The Realities of Partnership at Work

by Upchurch, Martin; Danford, Andy; Tailby, Stephanie; Richardson, Mike

• ISBN13: 9780230006973
• ISBN10: 0230006973
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2008-12-15
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan

Summary

This is a definitive study of partnership at work in the UK, with extensive surveys and interviews in organizations from the finance, NHS and local government sectors. The authors challenge conventional assumptions about the mutual interest associated with partnership, and find evidence of work intensification where partnership has been introduced.

Author Biography

MARTIN UPCHURCH is Professor of International Employment Relations at Middlesex University Business School, London, UK where he convenes the Global Work and Employment Project. As well as writing and researching on UK industrial relations he has authored articles on labour related issues in Germany and the former Yugoslavia.

ANDY DANFORD is Professor of Employment Relations at the Centre for Employment Studies Research, University of the West of England, Bristol, UK. He is the author of a number of books and journal articles on the themes of trade union renewal and critical studies of lean production and the high performance workplace.

STEPHANIE TAILBY is Professor of Employment Studies at the University of the West of England, Bristol, UK and is Director of the Centre for Employment Studies Research. Her other recent research focuses on the contingent workforce in the healthcare and finance industries.

MIKE RICHARDSON is Senior Lecturer in Employee Relations at the University of the West of England, Bristol, UK. His research interests include labour history, industrial sociology and the labour process.

Table of Contents

List of Figures	p. vii
List of Tables	p. viii
Notes on the Authors	p. x
Acknowledgements	p. xi
Partnership at Work	p. 1
What is partnership?	p. 1
A new productive base?	p. 5
The TUC and partnership	p. 7
Partnership as a 'Third Way' project	p. 10
Critics from within and without	p. 14
The studies	p. 18
The High-Performance Workplace: Fact or Fiction?	p. 20
High-performance work practices and worker attributes	p. 23
Work intensity and job recomposition	p. 27
Task discretion	p. 30
Job satisfaction	p. 34
Employee commitment	p. 37
Staff consultation	p. 41
Workplace stress	p. 44
Union performance	p. 47
Conclusion	p. 51
Gambling with Employee Voice in the Finance Sector	p. 53
The finance sector	p. 53
Employee relations strategies	p. 62
Employees' attitudes to voice and representation	p. 69
Conclusion: Gambling with the paradox of intention	p. 81
Best Value in a Local Authority	p. 84
The role of local trade unions	p. 87
Security of employment, the intensification of work and job satisfaction	p. 92
Employee involvement	p. 100
Conclusion	p. 103
Partnership on Prescription in the NHS	p. 107
Public policy context	p. 107
Research problems	p. 110
The partnership agreement	p. 112
Partnership in practice? The employees' voice	p. 116
Direct employee participation	p. 117
Indirect employee participation	p. 123
Union representation	p. 125
Conclusion	p. 129
Goodbye Blue Sky: Partnership in the UK Aerospace Sector	p. 132
Airframes and JetCo	p. 136
Restructuring and financial control: The case of Airframes	p. 137
Restructuring and financial control: The case of JetCo	p. 142
Informal workplace partnership: The case of Airframes	p. 147
Formal workplace partnership: The case of JetCo	p. 153
Conclusion	p. 162
Whither Partnership?	p. 165
Consensus, consultation and ideology	p. 167
Partnership and reality transcendence	p. 170
Notes	p. 176
References	p. 178
Index	p. 191
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