Employee Relations: An International Journal

Sarah Wise

2005 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/01425450510572667

Purpose – To examine the factors which influence the implementation of employees’ right to time off for dependants protected by the Employment Relations Act 1999. Design/methodology/approach – The responses of two organisations in the same corporate group with identical policy provision are examined. Formal provision in the two companies was broadly similar providing an opportunity to examine how centrally developed, statutory‐based policy operates in different organisational contexts. Using qualitative reports from line managers and human resource managers the interaction and tensions between formal policy and informal, discretionary practice are examined. Findings – Line manager attitudes to discretionary decision making and other company policies, especially flexitime, produced very different outcomes for employees highlighting a continuing challenge for governments and organisations: Is it more important to be consistent in implementation or responsive to individual circumstances? Research limitations/implications – The paper uses data from only two organisations, although it complements national research on the usage rates of parents’ statutory rights to leave. Practical implications – Factors which can influence and detract from the effective implementation of statutory‐based employment rights are highlighted. Originality/value – In focusing on parent's right to time off for dependant emergency an important element of the work‐life balance field is examined.

Glennis Hanley; Loan Nguyen

2005 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/01425450510572676

Purpose – The diffusion of performance related pay has attracted considerable academic attention over the past decade. While much contemporary debate has focussed on the excesses of executive remuneration at the “big end of town”, what is not so prominent are the views of unions representing employees at the other end of the remuneration spectrum: this is the purpose of this paper. Design/methodology/approach – Evidence was gathered at two levels using two sets of research instruments: in‐depth interviews with senior union officials, and primary documentation analysis with specific reference to performance appraisal and performance‐related pay clauses in union Enterprise Bargaining Agreements. Findings – Document analysis reveals that performance appraisal and performance‐related pay clauses range from mere stipulation of existence to detailed processes and principles of design and implementation. Specific clauses in the white‐collar unions’ agreements suggest that they are not totally opposed. However, the lack of performance appraisal and performance‐related pay clauses in the blue‐collar unions’ agreements illustrate their propensity to restrict pay increases to a job classification structure. Although there were clauses that aimed to ensure a performance‐oriented culture, their agreements seem to be mere sentiments. Overall, only one union supports the notion of performance related pay; the others find performance appraisals difficult to embrace. Negative experiences and consequent problems lead them to argue that the process is complicated and usually puts workers at a disadvantage. Originality/value – Strands of different explanations account for union opposition, but the principal issue is that performance appraisal has only an evaluative function, that is to link performance to pay. To minimise problems in shaping PRP schemes, the unions advocated the integration of a social dimension; transparency and equality.

Maria Vakola; Ioannis Nikolaou

2005 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/01425450510572685

Purpose – Occupational stress and organizational change are now widely accepted as two major issues in organizational life. The current study explores the linkage between employees’ attitudes towards organizational change and two of the most significant constructs in organizational behaviour; occupational stress and organizational commitment. Design/methodology/approach – A total of 292 participants completed ASSET, a new “Organizational Screening Tool”, which, among other things, measures workplace stress and organizational commitment and a measure assessing attitudes towards organizational change. Findings – The results were in the expected direction showing negative correlations between occupational stressors and attitudes to change, indicating that highly stressed individuals demonstrate decreased commitment and increased reluctance to accept organizational change interventions. The most significant impact on attitudes to change was coming from bad work relationships emphasizing the importance of that occupational stressor on employees’ attitudes towards change. The results did not support the role of organizational commitment as a moderator in the relationship between occupational stress and attitudes to change. Research limitations/implications – A limitation of the research design could be that all measures originated from the same source resulting in possible contamination from common method variance. Further, the cross‐sectional research design adopted in the present study, as opposed to a longitudinal or experimental methodology, does not allow affirmative causal explanations. Originality/value – The present study showed that good and effective work relationships are very important in organizational change. Handling conflicts, building supportive work relationships and communicating effectively all contribute to the formulation of positive attitudes to change and, therefore, to the success of a change programme. In addition, organizations need to examine the extra workload which organizational change may create. Increase in workload is not only easily attributable to the change but it also makes change unattractive and problematic leading to non‐supportive attitudes.

Nils Timo; Michael Davidson

2005 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/01425450510572694

Purpose – The paper aims to examine employment relations practices and labour market features of 4‐5 star luxury multinational chain (MNC) and domestic hotels operating in the Brisbane‐Gold Coast corridor in Australia and discuss the implications that competing on price and quality has on employment, wages and training. Design/methodology/approach – The study used data drawn from a large managerial and employee relations/demographic survey covering wages, employment status, age, gender, working conditions and training, including interview data from hotel HRM managers. Findings – The data showed a persistence of gendered, low waged and segmented labour markets dominated by flexible labour. Competition between MNC and domestic hotels were not found to be the conduit of “new” HRM practices as a competitive edge. Both MNC and domestic hotels shape the hotel labour market in a way which perpetuates cost minimization strategies based on an increasingly skilled, yet flexible and low cost labour force. Research limitations/implications – Of the 14 hotels, only three were domestic. MNC luxury hotels dominate the sample. Rather a straight forward convergence thesis, MNC and domestic hotels have been compelled to compete on price and standard quality. Originality/value – While not a deliberate strategy of a “a race to the bottom”, the 4‐5 star luxury MNC and domestic hotels in the study have re‐shaped employment relations practices perpetuating a cost minimization competitive strategy suggesting that a “high road” competitive strategy as portrayed in HRM literature strategy is not the only way for firms such as hotels achieving a competitive edge.

Leslee Spiess; Peter Waring

2005 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/01425450510572702

Purpose – Low cost carriers (LCC) in the Asia Pacific are pursuing a strategy of marketing the aesthetic qualities of their cabin crew in order to differentiate their “value proposition”. This strategy concentrates on the physical dispositions of employees, thus mobilising the concepts of aesthetic and sexualised labour for commercial purposes. This paper aims to investigate some of the practical and ethical issues of such a strategy. In addition, the paper seeks to explore the boundary between the theoretical concepts of aesthetic and sexualised labour. Design/methodology/approach – Presents two vignettes from the emerging LCC industry in the Asia Pacific. The first vignettes is of Virgin Blue, a LCC operating in the Australian domestic airline industry; the second vignette is of Air Asia, first established as a domestic LCC in Malaysia, but has now expanded to international short‐haul routes within the region. Findings – The strategic deployment of aesthetic and sexualised labour in LCCs is ethically problematic on a number of levels. Concomitantly, this strategy is potentially undermined by the contradictory focus on cost minimisation, essential for LCC survival. Thus, the use of aesthetic and sexualised labour as a commercial strategy has the potential to become unstable over time because of the competitive dynamics and the somewhat paradoxical need to reduce costs while improving service standards. Originality/value – The conceptual boundary between aesthetic and sexualised labour is explored in the new LCC industry in the Asia Pacific. The ethical and practical consequences, and the sustainability of such a strategy in this new environment are considered.

Gregor Gall

2005 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/01425450510572711

Purpose – This paper examines the attempts by trade unions in Britain to gain organisational rights for their members and for workers in organisations operating within the hitherto non‐unionised “new economy”. Design/methodology/approach – By using data drawn from fieldwork interviews with full‐time union officials and supplemented by secondary sources, the paper assesses the genesis and progress of these campaigns, suggesting a combination of employer hostility and worker indifference explain the limited advances made to date. Findings – In particular, the paper considers the configuration of the inter‐relationship between employer action, union strength and sudden grievances as the major explanatory variable in accounting for the variation in the outcomes of the eight union recognition campaigns. Finally, the high degree of dependence and reliance on full‐time union officers, contra the “organising” model, is examined. Research limitations/implications – Further research on union presence and activity in the “new economy” are needed to critically examine these conclusions, given that the research was based on a study of eight employers. Practical implications – The implications for trade unions are that not all campaigns for union recognition can be expected to be equally successful, that campaigns are likely to take a relatively long period of time before significant advances are made and that greater scrutiny of potential campaigns is needed. Originality/value – Provides lessons for trade unions attempting to gain organisational rights for their members.