New Forms Of Work Organization In Europe

A remarkable development in the sociology of work in recent years has been the explosion of brilliant cross-national and cross-cultural studies in Europe examining the conditions of labor against the background of different economic systems, and differences within each of the major free market, mixed welfare, and planned economic systems that dot the European landscape. In Vienna and Budapest in particular, a group of intellectual workers have gotten together for what can only be described as breakthrough studies in the conditions and purposes of work in post-industrial society. The question of new forms of work organization focuses on job satisfaction, participatory democracy in the work place, levels of productivity, and issues of health and safety in the occupational environment. That these elements are important have long been known. But what this collection of studies emphasizes is the specific mix that produced specific outcomes. It does not shy away from dangerous and tough questions: worker control and control of workers, political participation in contexts of authoritarian regimes, and personal rewards in contexts that once frowned upon private acquisition of capital. The volume is rich in empirical studies and draws the theoretical implications that can and already have had vast policy consequences for workers in the modern " context. Issues relating to job rotation, enrichment, enlargement and autonomy, and others related to new forms of organization starting with the shop floor and extending throughout the management of the enterprise as a whole are dealt with candidly. The social character of labor, long frowned upon as a mechanism for evading bread-and-butter issues, is now recognized, East and West, as a dimension of concern that is growing precisely as the size and character of the labor sector is diminishing. This is must reading for those interested in new forms of social and policy synthesis, and ways of meliorating competing claims of different sectors in modern societies.

Work Organization has achieved recent prominence in European policy, as new employment guidelines are embodied in the policies of all European Member States. New forms of Work Organization, properly understood, offer collaborative competitive advantage to European enterprises. This book, based on decades of action research in separate European nations, identifies the research background from which these new insights and policy initiatives have emerged, with continuing lessons to be learned from differences. Work Organization is the missing link which enables innovation and training to produce sustainable increases in productivity: this is not mere academic theory but also vital practical business. The book launches a new European research agenda, which is attracting interest from across the developed world and beyond. Rather than arguing for a stronger role for the state, or simply leaving matters to the market, the book presents a “third way” based on networks and coalitions, illustrated with numerous current European case studies, which provide explanations for developments at the level of enterprises, regions and the European Union itself. The book provides valuable insights into new European Commission initiatives and Transatlantic Dialogue, and provides the foundations for renewed democratic dialogue.

FOREW ORD ... 9 INTRO DU CTION ... 1 Francesco Garibaldo, Volker Telljohann DISSEMINATION OF NEW FORMS OF WORK ORGANISATION IN SOUTHERN EUROPE ... 15 THE GREEN PAPER AND THE EUROPEAN UNION. A CRITICAL ASSESSMENT ... 17 Peter Totterdill NEW FORMS OF WORK ORGANISATION AND COMPETITIVENESS - SOUTHERN EUROPE'S NEED TO CATCH UP ... 25 Peter Br6dner AGEING WORKFORCE: A NEW STAKE FOR ORGANIZATIONAL RENEWAL IN EUROPE ... 45 Henri Rouilleault PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION AND SMEs IN PROGRAMS SUPPORTED BY THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION ... 49 Rainer Greca EMERGENCE OF ORGANISATIONAL INNOVATION. PORTUGUESE PUBLIC POLICES ... 73 Maria Josd Sousa TRAINING AND WORK ORGANISATION ... 89 Juan Monreal, Carmina Perez WHY MODERN WORK ORGANISATION IS MISSING FROM SOUTH EUROPEAN PUBLIC POLICIES? THE CASE OF GREECE ... 107 Christos A. loannou ORGANISATIONAL INNOVATION AND INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS - THE IMPACT OF THE EUROPEAN PROVISIONS ON OBLIGATORY WORKERS' INVOLVEMENT ... 125 Norbert Kluge DISSEMINATION OF THE GREEN PAPER IN ITALY ... 131 Francesco Garibaldo ORGANISATIONAL INNOVATION AND PARTICIPATION MODELS - THE ITALIAN CASE ... ... 135 Volker Telljohann WORK ORGANISATION AND REORGANISATION OF WORKING TIME: TIME ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT ... ... 169 Antonio Martin Artiles NEW FORMS OF WORK ORGANISATION AS PART OF EU POLICY TO PROMOTE COMPETITIVENESS AND EMPLOYABILITY: THE GREEK EXPERIENCE ... 185 Chris Jecchinis RESTRUCTURING PROCESSES AND NEW FORMS OF WORK ORGANISATION IN SOUTH EUROPE - CONVERGENCE OR DIVERGENCE? AN ODVERVIEW ... 193 Jan Ottosson CORPORATE RESTRUCTURING, WORK ORGANISATION AND LABOUR RELATIONS IN PORTUGAL ... 199 Ilona Kovdcs, Maria da Concei(go Cerdeira THE DIFFUSION OF NEW FORMS OF WORK ORGANIZATION IN ITALY: AN OPEN DEBATE ... 221 Emilio Bartezzaghi, Raffaella Cagliano SUMMARY OF THE CONFERENCE ... 241 Kevin P O'Kelly METHODOLOGIES AND POLICIES ... 253 INSTRUMENTS AND METHODOLOGIES ... 255 Jeremy Hague, Friso den Hertog, Tony Huzzard, Peter Totterdill THE MAKING OF BRANDS ... ... 273 Oscar Marchisio THE ROLE OF THE POLICY LEVEL ... 277 Thoralf Ulrik Qvale TOWARDS A NEW WORK ORGANISATION CONTRACT IN SWEDEN - THE NEED FOR A LEGITIMISING PROCESS ... 297 G6ran Brulin, Eskil Ekstedt THE ROLE OF THE POLICY LEVEL - REFLECTION BY A POLICY MAKER ... 317 Antonio La Forgia INDUSTRIALISING THE SERVICES? ... 319 Wolfgang Potratz, Michaela Evans METHODOLOGIES AND INSTRUMENTS: FOOD FOR THOUGHT ... 339 Francesco Garibaldo AUTHORS ... 349

This text proposes a development project within the field of work organisation, with participation from across Europe. It includes chapters on the nature and history of the idea of development coalition, largely rooted in the Scandinavian experience, and case studies from other European countries.

Report of a 1978 survey on work organization trends in Germany, Federal Republic - covers sociological aspects and the economic background regarding quality of working life, job design, working conditions and workers participation, and comments on related labour legislation and labour relations, identifies gaps in research, and includes overall tripartite evaluation reports on work organization in nine EC countries. Bibliography pp. A1 to a10. Conference held in dublin 1978 October 26 and 27.

Recent years have witnessed major changes to the workplace across Europe. The speed of these changes requires constant monitoring and reappraisal. In this book, recent trends are analyzed and their consequences discussed, within a socio-historical context which also reveals underlying patterns of continuity. The trends analyzed include: the presence of high rates of endemic unemployment and underemployment, particularly amongst the young the growth of insecure and precarious employment sweeping changes to the regulation of and organization of work the diminution in the availability of manual work and the growth of white-collar service-sector jobs the growing participation of women in paid employment the introduction of new organizational forms and new forms of management the accelerating use of IT the growth in demand for educational and vocational qualifications by employers the increasing influence of European legislation on work, retirement, health, safety, etc the growing importance of voluntary-sector work The contributors to the volume present both primary research and a wide-ranging survey and analysis of recent major contributions in the field. Detailed empirical material is included from Belgium, Finland, Germany, The Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, the UK and the EU more generally. Thus, the book aims to provide a current overview of the nature of work from a pan-European perspective, illuminated by up-to-the-minute field research.