Joan Miquel Verd

Just a question of time? The composition and evolution of immigrants’ personal networks in Catalonia

This article analyses the composition and evolution of migrants’ personal networks during their settlement process. Migration studies have emphasized the relational dimension of the migration process, but the topic has rarely been analysed systematically using social network analysis. Based on ego-network analysis and interviews with Ecuadorian and Moroccan immigrants in Catalonia, this article shows the diversity of configurations of migrants’ personal networks and their evolution: over the years only some migrants break their ties with the society of origin and substitute them with contacts with locals; others maintain or increase transnational ties; and yet others create co-ethnic ties in the host country. This diversity is explained in the article by examining migrant characteristics and circumstances prior to migration, such as the details of their migration projects and the features of their pre-migratory contacts. The results show that the interaction of gender with the organization of the migration process seems to have a strong impact on the evolution of these networks. At a methodological level, social network analysis proves to be a fruitful strategy for analysing the diverse incorporation of migrants into the host society.

El proceso de trabajo desde las perspectivas de la actividad situada y del conocimiento socialmente

La diversidad de procesos y estrategias empresariales de produccion que se vienen desarrollando en las ultimas decadas tienen su origen y se suelen definir a partir de los cambios en la organizacion y funcionamiento interno y de los factores tecnicos. En este sentido hablamos de cambios y transformaciones de los procesos de produccion. El interes de este articulo se centra en introducir en el analisis de los procesos de trabajo los factores contextuales, sociales y organizativos de la empresa y sus consecuencias mediante una redefinicion del concepto de proceso de trabajo, que permita analizarlo en su situacion real. Para analizar dichos cambios y sus consecuencias, teniendo en cuenta los supuestos macro y microsociologicos que intervienen, creemos que es indicado entender el Proceso de Trabajo (PT) desde las aproximaciones propias de la Actividad Situada (AS) y del Conocimiento Socialmente Distribuido (CSD).

Unemployment, intervention and capabilities. A comparative study of Germany and Spain

Over the past 20 years, the social protection measures devoted to unemployed people in Europe have become more diverse. In an attempt to complement or curb cash transfers, many countries have put measures, services in kind and activation policies at the centre of social protection against unemployment. This article compares two countries with different policies: Spain, which still has very ‘traditional’ unemployment support with little emphasis on activation, and Germany, where there has in recent years been rapid change towards activation measures. The article evaluates these policies and their consequences on the unemployed by means of the capability model, investigating comparatively the effects of institutional intervention on the real set of options available to the unemployed in finding a decent job or pursuing training or other activities. The authors argue that cash transfers can increase capabilities ‘by default’, whereas more intervention-oriented public employment services need to give unemployed workers an active part in ‘tailoring’ supports to their needs. En Europe, au cours de ces 20 dernières années, les mesures de protection sociale destinées aux chômeurs ont connu une diversification croissante. Pour tenter de compléter ou de réduire les transferts d’argent, de nombreux pays ont placé des mesures, des services en nature et des politiques d’activation au coeur de la protection sociale contre le chômage. Cet article compare deux pays menant des politiques différentes: l’Espagne, qui connaît toujours un soutien très « traditionnel » en faveur des chômeurs et met peu l’accent sur l’activation, et l’Allemagne, qui a connu ces dernières années un changement rapide en faveur des mesures d’activation. L’article évalue ces politiques et leurs conséquences sur les chômeurs au moyen du modèle des capacités, en étudiant dans une perspective comparative les effets de l’intervention institutionnelle sur l’éventail des options réellement disponibles aux chômeurs pour trouver un emploi décent, pour suivre une formation ou pour mener d’autres activités. Les auteurs indiquent que les transferts d’argent peuvent accroître les capacités « par défaut » alors que les services publics de l’emploi davantage axés sur l’orientation doivent donner aux travailleurs sans emploi un rôle actif pour que les soutiens apportés soient davantage « taillés sur mesure », en fonction de leurs besoins. In den vergangenen zwanzig Jahren haben sich die sozialen Sicherungen für Arbeitslose in Europa ausdifferenziert. Um Geldleistungen zu ergänzen oder zu beschneiden, haben viele Staaten Dienstleistungen und Aktivierungsmaßnahmen in den Mittelpunkt der sozialen Sicherung bei Arbeitslosigkeit gestellt. Dieser Artikel vergleicht zwei Länder, deren politische Strategien sich unterscheiden: Spanien erbringt vor allem “traditionelle” Lohnersatzleistungen und verfolgt kaum aktivierende Ansätze, wogegen Deutschland in den letzten Jahren rasch auf einen Aktivierungskurs einschwenkte. Dieser Artikel nutzt das Modell der Verwirklichungschancen (“capabilities”), um diese politischen Strategien und ihre Wirkungen für die Arbeitslosen zu evaluieren. Er untersucht vergleichend, wie die institutionellen Interventionen sich auf die Bündel wirklicher Optionen auswirken, über die Arbeitslose verfügen, um eine angemessene Stelle zu finden, sich beruflich weiterzubilden oder anderen Aktivitäten nachzugehen. Der Autorin und den Autoren zufolge können Lohnersatzleistungen als “hilfsweise” chancenfreundlich gelten. Eine stärker auf Intervention orientierte Arbeitsverwaltung müsste jedoch Arbeitsuchende aktiver daran beteiligen, Unterstützungsleistungen “passgenau” an ihren Bedarfen auszurichten.

Bringing Sen’s capability approach to work and human resource practices

Purpose - The aim of this paper is to introduce the special issue of the Design/methodology/approach - Bringing together economists and sociologists, the special issue develops a relevant range of qualitative and quantitative research methods. Findings - The special issue adopts the capability approach as a yardstick to assess corporate policies from the combined perspective of economic and human development. It asks how firms can contribute to developing sustainable human capabilities at work. Originality/value - Human resource management is mainly oriented towards optimising workers’ labour for the benefit of employers and shareholders. The papers in this issue provide some well-documented suggestions on how to break with a reductionist understanding of employees as “human capital”, considered from the sole viewpoint of economic efficiency, by introducing a shift in perspective towards an integrated approach, embracing both economic and human development.

Individual working lives through the lens of the capability approach: evaluation of policies and items for debate

The aim of this concluding article is to bring together the ideas and arguments of the articles that make up this issue so as to present some conclusions and recommendations. The article emphasizes important lessons from this special issue, underlining how Europe has lost its way over recent years by imposing the market as the primary mechanism for social and economic organization. It presents some recommendations and priorities for future debates on the employment and social policy agenda. L’objectif de cet article de conclusion est de rassembler les idées et les arguments des articles qui constituent ce numéro spécial et de présenter ainsi quelques conclusions et recommandations. L’article met en lumière les leçons importantes que l’on peut tirer de ce numéro spécial, en soulignant comment l’Europe a fait fausse route au cours des dernières années en imposant le marché comme mécanisme essentiel d’organisation sociale et économique. Il présente également certaines pistes d’action et priorités pour des débats à venir sur l’agenda de l’emploi et de la politique sociale. Dieser abschließende Beitrag fasst die Ideen und Argumente der vorhergehenden Artikel zusammen und präsentiert einige Schlussfolgerungen und Empfehlungen. Der Beitrag unterstreicht wichtige Befunde dieser Themenausgabe und betont, dass Europa in den vergangenen Jahren vom richtigen Weg abgekommen ist, indem es den Markt als grundlegenden Mechanismus für die Sozial-und Wirtschaftsordnung durchgesetzt hat. Er unterbreitet ebenfalls Empfehlungen und Schwerpunkte für künftige Debatten im Bereich Beschäftigung und Sozialpolitik.

Employer strategies, capabilities and career development: two case studies of Spanish service firms

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to analyse how company policies and strategies affect career development opportunities. Design/methodology/approach - A longitudinal approach is used, combining quantitative and qualitative data. Panel quantitative data have been used to classify different career paths, and biographical interviews conducted to identify the effects of company policies on these career paths. All the employees interviewed were working in two service organisations in Barcelona (Spain): a retail company and a public transport company. Findings - The results of the analysis show that the combination of new organisational methods, along with the human resource policies developed by the companies, reduces the opportunities for promotion and also actors’ degree of control over transitions. Thus, career development is mainly marked by individual characteristics (educational credentials, age and gender) which are difficult or impossible to transform, and to a much lesser extent by the resources (mostly internal training) companies provide. Originality/value - The article uses the capability approach as an analytical tool to address three specific company policies: those related to work organisation and working conditions; training; and appraisal and promotion. These policies are placed in a longitudinal perspective as a way of assessing their role in the development of workers’ careers.

Employment instability and economic crisis in Spain: what are the elements that make a difference in the trajectories of younger adults?

ABSTRACT The article analyses the factors that have had a differential effect on the labour trajectories of individuals up to 40 years old during the economic and employment crisis in Spain. To this end, the study specifically examines labour trajectories in the period 2007–2011 using data from a longitudinal panel for Catalonia. First, it uses cluster analysis to classify the types of labour trajectory that were developed by the population aged under 40. Second, it uses a multinomial logit model to distinguish the individual, sectoral and familial characteristics influencing the development of a particular trajectory. The results show the importance of traditional lines of segmentation of the Spanish labour market, such as age and gender. However, they also highlight the importance of variables associated to social background (parents’ educational level and occupation). It is concluded that the factors linked to the different types of labour trajectories are similar to those identified in the literature for previous periods, although the role of family background seems to be more important than in the past, especially in trajectories marked by temporary employment.

Une approche réticulaire de la dynamique temporaire dans les narrations biographiques

Abtract - Reticulated Approach to Temporal Dynamics in Biographic Narratives: This article proposes a specific approach to the analysis of biographic narratives by means of using the social networks perspective. More specifically, and more than other analyses, network formalisation can be used to capture the episodic memory present in narratives. To do so, the notions of environment/episode and of narrative passage are used to connect those features focused on the interaction and the dynamic dimension of narratives. The proposed procedure is illustrated by analyzing a fragment of a narrative interview.