This book examines how governments, non-profit and private organizations, and local networks understand the connections between public values and social issues.Western societies face complex social issues and a growing diversity of views on how these should be addressed. The traditional view focuses on government and public policy but neglects the initiatives that non-profit and private organizations and local networks take. This book presents a broader variety of viewpoints and theories. Looking at various cases, the authors analyze conflicting values and interests, actors' understandings of the public values related to social issues, and their action to create what they regard as public value. Drawing together these perspectives the authors point the way to how government and the private and voluntary sectors can work in tandem to resolve social issues. The study will prove insightful for researchers and students in fields such as governance studies, public administration, public sector management, organization studies, non-profit and voluntary organizations, civil society, public policy, social policy and social issues in management. The policy focus of the book will also draw the interest of policy makers in governmental and non-governmental organizations. Contributors: P. Boselie, G.A. Brewer, I. Claringbould, A. de Ruijter, E. Farndale, M. Gastelaars, K. Grint, C. Holt, D.M. Hosking, E. Knies, A. Knoppers, M. Koster, P. Leisink, J. Paauwe, R. Spaaij, W. Vandenabeele, R. van Berkel, M. van Bottenburg, E. van Dijk, F. van Eekeren, H.J. van Rinsum, J. Vermeulen

This important book presents an in-depth analysis of the neo-liberal viewpoint on globalization and its impact on labour relations. The policies of states and multinational corporations as well as their effects are analysed from the perspectives of international political economy, institutional economics, cultural studies and industrial relations. The authors analyse the trade union critique, labour market segmentation and the erosion of regulatory practices and standards which give labour some degree of protection. This innovative book combines theoretical analysis with empirical detail and focuses on various sectors of industry such as mining, home appliances, logistic services and the media as well as the main regional blocks of the global economy - Europe, Australia-Asia and America.

Globalization, the information technology revolution, individualization and other processes in contemporary society all impact on organizations. Organizational actors are recognizing the need to make sense of these permutations, reconstruct their identities and positions and find ways of coping with the complexity of relationships within and between organizations. This book analyses the framework of these organizational relationships and the dynamics of identity formation and bonding on several levels. Organizational practices, managerial and professional coping strategies are all explored within the context of shifting inter-organizational relationships. The findings, which are presented by an international team of contributors, are complex and demonstrate continuities as well as discontinuities. The authors analyse the way in which organizational actors, such as managers, information technology specialists, creative professionals and academic researchers make sense of the social transformations in the networking age and their impact on organizations. The organizational settings which are studied include armies, universities, non-governmental organizations, information technology development houses, telecom operators and organizations in the food production chain. This multi-disciplinary book will appeal to a wide-ranging audience of scholars, practitioners and consultants across various fields including organization and management studies, industrial relations, social psychology, work and organization psychology and sociology, HRM and employment relationships.

The state of European integration is a contested issue raising many important questions: what is the impact of enlargement on the social standards in old and new EU Member States? Will public sector employment relations suffer from governments' attempts to make their national economies more competitive? What are the prospects for a European Social Model? What influence can governments, employers and trade unions have on industrial relations that are changing with the European integration process? These are the issues that this book addresses on the basis of solid empirical evidence. The authors are expert researchers from Western and Eastern Europe, and their work comes at a timely moment for scientific and political audiences. This book presents an evidence-based assessment of the impact of EU enlargement on industrial relations and social standards in old and new EU Member States. It combines chapters which give an overview of the process of enlargement/integration and comparative socio-economic data at EU and national level, with chapters that present an in-depth analysis of the impact of European integration on national industrial relations. These in-depth analyses cover both a number of old EU Member States in Western Europe and new Member States in Central and Eastern Europe. The book combines supranational European, Western and Eastern perspectives on the impact of European integration. A combination of solid empirical data and critical theoretically informed analyses, Industrial Relations in the New Europe will be of great interest to researchers and students in various fields, including industrial relations, public sector employment relations, European Studies, socio-economic studies and political science.

How can management make a meaningful contribution to the performance of public services? Around the world, public organizations face increasingly complex social issues related to globalization, migration, health crises, national security, and climate change. To meet these challenges, we need a better understanding of what managing for public service performance means, and what it requires from public managers and public servants. This book takes a multidisciplinary, critical, and context-sensitive approach to address such questions. Through a comparative review of public administration research, it examines a variety of management aspects such as leadership behavior, human resource management, performance, diversity, and change management. It also critically reflects on how the context of the public sector affects the management-performance relationship in democratic societies, as well as the influence of numerous stakeholders and their beliefs about the nature and purpose of public service. By clarifying conceptual issues and taking a theoretical and evidence-based approach to the relationships between management and performance, this book offers new directions for research and a framework to help improve public services in practice.