Revised and extended for its second edition, Contemporary Issues in Management provides a unique up-to-date view of the 'messy reality' of the complex management dilemmas facing workers and managers in the business environment today. Using a critical approach, the authors offer original perspectives on organisational behaviour and the sociology of work. Presenting business case studies and analysis, this textbook covers a broad range of key themes, including ethical and social issues, diversity, migration, continuity and change. Chapters present research studies into diverse areas, from teleworking to apprenticeships, food production, volunteering and factory working. This fully updated second edition textbook provides: Discussions of management issues in their wider philosophical and political contexts to allow students to have a broader understanding and interpretation of how management affects complex real-life situations Original and in-depth qualitative case studies present lived experience rather than abstract 'model' or 'idealised' problems for successful application of theory Examples of a wide range of management practices gives students the necessary knowledge for a globalised perspective on work and business A critical approach to the topic, to develop students' analytical skills to recognise problems, and suggest suitable solutions Questions and further reading sections for use in teaching and self study. This textbook is an invaluable guide for those studying organisational behaviour and business management, as well as the sociology and ethnography of work and workplaces. Contributors include: S.B. Emery, S. French, L. Hamilton, M. Keleman, D. Knights, A. Mangan, D. McCabe, L. Mitchell, T. Oultram, G. Pearson, U. Salmon, L. Stringer, E. Surman, N. Taylor

On the 80th anniversary of Beveridge's report on the 'Five Giants' confronting societal progress in the 1940s, this innovative book examines the 'New Giants' confronting us today: inequality, preventable mortality, the crisis of democracy, job quality, and environmental degradation. Ian Greener uses Qualitative Comparative Analysis and cluster analysis across 24 countries to analyse which countries are the highest performing in relation to each of the New Giants, and what they have in common. The book indicates that confronting the New Giants requires more participative modes of governance, as well as a greater commitment to redistributing wealth and achieving higher levels of education. Greener also highlights how higher levels of globalization, so long as they are combined with these factors, can be compatible with confronting the New Giants. The book further considers how these factors combined in countries with lower levels of mortality in the first six months of the Covid-19 pandemic. This will be critical reading for social policy and politics scholars and policy makers interested in comparative analysis. The clear explanation of the research methods used in the book will be useful to advanced level students and researchers in the field.

In this timely book, Barbara Czarniawska and Bernward Joerges examine the hopes and fears around work and job security inspired by automation, from the original coining of the term 'robot' to the present day media fascination. Have these hopes and fears changed or do they remain the same? This discerning book investigates whether these changes in perception correlate to actual changes taking place in the field of robotics. Exploring several streams of popular culture, including ground-breaking science fiction novels and films, the impact of these globally renowned works on public opinion regarding robotics is assessed. Detailed media analysis identifies the frequency and complexity of common views that stem from the ideas found in both fiction and scientific research results disseminated by the news. Recent social science works dedicated to the study of robotziation are then reviewed, illustrating current and future debates surrounding the phenomenon of the 'robot revolution'. Robotization of Work? will be a key resource for students and scholars studying the organization of work, IT and digitalization, and cultural studies. It will also be of interest to anyone engaged with the concepts of artificial intelligence (AI) and robotization.

Offering new knowledge and insights into European job markets, this book explores how young men and women experience job insecurity. Focusing on the ways in which young adults deal with this by actively increasing their chances of getting a job through a variety of methods, it shows how governmental policies can be altered to reduce early job insecurity. By combining analysis of original data collected through a variety of innovative methods, the book compares the trajectories of early job insecurity in nine European countries: Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Norway, Poland, Spain, Switzerland, and the UK. It explores the differing reactions to the 2008 Great Recession and socio-economic and institutional characteristics of each country, analysing the strengths and weaknesses of different national policies. Contributions from experts in the field investigate the long-term consequences of having difficulty finding suitable and stable jobs in young adulthood, including 'scarring' in the form of weaker long-term employment prospects, lower life earnings and reduced well-being. Incorporating high-level academic research with policy recommendations, this insightful book is essential reading for advanced public policy and European studies scholars, as well as policymakers at national and European levels. Contributors include: D.S. Abebe, S. Ayllon, K.K. Bohler, M. Bussi, D. Buttler, L.A. Helbling, B. Hvinden, C. Hyggen, C. Imdorf, V. Krasteva, C. Lewis, A. McDonnell, J. O'Reilly, D. Parsanoglou, S. Sacchi, M.A. Schoyen, L.P. Shi, R. Stoilova, I. Tolgensbakk, J.S. Vedeler, A. Yfanti

This Elgar Introduction provides an overview of some of the key theories that inform human resource management and employment relations as a field of study. Leading scholars in the field explore theories in the context of contemporary debates concerning policies that affect and regulate work and the management of employment, as well as the activities and experiences of actors within the employment relationship. The book is divided into three sections to capture different theoretical lenses used to reflect on HRM and ER concerns about work: systems and historical development; institutions; and people and processes. Expert contributors have drawn on extensive research experience to present a contemporary understanding of a range of theories, how they evolved, and how they might be used in the future. Essential reading for HRM, ER and management scholars and research students, this book challenges readers to reassess their thinking about the significance of theory in research and practice.

Elgar Advanced Introductions are stimulating and thoughtful introductions to major fields in the social sciences, business and law, expertly written by the world's leading scholars. Designed to be accessible yet rigorous, they offer concise and lucid surveys of the substantive and policy issues associated with discrete subject areas. This Advanced Introduction examines the economic, social, and political conditions that have shaped the 21st century workplace in wealthy democracies, highlighting the changes in work since the 1970s which have produced the 'new economy'. Amy S. Wharton illuminates important aspects of today's workplace, including the service economy, customer-facing jobs, the transformative effects of digital platforms, and the 'opening' of the employment relationship. Key Features: Analysis of algorithms and the gig economy in the broader context of workplace change Insight into the interconnections between gender, work, and family, as well as the sources of stability and change in these relations over time Understanding changes in the spatial, physical, and temporal aspects of work and their impacts on workers and families Foregrounds inequality, using the intersectional lenses of race, class, gender, and citizenship to explore this issue Revealing the continuities and discontinuities between the workplace of the past and the present, this Advanced Introduction will be a valuable guide for sociology researchers and advanced students. Business scholars, students and leaders will also benefit from its discussion of platform-based service work and the rise of nonstandard, contingent, and temporary jobs.

This innovative and thought-provoking Research Handbook explores the theoretical debate surrounding work-life balance, and provides a reflection on the opportunity to adopt multilevel research approaches and perspectives, along gender and temporal axes. The Research Handbook is an international overview of current research on work-life balance, considered in macro, meso and micro perspectives. Offering both theoretical reflections and empirical research examples illustrating the multiple strategies through which the different articulations that characterize the work-life intersection can be analysed, this Research Handbook includes analyses of gendered labour, generational assets and technological changes. Contributors provide translation and actualization of specific research practices and methodological choices, focused on different national contexts. The empirical analysis ranges from comparative research based on quantitative methods, to qualitative approaches centered on longitudinal, discursive and narrative perspectives, and mixed-method studies. Further contributions adopt innovative research methods based on the use of digital and visual technologies. This Research Handbook will be an inspiring read for both undergraduate and postgraduate sociology and social policy students. The book is also addressed to researchers, consultants and policy makers interested in work-life balance issues.

Actors in the world of work are facing an increasing number of challenges, including automatization and digitalization, new types of jobs and more diverse forms of employment. This timely book examines employer and worker responses, challenges and opportunities for social dialogue, and the role of social partners in the governance of the world of work. Through interviews and surveys, the volume provides direct evidence on three central questions: how can we cultivate autonomous, bipartite social dialogue in order to meet these critical challenges? How can the social partners strengthen their representativeness and membership, and extend their influence? What role can social partners and social dialogue play regarding digitalization, and what best practices can be identified? The volume also addresses significant trends such as demographic changes, migration flows, global supply chain management and environmental objectives. It covers the current EU member states while extending analysis to EU candidate and potential candidate countries, thus enlarging coverage to 34 European nations. The detailed evidence by theme and by individual country will provide a unique source of ideas on social actors' innovative roles in ensuring sustainable and inclusive practices in the future world of work. This will be an invigorating read for labour economics and labour policy scholars looking for a better understanding of the new world of work. Labour organizations, employers, trade unions and representatives of national and supranational institutions will also benefit from the detailed case studies in the volume.

Since the 1970s the long term decline in self-employment has slowed - and even reversed in some countries - and the prospect of 'being your own boss' is increasingly topical in the discourse of both the general public and within academia. Traditionally, self-employment has been associated with independent entrepreneurship, but increasingly it is linked to being a form of precarious work. This book utilises evidence-based information to address both the current and future challenges of this trend as the nature of self-employment changes, as well as to demonstrate where, when and why self-employment has emerged as precarious work in Europe. Bringing together leading international experts in the field, this book provides insight into key issues surrounding self-employment from a variety of interdisciplinary perspectives. Covering existing theory and context, providing empirical results of studies into self-employment and precarious work from across Europe, and discussion of the implications of this research, it offers key insights into future avenues for research. Students of European studies and social policy, as well as policy makers and researchers with a particular interest in employment, self-employment and precarious work across Europe, will find the data and policy ideas presented in this book an invaluable read.

This timely book explores new social justice challenges in the workplace. Adopting a long-term perspective, it focuses on value conflicts, or ethical dilemmas, in contemporary organisations. Matthieu de Nanteuil holds a strong and original position in this regard. The problem is not so much the existence of value conflicts: it is more the fact that the actors do not have a frame of justice that allows them to overcome these conflicts without renouncing their deeply held values. However - and this is crucial - these frames of justice are plural. The book proposes tangible solutions, based around four frames of justice: ethics of discussion, negotiation, development and recognition. It offers a systematic review of their strengths and weaknesses as applied to the workplace. The author translates them to real life situations through a range of case studies, demonstrating practical outcomes applicable to the day-to-day working environment and highlighting that there is no one universal approach. Original and engaging, this book will be of interest to scholars of workplace ethics, labour policy, sociology of work and social theory. It will also be a key resource for HRM policy makers, trade unionists and managers dealing with human issues in the organisation.

Searching for paid tasks via digital labour platforms, such as Uber, Deliveroo and Fiverr, has become a global phenomenon and the regular source of income for millions of people. In the advent of digital labour platforms, this insightful book sheds new light on familiar questions about tensions between competition and cooperation, short-term gains and long-term success, and private benefits and public costs. Drawing on a wealth of knowledge from a range of disciplines, including law, management, psychology, economics, sociology and geography, it pieces together a nuanced picture of the societal challenges posed by the platform economy. Chapters present a comprehensive, multidisciplinary overview of the rise of gig work, reflecting on long-term developments in the gig economy and incorporating contemporary developments into the rich theoretical and empirical literature on the topic. Charting new research territory, the book addresses key academic and policy challenges, arming readers with relevant analytical tools and practical solutions to face common problems. This book comprises a key reference for future research on the topic as well as critical policy measures for addressing challenges relating to gig work. Offering an integrated outline of the latest insights, this book is crucial reading for scholars and researchers of the platform economy and gig work, outlining academic insights and empirical research, and illustrating a research agenda for future scholarship. The book's comprehensive approach will also benefit policy-makers, managers and workers as they confront the platform economy's wide variety of legal, economic and management challenges.

Providing an insightful analysis of the key issues and significant trends relating to labour within the platform economy, this Modern Guide considers the existing comparative evidence covering all world regions. It also provides an in-depth look at digital labour platforms in their historical, economic and geographical contexts. Highlighting the diversity of experience of platform work, case studies illustrate how general trends play out, both in online and location-based labour platforms, across the globe. Chapters illustrate a need for a post-pandemic regulatory requirement of digital labour platforms at different policy levels, whilst providing a general overview of key topics. Interlinking contributions with a global scope and coverage identify the challenges faced and offer thoughtful regulatory solutions. This engaging book will be an invaluable resource for academics of labour economics, legal and business studies and sociology. It will also benefit policy makers in social and political geography and political science looking for a deeper understanding of the topic.

The Covid, climate and cost of living crises all hang heavy in the air. It's more obvious than ever that we need radical social and political change. But in the vacuum left by defeated labour movements, where should we begin? For longtime workplace activist Ian Allinson, the answer is clear: organising at work is essential to rebuild working-class power. The premise is simple: organising builds confidence, capacity and collective power - and with power we can win change. Workers Can Win is an essential, practical guide for rank-and-file workers and union activists. Drawing on more than 20 years of organising experience, Allinson combines practical techniques with an analysis of the theory and politics of organising and unions. The book offers insight into tried and tested methods for effective organising. It deals with tactics and strategies, and addresses some of the roots of conflict, common problems with unions and the resistance of management to worker organising. As a 101 guide to workplace organising with politically radical horizons, Workers Can Win is destined to become an essential tool for workplace struggles in the years to come.

This timely book introduces a fresh perspective on youth unemployment by analysing it as a global phenomenon. Continuously-escalating rates of youth unemployment have become endemic, normalised features of contemporary society. Ross Fergusson and Nicola Yeates argue that only by incorporating analysis of the dynamics of the global economy and global governance can we make convincing, comprehensive sense of these developments. The authors present new substantial evidence spanning a century pointing to the strong relationships between youth unemployment, globalisation, economic crises and consequent harms to young people's social and economic welfare worldwide. The book notably encompasses data and analysis spanning the Global South as well as the Global North. The authors' innovative exploration is holistic in approach and committed to analyses that span histories, territories, academic disciplines and policy contexts. Providing new statistical examination of the incidence, distribution, impacts and putative causes, this book presents a highly original interpretation of youth unemployment and its global governance. It calls for urgently-needed robust responses on a global scale. Global Youth Unemployment is essential reading for students and academics within the fields of social, labour, public and economic policy as well as policy makers within the youth employment and unemployment sectors.

Providing original insights into the factors causing early job insecurity in European countries, this book examines the short- and long-term consequences. It assesses public policies seeking to diminish the risks to young people facing prolonged job insecurity and reduce the severity of these impacts. Based on the findings of a major study of nine European countries, this book examines the diverse strategies that countries across the continent use to help young people overcome employment barriers. The authors present recommendations for governments to improve the job market environment and to support young people in finding suitable and stable employment. A vital tool for European policymakers, this book provides new knowledge that will help improve existing policies, at both national and European levels. The detailed analysis of original data collected through innovative methods will prove highly useful to public policy and European studies scholars. Contributors include: M.-L. Assmann, P. Boyadjieva, M. Bussi, I. Dingeldey, O. Hora, M. Horakova, B. Hvinden, C. Hyggen, P. Ilieva-Trichkova, C. Imdorf, M. Karamessini, P. Michon, J. O'Reilly, D. Parsanoglou, S. Sacchi, R. Samuel, M.A. Schoyen, L.P. Shi, T. Sirovatka, G. Stamatopoulou, L. Steinberg, R. Stoilova, M. Symeonaki, A. Yfanti, G. Yordanova

Skill formation in Central and Eastern Europe. A search for patterns and directions of development offers holistic analytical insight into skill formation processes and institutions in Central and Eastern European countries by referring to the timeframe of historical development of skill formation from the fall of communism to the present time and future development trends. Leading researchers of skill formation from Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia, Bulgaria, Romania and Ukraine refer to critical junctures and the findings are compared and discussed in five concluding chapters focused on important cross-cutting topics: development of social dialogue over skill formation, qualifications policy and development of qualifications systems, implications of European integration and EU policies for governance and institutional reform of skill formation, features and implications of policy borrowing and policy learning from the Anglo-Saxon and German speaking countries, respectively.

In recent decades, due to unprecedented technological advancements, Europe has seen a move towards on-demand service economies. This has allowed the growth of self-employed professionals who are able to satisfy an increasing demand for flexible and high-skilled work. This book explores the need for reform of regulations in Europe, studying the variance in legal status, working conditions, social protection and collective representation of self-employed professionals. It provides insights into ways that policy could address these important challenges. Presenting the results of a wide-reaching European survey, this book highlights key issues being faced across Europe: the implementation of universal social protection schemes; active labour market policies to support sustainable self-employment and the renewal of social dialogue through bottom-up organisations to extend the collective representation of self-employed professionals. With its theoretically-informed, empirical and interdisciplinary comparative analysis, this book identifies and explains key strategies to resolve these challenges. This book will be of great benefit to both advanced undergraduate and postgraduate students of labour and economic sociology, political science, industrial relations, human resource management and social law. It will also appeal to scholars, practitioners and policymakers concerned with the labour market and self-employment in the European context.

The editors' substantive introduction and the specially commissioned chapters in this Handbook explore the emergence of transnational labour law and its contested contours by juxtaposing the expansion of traditional legal methods with the proliferation of contemporary alternatives such as indicators, framework agreements and consumer-led initiatives. Key international (ILO, IMF, OECD) and regional (EU, IACHR, SADC) institutions are studied for their coverage of such classic topics as freedom of association, equality, and sectoral labour standard-setting, as well as for the space they provide for dialogue. The volume underscores transnational labour law's capacity to build hard and soft law bridges to migration, climate change and development. The volume roots transnational labour law in a counter-hegemonic struggle for social justice. Bringing together the scholarship of 41 experts from around the globe, this book encompasses and goes beyond the role of international and regional organizations in relation to labour standards and their enforcement, providing new insights into debates around freedom of association, equality and the elimination of forced labour and child labour. By including the influence of consumers in supply chains alongside the more traditional actors in this field such as trade unions, it combines a range of perspectives both theoretical and contextual. Several chapters interrogate whether transnational labour law can challenge domestic labour law's traditional exclusions through expansive approaches to equality. The volume moves beyond WTO linkage debates of the past to consider emerging developments toward social regionalism. Several chapters explore and challenge public and private international aspects of transnational labour law, revealing some fragmentation alongside dynamic experimentation and normative settling. The book argues that 'social justice' is at least as important to the project of transnational labour law today as it was to the establishment of international labour law. Academics, students and practitioners in the fields of labour law, international law, human rights, political science, transnational studies, and corporate social responsibility, will benefit from this critical resource, given the book s eye-opening examination of labour governance in the contemporary economy. Contributors: Z. Adams, P.C. Albertson, J. Allain, R.-M.B. Antoine, A. Asante, P.H. Bamu, M. Barenberg, J.R. Bellace, G. Bensusan, A. Blackett, L. Boisson de Chazournes, S. Charnovitz, B. Chigara, K. Claussen, L. Compa, S. Cooney, S. Deakin, J.M. Diller, D.J. Doorey, R.-C. Drouin, P.M. Dumas, F.C. Ebert, C. Estlund, A. van Hoek, J. Hunt, K. Kolben, C. La Hovary, B. Langille, J. Lopez Lopez, I. Martin, F. Maupain, F. Milman-Sivan, R.S. Mudarikwa, A. Nononsi, T. Novitz, C. Sheppard, A.A. Smith, A. Suktahnkar, J.-M.Thouvenin, A. Trebilcock, R.Zimmer

New information and communications technologies have revolutionized daily life and work in the 21st century. This insightful book demonstrates how telework has evolved in the last four decades, as technological developments have improved our capacity to work remotely. Based on a new conceptual framework, this book explores the global variations in telework, examining the effects on working conditions and individual and organizational performance. Breaking the traditional intellectual conception that telework is performed only in the home, this book surveys the full breadth of working environments, as technology allows employees increased working mobility. Contributors expose a profound ambiguity surrounding the effects of 21st-century telework, revealing that its advantages and disadvantages may simply be two sides of the same coin. This timely book is crucial reading for researchers of labour and employment interested in the evolution of contemporary telework and the influence of modern technologies in the workplace. Policy-makers will also benefit from this book's concrete policy recommendations to improve the practice of telework. Contributors include: S. Boiarov, P. D'Cruz, A. Dal Colletto, L. Gschwind, T. Harnish, K. Lister, A. Mello, J.C. Messenger, E. Noronha, A. Sato, O. Vargas

Sweden has gained a worldwide reputation for its family friendly policies and the high share of women in paid employment. This book discusses the particular importance of early activation policies in the increase of women's paid employment and in changing gender and family relations. It explores how the integration of women into paid work was actually accomplished: on what ideational grounds, and using what concrete measures, were the conditions created for increasing the employment ratio of women? A number of activation measures are analyzed in more detail: vocational training, opinion-shaping, persuading activities and the work done by activating inspectors, specially installed to initiate housewives into paid labor. The book showcases how early activation policies contributed to the transformation of gender and family relations and thus to a farewell to male breadwinning. The book will appeal to undergraduates as well as graduate students, lecturers and researchers in gender studies, social and public policy and across the fields of politics, European studies, and contemporary history.

These specially commissioned essays by labor historians of international repute provide a complete survey of the global trajectory of labor history. Authoritative and well-researched, these essays consider the early labor history traditions as well as the new conceptions of class, gender, ethnicity, culture, community, and power. The contributors analyze key debates, question dominant paradigms, acknowledge minority critiques, and consider future directions. This book will be of interest to historians of working-class political parties and organizations, to students of trade unions and industrial conflict, and to social scientists interested in social and political protest.

Immigrant laborers who came to the New South in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries found themselves poised uncomfortably between white employers and the Black working class, a liminal and often precarious position. Campaigns to recruit immigrants primarily aimed to suppress Black agency and mobility. If that failed, both planters and industrialists imagined that immigrants might replace Blacks entirely. Thus, white officials, citizens, and employers embraced immigrants when they acted in ways that sustained Jim Crow. However, when they directly challenged established political and economic power structures, immigrant laborers found themselves ostracized, jailed, or worse, by the New South order. Both industrial employers and union officials lauded immigrants' hardworking and noble character when it suited their purposes, and both denigrated and racialized them when immigrant laborers acted independently. Jennifer E. Brooks's Resident Strangers restores immigrant laborers to their place in the history of the New South, considering especially how various immigrant groups and individuals experienced their time in New South Alabama. Brooks utilizes convict records, censuses, regional and national newspapers, government documents, and oral histories to construct the story of immigrants in New South Alabama. The immigrant groups she focuses on appeared most often as laborers in the records, including the Chinese, southern Italians, and the diverse nationals of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, along with a sprinkling of others. Although recruitment crusades by Alabama's employers and New South boosters typically failed to bring in the vast numbers of immigrants they had envisioned, significant populations from around the world arrived in industries and communities across the state, especially in the coal- and ore-mining district of Birmingham. Resident Strangers reveals that immigrant laborers' presence and individual agency complicated racial categorization, disrupted labor relations, and diversified southern communities. It also presents a New South that was far from isolated from the forces at work across the nation or in the rest of the world. Immigrant laborers brought home to New South Alabama the turbulent world of empire building, deeply embedding the region in national and global networks of finance, trade, and labor migration.

In the neoliberal world, rising individualism has frequently been linked to rising inequality. Drawing on social theory, philosophy, history, institutional research and a wealth of contemporary empirical data, this innovative book analyzes the tangled relationship between individualism and inequality and explores the possibilities of rediscovering individualism's revolutionary potential. Ralph Fevre demonstrates that a belief in individual self-determination powered the development of human rights and inspired social movements from anti-slavery to socialism, feminism and anti-racism. At the same time, every attempt to embed individualism in systems of education and employment has eventually led to increased social inequality. The book discusses influential thinkers, from Adam Smith to Herbert Spencer and John Dewey, as well as the persistence of discrimination despite equality laws, management and the transformation of individualism, individualism in work and mental illness, work insecurity and intensification. This multi-disciplinary book will be essential reading for students and scholars of sociology, economics, philosophy, political science, management science and public policy studies, among other subjects. It will also be of use to policymakers and those who want to know how the culture and politics of the neoliberal world are unfolding.

'A powerful, salient and gracefully written study of the corrosive dynamics of race in Britain from a trusted voice on the subject. We can all benefit from reading it' Diana Evans In this transformative book, Nicola Rollock, one of our pre-eminent experts on racial justice, offers a vital exploration of the lived experience of racism Miles, a successful lawyer, is mistaken for the waiter at a networking event. Femi is on the verge of breakdown having been consistently overlooked for promotion at her university. Nigel's emails, repeatedly expressing concern about his employer's forthcoming slavery exhibition, are ignored. Carol knows she can't let herself relax at the work Christmas party... This is racism. It is not about the overt acts of random people at the fringes of society. It's about the everyday. It's the loaded silence, the throwaway remark, the casual comment or a 'joke' in the workplace. It's everything. The Racial Code is an unprecedented examination of the hidden rules of race and racism that govern our lives and how they maintain the status quo. Interweaving narrative with research and theory, acclaimed expert Nicola Rollock uniquely lays bare the pain and cost of navigating everyday racism -- and compels us to reconsider how to truly achieve racial justice.