Employee Relations: An International Journal

Gregor Gall

1999 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/01425459910285465

Most analyses of strike activity in Western Europe suggest that it has declined quite dramatically since the early 1970s. The contention of this article is that this decline has been exaggerated, largely as a result of an inadequate recognition of the deficiencies of the statistical data on which these analyses are based. Recognising this, the article argues that strike activity in many countries in Western Europe may be considerably higher than previously thought.

Richard W. Painter; Stephen Hardy

1999 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/01425459910285474

Under the European Union’s 1977 Acquired Rights Directive, workers transferred to another employer can expect the majority of their original terms and conditions of employment to be protected and changes made without consultation can constitute constructive unfair dismissal. Confusion over the application of the directive greatly affected the introduction of compulsory competitive tendering to the provision of local authority services in the UK. Many of the issues remain unresolved and will cause problems as compulsory competitive tendering is replaced by the duty on authorities to “achieve best value”. This article seeks to clarify the position for employers by reviewing the most recent case law from both British and European courts.

Boyd Black

1999 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/01425459910285519

This paper examines the relationship between national culture and high commitment management (HCM). A model linking national culture and HCM is developed and hypotheses concerning the relationship between national culture and the take‐up of specific HCM practices are derived. Empirical results demonstrating the relationship between national culture and the take‐up of particular HCM practices across nine countries are presented. The paper further establishes that the adoption of certain individual HCM practices is more closely associated with superior employee performance in countries with certain cultural characteristics than in others. However, when HCM is implemented as a package of practices, it is found to be associated with superior employee performance across different cultural settings. The paper concludes that national culture plays an exogenous determining role in the adoption of HCM practices, with the result that the globalisation of HCM practices should be undertaken with sensitivity.

Colin W. Fuller

1999 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/01425459910285528

This paper reports an employee‐management consensus approach for identifying safety initiatives that are both appropriate to the working environment and also perceived to be appropriate by the workforce. Issues affecting the success of employee involvement schemes are discussed and the methods used during the implementation stages of the programme to address them are described. The case study was set in the UK distribution division of an international oil company and was applied to safety issues affecting the division’s tanker drivers. The study used an employee questionnaire to assess drivers’ perceptions of safety management, workplace conditions and safety concerns. Factor analysis and structural equation modelling were used to develop a management/workplace/workforce model to describe the drivers’ working environment. The model was then used to discuss and explain the drivers’ choices of safety initiatives.

Sonia Liff; Simon Turner

1999 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/01425459910285537

The rise of large out‐of‐town stores has received attention in terms of concern about the viability of town centres and local businesses and the environmental consequences of the increased car journeys generated by this change in shopping practices. This article explores whether the competitive pressures which small retailers are under have affected their employee relations. It is based on interviews with owner managers of butchers, greengrocers and newsagent shops in one location. Owner managers had different assessments of the nature of the competition they were facing and how they might continue to have a viable business. However, approaches to recruitment and selection and staff allocation seemed to have more to do with the limited labour market and the personal nature of the employment relationship than the approach taken to competition. Low wages, long hours and limited training remained the dominant features of both successful and unsuccessful businesses.

Ian Winfield

1999 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/01425459910285546

This case study narrates the experience of a medium‐sized UK manufacturing company in setting up and running a manufacturing plant in Shanghai, People’s Republic of China. It details how features of the social organisation of production, the human resource policies and the management practices of the UK parent company were successfully transferred and adapted to the unique labour market and business environment encountered in mainland China. The study concludes by reviewing two major challenges that directly lie ahead for the company.