Paul J. Gollan

The sustainability debate

This paper serves as an introduction to this special issue of the journal on the topic of sustainability. It commences with definitions of sustainability, followed by a description of the roles played by governments and corporations as developers of standards and legislation, and investors in products and processes, respectively. The paper then goes on to discuss the company capacities required to achieve sustainability, paying particular attention to operations management capabilities and the management of human resources. The discussion of these topics is related to the content of the other papers subsequently presented in this special issue, and the paper concludes with suggestions for further research.

High involvement management and human resource sustainability: The challenges and opportunities

This article will outline a number of issues for organisations to consider when pursuing sustainable high performance workplace outcomes through high involvement management (HIM) initiatives and id...

The Oxford handbook of participation in organizations

SECTION I: INTRODUCTION SECTION II: PERSPECTIVES SECTION III: FORMS OF PARTICIPATION IN PRACTICE SECTINO IV: PROCESSES AND OUTCOMES SECTION V: POLICY AND COMPARATIVE ISSUES

Re-conceptualizing voice in the non-union workplace

In this paper we present a conceptual analysis of the literature and research surrounding voice in the non-union workplace. The paper begins with a definitional discussion of non-unionism – what it is and what it is not, and then proceeds to unpick the concept of employee voice in the non-union workplace. The core of our analysis consists of a re-conceptualization of factors affecting non-union voice, and the potential outcomes as a result of external macro market pressures such as changing regulatory and market pressures for employee voice, and internal micro organizational dimensions such as management choice and strategy towards employee voice. From the analysis it is argued that more individualized and company-specific forms of employee voice are likely to increase. This poses new challenges for traditional collective representation and the institutional structures within which employee voice operates, which requires critical analysis and future empirical investigation.

New approaches to employee voice and participation in organizations

While the history of employee voice and participation is longstanding, there has been a sharp increase in interest in these topics among academics, practitioners, and policy-makers in recent years. The research on employee voice and participation has therefore significantly broadened, expanding from an earlier institutional focus to also include significant behavioural and strategic streams. This article introduces a symposium that extends our knowledge of employee voice and participation in terms of new organizational forms, practices and processes that affect the nature, structure and conditions of work and organizations by showcasing the breadth of contemporary research on voice and participation.

Is there a bigger and better future for employer branding? Facing up to innovation, corporate reputations and wicked problems in SHRM

Employer branding is becoming an increasingly important topic for research and practice in multinational enterprises (MNEs) because it plays directly into their corporate reputation, talent management and employee engagement agendas. In this paper, we argue that the potential effects of employer branding have yet to be fully understood because current theory and practice have failed to connect this internal application of marketing and branding to the key reputational and innovation agendas of MNEs, both of which are at the heart of another strategic agenda – effective corporate governance. However, these agendas are characterised by ‘wicked problems’ in MNEs, which have their origins in competing logics in strategic human resource management (SHRM). These problems need to be articulated and understood before they can be addressed. This paper proceeds by (1) setting out a definition and model of employer branding and how it potentially articulates with corporate governance, innovation and organisational reputations, (2) discussing and analysing the ‘wicked problems’ resulting from the sometimes contradictory logics underpinning innovation and corporate reputations and SHRM in MNEs and (3) evaluating the potential of employer branding as a contribution to the third SHRM approach – HR strategy-in-action – as a way of resolving three particularly wicked problems in MNEs. We conclude with some ideas for research and practice on the future for employer branding.

All talk but no voice: employee voice at the Eurotunnel call centre

There is little existing research on non-union voice structures of consultation and representation in call centres, or on the impact and influence of such structures on either organizational change or employee influence over managerial decisions. This article attempts to address these issues by examining non-union consultation and representative arrangements at the call centre operations at Eurotunnel, and assessing their effectiveness in representing the needs of employees. Overall, the evidence suggests that the non-union voice structures at the Eurotunnel call centre are used as devices for information and communication rather than true consultation mechanisms or bargaining agents; their effectiveness as bodies representing the interests of call centre employees in filling the lack of representation is questionable. The implications for organizations of not recognizing such limitations of non-union arrangements could result in increased union influence on workplace issues and greater employee dissatisfaction with management. The study concludes that communication between management and employees at the workplace may not be enough: voice and the right to be heard may be essential for achieving higher performance and employee commitment.

Contemporary developments in information and consultation

The employment relations environment is in a period of significant change. Pressures of globalization have intensified competition in product and labour markets, emphasizing the need for greater efficiency and productivity, and leading to a greater focus on the link between employment practices and organizational strategy. In the area of participation this has led to a renewed focus on employer-sponsored employee involvement arrangements with direct engagement with workers and co-workers in autonomous or semi-autonomous teams. From this perspective, prescriptions are less concerned with voice per se, and the related issues of social justice and organizational democracy, and more focused on the alleged business benefits (Sako, 1998). This agenda has been subsumed most recently within the debate surrounding the implementation of high performance work systems. Leading advocates have described such approaches in terms of high involvement management, high commitment management or high performance work systems under a mutual gains approach (Appelbaum and Batt, 1994; Kochan et al., 1986; Lawler, 1986; Levine, 1995; Levine and Tyson, 1990; Wood, 1996). However, employee voice through participation forms can differ in the scope of decisions, the amount of power workers can exercise over management, and the organizational level at which the decisions are made. Some forms are purposely designed to give workers a very modest role in decision-making, while others are intended to give the workforce a substantial amount of power in organizational governance. At the same time there are pressures to democratize the workplace with an emphasis on the rights of workers (Gratton, 2003). The Industrial Society has suggested that the debate over employee information and consultation is more than just an ‘economic imperative’ (other words for ‘good for business’) or a rationalization of the law (too much and too complex legislation) (Burns, 2000). Fundamental to this debate is the underlying argument that employees and their representatives have a right to be consulted and ‘to have a say at work’ or what is sometimes referred to as ‘industrial citizenship’. The question for the state and policy makers is whether these rights should be of an individual nature or whether there should also be collective rights of employee representation. Hammer (1997) has questioned whether worker involvement in

Tunnel vision: non‐union employee representation at Eurotunnel

It is apparent from existing research in the UK that little is known about how forms ofnon‐union employee representation (NER) are composed, their independence from managerial influence, the “representativeness” of such bodies, and their accountability. In addition, little has been documented about the impact of such structures on either the managerial objective of securing consent to organisational change or the employee objective of influencing managerial decisions. This research will attempt to address these issues by examining NER structures in the UK and, in particular, assessing their effectiveness in representing the needs of employees through an examination of representative arrangements at Eurotunnel. Overall, the evidence suggests that most NER structures are used as devices for consultation and communication rather than as bargaining agents. While it can be argued that consultation, not bargaining, may indeed be their objective, it nevertheless questions the legitimacy of such bodies as true alternatives to unions. This presents the issue of whether state‐sponsored NER forms with provisions for resources and training could improve the effectiveness of NER forms in representing employees’ interests at the workplace. As the Eurotunnel example and previous evidence have indicated, while NER structures can be used as mechanisms for more effective means of communication and consultation, their effectiveness as bodies representing the interests of employees in filling the lack of representation is questionable.

Exploring terra incognita: preliminary reflections on the impact of the global financial crisis upon human resource management

Since 2007, the global financial crisis (GFC) appears not only to have shaken the foundations of the financial markets and the real economy; it also appears to have harmed the social and political life of many countries. For human resource management (HRM), the global crisis represents an external shock-wave that changes the parameters within which HR professionals at all levels operate. This paper discusses issues related to the link between the GFC and HRM at a general level. First, we differentiate three stages in the GFC, which overlap in their time-span. Taking a broad perspective, the second section discusses the causes of the GFC. We argue not only that the GFC represents a crisis for markets, organizations and institutions, but also that it represents a cultural crisis of ideas, assumptions, and values. The third section discusses the link between the GFC and HRM, focusing on HR managers in the management of uncertainty. The final section summarizes the main points of the paper and poses questions for future research.