This major new book examines the way in which employment is managed across organizational boundaries. It analyses how public-private partnerships, franchises, agencies and other forms of inter-firm contractual relations impact on work and employment and the experiences of those working in these increasingly significant forms of organization. it draws upon research undertaken in eight separate networks comprising over 50 organizations to explore the fragmentating effects of contemporary changes in the organization of work and employment relationships. It considers the consequences of increased eliance upon inter-organizational mechanisms for producing goods and especially for delivering services. It argues that established analyses continue to rely too heavily upon a mocel of the single employing organization whereas today the situation is often more complex and confused. Public-private 'partnerships' are one high profile example of this phenomenon but private enterprises are also developing new relations with their clients and customers that impinge upon the nature of the employment relationship. Established hierarchical forms are becoming disordered, with consequences for career patterns, training and skills, pay structures, disciplinary practice, worker voice, and the gendered division of labor. The findings of the study raise questions about the governance of such complex organizational forms, the appropriateness of current institutions for addressing this complexity, and the challenge of harnessing of employee commitment in circumstances where human resource practices are shaped by organizations other than the legal employer. Using an analytical schema of three dimensions (institutional, organizational, employment) and four themes (power, risk, identity, trust), the authors adopt an inter-disciplinary perspective to address these complex and critically important practical, policy and theoretical concerns. Fragmenting Work will be vital reading for all those wishing to understand the contemporary realities of work and employment.

In this book, the authors relate Total Quality Management (TQM) to the broader organisation and environment in the context in which TQM is located, bringing in consideration of organisational culture and structure, of employee relations and the balance of power between management and employees and the role of Human Resource Management. This involves a critical appraisal of TQM, considering both the way in which employees perceive its operation in practice and the question of 'who gains what' from TQM.

Employee participation encompasses the range of mechanisms used to involve the workforce in decisions at all levels of the organization--whether direct or indirect--conducted with employees or through their representatives. In its various guises, the topic of employee participation has been a recurring theme in industrial relations and human resource management. One of the problems in trying to develop any analysis of participation is that there is potentially limited overlap between these different disciplinary traditions, and scholars from diverse traditions may know relatively little of the research that has been done elsewhere. Accordingly in this book, a number of the more significant disciplinary areas are analyzed in greater depth in order to ensure that readers gain a better appreciation of what participation means from these quite different contextual perspectives.
Not only is there a range of different traditions contributing to the research and literature on the subject, there is also an extremely diverse sets of practices that congregate under the banner of participation. The handbook discusses various arguments and schools of thought about employee participation, analyzes the range of forms that participation can take in practice, and examines the way in which it meets objectives that are set for it, either by employers, trade unions, individual workers, or, indeed, the state.
In doing so, the handbook brings together leading scholars from around the world who present and discuss fundamental theories and approaches to participation in organization as well as their connection to broader political forces. These selections address the changing contexts of employee participation, different cultural/ institutional models, old/'new' economy models, shifting social and political patterns, and the correspondence between industrial and political democracy and participation.
About the Series
Oxford Handbooks in Business & Management bring together the world's leading scholars on the subject to discuss current research and the latest thinking in a range of interrelated topics including Strategy, Organizational Behavior, Public Management, International Business, and many others. Containing completely new essays with extensive referencing to further reading and key ideas, the volumes, in hardback or paperback, serve as both a thorough introduction to a topic and a useful desk reference for scholars and advanced students alike.