Tom Bramble

A Study of the Antecedents and Consequences of Psychological Ownership in Organizational Settings

Psychological ownership is a feeling of possession in the absence of any formal or legal claims of ownership. In this study, the authors aimed to extend previous empirical testing of psychological ownership in work settings to encompass both job-based and organization-based psychological ownership as well as related work attitudes and behavioral outcomes. Questionnaire data from 68 employees and their managers revealed that job-based psychological ownership and organization-based psychological ownership are distinct work attitudes that are distinguishable from job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Psychological ownership predicted job satisfaction and organizational commitment and mediated the relationship between autonomy and these work attitudes. There was no support for a relationship between psychological ownership and behavioral outcomes. The authors discuss the limitations of the study and the implications of psychological ownership.

‘Another world is possible’ A study of participants at Australian alter-globalization social forums

The past decade has seen the emergence of a mass ‘alter-globalization’ movement in many regions of the world. One element in this movement has been the World Social Forum and its continental, regional, national and local spinoffs. In the first half of this article I provide a critical analysis of the social forum experience, particularly the World Social Forum, and outline both those aspects of the experience that are commonly agreed to be successes as well as those that are frequently held to be their failings or limitations. In the second half of the article, I report on a survey of the participants at two Australian social forums in 2004, which details their backgrounds, motivations, attitudes, experience and ambitions. Comparison is made with their closest parallels - the activists from the new social movements of the 1970s and 1980s previously examined by Offe, Touraine, Melucci and others.

Australian Workplace Agreements in practice: The 'hard' and 'soft' dimensions

The purpose of this paper is to assess the claim by the Office of the Employment Advocate (OEA) and the Department of Employment, Workplace Relations and Small Business (DEWRSB) that Australian Workplace Agreements (AWAs) allow employers to integrate both the ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ dimensions of ‘strategic’ human resource management (HRM) theory, providing greater efficiency and profitability, while also giving employees more flexibility. Based on a review of the literature and the content of 539 AWAs approved between March 1997 and June 1998, we conclude that the general trend of AWAs is towards the ‘hard’ HRM philosophy of minimisation of costs and maximisation of flexibility of hours. Provisions based around the developmental and personal needs of employees are relatively uncommon and, where they occur, are usually brief. Contrary to Government predictions, there is very little evidence that AWAs are being used to advance the philosophy of ‘soft’ HRM.

Australian Union Strategies Since 1945

Abstract The purpose of this article is to advance a model of union strategy and to test it using evidence of Australian unionism in the period since 1945. The model is based on several premises: first, that union practices are not the product of random choices but tend to result from overarching mutually-reinforcing strategies. Second, that the overall strategy of a given union is driven by its choice of bargaining strategy. Choice in this field has a strong if not determining influence on external relations with employers, the state and other unions, as well as internal relations within the union itself, and staffing practices. Finally, the model incorporates a feedback loop, with choices in the area of external relations, internal relations and staffing practices having an influence on bargaining strategy. The article then uses evidence of Australian union practices drawn from a variety of sources to test this model.

Continuity or Discontinuity in the Recent History of the Australian Labor Party

Recent characterisations of the Australian Labor Party as a ‘cartel party’ suggest that there was, after the 1970s, a fundamental discontinuity in Labors history. We assess this contention not only in terms of the ALPs policies but also the mechanisms which link it with different classes and social groups: Labors electoral support, membership and local branches, the backgrounds of the Partys parliamentarians and leaders, the role of trade unions inside the ALP, and its sources of funding. While there have been some quantitative changes in these characteristics, we conclude that Labor remains, on balance, a ‘capitalist workers party.’

Whose Streets? Our Streets! Activist Perspectives on the Australian Anti-capitalist Movement

The purpose of this paper is to provide a summary of the Australian anti-capitalist movement of 2000/01 as seen through the eyes of its activists. On the basis of thirty-five interviews conducted in mid-2002 we examine the background of the activist layer, the nature of the social networks and connective structures which shaped the Australian anti-capitalist movement, the character of the mobilizing structures that were used to organize the protest movement, the degree to which the Australian movement was connected to international activity or learned from international political theorizing, the tactics that were used at the protests, and the political frameworks that shaped the thinking of key activists. We conclude with some considerations as to the strengths and weaknesses of the movement.

Corporatism as a process of working class containment and roll-back: The recent experiences of South Africa and South Korea

In this article we argue that recent debates in the corporatist literature about whether corporatism is best understood as a process of structured interest representation or political dialogue miss the point as to corporatisms central task — the shift of material resources and power away from the working class to the capitalist class, in which two processes are evident — containment and roll-back. We discuss these processes in the context of successive waves of corporatism in Western Europe from the 1940s to the 1990s before moving on to an analysis of the contrasting fortunes of corporatism in South Africa and South Korea during democratic transition. We conclude that the ability of corporatism to carry out the processes of containment and roll back in these two cases have been dependent on the existence (or absence) of supportive prior political relationships between organized labour and the state.

A Portrait of Australian Trade Union Officials

Details are given of the chief characteristics of Australias trade union officials, using data drawn from the 1986 and 1996 Australian Censuses of Population and Housing. This research note provides an update on research published by a number of authors. Unlike previous work, however, use of Census data allows for direct comparisons of the characteristics of union officials with those of union members or, where such data are not available, with the employed work-force. Copyright Blackwell Publishers Ltd/London School of Economics 2001.

Silence as a survival strategy: will the silent be worse off? A study of Chinese migrant workers in Guangdong

Abstract Based on a comprehensive survey of 766 migrant workers in Guangdong province in 2014, this study empirically examines the factors determining why some Chinese migrant workers remain silent when their rights are violated and the consequences of them doing so. The results of the survey show that the migrant workers who are more vulnerable in demographic factors, family dependency, job insecurity and social networks are more likely to stay silent in such circumstances. The results further indicate that silence leads them to be worse off in relation to social security benefits and labour rights. These results challenge the traditional organisational behaviour perspective on silence. The results imply that silence can be a survival strategy for second-class workers and may be evident whereby the disadvantaged have no say and remain silent in exchange for work opportunity, but by doing so are more likely to suffer unfair treatment.

Australia: A mid-level imperialist in the Asia-Pacific

Australia, long seen as a remote outpost of the British Empire in the South Pacific and more recently as a loyal lieutenant of Washington, does not fit the traditional image of an imperialist country. Nonetheless, while it may not be one of the big three or four world powers, it is, I will argue, a mid-level imperialist that leverages its alliance with the United States to project power over its region. It has been and remains reliant on foreign capital, but it is also a wealthy independent centre of capital accumulation and military power with its own national interests and with an increasing financial footprint overseas.