Nicholas Kinnie

Employment relations in SMEs: Market‐driven or customer‐shaped?

The changing environment within which SMEs are operating is examined by reference to detailed case studies of three medium‐sized firms (one in the pharmaceutical sector and two in engineering). Following the development of a framework for analysis the cases are discussed to illustrate the direct and indirect ways in which pressures in the network of business relationships affect the management of employment relations. Particular attention is given to the effects of these pressures on management structure, work organisation and human resources policies and practices. Far from enjoying greater discretion following the decline in institutional arrangements and labour market deregulation, managers in SMEs find themselves constrained in new ways. It is argued that employment relations in these firms is shaped strongly by specific customer requirements exercised through the supply chain rather than being driven by broad market forces.

Introduction: The Nature and Management of Call Centre Work

There has been a substantial growth of employment in telephone call centres over the last five years. It is now estimated that around two workers in every 100 in the United Kingdom have jobs in call centres (Income Data Services, 2001, p. 11; Key Note, 2002, p. 19). In the USA they employ about 3 per cent of the workforce while in Europe the figure is just over 1 per cent (Datamonitor, 1998; 1999). Call centres are said to be the most rapidly growing form of employment in Europe today (Paul and Huws, 2002, p. 19). The number of call centres in France and Germany has more than doubled since 1997 (Key Note, 2002, p. 79). These developments reflect a more general shift in economic activity from goods production to service provision. Call centres epitomize many of the characteristics of service work that have come to dominate developed economies. Like most customer service organizations they provide an intangible, perishable product, which is highly variable and engages the customer in its production (Korczynski, 2002). However, distinctively, call centres require their employees to be skilled at interacting directly with customers while simultaneously working with sophisticated computer-based systems which dictate both the pace of their work and monitor its quality.

Downsizing: is it always lean and mean?

Discusses how downsizing has been associated with the move towards lean working in organisations and with having negative consequences for employees. Considers the extent to which downsizing is lean and mean drawing on an extensive review of the available literature. Concludes that downsizing is rarely lean since it usually takes the form of quantitative changes in employment rather than qualitative changes in the process of managing. Evidence also suggests that downsizing usually has an adverse effect on both employees who leave and those who remain with the organisation. Yet this meanness is not inevitable since it depends partly on the extent to which human resources issues are considered.

Why should I share my knowledge? A multiple foci of commitment perspective

Knowledge-intensive firms need to leverage their individual knowledge assets via knowledge sharing to create collective knowledge resources. This process is, however, in the control of the knowledge worker. We explore this personal and emotive quality of knowledge sharing by asking: ‘How does employee commitment impact on knowledge sharing?’ We study professional service firms operating in cross-boundary environments and examine the impact of commitment to the organisation, profession, team and client on knowledge sharing. The article contributes directly to our understanding of the interrelationship between (a) the types and foci of commitment and (b) bidirectional knowledge sharing.

Influences on the choice of HR system: the network organization perspective

Research into the links between HR and performance has assumed that managers have a high degree of strategic choice in this area. We argue this choice is constrained by members of the network within which the firm operates. Two contrasting firms are examined to discuss how and why strategic choice varies by reference to the resource dependency theory. This discussion leads us to conclude that the links between HR and performance can be understood only in the context of the characteristics of network relationships.

Personnel specialists’ advanced use of information technology Evidence and explanations

A national survey shows that personnel specialists are still failing to exploit fully the benefits of information technology (IT) in their own work. In seeking to explain this, looks at the IT skills and knowledge of personnel specialists and their attitudes towards the use of IT. While these provide part of the explanation for the under‐utilization of IT, argues that more important inhibitions derive from the professional values of personnel specialists and their political power within organizations.

Simultaneity of Learning Orientations in a Marketing Agency

The dynamic internal and external environments faced by many professional service firms mean that the simultaneous exploiting of existing knowledge assets as well as exploring new knowledge capabilities become critical. These two modes of learning (March, 1991) can take place in two distinct time frames: the planned, longer-term and the accelerated, shorter-term. The ability to switch between these is critical to organizational success. This article draws on a case study of a marketing agency to illustrate how exploratory and exploitive learning takes place in both time frames. It demonstrates how the most important interactions between knowledge assets in each of these learning orientations create valuable outputs for clients.

Implementing Manufacturing Strategy: The Human Resource Management Contribution

The contribution that human resource management practices might make to the successful implementation of manufacturing strategy is examined. It is argued, on the basis of empirical research, that organisations typically adopt one of three different approaches to handling the critical human resource management practices which are identified. These findings have implications both for practitioners considering a change in their strategy for manufacturing, and for the further development of models of manufacturing strategy.

Engaged and committed? The relationship between work engagement and commitment in professional service firms

Our study explores the relationship between employee engagement and foci-commitment of employees in professional service firms (PSFs). PSFs compete on the basis of their ability to encourage their employees to generate exceptional knowledge-based services and products, acting within and beyond the organizational boundaries. In order to achieve these outputs, the PSFs need to ensure that their professionals are engaged and committed. Drawing on 375 surveys from the employees of a global PSF, we compare two models to test the relationship between work engagement and multi-foci commitment: the organization, the client, the team and the profession. We first explore an overall positive effect of work engagement on commitment to all four foci. We then compare the overall impact to the independent effects of work engagement dimensions on four commitment foci. Our findings suggest that work engagement with three dimensions is a better-fitting model in the PSFs context.

The Decentralisation of Industrial Relations? – Recent Research Considered

Changes are taking place in collective bargaining arrangements and management structures for industrial relations. The Warwick Survey, confirming the findings of previous research, shows that the apparent moves towards the decentralisation of industrial relations are in practice more complex than they first appear. The survey results are consistent with earlier studies into the extensive activities of head office managers in the affairs of establishments in what are ostensibly decentralised companies. However, they provide little support for existing research into how employees perceive these changes since the emphasis is on the contrast of view between managers at different levels in the organisation. This points to the need for the development of theory in this area.