Modernising Work in Public Services Redefining Roles and Relationships in Britain's Changing Workplace

by Dibben, Pauline; Wood, Geoffrey; Roper, Ian; James, Philip

• ISBN13: 9781403998590
• ISBN10: 1403998590
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2007-06-15
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan

Summary

This volume analyzes changing work and employment in British public services. In doing so, it begins by critically engaging with debates around the ideological, regulatory and social drivers of change, and their impact on workforce composition, service ethos, equality, and the role of trade unions. It then analyzes employment relationships within fluid organisational boundaries, tackling the key issues of partnership and trust, pay and rewards and employment security. The concluding section reflects on public service productivity and its comparative context.

Table of Contents

List of Tables	p. ix
List of Figures	p. x
List of Contributors	p. xi
Introduction: Is 'Modern' Necessarily Better?	p. 1
Underlying Drivers of Change in Public Services
From Hayek to New Labour: The Changing Ideology of Public Sector Provision	p. 11
Lisbon, Bolkestein and the Service Economy	p. 29
Welfare Reform as a Response to Structural Crisis	p. 49
Public Sector Employment: Issues of Size and Composition in the UK	p. 59
The Consequences of 'Modernisation' for Public Service Workers
A Declining Public Service Ethos?	p. 75
Equality and Modernisation	p. 89
Pay and Rewards in Public Services: Fairness and Equity	p. 107
'Employment Security' and 'Job Insecurity' in Public Services: Two Sides of the Same Coin?	p. 121
The Dynamics of Collective Employment Relations and the Performance of Services
Sustaining New Industrial Relations in the Public Sector: The Politics of Trust and Cooperation in the Context of Organisational Dementia and Disarticulation	p. 139
Trade Unions and the Public Sector: A Story of 'Internal' Institutional Stability and Declining 'Regulatory Reach'	p. 153
Partnership: Transforming the Employment Relationship in Public Service Delivery	p. 165
Conclusion: The Logic of Work and Employment Reforms in the Public Services - A Comparative Reflection	p. 180
Bibliography	p. 190
Index	p. 211
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