Mingwei Liu

Union Organizing in China: Still a Monolithic Labor Movement?

In contrast to much of the research that treats the official All China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU) as a monolithic organization, the author argues that there is considerable variation within ACFTU in terms of local union organizing strategies. Using extensive field research and interviews with regional union officials, grassroots union cadres, shop floor workers, and employers and managers in China during the period 2005–2007, the author contributes to an understanding of contemporary trade union strategies in China. Moreover, his analysis of regional union strategies suggests three patterns of union organizing: the traditional ACFTU pattern, the union association pattern, and the regional, industry-based bargaining pattern, each with vastly different consequences for the future of trade unions and collective bargaining in China.

Patient-Centered But Employee Delivered: Patient Care Innovation, Turnover, and Organizational Outcomes in Hospitals

Hospitals are increasingly experimenting with workplace innovations designed to improve the quality of patient care, alleviate financial pressures, and retain staff. The authors examine one such innovation, patient-centered care (PCC), and its effects on clinical and employee outcomes in hospitals in the United Kingdom. Employing PCC entails a shift from an institutional and physician focus to one that emphasizes patients needs and preferences. Drawing on a combined dataset covering the period 2001–2005 that includes 173 hospitals belonging to the British National Health Service as well as employee and patient survey data, the authors examine how hospital use of PCC affects patient care, perceptions of care, and employee outcomes. They find that greater use of PCC has positive consequences for hospital error rates and perceptions of care. They also find that PCC is associated with lower turnover intentions, which are positively related to the quality of care. The effectiveness of PCC is enhanced when complemented by the use of high involvement work practices.

Environment Pressures, Managerial Industrial Relations Ideologies and Unionization in Chinese Enterprises

Based on extensive field research in China during 2005–2010, this article aims to explore the determinants of unionization in the Chinese context. We find that managerial strategies toward union organizing and functioning have been critical in determining unionization outcomes in Chinese enterprises. While various environment pressures may impose critical constraints on these strategies, managerial industrial relations ideologies are central in shaping these strategies when environment pressures barely exist or are bearable by management. Our study makes the first effort in exploring industrial relations ideologies in China and contributes to better understanding of unionization in the Chinese workplace.

HAVING YOUR CAKE AND EATING IT TOO? THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN HR AND ORGANIZATIONAL PERFORMANCE IN HEALTHCARE

This paper examines the relationship between human resource practices in 173 hospitals in the United Kingdom and four organizational outcome categories – clinical, financial, employee attitudes and perceptions, and patient attitudes and perceptions. The overarching proposition set forth and examined in this paper is that human resource management (HRM) practices and delivery of care practices have varied effects on each of these outcomes. More specifically, the authors set forth the proposition that specific practices will have positive effects on one outcome category while simultaneously having a negative effect on other performance outcomes, broadly defined. n nThe paper introduces a broader stakeholder framework for assessing the HR–performance relationship in the healthcare setting. This multi-dimensional framework incorporates the effects of human resource practices on customers (patients), management, and frontline staff and can also be applied to other sectors such as manufacturing. This approach acknowledges the potential for incompatibilities between stakeholder performance objectives. In the healthcare industry specifically, our framework broadens the notion of performance. n nOverall, our results provide support for the proposition that different stakeholders will be affected differently by the use of managerial practices. We believe that the findings reported in this paper highlight the importance of examining multiple stakeholder outcomes associated with managerial practices and the need to identify the inherent trade-offs associated with their adoption.

A Balancing Act: Work–Life Balance and Multiple Stakeholder Outcomes in Hospitals

This article examines the direct and indirect effects of work–life balance (WLB) practices on multiple stakeholder outcomes in hospitals. The authors examine the direct and indirect effects of WLB practices in 173 hospitals in the United Kingdom on organizational, patient care and employee outcomes. The article proposes a model in which the effects of WLB practices on patient care outcomes and financial performance are mediated by employee turnover intentions. The authors provide strong support for the potential vested in WLB practices in the healthcare setting. Results indicate that greater use of WLB practices enhances outcomes for hospitals, their employees and the patients they care for.

A case study of the Yeshasvini health insurance scheme for the rural poor in India

This is a case study of the Yeshasvini Health Insurance Scheme for rural farmers and peasants in Karnataka, which has a potential to be a model for developing countries in providing a modicum of health security for their citizens. We describe the origins and functioning of the scheme, analyze its performance to-date, and find support for its transferability to several other states in India. We also identify the institutional conditions that influence success of a scheme of this kind, and discuss some of the critical problems that occurred during the schemes first year of operations.

Collective Bargaining in Transition: Measuring the Effects of Collective Voice in China

This book examines the ways in which collective bargaining addresses a variety of workplace concerns in the context of today’s global economy. Globalization can contribute to growth and development, but as the recent financial crisis demonstrated, it also puts employment, earnings and labour standards at risk. This book examines the role that collective bargaining plays in ensuring that workers are able to obtain a fair share of the benefits arising from participation in the global economy and in providing a measure of security against the risk to employment and wages. It focuses on a commonly neglected side of the story and demonstrates the positive contribution that collective bargaining can make to both economic and social goals. The various contributions examine how this fundamental principle and right at work is realized in different countries and how its practice can be reinforced across borders. They highlight the numerous resulting challenges and the critically important role that governments play in rebalancing bargaining power in a global economy. The chapters are written in an accessible style and deal with practical subjects, including employment security, workplace change and productivity, and working time.

Tripartism and Economic Reforms in Singapore and the Republic of Korea

The purpose of this chapter is to examine the impact of peak-level tripartism on economic reforms in Singapore and the Republic of Korea. Specifically, it attempts to answer the question of whether tripartism alters the pace, sequence, mix or content of economic reforms or the environment in which the reforms are implemented. It also seeks to obtain evidence on the impact of tripartism on specific measurable outcomes.