Russell D. Lansbury

A Comparative Analysis of Developments in Industrial Democracy

The purpose of this article is to analyze recent developments in industrial democracy (worker participation in management) in a comparative perspective. To give the article focus, the period from the mid-1980s onward is selected for analysis, and four countries (United States, Germany, United Kingdom, and Australia) are targeted for systematic examination. Developments in both indirect and direct participation are explained on the basis of elements in the models that we present. Three particularly strong conclusions emerge. First, there are clearly a number of common forces that have affected developments in each country, but the precise forms of participation that have emerged vary in many key respects. Second, organizational changes at the level of the firm appear to be particularly important in the recent period. And finally, the very complex patterns that are observable reinforce our theoretical arguments of the importance of a complex multivariate approach.

Skills in Australia: Towards Workforce Development and Sustainable Skill Ecosystems

This article argues that there is a need to move beyond narrow ways of thinking about training to incorporate broader notions of ‘workforce development’ and ‘skill ecosystems’. A market-based approach to skills development is contrasted with a social consensus model, which takes a more integrated view of how skills are formed and sustained. However, following a review of Australia’s brief and ultimately unsuccessful attempt to develop something akin to a social consensus approach, we argue that there is much to be gained from a workforce development approach and an understanding of skill formation as occurring in the context of skill ecosystems. To be most effective this approach to skill formation requires the facilitation of networks and nurturing of partnerships among the different agents and agencies concerned with skill development. Recent initiatives in Australia that explicitly adopt a skill ecosystem and workforce development orientation demonstrate the potential of these approaches to overcome many of the problems associated with currently dominant market-based approaches and avoid the pitfalls of social consensus models.

Work, People and Globalisation: Towards a New Social Contract for Australia

Despite rising levels of prosperity in Australia in recent decades, there is growing economic and social inequality. Many people are working longer hours and more intensively in insecure jobs. Australia has one of the highest levels of casual employment in the industrialised world. Stress at work is one of the major causes of occupational illness. A more decentralised system of industrial relations has contributed to this situation by removing many of the previous safeguards that workers had under awards and agreements. This is exemplified by a number of award-based employment arrangements related to various forms of leave (e.g. sick leave and maternity leave) which have been ‘traded off’ in enterprise agreements, often without union involvement or worker representation. This process has been assisted by the federal government’s legislative reforms which have been hostile to unions and have contributed to a decline in unionisation. The government has also weakened the powers of the Australian Industrial Relations Commission to protect workers whose bargaining power is weak. Many of those who advocate an even more deregulated and individualised form of industrial relations for Australia argue that the forces of globalisation provide no alternative. Yet other countries, particularly in northern Europe, have retained strong labour market institutions to provide adequate social protection while competing effectively in the international economy. Indeed, rather than seeing globalisation as a threat, Australia should be supporting the efforts of international agencies, such as the International Labour Organisation, to assist other small nations to strengthen the rights of their citizens in the workplace and labour market. To ensure that Australia remains both a prosperous and an equitable society, we need a new social contract or partnership between employers, workers, unions, community, organisations and government. The three pillars of a new social contract comprisepolicies that are well established in many of the advanced industrialised societies. The first pillar is an active labour market policy that has been long advocated by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and would see resources invested in job creation rather than job reduction. The second pillar is the rebuilding of Australia’s skills and intellectual capital by encouraging greater investment in training and development of the workforce. The third pillar is the establishment of a national superannuation system to ensure both universal coverage and secure entitlements. To achieve these goals, the federal government must develop a comprehensive industrial relations policy that involves greater regulation of the labour market and restoration of labour market institutions to ensure more equitable wages and working conditions. These measures are required to ensure that economic efficiency is achieved without undermining social equity, which is the basis of democratic society.

Globalization and Employment Relations in the Korean Auto Industry: The Case of the Hyundai Motor Company in Korea, Canada and India

Examination is made of the complex interactions between globalization and employment relations as reflected in the operations of the Hyundai Motor Company (HMC) in Korea, Canada and India. After the closure of its short-lived attempt to manufacture cars for the North American market from Canada, the HMC ‘relaunched’ its globalization strategy in India in 1998. An examination of Hyundais experience in both countries suggests that employment relations is likely to continue to be an evolving blend of company-specific policies and locally-based practices.

Lean Production and Changing Employment Relations in the International Auto Industry

The auto industry provides a useful focus for examining the changing nature of employment relations around the world as new production systems are introduced. This article summarizes the results of an international project which analyzed the diffusion of lean production and associated employment patterns in different national contexts. It was found that despite the widespread application of lean production principles, significant variation existed in the way that management and unions adapted to change. There is a need to comprehend both the role of national institutions and local practices in the choices which parties make at the workplace level. These factors are significant in shaping employment relations in the auto industry despite the pervasive influence of new production systems.

Multinational corporations and employment relations in the People's Republic of China: the case of Beijing Hyundai Motor Company

This contribution examines the transfer of employment relations policies and practices from the domestic operations of the Hyundai Motor Company (HMC) in Ulsan, Korea to its joint venture in China, the Beijing Hyundai Motors Company (BHMC). An integrated ‘political economy’ theoretical framework is used to analyse the complex interaction of institutional, strategic and micro-political forces that have shaped the hybrid model of employment relations at BHMC. The study shows that the transfer of policies and practices from Ulsan to Beijing has been influenced not only by institutional differences between the home and host countries and the strategies pursued by HMC management, but also by the political contests between various actors within and outside BHMC. Our research findings show that HMC headquarters has sought to maintain control over employment relations at BHMC through the transfer of its core policies and practices from its Korean operations to BHMC. However, a hybrid model has emerged at BHMC with some notable differences to HMCs Ulsan plant. Utilising an integrated political economy perspective, this contribution has shown that BHMCs employment relations policies and practices have been shaped and conditioned by a complex interplay of institutional and market forces, strategic choices and ongoing political contests between various actors within and beyond BHMC.

Broadening the Horizons of HRM: Lessons for Australia from the US Experience

Although a ‘new generation’ of HR professionals in Australia have proclaimed that they are engaged in more ‘strategic’ issues of management than their predecessors, there are a number of emerging problems in the workplace and organisations which need to be addressed. Australian HR professionals need to be engaged in developing a new ‘social contract’ which includes greater attention to work and family issues, investment in skills development to build a ‘knowledge economy’ and new retirement policies at the national level to provide adequate incomes for the ‘greying generation’ of Australians. This requires HR professionals to broaden the agenda of issues in which they are engaged.

The Impact of Globalisation on Employment Relations: Some Research Propositions:

While there is widespread agreement that changes in the international economy associated with globalisation have important consequences for employment relations, there is less consensus about their nature and significance. One view is that globalization has created pressures for convergence between different countries in regard to employment relations. Another is that national level institutions play a mediating role in maintaining cross-national differences, leading to divergence. A third school rejects the convergence/divergence dichotomy and argues that complex interactions between global and national (or local) forces shape employment relations outcomes. Results outlined in this paper of a preliminary study of employment relations in the auto and banking industries in Australia and Korea reveal evidence of both similarities and differences on a range of dimensions. This implies that the relationship between globalization and employment relations is best explained by an interaction approach.

The Conditions for Convergence: Multinationals, Product Markets, Production Systems and Employment Relations

This paper investigates the impact of multinational corporations on employment This paper through comparative case studies of three plants owned by the global multinational corporation, Asea Brown Boveri (ABB). A growing trend towards convergence in employment relations practices is revealed. It is argued that this is not the result of some inevitable social law, but rather a contingency that is intimately linked to corporate management strategy, on tbe one hand, and developments in the product markets, production processes and national institutional structures of the three plants, on the other: By exploring these links, the paper seeks to advance understanding of the conditions under which global companies like ABB might deliver one of the oft- assumed features of globalisation.

Reworking Citizenship: Renewing Workplace Rights and Social Citizenship in Australia

ABSTRACT As a focus of creative self-expression through work, the workplace is a key site of identity formation as well as economic reward. A new narrative of social citizenship must be sourced in workplace experience and must be capable of adaptation to discrete needs. This article considers the potential for constructing this narrative and reflects on the significant obstacles. Reconstituting meaningful social citizenship in an ‘enterprise culture’—a radically restructured and individualised economic and social system—requires adaptation to the fractious diversity of this culture. It requires a creative reassertion that workers have legitimate rights to equitable conditions of work and opportunities to participate in civic life—to influence the conditions that affect them both in the workplace and the wider community. Unions can continue to play an active and creative role in advancing these rights.