First published in 1989, this book presents a unique comparative perspective on the relationship between technological change and human resource management. Following a detailed introduction, chapters deal with a variety of issues, including managing change, industrial democracy and employee involvement, gender and structural change. International and well-renowned authors provide an authoritative analysis, which will be of particular interest to students of Business and Management, organisational and technological change, Economics and Sociology.

This book provides thoughtful insights into the development in work, organisations and employment relations in the last 50 years. In a semi-autobiographical approach, the author reflects on important contributions by other scholars, practitioners, and policy makers to work and employment relations. The book covers a variety of themes which have been the subject of research undertaken by the author over his career and explores these themes over a period of time with examples drawn from various countries. It also emphasises that countries and regions cannot be understood in isolation from each other. The author seeks to convey the importance of crossing disciplinary boundaries in the social sciences in order to interpret changes in work, organisations and employment relations. Drawing on the author's rich experience and research, the book is engaging and accessible to anyone who wishes to learn more about the rapidly changing workplace and employment relations.

First published in 1989, this book presents a unique comparative perspective on the relationship between technological change and human resource management. Following a detailed introduction, chapters deal with a variety of issues, including managing change, industrial democracy and employee involvement, gender and structural change. International and well-renowned authors provide an authoritative analysis, which will be of particular interest to students of Business and Management, organisational and technological change, Economics and Sociology.

This book examines the experiences of the globalizing Korean automobile industry, with particular focus on the Hyundai Motor Company (HMC), one of the most prominent of the new Korean multinational corporations. It provides an overview of the changing nature of the global automobile industry, before considering in depth the globalization processes that the Korean automobile industry has undertaken. Tracing the development of HMC as it recovered from the failure of its first venture overseas, in Canada, and tried again in India, the authors explore the similarities and differences between the practices which HMC implemented in India and Korea. They highlight the importance of production systems and employment relations as part of HMC's growth, and argue that if Korean companies such as HMC are to compete successfully as global automobile producers they will need to increase the proportion of overseas production, establish global supply chains and improve co-ordination between head office and subsidiaries. Based upon extensive fieldwork in India and Korea, this book is a detailed account of the globalization of the Korean automobile industry and Hyundai Motor Company. Its findings will be of importance to all those who seek to understand the challenges faced by firms that attempt to become global players.

This book examines the experiences of the globalizing Korean automobile industry, with particular focus on the Hyundai Motor Company (HMC), one of the most prominent of the new Korean multinational corporations. It provides an overview of the changing nature of the global automobile industry, before considering in depth the globalization processes that the Korean automobile industry has undertaken.

Tracing the development of HMC as it recovered from the failure of its first venture overseas, in Canada, and tried again in India, the authors explore the similarities and differences between the practices which HMC implemented in India and Korea. They highlight the importance of production systems and employment relations as part of HMC's growth, and argue that if Korean companies such as HMC are to compete successfully as global automobile producers they will need to increase the proportion of overseas production, establish global supply chains and improve co-ordination between head office and subsidiaries.

Based upon extensive fieldwork in India and Korea, this book is a detailed account of the globalization of the Korean automobile industry and Hyundai Motor Company. Its findings will be of importance to all those who seek to understand the challenges faced by firms that attempt to become global players.

This book provides thoughtful insights into the development in work, organisations and employment relations in the last 50 years. In a semi-autobiographical approach, the author reflects on important contributions by other scholars, practitioners, and policy makers to work and employment relations. The book covers a variety of themes which have been the subject of research undertaken by the author over his career and explores these themes over a period of time with examples drawn from various countries. It also emphasises that countries and regions cannot be understood in isolation from each other. The author seeks to convey the importance of crossing disciplinary boundaries in the social sciences in order to interpret changes in work, organisations and employment relations. Drawing on the author's rich experience and research, the book is engaging and accessible to anyone who wishes to learn more about the rapidly changing workplace and employment relations.

Nearly every country that produces cars views the automobile industry as strategically important because of its direct economic significance and because it serves as a bell-weather for innovation in employment conditions. In this book, industrial relations experts from eleven countries consider the state of the industry worldwide. They are particularly interested in assessing whether the loudly heralded model of lean production initiated by Toyota has become pervasive.

The contributors focus on employment practices: the way work is organized, how workers and managers interact, the way worker representatives respond to lean production strategies, and the nature of the adaptation and innovation process itself. Global competition and changing technological possibilities are pressuring other industries to transform their employment practices and the auto industry may be an important harbinger of what is to come.

"This book has two main strengths. First, its approach gives a sense of the texture and variety of the implementation of lean production, the forces that shape it in practice, and the alternatives that may be available. Second, the book's international focus provides a wealth of fascinating material concerning the influence of national conditions on the shaping of production practices." Harley Shaiken, author of Work Transformed: Automation and Labor in the Computer AgeNearly every country that produces cars views the automobile industry as strategically important because of its direct economic significance and because it serves as a bellwether for innovation in employment conditions. In this book, industrial relations experts from eleven countries consider the state of the industry worldwide. They are particularly interested in assessing whether the loudly heralded model of lean production initiated by Toyota has become pervasive.The contributors focus on employment practices: the way work is organized, how workers and managers interact, the way worker representatives respond to lean production strategies, and the nature of the adaptation and innovation process itself."

'The most comprehensive and authoritative comparative analysis of employment relations ...' Thomas Kochan, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, United States'...breaks new ground as an integrated account of the forces shaping employment relations.' William Brown, University of Cambridge. United KingdomEstablished as the standard reference for a worldwide readership of students, scholars and practitioners in international agencies, governments, companies and unions, this text offers a systematic overview of international employment relations.Chapters cover the United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Australia, Italy, France, Germany, Denmark, Japan, South Korea, China and India. Experts examine the context of employment relations in each country: economic, historical, legal, social and political. They consider the roles of the major players: employers, unions and governments. They outline the processes of employment relations: collective bargaining and arbitration, consultation and employee involvement. Topical issues are discussed: non-unionised workplaces, novel forms of human resource management, labour law reform, multinational enterprises, networked organisations, differences between Asian and Western companies, small and medium-sized enterprises, migrant workers, technological change, labour market flexibility and pay determination.This sixth edition is fully revised with an emphasis on globalisation and comparative theories, including concepts of convergence. It offers a new framework for varieties of capitalism in the Introduction, and concludes with an insightful account of the forces shaping employment relations in the world economy.

Industrial relations is critically important for economic performance as well as the social cohesion of a nation. In Australia, industrial relations has been subject to numerous reforms by both Labor and Liberal-National Party Coalition governments during recent decades. This book critically analyses recent changes in work and employment relations and their policy implications for Australia. Scholarly essays by prominent experts in the field examine the lessons that can be learned from previous attempts to reform industrial relations by governments with different political agendas and challenges which may lie ahead. Some of the key questions addressed in this book include: What can be learned from past attempts to reform the industrial relations system? What have been the impacts of recent legislative reforms from the Howard government's `WorkChoices' to the Rudd/Gillard government's `Fair Work Australia' and the recent Abbott/Turnbull government's policies on industrial relations? How does politics influence proposals for industrial relations reform? What reforms are required in relation to women, work and family issues? How should collective bargaining and dispute settlement systems be reformed? How have wages and productivity been affected by reforms of the industrial relations system? What are the key issues facing Australia in relation to immigration and workforce skills? The book is based on a symposium which celebrated the outstanding contributions of Professor Joe Isaac to scholarship and the practice of industrial relations in Australia and at the international level for more than seven decades.