Employee Relations: An International Journal

Linda Glover

2000 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/01425450010320779

While there has been much conjecture as to the implications of TQM for shopfloor workers, there have been relatively few studies that have investigated shopfloor responses to TQM via in-depth interviews. Focuses on shopfloor workers who might have been expected to conform to the "solidaristic" stereotype in terms of their orientation to work, because they had traditionally used the group as a source of power against the employer. The expectation was that they would resist any involvement in TQM. The initial response was positive and the paper seeks to explore this finding. It suggests that shopfloor orientations to work within the male-dominated, well-paid, unionised manufacturing sector may have moved from an emphasis on collective conflict towards "collective instrumentalism", which encompasses a shift away from overt conflict, towards uneasy patterns of co-operation.

W. Loretto; C. Duncan; P.J. White

2000 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/01425450010320788

Considers a neglected aspect of UK industrial relations. The effectiveness of earlier codes of practice is assessed according to various criteria: a thorough creative process; a high degree of consensus; and supporting institutions. These criteria are then used to gauge the potential impact of the 1999 Code on Age Diversity. The code's non-statutory basis is considered to have drawbacks which outweigh the merits. In consequence, it is contended that the code's impact is likely to be small.

Dawn M. Naylor

2000 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/01425450010320797

Over the last 20 years there has been increasing interest by Western companies in Japanese management practices (JMPs). Interest in these methods has grown as a result of the large performance gaps which apparently exist between Japanese manufacturers and their Western counterparts, in terms of both productivity and quality. Looks at a number of studies in an effort to determine whether Japanese practices can be successfully transferred abroad or whether they are culturally bound. This is followed by a look at the conditions under which Japanese management practices have been successfully utilised by Western companies. It is argued that Western managers must avoid just blindly copying Japanese practices and should be encouraged to become aware of why certain Japanese approaches have been successful. Finally, consideration needs to be given to the underlying factors of that success which are necessary and appropriate to their own company's advancement.

Douglas Renwick

2000 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/01425450010320805

States that in respect of organizations' attempts to devolve operational HR management to line managers, and the reconfiguration of HR work in general, one area of HR work that has received relatively little attention is the state of work relations between HR and line managers involved in the operation and execution of HR policy. Any research that has been done has often been a-theoretical. Reviews the literature in the field and examines the themes raised by means of an exploratory pilot case study. The case findings are that conflictual relations are seen to exist, but are seen to be negated by moves towards more consensual relations by both parties. Concludes that it is useful to seek to derive a wider research agenda than that which presently exists for HR-line work relations (especially the need for further case work), and to stress the need for further theory development in the field, so as to examine consensual theories' explanations of why such developments are occurring.