Presenting a wide-ranging and radical critique of the prevailing orthodoxies within industrial relations and human-resource management, this book contains a detailed examination of the evolution of industrial relations, arguing that the area is often under-theorized and influenced by the policy agenda of the state or employers. The topics covered include central problems in industrial relations, the mobilization theory of collective action, the growth of non-union workplaces and the prospects and desirability of a new labour-management social partnership, and the history of worker collectivism. There is also discussion of postmodernism, and accounts of the end of the labour movement.

First published in 1991, Rethinking Labour-Management Relations explores how the contemporary system of industrial relations developed and outlines proposals for a better alternative. The book examines the positives and negatives of three systems of industrial relations: a freely operating market for labour where workers bargain individually with employers; a strike-based system of collective bargaining; and, a compulsory arbitration system. It discusses how the strike replaced individual bargaining, highlighting the deficiencies in these respective systems and presenting arbitration as the more efficient and effective way of settling disputes. In doing so, the book emphasises the role of the parties involved in finding solutions and considers how government intervention could be kept to a minimum. Exploring a wealth of literature relating to compulsory arbitration systems around the world and formulating a set of criteria for establishing the best possible form of arbitration, Rethinking Labour-Management Relations will appeal to those with an interest in the history of trade union theory, public policy, and labour law.

This original book is a wide-ranging, radical and highly innovative critique of the prevailing orthodoxies within industrial relations and human resource management. It covers: * central problems in industrial relations * the mobilization theory of collective action * the growth of non-union workplaces and the prospects and desirability of a new labour-management social partnership * an historical account of worker collectivism, organization and militancy and state or employer counter mobilization * a critique of postmodernism and accounts of the end of the labour movement. Containing a detailed examination of the evolution of industrial relations, it argues that the area is often under-theorized and influenced by the policy agenda of the state or employers, and will prove informative reading for students of industrial relations.

This volume challenges understandings of organizational misbehavior looking beyond traditional conceptions of the nexus between misbehavior and resistance in the workplace. The volume includes a contribution from Stephen Ackroyd and adds to the emerging body of evidence that disturbs assumptions of consensus and conformity in organizations.

While paying tribute to Harry Braverman for launching the research field known as the labor process, this book neither eulogizes nor castigates his work. Rather, it takes stock of the field, showing its blend of qualitative and quantitative methodologies and revealing its diverse contributions to the sociology of work, organizations, and stratification. Both U.S. and British authors use this venue as an opportunity to rethink and reinvigorate the labor process field, yet they maintain an intellectual commitment to the spirit with which Braverman wrote his work. They focus on aspects central to the labor process perspective, including management strategies, technology, innovations in the workplace, the value of labor, and control and resistance.

Employment has changed dramatically in the last few decades with the onset of neoliberal globalization. This change has become the objective of inquiry from different perspectives, such as development studies, labour economics or industrial relations, focusing on different units of analysis. The Political Economy of Employment Relations provides an exceptional contribution to existing literature by presenting alternative theory and practice on employment relations. It is within this critical theoretical intervention that solidarity economies emerge as a unique theoretical construct as well as a unit of analysis to expose the alternative paths that employment relations may resort to against the contemporary challenges of neoliberal globalization. This book analyses globalization, global economic crisis, and issues of work and labour from the point of view of the developing world, presenting local case studies from countries including the USA, India, Spain and Greece, and outlining alternative approaches to global challenges. This volume has relevance to those with an interest in industrial relations, sociology of work and occupations, labour economics and development economics.