Louise McArdle

Reframing workplace relations? Conflict resolution and mediation in a primary care trust

In recent years, workplace conflict has become increasingly manifest in individual employment disputes as collective labour regulation has been eroded. Accordingly, attention has been focused on finding ways to facilitate the early resolution of such disputes. Policy-makers have placed a particular emphasis on workplace mediation. However, the broader impact of mediation on conventional grievance and disciplinary processes and on the workplace relations that underpin them has been largely ignored. This article reports on research into the introduction of an in-house mediation scheme within a primary care trust. It explores the implications of the scheme for: workplace relations within the organization; the dynamics of conflict management; and trade union influence. It argues that the introduction of mediation provided a conduit through which positive workplace relations were rebuilt which in turn facilitated informal processes of dispute resolution. Furthermore, it allowed trade unions within the organization to extend their influence into areas traditionally dominated by managerial prerogative.

Fair enough? Women and Fair Trade

Purpose – This paper aims to consider the impact of Fair Trade on producers with particular reference to women involved in Fair Trade production.Design/methodology/approach – The paper considers Fair Trade as an alternative to rational economic models of free trade and as a tool for development. A gender and development (GAD) perspective is used to assess whether Fair Trade empowers women in developing nations.Findings – Fair Trade offers an alternative to free trade within capitalist production and has a positive impact for producers. The impact on gender relations within producer communities is limited although there are benefits for some women involved in Fair Trade production.Research limitations/implications – The paper is based on secondary data and highlights the need for more focused research, which explores the links between gender, cultural relations and Fair Trade.Originality/value – Understanding that while Fair Trade is usually considered as a positive developmental tool, its impacts are not ...

Corporate social responsibility in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry: the perspective of the industry

Nigeria is an exemplar of the challenges of achieving sustainable development in the paradoxical twin realities of resource endowment and acute inequalities originated by difficulties of governance. The paper empirically demonstrates the role of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in facilitating the resolution of this paradox. In its several forms, CSR permeates the industry. The industry deploys CSR as a form of social licence to gain and retain acceptability by its host communities. Previous studies of CSR in the oil and gas industry in Nigeria have focussed solely on multinational operators and their activities, particularly the Nigerian outlet of Royal Dutch Shell, in the Niger Delta region. The present study differs from previous studies by including a significant number of small and medium enterprises trading in the industry, both in and outside of the Niger Delta region and both in the upstream and downstream sectors of the industry.

Workplace Mediation Schemes: Antagonism and Articulation in the Discursive Process of Organizational Conflict and Disputes

In recent years the role of mediation in workplace dispute resolution has increased and has been lauded as a means of efficiently handling conflicts and resolving, and even avoiding, antagonistic employment relationships. Empirical research has highlighted the positive impact of workplace mediation, with studies finding high rates of resolution and satisfaction amongst the parties to the process (for example: Bingham and Pitts 2002; Latreille and Saundry 2014). Some contributions to the literature on mediation, such as Bush and Folger (2005) and also recent UK Government evaluations (Department of Business, Innovation and Skills 2011), even suggest that it offers the potential to trigger broader transformations in workplace relations and culture, and mediation can sometimes invoke a somewhat evangelical fervour amongst its proponents. However, despite there being good empirical accounts of the process and impact of mediation there is very little written that offers a more conceptual or theoretical perspective on mediation in the workplace. Within the industrial relations literature, where most accounts of workplace mediation are to be found, theoretical aspects of work are rarely made explicit (Edwards 2011).

Competitive Edge Through Flexible Work Organization: Evidence from the UK Electronics Industry

This paper addresses the issue of flexibility in manufacturing from two perspectives: the view taken by the operations management and engineering literature and then notions of flexibility in labour management as seen irom an sociological paradigm. This dual theoretical basis is used to consider strategy and competitive edge in the U.K. electronics industry, where flexibility and response is frequently seen as a means to compete in world markets. The paper concludes that whereas flexibility does offer some opportunity for U.K. electronics companies to compete with “giants” in the industry [1], this approach does have consequences, often adverse, in terms of job security for employees. The reasons for this stem not only from the typical personnel policies adopted by companies, but also as a result of a retreat from component processing operations and a focus on downstream assembly activities. The latter in intended to increase flexibility and response and to slim down the organization as a whole, but with the obvious consequence of plant closures and reductions in employment numbers.