Employee Relations: An International Journal

John Gennard

2008 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/01425450810845607

Purpose – The purpose of this editorial is to examine the internal procedure for negotiations at multinational company level devised by the European Metalworkers Federation. Design/methodology/approach – The editorial outlines the EU Commission's social agenda between 2000 and 2010, examining the trade union position of the social partners. Findings – The European Commission has decided to prepare proposals for the introduction of a legal framework for collective bargaining at transnational sector level and within multi‐national corporations. The exact details of these proposals are presently unknown. Employers have expressed opposition to EU‐wide company collective agreements. The trade unions, on the other hand, have decided pending legislation on transnational negotiations to define guidelines with a view to promoting collective bargaining, if necessary with European companies. Originality/value – The editorial offers insight into negotiations at multinational company level.

Irene Nikandrou; Nancy Papalexandris

2008 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/01425450810843311

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the factors affecting the course of action that employees in acquired firms choose to follow. Loyalty, compliance, voice and neglect (LCVN) are four employee behaviors in acquired companies. Design/methodology/approach – Two questionnaires were designed: one was administered to employees of the acquired company and the other to a member of the post‐acquisition managerial team. One hundred and thirty‐five administrative employees in 27 acquired companies in Greece participated in the research. Findings – The results of the study support that employees decide their course of action based on the cost of their action, the effectiveness of the behaviour and the attractiveness of the company. Research limitations/implications – This study concentrated at the individual level to examine the factors affecting employee behaviours. Future research is needed to examine behavioural changes over time and the factors that make employees move from one behavioural category to the other. Practical implications – The findings in the paper have implications for organization members facing the challenge of managing human issues in the sensitive phases of an acquisition. Evidence of specific behavioural responses and the factors affecting them is presented. Originality/value – The present study provides a model for understanding the complex and multiple behavioral choices employees have after an acquisition.

Marilyn Clarke; Margaret Patrickson

2008 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/01425450810843320

Purpose – Changing career patterns and the erosion of job security have led to a growing emphasis on employability as a basis for career and employment success. The written and psychological contracts between employer and employer have become more transactional and less relational, and loyalty is no longer a guarantee of ongoing employment. Individuals are thus expected to take primary responsibility for their own employability rather than relying on the organisation to direct and maintain their careers. The purpose of this paper is to identify and examine the assumptions underpinning the concept of employability and evaluate the extent to which employability has been adopted as a new covenant in the employment relationship. Design/methodology/approach – Through a review of relevant literature the paper discusses current research on careers and employability and examines the available evidence regarding its adoption as a basis for contemporary employment relationships. Findings – The paper finds that the transfer of responsibility for employability from organisation to individual has not been widespread. There is still an expectation that organisations will manage careers through job‐specific training and development. Employability has primarily benefited employees with highly developed or high‐demand skills. Employability is not a guarantee of finding suitable employment. Practical implications – Employers can assist their employees by clarifying changes to the psychological contract, highlighting the benefits of career self‐management, and providing training and development in generic employability skills. Originality/value – The paper questions underlying assumptions about employability and explores issues of relevance to human resource managers, policy‐makers, employers and employees.

Mark van Vuuren; Menno D.T. de Jong; Erwin R. Seydel

2008 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/01425450810843339

Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to investigate the main and combined effects of self‐efficacy and organisational efficacy on three dimensions of organisational commitment. A fourfold typology of employees is proposed and tested. Design/methodology/approach – A questionnaire was sent to employees of a chemical plant. Data were analyzed using dichotomisation and moderated multiple regression. Findings – Both organisational efficacy and, to a lesser extent, self‐efficacy contribute to affective, normative and continuance commitment. The results concerning the fourfold typology are promising when reviewing the median split technique, but a hierarchical multiple regression test of interaction between self‐efficacy and organisational efficacy does not fulfil this promise. Research limitations/implications – As the self‐efficacy hypotheses especially did not meet expectations, the authors suggest another way of assessing self‐efficacy in organisational contexts. Practical implications – The results stress the contribution of organisational efficacy perceptions to commitment, leading to new opportunities for managing commitment. The role of feedback about organisational successes and failures appears to be crucial. Originality/value – This attempt to build a typology by considering the efficacy expectations of employees regarding both themselves and their organisation opens up a route to further individualisation of employees and their relations to work.

Ans De Vos; Koen Dewettinck; Dirk Buyens

2008 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/01425450810843348

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore professional employees' career move preferences and the impact of both individual and organizational career management. Departing from theoretical work on the “new career”, different types of career moves employees can make on the internal labor market are discussed and related to the literature on both organizational and individual career management. Design/methodology/approach – To test the hypotheses, a cross‐sectional survey of 472 professional employees from one company is presented. Findings – The preferences for both vertical career moves and moves relating to job enrichment and temporary moves are significantly affected by individual career management, but not by organizational career management practices. The preference for making lateral moves could not be explained by our antecedent variables. Research limitations/implications – Future research should involve a larger sample of organizations in order to collect empirical data about the extent to which OCM practices impact career preferences. Our results provide evidence for the relationship between individual career management and career move preferences and thereby adds to the literature on the “new career”. Practical implications – This study has a number of practical implications that relate to the ways in which organizations can stimulate different career moves among their employees through the enhancement of personal career initiatives. Originality/value – The value of this paper is the contribution it makes to the career literature by relating to different streams of research, about career mobility on the one hand and individual and organizational career management on the other.

Fiona Moore; Chris Rees

2008 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/01425450810843357

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to highlight employee diversity at the workplace level in a MNC, and consider its impact upon management attempts to promote a global corporate culture. Design/methodology/approach – The investigation took the form of an ethnographic participant‐observation study, which involved interviews and archival research plus a three‐month period when the lead researcher worked on the plant's final assembly line. This provided insights into the personal and psychological issues of individuals within the workforce, and an experiential dimension to the study which is difficult to replicate in other ways. Findings – The management approach to cultural and diversity issues worked both for and against the development of cohesion and improved employee relations. Managers sometimes ignored the real impact of local ethnic diversity, focusing instead on inter‐management conflicts, which contributed to employee morale and communication problems. But where diversity was recognised, more success followed, in particular where the distinct history and identity of the plant was emphasised. The study also tentatively suggests that “crossvergence” may be a fruitful way of interpreting the complex determinants of employee attitudes. Originality/value – The paper highlights how global strategies are always mediated by local circumstances, thus strengthening the arguments for recognising the interaction between management elites and local workforces, acknowledging cultural diversity and its impact on global business, and looking beyond simplistic notions of “national culture” towards diversity within national boundaries. The key implication for managers is that the successful implementation of global corporate strategies works best not just with due acknowledgement of local workforce identities, but with positive engagement with local historical and cultural traditions.

Kan Wang

2008 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/01425450810843366

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to study the evolution of Chinese industrial relations after the market reform of 1978, while basing its arguments and conclusion on analysis of the interactions of key actors in the labour arena in China. The significant phenomena in the evolution of industrial relations are the coming of transnational capital and the emergence of self‐organising protests by migrant workers. Design/methodology/approach – The paper uses a case study approach. Findings – The Labour Contract Law and the local political economy experience strong effects from TNCs and other business players. Meanwhile, globalisation has introduced the civil society movement to China, which has given rise to an increasing number of NGOs working for labour rights. Tight financial and technical connections between grassroots NGOs and international donor organisations make it possible for bottom‐up labour activities to counteract the unilateral influence of the state and market over the Chinese workforce. Since the ACFTU, the official trade union umbrella, has many institutional constraints to undertake a thorough transition towards labour in the near future, workers' representation is diversified. Originality/value – One implication for further theoretical studies is that tripartism cannot fully disclose the reality of Chinese labour, and that labour representation derives from both unions and self‐organisation of workers, such as NGOs, which opens more room for the entrenchment of the grassroots labour movement to sustain the balance of power among the state, ACFTU, firms, international market forces and individual workers in the long term.