articulated explicitly in Marshall's early development of the concept of `citizenship'. In the current context, such ideals are being articulated in opposition to the present Government's attempts to introduce quasi-markets in the provision of state financed services such as health. Although the deregulation of the occupational market may initially be seen to be `against' the interests of some `professions' when viewed as protected occupational groups; experts in performance monitoring such as lawyers and accountants will be likely to benefit from an emphasis on regulation by market forces. Nevertheless, the continuing significance of `professionalism' as a mode of regulation suggests that it would be premature to assume that market-led provisions and procedures will eventually prevail.
Consumers' Reports: Management by Customers in a Changing Economy
Authors: Fuller Linda , Smith Vicki
Published: September 2003

Under recent conditions of economic competition, customer/worker interactions increasingly are a source of profitability in service firms. Companies may employ refined methods for making these interactions a source of information about workers' performance. This paper investigates how managers and employers use customer feedback to monitor, evaluate and discipline service workers. We argue that management by customers may deepen and complicate authority and power relations in the workplace, and may also give rise to new forms of workplace conflict.
Labour Market Deregulation and Economic Performance: The Case of Britain's Docks
Authors: Turnbull Peter
Published: September 2003

Economic deregulation has been the principal labour market policy of the Thatcher Government during the 1980s. Unlike most workers, however, Britain's registered dockers appeared to be immune from this process until the Government suddenly announced the abolition of the National Dock Labour Scheme in April 1989. The Dock Work Bill which abolished the Scheme received Royal Assent on 3 July 1989 and the docks have since witnessed a transformation of industrial relations. As with other sectors of the economy, however, deregulation appears to have had only a short-term impact on productivity and may well impair the performance of Britain's port transport sector during the 1990s.
The Social Organization of the Franchise: A Case of `Controlled Self-Employment'
Authors: Felstead Alan
Published: September 2003

Over the last decade official surveys have recorded a significant leap in the number of people registered as self-employed. However, relatively little research has focused on the relationships under which the self-employed actually work. Those which do, have chosen the manufacturing sector, and the classic examples of homeworking and subcontracting, as their primary focus. This paper helps to redress this bias by examining the conditions of work of those individuals who operate as franchisees under the self-employed label and who are predominantly located in the service sector. The paper analyses the contractual relationship between franchisor and franchisee with three questions in mind: where does the operational control of the business reside; what are the financial linkages between franchisor and franchisee; and who holds the ownership title to, and control of, the tangible and intangible business assets. On each, franchisees are found to occupy an ambiguous position, thereby giving rise to the notion of their being part of the `controlled self-employed'.
Attitudes of Trade Union Activists: Some Evidence on the Theory of Workplace Incorporation
Authors: Rollinson Derek
Published: September 2003

Using results from an empirical study of four trade union branches, evidence is presented to show that over time, activist attitudes towards management become more favourable, and views of rank and file members less favourable. These results are then supplemented by further information which explains why these attitude changes could have taken place. Finally, it is argued that the results give little support for the idea of incorporation and that changing attitude patterns were more indicative of bargaining relationships between activists and managers which had matured and become stronger with time.
Smithfield Meat Market: The Ultimate Pre-Entry Closed Shop
Authors: Metcalf David
Published: September 2003

Smithfield meat market is one of the great sights of London. The TGWU labour supply pre-entry closed shop is correspondingly amazing. It incorporates self-employed as well as employed workers. There are a dozen occupational categories, yet all but one are engaged in the movement of meat and occupational licencing for some workers adds a further layer on top of the closed shop. The Corporation of the City of London, who own Smithfield, have threatened to close it unless labour practices are changed. Simultaneously, in 1990, the Government outlawed all pre-entry closed shops. The monopoly returns to the Smithfield labour force are around 20 per cent but there is no strong evidence that the closed shop has adversely affected profits or jobs. Given the traditions and norms of Smithfield it is likely that this closed shop will continue but with altered working practices.
Flexibility, Surveillance and Hype in New Zealand Financial Retailing
Authors: Austrin Terry
Published: September 2003

The banking industry has been a major source of evidence for debates ranging from class analysis and proletarianization to deskilling and the feminization of work. The literature generated in these debates has, however, rarely touched upon the nature of the industry or of the work that characterizes it. Reference to the fact that banking is a major service industry has, therefore, been obscured by general references to white collar work or a non-manual labour process. This literature is reviewed and the New Zealand banking industry, where financial deregulation has proceeded apace, is used as a case study to demonstrate the significance of recognizing the specificity of the labour process. Attention is focused on service delivery in what is now more generally referred to as financial retailing. The contrasting flexible labour control arrangements of two banks are presented.
Testing the Survey Method: Continuity and Change in British Industrial Relations
Authors: Morris Tim , Wood Stephen
Published: September 2003

Throughout much of the 1980s, a picture of institutional continuity was drawn by many industrial relations researchers from large-scale surveys, which appeared at odds with reports of substantial change that other accounts documented. This paper explores how differences in the research instruments used may contribute to discrepancies in the amount of change which has been recorded, by examining the results of interview material from managers in 15 firms which had also participated in a survey of industrial relations, the Warwick Enterprise Survey. Our findings were broadly similar in the mapping of institutional arrangements, management organization and the distribution of responsibilities at different levels, but certain differences were also noted. The paper discusses whether these differences are reconcilable and to what extent they were a function of the different research instruments. It is argued that the focus of our open-ended interviews tended to differ from that of surveys with scope for more exploration of how managers were innovating around institutions and had changed the way institutions worked, thereby suggesting that greater change was occurring than the survey could document. In researching industrial relations the risk of surveys is that they may bias the argument towards stability if they concentrate on institutional forms and the formal locus of decision-making.
Patterns of Skill Change: Upskilling, Deskilling or the Polarization of Skills?
Authors: Gallie Duncan
Published: September 2003

The debate about the long-term direction of skill trends has occupied a central place in economic sociology, but there has been a virtual absence of relevant representative data. This paper draws on a major new source of survey data to assess three perspectives on skill change. Using a number of different indicators of skill, it examines whether changes in the occupational structure do reflect an expansion of higher skilled jobs. It then considers the extent to which people have experienced upskilling or deskilling within occupational classes. Finally, it looks at the implications of the growth of the service sector, of technological change and of gender for the distribution of skills and for the experience of skill change. It concludes that, while there is little evidence of extensive deskilling, there has been a marked tendency towards the polarization of skills in the 1980s.
Just-in-Time, Sub-Contracting and the Small Firm
Authors: Rainnie Al
Published: September 2003

It has been suggested that moves towards Just In Time systems of production bring with them a fundamental change in the nature of the buyer-supplier relationship. New long-term, high-trust relationships are supposed to replace a win:win for the old win:lose equation. Equally, the new flexibility demanded of suppliers is supposed to favour the small firm. Elements of this analysis have been incorporated into variants of the post-Fordist paradigm. Based on research on high technology industries in Hertfordshire, this paper questions both assumptions. It is argued that small firms will be excluded from JIT style buyer-supplier relations. Furthermore, there is little evidence of a new form of cooperation emerging. Uneven and partial introduction of JIT systems is causing problems, the costs of which are being pushed onto suppliers by large firms.
Industrial Reorganization in Europe: Patterns of Convergence and Divergence in Germany, France and Britain
Authors: Lane Christel
Published: September 2003

One of the responses to increased uncertainty and heightened competition in the 1980s has been a strategy on the part of large firms to externalise more production and design tasks, leading to what has been termed a new division of labour between firms. In this paper the study of the changing relationship between large buyer companies and predominantly small and medium-sized supplier enterprises (SMEs) is approached in both an historical and a comparative manner. The paper outlines the historical development of industrial structure and organization in Germany, Britain and France and examines the impact of historical formations on current transformations. It places great weight on the way in which firms have been embedded in, and shaped by, their social, institutional and political environment. The interaction of industrial organization with such local or national environments is characterised as an `industrial order'. It is shown how these historically evolved industrial orders have influenced the technological and organizational competences of both large companies and SMEs and how this, in turn, has shaped the relationship between the two types of firm. Variations in industrial order within a society between regions/industries are acknowledged but such diversity is not seen as precluding the elaboration of national patterns. It is argued that, due to fundamental differences in the industrial order between Germany, France and Britain, divergence in current national patterns of industrial reorganization has remained more pronounced than any convergence following the experience of a common exposure to economic and political (from the EEC) pressures. A common experience of a high incidence and fast pace of industrial restructuring should not divert attention from the great degree of continuity and even conservatism within seemingly radical transformations.
Japanization and/or Toyotaism?
Authors: Wood Stephen J.
Published: September 2003

Recently there has been a proliferation of neologisms to describe the Japanese model of management and its diffusion to other countries - for example, Toyotaism, and Japanization. Some have argued that such terms can be used to describe the direction in which, at least, British industry or work organization has been heading. This paper reviews some of this `Japanization' literature and shows that there is a good deal of confusion and lack of precision in the terms being used. Rather than necessarily abandoning all such terms, the author makes a case for retaining both Toyotaism and Japanization but also for clearly differentiating between them. His starting point is that Toyotaism should be limited to the just-in-time management method (JIT) and that this is a model even in Japan. This should be separated, conceptually, from the context in which it has thus far been successfully embodied, namely Japanese employment and supplier relations. The term Japanization can then be used to refer to the evolution and diffusion of Japanese-style employment and inter-firm relations. The author then (a) draws out some of the implications of these conceptions, including the point that the diffusion of JIT in Japan itself has been under-researched and misunderstood, and (b) assesses through the case of the car industry, the extent to which Toyotaism and Japanization apply to recent developments in British industry. Whilst developing JIT has become important to managements, there is little evidence of any serious attempts, with the exception of the Japanese Nissan (U.K.), to change systems of supervision, training, assessment and payment along the lines which the author suggests are central to the Japanese systems. He concludes that it seems premature to talk of a Japanization of work systems and that there is a need to acknowledge the limited nature of the concepts of both Toyotaism and Japanization.
Proposing a Broadened View of Citizenship: North American Teachers” Service in Rural Costa Rican Schools
Authors: Roberts Amy
Published: September 2003

This article proposes that the balance of experiential learning and serious interaction in an international arena is an ideal condition for teachers to develop perspective consciousness about the world. It documents the interpretations of teachers in a university service project in rural Costa Rican schools. Findings suggest that the service provided valuable opportunities to teach and learn with children in rural classrooms that led to diverse experiences for participants to assume responsibilities as researchers, teachers, and learners. The contrasting beliefs in the systems of Costa Rica and the United States provided a situation to develop innovation in teaching in reaction to a contrasting educational setting. Whether participants embraced the new system was secondary to their strengthened ability to think reflectively, discover insights, and develop perspective consciousness. This came about because participants struggled with new ways to frame problems and experimented with alternative strategies for their work as teachers.
Accreditation in Western Europe: Adequate Reactions to Bologna Declaration and the General Agreement on Trade in Services?
Authors: Westerheijden Don F.
Published: September 2003

Challenged by globalization (especially the General Agreement on Trade in Services [GATS]) and by European developments (the Bologna process), the Netherlands will introduce program accreditation as a new form of quality assurance. Other, sometimes similar initiatives are found in other countries and at the international level. How Dutch and other (European) proposals reply to the challenges is the topic of this article. Combining GATS and the Bologna process, four design rules for quality assurance systems are derived. It is concluded that “open accreditation systems” as introduced in some countries answer the European challenges well, but it is doubted if the Bologna process itself is a sufficient reaction to the wider international developments.
Attracting Foreign Students: The Case of Two Universities in Québec
Authors: Racine Nicolas , Villeneuve Paul Y. , Thériault Marius
Published: September 2003

A number of factors may influence the recruitment of foreign students by universities, especially economic criteria pertaining to profitability. This article examines the cases of two Québec universities. Both feature teaching exclusively in French, a minority language in North America. Based on existing literature, hypotheses concerning the impact of language and international networking on the recruitment of foreign students are tested. Analysis reveals that even if regular use of French is important for recruitment, it is not the only variable involved. The geographical and social context of each university also plays an important role, as does the networking activities of academics who build relationships based on cooperation with foreign institutions.
Policy and Practice of the Internationalization of Higher Education in China
Authors: Huang Futao
Published: September 2003

Directly motivated by the open-door policy, economic reforms and challenges from globalization and worldwide competition, as well as efforts to realize massification of higher education since 1978, the internationalization of higher education in China has experienced a change from activities concerning traditional outflows of international scholars, faculty members, and students before 1992 to those relating to trans-national higher education and internationalization of curricula. During the process, academic patterns from Europe, Asia, and the Pacific region as well as from America have significantly affected Chinese higher education. Internationalization has never been a one-way process; rather it comprises attempts to realize mutual communication or exchange, largely oriented and regulated by the government. The problem of increasing outflow of personnel abroad, the “brain drain,” as well as the ability to benefit from transnational education while also maintaininga national character remain key issues for the future.
When Push doesn't Come to Shove
Authors: Aquino Karl , Grover Steven L. , Goldman Barry , Folger Robert
Published: September 2003

This article develops the construct of workplace forgiveness by drawing from several relevant literatures. Forgiveness is defined as a process by which an offended worker cognitively acknowledges the wrongfulness of an injurious act and deliberately chooses to release negative emotions and inhibit the desire for revenge. In contrast to revenge, forgiveness may repair damaged workplace relationships in the aftermath of a personal offense. The authors conclude with a research agenda in the form of objectives that provides researchers with a plan for investigating forgiveness.
Putting Psychology Back into Psychological Contracts
Authors: Meckler Mark , Drake Bruce H. , Levinson Harry
Published: September 2003

The concept of psychological contracts has become detached from its historical grounding in clinical psychology. The current emphasis on economic transactions and justice elements in transgressions has led to the neglect of psychological and developmental needs of employees and organizations in managing dependence, emotional distance, mutual coping with change, and forming adult occupational identities. Managers and academics need to take psychological needs into account in understanding psychological contracts and resistance to changing work roles and relationships.
Extending the Psychology of the Psychological Contract
Authors: Rousseau Denise M.
Published: September 2003

This article is in response to Meckler, Drake, and Levinson's essay regarding returning research on the psychological contract to its clinical roots. Although not disagreeing with the value of a clinical perspective to understanding the dynamics of psychological contracts, such an approach would make only limited use of psychology's potential contribution to this research stream. The present article argues instead for expanded consideration of an array of psychological processes in psychological contract research. In particular, it focuses upon the value of greater attention to schema formation, maintenance and change, and the dynamics of mutuality and agreement in understanding psychological contracts in organizations.
The False Duality of Work and Leisure
Authors: Beatty Joy E. , Torbert William R.
Published: September 2003

Work and leisure are commonly viewed as dichotomous and antithetical. The authors argue that this conceptual duality is unreflective, confounding the meaning of each term. They suggest that work and leisure are complements that in their highest states share core elements and are best understood in dynamic relation to each other. Their purpose in this essay is to better understand work by learning about its complement. The authors characterize leisure as the experiential quality of one's time when one engages voluntarily and intentionally in awareness-expanding inquiry, which in turn generates ongoing, transforming development throughout adulthood. Leisure is intrinsically rewarding, facilitating personal and organizational transformations that increase extrinsic economic value. In response to an increasingly dominant work ethic, the authors advocate that leisure receive the same level of scrutiny and respect that we as management scholars naturally give to work. Cultivating true leisure, they conclude, is more demanding than work itself.
Method Myopia
Authors: Taylor Lewis A. , Goodwin Vicki L. , Cosier Richard A.
Published: September 2003

Academy of Management Journal (AMJ) was reviewed for research method frequency from 1968 through 2000.As expected, it was discovered that controlled experiments were scant at best, and a significant effect revealed a declining focus in later years. Potential reasons for the lack of controlled studies being published in AMJ include training, selection bias, method bound, research questions, applied focus, field setting misconceptions, bias inertia, and rigor versus relevance. Reasons to pose questions and conduct research in controlled settings are offered, including the premise that rigor and relevance are not orthogonal.
The Truth about Social Construction in Administrative Science
Authors: Meckler Mark , Baillie James
Published: September 2003

A great deal of confusion exists about social construction and what it means for administrative and organizational scientists. Eighteen years ago, W. Graham Astley (1985) argued that administrative science is a subjective social artifact rather than a body of objective scientific truths. With the help of contemporary works of John Searle, Alvin Goldman, and Ian Hacking, we distinguish what is correct from what is mistaken in Astley's and other similar social construction theses. In particular, we argue that just because administrative theories are socially constructed and subject to continued structuration, it does not follow that they are precluded from speaking correctly about the world of objects and events. That is, the fact that organization theory is socially constructed is compatible with its truth and objectivity.
Land Tenure, Land Use, and Land Degradation: A Case for Sustainable Development in Pakistan
Authors: Niazi Tarique
Published: September 2003

Prevalent approaches to land degradation tend to recognize linkages between land use behavior and land degradation. They, however, do not sufficiently account for land tenure's causality to land degradation. This article argues that land tenure, land use, and land degradation are interlinked in Pakistan, where uneven access to the land engenders intensification of its use by large and small holders, contributing to land degradation. Large landholders tend to overirrigate cash crops, which causes land degradation from waterlogging and salinity. Similarly, small holders and tenant farmers intensively use their small holdings to pay for self-subsistence, cost of production, and rent on the land (latter in tenants' case). Waterlogging and salinity, in turn, diminish farm productivity, especially productivity of the cotton crop that forms the spine of Pakistan's economy. This article makes a case for land reforms to widen the access of land-strapped rural residents to land resources, and sustainable development in Pakistan.
The Science and Politics of the Dead Sea: Red Sea Canal or Pipeline
Authors: Asmar Basel N.
Published: September 2003

The decline in the level of the Dead Sea is generating considerable media, government, and NGO attention. Constructing a pipeline to link the Red Sea to the Dead Sea is one in a series of proposals to solve the problem. The needs and urgency of this project are investigated here. A comparison between scientific journals and mass media in terms of quality and emphasis in covering the problem is conducted. It is shown that the scientific community agrees unanimously that the Dead Sea will not dry up, and a pipeline can restore the level of the Dead Sea, although not its previous water characteristics. A solution is certainly required, but more research is needed, and there is no immediate urgency to act. The media attitude of exaggerating the scale of the problem and urgency to act is not based on any credible scientific facts and is mainly politically motivated.
The CEC's Citizen Submission Process:
Authors: Blair David J.
Published: September 2003

The citizen submission process administered by the Commission for Environmental Cooperation was one of the key concessions made to the environmental movement by the governments of Canada, Mexico, and the United States in their effort to build political support for the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 1993. The environmental groups that subsequently endorsed the new trade agreement believed a firm commitment had been made that this process would give ordinary citizens an effective tool for strengthening the enforcement of environmental laws. A review of the operation of the process reveals a number of problem areas, the most important of which have resulted from various actions taken by the three governments over the past several years. It is argued here that these actions threaten to undermine the credibility of the citizen submission process, even among environmentalists who supported NAFTA, and that the resulting disillusionment could strengthen opposition to future trade agreements.
The Category Test Perseveration, Loss of Set, and Memory Scales
Authors: Minassian Arpi , Perry William , Carlson Meghan , Pelham Mary , DeFilippis Nick
Published: September 2003

The Category Test (CT) is a neuropsychological measure that taps into multiple domains of complex reasoning but yields a single error score, limiting the use of the test. In this study, three new CT scales were developed to assess specific aspects of executive dysfunction: Perseveration, Failure to Maintain Cognitive Set, and Inability to Recall and Re-Initiate Past Behavior. The relationship of these scales to well-established neuropsychological measures was examined in head-injured individuals and schizophrenia patients. The CT Perseveration score was correlated with the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) Perseverative Responses score, but also with measures from the Wechsler Memory Scale-Revised and the California Verbal Learning Test. The CT Memory score correlated with other memory measures, but also with the WCST Perseveration measure. Although future studies designed to test discriminant and convergent validity are warranted, these scales may be useful in determining specific aspects of impaired CT performance.
Personality Assessment in Neuropsychology
Authors: Edwards Daniel W. , Dahmen Brian A. , Wanlass Richard L. , Holmquist Lori A. , Wicks John J. , Davis Christine , Morrison Thomas L.
Published: September 2003

Three established methods of neurocorrection claim to improve Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)/MMPI-2 validity with closed-head injury (CHI) patients. These methods (which suggest removing `neurological' items from scoring) were employed here comparing 35 CHI patients with 35 psychiatric patients with elevated profiles. The 14-item correction changed 2-point codes for 41% of CHI and 31% of psychiatric profiles, the 30-item system changed 77% of CHI and 71% of psychiatric profiles, whereas the 37-item system changed 80% of CHI and 71% of psychiatric profiles. There were no significant differences between the two groups in number of profiles changed or number of neurocorrective items endorsed. Using each of the three correction systems, the following percentage of profiles remained elevated: 99%, 87%, and 89%, respectively.